Two category's that must be kept separate JUSTIFICATION - SANCTIFICATION
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It has nothing to do with what I believe. That's what you folks just didn't seem to grasp.
When you can address what I've actually said get back to me, but in the meantime the wall seems your equal.
Well, I think it is nutso for anyone to think they are infallible, pope or otherwise, ex-cathedra or in-cathedra.
I claim to be correct or else I would not share my opinion, but I do not have the hubris to claim that my insights are infallible--
and I think the HS guides me to say this.
This is such an example of cherry-picking Scripture to push a specific theological agenda.
Yes, the will of God is for men to believe in His Son, but believing in His Son includes obeying His Son.
Then in the next few verses of Matt7 we have Jesus sending men away for living a life of working lawlessness while supposedly serving Him.
Then, if we track God's will through the NC, God's will is discussed in terms of how we live as Christians and specifically re: things like our sanctification and enduring trials, which things have to do with obeying His commands.
Why do you guys push this theology so hard that rejects His requirements for faithfully-obedient, godly living?
And, BTW, if justification and sanctification are to be so separated, then what is Paul talking about in Scriptures like 1Cor1:2; 1Cor1:30; 1Cor6:11?
Glad to hear the pope agrees that he is not infallible even when speaking ex-cathedra,
so it does not matter how many times he does so.
infallible = inerrant = perfect = without error = unerring = error-free = unfailing = faultless = flawless = impeccable
Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 that only those who do the will of My Father enter the kingdom. The question is: What is the will of the Father?
In John 6:40 Jesus answers that Himself, plainly & without ambiguity: This is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son & believes in Him may have everlasting life.
That's not my system. That's not my theology. That's Jesus defining His own terms & when Jesus defines a term, we don't get to redefine it as cherry-picking.
Obedience is a visible sign that one's faith is true, not a condition for receiving eternal life.
Jesus who warns about ""workers of lawlessness"" in Matt 7 also says: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. (Matt 7:18) the tree is known by his fruit. (Matt 12:33). Apart from Me you can do nothing. (Jn 15:5)
The issue in Matt 7 is not that they didn't obey enough. It's that they never knew Him (Matt 7:23). They were never believers. Their works were lawless (they didn't obey) because their hearts were unchanged (without Faith).
In-Christ is a positional statements used dozens of times by Paul.
C&P from the OP:
Justification is God's once‑for‑all verdict grounded in Savior' sin atoning sacrifice & resurrection, received by faith apart from works.
Sanctification is the Holy Spirit's ongoing work within us (Eph 2:10). Both are positional placements, one is ongoing as well.
Faith in Christ's finished work (Justification)
Faiths fruit is Holy Spirit lead ongoing works of obedience (Sanctification). Confusing the 2 always leads back to a works‑based-salvation.
1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
(NOTE: Set apart/Sanctified ""in Christ Jesus""/positional at the moment of conversion & continual lead by the Holy Spirit to complete the work you were set apart for)
1 Cor 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption
(NOTE: In Christ Jesus/positional He is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption etc)
1 Cor 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
(NOTE: Not in how great anyone is in obeying anything. Rom 5:19 By the obedience of One/Him again)
1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and ""by the Spirit of our God"".
Studier, this one undermines your point completely. Paul separates sanctification & justification both performed ""by the Holy Spirit"". These actions are in the past tense, as completed acts: washed, sanctified, justified. Not future. Not conditional. Not probationary. These are the results of salvation, not the requirements for it.
Studier is locked into his failed works-based salvation doctrine. To anyone else that may be following the thread:
The New Testament never teaches that obedience is the condition for receiving or maintaining eternal life. It teaches that obedience is the evidence of having received eternal life.
We are justified by faith (Rom 5:1).
We are sanctified in Christ (1 Cor 1:2).
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13–14).
We are kept by God's power (1 Pet 1:5).
We are saved & become His workmanship, created/set apart for good works (Eph 2:10). Obedience flows from salvation, not into it. Lead by the Holy Spirit to Christlikeness.
Yes, the primary question in life is indeed "What is the will of the Father?" A crisis that threatened a Philippian jailer with death prompted him to ask Paul and Silas the question this way: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) I like to word it this way: "What is God's requirement for salvation (GRFS)?" This question is most important, because—as sinful and mortal souls—we need saving from corruption, both moral and physical. We need saving from physical death if we value or enjoy life, and we need saving from immorality or evil-doing if it results in unhappy existence, especially after this lifetime.
Jesus expressed GRFS succinctly by saying “Repent” (Matt. 4:17) and “Ask… seek… knock…” (Matt. 7:7, Heb. 11:6, Isa. 45:19), implying that God gives every sinful soul the ability to repent and seek salvation (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, 2Tim. 2:25, Ezek. 33:11), which might be why Paul said sinners are saved “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9, Tit. 2:11). Seeking God is the beginning of saving faith, and not repenting or rejecting God’s salvation in Christ is the essence of evil atheism or faith in I-dolatry (Rom. 3:11, 1:18-23).
The reply of Paul and Silas to the jailer was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:31). This is GRFS in a nutshell: “Accept Christ Jesus as Lord” (as also in 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6). The main points of Christian orthodoxy implicit in this statement can be explained or elaborated fully as follows:
- There is a/one all-loving and just Lord or Creator God (Deut. 6:4, John 3:16, 2Thes. 1:6), who loves sinful humanity (Rom. 5:6-8, John 3:16) and who is both able (2Tim. 1:12) and willing (1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11) to provide all morally accountable human beings salvation or heaven—a wonderful life full of love, joy and peace forever.
- Human beings are selfish or sinful (Rom. 3:23, 2Tim. 3:2-4, Col. 3:5), miserable (Gal. 5:19-21), and hopeless (Eph. 2:12) or hell-bound at the judgment (Matt. 23:33 & 25:46) when they reject God’s salvation (John 3:18, Rom. 2:5-11).
- Jesus is God’s Messiah/Christ and incarnate Son, the way that God has chosen (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Phil. 2:9-11) of providing salvation by means of his atoning death on the cross for the payment of the penalty for the sins of humanity (Rom. 3:22-25 & 5:9-11), followed by his resurrection to reign in heaven (1Cor. 15:14-28).
- Thus, every person who hears the NT Gospel needs to repent and accept God’s grace or justification in Jesus as Christ/Messiah the Lord or Supreme Commander (Luke 2:11, John 14:6, Acts 16:31), at which moment God’s loving Holy Spirit of Christ indwells/baptizes the believer into the church (Rev. 3:20, Rom. 5:5, 1Cor. 12:13).
- Loving Christ Jesus as Lord (Luke 2:11), God the Son (Matt. 16:16) or God in the human dimension (Col. 2:9) means reflecting divine love (DL) as empowered by the Holy Spirit, thereby obeying His command to love one another (Matt. 7:21, 22:37-40, John 13:35, Rom. 13:9)—forever (Matt. 10:22, Psa. 113:2), which will eventually achieve spiritual maturity on earth and heaven after Christ returns at God’s resurrection (John 14:6, 17&26, Rom. 8:6-17, Gal. 6:7-9, Eph. 1:13-14, Phil. 3:12-16, Heb. 10:36, 12:1, Jam. 1:2-4).
GWH, your AI is uninformed. Jesus defines the will of the Father for salvation in John 6:40: believe in the Son. Everything else, repentance, obedience, love, endurance. Are the fruit of salvation, not the requirement for it.
Matthew 7 condemns false believers (I never knew you), not believers who didn't obey enough.
Paul treats justification & sanctification as distinct works of God (1 Cor 6:11). Both are past tense, both are results of salvation & both are positional realities, God placing the believer into union with Christ (in Christ) at conversion. Justification is once‑for‑all & NOT ongoing. Sanctification is both positional (completed at conversion) & progressive (the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the believer, carrying out the very purpose for which the believer was set apart).
The NT never teaches that obedience is the condition for receiving or maintaining eternal life. It teaches that obedience is the evidence of having received eternal life.
Justification & Sanctification Explained Again
Justification is God's once‑for‑all judicial verdict declaring a sinner righteous on the basis of Christ's sin‑atoning death & resurrection. When a person calls on the Lord Jesus for forgiveness & believes in His finished work, God who alone knows the true heart (Rev 2:23, John 2:24–25, Matt 15:18) baptizes the believer with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11 & Luke 3:16) & places that believer into union with Christ (in Christ). At that moment, Christ takes the believer’s sin upon Himself (1 Pet 3:18 & 1 Cor 15:3), grants full pardon & imputes His righteousness to the believer so that we ""become the righteousness of God in Him"" (2 Cor 5:21). Paul emphasizes that justification is entirely apart from works: To the one who does not work but believes... his faith is counted as righteousness (Rom 4:5) God imputes righteousness apart from works (Rom 4:6) & ""the Lord will not impute sin"" to the justified (Rom 4:8). Justification is therefore a completed, past tense act of God, a positional reality given at conversion & NOT an ongoing process or a transformation produced by human effort.
Sanctification, in Paul's theology, also begins as a completed act of God at conversion. At the same moment a believer is justified, he is also sanctified & set apart as God's own possession, purified & prepared for good works (Titus 2:14 & 2 Tim 2:21). This positional sanctification includes deliverance from sin's ruling power (Rom 6:14 & Rom 8:2) & the believer's placement into union with Christ (in Christ), the sphere in which all spiritual blessings are found. Paul captures this with 3 aorist verbs: You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified (1 Cor 6:11) all past tense, all God's actions, all results of salvation. From this positional reality flows progressive sanctification: the Holy Spirit's ongoing work of leading, teaching & shaping the believer into Christlikeness (Jn 14:26 & 1 Jn 2:27). Progressive sanctification is the Holy Spirit carrying out the very purpose for which the believer was set apart, producing obedience & transformation as the fruit of salvation, never the condition for it.
Thus, Paul treats justification & sanctification as distinct works of God both past tense, both results of salvation, both positional realities grounded in union with Christ (in Christ) at conversion. Justification is once‑for‑all & not ongoing, sanctification is both positional (completed at conversion) & progressive (the Holy Spirit's ongoing work in the believer).
Justification is God's once‑for‑all judicial verdict declaring a sinner righteous on the basis of Christ's sin‑atoning death & resurrection. When a person calls on the Lord Jesus for forgiveness & believes in His finished work, God who alone knows the true heart (Rev 2:23, John 2:24–25, Matt 15:18) baptizes the believer with the Holy Spirit (Matt 3:11 & Luke 3:16) & places that believer into union with Christ (in Christ). At that moment, Christ takes the believer’s sin upon Himself (1 Pet 3:18 & 1 Cor 15:3), grants full pardon & imputes His righteousness to the believer so that we ""become the righteousness of God in Him"" (2 Cor 5:21). Paul emphasizes that justification is entirely apart from works: To the one who does not work but believes... his faith is counted as righteousness (Rom 4:5) God imputes righteousness apart from works (Rom 4:6) & ""the Lord will not impute sin"" to the justified (Rom 4:8). Justification is therefore a completed, past tense act of God, a positional reality given at conversion & NOT an ongoing process or a transformation produced by human effort.
Sanctification, in Paul's theology, also begins as a completed act of God at conversion. At the same moment a believer is justified, he is also sanctified & set apart as God's own possession, purified & prepared for good works (Titus 2:14 & 2 Tim 2:21). This positional sanctification includes deliverance from sin's ruling power (Rom 6:14 & Rom 8:2) & the believer's placement into union with Christ (in Christ), the sphere in which all spiritual blessings are found. Paul captures this with 3 aorist verbs: You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified (1 Cor 6:11) all past tense, all God's actions, all results of salvation. From this positional reality flows progressive sanctification: the Holy Spirit's ongoing work of leading, teaching & shaping the believer into Christlikeness (Jn 14:26 & 1 Jn 2:27). Progressive sanctification is the Holy Spirit carrying out the very purpose for which the believer was set apart, producing obedience & transformation as the fruit of salvation, never the condition for it.
Thus, Paul treats justification & sanctification as distinct works of God both past tense, both results of salvation, both positional realities grounded in union with Christ (in Christ) at conversion. Justification is once‑for‑all & not ongoing, sanctification is both positional (completed at conversion) & progressive (the Holy Spirit's ongoing work in the believer).
Walking in the light is easy, and there's no burden of sin in the light, as 1Jn 1:7 renders our cleansing (from kathoros of which derivative is catharize as in the cleansing of a wound and 'catharsis') is [present indicative active] continuous. And those in the light have fellowship with one another, if we walk in it.
Re "your AI is uninformed." What AI is that? I learned my information before AI was invented.
Re "Jesus defines the will of the Father for salvation in John 6:40: believe in the Son." Yes, John 6:40 is another way of stating GRFS.
Re "Everything else, repentance, obedience, love, endurance. Are the fruit of salvation, not the requirement for it." Perseverance in sanctification is required per Rom. 11:22, 1Cor. 15:2, Col. 1:22-23, 2Thes. 1:4-5, 2Tim. 2:12, Heb. 3:6&14, 10:35-36, Jam. 1:12, 2Pet. 1:10-11, 2:20, 1John 2:24-25 and Rev. 2:10.
Re "Matthew 7 condemns false believers (I never knew you), not believers who didn't obey enough." True, saints sin.
Re "Paul treats justification & sanctification as distinct works of God (1 Cor 6:11). Both are past tense, both are results of salvation & both are positional realities": Note that you used the present tense!
Re "God placing the believer into union with Christ (in Christ) at conversion. Justification is once‑for‑all & NOT ongoing.": I was raised to believe the P of TULIP as a Baptist, but then I read Rom. 11:22, 1Cor. 15:2, Col. 1:22-23, 2Thes. 1:4-5, 2Tim. 2:12, Heb. 3:6&14, 10:35-36, Jam. 1:12, 2Pet. 1:10-11, 2:20, 1John 2:24-25 and Rev. 2:10.
Re "Sanctification is both positional (completed at conversion) & progressive (the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the believer, carrying out the very purpose for which the believer was set apart)." True, and what I learned is that there is no qualitative difference between faith that accepts God’s saving grace at conversion and faith that accepts God’s working grace or motivates good works while walking/living (Eph. 2:8-10, 2Cor. 5:7), but only a quantitative difference as each additional moment passes–and of course faith remains non-meritorious during the saint’s entire lifetime (Rom. 1:17). IOW, the ability to do good works as well as have saving faith are both due to God’s grace. Saving faith is not mere belief (Jam. 2:19), but it is more accurate to view faith as will to action (MFW) or motivation rather than the action or work itself (Heb. 4:12-13, 11:6).
Re "The NT never teaches that obedience is the condition for receiving or maintaining eternal life. It teaches that obedience is the evidence of having received eternal life." On the contrary obeying the command of Jesus to repent aka have saving faith is the condition for entering heaven and for remaining there. Just ask Satan's angels who fell.
Walking in the light in 1 John 1:7 is NOT presented as the condition for receiving or maintaining eternal life, but as the evidence that someone already possesses it. John is writing to believers who already have eternal life (1 Jn 5:13), already know the Father (2:13) & are already ""in Him"" (2:5–6). When he says, If we walk in the light... the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin, the present tense cleansing (katharizei) describes the ongoing fellowship & experiential purification believers enjoy because they are already saved, not the means by which they become saved.Walking in the light is easy, and there's no burden of sin in the light, as 1Jn 1:7 renders our cleansing (from kathoros of which derivative is catharize as in the cleansing of a wound and 'catharsis') is [present indicative active] continuous. And those in the light have fellowship with one another, if we walk in it.
The contrast in 1 John is NOT between obedient Christians & disobedient Christians, but between those who know God & those who claim to know Him but walk in darkness (1 Jn 1:6 & 2:4). Walking in the light is the natural result of having been born of God (1 Jn 3:9), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Jn 2:27) & brought into fellowship with the Father & the Son (1 Jn 1:3). It is the fruit of eternal life, not the basis of it.
The New Testament never teaches that obedience or walking in the light is the condition for receiving or maintaining eternal life. It consistently teaches that obedience is the evidence of having already received eternal life (Jn 10:27–28, Eph 2:8–10 & Titus 2:11–14).
The question is answered throughout the NC and the will of the Father is John6:40 and more.
Your system is to limit Scripture to not include all it says about God's will in this case.
Obedience is also included in believing the Gospel because believing the Gospel is commanded and because according to the NC writers and to a Hebrew concept of believing, there is no faith apart from obedience.
Your Faith-Alone system is a disaster.