Definition of work: activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result
God's Greatest commandment as to what we must do: “Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?” 37 And Jesus replied to him,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
Premise 1: We are not saved by works per Eph. 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this
not from yourselves;
it [faith] is the gift of God, 9
not by works, so that no one can boast.
Premise 2: Salvific faith is a work as it is a mental effort done in order to achieve a purpose. It is part of the greatest commandment of the Law for one must obey God and God commands us to believe.
Conclusion: Since we are not saved by works and faith is a work ... we therefore cannot save ourselves via faith. Therefore faith must be given by God that we be saved.
Premise 1: The depravity of man makes it impossible to have faith independent of God providing it. (None seek God)
Conclusion: We therefore cannot save ourselves via faith. Therefore faith must be given by God that we be saved.
Premise 1: Faith is given us as a gift from God (not from yourself)
Premise 2: God loses none whom He chooses: John 6:39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
Conclusion: Enternal security for all those God chose before the foundation of the earth
Premise 1: Christ intercedes for his sheep
Premise 2: Christ and the father are of one essence ... thus the Father grants all Christ's requests
Conclusion: Christ does not intercede for unbelievers (the goats) or they would be saved.
Premise 1: Christ refer to believers as being "born again" John 3:3
Premise 2: Christ refer to believers as being his "sheep" Luke 12:32
Premise 3: Christ refer to believers as being "spiritually dead" Col. 2:13
Premise 4: Christ refer to believers as being "adopted" Romans 8:23
Premise 5: Christ refer to believers and non believers as being "clay to be molded by the potter as he wishes" Romans 9:21
Conclusion: It is not possible birth oneself, for sheep to chose their shephard, for a dead person to make himself alive, for a child to chose a parent to adopt him, for clay to chose its destiny .... therefore it is not possible for a person to chose to believe in order to be saved. God must chose to insert belief/faith into a DEAD PERSON so that he might be BORN AGAIN and be ADOPTED by the potter that formed the CLAY into a vessel He loves.
Premise 1: God does not share his glory (Isaiah 42:8)
Premise 2: Man must cooperate with God to complete the salvific process (false premise)
Conclusion: There is a contradiction in the two premises... therefore, at least one of the premises must be false
Premise 1: Christ died for everyone without exception (false premise)
Premise 2: Not everyone is saved
Conclusion: Christ died in vain for unbelievers
Directly regarding the question of this board ... Not [Saved] by works
Premise 1: Faith is a work (by definition)
Premise 2: We are saved by co-operating with God. God's part is to die for us, intercede for us, be resurrected for our justification while our task is to believe without God giving us this faith (False premise)
Conclusion: We are saved by works.