Saved by Grace
Photo credit: Aidi Tanndy
“I’ve been a Christian for 3 years now, but I’ve known about Christ since the day I was born. How had I gone 21 years of my life knowing all about God but not understanding the Bible? I want to tackle the age-old debate: saved by grace,” writes SEELE contributor Hazzy Redgard for her November post.
“No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
Some disciples who were also Pharisees started to spread the message that the Gentiles had to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses. Peter debunked that teaching by telling everyone that we are saved by the grace of Jesus and not by the law; for the law was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross, and started the new covenant (Matthew 27:51). The Pharisees were religious and sentimental to their old ways, therefore they wanted to make their opinion law and started teaching it. Peter stood up and corrected them, but nowadays, people take what Peter said out of context.
“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
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The Pharisees tried to make salvation about deeds and following the law, when in reality we are saved by the grace of God. False teaching creates a push back. People now use ‘saved by grace’ as an excuse to keep sinning. People combat false doctrine with false doctrine. When people see strong, harsh teaching – grace without truth – they become nothing but grace – which is also a false teaching. What Peter said was completely correct, but this has been taken out of context and used to promote their own false teaching.
I was brought up believing in faith alone. We didn’t call it ‘faith alone’ or ‘saved by grace’ but that’s what it was. The church I grew up in taught me that if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died on the cross to save you of your sins, then you are a Christian and you’re going to Heaven. That is literally faith alone. I believed in faith alone until I was taught otherwise.
I lived my teenage years into my 20’s partying, drinking, taking drugs and sleeping with men all the time, believing that I was a saved Christian going to Heaven because I believed in Jesus – I believed that I was saved by grace. As I’ve began reading my Bible, I’ve come to learn this is not true at all. I have learned that I am going to be judged by the way I live my life and that it’s living by the Scriptures that makes you a true Christian (John 8:31-32; John 12:47-48). I changed the way I live my life, but I didn’t become a Christian by believing in God and repenting of my sins – no – in fact I confessed all my sins to Christian women, every single one I could remember, and then I got baptised.
“And this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
We’re saved at baptism. This shouldn’t be controversial but, unfortunately it is. I know some of you are probably angrily thinking ‘We’re saved by faith, not by works!’ (Ephesians 2:8-9) and that is very true. Baptism is a work but so is believing that Jesus died for you sins. If you believe that works have nothing to do with salvation and that we’re saved by faith alone, then you are contradicting yourself because to have faith and believe is a work.
“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’”
I wanted to write this article and touch on this subject because I know there are so many people out there who believe they can carry on sinning and still be a Christian – it’s a lie, it’s not true. I fell for it and if I continued believing it then I never would’ve received salvation from God. The truth is that salvation comes from loving God, it requires faith and deeds.
If you have any questions about anything I wrote in my article or would like to discuss further, please reach out: Instagram | Email
This is a picture of me being baptised – finally saved by the grace of God, no longer a slave to sin.
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.”
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
