More confusion about salvation by grace

Let me ask Christians out there if they find this statement true or not:

"There's only one way to achieve immortality, and that's to follow the prescription of our Creator. Follow His commandments, repent when you fall short, and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. The nice thing about this recipe is that it works every time."

That's what I wrote in a column last week, "In search of immortality," that set off at least one reader who accused me of leading massive numbers of people straight to hell by promoting "salvation by works."

Oscar Lynch wrote to me with this complaint: "What a horrifying shock to read Farah's article on salvation. What a tragedy to read that he began (by correctly insisting that cryogenics, etc., are not the path to heaven) but then went right into a doctrinal ditch. Joseph likely led thousands of people into hell, by repeating the lie from hell that eternal life can be found in 'playing by the rules.'"

Lynch went on to say the Bible could not possibly be any clearer about the steps to salvation: "Repentance (turning from sin) and believe in Christ (exercising faith in Him as one's only hope). Period, Full stop, End of report."

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But wait a minute! What is sin?

The Bible defines it as "the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). It would seem to me that suggests we should be obeying the law to the best of our ability in our normal daily course, right? Or should we not think about the law until after we break it, then repent? I can't even follow the logic of this antinomian doctrine emerging in the church today.

I'll make it real simple for everyone by quoting Jesus only: "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

Do all believers agree with Jesus on this? We should. That's Jesus talking. By the way, He is the great and only Mediator between man and heaven. So not only does He want us to express our love for Him by keeping them, He calls them "My Commandments." He wrote them for us. And, by the way, He's the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Then why do you believe the law is "dead"? Why do so many people insist the law was "nailed to the cross" – when, in fact, it was our sins.

Has anyone besides Jesus ever lived a perfect life free of sin – meaning never having broken the law? The Bible says no. That's why we all need to be repentant. But repentance is not a substitute for being conscious of God's commandments and doing one's best not to sin, again, by transgressing the law. If we're not conscious of what God defines as right and wrong, how would one know when repentance is even necessary? It makes no sense.

But what about grace and faith? Salvation is through faith, but faith without works is dead, according to James, the brother of Jesus who headed the church in Jerusalem. (James 2:17) Why has "works" become a bad word in modern Christianity?

Can one "work" his way to into the Kingdom? I think not. But remember this: Salvation is not the end of the race. It's the beginning. God wants His children to be champions of the faith, not just spiritual weaklings who cannot even resist the slightest temptation. He wants us to rule and reign with Him. He wants us to be co-heirs – His seed.

By the way, make sure you note, I never said, "Eternal life can be found in playing by the rules." Here's exactly what I said for the last time: "There's only one way to achieve immortality, and that's to follow the prescription of our Creator. Follow His commandments, repent when you fall short, and love Him with all your heart, soul and mind. The nice thing about this recipe is that it works every time."

Does anyone else disagree?

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