11/30/19 YES, WE CAN ADD TO IT, BY GOD'S HELP

11/30/19 YES, WE CAN ADD TO IT, BY GOD'S HELP

People constantly tell us that we cannot add to our salvation. God tells us to add a lot of things to our salvation (1 Peter 1:3-11).

NOT SALVATION BY WORKS BUT SALVATION THAT WORKS

2 Peter 1:3-11
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:4-10
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I realize that there is a nuance in the Greek word, which is translated, "add," but the point is that believers are to be actively cooperating with the grace of God. Salvation is a mutual relationship between God and man. Sadly, some folks read this to mean that I am saying we create our own salvation. Salvation is not even possible without God's initiative, mercy, love, grace and His work of atonement. No, we don't create our own salvation, but we do choose to receive or reject the salvation of God, and as believers we do or don't improve that salvation, based on our willingness to walk in the light that God imparts to us.