Those who understand the scriptures realize that the works of the child of God have nothing whatsoever to do with entrance into heaven (Mt. 5:19; 1 Cor. 3;11-15; etc.) but only with the gain or loss of eternal rewards and position in heaven and the gain or loss of present experiential eternal life (peace, joy, growth, usefulness, assurance, etc.) on earth.
The
Apostle Paul would disagree...
"5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath
in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God, 6 who 'will render to each one according to his deeds': 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
(Romans 2:5-10)
Notice Paul states that God will render
eternal life to those who do good. Notice too that this will be done in the day of judgment. Notice Paul
does NOT say that God will simply render rewards or a higher heavenly position or present day peace, joy, or assurance to those who do good, while the self-seeking and disobedient, while still being rendered eternal life, don't get those extra things.
And so would the
Apostle Peter...
" 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure,
for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:5-11)
Notice that Peter
does NOT state one should "
do these things" in order to get rewards in heaven or a higher heavenly position or simply to get present day peace, joy and assurance (though making sure of our election is certainly in view here), but rather to have "an
entrance..into the everlasting Kingdom of Christ".
And so would
Bishop James, our Lord's Brother...
"14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?
Can faith SAVE him?
"17 Thus also
faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
"20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that
faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and
by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that
a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
"26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:14,17,20-24,26)
Notice James
doesn't teach that faith minus works is dead and profitless for the purpose of gaining rewards in heaven or for having peace, joy, and assurance here on earth, but rather
faith without works cannot SAVE a person. Such 'faith' would be a simple 'bare intellectual assent' to the truth of the Gospel, rather than the "
faith which works through love" which actually "avails anything" "in Christ Jesus" (Gal 5:6).
And so would our
Lord Jesus Christ...
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth--
those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." (John 5:28-29)
Notice Christ
doesn't say that those who have done good will simply get heavenly rewards and present day peace/joy/assurance, and that converserly those who don't do good will just not get these extra nice things, but will get to enter heaven anyway. Rather, Christ states those who have DONE GOOD will partake in the resurrection of LIFE and those who have DONE EVIL to CONDEMNATION.
In light of this clear scriptural teaching, perhaps you should rethink your statement that: "Those who understand the scriptures realize that the works of the child of God have nothing whatsoever to do with entrance into heaven".
DT
