John 8:31-32 - Jesus requires works even from those who believe in Him. Mere belief is not enough.
Genuine belief is enough (John 1:12; 3:16; Acts 10:43; 16:31; Romans 1:16). Those who are truly His disciples, continue in His word. John has portrayed people as "believing" who are clearly not born again. There is a stage in the progress of belief in Jesus that
"falls short of genuine or consummated belief resulting in salvation." See John 2:23-25 (where their "belief" is clearly
superficial in nature); John 8:31,40,45-46 (where the Jews who were said to have
"believed him" turn out to be
slaves to sin [v. 34],
indifferent to Jesus’ word [v. 37],
children of the devil [v. 44],
liars [v. 55],
attempted to stone the one they have professed to believe (v. 59). After Jesus’ teaching we read in 6:60 that many of his disciples . . . said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ These are the very "so called" disciples who Jesus says
do not believe (vs. 64) and Jesus knew from the beginning who did not believe and who would betray Him.
John 13:34-35 - Jesus gives us a new commandment, that we love one another as He loves us. He commands love which is an act of our will.
Children of God love one another BECAUSE we are saved, not to become saved.
John 14:15 - Jesus says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." This requires works, not just faith (and not faith alone).
We are saved through faith, not works and are created in Christ Jesus FOR good works, so this living faith TRUSTS IN CHRIST ALONE FOR SALVATION but DOES NOT REMAIN ALONE in the sense that it is barren of works. You cannot to grasp the difference because of your UNBELIEF.
John 14:21 – he who hears my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. This is doing good works for others.
This is DESCRIPTIVE of children of God and we are saved FOR good works, NOT by good works.
John 15:8 – Jesus requires us to bear the good fruit of works if we are to be His disciples. These fruits are merits in Catholic teaching, all borne from God’s unmerited gift of grace.
Believers do not bear the fruit of good works in order to become His disciples, but BECAUSE we are TRULY His disciples. Bearing the fruit of good works by the grace of God is what genuine disciples do, yet these good works do not merit eternal life. Christ saves us through faith based on the merits of His finished work of redemption ALONE and NOT ON THE MERITS OF OUR WORKS. When will you finally figure this out?
John 15:10 - if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, as I have kept the Father's commandments.
DESCRIPTIVE of those who are born of God.
John 15:12 - this is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Love is both a cause and the fruit of our justification.
Love is not the cause of our justification, but it is the fruit. Faith is the CAUSE of our justification (Romans 5:1) and love/good works are the EFFECT. The "whole picture" rests on cause and effect. Do we do acts of love/good works TO QUALIFY for God's grace? Or is God's grace a free offer that is received through faith which then consequently leads TO love/good works? Which is cause and which is effect? You seem to have this mixed up.
Rom. 12:10 - Paul commands us to love one another. Love is a good work, an act of the intellect and will, not just a feeling.
I know what love is and actions speak louder than words.
1 Cor. 3:8 – Paul teaches that he who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor.
Keep reading verses 11-15. Receiving rewards (not salvation) based on works.
1 Cor. 13:2 – Paul teaches that if our faith moves mountains, but we have not the works of love, we are nothing indeed.
Paul is using hyperbole to make a strong point about the importance of love. Now don't you go ripping love from faith here (your words earlier).
1 Cor. 13:13 - abide in faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Love is the greatest work which justifies us (not faith, and most importantly, not faith alone!)
Paul is not saying that love justifies us here. We are justified by faith Romans 5:1. Faith in Christ is not insufficient to save us Ephesians 2:8,9. Paul did not say that we are saved by grace through faith AND LOVE in Ephesians 2:8,9 or that we are justified by faith AND LOVE in Romans 5:1. Paul is simply stating the importance of love and that 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. Genuine faith is not alone in the sense that it is barren of love, barren of good works etc.. The word "alone" in regards to salvation through faith in "Christ alone" conveys the message that Christ saves us through faith based on the merits of His finished work of redemption "alone," not on the merits of our works. It is through faith "IN CHRIST ALONE" (and not by the merits of our works) that we are justified on account of Christ (Romans 3:24; 5:1); yet the faith that justifies is never alone (solitary, unfruitful, barren) if it is genuine (James 2:14-24). *Perfect Harmony.* When will you finally accept the truth, receive Christ through faith and quit seeking salvation by works?
1 Tim. 6:18-19 - we are to do good and be rich in good works thus laying up a good foundation for a chance at eternal life.
Good works lay up a foundation for a CHANCE at eternal life? Where does it say that in 1 Timothy 6:18-19? I almost fell out of my chair when I read that!

You have the wrong foundation - 1 Corinthians 3:11. Of course, Catholicism offers no assurance of salvation, yet God's Word tells us otherwise. 1 John 5:13 - These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Catholicism prefers to keep Roman Catholics in bondage to the sin of presumption. Those who don't truly believe have no assurance and can only cross their fingers in hopes that their works measure up, which is the whole deception! It's no surprise that John 3:16 in the NAB (Catholic Bible) reads as such - For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him
might not perish but might have eternal life. There is no might about it. Shall not perish (NAS Bible). John 3:18 - He who believes in Him
IS NOT condemned. Notice that John DID NOT SAY "might not" be condemned.
Titus 1:16 - people claim to know God, but their deeds deny Him. Like Jesus, it is our works that testify to our faith in Christ.
Yes, our works testify to our faith. We show our faith by our works (James 2:18) but works do not establish our faith. Faith is established the moment that we trust in Christ alone for salvation. Then the good works FOLLOW (Ephesians 2:5-10).
1 John 2:3-5 - and by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. This requires good works, not faith alone.
Keeping His commandments is the DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE that we know Him and not the means of our salvation. It requires faith IN CHRIST ALONE for salvation (which means we are trusting in Him ALONE to save us, not in Him + works) in order to be made alive in Christ and created in Christ Jesus THEN UNTO/FOR good works (Ephesians 2:5-10). You have this backwards. You have the tail wagging the dog. The cart before the horse.
1 John 3:23 - God's commandment is to believe in His Son Jesus and love one another. Belief is not enough, but good works to perfect that belief.
Belief is enough to save us because the OBJECT of our belief (Christ's finished work of redemption) is ENOUGH/SUFFICIENT to save us. John 3:18 - He who
believes in Him is not condemned.. Believes plus what? Simply
BELIEVES IN HIM. We don't truly love one another with agape love (effect, fruit of salvation) until we first believe in Him and receive Christ (cause of salvation).
1 John 4:7-21 - and this commandment we have from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. John gives us repeated exhortations to love one another.
We are to love one another BECAUSE we are saved, NOT to become saved. I already showed you in 1 John 3:10 who
does not love his brother - children of the devil. We see more
descriptive language of children of the devil in 1 John 4:8, we read - He who
does not love does not know God, for God is love. Also in 1 John 4:20 - If someone
says, "I love God," and
hates his brother, he is a
liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1 John 5:2-3 - we know we love God and God's children when we keep His commandments. We need to love which is manifested in good works and not faith alone.
Loving God and keeping His commandments is the
DEMONSTRATIVE EVIDENCE that we are God's children and is not a prerequisite to become God's children. We are
children of God by faith in Christ. John 1:12 - But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the
right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name: Loving God and keeping His commandments FOLLOWS. We are saved through faith (belief, trust, reliance) IN CHRIST ALONE for salvation which means the moment that we place our faith (belief, trust, reliance) in Christ alone for salvation, WE ARE SAVED. Praise God!

Good works FOLLOW as the fruit of salvation and we are saved FOR good works, not by good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Are you ready to repent and place your faith in Christ alone for salvation?
I read through this nonsense which once again proves that Catholicism teaches "salvation by works" no matter how much you try and sugar coat it. Faith does not merely "initially" justify us. Show me the word "initially" in Romans 5:1 and in Acts 13:39. It's not there. 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. Works simply bear out the justification that comes by faith. We are "accounted as righteous" (justified, legal sense) based on our faith (Romans 4:2-6) and justified in a different sense "shown to be righteous" by works (James 2:14-24). You cannot dissect good works from the moral aspect of the law (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; James 2:15-16; Matthew 22:37-40) so your not saved by works of the law but saved by good works argument is a deception that is keeping Roman Catholics in bondage to WORKS SALVATION, which is NO SALVATION AT ALL! Paul NOWHERE says that we are justified by faith AND WORKS or that we are saved through faith AND WORKS. Catholicism confuses ongoing sanctification with justification and has replaced IMPUTED righteousness (Romans 4:6) with "infused" righteousness and the word "infused" is nowhere found in the Bible. What a mess! Catholicism is a satanic deceptive nightmare! Thank God I escaped from that nightmare and found freedom in Christ! Praise God!!!


