Someone posted the following heresy on social media today...
“Works are not to OBTAIN salvation, but are the RESULT of salvation!!!!!!”
Here is my biblical response that I sent her...
No, no, no, my friend. Kindly, that is incorrect. WORKS are not the result of salvation. That is a common misunderstanding. WORKS are produced by the fruit of the indwelling Holy Spirit in a believer who CHOOSES to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-25), which has absolutely nothing to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life. We must not confuse service (Romans 12:1) with salvation (Galatians 3:26).
Many believers live in the Spirit, but they do NOT walk in the Spirit. That is why we are exhorted in Galatians 5:25, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Many believers (who are safely secure in God's free gift of eternal life by faith alone in Jesus) live openly shameful sinful lives. False prophets who preach the Devil's lie of 'Lordship Salvation' would falsely accuse them of not being saved.
We simply CANNOT determine if someone is saved or not by examining their works. Biblical evidence of this truth is found in Matthew 7:21-23. These cursed false prophets boasted of their "many wonderful works" in Jesus' name. They had "prophesied" (preached) in Jesus' name. But Christ denied knowing them as His sheep. So we see that doing good works cannot be used as evidence of the new birth. There is no way to determine if someone is saved or lost, except by a direct testimony from their own mouth concerning Jesus Christ.
The inspired Word of God teaches that as believers we fall IN GRACE, never FROM GRACE. Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”
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