So, since the only requirement for going in the rapture is being truly born again, having received the pardon for our sins that the Lord purchased for us with His life by admitting that you’re a sinner, believing He died for your sins and rose again, and asking Him to be your Savior. Are those who believe in salvation by works truly born again? Would they be left behind if He came back today?
No one knows the answer to that question because no one can tell the extent to which a person is depending on his or her own works. Some think Ephes. 2:8-9 means we’re saved by grace alone but that we have to live a certain way to maintain our salvation. Others believe God’s grace only applies after we’ve done all we can do to save ourselves. But I’ve never heard anyone explain how much work is enough. So either way it makes a person’s salvation unknown until his or her life is over. Where’s the “Blessed Assurance” in that?
Jesus said the work God requires of us is to believe in the one He has sent (John 6:28-29). And Paul said, “To the man who doesn’t work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (Romans 4:5). I’ve heard this verse paraphrased as, “Grace plus work equals work.” The implication in that statement is that work nullifies grace. The whole notion of grace plus work is a slippery slope I have no desire to venture upon.