Not By Works

Jesus also qualified WHY HE KEPT silent and also WHY he spoke in parables.....another misapplication of truth by DM!

Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Rom 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Rom 7:8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

Sin still exists today.
The law is still condemning people as sinners.
But we are free from the condemnation of the law by faith in Christ.
The new person obeys the law not to be righteous but because the old man of sin is dead with Christ.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God....the power is in the MESSAGE...not the measenger and or even his/her life......HE THAT HAS EARS TO HEAR and EYES to see <--indicative of spiritual understanding.....numerous points prove this

A. Paul said some preach the gospel out of love, some out of contention and malice etc. hoping to add to Paul's bonds...he concluded...regardless the message was being preached and that is where the power lies...

Stephen was stoned to death by men that COULD SEE HE WAS from GOD, BUT they stopped their ears and refused to hear

HOW shall they HEAR except one be sent

Pharisees refused to HEAR even though they could SEE.....

....AFTER YOU HEARD the gospel of your salvation....

it pleased GOD by the FOOLISHNESS of preaching to save them that believe

etc.....

The end came and went in the 1st century A.D.....in a nutshell!

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Perhaps the "works" by which we cannot be saved might relate to things such as charity, generousity, kindness and all of those fruits of the Spirit, which are of course godly, but do not save us.

However, if we continually practise being mean, cruel and unkind, we continue to steal from others, use people in fornication, then our evil works can send us to hell, especially if we are representing Christ while unrepentantly sinning. In fact if our heart doesn't feel bad and lean towards turning back, are we really truly Born Again? We know that King David sinned many times, yet his heart yearned to turn back and he did not lose favour with God because of this.

All you said there, does stand, and I agree with you, but I think you can understand where I was coming from.

When Christians don't act up to God's standard, then through them God is blasphemed and it is bad for God's cause. This is why the first Christians were urged to purge their community from wantonly people.

Maybe my post was too personal. I was coming from personal observations of how when I was the unbeliever, I was always drawn to the Christians who had peace and joy. It witnessed a lot more to me than someone telling me a story about Jesus. That peace was something real, evident. How do they have this peace? How do I become like that? How do they have such a meek, wonderful character while I am so petty? There has to be SOMETHING there, because I can see it in them!

But in the area I am coming from (Eastern Europe), evangelism is very weak (Eastern Orthodox dominant), so I wished often that people spoke up more. In America it's kind of opposite, and people throw a bunch of words, but it sometimes doesn't do justice to the message. There is a lot of condemnation talk, I'd say the situation has been improving steadily, but there needs to be more testimony, less simplistic talk and pretending how we have all the answers because that only causes "give me a break" reactions and rolling of eyes, and more direct, honest, and human-to-human approach towards atheists and people of different faiths...

Obviously our walk, works, etc. can cause one to seek why we are the way we are...like an open book, but it is not the rule and without a doubt the power to save, transform, mold etc....is found in the message

Rom 3:25
"to decare HIS Righteousness"
Amen!

There won't be "give me a break reactions" and rolling eyes to those who are of the good soil and the foreordained. Don't worry God knows who are His.

2 Cor 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

What profit is it is for God's kingdom to antagonize or mock non believers though, like some are doing? (Not saying that it isn't deserved at times, in healthy defense.)
We're supposed to do everything we can to gain people for Christ. Rather than focus on others being an outcast who will never get in, which plants most unprofitable word into existence, I'd like to focus on the message that it is at hand, right now, and make them feel invited to know God.
It's a fact we don't have all the answers in this life. But we have the answers to a few important questions, who is Jesus and why is He our hope and why we follow Him. So we need to stick to Jesus instead of proving nothing to no one in flame rhetorics.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
We are all hopeless and lost, we can do no good thing or produce anything righteous or faithful.
God is able.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

If God wants everyone to be saved, and God is the author of our faith, we should all be saved. But God can't force people to choose what we can freely choose. Repent and draw close to Him. Gods free grace is freely given to those that are willing to accept it.

In the same way that faith increases, our works increase. Works and faith can't be separated. buy choosing to accept God and His word, by alowing Him to work in us and surrendering our will, the sure result is increased faith and works.
Jas 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

A thorough study of the Scriptures will lead you to understand that some people are heretics by choice, refuse the settled doctrine that was laid down by the Apostles, and preach a different gospel. Such people were not tolerated, they were identified, warned, then according to their reaction to the warnings, either repented, or were excommunicated.

I agree with you about the unsaved and how they should be dealt with, extending patience and mercy, striving to teach them the truth of the gospel of God. Some will receive some will reject. Further dealings with them will be based on their reaction.

NO, it is the MOTIVE for the OBEDIENCE that counts. If the Motive is not AGAPE LOVE FOR HIM and for the brethren, it is totally worthless in GOD's Opinion. AGAPE LOVE spawns Obedience, not the other way around.

John 14:15 (HCSB)
15 “If you love Me {Born Again}, you will keep My commands.

@Oncefallen

Are you liking I am going offline is that some kind of hint.....

“Speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church,” Ephesians 4:15

I've been having to work off my phone for the past couple of days because my modem crapped out and I won't have a new one for a couple of days. It seems that I've left a few unintended emojis scrolling through posts on a small touch screen.

I"ll keep the emoji if that is okay... I can use all the help I can get.