Do you agree that the work of Christ makes grace possible?
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Saved by Grace or Works?
- Thread starter thatbrian
- Start date
Do you agree that the work of Christ makes grace possible?
Depends on what "salvation" you're asking about.
For example, salvation from the grave requires neither faith nor works. Everyone will be raised
I don't understand the question. The Work of Christ starts and finishes my salvation.
I'm arguing that His works are the basis of your salvation, i.e., we are saved by works, the works of Christ.
Which evangelicals are we discussing, the new breed of politically activated ones or the traditional conservative ones? For me it is Eph. 2:8-9
glad4mercy
Active Member
We are saved by grace through faith, and kept by grace through faith because of Christ's works, (both His earthly ministry and His ongoing present ministry).
And if we are saved, we know Him. And if we know Him, we are keeping His commandments. If we say we know Him and do not keep His commandments, we lie to ourselves. To know Him is to love Him, and this is love, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not heavy
Let us not love in word alone, but in what we really do. "Inasmuch as you have not done it to the least mr of these, you have not done it unto me.
BobRyan
Well-Known Member
Including His perfect life, death on the cross and His life as our High Priest in heaven
glad4mercy
Active Member
Kept by the power of God through faith. The blood of Christ, the Spirit that raised Christ, and the intercession of the risen Christ is the power that saves us and keeps us
BobRyan
Well-Known Member
And the power that gives us free will to choose whether to persevere or not
glad4mercy
Active Member
Agreed. But how we respond to temptation is not a test of our willpower, it is more a test of our relationship with God.We stand because we are yoked to Jesus.
I also have a free will to leave my wife, (perish the thought) but that is unthinkable to me. How much more unthinkable to leave Christ? If you really love Jesus, you will not leave Him. So the key is not allowing your love to grow cold. This is necessary in any relationship.
There will be struggles, but I'm not going anywhere. I've burned my bridges, and there's nothing for me away from Jesus
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BobRyan
Well-Known Member
True - as long as we rely on Christ - we will succeed.
glad4mercy
Active Member
Yes. If it depended on us, we would fail. But He will not fail. Yet we must trust and abide. And if we love Him, we will. Faith works by love
glad4mercy
Active Member
So the crux is love. We love, because He FIRST loved us. We seek, because He first sought us.
There is a danger, and that is the love of the Kosmos/world. It is a danger for believers. If it was not, John would not have said STOP loving the world and KEEP YOURSELF from idols. Love is a choice, and we need to daily choose who we love. But the power to save and preserve is God's. Mere works cannot save and keep us. God's power saves and keeps us. The power of His love poured in our heart
Convince me God is a complete idiot and ill be a Calvinist in a heartbeat.
atpollard
Well-Known Member
Romans 10:6-13
6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
Like the old saying goes ... "We are saved by Faith alone, but the Faith that saves is never alone."
For me, it was a LOT like this:
Ephesians 2:1-10
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Quit your own works or fall into unbelief.
Hebrews 4:
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
atpollard
Well-Known Member
God loves the people that hate him enough to murder him and cheer on his murderers ... by most human standards that qualifies as a 'complete idiot'.
So are you now a Calvinist?
glad4mercy
Active Member
Amen. The key words are YOUR OWN (works). God WORKS IN Us both to will and to do of HIS good pleasure!
glad4mercy
Active Member
PS. So the rest is not a cessation of work, but a cessation of our own works to submit to the work of God in and through us, AND we must labor to enter into that rest. Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light