In Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul explains that "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of Elohim, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
Eternal life comes as a result of Elohim's grace. It is His gift, unearned and undeserved on our part. No one will ever be able to boast that he or she has earned or deserves the gift of eternal life.
But can we do things—or not do things—that will disqualify us from receiving that wonderful gift?
If there is an authority on receiving eternal life, it has to be Yeshua Messiah. After all, He is the one through whom we receive it.
In Hebrews 5:8-9, Yeshua is called the author of our salvation: "Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him."
Since salvation is Elohim's gift, what does this passage mean when it speaks of "eternal salvation to all who obey Him"? If we must do something to receive Elohim's gift of salvation, how can it be a gift?
The fact is, the Bible shows that Elohim sets certain conditions for receiving salvation. Some conditions enable us to receive that gift, and other conditions disqualify us from receiving it.
To use an analogy, if someone offered to send you a $100 bill if you would send him a stamped, self-addressed envelope, he would be offering you a gift. If you failed to send the envelope, you would not receive the gift. You might complain, but you still would not receive the gift because you had not met the conditions. On the other hand, if you sent the required envelope and received the $100 bill, you did not earn the gift. You simply met the necessary conditions. The fact that conditions are attached makes it no less a gift.
Since Yeshua is the author of our salvation, let's examine a few of His statements that tell us what we must do to receive that gift.
In Matthew 7:21 Yeshua says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." He made it clear that merely acknowledging Yeshua Messiah as Lord and Master—saying "Lord, Lord"—is not sufficient. To inherit the Kingdom, we must do something. We must do the will of the Father, as He clearly stated.
Yeshua wants us to understand that there is more to receiving eternal life than just mental acceptance. Our conviction that He is our Savior must be more than just a warm, comforting thought or intellectual concept. Yeshua warns that simply calling on His name or recognizing Him as "Lord" is not enough.
At one point a wealthy young man asked Yeshua how he could receive eternal
life. "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal
life?" the man asked (Matthew 19:16). Christ's reply, in verse 17, might
shock some who think obedience to Elohim's law is unnecessary. Yeshua responded, "If
you want
to enter into life, keep the commandments."
Yeshua didn't answer that nothing is required other than believing in Elohim or in Him. He told the young man that he must obey the commandments of Elohim to receive the gift of eternal life.
As the apostle James points out, belief is pointless unless it is backed up by action and obedience: "You believe that there is one Elohim. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble" (James 2:19).
He goes on to explain that faith—belief and trust in Elohim—and obedience go hand in hand: "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?" (verses 20-22).
James thus explained that works of obedience as a result of our faith maintain our relationship with Elohim and lead to greater faith and obedience, as Elohim requires.
Yeshua gave another condition for Elohim's gift of eternal life in Mark 16:16: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Water baptism—by full immersion—is a symbolic act representing the death of our old self and the beginning of a new life of serving Elohim and striving to avoid sin (Romans 6:1-23).
Baptism is also followed by the laying on of hands, which allows us to receive Elohim's Holy Spirit and truly belong to Him (Acts 8:17; Romans 8:9). Unless we surrender our lives to Elohim through baptism and the laying on of hands to receive His Spirit as instructed, we fail to meet—whether knowingly or unknowingly—His prerequisites for receiving His gift of salvation. To those who would brush aside these and other plain biblical instructions Yeshua replies, "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
In Matthew 10:22 Yeshua listed another condition we must meet to receive Elohim's gift of salvation: "He who endures to the end will be saved." We can lose out on salvation if we fail to endure to the end. Once we have committed ourselves to obeying Elohim and surrendering ourselves to Him, we must stay the course to the end and not look back (Luke 9:62; 1 Corinthians 9:27).
You may have heard the expression, "Salvation is free, but it isn't cheap." Elohim's gift of life to us cost Yeshua Messiah His life. He, the very Son of Elohim, willingly surrendered His life so that we might receive Elohim's wonderful gift of eternal life.
But He expects us to surrender our lives in return. "If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me" (Luke 14:26-27, NLT).
Our love for and commitment to Yeshua Messiah and Elohim the Father must be more important to us than any other relationship. Each of us must be willing to bear his "cross," to faithfully follow Yeshua even through life's most difficult challenges.
Verses 28-33 carry that thought, warning us to consider carefully that accepting the gift of eternal life comes at the highest cost we can imagine. "So no one can become my disciple without giving up. everything for me" (verse 33, NLT).
As Yeshua gave His life for us, we must be willing to give our lives to follow Him. To better understand this commitment, and the wonderful rewards it brings, request or download our free booklet Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion.