"I see him everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!
You have a funny way of thinking if you think Christ lied to Martha by not giving her the entire theology of soteriology in this one passage. He told her what she needed to know at the time....and he told other people what they needed to know at those times, and these collected teachings are combined into the New Testament.
You seem to want to screen out everything and just focus on this passage regarding salvation....and what gives you the right to do that?
The goats, by the way, were not condemned for not knowing Christ...they were condemned for not *doing* something for Christ. The passage is very explicit. And again John 6...whatever it means if you don't want to go down that rabbit hole...it clearly states that you must DO something to merit eternal life.
It's hard not to read you and see the lingering effects of Luther--he had a big problem with scrupulosity and forgiveness, and he thought he could game the system by just declaring himself righteous by fiat and then sinning boldly all he wanted. Biggest scam the devil ever pulled on the Christian faithful. Don't get sucked into his trap.
"I see him everywhere!!!!!!!!!!!
Goats in the NT was used to symbolize the people who had no relationship with Christ. They are the ones who've rejected Him.
2055 eríphion (a neuter noun which is the diminutive form of 2056 /ériphos, "a goat") – a kid (young goat); (figuratively) someone rejecting Christ's Lordship, i.e. who will not follow His will and hence is small (puny) in God's sight.http://biblehub.com/greek/2055.htm
And again John 6...whatever it means if you don't want to go down that rabbit hole...it clearly states that you must DO something to merit eternal life.
You just identified the whole problem with Roman Catholicism....it's a system of works.
Talk about using one verse to build a theology around!
There is nothing you can do aside from faith in Him to gain eternal life.
What can you possibly offer as a good work that would come close to the Cross?
NOTHING
Now, as believers in Christ do we perform good works after we're saved? Yes. The NT is clear on that. But those are not what save us. They are the evidence of our salvation.
You can do a whole bunch of "good" stuff and not be a believer. Mormons are "good" people....but they are not Christians. They will not gain Heaven.
Can you be a believer and not have a change in your life that produces fruit? I don't think so.
The "good" works we do are a result of our salvation...not the cause of it.
Honestly, I've learned more about Luther from Roman Catholics and their disdain for the man. Prior to joining FR and these discussions, I'd not read up much on Luther.
What I have learned though is Luther used the original languages in his studies. When he was reading Romans in the Greek that is when the light came on that we come to Christ through faith and faith alone.
It was something new to him....in other words, something he'd not been taught in Roman Catholicism as they were not using the original languages.
There was an article posted by Msgr Pope a year or so ago where he noted he was starting to study the Greek! Imagine that.
Sadly, a lot of Roman Catholic seminaries do not require Greek or Hebrew in their MDiv degrees.
I will also say non-Roman Catholic seminaries, while they may require the Greek and Hebrew, don't require much beyond two classes in each.
I will also admit the pastors I've spoken to regarding the Greek/Hebrew admit they don't use it and took the classes and moved on. What a disservice we're doing when we don't understand the languages.
To really understand the scriptures you need a solid working knowledge of both. For that reason I've been studying Greek at seminary for the past three years.
When I do my Bible study I try to incorporate the Greek. I don't say this to brag but only as an example of trying to understand the Scriptures as originally intended.
For a man of God to not understand the Greek is akin to a mechanic not understanding how the combustion engine works or how power is conveyed to the drive shaft.
I tell ya....if you read Romans 3-5 and understand the Greek you will understand the concept of faith alone regarding salvation. The key verbs in those chapters are in the passive voice...in other words, the subject of the verb is being acted upon by an outside force. It renders any "work" on our part null and void.
And Rome has determined that we need to 'know' more&more as the times roll by.
Even Mary has to get in on that little game.
How many 'visitations' are claimed to be Marian?
In the thousands?