I agree faith in Jesus' sacrifice is key, was not my intention to downplay that at all.
The two really go hand in hand, if you have faith in Jesus you will live by those principles. Without faith it would be very hard to consistently and genuinely show forgiveness, mercy, and love towards our fellow man, especially our enemies. Without faith in Jesus, our sinful mentalities are very inclined to deal with evil such as greed, hatred, and violence with the same exact evils. Without salvation, it makes very little sense to tolerate and endure this wicked system and not fight back with sinful mentalities.
The two really go hand in hand, if you have faith in Jesus you will live by those principles. Without faith it would be very hard to consistently and genuinely show forgiveness, mercy, and love towards our fellow man, especially our enemies. Without faith in Jesus, our sinful mentalities are very inclined to deal with evil such as greed, hatred, and violence with the same exact evils. Without salvation, it makes very little sense to tolerate and endure this wicked system and not fight back with sinful mentalities.
AMEN...John summed it up nicely....this is the victory that overcomes this world---->even our faith.....