“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5 ESV).
The Apostle Paul demonstrated the characteristics of a skilled communicator by turning to a familiar analogy to clarify his teaching on the subject of faith: “A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned” (GNT).
A paycheck has little to do with an employer’s generosity. Instead, that obligation stems directly from the work that an employee performs on the employer’s behalf. In contrast, the Scriptures tell us that heaven is not attainable through human effort, for salvation is a gift of God. If a person could earn his or her way into heaven, then salvation would no longer be free, nor would it be a gift. It would rather be an obligation that God owes to those who deserve it.
Let’s apply this analogy to those who seek to earn salvation through their moral and/or ethical efforts. In that scenario, God would incur an obligation to save those who worked for it. Much like the employer who assumes an obligation to pay an employee for his or her labor, God would incur a similar obligation to accept us into heaven based on our works.
While some may choose to gamble their eternity on such a belief, the Scriptures categorically reject that view. In addition to what we read here in Romans chapter four, consider these excerpts from the following New Testament epistles…
“By grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).
“…no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God. For it is from God alone that you have your life through Christ Jesus….” (1 Corinthians 1:29-30 TLB).
“But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:4-5).
So, the Scriptures tell us that we cannot earn our way to heaven through our efforts. Thus. we can say that salvation is not a matter of what we can do for God; it is a matter of what God has already done for us through Christ.