Everyone can agree we are not saved by works but what people can agree on is it took works to have faith. Another thing people can't agree on is can salvation be lost once gained as many believe once saved always saved. That's what most of these arguments boil down to. Scripture denies the once saved always saved theology but who believes in this thinks once we are saved we become puppets and no longer make choices of our own to follow God daily.
Some contributors here are fixated on failure and perfection.
To them we are called to alone walk perfectly from day one.
The problem is simply legalism. What is perfection and what is sin?
To them the law is merely a means of defining or pointing our total failure,
rather than the framework of loving relationships.
So their salvation is a legalistic court where Christ takes away all judgement
without any need for personal life change. In fact if you link life change to
the taking away of judgement you are evil, taking away in unbelief from Christs
work.
So everything one writes is put into this formula. It is very addictive but it only
appeals to legalists who do not build good relationships, with emotional flows between
people.
Jesus is the ultimate expression of love, of care, of reaching out beyond power, domination
authority, ownership, getting back at people, knowing where we stand.
So perfection is the relationship and communion with God through the Holy Spirit.
The law points out when this has gone wrong, but it does not define the how or
why. If you have a child, and you see them in distress, you take time to work out
what is the cause of this distress, and where it might lead. But it is founded on
the communication between the child and the parent. It follows rules but these
are relationship ones that have developed over time.
This is too subtle for legalists, who find it hard to reach out to others and share at
a deep level of understanding and identification. As time goes on I get a deeper
appreciation of both their reasons for behaving as they do and their failure to see
God and Christ in reality. They are still legalists without the struggle, but with the
condemnation because of the failure and defeat to which they have no answer.