As you say, that seems to be the implication of those texts. Other passages point to belief as the requirement (John 20:30-31, Acts 16:31, I Corinthians 15:1-2, 11). And still others simply indicate that God saves us, because he decided to (Isaiah 49:6, Matthew 18:22-24, Ephesians 2:8-9, I Timothy 2:3-6, Titus 3:4-7). So it would be premature for us to claim ‘we know what the Bible says’ when we have read just a few of these texts.

From a trinitarian perspective, we should notice that God chose us before the foundation of the world, and predestined, called, justified, and glorified us as his children (Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 4:29-31). And that Jesus has established the forgiveness of our sins and our eternal life in God through his death and resurrection (Romans 5:5-10, Colossians 2:9-12, Hebrews 7:24-25, I John 2:1-2). And that the Holy Spirit comes to us to convict us of our sins, to establish us in goodness, and to enable us to know that we are God’s beloved children (John 16:7-9, Galatians 5:22-25, Romans 8:9-17).

What do these texts mean?

Perhaps God has done all the preparatory steps that would be needed for our salvation, but this isn’t enough: because salvation doesn’t happen until we make a personal commitment of faith (or perhaps, until we are baptized). This means that despite all that God has done, the decisive actor in my salvation, the one who makes it happen, is me. If I haven’t believed (or haven’t been baptized), I am not saved.

Or perhaps it is eternally true that we are saved when God makes the decision to save us, before the foundation of the world. And it is historically true in time and space that we are saved when Jesus dies for our sins and is raised for our life. And it becomes true within our own experience when the Holy Spirit moves us to believe, and begins our transformation into the saints of God.

To put it another way: are faith and its actions – good works, baptism, prayer and worship, discipleship, mission and compassion – are these things the cause of our salvation, or the effect of our salvation? Are these things the factor that makes real the salvation that was available but not yet actual? Or are they the outworking of the salvation that God has already made real?

The Reformed tradition is sure that the second of these is correct. Faith and baptism and all Christian actions are vitally important: yet they are not the cause of salvation, but its fruits.