Salvation Not Possible Without Works
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B
Forget Calvinism for a minute. Christ has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust. We can not duplicate that kind of justice when Christ suffered for sins (1Peter 3:18). There is nothing that the sinner can do to reconcile himself to God, he must believe in the justice of God that made a way for all sin to be judged and for the sinner to be justified by faith. We can only believe through an act of faith in the justice that we see through the cross. Justification is by pure faith in the cross that includes the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We can not add to the cross, we can only believe and when we believe it is reckoned and counted unto us as righteousness.
Romans 4:1-8
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him (YOU & ME) that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him (YOU & ME) that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Romans 4:1-8
1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him (YOU & ME) that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him (YOU & ME) that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
If a person passes up opportunities to believe repent confess and be baptized and then find themselves in a situation where they are unable to obey the gospel, then I cannot have much hope for them.
"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."
We are not told if that more convenient season came but if Felix fell into a coma, or some situation where he was not able to obey the gospel, then he waited too late.
"And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee."
We are not told if that more convenient season came but if Felix fell into a coma, or some situation where he was not able to obey the gospel, then he waited too late.
B
To obey the gospel is to believe it with an action of faith that comes from hearing it (Rom 10:17, Gal 3:2). The gospel was given that we might hear it and believe upon it for it is the power of God unto salvation (Acts 15:7). Salvation works for the the sinner because Christ died on behalf of the sinner. The gospel can only be believed upon through the obedience of faith (trust). Obedience to (or trusting in) the law was never able to bring salvation into the heart of man. The law reveals sin and man must go to God by faith through Jesus Christ and him crucified to be justified, cleansed and forgiven of sin, for sin was condemned in the flesh of Jesus Christ through the cross and not the law (Rom 8:3).
Faith leads to works, but faith itself is not a work.
You are using "works" in your own sense, and not in the NT sense.
In the NT, "works" means works of the law.
Faith is not a work, faith is a gift (Php1:29; 1Pe 1:1; Ac 18:27; Ro 12:3),
as are repentance (2Tim 2:25; Ac 10:18, 5:31),
justification (justified freely by his grace),
righteousness (Ro 5:17; 1:17, 3:21, 9:30-31).
In the NT, none of these are works, they are gifts.
Your misunderstanding of the Scriptures sets them against themselves.
You are using "works" in your own sense, and not in the NT sense.
In the NT, "works" means works of the law.
Faith is not a work, faith is a gift (Php1:29; 1Pe 1:1; Ac 18:27; Ro 12:3),
as are repentance (2Tim 2:25; Ac 10:18, 5:31),
justification (justified freely by his grace),
righteousness (Ro 5:17; 1:17, 3:21, 9:30-31).
In the NT, none of these are works, they are gifts.
Your misunderstanding of the Scriptures sets them against themselves.
E
Every post where you add your works to the gospel. You are saying you save yourself.
Denying it does not mean it is still not true.
You just contradicted yourself.
You claim I am running around when it is you. You just admitted. And I will quote you...
Notice something here, You claim these are works God says WE (YOU) should do.
When YOU do a work to earn something, YOU ARE doing the work. Thus your trying to save yourself.
There is no I in my gospel. It is God. Thus I can take no credit, Only God gets the credit.
Your right.
1. God did not have to come to earth
2. God did not have to suffer all his sufferings as man
3. God did not have to hang on the cross
He chose to because he loved me.
He gave me faith, He gave me repentance, HE baptized me. Even though he does not have to, and is not obligated to
Because it is the ONLY way he could save me.
There is no love of God in your gospel. Your gospel says you do this, and I will save you. Again, Your trying to save yourself. Good luck with all your work. You will be right there with the pharisees and all their works wondering where you went wrong.
Looking at your "end around" play, what if God did not do the works of believing, repenting, confessing and submitting to baptism for me? I would be lost being an unbeliever, impenitent, denier of Christ in my unforgiven sins. And it would be 100% ALL GOD'S fault and blame that I am lost for HIS FAILURE to do these works for me. Your idea here reeks of Calvinism.[/QUOTE]
E
How is it excellent?
1. He chooses to do his own work to save himself (baptism)
2. He chooses to accept credit for the work of God in his repentance.
Granted God id not forcing someone to believe him, But when we fall on our faces and cry out to god because we realise we are hopless. We do not call this a work, or saving ourself. iHow can it be?
Do you realise it is against human nature to depend on someone else to do EVERYTHING for you? We want to hat the very least be able to help, because we trust no one completely.
why do yo uthink it is so hard for someone to come to Christ in complete faith. Admitting he is totally hopeless? because he would have to give up 100% control of his pride, His self, His hope in self.
I find it difficult to read what you write. You have no intent to allow Gods word to illuminate your soul. You have determined what you think is the truth and no one even God is going to change your mind.
For you it's all about appearing to be correct. I fear that the Lord has perfectly described where you are in relation to the truth. 2 Tim 3:1-7 especially the last part of verse 7 "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth".
God is patient and merciful. One day when you have run yourself all the way down to where all seems without hope I pray that you will look up and ask God for mercy.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
For you it's all about appearing to be correct. I fear that the Lord has perfectly described where you are in relation to the truth. 2 Tim 3:1-7 especially the last part of verse 7 "never able to come to the knowledge of the truth".
God is patient and merciful. One day when you have run yourself all the way down to where all seems without hope I pray that you will look up and ask God for mercy.
For the cause of Christ
Roger
B
The time of the cross was not random but was an appointed time for the Lamb of God to come and take away the sin of the world. It was for all men for all have sinned. The lost soul is worth more that all that is in the world but the redemption of that soul in precious in God's sight. When this gospel of Christ is presented to the soul of a man, that man is being given an opportunity and accepted time, by grace through faith, to receive the power of salvation through the agency of the Holy Spirit. This is also an appointed time that God has set aside for men to hear and believe the gospel. When the gospel is preached and it reaches the ear and heart of a man, God awaits with all of heaven in expectation for any unrighteous man to put their trust in the gospel that He might impute His righteousness through their faith in His Son. This is not random but it is an accepted time when God meets man and justifies and imputes His righteousness through the activity of faith to a sinful man who has heard and trusted in the cross of Christ. There is absolutely NO WORKS on man's part, just the work of grace operating through faith to bring salvation to an unworthy and undeserving soul.