Dear reader, first of all I want to greet you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May His peace be with you and your family, relatives and friends, and I pray that one day we may all worship God together throughout all eternity.  I think that one of the best choices in life is this—accept Christ and His gift of “Salvation”. The Bible clearly portrays the reason people need Jesus, in order to be with Him, back in paradise which had been lost by sin. Sin is the transgression of God’s commandments or lawlessness; the wages of sin is death. So, any time we transgress one of the Ten Commandments we are deserving death; but there is a gift given to us freely—and this is what Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago. Are you willing to give up the things that the Bible portrays as sin and take the cross daily and follow Jesus? There is a great prize if you do that, namely, eternal life. Eternal means forever, endless life with Jesus and the redeemed ones. Get ready because in this message, with God’s help, I will trace out some important clues in order to be sure that we have accepted Jesus and His salvation that was offered on the cross.

First of all, as the title of this message is “Salvation is by obedience,” maybe the Bible text from Ephesians 2:8 comes to your mind where the apostle Paul clearly tells us that salvation is by grace through faith; we can all agree with that, for we are saved by God’s grace. In order to understand this we first need to clarify a few things, such as, what is grace, what is faith, and why is obedience required?

Many people in the Christian world today think that they are saved by grace alone; no matter what they do, one day they will be with Jesus, even if there has been no change in their lives. Is that what the Bible teaches us? Is that the right way, if we want to be in heaven? Heaven is real, Jesus is real, and His gift of eternal life is real. Then we should find out from the Scriptures if there are conditions for salvation, and, if yes, what are they? Very often people mix up these important requirements and end up saying that there is a contradiction in the Scripture. Is that true? Is there any contradiction between “saved by grace” and “saved by obedience”? This is important to have clarified in order to be saved; that is why I invite you to take your Bible to find out what Jesus meant during His ministry on this earth, where, on numerous occasions He said, “not hearers—but doers” of His word.

What is grace? The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” According to the Bible, grace is a gift.  The word “grace” in Greek is charis, and it occurs approximately 150 times in the New Testament, and it means favour, kindness. Paul made more use of this significant term than did any other New Testament writer, there being some 100 occurrences in his epistles. So, just as Paul needed Christ’s grace, how much more today do we need the grace of God in order to be overcomers and to live an obedient life in Christ.  The distinctive meaning attached to the term “grace” in the New Testament and especially in the writings of Paul is that of the abundant, saving love of God toward sinners as revealed in Jesus Christ. Obviously, since all men have sinned and are destitute of the glory of God, according to the Bible in Romans 3:23, such favour and loving-kindness on God’s part is wholly undeserved and unmerited by sinful man.

The Apostle Paul mentioned in Romans chapter 2 that men have lived in hatred and rebellion against God, they have perverted His truth, have preferred to worship beasts and reptiles, have defiled His image in their own bodies, have blasphemed His name, and have even despised God for His patience and forbearance. Finally, they murdered His Son, Who was sent to save them (Acts 7:52). Yet God has continued to regard man with love and kindness, that the revelation of His goodness may lead men to repentance (Romans 2:4). In fact, look how the Spirit of Prophecy puts it; “Grace is an attribute of God exercised toward undeserving human beings. We did not seek for it, but it was sent in search of us. God rejoices to bestow His grace upon us, not because we are worthy, but because we are so utterly unworthy. Our only claim to His mercy is our great need.” –The Ministry of Healing, p. 161

Many people today believe that they are saved by grace alone through faith and not by anything they do; this is correct, I totally agree with this; we cannot add anything to what Jesus did on the cross. But I also believe that we are saved by obedience. I know it sounds like a contradiction but it is not. Allow me to explain. The Bible clearly portrays how Adam and Eve lost Eden because of their disobedience towards their Creator. He was their loving Father who told them, “You may freely eat from any tree in the garden except this one, the tree of knowledge good and evil.” God also told them what the consequences would be if they ate from this tree. Sadly, they disobeyed God and death came upon the human race.

God created angelic and human beings, my friend, with a free conscience, so that we can freely obey and serve Him, and not be as robots. We have the liberty to choose. This is what makes God different and helps us to understand and serve Him willingly. This is what happened in my life when I discovered the love of Jesus. I freely decided to follow and obey Him; no one pushed me to do it. Only His immeasurable and infinite love attracted me. This is what happened with millions of born-again Christian believers throughout the centuries down to our time.

Recall the history of a man called John Huss, a Catholic priest who lived in Prague, Czechoslovakia. He began to study the Bible and as he studied it he declared, “Obedience to God is my motto, not obedience to man.” As a result Huss was burned at the stake in the town square of Prague. Huss was a courageous hero whose life was dedicated to obeying God. God raised up men of faith, men like John Huss, men who would give their lives for His word. Also women of faith that made obedience to God their motto were raised up.

The love of God transforms lives, my friend; it did with my life and believe me, the same love of God can transform your life also, if you let Him. Great men of faith in the Bible found grace in the eyes of God. Why? Because they obeyed God willingly and served Him out of love. “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:8.  But Noah found grace or favour in the eyes of the Lord. What an awful state this world was in when only one man and his family had piety and virtue among all the professed sons of God.

Another example is Lot: “Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in Thy sight, and Thou hast magnified Thy mercy.” Genesis 19:19. All the people of Sodom were very wicked and vile, care was therefore taken for saving Lot and his family. The salvation of the most righteous men is of God’s mercy, not by their own merits. But let us not forget that there is still a strong connection between God’s grace or mercy and our obedience.

Moses is a good example also. The Bible says in Exodus 33:13, “Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight.” Moses was very earnest with God. Observe here how he pleads. We find grace in God’s sight if we find grace in our hearts to guide and quicken us in the way of our duty. Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord’s presence. God’s gracious promises and mercy towards us should not only encourage our faith, but also lift up our fervency in prayer. There are many other examples in the Bible, so let us learn from these people who found grace and mercy in God’s sight and apply these lessons to our lives.

Another important point in our study is faith. We know that faith is important for our salvation, so now let us define what faith is, according to the Scriptures. When we hear about faith we can go to the book of Hebrews 11. There we find the definition of faith and the importance of faith in our lives in order to be saved. Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Paul continues in verse 6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Then the list continues with a lot of faithful people, common people—people like you and I. These people were called giants of faith because they experienced the kind of experience that you and I long for, namely the new birth or transformation of the entire person into the likeness of Christ.

Isn’t that what you and I expect when we approach the word of God with reverence and willingness, as a child who depends completely on his parents for survival? How much more do we depend on Christ in order to grow spiritually and have the assurance of salvation. Recently we concluded our Evangelistic Outreach here in London; praise God for those who came to these meetings because both the one who preached as well as the listeners were richly blessed. With hope we face tomorrow, with courage we go on in our Christian journey towards Heaven. We have seen how Jesus is seeking the lost; when He seeks there is joy in the presence of angels before God. Our faith increases, says the Bible, when we come closer to Christ through Bible study and prayer, fervent prayer.

A short definition of what faith is can be put it this way—faith is trusting God. In the 15th century God raised up another Catholic priest, a mighty man of God in faith—Martin Luther. As Martin Luther struggled with issues of faith, he visited Rome, he climbed the famed Pilate’s staircase on his knees. He thought, “if I can only climb the stairs Jesus supposedly climbed when He approached Pilate, I will find peace.” When Luther returned home he still felt the oppression of guilt. He sensed that guilt was crushing out his life. All of the requirements of the church could not take away his sin. All of his penances, going up the stairs on his knees, couldn’t take away his sense of condemnation. All of his whipping himself couldn’t take away his feeling of unworthiness. Then Martin Luther read Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.”  He saw Jesus anew as a mighty Saviour. Luther was amazed. He experienced a new peace in his life. He went to the great prelates of the church and declared that salvation comes by grace. I believe with Martin Luther that salvation comes, not by the works of our hands, not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. I believe salvation comes only by grace. Martin Luther said; “The whole being of any Christian is faith and love.” I trust God because I know He feels all of my needs and God is worthy to be trusted, my friend.

Through faith we grasp the magnitude of the gift of Calvary, we receive spiritual strength to resist the temptations of the evil one, we are empowered to witness, and through faith we are motivated to do as Jesus asks us and to obey His commandments. Do you want to increase your faith? Here are some principles; expect the Holy Spirit to increase your faith as you study God’s word. Apply the promises of God’s word to your life, and act on the measure of faith that God has already placed in your heart. Are there Divine promises based on what I said? Certainly, there are. In Matthew 19:26, Jesus said; “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16.

Do you want to find grace and mercy in God’s sight? There is only one way we can find it and that is through complete surrender and obedience to God’s word, my brother and sister, my friend.

Why is there not seen a revival amongst us in God’s remnant Church today? Why has Jesus not come yet to take us home as He promised? How can Jesus take you and me home when He comes? There is only one way, my friend, and this is total and complete separation from sin. Let God put in your heart an enmity against sin, that enmity that He promised in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:15. When we hate sin then God is really doing something in our hearts; He cleanses our hearts and prepares them for His dwelling place through His Holy Spirit. In the Bible we call this sanctification or holiness. Maybe you are saying, Nicholas, make it plain, please. Here it is what I want to say about this; there is lots of Bible evidence throughout the Scriptures in which we are admonished to follow these two important things in our lives, namely peace and holiness. For example, in Hebrews 12:14, it tells us to make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; for without holiness no one will see the Lord. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Corinthians 7:1.

God raised up another man by the name of John Wesley. Wesley saw that the standards of the church were decaying. He saw that the amusements, pleasures and practices of the world were entering the Church.  So, God raised up John Wesley and showed him that when men and women study the Bible they could live holy and righteous lives. I believe in holiness.  I believe the church should be separate from the world. I believe that if you are a Christian you should look like a Christian, eat like a Christian, go places that Christians go. I don’t believe in the idea that some people who say: “I can eat whatever I want, go wherever I want, dress however I please, do whatever I desire,” and call it Christianity. This is not Christianity. This is self-deception, my brothers and sisters.

Some people may feel that their life is too sinful for Christ to accept. But Jesus said, my friend, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” You cannot commit a sin so wicked that it exceeds God’s willingness to forgive you and to credit Christ’s righteousness to your account. And when you have been forgiven by God, you stand before Him just as though you had not sinned. You are perfect. Obedience made it possible. Not yours, but Christ’s. He promises to do that in us. That is why many Christians in the world do not live an obedient life. Christ said in John 15:5, “without Me ye can do nothing.” But Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

I could write more about these very important issues, grace and faith and their relation to perfect obedience, but time and space do not allow me to do so. God knows our inner thoughts and if we come before Him in humbleness and with a teachable spirit He will grant us the wisdom and the power to be able to stand for the truth even when darkness is all around us. When error and sin abound we are called to stay our hearts upon what is written, we are called to stand for a “Thus saith the Lord.” Maybe right now as you read these lines you have doubts about how God saves sinners from their sins. Or maybe you have heard someone preaching about obtaining salvation while still in sin and you knew that it is not according to the Scripture, but because you have heard it so many times you put down the standard God has set and things that once were sin for you now seem to be right.

Many people confuse right and wrong—they call right wrong, and wrong right. Sin has darkened their minds so that they are confused, but there is still hope. Jesus promises us that if we wish to come back to our first love He will help us to come to that wonderful experience, my friend. Do you remember when you had to stand against opposition, in being persecuted for Christ, you found happiness and joy, and fellowship was all you needed at that time?

I come from a country where religion freedom was forbidden under the oppression of communism. I wasn’t a believer at that time, but I heard, after my conversion, about people who were willing to give up their lives rather than disobey God. I listened to testimonies from people, where, sometimes, a husband or a wife was taken away from their families in the middle of the night, just for the simple fact that they wanted to worship God according to their conscience. They wanted to educate their children according to the Bible, and they were never coming back home, never again seeing their loved ones.

I look back at brothers and sisters today who have parents that went through this terrible persecution, and I see these brothers and sisters abandon their faith just for the pleasures of sin for a while, or maybe under the pretext: “I do not know if this is God’s Church or God’s remnant people.” I doubt what they say when they leave the Church, God’s remnant Church. Lift up your eyes to Jesus and let doubt go away because Jesus is coming soon and there is no time to delay your preparation. Get ready, stay ready and stay in the ark because there is safety. In fact, let me put this bluntly, this is the only place where yours and my salvation is secure. The body is the Church and we are members of the body; and according to Revelation 19 the bride (Church) is getting ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb, Jesus.

The figure of marriage is used in both Testaments to describe God’s relationship with His people. Eternal union with Christ is the church’s destiny and hope. The marriage supper of the Lamb is the consummation of the marriage of Christ with the Church as His bride. Let us keep the faith which was given to the saints and not lose our courage and faith in this perilous time in which we live. God, in this time, is calling us; He is calling us back to the old pathway, to the narrow one, the one that leads us to Christ. So, let us not be weary because the reward of your faith is greater than what this world can offer you.

The great deceiver, Satan, may come with the same lie as he came to Eve saying, “Eve, God is restricting your liberty; Eve, if you eat of the tree that God has told you not eat of—you will feel free indeed.” If you feel that God restricts your liberty when He calls you to holiness, remember that Satan is the author of that feeling and he wants to deceive you just as he deceived the Angels in Heaven and so many Christians in the world. I want to close with this statement from the Spirit of Prophecy:

“The Lord expects no less of the soul now than He expected of man in Paradise, perfect obedience, unblemished righteousness. The requirement under the covenant of grace is just as broad as the requirement made in Eden—harmony with God’s law, which is holy, just, and good.” –Christ’s Object Lessons (1900), p. 391

May God richly bless you.

Nicholas Anca