Not By Works

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Dec 1, 2019
32
7
8
how can "you" know someone has good works? And is not just religious?

You can't so what good is it? God does not need it, You can't use it to determine someone elses salvation, so other than you examining you own faith, what good is it?
For if we see the Sword coming through the Land and do not cry out then their blood is on your hands for we will b held accountable for every unspoken word as well as every Spoken Word✌🏼
 

star

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2017
1,582
2,046
113
North Carolina
Acts 14:22 KJV
strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations
enter the kingdom of God.”


Not directed at you, star, but I doubt Paul is saying salvation is by works, but that is what many people call it if you say what Paul said above.

Salvation is by grace and a free gift. Spiritual growth is how much a follower of Christ puts into studying the Word, spending time with the Lord, and how they handle trials and tribulations. No Paul is NOT saying salvation is by works.
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,395
113
O it is not by works we r saved but faith without works is dead as it is written for if we do not abide in Him He does not abide

and tho it is not by our works we saved but faith with out works is dead and we can not produce nooo good fruit unless we abide in the Holy One for it is through grace that we receive His Spirit that will allow us to walk IN Him n He In us many only wanna follow and preach half truths to keep they followers friends and family in arm distance I assume ✌🏼
Or twist truths into false gospels......My bible teaches he never leaves us or forsakes us and we are kept by the power of God through faith....the same faith HE begins, finishes and completes!
 

VCO

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2013
11,967
4,586
113
Go back and read my posts please....because I am thinking you still have not gotten it!!
You know I have been reading this entire thread a little at a time and you words/ideas seem very familiar?


And I am starting to think, he will never get IT!
 
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,395
113
And I am starting to think, he will never get IT!
It is a vicious circle, one must be saved to understand the word of God and when one has sold out to that which is false they are two fold lost and now must get over a false religion and being lost.....ANY gospel that embellishes faith when it comes to salvation voids the correct message, it has no power and all it does is lead one down the path toward hell and places them in an ever tougher position to actually be saved.......

Like JESUS said....the Pharisees encompassed land and sea to make a disciple and in so doing made them two fold the child of hell....
 
4
BEST SERMON ON GRACE AND FAITH THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD.

AMEN!
Great sermon! Brother Rogers was a true man of God.

God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense

Amen!

Forsaking
All
I
Trust
Him

Am in need of prayer on this, among other needs.

Thank you Brother, have a blessed day.
 
Dec 1, 2019
32
7
8
And they said Master you mother and brother are here and He replies who is my mother And my brother?? Those who do the Will of My Father when you spend time with Him you will understand that no He don’t leave us we turn our back on Him when we live in sin we turn our back on Him
What is the Will of Our Father
I will b their God and they will be my People if they Obey the words coming out of My Mouth
Know is it the obedience that saves us nope it’s not it the faith that we have which we received the grace of the Holy One dwelling inside us
Many find this complicated idk I find it quite simple to follow
For my Word is so easy a Child can understand it
Simple any man who says they know Me yet Abides is sin is a Liar and the truth is not in him
He is they way the truth and the Light and anyone who Follows Him will have eternal life
Why would you not wanna give up what you have to to follow Him after he was beaten spat kicked mocked punch and whipped for you??
 
E

EleventhHour

Guest
And they said Master you mother and brother are here and He replies who is my mother And my brother?? Those who do the Will of My Father when you spend time with Him you will understand that no He don’t leave us we turn our back on Him when we live in sin we turn our back on Him
What is the Will of Our Father
I will b their God and they will be my People if they Obey the words coming out of My Mouth
Know is it the obedience that saves us nope it’s not it the faith that we have which we received the grace of the Holy One dwelling inside us
Many find this complicated idk I find it quite simple to follow
For my Word is so easy a Child can understand it
Simple any man who says they know Me yet Abides is sin is a Liar and the truth is not in him
He is they way the truth and the Light and anyone who Follows Him will have eternal life
Why would you not wanna give up what you have to to follow Him after he was beaten spat kicked mocked punch and whipped for you??


So the sacrificial death and atonement of
the cross is a limited offer only valid while a person does not sin?

You do realize we sin everyday?
 
Dec 1, 2019
32
7
8
So the sacrificial death and atonement of
the cross is a limited offer only valid while a person does not sin?

You do realize we sin everyday?
We have free will me personally I rather Abide In Him know that does not mean we r sinless for all disobedience is sin yet there is sin that will cause you death and sin that don’t but we grow say idk someone is stuck like lying say they lie all day everyday then he or she grows closer to the Lord and soon only lies three time a day they r growing it’s the growth I believe but to say you know The Lord and not have no change then how have you even repented repent is a change of heart which leads to change of mind which does lead to the change of our ways
 

PS

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2013
5,399
695
113
So the sacrificial death and atonement of
the cross is a limited offer only valid while a person does not sin?

You do realize we sin everyday?
Either you are unaware, or are ignoring the scriptures that warn against falling away from Jesus.
 

PS

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2013
5,399
695
113
Either you are unaware, or are ignoring the scriptures that warn against falling away from Jesus.
And don't go saying they were never saved, they apply particularly to those for whom Jesus shed His blood, which is everyone.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Justification is a status conferred by God when we accept the free gift of salvation, the gift is accepting the payment that Jesus made on the sinner's behalf. The trust and belief is once with continued result.
Yes, but the 'trust and belief' must continue in order for the result to continue.

1 John 2:24 KJV
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.


The condition for continuing in the Son, and in the Father is that the gospel you heard in the beginning remain in you. Paul says the same thing here.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 KJV
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.


That's not a works gospel as some claim. The condition for salvation is not works. The condition is that you receive and retain the gospel message in a continuing faith.


All sin was forgiven at the cross... when we receive that gift is when we are saved.
No argument about that. The moment you trust in Christ, your faith (your believing) is credited to you as righteousness.


Salvation is about accepting Christ's redeeming work for oneself, turning from sin and asking for forgiveness is not the Gospel, that is
a Gospel of works,
Turning from sin is part of the good news about Jesus. It's just that repentance does not earn justification. But it definitely is a necessary part of the the gospel message.

Acts 2:37-38 KJV
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19 KJV
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out


Just because repentance itself is not what secures a justification of righteousness that doesn't mean it's not an integral and necessary part of the gospel. You will not be saved if you do not change your mind about Christ and your sin. The person who hasn't changed his mind about sin ends up being the fake believer that gets talked about so frequently in threads like this. He wants the free gift but he doesn't want to renounce his sin. He thinks he can have the free gift without a change of mind about his sin. Won't happen.


The Gospel is completely about being persuaded/convicted/ convinced of our utter inability to save oneself and believing upon the work of Christ Jesus as completely efficacious to save.
The prerequisite to being persuaded that you can save yourself is an honest acknowledgment of your sin and your guilt. Hatred of your sin and your slavery to it is the foundation to then realizing you need Christ and Christ alone to rescue you from it. So turning from sin is definitely an integral part of the gospel. It's just that repentance itself is not what secures justification. But you must have a repentant attitude to be justified. That's not works.


It is a one time event, born once physically, born once spiritually....
That's how it works.


and from then on we are in God's hands and if lets us fall into error and sin, He is also more than able to correct us or take us out of this life if need be.
He'll do everything he can to keep you from falling away from your belief in justification through Christ, but ultimately that's your decision. That's not you working for your justification. That's you wanting the free gift of justification or not. You can't cast it away in unbelief and still have it. I showed you above that you have to continue in the word of the gospel in faith in order to remain in the Son and the Father.

Even if you want to argue the old Calvinist argument that only truly born again people retain what they heard in the beginning in faith, that still means you have to continue in what you heard in the beginning to be saved. You can't separate salvation and a continued belief in Christ like so many are claiming you can do. You have to keep trusting in Christ to be saved.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
So the sacrificial death and atonement of
the cross is a limited offer only valid while a person does not sin?

You do realize we sin everyday?
Read carefully what he's saying.
All believers sin, but that doesn't have to mean they have stopped believing in Christ. But when their sin does mean they have stopped believing in Christ that's a whole 'nuther matter.

The person who has stopped believing has no choice but to go back to the slavery of his sin. He has fallen away from Christ. That is different than the person who sins but is still trusting in Christ for salvation. They aren't 'living in' sin. They haven't fallen away from Christ.

I guess you could say the reason the 'believer' is sinning determines if the free gift of salvation is still valid for them. Sinning because you have cast away the free gift of justification in unbelief will cause you to not have that free gift anymore. You can't have the free gift that you no longer believe and trust in. You can't have the benefit of a sacrifice you do not have anymore because you do not trust in it anymore.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Either you are unaware, or are ignoring the scriptures that warn against falling away from Jesus.
The problem is so many think the scriptures about falling away from faith in Jesus' sacrifice doesn't mean you lose the gift of justification that sacrifice gives you.

People used to think that if you fell away from faith in Christ it meant you were never in him to begin with. Now falling away in unbelief means you only lose his active presence and power in your life.
 

PS

Senior Member
Jan 11, 2013
5,399
695
113
Yes, but the 'trust and belief' must continue in order for the result to continue.

1 John 2:24 KJV
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.


The condition for continuing in the Son, and in the Father is that the gospel you heard in the beginning remain in you. Paul says the same thing here.

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 KJV
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.


That's not a works gospel as some claim. The condition for salvation is not works. The condition is that you receive and retain the gospel message in a continuing faith.



No argument about that. The moment you trust in Christ, your faith (your believing) is credited to you as righteousness.



Turning from sin is part of the good news about Jesus. It's just that repentance does not earn justification. But it definitely is a necessary part of the the gospel message.

Acts 2:37-38 KJV
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.


Acts 3:19 KJV
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out


Just because repentance itself is not what secures a justification of righteousness that doesn't mean it's not an integral and necessary part of the gospel. You will not be saved if you do not change your mind about Christ and your sin. The person who hasn't changed his mind about sin ends up being the fake believer that gets talked about so frequently in threads like this. He wants the free gift but he doesn't want to renounce his sin. He thinks he can have the free gift without a change of mind about his sin. Won't happen.



The prerequisite to being persuaded that you can save yourself is an honest acknowledgment of your sin and your guilt. Hatred of your sin and your slavery to it is the foundation to then realizing you need Christ and Christ alone to rescue you from it. So turning from sin is definitely an integral part of the gospel. It's just that repentance itself is not what secures justification. But you must have a repentant attitude to be justified. That's not works.



That's how it works.



He'll do everything he can to keep you from falling away from your belief in justification through Christ, but ultimately that's your decision. That's not you working for your justification. That's you wanting the free gift of justification or not. You can't cast it away in unbelief and still have it. I showed you above that you have to continue in the word of the gospel in faith in order to remain in the Son and the Father.

Even if you want to argue the old Calvinist argument that only truly born again people retain what they heard in the beginning in faith, that still means you have to continue in what you heard in the beginning to be saved. You can't separate salvation and a continued belief in Christ like so many are claiming you can do. You have to keep trusting in Christ to be saved.
What happens if your, 'trust and belief' does not continue?

(I know you have just explained, but just to reiterate so there can be no misunderstanding. Thanks.)
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Agree, more than enough to persuade of the truth of once saved eternally saved!
Yes, the saved person is saved for eternity. That's not the issue. The issue is, you have to keep believing in Christ to have the benefit of his sacrifice which never stops interceding for you in heaven. Under the old covenant the sacrifice did stop interceding for you and whatever life it secured for you came to end and you had to make repeated sacrifices because the one before it got used up.

Eternal life doesn't mean you can't lose it even if you stop believing in Christ. It means the life giving effect of the sacrifice of Jesus never ends like it did for the sacrifices under the old covenant. That's why we should not throw away the confidence we have in the sacrifice of Jesus that never stops giving life. Don't throw away the sacrifice that keeps on giving, forever.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
What happens if your, 'trust and belief' does not continue?

(I know you have just explained, but just to reiterate so there can be no misunderstanding. Thanks.)
You lose the justification that your trust and belief secured.

You can't have the benefit of a sacrifice that is applied to you through your believing if you no longer have the believing that applied it to you.