Work(s), How would you describe them?

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Jason0047 said:
Granted, we all have "free will" both before and after we accept the Lord; But I believe those who endure (i.e. Those who choose Jesus as a way of life until their death) will not fall away from the faith or miss the mark. For they have the comfort and the assurance that Jesus Christ will never leave them nor forsake them; And they have the assurance that nothing external can separate them from the love of Christ. It is only the individual or oneself that makes the choice to stay within the Lord or not. So yes; It is true that God does not force salvation upon people. However, God will work with a person who desires to be in His good graces. There is no fear in us making it to Heaven or not. We trust in God that He saves us now and tomorrow.
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For believers have an assurance of their salvation.

1 John 5:13
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

This of course will naturally result in good fruit. If no good fruit is brought forth; They have to go back to God's grace and mercy and be cleansed so that they can bear the proper fruit. But ultimately it is God's grace (and spiritual regeneration) that saves; And it is not in what we do.
 
On various topics in the Bible, the Scriptures are written sometimes from two different perspectives. For example: In the Scriptures, sometimes it appears that God does not know certain things and yet other times it appears that God does indeed know all things. Is this a contradiction in Scripture? No, most certainly not. One perspective or set of Scriptures teach that God is eternal and knows all things and the other perspective is written from the perspective of how God relates to man from a human perspective. It's the same with the topic of faith vs. works. In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul essentially says we are saved by grace and not of works. Yet James essentially says in James 2:17 that faith without works is a dead faith. This leads us to the teaching within Scripture that tells us that God is the One who ultimately does the work within the believer. How so?

Well, here is a list of verses that tell us that it is God (Christ) that does the work in a believer's life.

Philippians 1:6
Philippians 1:11
Philippians 2:13
Philippians 4:13
1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV
Hebrews 12:1, 2
Hebrews 13:21
Isaiah 26:12
1 John 4:12
Galatians 5:22, 23, 24 (cf. Matthew 7:16, 18, Matthew 19:17)
John 15:5
Ezekiel 36:26, 27

For that is why the 24 elders cast their crowns down before Jesus (Revelation 4:10). For the crowns they received for their good work was all the result of Christ working in them.

Yeah, but doesn't a believer do the work, too? Now, yes, it is true; A believer is created unto Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:10); And a believer is indeed held accountable by their "good works" here upon this Earth at a Judgment. But we must also realize that true believers are not ultimately doing these "good works" alone or of their own power, though. For in 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul said that he labored more than all of his brethren, yet he said it was not him that labored but it was the grace of God that was within him. So true believer's are just choosing to allow God's "good work" to flow within them or not.
 
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
 
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Faith is always active, never passive. Whoever says he has faith but does not act on it, he deceives himself. Faith is love in action.
 
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