Well, I can see that we have a difference in our understanding of faith and obedience.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Saving faith is belief, trust, reliance in Christ alone for salvation. Obedience which FOLLOWS is WORKS and we are not saved by works. There is your confusion. You don't seem to make a distinction between faith and obedience/works which follow and are produced out of faith, thus you continue to confuse the root of salvation (faith) with the fruit of salvation (works).
It is commonly accepted that faith is of the mind and heart, invisible to men; on the other hand, obedience, that avails, is of faith (Rom. 1: 5; 16: 26)
Although Paul can speak of people’s initial response of coming to faith in Christ as an act of obedience, in which he describes it as
“obeying the gospel” (Romans 10:16), the purpose of Paul’s apostleship was not merely to bring people to conversion but also to bring about transformed lives that were consistently obedient to God. Notice that Paul said they HAVE (already) received grace and apostleship
FOR or UNTO obedience to the faith. Just as in Ephesians 2:10, Paul said that we are created in Christ Jesus
FOR or UNTO good works. We are clearly saved FOR good works, NOT BY good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). In Romans 1:5, Paul did not say that they did not receive grace and apostleship until they produced obedience/works. We have access by FAITH into GRACE… (Romans 5:2) not faith “and obedience.” We are saved through faith first, then “unto” obedience (works). You put the cart before the horse.
and from the heart (Rom. 6: 17), is of the conduct and may be observed.
We obey the gospel from the heart when we choose to believe the gospel. We believe in our HEART (and not just in our head) that God has raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9). Our hearts are first purified by faith (Acts 15:9) and then acts of obedience/works FOLLOW.
So when you tell us that we obey the gospel by believing, we encounter a semantics problem. Is that obedience, of faith? Then we obey the gospel by faith, by believing? Is it by law? Is it by the exercise or our will? But faith is a work of God, by grace and a gift of God. Please clarify.
What semantics problem? Paul clearly stated that we
obey the gospel by
believing the gospel (Romans 10:16). Choosing to believe the gospel is an act of obedience, but apparently you seem to think otherwise or else you are simply determined to "add" works to the gospel. Again, there is a difference between the obedient act of choosing to believe the gospel and becoming saved and multiple acts of obedience/works which FOLLOW believing the gospel after having been saved through faith, which these works are then produced "out of faith." You don't seem to understand the difference.
Faith is our introduction to the grace of God but it is by no means the end-all. (Rom 5: 2; 1Tim. 1: 5)
From beginning "have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) to end "receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:9) salvation is through faith and IS NOT BY WORKS (Ephesians 2:8,9).
Now abides faith, hope and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13: 13) According to the Scriptures hope is said to both purify and save; God will give a crown of life to those who love, who have passed from death to life. Are they essential to salvation?
Romans 8:24 does not teach that if our faith is genuine, but we don't have enough hope, we can't be saved. Unlike the english word "hope," the N.T. word contains no uncertainty; it speaks of something that is certain. Strong's #1680 elpís (from elpō, "to anticipate, welcome") – properly,
expectation of what is sure (certain); hope. If we have saving faith then we have this hope. Faith is the substance of things
HOPED for... (Hebrews 11:1). So that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the
HOPE of eternal life (Titus 3:7).
Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6), but we are saved through faith, not faith plus love. Love is the greater quality of the three because God is love and it outlasts them all. Long after faith and hope are no longer necessary, love will still be the governing principle that controls all that God and his redeemed people are and do. We won't need faith and hope in heaven. Paul is stressing the importance of love, not teaching that faith is insufficient to save us without our best efforts to love. All genuine BELIEVERS have love. Why? Because we receive the love of God in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5) when we BELIEVED the gospel (Ephesians 1:13). We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
If so, why aren’t they mentioned every time faith is mentioned?
Faith without love is nothing. (1 Cor. 13: 2)
Paul is stressing the importance of love, not teaching that salvation is based on the merits of our best efforts to love. You are turning this into salvation by works.
Faith without works (of faith) is dead and useless. (James 2: 17, 20) If the faith that saves is not accompanied by works of faith, at the moment of salvation, then IMO, it is dead and useless.
Faith that saves will be accompanied by works. Faith that produces no works is an
empty profession of faith/dead faith, not genuine faith that is alive in Christ.
Faith works through love. (Gal. 5: 6)
Amen!
This is where you crash and burn as you cross the line into salvation by works.
Works of faith "works done out of faith" are still works and we are not saved by works, but by grace through faith.
There are several works of faith that save or lead to salvation: calling on the name of the Lord,
Did Jesus say there are several works of faith that save in John 6:29, after the Jews asked Him what they might do to work the works (plural) of God? No. Jesus answered, this is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent. Plain and simple.
Calling on the name of the Lord is not an additional requirement to become saved after faith. When you call upon the name of the Lord you trust in Him to come to your aid. Inherent in your calling is the essential faith that He can and will save you. So, in essence, to call on the name of the Lord unto salvation is to call upon Him in complete trust for Him to save you.
Repentance actually "precedes" believe/believe the gospel/faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:32; Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21). The church of Christ erroneously reverses the scriptural order of repentance/faith.
Water baptism FOLLOWS repentance/faith/salvation (Acts 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 15:8,9; 16:31).
confessing the name of Christ,
Confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead are not two separate steps to salvation but are chronologically together (Romans 10:8-10).
Obedience which follows saving faith in Christ and is produced out of faith is WORKS and we are not saved by works. When will you finally understand?
the washing of regeneration.
This is not a work that we do, but that the Holy Spirit does when we receive spiritual washing/purification of the soul at the moment we are saved when we believe the gospel.
Yes, I am aware that you have felt it necessary to redefine several of these works.
Of first importance in the gospel of Christ: —(1) Christ died for our sins, (2) He was buried, (3) He was raised on the third day. (1 Cor. 15: 1- 4)
I did not redefine anything. You are just very confused because of your church of Christ indoctrination. I certainly did not redefine the gospel. The gospel is the "good news" of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that
BELIEVES.. (Romans 1:16). You "add" works to the gospel of Christ, which renders Christ an IN-sufficient Savior.
When we believe the gospel, we assent to the truth of those three facts. (Rom. 1: 16)
We don't merely assent to these three facts, as if all we do is believe that the death, burial and resurrection of Christ "happened." We must also
trust exclusively in what happened as the ALL-sufficient means of our salvation, apart from supplemental works.
These three facts are the “form of teaching” which must be obeyed from the heart to be freed from sin. (Rom 6: 17, 18) Is that essential?
Amen! We obey the gospel by choosing to believe the gospel (Romans 10:16; 1:16).
When we obey the gospel we have been united with Him in those three facts through baptism. (Rom. 6: 5; 2 Thess. 1: 8, 9)
Water baptism is the PICTURE, but not the reality. We obey the gospel by choosing to believe the gospel BEFORE we are water baptized. You still confuse the picture with the reality.
When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death, the old self is crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with. (Rom 6: 3, 6) Is it important or even essential that we die with Christ?
Is it important or even essential that in baptism, we are buried with Him so that we might be raised with Him, so we might walk in newness of life? Rom 6: 4 Is it important that we be united with Him in the likeness of His resurrection? (Rom 6: 5)
Again, water baptism is the PICTURE, but not the reality. Until you figure this out, you will remain confused. We are not literally water baptized into the body of Christ, just as the Israelites were not literally water baptized into the body of Moses (1 Corinthians 10:2). Spirit baptism is the reality in which by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13); not to be confused with water baptism. This remains your achilles heel.
IMO Rom. 10: 16 does not equate obeying the gospel with believing. The passage is saying they did not belief, therefore they did not obey the gospel. (Heb. 3: 18, 19)
Romans 10:16 certainly does equate obeying the gospel with believing the gospel. Romans 10:16 - But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has
believed our report?" In Hebrews 3:18 (KJV) - And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that
believed not. In Hebrews 3:18 (NAS) - And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were
disobedient?
Just like in John 3:36, works salvationists run with the word "obey" and try to turn it into salvation by works. Obey the Son does not mean do extra works for Him, but obey by believing. If John wanted to make obedience the central theme in salvation here, he would have said: "He who believes
and obeys the Son has eternal life," but that is not what John said. To believe on the Son is to obey Him and to disbelieve on the Son is to disobey Him. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not
obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36, NASB). The King James Version renders this same verse as: He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. The Greek word translated as believeth not in that verse is
apeitheo and it means: not believe, disobedient, obey not, unbelieving. Strong’s definition of apeitheo is "to disbelieve willfully and perversely." In the context of 3:36, to not obey the Son means to reject His message by remaining in unbelief.
I hope and pray that you will prayerfully consider the truth. At least a seed has been planted that hopefully one day will be watered and lead you to the truth that salvation is by grace through faith and is not by works. That will be a day to rejoice!
