Over the years I have quite often heard the discussion about whether we receive salvation by obedience or by faith. Let’s look at these clear bible verses in Romans and see what they say!
OBEY
Rom 3:20 EasyEnglish Nobody can become completely right with God because they have obeyed Moses’ rules. Those rules only cause people to know clearly how sinful they themselves are.
Rom 3:28 20cNT For we conclude that a man is pronounced righteous on the ground of faith, quite apart from obedience to Law.
Rom 7:6 EasyEnglish But now we have become free from the rules that God gave to Moses. We have died to those rules, which were making us like people in prison. So now we are not still trying to obey rules that someone has written down. We are not trying to be God’s servants in the old way like that. Instead, we are God’s servants in a new way, because we obey his Spirit.
BELIEVE
Rom 1:16 20cNT For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to every one who believes in Christ…..
Rom 3:22 EasyEnglish God accepts people as right with himself because they believe Jesus Christ. God does this for every person who believes Christ. There is no difference between people.
Rom 3:28 EasyEnglish So, this is what we are saying. A person becomes right with God if that person believes Christ. God does not accept anyone because they obey Moses’ rules.
Rom 4:25 EasyEnglish God sent Jesus to die because of the wrong things that we have done. And God raised Jesus so that we could become right with God.
Rom 5:1 EasyEnglish So now God has accepted us as right because we believe him. And, as a result, we are friends with God because of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:10a EasyEnglish While we were still God’s enemies, God’s Son died. He died so that we could become God’s friends.
Rom 8:1 Easy English So, even more certainly, now that we are God’s friends, his Son will save us. Christ will save us because he is alive.
Rom 10:4 EasyEnglish God gave his rules to Israel’s people for a purpose. But Christ has finished that purpose. He has caused those rules to come to an end. So now, every person who believes Christ becomes right with God.
Rom 10:9-10 20cNT 9 For, if with your lips you acknowledge the truth of the Message that JESUS IS LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. 10 For with their hearts men believe and so attain to righteousness, while with their lips they make their Profession of Faith and so find Salvation.
These verses clearly show that we receive salvation because We believe in Jesus, not because we obey the Law! Please click here for a more inclusive list of verses from Romans regarding belief or obedience.