Originally Posted by
PeterJens
A phrase from someone who decided I was totally wrong, unsaved, lost.
"You do not know what I believe"
"You have no idea about anything about me"
"You liar, deceiver, you evil creature" "Diablo"
"You insult, slander, lie continually about us"
"You are going to hell and sending others to hell"
So have I - and ironically from some of the very ones that say we are to walk in righteousness and purity of heart and to follow Christ. Go figure?
James 3:8-10 (NASB)
[SUP]8 [/SUP] But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.
[SUP]9 [/SUP] With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God;
[SUP]10 [/SUP] from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.
Hi Grace,
You wrote a very nice post to me to which I wanted to reply. I've been busy but wanted to spend some time with it, instead this thread goes too fast and I can't find it anymore!
I agree with everything you say. The problem I have is that some people hear what they want to hear and not what the person is saying.
I was at a funeral mass the other day and a very nice priest (a friend) spoke about the DOOR, the GATE. You have to go through the gate. Who is the gate? Jesus. The RCC does teach belief in Jesus, but many do not HEAR this. At the luncheon I spoke about this and no one at that table (except for my born again daughter) understood what the priest said, although it could not be clearer.
SO, when a new Christian reads along, he might get the impression from reading certain things (which I happen to agree with)
that he JUST HAS TO HAVE FAITH IN JESUS, and all will be just fine --- when in reality Jesus said we are to do the work of the Kingdom.
I've thought about this and I believe the difficulty I personally have here is the Language we speak.
We talk about works...
Works are necessary as we all agree.
So maybe the problem is with the words "LAW" and "GRACE"?
A girl at out table told me she goes to Mass because she feels she has to. This is following the Law.
I told her it's like not even going, and she should go because she loves God. This is Grace.
She's still going to Mass, but one is efficacious and the other is of no value.
BOTH ARE A WORK.
Everything we do is a work. It's just that some have value and some don't.
We still must FOLLOW THE LAW. It was NOT abolished.
But the REASON we follow the Law and do works is what counts.
So, OF COURSE we are saved by faith ALONE.
Works come after.
When we say that FAITH ONLY STILL SAVES US AND CONTINUES TO SAVE US,
that's where I fear some may misunderstand.
Continued salvation, or progressive justification, or sanctification, ARE a cooperative effort which includes man.
AND we cannot say that God does everything in us.
If this were true, then He would also have to accept the responsibility when we do not listen to Him and sin.
WE are RESPONSIBLE for our once time decision (salvation) and our daily decisions (sanctification).
Thessalonians 3:11 tells us to work and not be idle. Paul meant real work, like at a job, however some had stopped doing everything and instead Paul said we are to continue to do everthing --- until the Lord returns. In verse 14 Paul goes so far as to say to not associate with those who do not obey his instructions.
Thessalonians 4:3 it is God's will that we be sanctified --- and then it goes on to say what we are not to do. Paul says that the Lord will punish those for such sins. This means that WE are responsible for our own sins and cannot blame God.
Paul goes on to say that God called us to live a holy life, and he who rejects this does not reject man but rejects God, who gives us the Holy Spirit.
Faith and belief in Jesus DOES CONTINUE to save us.
But what does BELIEF in Jesus mean?
Everyone here, including yourself, seems to understand Greek.
BELIEF in the Greek means TO FOLLOW, to AGREE WITH, TO OBEY.
So, my question is simple:
Is it correct to say that ONLY FAITH CONTINUES to save?
Or should we say that our OBEDIENCE of faith continues to save us?