Posted on 08/22/2016 5:58:11 PM PDT by ebb tide
Faith is dead due to not letting the Spirit “work” within you. Faith leads to the Holy Spirit to dwell within. Refusing to adhere to/listen to/take for granted the Comforter makes the faith dead. James 2:26.
It is true that satan knows who Jesus IS, but that does not mean he believes in JESUS's sovereignty among humankind. We cannot see JESUS as He now is in His glorified body, IN HEAVEN, but we believe on HIM WHOM GOD sent for our salvation.
I could also write that sentence as 'we faithe in HIM WHOM GOD sent' for our being born from above, born of the spirit. Faithing in JESUS as Savior and LORD evidences living faith, living belief, transformational faithing.
I believe this is what James was seeking to teach in his epistle. What happened on that first day of Pentecost following Jesus's ascension shows salvation is an immediate thing because the Holy Spirit came into the believers when they believed Jesus IS the One Whom God sent for their salvation. The scene in the house of Cornelius also shows salvation, being born from above is an immediate thing.
I wonder why folks never ask themselves or ask God about the ones who were in the crowd that day of Pentecost who did not believe and were not touched by the Holy Spirit that day? 3000 were added to His BODY / Church / Ekklesia that day, but certainly there were many than that who heard Peter's message. The Bible tells us of the 3000, but leaves out word regarding the rest of the mass who were listening to that strange sermon by an itinerate fisherman.
Paul wrote about the Bema Seat of Christ, IN HEAVEN, for those who believe in Whom God has sent for our salvation. If the teaching by Jesus, to Nicodemus, regarding the brass snake in the wilderness of Moses's day is any indication, there will be some surprises at that Bema Seat. Paul says, by inspiration from GOD, that a man's life works can be nothing more than wood, hay, and stubble, yet the man will be there in Heaven for the event.
My studied opinion on that is, the man was a believer who did not allow the Holy Spirit to raise him up in the way that he should go after he believed in the One Who GOD sent for his salvation. We may too often equate 'works' with acts of charity, etc. GOD may mean something a bit different, like the working out our salvation by being transformed through submitting our will to HIS raising.
The works of the spirit leadership manifest the faith of the man because only by faith are we transformed in this life. That transformation working out with fear and trembling is because it is God Who is in you, raising you up in the way that you should go! ... If you are born from above.
Show me ONE person who has ever posted anything on FR that ever indicates that they thought that way and I can show you LOTS of Christians who say that kind of thinking is wrong.
And Paul says so in Scripture too,. So those of us who adhere to Scripture as the final authority show you this.
Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
So give it up already.
Uh, no.
Faith may be unfruitful but faith that results in regeneration is not dead. Ever.
Indeed...and Romans 7 and 8 enlarge beautifully upon that same premise.
Should sin increase so that grace may about? GOD FORBID! (That is what St. Paul said)
A proponent of the opposite idea that one has to sin more egregiously, that grace may abound more, was a Siberian monk whose debaucheries and evil helped bring down an empire.
I am speaking, of course, of Grigory Rasputin.
And in Acts 17:31 it refers to evidential warrant for believing:
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance [pistis] unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Act 17:31: KJV)
Which is actually referring to not being in union with Christ in how He sees His body, the church, because the Corinthians were not effectually remembering and thus showing the Lord's death for the church, since they we eating independently, selfishly, even to the full, and which to "shame them that have not," as if those for whom Christ died were spiritual lepers.
Read it in context, versus reading the preconceived Catholic corruption of the Lord's supper into the passage.
Paul reproves Corinthian church for coming together to eat the Lord's supper, as he charges them with not actually doing so because they were eating what is supposed to be a communal meal, the “feast of charity,” (Jude 1:12) independently of each other, so that “in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken,” and thus what they were doing was to “shame them that have not.” (1Co. 11:20-22)
Therefore Paul proceeds to reiterates the words of Christ at the institution of the Lord's supper, ending with “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew [kataggellō=preach/declare] the Lord's death till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
For while they were supposed to be showing/declaring the Lord's unselfish sacrificial death for the body by unselfishly sharing food with other members of the body of Christ, whom Christ purchased it with His own sinless shed blood, (Acts 20:28) instead they were both eating independently and selfishly. And thus were effectively treating other members as lepers, and as if the body was not a body, and as if others were not part of the body for whom Christ died. This lack of effectual recognition is what is being referred to as “not discerning the Lord's body,” that of the body in which the members are to treat each as blood-bought beloved brethren, as Christ did. Because they were presuming to show the Lord's death for the body while acting contrary to it, therefore they were eating this bread and drinking the cup of the Lord unworthily, hypocritically, and were chastised for it, some unto death. (1Co. 11:27-32)
Because this was the case and cause of condemnation — that of not recognizing the nature of the corporate body of Christ in independently selfishly eating — versus not recognizing the elements eaten as being the body of Christ — then the apostle's solution was, “Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.” (1 Corinthians 11:33-34)
And which leads into the next chapter in which Christ-like love is described. Paul himself was asked of the Lord, “why persecutest thou me” (Acts 9:4) as Paul was attacking the church, thus showing His identification with the church.
Wrong. Faith is what one receives by believing the Word by the Holy Spirit who makes one alive. Whereas dead faith is that which does not effect obedience, and is not of the Holy Spirit.
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (Galatians 3:2)
But the fruit of the Spirit is...faith, (Galatians 5:22)
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (Ephesians 2:1,5)
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; (2 Corinthians 4:13)
Man could not and would not believe on the Lord Jesus or follow Him unless God gave him life, and breath, and all good things he has, (Acts 17:25) and convicted him, (Jn. 16:8) drew him, (Jn. 6:44; 12:32) opened his heart, (Acts 16:14) and granted repentance (Acts 11:18) and gave faith, (Eph. 2:8,9) and then worked in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure the works He commands them to do. (Phil. 2:13; Eph. 2:10)
Thus man owes to God all things, while man is guilty and rightly damned for resisting God contrary to the level of grace given him, (Prov. 1:20-31; Lk. 10:13; 12:48; Rv. 20:11-15) so that man cannot not claim he actually deserves anything but varying degrees of just damnation, but that under grace — which denotes unmerited favor — God has chosen to reward faith, (Heb. 10:35) in recognition of its effects.
Which means that God justifies man without the merit of any works, which is what Romans 4:1-7ff teaches, with “works of the law” including all systems of justification by merit of works, “for, if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.” (Galatians 3:21)
Thus the penitent publican and the contrite criminal, both of whom abased themselves as damned and destitute sinner and cast all their faith upon the mercy of God (which ultimately is Christ), were justified, and as such could go directly to be with the Lord at death, even before they did any manifest works of faith. But works justify one as being a believer, and fit to be rewarded under grace for such, (Mt. 25:30-40; Rv. 3:4) though only because God has decided to reward man for what God Himself is actually to be credited for.
The members of the ekklesia....yes.
Members of the denomination known as roman catholicism is a different manner as are member the Methodist church, Baptist, etc.
Just being a member of a church doesn't mean you're saved.
Faith in Christ means you're saved.
The trespasses are defined in some cases as those things we didn't even realize we'd done.
It illustrates that even the smallest sin condemns us to death.
Eph 2:5 though tells us that Christ made us alive in Him.
The word, being, as translated in the Greek, ontas, is a present participle active. "and you, being dead", is the literal translation of the Greek.
It doesn't have a time component to it. The meaning of this is your trespasses will always render you dead. Always.
By grace you are saved.
The word saved is a perfect participle middle/passive. This is understood as saying you were saved at some point by His grace and you are continually being saved by His grace.
The saving is done by Christ.
His grace doesn't stop.
Amen and amen.
Same with you.
Supposedly YOU know the truth then about Catholicism...But in the last 5 years you haven't been able to impart that truth to make your religion look appealing to any of us born again Christians...
HaHaHa...Because Jesus told us...If you're not a sinner, you ain't breathin'...
I’m not here to make you “feel good”.
Sorry.
Yes, you are. 😀
:-)
Grigory was quite the character! :-)
Jeremiah preached for Forty years without a convert. So number of converts is not a valid criteria. Anyway, the Roman Catholic Church plays a key role in the end of days.
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