28 Bible Verses about Salvation Not By Works

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God's gift, and is not on the ground of merit-- so that it may be impossible for any one to boast.

I do not nullify the grace of God; for if acquittal from guilt is obtainable through the Law, then Christ has died in vain."

For what was impossible to the Law--powerless as it was because it acted through frail humanity--God effected. Sending His own Son in a body like that of sinful human nature and as a sacrifice for sin, He pronounced sentence upon sin in human nature;

And from this we learn that everything is dependent not on man's will or endeavour, but upon God who has mercy. For the Scripture said to Pharaoh,

But if it is in His grace that He has selected them, then His choice is no longer determined by human actions. Otherwise grace would be grace no longer.

Remember that it is I Paul who tell you that if you receive circumcision Christ will avail you nothing.

Christ has become nothing to any of you who are seeking acceptance with God through the Law: you have fallen away from grace.

and in Him every believer is absolved from all offences, from which you could not be absolved under the Law of Moses.

For on the ground of obedience to Law no man living will be declared righteous before Him. Law simply brings a sure knowledge of sin. But now a righteousness coming from God has been brought to light apart from any Law, both Law and Prophets bearing witness to it-- a righteousness coming from God, which depends on faith in Jesus Christ and extends to all who believe. No distinction is made;read more.
for all alike have sinned, and all consciously come short of the glory of God, gaining acquittal from guilt by His free unpurchased grace through the deliverance which is found in Christ Jesus. He it is whom God put forward as a Mercy-seat, rendered efficacious through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness-- because of the passing over, in God's forbearance, of the sins previously committed-- with a view to demonstrating, at the present time, His righteousness, that He may be shown to be righteous Himself, and the giver of righteousness to those who believe in Jesus. Where then is there room for your boasting? It is for ever shut out. On what principle? On the ground of merit? No, but on the ground of faith. For we maintain that it is as the result of faith that a man is held to be righteous, apart from actions done in obedience to Law. Is God simply the God of the Jews, and not of the Gentiles also? He is certainly the God of the Gentiles also, unless you can deny that it is one and the same God who will pronounce the circumcised to be acquitted on the ground of faith, and the uncircumcised to be acquitted through the same faith.

What then shall we say that Abraham, our earthly forefather, has gained? For if he was held to be righteous on the ground of his actions, he has something to boast of; but not in the presence of God. For what says the Scripture? "And Abraham believed God, and this was placed to his credit as righteousness."read more.
But in the case of a man who works, pay is not reckoned a favour but a debt; whereas in the case of a man who pleads no actions of his own, but simply believes in Him who declares the ungodly free from guilt, his faith is placed to his credit as righteousness. In this way David also tells of the blessedness of the man to whose credit God places righteousness, apart from his actions. "Blessed," he says, "are those whose iniquities have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered over.

while the descendants of Israel, who were in pursuit of a Law that could give righteousness, have not arrived at one. And why? Because they were pursuing a righteousness which should arise not from faith, but from what they regarded as merit. They stuck their foot against the stone which lay in their way;

If I can speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but am destitute of Love, I have but become a loud-sounding trumpet or a clanging cymbal. If I possess the gift of prophecy and am versed in all mysteries and all knowledge, and have such absolute faith that I can remove mountains, but am destitute of Love, I am nothing. And if I distribute all my possessions to the poor, and give up my body to be burned, but am destitute of Love, it profits me nothing.

know that it is not through obedience to Law that a man can be declared free from guilt, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. We have therefore believed in Christ Jesus, for the purpose of being declared free from guilt, through faith in Christ and not through obedience to Law. For through obedience to Law no human being shall be declared free from guilt.

All who are depending upon their own obedience to the Law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed is every one who does not remain faithful to all the precepts of the Law, and practise them." It is evident, too, that no one can find acceptance with God simply by obeying the Law, because "the righteous shall live by faith," and the Law has nothing to do with faith. It teaches that "he who does these things shall live by doing them."

God, however, is only one. Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? No, indeed; for if a Law had been given which could have conferred Life, righteousness would certainly have come by the Law.

Now, however, having come to know God--or rather to be known by Him--how is it you are again turning back to weak and worthless rudimentary notions to which you are once more willing to be enslaved? You scrupulously observe days and months, special seasons, and years. I am alarmed about you, and am afraid that I have perhaps bestowed labour upon you to no purpose.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any importance; but only faith working through love.

For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any importance; but only a renewed nature.

For we are the true circumcision--we who render to God a spiritual worship and make our boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in outward ceremonies: although I myself might have some excuse for confidence in outward ceremonies. If any one else claims a right to trust in them, far more may I: circumcised, as I was, on the eighth day, a member of the race of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew sprung from Hebrews; as to the Law a Pharisee;read more.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church; as to the righteousness which comes through Law, blameless. Yet all that was gain to me--for Christ's sake I have reckoned it loss. Nay, I even reckon all things as pure loss because of the priceless privilege of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. And for His sake I have suffered the loss of everything, and reckon it all as mere refuse, in order that I may win Christ and be found in union with Him, not having a righteousness of my own, derived from the Law, but that which arises from faith in Christ--the righteousness which comes from God through faith.

If you have died with Christ and have escaped from the world's rudimentary notions, why, as though your life still belonged to the world, do you submit to such precepts as "Do not handle this;" "Do not taste that;" "Do not touch that other thing" -- referring to things which are all intended to be used up and perish--in obedience to mere human injunctions and teachings?read more.
These rules have indeed an appearance of wisdom where self-imposed worship exists, and an affectation of humility and an ascetic severity. But not one of them is of any value in combating the indulgence of our lower natures.

For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in accordance with our desserts, but in accordance with His own purpose and the free grace which He bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before the commencement of the Ages,

But when the goodness of God our Saviour, and His love to man, dawned upon us, not in consequence of things which we, as righteous men, had done, but as the result of His own mercy He saved us by means of the bath of regeneration and the renewal of our natures by the Holy Spirit,

We who have believed are soon to be admitted to the true rest; as He has said, "As I swore in My anger, they shall not be admitted to My rest," although God's works had been going on ever since the creation of the world. For, as we know, when speaking of the seventh day He has used the words, "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works;" and He has also declared, "They shall not be admitted to My rest."read more.
Since, then, it is still true that some will be admitted to that rest, and that because of disobedience those who formerly had Good News proclaimed to them were not admitted, He again definitely mentions a certain day, "To-day," saying long afterwards, by David's lips, in the words already quoted, "To-day, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them the true rest, we should not afterwards hear God speaking of another still future day. It follows that there still remains a sabbath rest for the people of God. For He who has been admitted to His rest, has rested from His works as God did from His.

Therefore leaving elementary instruction about the Christ, let us advance to mature manhood and not be continually re-laying a foundation of repentance from lifeless works and of faith in God, or of teaching about ceremonial washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and the last judgement.

A man who has kept the Law as a whole, but has failed to keep some one command, has become guilty of violating all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder," and if you are a murderer, although not an adulterer, you have become an offender against the Law.

For on the ground of obedience to Law no man living will be declared righteous before Him. Law simply brings a sure knowledge of sin.

And to some who relied on themselves as being righteous men, and looked down upon all others, He addressed this parable. "Two men went up to the Temple to pray," He said; "one being a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee, standing erect, prayed as follows by himself: "'O God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people--I am not a thief nor a cheat nor an adulterer, nor do I even resemble this tax-gatherer.read more.
I fast twice a week. I pay the tithe on all my gains.' "But the tax-gatherer, standing far back, would not so much as lift his eyes to Heaven, but kept beating his breast and saying, "'O God, be reconciled to me, sinner that I am.' "I tell you that this man went home more thoroughly absolved from guilt than the other; for every one who uplifts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be uplifted."

For I assure you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will certainly not find entrance into the Kingdom of the Heavens.