Is Salvation by Grace, Works, or Both?

Is salvation by grace, by works, or both? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Hi, it's Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can call us with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-27. We'll be taking your calls for the next 25 minutes or so, so now is the time to hop on the phone. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites.

Watch us on YouTube right now on our YouTube channel, and of course you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, at the very end of yesterday's program, we heard from a listener named Scott, and we actually ran out of time before Adriel could fully answer his question. Scott's back with us today. Could you give us a little bit of context, Scott, on what you were asking? Yeah, hi.

Thank you so much for having me back on and taking the time to talk to me. Basically, my question was, I have some family members who are not believers, and I've been praying for them for a number of years, and I just really haven't seen anything come from my prayers as far as signs of them allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their life or to get them closer to professing faith in Jesus Christ. And I'm just wondering, as a Christian, am I called to continue praying for them daily, or is there ever a situation where I am to just hand the situation over to the Holy Spirit entirely and just kind of hand it off like that?

I just kind of need some direction on how to approach the whole situation. Scott, I love this question, and I love that you have a concern for your family and for those who have yet to profess faith in Christ. And I know it can be discouraging, and many have given up. I just don't think that this person is going to come to the Lord.

They seem critical of my views. They're totally closed off to the work of the Spirit, it seems. But to your question, is there ever a time where we just say, okay, well, Lord, you handle this? I want to encourage you to keep praying. I don't think you should stop praying for them. I think you continue to pray, and as you're praying, you are entrusting them to the Lord. You're recognizing, okay, God, I can't change their hearts.

This is your work, Lord. And they might criticize you or your beliefs at times that happens. I think you're in a unique position to be able to shine as a light for Jesus there. And of course, that's exactly what Jesus said that we are as his followers, his salt and light in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. But my encouragement to you is, brother, continue to love them, to shine the light of Christ, and to pray for them.

And if you get any pushback, don't be discouraged by that pushback. Remember the situation with Paul, who was Saul of Tarsus when he was fighting against the Lord. And there, when Stephen was being martyred, he's there.

Saul of Tarsus is there helping people put Stephen to death. And yet, God got ahold of his heart and saved him. And you never know when or how or if the Lord is going to do that with the people that you're praying for, but don't stop praying. And just one encouragement from 1 Peter 4, verse 12. Peter says, and I think this is important for all of us as Christians to hear his words here, especially when we feel like we're getting pushback, if we get any pushback. And honestly, if you're bold about the gospel, wherever you are in the world, you will get pushback.

That's just the reality. But listen to what Peter said, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. And sometimes, you know, suffering as a Christian looks like continue to pray for and persevere in the midst of difficult situations, even family situations.

And Scott, we've all experienced those situations. But my encouragement to you is to continue to hope in the Lord and to pray for them and to pray that the Lord would give you opportunities to do good to them, to shine the light of Christ, you know, to be able to extend acts of charity and love, but also opportunities to share about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that through that message, through the message of the gospel, their hearts might be changed. And brothers and sisters, let's take a moment right now to pray for Scott and to pray for Scott's family. Father, we thank you for our brother. We thank you for his prayers.

And we know, oh God, that you hear those prayers. We thank you for his heart to want to see your spirit at work in the lives of the people around him that he loves. And we pray, Lord God in heaven, that your spirit would work, that you would draw them to yourself, that you would use our brother as a light there in his family and God with all humility, with all love, but with all courage. He would testify to the truth of the gospel and that that gospel would have a powerful effect in their lives.

Would you open their hearts, oh Lord, and draw them to yourself? I pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Scott, thanks so much for your call.

We really appreciate you and your heart for your family. Just a follow up question for you, Adriel. In Matthew chapter 10, you know, Jesus is talking to his disciples as they go out and he says, leave that house or city and shake its dust off your feet.

And then of course he talks about not casting your pearl before swine. When are there situations when we just need to say this person is so hostile to the gospel or to us that it's kind of pointless to continue? Yeah, I mean, well, certainly when you're thinking about those missionary endeavors going out and seeking to bring the gospel to new lands, you know, there are times where it's like, okay, this door is closed.

Here we're talking about a situation where it's life together with your family. And you should continue, I think, to shine as a light of Christ there in those contexts. And of course, you know, people could have said that very thing about Saul of Tarsus, who I mentioned.

I mean, talk about someone who he's literally in the midst of trying to have Christians imprisoned and dragged to Jerusalem. And yet it's there that the Lord works in his life. And so you just never know the word of God is like a hammer that breaks the rock.

And the rock there is our hard heart. And so our confidence is not in our ability to, you know, winsomely articulate the gospel in such a perfect way that people are just going to embrace it and love Jesus. Our confidence has to be in the power of God's word and the work of his spirit. And that's where prayer comes in because we're saying, Lord, you're the one who has to work here.

You help me. I know that my gospel articulations are going to be imperfect. I know that I'm not always going to know, you know, what to say, but I know that you are able, Lord, and so help me. And there are instances, brothers and sisters, where maybe you're sharing the gospel with a friend or a coworker, and it's very obvious that they want nothing to do with it. And they're just, you know, mocking you and, you know, maybe they ask questions, but they only ask questions to be hostile, to get in an argument.

They're not really looking for an answer. You know, I would say in situations like that, well, you exercise wisdom, but that doesn't mean, and by wisdom, I mean, maybe it's okay, I'm not going to waste my time, you know, having that conversation. But that doesn't mean stop praying for them.

You can still continue to pray for them and to bring their hard heart before the Lord and say, God, soften that hard heart and draw them to yourself. Great counsel. Thanks for that, Adriel.

This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open. You can call us with your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Josh calling in from Missouri. Josh, what's your question for Adriel? Hey, I was curious if it's considered to be sinful or if it's a sin to be mad or upset with God.

Josh, thank you for that question. Is it a sin to be mad or angry at God? I mean, obviously I think that there is something, there's something amiss here. Oftentimes, you know, as I have conversations with people, when people are angry with God, it's because God, you didn't do something that I hoped you would do. And that could be a small thing or it could be something very significant.

You didn't save this person who was sick with cancer or you didn't help me or change these circumstances. And there can be frustration. There can be anger. And oftentimes I think that that can be and does look like something very sinful. I mean, there are people who have just left the faith altogether because of some negative experience.

And that's not a good thing. They blame God for the evil that happened. So there are theological problems with this. But I also want to be sensitive to the fact, Josh, that oftentimes the people of God throughout Scripture cry out to him in lamentation. And I think that's different than being angry at God and blaming God for bad things that happen or, you know, something like that. But there are those psalms of lament that we see in Scripture where the psalmist is crying out and saying, God, why? Why did this happen?

What's going on? Where are your promises to your people? And I don't think that that's the psalmist, you know, shaking his fist at God, per se. I think that's actually an act of faith. And so it's one thing to shake our fists in anger at God.

That's wrong, I would say. That is sinful. It's another thing to come before God confused and not sure about what it is that he's doing. Why did you allow this, God? I don't get it. And saying, Lord, I'm falling down at your feet and crying out in lamentation.

Why? That is, I think, an act of faith. That's not anger and shaking your fist at God. That's coming before the Lord broken, and there is space for that. And again, you see that throughout the Scriptures, but those instances where people are being foolish.

I think of Jonah, for example. Remember the end of the book of Jonah, where Jonah is essentially upset with God. Why is he upset with God? Because God has shown mercy to the Ninevites. And he's all confused.

I mean, he's just heartless, really. He doesn't want the Ninevites to repent and receive mercy from God. And he's angry at God. He's upset with the Lord. And essentially, what does the Lord say? Jonah, you're being foolish.

I mean, that's how the end of that story is depicted. And so I think we have to distinguish between that anger, shaking your fist at God, and those cries of lament, which are acts of faith. And Josh, I don't know what you're going through right now.

I don't know if something has happened in your life that's causing you to feel this sense of anger. What I would say is, know that the Lord is good, that he knows every detail of whatever situation that you're in right now. That he's sovereign, he's in control, that somehow he's able to, as he promises in his word, cause all things to work together for the good of those who love him, and are called according to his purpose. And know that it's okay to cry out to the Lord in brokenness and desperation and say, Why, God? I don't understand these circumstances. I'm not blaming you, but I know that you're sovereign, and I know that you're righteous according to your word, and you give your people these promises, and I don't understand how my present circumstances fit with your purposes and the promises that you've given in your word. But I'm going to trust in you, even in the midst of my brokenness. And I think that's what we're called to do as Christians. And so may the Lord be with you, Josh, and help you in that, and bless you, and comfort you in whatever it is that you're going through. God bless.

Thanks, Josh. I appreciate you listening to Core Christianity. I was thinking about the importance of praying the psalms, because there's so many psalms that tie in with really what we're going through, what our emotions are at the time, the psalms of petition, of protest, lamentation that you talked about. They can really be helpful in kind of guiding our prayers.

Yeah, let me just say one thing that's really fascinating is the Psalter, the book of Psalms, there's 150. And I mean, think of this as the hymnal of God's people. This is what they were singing in worship, these songs, these psalms. And the majority of the psalms are psalms of lament. There's this tension, this cry to God for help. Maybe the lamentation is, God, I need you to deliver me from my sins. Maybe the lamentation is, God, I need you to deliver me from my enemies. But the majority of the psalms are lamentations. And I think that that's instructive for us. You know, so often we go to church and the songs that we sing are really happy, clappy, you know, upbeat.

We want everybody to be smiling. But isn't it the case that oftentimes we go to church and the word on our heart is not, you know, that happy, clappy song. Maybe it is, and praise God for that. Maybe it's Psalm 22. And we're saying, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

It feels like you're so far away from me and from the words of my groaning. I'm crying out to you day and night, God, don't you hear me? That's the cry of God's people so often. And so we ought to, as you said, Bill, we ought to be reading the psalms, praying the psalms, and singing the psalms, frankly, in our churches. And you know what? Those happy, clappy people really bug me.

Bill, come on, you can't say that on the radio. Well, that's the other beautiful thing about the psalms is you have it all, the whole range of emotion. You do have the upbeat. I mean, if we want to call it happy, clappy, those anthems of praise, which is just that powerful declaration that the Lord is good. Praise the Lord for his mercy endures forever.

But then you also have that, you know, the E minor, those, you know, those those chords that just are those dark chords, if you will. I'm crying out to the Lord for his mercy. So well said. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open. And if you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can call us right now. Here's the number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. We'll be taking calls for the next few minutes. By the way, just to let you know, when our live program ends here in a few minutes, we'll be recording a second episode of Core Christianity. So if you weren't able to get through, you still have another 30 minutes or so to give us a call and we will take your call during that recorded program. Love to hear from you at 833-THE-CORE.

And you can always leave a voicemail at that number as well. I want to mention that we have a resource. A lot of our listeners have been calling in, asking questions about spiritual warfare and demonic influence. And so we prepared a resource just for you on that topic. Yeah, the resource is a booklet. It's about 70 pages long, written by Pastor David Cassidy.

I'm holding it right here in my hand. And it's called Can the Devil Read My Mind? It's an excellent resource. If you want to learn more about the topic of spiritual warfare from a biblical perspective, you can get your hands on this book. It's a free booklet. I forgot to mention that.

I mean, that's a wonderful thing. This is a free booklet and you can get it at corechristianity.com. We'd love to get you a copy of one of these.

Check that out. It's called Can the Devil Read My Mind? You can find it at corechristianity.com forward slash radio.

Well, let's go to a voicemail from one of our listeners. This is from Brian. My question is about salvation. My understanding is salvation is by grace.

But also, if I look at Matthew 25, 31, Jesus talks about people performing good works like feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and housing the homeless. But those people achieve salvation by good works. My question is, is salvation strictly through grace or do we need good works as well to achieve salvation? Thank you very much.

Yeah, thank you very much. So, yes, salvation is strictly by grace through faith. Now, we are saved unto good works. We don't want to minimize the importance of good works in the Christian life. But our good works, our righteous deeds are not the meritorious cause of our salvation, of our justification.

So there's no contradiction between the Gospels and the Apostle Paul. All of scripture testifies to that great reality that salvation is by grace through faith. And, of course, the key verse to go to here is Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. And so you are not saved by good works, you are saved for good works. It's such an important distinction to make, because if you're saved by good works, by your good works, well, then you can boast. You can say, well, the reason I'm saved and you're not is because I work harder than you.

Well, no, that's not what this is. It's all of grace. It's that gift that God gives. Even the faith by which you are saved is a gift which God gives. And so, again, so, so important for us to understand that distinction and to recognize, again, that there's no contradiction between what we see in the Gospels, like the Gospel of Matthew, and what we read in places like Ephesians chapter 2, verses 18, or verses 8 and following. Another passage that I think is helpful to look at here is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 13.

Listen to this. We are always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. In other words, again, we're saved by grace through faith, but daily we are being sanctified. And as we're being sanctified, God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is bearing fruit in our lives.

Good works. Now, again, those good works don't save us, but we're saved for good works. And so I appreciate that question.

And again, it's so important for us to understand this. It's central to what we often call core Christianity here, and it's something that so many people miss. You talk to some people today and you ask them, what's the Gospel? And they point to the law. They say, well, the Gospel is love your neighbor and don't commit adultery and don't steal, don't lie.

Well, those are good things. That's the law, though. And none of us can be saved by the law. The Gospel is that God has extended his forgiveness to sinners through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Sinners who have broken his law so that in Christ we might now, by the Spirit, fulfill the righteous requirements of the laws, Paul says in Romans chapter 8. Thank you for that question. God bless. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adrian Sanchez.

Here's an email from one of our listeners. He says, recently, my pastor made a joke with a slur for homosexual people in his sermon. Do you have a suggestion for what I should do? I'm in ministry where I'm on stage every week and I'm wondering if I should step down, at least temporarily. You know, I'm seeing this more and more from pastors and Christians sort of just mocking those outside of the church and laughing, you know, poking fun, if you will. I mean, that grieves me, for one.

I mean, you're asking me what you should do. I think what you should do is have a conversation with your pastor and at least make known to him the fact that you felt like, okay, this didn't seem like it was fitting. We want people who are gay and lesbian to repent and to come to Christ. And that happens not through making fun of them, but through calling them to Christ, preaching the law and the gospel to them.

And so, you know, sometimes for people, you know, they're just looking to, I don't know, score points or get a laugh or whatever it is. But we should take this, and especially for ministers, you know, we should take this very, very seriously. That the people who are outside, who have rejected the gospel, this isn't a laughing matter, something for us to just poke fun at. It's also not something for us to just embrace and say, and this isn't, you know, the opposite error. And you've seen churches do this where they say, oh, well, there's nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian. God loves you just the way you are and affirms this decision or whatever. No, we call people to faith and to repentance. And so I would have a conversation, you know, with your pastor and obviously, I don't know what was behind that statement.

But I also would have been upset by it. And so, brothers and sisters, God help you and God help all of us to honor him today, to serve him, to love him. Thank you once again for listening to the CORE.

I look forward to talking again next time. God bless. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, go to corechristianity.com forward slash radio. Or you can call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, let us know how we can be praying for you. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.