[Terriergal]

Salvation is by grace alone, works don't matter!

Jesus said to the theif on the cross, "Today you shall be with me in Paradise."

Works flow from true faith and validate that it is there in the heart of a believer, but if there is no time for it to be expressed before death, that doesn't mean it is not there.

Therefore, salvation is by God's grace alone through faith alone, and the result of salvation is good works done to glorify God.

Anyway, the post was meant to contrast the beliefs. I thought some of the Muslim beliefs on Christ's deity sounded a lot like Jehovah's Witnesses. (not to euqate the those two religions though!)

[B Knotts]

I would make one quibble. The grace is not "earned" by faith; nothing we can do makes us deserving of salvation. We believe, and we are saved, but we are not saved because of the act of believing. We are saved solely through God's grace and His love for us.

It's kind of a fine point, but I think it's important. The act of believing doesn't save us any more than helping a little old lady across the street does. Through our faith in His Only Son, we ask God for his mercy, and because He is a loving God, he grants us His grace. The works we do are important, however, because they demonstrate to our brothers and sisters our devotion to God.

I hope I got that right; I'm not much of a theologian, but I try the best I can. :-)