A Conversation (3)

Here is a conversation with an imaginary friend which is a compilation of discussions I’ve had with people over the years… (part 3)

Friend: Ephesians 2 says we are saved by grace, not by works
Me: Right!
Friend: So, if it is grace – a gift – why do you think we have to do something to receive it?
Me: That it is a gift means we don’t earn or deserve it, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be conditional or that we don’t have to do something to accept it.
Friend: How can we do something good to accept it if we’re not good?
Me: Faith, repentance, and obedience are acts of submission. They are acceptance of God and the responses He prescribes. Faith, repentance, and obedience don’t make us better, cleanse our sins, or make us in anyway worthy of God’s forgiveness.
Friend: If obedience isn’t a work to earn salvation, what is it?
Me: Acts of obedience are visible acts of submission to God. Some actions like baptism are ways we tell God that we want the forgiveness He promises by a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is why baptism is said to be “for the remission [forgiveness} of sins” (Acts 2:38). Like 1 Peter 3:21 says, it is “…not the removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience…” (NASB). So, obedience (like baptism) is how we tell God that we want and accept the salvation He offers.
Friend: Because baptism is a physical act, it feels like a work so that God will save us. That sounds like a works based salvation.
Me: Baptism is completely submission – to God (submitting to His will and word that says to be baptized); and to man (allowing another to bury you in water). You don’t do the “work” yourself in any sense! Colossians 2:12 says, “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” We submit in baptism, but we are raised “through faith in the working of God” – we trust (have faith) that when we are baptized God will do the work to “raise” (forgive, save, redeem) us, just like He kept His promise to raise Jesus.
Friend: Thanks. That makes sense.
Me: So, do you believe in Jesus? Have you turned (repented) of your wrong ideas and actions? Have you obeyed Jesus initially by being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins?