For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV.

THE CLAIM
I have heard it mentioned by those outside of the Apostolic Pentecostal ranks that Oneness Pentecostals are a “works-based” denomination. This comes from a couple of areas that we find important to our Christian walk.

1. Concerning salvation, we follow the Apostle Peter’s command laid out in Acts 2:38. In verse 37, the unbelievers were moved by his preaching and asked, “what shall we do?” Plain was Peter’s answer, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
   
   Sadly, many denominations (and non-denom) ignore this command and instead tell new converts simply to “believe in Jesus” and stop there. I have covered this topic in another post.
   
   
2. Concerning Christian living, there is a biblical standard for the way we should dress. Consider this question. Should the church, who is called out of the world’s standards, act and look exactly like those in the world? Paul addresses this in the church saying that there should be a distinction between males and females in 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. Peter speaks on fashion as well in 1 Peter 3:1-5.
   
   Sadly, we are mocked for following the teachings of the apostles by those who claim to know Christ.

The fact is, denominations have various interpretations of what Paul is saying in Ephesians 2:8. Some may criticize Oneness Pentecostals by saying, “You believe a person must be baptized a certain way or speak in tongues to be saved. That’s works!” They overlook that when they say a person must “believe,” “confess Christ,” or “quote the sinner’s prayer” to be saved, they are also advocating for actions that could be considered works.

Another dangerous denominational teaching is the belief that a sinner does not have to do anything at all to be saved and is automatically saved.

The claim that all Oneness Pentecostal churches have a “works-based salvation” is false. Dr. David K. Bernard, the General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International says, “Our doctrinal presentation affirms that the atoning death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the only necessary and sufficient basis for our salvation and that we are saved by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The application of grace and the expression of faith come to us as we obey from our hearts the doctrine delivered to us from God’s Word, and experience the new birth of water and the Spirit.” (The New Birth, Volume 2)

GRACE AND FAITH EXPLAINED
Grace is such a misunderstood term and one that is abused in church culture. Simply, grace is both God’s gift of salvation to us and God actively working in us (Titus 2:11-14). I cannot stress this enough as a Oneness Pentecostal pastor, we do not believe that you can earn or deserve salvation.

Now, concerning faith, this is how we accept God’s grace to us. As an analogy, a coin has two sides – If faith is heads, then tails is obedience (Romans 1:5 & 6:17, 2 Thessalonians 1:8). Hebrews 11 is referred to as the Hall of Faith and what does it say concerning father Abraham? “By faith Abraham obeyed…” All of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 put movement behind their faith, because had Noah not “prepared an ark” (v.7) I wouldn’t be writing this blog post and you wouldn’t be reading it.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, Oneness Pentecostals do not shy away from Ephesians 2:8. We embrace it and understand it! Salvation is such an important topic that we want to make sure we get it right. Remember that coin analogy? Check out what Jesus says about salvation in Mark 16:16.