Galatians 5:22. 'The fruit of the Spirit is love.........' When we come to Christ by faith alone, the Spirit will lead us into acts of love.
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Martin Luther/Adolf Hitler
- Thread starter Wesley Briggman
- Start date
“Faith working through Love” Galatians 5:6, which means Faith is not by itself.
The only time the words “faith alone” appears in Scripture is in James where it says “ not by faith alone “.
“ You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. “ James 2:24
Love is good works.
You can have faith to move mountains, but without love you are nothing. This shows that faith by itself is insufficient.
That is why we are Judged by our love/good works or lack of it.
When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat.
Faith must be accompanied by Love.
The FRUIT of the Spirit is love and all the rest. First comes the Holy Spirit, and then comes the fruit. But Christ justifies the "ungodly.'For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness." Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness' (Romans 4:3-5).
What are you going to tell some poor guy who comes to you asking, "What must I do to be saved?"? "Go and work up some love! Go and do some good works, then come back and ask me again, because Christ only justifies the righteous."? What does the Scripture say? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved...." (Acts 16:31).
Now, let's get this business about James and Paul out of the way. They cannot be contradicting themselves. Justification is a legal term; it means to declare someone righteous (Deut. 25:1). Paul is talking about God declaring us righteous on the basis of Christ's active and passive obedience on our behalf. James is talking about how our works as Christians declare us to have been justified by faith. As I have written more than once, good deeds will always follow faith (Romans 6:1-2; 1 John 3:16-17). If they don't, then it throws into doubt his salvation. But at the point of salvation, it is purely grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone, according to the Scripture alone, according to the Scripture alone.
Here's the great Baptist preacher C.H. Spurgeon speaking:
'Sinners, let me address you with the words of life. Jesus wants nothing from you, nothing whatsoever, nothing done, nothing felt; He gives both work and feeling. Ragged, penniless, just as you are, lost, forsaken, desolate, with no good feelings, and no good hopes, still Jesus comes to you, and in these words of pity he addresses you: "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out"' (John 6:37).
Blank
Active Member
Tradition + pope's = man's plain obedience.
Luke 24:50-51 NASB
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. [51] While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
Acts 1:9-11 NASB
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were watching, and a cloud took Him up, out of their sight. [10] And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, [11] and they said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
We call it Ascension, I'm sorry if your Church still has Jesus hanging on the cross
Ditto with your dictator pope.
Luther was in good company...
Mark 7:5-7 BSB
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.” [6] Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. [7] They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’
Isaiah 8:20 KJV
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
Which spirit is pope guided by? Even Lutherans don't believe everything Luther said.
So you going to tell me that everyone in the Catholic church walks lock step with some pope?
If that were
1 Corinthians 11:18-19 KJV
For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. [19] For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
the case we would all have an ecological Gospel
Blank
Active Member
So why the big deal about purgatory during the dark ages? Why did Rome push purgatory?
YES!
If you're referring to the works that James was talking about in his epistle:
27 Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Ja 1
15 If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food,
16 and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? Ja 2
...are the same works we're all going to be judged by.
The just:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in;
36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
The unjust:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Mt 25
Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith
Spot on.
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Christforums
Active Member
No, as comical as is your understanding of Sola Scriptura - the offices of illumination are different (interpretation). The best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture.
Christforums
Active Member
Wrong, two different topics by two different people or authors theology vs religion. A man is justified by works in the eyes of other men and not by G-d. This is endless nonsensical debate and arguments neither side will change. Religion concerns itself with the behavior of man and is quite man centered whereas theology is G-d centered. Any doctrine or response that doesn't end in Soli Deo Gloria ought to be rejected.
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I've answered this already. Are you really going to tell some chap who asks you, "What must I do to be saved?" with "Go away, feed every hungry person you can find; visit a bunch of widows and orphans; have a pile of homeless people come to stay in your house, and then you can be a Christian"? "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!" "For they bind up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not lift them with one of their fingers" (Matthew 23:13, 4).
More from Spurgeon:
'"Him that cometh to Me:" ... the man my have been guilty of an atrocious sin, too black to mention; but if he comes to Christ he shall not be cast out..He may have made himself as black as night - as black as hell ... I cannot tell what kinds of persons may have come into this hall to-night; but if burglars, murderers, and dynamite-men (?) were here, I would still bid them come to Christ, for He will not cast them out. No limit is set to the extent of sin; any "him" in all the world - any blaspheming , devilish "he" that comes to Christ shall be welcomed. I use strong words that I may open the gate of mercy. Any "him" that comes to Christ - though he come from slum or taproom, betting-ring or gambling-hell, prison or brothel - Jesus will in no wise cast out.'
'"Him that cometh to Me:" ... the man my have been guilty of an atrocious sin, too black to mention; but if he comes to Christ he shall not be cast out..He may have made himself as black as night - as black as hell ... I cannot tell what kinds of persons may have come into this hall to-night; but if burglars, murderers, and dynamite-men (?) were here, I would still bid them come to Christ, for He will not cast them out. No limit is set to the extent of sin; any "him" in all the world - any blaspheming , devilish "he" that comes to Christ shall be welcomed. I use strong words that I may open the gate of mercy. Any "him" that comes to Christ - though he come from slum or taproom, betting-ring or gambling-hell, prison or brothel - Jesus will in no wise cast out.'
Christforums
Active Member
Religion a pure religion was as what was said by James. Do you honestly believe those remedial tasks and/or works justify you before G-d apart from the works of Christ? If you believe that then you adhere to synergism rather than monergism. And that's why alone was stated in the 5 solas. This is the very divisive topic which lead to the Reformation: synergism vs monergism.
We are not talking about religious practice but soteriology concerning how anybody was saved from, by and for G-d.
Christforums
Active Member
No man can come to me (Total Depravity or inability) John 6:44. Spurgeon poses an impossible hypothetical in the natural man (he must not refer to the natural man or he is wrong). Pelagianism does not believe in original sin and grants man his own ability by his own strength. If any man wills themselves to G-d then that man is saved - that's synergism and requires cooperation, G-d in the synergistic view can only meet man halfway. No man can come to G-d apart from the works of G-d. The entire Ordo Salutis is monergism including the timing of regeneration in the life of the dead in sin and trespasses.
Soli Deo Gloria
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Christforums
Active Member
Just pointing out Hillel was a very liberal pharisaical school. Hillel was liberal, and Paul was a liberal Pharisee. No surprise really, considering his position on circumcision and kosher diets. Among other things written such on the topic of divorce. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting Jesus was wrong, he was clearly attacking the hypocrites among the Pharisees.
Blank
Active Member
Romans 3:21 ESV
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it...
What would you like to add to faith in order to fulfill the law?
Christforums
Active Member
And that's why I usually don't bother arguing w/ Catholics. Justification is not the same between Catholics and Protestants: infused vs. imputed Justification. We use the same theological terms, but the theological meanings are not the same.
Ohhhh, you've switched to 'saved', I'm still on 'justification'.
Acts Chapter 16:31
| Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house |
Christforums
Active Member
Thank you for clarifying. I was asking for clarity because I wanted to avoid the pitfalls of inference while reading your post.
And no, though I am in the middle of a Hebrew study: Traditions are not the problem - The school of Isaiah
Sharing this post with you because this thread helped inspire what I had written. Isaiah.school is my website. Thanks for asking that question, whether I am Jewish, because I do want to avoid that kind of speculation.
Be blessed!
Christforums
Active Member
Yes, undeniably, I am a member of the Lutheran church. Keep in mind Nazis used everything against everybody for their advantage, including antisemitic priests to rewrite the Scriptures. When Luther had written his works in the past, in his inexcusable frustration against the Jews and their places of worship, in the historical context his missionaries were being converted to Judaism. Can't help but be reminded of when the men of Saul came back empty handed after they set out to capture David. They were caught up in the Spirit of the L-rd and worshipped w/ Samuel at Ramah. It's easy to forget Jesus was a Jew, his disciples, and the Apostles were Jews, the early church of Acts was comprised of Jews, and that Christianity was a once sect of Judaism. Point being, Martin Luther retracted his works after he called for the burning down of Jewish Synagogues, but the damage was already done.
Martin Luther: “First set fire to their synagogues… that God might see that we are Christians”
Remember, Luther retracted his former works.