Dr. E, is it possible for you to stay in context? Where in Beatitudes does it say you need faith to be saved, to see God, to be comforted? Matthew was an eyewitness and He is quoting Christ in Beatitudes and you are spouting Paul's opinion. Does Paul trump Jesus in your book?
What does Jesus say? He says
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Are you poor in spirit (humble)? Does it require faith to be humble? NO it doesn't!
Jesus says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." does it require faith to mourn? No it doesn't! "
"Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth." No faith required there either!
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." No faith required.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Are only faithful merciful? What a crock!
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Children, who can't even speak, are pure in heart. No faith required.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Are only the faithful peacemakers? I don't think so.
"Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Have only the faithful been persecuted for righteousness' sake? Of course not.
"Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me." Not all Christ's followers believed He is God, not even the original Apostles until the very end (cf Mat 28:17).
Nothing here says faith is necessary. Nothing.
How is a man saved?
The Bible is full of "options" on this. I suggest you research it. You will be amazed what saves us according to the Book your worship. But if you wish, I will be happy to repost the list. It's quite impressive.
No wonder Luther was so furious when he opened the Bible and read it and saw how far the then-prevailing church had strayed from God's word.
Luther was furious because the Church apparently interfered with his carnal desires, so he devised a man-made "church" to be able to commit "one thousand fornications a day" (his words) and know that he is still saved.
It's not the Bible that differs, but our eyes and ears...Psalm 119:7
People believe what they choose to believe.
So salvation doesn’t require faith? Is that what you are saying? All we need to do is be mournful, humble, and salvation is ours? Works! That’s all it takes? Make yourself worthy of God? Well, good luck with that.
"For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" -- 1 Corinthians 4:7
Likewise from Scripture we know that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23)
Therefore all the good things we have received and all the good attributes we possess in life are not sin but gifts from God by and for and through the faith of Jesus Christ.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." No faith required.
No faith is required to hunger for righteousness???
Who has the ability or even the desire to "hunger for righteousness" if it is not by faith? Do you figure all men "hunger for righteousness?"
The reprobate does not "hunger for righteousness."
I don't recognize your faith in the slightest.
DR.E: How is a man saved?
KOSTA: The Bible is full of "options" on this.
"Options" on "how a man is saved???"
Wonder what the EO thinks about your self-proclaimed multiplicity of methods of salvation?
One of the problems that the cherry pickers face is that they do not read and accept the whole Bible. The Beatitudes are ignored since they do not fall into the Calvinistic Pauline elite elect misinterpretation of non-responsibility.
Not that Paul preaches irresponsibility, far from it, but that he says enough about the elect for the misinterpretation of it to allow for a distancing of it.
Many of the children of the Reformed talk the talk but do not walk the way. If I recall correctly, a Reformer claimed that her duties included teaching her children to kneel to Christ. I asked (and have done so in the past) how much kneeling she actually did. No reply. No significant replies in the past.
We are castigated for not enough literal interpretation of the Bible; yet this literal command to kneel before God in prayer and worship is continuously and haughtily ignored. The Eucharist is summarily dismissed. And so on. I am not singling out this individual, far from it; she is merely a typical example and fits in well with the caricature.
***Luther was furious because the Church apparently interfered with his carnal desires, so he devised a man-made “church” to be able to commit “one thousand fornications a day” (his words) and know that he is still saved.***
Luther furiously abridged the Bible and was prepared to do more in the NT, including removing all the Catholic letters and Revelation as well.