Does God's grace keep believers saved even when they don't deserve it?
Yes. Scripture teaches that salvation begins by God's grace, and that same grace keeps those who are His, even though none deserve to stay saved. Believers stand blameless before Him because of His unmerited favor, not personal worthiness, if they have been truly saved in the first place.
Les teaches that God's grace made salvation possible in the first place, and that the same grace will keep those who are His even though they do not deserve it. He explains that none of us deserve to stay saved, but we do because of His grace, if we have been truly saved. He connects this to Galatians 2, where believers stand before Him blameless because of the grace of God, His unmerited favor. Les also clarifies that grace is not license and does not tell the believer to go out and do what they please. Instead, when a believer is under the power of the Holy Spirit, trying to walk pleasing in God's sight and fails, God does not kick him out. Les illustrates this with a parent and a toddler learning to walk: when the child falls, the parent does not boot him but picks him up, gets him on his wobbly feet, and gets him going. That is what God does.
Do believers stay saved by their own deserving or by God's grace?
Believers do not stay saved by their own deserving; they remain saved solely by God's grace. None deserve to stay saved, yet they do because of His grace, if truly saved. This grace is unmerited favor, not license to sin, and it keeps those who are His.
Why do believers remain saved even though they don't deserve it?
Believers remain saved because of God's grace, His unmerited favor, not because they deserve it. The same grace that saved them keeps them; when they fail, God does not cast them out. This grace is not license to sin, provided they were truly saved.
More Questions
How can a believer stay saved even when they don't deserve it?
The grace that saves a person is the same grace that keeps those who are His, even though they don't deserve it, if they were truly saved in the first place.