Here's point number one, and you can of course write it down, and it's this.
Salvation is not of works.
We know that, but it's good to say salvation is not of works.
Ephesians 2, 8, notice the Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith, in that
not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
And I'd like you to keep your place there in Ephesians 2, that's obviously our text
for tonight.
Go with me to the book of Romans if you would, if you head backwards, you've got the book
of Ephesians, Galatians, 2 and 1 Corinthians and Romans, Galatians 2 and 1 Corinthians
and Romans.
And when you get to Romans, do me a favor and put a ribbon there or a bookmark or something
because we're going to leave it and we're going to come back to it, Romans chapter 4.
And look at verse number 4.
The Bible is clear that salvation is not of works, and I realize I'm preaching to the
choir and you know that, but it's good for you to be reminded.
Romans 4, 4, the Bible says this, not to him that worketh, not to him that worketh.
So here Paul is given as an example of someone who wants to work their way to heaven, and
by the way, there are only, sometimes people ask this question, they'll say, how do you
know which one's the right religion?
There's so many hundreds of religions out there or thousands of religions out there,
how do you know which one's the right religion?
The truth is this, that there's only really two religions out there and there's two belief
systems out there.
There is one that says that you earn your way to heaven by the works that you do, and
there's another one that says that salvation is a free gift, not of works.
And really, you can put any religion in any church into those two categories.
You say, what do the Romans Catholic teach?
They teach that you have to keep the seven sacraments, you have to do certain things,
you better get catechized and baptized as a baby and go to the confessional booth and
take the communion and you got to do this and you got to do that.
What is that?
It's works.
What do the Mormons teach?
Repent of your sins, live a good life, get baptized, and hopefully you'll make it into
heaven.
It's works.
What do most of these false religions teach?
They teach works.
They teach you got to work your way to heaven.
The Bible says in Romans 4, 4, not to him not worketh is the reward.
Now the reward is referring to heaven or what you get as a result of the work, and of course
in Romans he's talking about heaven and salvation, he said it is the reward.
He says not reckoned, the word reckoned means computed, calculated, the way it comes about.
He says look, to him that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace, he says, but of debt.
Now here's why he says that.
Because if you think that you can work your way to heaven, you're going to find yourself
in debt because the amount of work that you need to do to get to heaven is not something
you can do.
You've already messed up.
You're already a sinner.
You've already not kept the whole law because that's what it takes to work your way to heaven.
You must keep the entire law perfectly without error.
There's only one person that was ever able to do that and his aim is the Lord Jesus Christ.
So he says not to him that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Notice verse five, but to him that worketh not.
I want you to notice this and I want you to clearly see what Paul says.
Paul doesn't say not to him that worketh a little bit.
He doesn't say to him that worketh somewhat.
He says to him that worketh not.
This guy did no works.
Never went to church, never got baptized, never read his Bible.
Now I don't think you should do that.
I think you should go to church.
I think you should get baptized.
I think you should read your Bible, but can you be saved and not do those things?
Well notice he says, but to him that worketh not, here's what he did do, but believeth
on him that justified the ungodly.
Notice his faith is counted for righteousness.
So I want you to notice that in Romans 4-5, the apostle Paul, he's given us a hypothetical
example here.
He's just saying, look, if there was somebody who was trying to work their way to heaven,
he said, not to him that worketh is a reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Then he says this, but to him that worketh not.
He said if somebody does no works, but believeth they have faith on him that justified the
ungodly, he says his faith is counted for righteousness.
Now in Romans 4-5, we learn this, that it is possible to have faith without works.