Not By Works
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Those who add anything to grace for salvation teach a false grace message...
Faith plus any of the following leads to a gospel with no power to save and is cursed by God
Works, baptism, church membership, being slain in the spirit (false), back flipping through hoops and religious sacraments etc....
Believe and acknowledge Jesus = eternal salvation, justification, sealing and sanctification in Christ...end of story
those who trust into their works plus faith need to pay attention to Galatians 1,3.......
Are you so foolish, having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by (works) flesh!
According to Paul...only fools believe works plus faith
Faith plus any of the following leads to a gospel with no power to save and is cursed by God
Works, baptism, church membership, being slain in the spirit (false), back flipping through hoops and religious sacraments etc....
Believe and acknowledge Jesus = eternal salvation, justification, sealing and sanctification in Christ...end of story
those who trust into their works plus faith need to pay attention to Galatians 1,3.......
Are you so foolish, having begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by (works) flesh!
According to Paul...only fools believe works plus faith
E
Let me help your memory:
There you have it folks....."THE MAN", caught in a lie.
Is that all you want to do is attack and argue? about things which are not true?
Do it again And I will report you!
you see, Stephen preaches a certain denominational doctrine. a certain one that teaches proving salvation by works to each to each other. that one is never really saved, it must be maintained by works.. down here in the south, there is a lot of there churches around, and I have heard a lot of what they teach.
out of respect for someone in ministry, that is all I am going to say. he can respond and expound if he wants.
out of respect for someone in ministry, that is all I am going to say. he can respond and expound if he wants.
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I trust Jesus and he said I am saved by faith, his blood has been applied by faith...God, who does not lie said, "When I see the blood I will pass over you"...end of story!
and I fully understand your post....had a grand father die who believed that message of works and salvation....he went out bad.......!
and I fully understand your post....had a grand father die who believed that message of works and salvation....he went out bad.......!
More proof that salvation and eternal life is not based upon works, but rather it is a gift, based upon grace and faith!
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
English Standard Version
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Berean Study Bible
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Berean Literal Bible
For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him should not perish, but should have eternal life.
New American Standard Bible
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
King James Bible
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
English Standard Version
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Berean Study Bible
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Berean Literal Bible
For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him should not perish, but should have eternal life.
New American Standard Bible
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
King James Bible
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The "good in the flesh" is referring to Saul's disobedience. Saul was instructed to defeat and destroy Amalek. Saul succeeded in defeating Amalek but didn't destroy everything. Saul kept the best of the spoils to offer to God. He thought he was doing good, but was not doing God's will. Ian Thomas is referring to 1 Sam 15 and even mentions the chapter just before the part you have quoted.
The character of Saul is a far cry from that I was describing in my questions.
It doesn't appear to me that Ian Thomas viewed the Christian's works as filthy rags. Just a few paragraphs before the single sentence you quoted:
As far as God is concerned, Christ is the preacher, Christ is the missionary, Christ is the Christian worker, Christ is the witnessing Christian. Only what He is and what He does is righteousness - and what He is and what He does is released through you only by your unrelenting attitude of dependence. This is called faith - and "whatsoever isn't of faith is sin"(Rom 14:23c)
It is a shock to discover that you can go up into the pulpit with a Bible in your hand, preach a sermon entirely scriptural in its content, and yet if this be done in anything other than an attitude of total dependence upon Christ, in the very act of preaching you are committing sin.
This is not milk for babies but meat for the strong, who are "of full age", but "hard to be uttered"(Heb 5:11), for we have become accustomed to the elaborate machinery of the church, as an organizational enterprise in which carnal activity on the part of Christians is not only tolerated, but solicited- often in sublime sincerity and with a false sense of dedication on the part of those involved, who, being ignorant of the "very first principles of God's Word," are "unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness." -Ian Thomas, The Saving Life of Christ
It appears to me, from the underlined portions in his writing, that works done as a result of dependence on God are not viewed as "filthy rags" by Ian Thomas.
Care to address the questions I asked LuarenTM?
True.
However, I have found that demonstrating fruits and doing charity as a result of Him working in me makes me want to do even more.
People sometimes enjoy their occupation so much that they say they don't feel like they are working for a living. They just do what they enjoy and get paid for it.
Being servants of God has these moments/times as well.
However, I have found that demonstrating fruits and doing charity as a result of Him working in me makes me want to do even more.
People sometimes enjoy their occupation so much that they say they don't feel like they are working for a living. They just do what they enjoy and get paid for it.
Being servants of God has these moments/times as well.
True..... but he wasn't a perpetual sinner. He repented like every good child of God should.
Perpetual he was.. He even confesses a time he refused to confess sin
When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord .” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
Psalms 32:3*-5
I love how David looked ahead prophetically and saw our day of the grace of Christ when he said "Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me".
We now have a new heart in Christ - created in righteousness and holiness - joined as one spirit with the Lord forever.
It seemed that David was able to pull some aspects of this grace in which we stand in today - into his own time. Faith and the "seeing of truth" brings things into being in our lives which seems to transcend time itself.
We now have a new heart in Christ - created in righteousness and holiness - joined as one spirit with the Lord forever.
It seemed that David was able to pull some aspects of this grace in which we stand in today - into his own time. Faith and the "seeing of truth" brings things into being in our lives which seems to transcend time itself.
F
Here's another of the Thomas's quote that clarifies much....
"You may have harnessed the energy of the flesh in an otherwise quite genuine desire to honor the Lord Jesus in your life. The flesh, which has its origin in Satan, will go along with you; to survive, it is quite prepared to engage in every form of Christian activity, even though this may seem to honor Christ.
The flesh will sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, preside at a deacons’ meeting, preach from the pulpit, organize an evangelistic crusade, go to Bible college, volunteer for the mission field, and a thousand other things, all of which may in themselves be otherwise legitimate, if only it can keep its neck out of the noose. The flesh will threaten, shout, strut, domineer, sulk, plot, creep, beg, pleased, or sob, whatever the situation may demand in the interests of its own survival. By any and all means it will seek to cause every Christian to live by his own strength instead of by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus, and to conclude that doing so is actually a good thing!
The characteristic of the spiritually immature is that they are unable to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14), and the baby Christian, like the foolish Galatians, “having begun in the Spirit” still tries to be “made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3).
We must be particularly patient with those whose lack of understanding allows a genuine love for the Lord Jesus to be satisfied with, and sometimes to be quite enthusiastic about, Christian activities involving means and methods which are heavily contaminated by the flesh. These are more deserving of instruction than rebuke, for they are still in their spiritual babyhood.
True spiritual conviction is an activity of the Holy Spirit within the human spirit, and when the Holy Spirit begins to convict you of your immaturity, bearing witness to your conscience that the Lord Jesus Christ is being denied His rightful place in your life, the old Adam-nature within you becomes irritable and edgy. At the same time it will seek to produce the most plausible arguments in justification of its own illegitimate activities, even though these activities are only what the Bible calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14) and not the “good works” which are truly the work of God.
“Good works” are those that have their origin in Jesus Christ, as Christ’s activity is released through your body because you present it to Him as a living sacrifice. You do this only by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to Adamic independence."
"You may have harnessed the energy of the flesh in an otherwise quite genuine desire to honor the Lord Jesus in your life. The flesh, which has its origin in Satan, will go along with you; to survive, it is quite prepared to engage in every form of Christian activity, even though this may seem to honor Christ.
The flesh will sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, preside at a deacons’ meeting, preach from the pulpit, organize an evangelistic crusade, go to Bible college, volunteer for the mission field, and a thousand other things, all of which may in themselves be otherwise legitimate, if only it can keep its neck out of the noose. The flesh will threaten, shout, strut, domineer, sulk, plot, creep, beg, pleased, or sob, whatever the situation may demand in the interests of its own survival. By any and all means it will seek to cause every Christian to live by his own strength instead of by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus, and to conclude that doing so is actually a good thing!
The characteristic of the spiritually immature is that they are unable to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14), and the baby Christian, like the foolish Galatians, “having begun in the Spirit” still tries to be “made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3).
We must be particularly patient with those whose lack of understanding allows a genuine love for the Lord Jesus to be satisfied with, and sometimes to be quite enthusiastic about, Christian activities involving means and methods which are heavily contaminated by the flesh. These are more deserving of instruction than rebuke, for they are still in their spiritual babyhood.
True spiritual conviction is an activity of the Holy Spirit within the human spirit, and when the Holy Spirit begins to convict you of your immaturity, bearing witness to your conscience that the Lord Jesus Christ is being denied His rightful place in your life, the old Adam-nature within you becomes irritable and edgy. At the same time it will seek to produce the most plausible arguments in justification of its own illegitimate activities, even though these activities are only what the Bible calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14) and not the “good works” which are truly the work of God.
“Good works” are those that have their origin in Jesus Christ, as Christ’s activity is released through your body because you present it to Him as a living sacrifice. You do this only by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to Adamic independence."
Amen to that...Jesus told the woman taken in adultery that he did not condemn her even though I do not recall her confessing her guilt and or repenting.....Jesus asked where her accusers were......and after confirmation that NONE were there because they were ALL guilty of SIN, Jesus said NEITHER do I CONDEMN YOU..............there is NO condemnation in CHRIST, ALL of our sins are nailed to HIS cross and the BLOOD is APPLIED by FAITH...........end of story!
David is a prime example of a saved sinner.......He suffered physical ailments and the sword in his house all the days of his life because of his sin, but NEVER LOST his SALVATION....YES he asked for the JOY of his salvation back, but NOT SALVATION itself......Chastisement in a believer's life is the cost.....not the LOSS of SALVATION........