Posted on 01/04/2019 8:20:14 AM PST by Salvation
That wasn't what was said. If you had read Faith Presses On's actual comment, you wouldn't have asked that. Maybe you should go back and read it.
What do you suppose Pope meant when he said, We are not saved by works alone or by faith alone; they are together. John teaches here that knowing the Lord by living faith is always accompanied by keeping the commandments and walking as Jesus did.?
I'm not arguing against - nor did Luther if you read his writings - that genuine faith is made evident by our walking in obedience. It is certainly what James teaches and does not contradict other verses in Scripture. But the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Catholics will not (usually) express assurance of their salvation, why is that? I know I never did. Is that possibly because you are taught that you must do works to merit eternal life? And that if you have sinned, you must go to confession and be absolved or you won't go to heaven when you die?
That is what I mean by making works a condition of salvation. There isn't really any difference if you say you must do good works to merit your salvation or you must do good works in order to keep your salvation. Either way, your works are made a condition of salvation.
It was, but had to be changed since it talks about “Protestants”.
BTW...there is no “SINNING IS OKAY” brigade on Free Republic.
God can only work to will and to do in the life of a believer who already has the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in them through faith in Christ.
We are saved first, then the fruit of the salvation, conformity to the likeness of Christ, follows and proves to the world that our faith is genuine.
It doesn't prove it to God. He already knows.
And the fruit that our lives show isn't simply obeying the law and doing good works. The pharisees did that and Christ called them white washed tombs.
The fruit is this.....
Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
IOW, the character of Christ.
James 2:23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.
Abraham was saved by faith, his faith being credited to him as righteousness simply on the basis of believing God, BEFORE he did any works.
Ironic, considering the title of the article.
When one of them shows up, let us know so we can correct his error.
The thread does not qualify for the caucus designation. It appears that you need to review the posting guidelines on the Religion Moderator's homepage.
Yeah, I know. ;o)
Dear Salvation,
Thank you so much for what you do here. Seems to me that if you weren’t doing good, you wouldn’t be the target of all these sickening attacks.
I agree with that completely.
“If you keep getting your feelings hurt”
You don’t hurt my feelings. You turn my stomach.
Stupidity and malice are nauseating.
Continuing to illustrate it is usually, though not always, the Roman Catholic who first resorts to the personal attack and/or profanity when the argument is against them.
I was thinking on this some more and wanted to add that your conclusion - "that a faith NOT evident in a changed life is not genuine, and, as James writes, "such a faith has no power to save" - is a misinterpretation I see often from works-based salvation promoters. James does NOT say what you claim - that "such a faith has no power to save". In fact, if you look at that whole chapter of James 2 in context you should see that he is speaking of how others view our professed faith. We know because Scripture tells us that only God can look upon our hearts while men can only look at the outward appearance. God doesn't need to see the good works of anyone in order to judge genuine faith. When James 2:14-18 says:
We probably know of people who are nice, kind and "good" yet who do not profess to be believers. It's obvious that works do not merit eternal life nor do they necessarily prove a person's inward spiritual condition. No, James cannot and does not contradict Paul's writings - they are both products of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Abraham BELIEVED God and that was what counted him righteous. God declared him righteous long before he proved the genuineness of his faith through his acts. And that is the point. Good works, obedience and holy living show to varying degrees a believer's faith but they do NOT merit salvation in any way. Those who do not have any evidence of repentance in their lives after profession of faith in Jesus Christ should as Scripture says:
My, my how sensitive some of our RC friends are these days! Maybe they are the snowflakes of Free Republic? I don’t see ANY attacks much less “sickening” ones against the poster of this thread. I guess they must be willfully blind to the frequent - and REAL - attacks Protestant and Evangelical Christians deal with here (e.g.; the derogatory statements in the OP).
LOL! Trolls turm my stomach and I have a strong stomach! I’m glad my life isn’t dedicated to being an internet troll, while they’re dreaming up ways to demean others in an attempt to make themselves look better, I think I’ll have a better time with my dogs and friends chasing quail after Mass
To anyone reading this thread who is NOT bigoted, and who is more interested in the "truth", than in trying to score meaningless, "truthless" points in a senseless online argument, here are some links to sources giving some authentic Catholic views and insights pertaining to the Gospel of John, as well as some links to obtain some related resources. May these links prove to be a genuine blessing for someone.
“I think I’ll have a better time with my dogs and friends chasing quail after Mass”
Boy, that really sounds great. What kind of shotgun will you use, if you don’t mind me asking?
I hunt most of the time with a Ugartechea sxs 28 ga, today I’m going to take out a 20 ga Fausti Dea SL just for a change of pace.
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.