Posted on 09/10/2018 3:27:56 PM PDT by pastorbillrandles
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.(Romans 3:27-28)
Why is it that God requires faith and not works? Why is it that God’s salvation is only accessible to those who believe in His gospel ? Part of the answer to this question is in the quote above.
We have seen that man is so bankrupt, he is so estranged from God and corrupted, that there is no way that he can save himself. He is condemned and there is nothing he can possibly do to justify himself before God. Salvation is entirely of God.
The requirement of faith underscores this. There is nothing man has to ‘glory in’ except the saving work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Faith is a response to God’s initiative, an open hand ,receiving the gift of God’s love and forgiveness. It removes boasting entirely.
It was unbelief that brought us into ruin. Had Adam and Eve only believed in the goodness of God, the right of God to impose limits on them for their good, we would not have fallen. And it is unbelief that has ever been our own plague.
The serpent presented a different view of God to the first man and woman, by implying that God was with holding back something that would be good- a share in his own Divinity. ” God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes shall be opened, and you will know good and evil…“ ( for yourself, and on your own terms).
Believing the serpent’s slander against God, they “broke faith”, launching out in independence from God, grasping for that which they believed had been denied them.They would live on their own terms and be their own people, they would decide for themselves what right and wrong are.
This is the meaning of unbelief; not doubt and skepticism, but independence from God.
All sins are expressions of unbelief, therefore the scripture says “Whatever is not of faith is a sin”(Romans 14:22).Why do we sin? because we believe not! We are estranged from God because we no longer believe Him.
Why do people fornicate? They do so, because they don’t really believe that God’s plan of marriage is the best for them. Why do they take drugs to alter their consciousness? Because they don’t believe in God’s reality for them. Why do they steal? Because they reject the things God has given them, or they rebel against God’s order of productive work.All sin is unbelief.
Faith and Love are intrinsically linked, to quit believing is to quit loving and vice versa. The only way to believe in God is to love Him, and the only way to Love Him is to believe Him.
God is good, and knows best, and He has the right to impose limits on any of us. We can know that those limits are for our own good and His glory. But we have to believe that God is good.
A Christian conversion is a reversal of this process of unbelief. We come as sinners again to God, helpless and bankrupt, deeply estranged from His glory and splendor, and from the joy of His communion.We can offer Him nothing of any value, we can only believe in the good news of His own salvation. All on our part is humble response.
Salvation by faith in the substitute, Jesus, cures us of our deepest problem and the fountain of all of our corruption, independent pride. God ordained faith because it really does humble us, it takes Self out of the picture, it rightly gives God all of the glory.
If salvation were indeed by works, of the Law or otherwise, than boasting would be inevitable. “We are the good people, who don’t smoke or drink, we home school our children and never watch dirty movies.” But whether it be in gross sins or exalted religion, the principle of proud Independence from God, self effort and self promotion, all are an abomination of God.
We can only utter with grateful, trembling lips, along with the blessed hymnist:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, All for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.
Faith is works, but not the works of the pharisees.
The “works” of faith are simply willful obedience to the Father's commandments.
That is why James called Torah “The Perfect Law of Liberty.”
Faith is exactly living as our Savior lived (as clearly stated by john in his first epistle.
There is nothing we can do (works) to improve upon what Jesus already did for us. If we think there is, then we are totally disregarding what Jesus did.
What he has for us is what his Father gave us: Torah.
Torah is the Father's path to righteousness. (”Seek ye first the Kingdom of Yehova and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”)
Matthew 5 and 7 make it clear that willful obedience to the commandments is his standard for “Knowing” us on that day when he gathers his bride
The serpent’s promise wasn’t even possible to keep. But what do you expect from a four-flusher of a being?
Good and evil are God-sized matters. They always have been, they always will be.
Happily, the solution to the problem is found in faith in Him. Though we physically die, that’s not the end of the story.
If this forum were theologically moderated rather than politically moderated — E-S would have been long gone.
Sometimes we just don’t stick our heads into Satan’s buzzsaw.
He gives us a new law “that we love one another.”
It turns out that godly love constructs a life that goes BEYOND the commandments, which per scripture were training laws for the Hebrew people.
“Righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.”
Accept nothing else — and best of all it’s FREE. But we have to put our silly old prides down to take it.
God’s
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense
Grace.
???
Free will means that we can love Him. Or not. It's not love if there is no choice in the matter. And there's no work involved if it is love. David made all the plans for building the Temple and the designs for its instruments, services, singing... everything. He was a very busy man because of his desire to build a house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. No work involved, yet David passed down all the blueprints and operational details. Out of love. Probably used up a lot of pencil leads. Eraser crumbs everywhere you've got to figure. He wanted to get it exactly right.
Meanwhile there is a spirit running down through the religious doctrines that says nobody can do a thing, that works don't save, Jesus did everything already, so look to Jesus, and so forth. How long to people need to look at him before actually doing something of value because he set the example to follow? The example is that he loved everyone so he wasn't actually doing any work when he taught them and healed them. He was a very busy man, like his father David. Full of love.
There's a lot to do but when people perceive it as work, they look for ways to get out of it, even turning idletry into a doctrine of faith.
Weird stuff. Watch the Messiah show up bright and early eager to repair the damage... say, wearing Carhartt work pants and a John Deere ballcap, with his toolbelt loaded up. Many would flee immediately before they felt obligated to pitch in.
I use 'regular guy' descriptions in order to bring the Messiah back down to earth.
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>> “If this forum were theologically moderated rather than politically moderated — E-S would have been long gone.” <<
Probably true.
You just stuck your head into Satan’s buzz saw again.
Fortunately it is allowable to preach the true word of Yehova on this forum, although I hold out little hope that you will ever heed it.
So enamored to the Catholic Phariseeism, Protesting wing.
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Training laws for Yeshua’s sheep. (until they allow his laws to be written on their heart)
As he said most will reject it; only the few will follow his path.
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