This "saved by grace and not by works" is so over used it has become cliche. It almost has no meaning any more. We are his bride.
Geniva 1599 Bible 2 Corinth 11:2 I am jealous over you, with [a]godly jealousy: for I have prepared you for one husband, to [b]present you as a pure virgin to Christ
My favorite modern English translation:
JB Phillips 2corinth 11 1-6 I wish you could put up with a little of my foolishness—please try! My jealousy over you is the right sort of jealousy, for in my eyes you are like a fresh unspoiled girl who I am presenting as fiancée to your true husband, Christ himself. I am afraid that your minds may be seduced from a single-hearted devotion to him by the same subtle means that the serpent used towards Eve
So our salvation is like becoming separated from a crowd and picked as His future bride. We are here, betrothed to Jesus as His bride, we have already been chosen the day we said I believe.
It is that moment in time specifically that we cannot work for. It is that period that we could not dress up for, behave in any certain way to be chosen by Him because He chose all of us to be saved from the foundation of the world but salvation is a matter of the heart, a spiritual endeavor to cast off the chains of this physical life that is woefully inadequate to make happy our wherry souls as we were separated from Him back in the Garden.
A spiritual separation can never be reunited by a physical anything because the type of work would be spiritual in nature.
So to be saved by anything other than a heart felt longing for our spiritual Father, justification for all the pain we have may have gone through in this life because of this separation from physical birth, that lacked the ability to give to us any sort of spiritual life, we can only look for a spiritual union with God through Jesus it is the Inly way.
So to say something like "saved by grace and not by works" to a Christian only shows a lack in understanding of the very nature of the problem that we find ourselves in.
I only hear this when people are looking a good works, I mean decent and good works that people do that other people are ashamed of. You test it yourself the next time someone tells you that or that you hear it said about someone else but I'll give you a few:
Dressing nice to go to church
Not cussing
Not drinking
Of Christians who keep the sabbath
Of Christians who don't eat pork
There are people who when they see the good works of others become offended and rather than just not seeing things in that way and making room for such a believer they feel the need to try to tear them down and argue with them about grace and works.
As a bride would begin to make herself ready for her fast approaching marriage what good work would be too much to impress your husband when he comes for you?
Yes there is such a thing as people putting on a show in the name of pride to over act, over do one up his brother or sister in the things they may do for the church these things have nothing to do with any Godly work. And it is possible that people may not actually understand the nature of salvation and actually think that it's by some deeds they can impress God do that at the end of their physical lives they can say I did more good than bad or that they were a "good" person but when a man or woman considers all God has done for us and where we have come from, can you tell me what heartfelt action is too much?
Salvation is one thing and everything else is something else.
