28 Bible Verses about Salvation Not By Works

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing."

For what the law could not do, in that it was weakened through the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin: he condemned sin in the flesh,

So it depends not upon man's will or exertion, but upon God's mercy.

And if it is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen away from grace.

and through him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Therefore no flesh will be justified in his sight by works of the law, for through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been revealed apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no difference,read more.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an atoning sacrifice by his blood, to be received through faith. This was to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over sins committed beforehand; and it was to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is our boasting? It is excluded. On what law? On the law of works? No, but on the law of faith. For we hold that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since there is one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through their faith.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."read more.
Now to him who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due. And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness. So also David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

but Israel, who pursued the law of righteousness, has not attained that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have to the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law will no flesh be justified.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." But the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who does them shall live by them."

Is the law then opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness would indeed have come by the law.

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things? Do you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love.

For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but what counts is a new creation.

For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have reasons for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;read more.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever was gain to me, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count everything to be loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christthe righteousness that comes from God and is by faith,

If with Christ you died to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you still belonged to it, do you submit to regulations such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (referring to things which are all destined perish with use), according to human commandments and teachings?read more.
These indeed have an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and the grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but because of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,

For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, "As I swore in my wrath, 'They shall never enter my rest,'" although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all his works." And again in this place he said, "They shall never enter my rest."read more.
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had the good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, God again set a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, with instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," said also, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Therefore no flesh will be justified in his sight by works of the law, for through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Also he told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other menextortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.read more.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

For I tell you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.