The Climb

[FreeNChrist]

The segment in its entirety reads like this:

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

Thanks, but I already have a Bible.

 

[Depleted]

Actually, we’re not supposed to climb the social ladder. That is pridefulness. We let the Lord lift us. We don’t lift ourselves.

Ah! I was thinking of Jacob's ladder. And, yeah, there is effort involved. We're climbing with God to God through his strength. But it's not an elevator. It's a ladder.

(Same page, yet? Or are you reading math and I'm reading geography?)

 

[JustWhoIAm]

Ah! I was thinking of Jacob's ladder. And, yeah, there is effort involved. We're climbing with God to God through his strength. But it's not an elevator. It's a ladder.

(Same page, yet? Or are you reading math and I'm reading geography?)

I'm reading daniel 12, myself.

Not that you asked me, just giving my two cents.

 

[AllenW]

The segment in its entirety reads like this:

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.

I believe you misunderstand the passage.
What is the faith and what are the deeds that don't agree with the demons?
The demons have the faith to know that Jesus is God.
But they refuse to believe in him.

John 6:28-29;
"Then they asked him, what must we do to do the works of God?
Jesus answered, the work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent".

If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you will start doing the work of God.
Otherwise, you just have a head knowledge, and without a heart knowledge there will be no deeds.

You see, your answer has to be to the glory of God, not the glory of the man doing the good works.

 

[Depleted]

I started several threads today and suddenly discovered I was speaking of two different ladders, the "social ladder," and the ladder you might think of figuratively as a ladder you climb to become the person you ought to be. The second ladder makes me think of the ladder in Jacob's dream.

In other posts, I strongly criticize people climbing the social ladder. It is very painful to those laboring for the Lord, watching others take shortcuts in an effort to gain status. But in the end the Lord levels the playing field, and those who are guilty of social climbing will find they haven't gained an inch.

Ah! We're on the same page half the time then.

But why is it painful to watch someone else gain social status? My grandmother was born and raised in a prestigious family, and yet she was still a believer. A believer who got to know the owner of Man of War, who ate dinner with Eisenhower, who was asked to have two of her daughters christen ships, (my mom and aunt had barges named after them when they were preteens lol) and who went to fashion shows to raise money for causes she believed in. Nothing wrong with any social status.

 

[BeyondET]

There's 12 Deeds.. 1 + 10 + 1

 

[Depleted]

I'm reading daniel 12, myself.

Not that you asked me, just giving my two cents.

I haven't been in Daniel in years. What's the connection? Is there another Jacob's ladder? (I really don't remember much but the three things everyone remembers about Daniel -- lion's den, wall writing, and a multi-level stone statue of some kind. I'm not even sure I could pass a whole Jeopardy category if it were on Daniel. lol)

 

[JustWhoIAm]

If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you will start doing the work of God.
Otherwise, you just have a head knowledge, and without a heart knowledge there will be no deeds.

You see, your answer has to be to the glory of God, not the glory of the man doing the good works.

*Sigh*

Of course.

However, i see through you. That is what i've been preaching for a long time now, exactly what you just said. I see your heart is to argue for the sake of arguing, not so much to glorify God, which is your choice. I can tell by your *ahem* avatar.

It's cool, it will all come out in the wash.

The bridge is still out. Your choice lol.

Satan is the accuser of the brethren, you know. He's devious to the point that many are deceived.

It will be finished soon. *shrug*

 

[JustWhoIAm]

https://www.openbible.info/topics/serving_the_poor

hm. how about THESE apples.

 

[popeye]

all religions have a ladder,from earth,to heaven.

christianity is God lowering a ladder from heaven.

Religion always says DO.

Christianity says DONE.

 

[resurrection33]

Man, God sure has made it hard for Him to save us, eh?

But I think salvation and heaven are two different things. The Lord will save us from the awful situations we get ourselves in, but to go to heaven, we need to obey those "awful" commandments. What a bummer, huh?

 

[resurrection33]

We cannot repent of our sins before we are saved.
If we could, we would no longer need Jesus.
Repenting of ones sins comes after salvation, through the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

I suppose one wouldn't be likely to repent of their sin until the Lord has come into their lives, because they'd see no need to, except for one thing: Sin destroys our lives and people can recognize that even before they let the Lord into their lives. A thief can realize, for example, that it doesn't pay to rob banks because he'll wind up in jail.

 

[AllenW]

*Sigh*

Of course.

However, i see through you. That is what i've been preaching for a long time now, exactly what you just said. I see your heart is to argue for the sake of arguing, not so much to glorify God, which is your choice. I can tell by your *ahem* avatar.

It's cool, it will all come out in the wash.

The bridge is still out. Your choice lol.

Satan is the accuser of the brethren, you know. He's devious to the point that many are deceived.

It will be finished soon. *shrug*

Whatever you say brother.
We're both saved, we'll both be with Jesus.
You can make your shrugs and sighs to him and we'll see what he says.

 

[resurrection33]

Ah! I was thinking of Jacob's ladder. And, yeah, there is effort involved. We're climbing with God to God through his strength. But it's not an elevator. It's a ladder.

(Same page, yet? Or are you reading math and I'm reading geography?)

Yes, I got talking about two totally different ladders yesterday, but we seem to be on the same page.

 

[FreeNChrist]

But I think salvation and heaven are two different things. The Lord will save us from the awful situations we get ourselves in, but to go to heaven, we need to obey those "awful" commandments. What a bummer, huh?

It would be if I was buying what you're selling, but I'm not.

 

[resurrection33]

Ah! We're on the same page half the time then.

But why is it painful to watch someone else gain social status? My grandmother was born and raised in a prestigious family, and yet she was still a believer. A believer who got to know the owner of Man of War, who ate dinner with Eisenhower, who was asked to have two of her daughters christen ships, (my mom and aunt had barges named after them when they were preteens lol) and who went to fashion shows to raise money for causes she believed in. Nothing wrong with any social status.

There's nothing wrong with social status. It's how you obtain it and what you do with it after you have it. John Doe would like to chair the church mission committee because he's devoted to mission and has worked very hard on mission work. Harry Smith also wants to chair the committee, though he's done nothing to merit the position. Harry Smith starts flattering the new pastor, and after a few months of this, asks the pastor if he can chair the mission committee. The pastor says, "Yes, you can!"

 

[resurrection33]

There's 12 Deeds.. 1 + 10 + 1

That went right over the top of me. I'm just a dumb, retired warehouseman.

 

[resurrection33]

https://www.openbible.info/topics/serving_the_poor

hm. how about THESE apples.

Serving people is good.

 

[resurrection33]

all religions have a ladder,from earth,to heaven.

christianity is God lowering a ladder from heaven.

Religion always says DO.

Christianity says DONE.

Jesus forgives. We repent. Right?

 

[resurrection33]

It would be if I was buying what you're selling, but I'm not.

I would encourage you to repent of any sin you might be committing. I have learned through personal experience that repentance has transformed my life into something beautiful. All I am trying to do is get that message out there. Not only that, but it is what Jesus taught us to do.