Posted on 06/27/2023 12:14:15 AM PDT by metmom
"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself" (James 2:14-17). Dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless.
Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). Your righteous deeds illuminate the path to God by reflecting His power and grace to others. That brings Him glory and proves your faith is genuine.
Your deeds also serve as the basis of divine judgment. If you practice righteousness, you will receive eternal life; if you practice unrighteousness, you will receive "wrath and indignation" (Rom. 2:6-8). God will judge you on the basis of your deeds because what you do reveals who you really are and what you really believe. That's why any so-called faith that doesn't produce good works is dead and utterly useless!
James illustrates that point in a practical way. If someone lacks the basic necessities of life and comes to you for help, what good does it do if you simply wish him well and send him away without meeting any of his needs? It does no good at all! Your pious words are hypocritical and without substance. If you really wished him well, you would do what you can to give him what he needs! Your unwillingness to do so betrays your true feelings. Similarly, dead faith is hypocritical, shallow, and useless because it doesn't put its claims into action—indeed, it has no divine capacity to do so.
I pray that your life will always manifest true faith and that others will glorify God because of your good works.
Suggestions for Prayer
Perhaps you know someone whose claim to Christianity is doubtful because his or her life doesn't evidence the fruit of righteousness. If so, pray for that person regularly and set an example by your own good works.
For Further Study
Read John 15:1-8.
What illustration did Jesus use for spiritual fruitfulness?
What is the prerequisite for fruitfulness?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
Studying God’s Word ping.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
This statement must be true.
How do you reconcile this ?
It is not. your approach is not a meditative one, and amounts to false reasoning.
Today's "Judaism" is, and has been from the time of Pentecost, a dead religion.
The Levitical aspects of the Tanakh were fully consummated by God Incarnate and abolished, abrogated, put to death with Him on the torture stake of Golgotha. The Mosaic/Davidic Covenant, which is alone termed "The Law" in the Bible, is not the same as today's rabbinical prescription for it.
Hebrews 10:8-10 (AV):The sanctification of the Levitical offerings was only temporary, and had to be repeated. Christ's one-time (ἐφάπαξ) permanent offering “perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). This thought is elaborated in Heb. 10:11-14. It is also contrary to any thought of repetition as in the (false) humanly innovated "transubstantiation" of the literalsubstances used in the Remembrance Supper to figuratively signify emblematically the plain-literal one-time consecration of His Body and Body at the Calvary event.
Above when he said,Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;Then said he,Lo, I come to doaccomplish fully thy willcovenant, O God.He taketh away the firstcovenant of laws, that he may establish the secondcovenant of grace.
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for allἐφάπαξ.
To the truly redeemed human subject of Jesus the Lord Of All, their purchased status regarding their relationship to their Heavenly Father, the Mighty Judge:
Romans 6:14 (AV):The various forms of modern Jewish practices are incompatible with and cannot coexist with the Biblical standard for a created human's supreme unreserved salvific Gospel-persuaded confidence in, and obedience to, the sovereignty of the Godhead, Jehovah Elohim, as vested in the human manifestation of The Son, Jesus, Messiah and Lord; revealed and defined alone in the Holy Inspired Canon of Scriptures of the New Testament.
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Matthew 28:16 (AV)This proclamation is totally clear, comprehensive, absolute, and permanent. Embroidering of it is neither required nor desired. Modern Judaism completely rejects this assertion, thus has no merit nor provides any platform from which to debate (though that was not the aim of this thought-provoking post).
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,All powerἐξουσία is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
These are the thoughts provided by and for the meditative purpose of this post by our dear metmom in gracious service to the Savior.
Sure!
As long as I get to choose what constitutes 'evidence'.
"I don't know."
Many things your chosen religion teaches about Mary fall into this category.
Scripture defines how dead their rites are, and it was given to you. You, Cronos, are not getting it. This post is meant to be devotional, not argumentative, not the debate you seem to wish to immerse the reader in. Please stop.
Works without faith is also dead. For God to accept and reward one’s works, one must first be saved, Blood-bought; and then the works must be those that are prompted by Him, not merely by selfish reckoning that may defeat be His purposes for chastisement or graciousness.
Let me think on that one for a bit.
We are traveling today so I won’t be able to answer right away. But it will give me time to think.
Is there something about the caucus and devotional labels that escaped your attention?
It’s also a Protestant caucus thread.
For believers who put their faith in Christ, the righteous works of Christ are credited to our account.
We are not judged by our works or lack of them as we are under grace.
Now that is no excuse for not doing the good works, but the works are the fruit of our salvation, not the cause of it. They neither save us nor keep us saved.
We do get reward for what we do or don’t do, but our salvation does not hinge on them.
Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly . . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.