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The Thin Ice of Grace and Works

by Richard Allan

I remember in my pre-puberty years, when I was being borderline disobedient, I often heard from my mother the cliché, “You’re walking on thin ice”. 
In other words, be real careful from here on out with what you say and do.  So with that sound advice I will carefully attempt to communicate my under-
standing of the Biblical words “Grace” and “works” and how they fit into God’s Plan of Salvation.  Probably no other Scriptural ice is as thin as that
which many have ventured out on and fallen through.  In fact, no matter what understanding one has of Grace, there will always be distractors in the
opposite camp that will want to rip your heart out for daring to contradict their spin on God’s Love…His Grace.

For example, history tells us that Martin Luther had so much trouble with the book of James that he wanted to tear it out of his Bible.  I believe he event-
ually came to grips with James’ seemingly legalistic rhetoric -  hopefully realizing that what James wrote was by the unction and power of the Holy Spirit
and not his own speculations as to why “faith without works is dead”.  With his focus on justification by faith alone, Luther latched onto a very important
truth that had been diluted by the Catholic Church’s legalistic theology.  Of course, he was “dead on” about justification by faith alone, and most compe-
tent scholars know that God has declared all mankind just in His sight due to Christ’s Atoning Blood having been delivered by Him up to the heavenly
throne room, thereby satisfying the Just demands of our Just God.  But what Luther didn’t understand was the difference between initial and final salvation
and because of this oversight, he didn’t understand the book of James.  Somehow Luther felt that James was being legalistic regarding salvation, but
what he failed to take into account was that James’ epistle was addressed to those who had already been justified and were in their sanctification process,
a process that was designed by God to end in final or complete salvation at the rapture of the Church.  The Word of God tells us that sanctification is a
process between initial salvation and final or complete salvation.  To complete the salvation of His Bride to be, Christ returns for His Church and initiates
a radical change in the “dead in Christ” and “those who are still alive at His coming”.  It is at this point that believers will receive the remaining 90% of God’s
Spirit, thereby completing the 10% earnest they received by and with regeneration. 

Grace, when understood as a love inspired gift, makes perfect sense when it’s applied to initial salvation, an event in a person’s life that is totally initiated
and executed by God.  Man cannot add one milli-ounce to what Christ did to satisfy God’s Justice and thereby purchase for us initial salvation/redemption. 
That is why most agree that this first phase of salvation is an unmerited, underserved, unearned gift.  And it’s bestowed only on those that God called to
be the Bride of His Son.  In the next dispensation, all those not called during this Gospel Age dispensation will also receive their grace or salvation favor
with God, in the form of their own personal initial regenerative salvation.  These millennial regenerated folks will then enter into their own sanctification
process that will finally end after they, like The Bride now, are tested as to their faith and commitment.  So for the espoused Bride in this Gospel Age dis-
pensation, as well as those who will be saved/justified in the millennium, a sanctification process whereby the believer is tested, followed up with complete
salvation earmarked by the reward of everlasting life for those with an earthly calling.  For the Bride, with it’s heavenly calling, the reward or “prize” as Paul
calls it, will be immortality.

Like Luther, what most fail to realize is that there are stages to salvation and it’s stage one (regeneration/the 2^nd birth) that’s a free gift, followed by a process
of what one does with that gift before part two or final salvation.  That’s what’s conditional and is based on one’s faith/works.  Of course, churchianity wouldn’t
dream of using the word “conditional” in a salvation message, for to do so would make the offer of cheap Grace into a message of costly Grace.  Christ is
presented as a kind of free, hell fire insurance policy to any who will raise their hand while “all eyes are closed and heads bowed”.  Forget, “lay hands quickly
on no man”, and “count the cost”.  These portions of Scripture are never mentioned or adhered to as thousands daily are drawn into a kind of salvation that
has little to do with New Testament Christianity.  If evangelists were Biblically honest with themselves, they would see that salvation Part 1 (justification) is
110% free and unconditional.  But one’s sanctification walk, ending in final salvation (Part 2), is costly and requires the pilgrim to progress in holiness and
faithful obedience.  If today’s arminianistic evangelism even mentioned that there was a cost connected with ultimate salvation, there would be far fewer hands raised during “the invitation” portion of the service. 

So initial salvation/redemption/regeneration is unconditional, and final salvation is conditional with a sanctification/testing process in between.  We might
look at initial salvation (justification) as being parallel to a person getting out of jail and being put on probation.  The release from the prison house of death
is a gift, but what a person does with that gift determines whether or not he returns to prison. 

There is no doubt that regeneration Grace is the greatest gift in the world, but that same Grace/gift carries with it all sorts of responsibilities.  It’s not a gift to
be buried or locked away somewhere, or used for self aggrandizement, but a gift that is given by God with an attached requirement to not abuse that gift. 
This gift (initial salvation), is unmerited and therefore undeserved, and there is built into this gift (once it’s bestowed on a person by the determinant Will of
God) a needed response (a responsibility, if you will) to that Grace by seeking throughout one’s entire life to be what that Grace desires him, or her, to be. 
A person who fails to see this obligation of grace is a person who is blind to honor and blind to love, and has sinned against the greatest love of the universe. 
In initial salvation/redemption/regeneration/justification, grace does everything; but to this grace a man must respond with works of love and gratitude.  If a
man fails to respond this way, there must be consequences.

Had Luther discerned the mechanics of salvation as stated above, he would never have found fault with the book of James.  Obviously, and with just cause,
Luther was disenfranchised with the Catholic’s hyper legalistic understanding of grace, so he made the typical mistake of going to an extreme position in
order to debunk Catholic theology.  And unfortunately, this blinded Luther to the Biblical fact that God’s final and complete salvation begins with a gift and
ends with what one does with that gift.  Like the parable of the talents so clearly delineates, use it or loose it!  It is not an option for me to be in fear and
bury God’s gift, but rather to use that gift to increase its worth.  Anything not used withers and wastes away, particularly in a fallen corrupting system of things.

Those of us who have been gifted with redemption/regeneration have been set apart for a sacred purpose and that purpose is to live in the constant presence
of Jesus Christ and thereby be shaped more and more into His image.  We in Him and He is us, with the express purpose of His living His Life in and through
us.  Scripture calls this “union life” and by nature is a life that is earmarked by the believer doing what he does out of knowing who he is and what he’s been
given, rather than doing what he does out of ignorance of who he is and what he’s been given and therefore attempting to earn initial salvation that he already
has, if in fact he truly has been regenerated. 

So we don’t have to be pulled into the raging battle between the faith or works debate.  For we can now see that it’s not a case of either/or, but both.   “Faith
without works is dead” (James 2:20).  A true generated believer does what he does based on the Love of Christ in him and knowing who he is as a new
creation creature.  He doesn’t do to get, but he does because he has already received…working out what God has already worked within.