Featured Catholics and Faith Alone

YLT:
4 Lo, a presumptuous one! Not upright is his soul within him, And the righteous by his stedfastness liveth. Hab 2

Quoted by Paul as:
17 For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, `And the righteous one by faith shall live,` Ro 1

11 and that in law no one is declared righteous with God, is evident, because `The righteous by faith shall live;` Gal 3

38 and `the righteous by faith shall live,` and `if he may draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him,` Heb 10

Compare 'stedfastness' to:
6 who will render to every man according to his works:
7 to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: Ro 2

Conclusion:
18 But say may some one, Thou hast faith, and I have works, shew me thy faith out of thy works, and I will shew thee out of my works my faith:
24 Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only; Ja 2

 

It's VERY important that people understand that this 'agape', i.e., 'thinking of others', is not the natural inclination of man. God has 'wrought within' those who 'do by nature' the things of the law. SEE Romans 2:13-15; Romans 13:8-10

 

Good evening, brother. It is true that the law is written on the heart of the believer so they will strive to do the deeds of the law as a natural result of their faith. So there is nothing wrong with your interpretation, doctrinally speaking. I believe the meaning of “the doers of the law shall be justified” is that if you attempt to do the deeds of the law in order to be justified then you have to do it perfectly. Of course we know that this is impossible and there has only ever been One who has accomplished that.

James 2:10 - For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

 

Does this sound as if they're 'doing it' perfectly? Note the conflict(s):

13 for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified:
14 (for when Gentiles that have not the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not having the law, are the law unto themselves;
15 in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith, and their thoughts one with another accusing or else excusing them); Ro 2

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 but I see a different law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity under the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Ro 7

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would. Gal 5

The saints don't have to 'attempt', the desire to do good comes 'naturally', and the 'fulfillment' of it has been made simple to grasp:

12 All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. Mt 7

8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loveth his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. Ro 13

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Gal 5

8 Howbeit if ye fulfil the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: Ja 2

 

@Baptizo, it's good to have you back brother.

 

Happy to be back.

 

Salvation by "faith alone" is 100% unbiblical!

True salvation is by REPENTING of sins and FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ. Period!

 

Salvation by faith (rightly understood) in Jesus Christ alone is not unbiblical. Those who have placed their faith (belief, trust, reliance) in Jesus Christ alone for salvation (Ephesians 2:8) have already repented (changed their mind) in the process of choosing to place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Those who have repented no longer practice sin but practice righteousness. (1 John 3:9-10)

 

Was the thief on the cross saved by having faith in Christ or by repenting of his sins along with having faith in Christ?

 

...or, the thief on the cross could have been a child of God who had commited a capital offence. 1 John 5:16

 

Dave, I was taught by Catholic ancestors who date back to Constantine and they told me that even if I was a rottenSOB all my life it makes no difference as long as you say you believe in Christ and ask for forgiveness somewhere in your life or right before you die… you are saved, you are the thief on the cross. That then negates the necessity of any sacrificial tradition. So why would I follow any other church… not when salvation is in my grasp and everything else is superficial?!?

 

Come on brother… Not even the Pope?

 

Roman Catholics play a shell game with what they actually believe and teach. And when you meet an individual Catholic you really can't assume you know what they believe. But in all fairness many in the Baptist circles I run in are doing a similar thing the Roman Catholics do, just in a more simplified way. This is just my own opinion but the extreme silliness of what constitutes "worship" in most Protestant churches nowadays and the constant restless looking for celebrity leaders is driving a move back to the perceived stability of the Roman church.
Aaron Renn has an article up (it's about how J.D. Vance left evangelicalism) that explains why he thinks this is happening, without going much into the theology.

 

How long would you say a person can go without faith working through love? Let's say you're having a bad day and you're not feeling as generous as you normally would be. You walk by a homeless person and you tell yourself that you're dealing with too many problems right now, I don't feel like throwing money his way. If that's how you define faith working through love, how long can a person go before their justification is lost? A day? A week? A month? A year?

 

Come on brother… Not even the Pope?

I’m not sure I understand… is this author indicating that Vance is in the throws of converting to Catholism because of social status issues?