Not By Works

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

blue_ladybug

Senior Member
Feb 21, 2014
70,920
9,668
113
1. I gave up coffee 10 years ago.

2. I've eaten enough chocolate to cover me for several eternal lives, lol.

3. I like cats, but (don't hate me for this) I'm not crazy about orange tabbies. :oops:

Can I be saved?
No way.. Not loving orange kitties is absolute heresy!! You're bound for hell, my friend.. lol

Horror.gif
 
E

EleventhHour

Guest
That’s exactly my point, brother. Worker bees are self righteous about their works, but when it’s pointed out that the works come from God, the worker bees remain pridefully silent rather than giving God the glory.
A born again believer can be self-righteous too.....if you read the passage on lukewarm believers in Revelations you see that is exactly who they are.

Sorry if it seems I am picking on you @Lightskin ...... Rest assured I am not a male chauvinist.:)
 
E

EleventhHour

Guest
Except if you are born again. In that case if you perform works to earn salvation those works do not nullify the cross. I'm curious if you agree with that.
Yes of course, a born again person remains justified apart from all good works performed.

In objective reality the cross can not be nullified.... It is those who preach against and do not accept the completed work of cross by infusing human effort into the equation that nullify it ...but only in their false perception.

Do you see what I mean?

There is the subjective and the truth/reality.

And those that nullify the cross by their false dogma have not yet come to truth.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Yes of course, a born again person remains justified apart from all good works performed.
Even if the born again person turns their back on justification through faith in Christ and performs works of righteousness with the express intent of earning his own salvation?
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Who does the justifying?
God does the justifying, of course. He gives it through one's faith in his offer of forgiveness.

If a person no longer has faith in that offer he can't have it anymore because justification is conditional on trusting in Christ. Of course some will argue that if you walk away from the free offer of forgiveness you never really had it in the first place. Which means the Galatians were never really justified to begin with since they turned away from Christ and to the law for justification. But the problem with that argument is Paul makes it very clear that they were very much saved.

Once saved always saved is a very difficult doctrine to reconcile with the whole counsel of the Bible.
 

Whispered

Well-known member
Aug 17, 2019
4,551
2,230
113
www.christiancourier.com
God does the justifying, of course. He gives it through one's faith in his offer of forgiveness.

If a person no longer has faith in that offer he can't have it anymore because justification is conditional on trusting in Christ. Of course some will argue that if you walk away from the free offer of forgiveness you never really had it in the first place. Which means the Galatians were never really justified to begin with since they turned away from Christ and to the law for justification. But the problem with that argument is Paul makes it very clear that they were very much saved.

Once saved always saved is a very difficult doctrine to reconcile with the whole counsel of the Bible.
I would not think so. Consider all that happens when the repentant sinner enters God's grace and has faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ.
For Salvation not to be lasting, eternal, irrevocable, all that transpired in making that person a new creation in Christ would have to be repealed, reversed, by God who appointed the transformation unto them.
Then, if that person repented again, all that was undone by God would need be reapplied.

And what of the Saint Apostle Paul's saying in the Book of Romans chapter 11:29 (CEV)
God doesn't take back the gifts he has given or disown the people he has chosen.
 
E

EleventhHour

Guest
God does the justifying, of course. He gives it through one's faith in his offer of forgiveness.

If a person no longer has faith in that offer he can't have it anymore because justification is conditional on trusting in Christ. Of course some will argue that if you walk away from the free offer of forgiveness you never really had it in the first place. Which means the Galatians were never really justified to begin with since they turned away from Christ and to the law for justification. But the problem with that argument is Paul makes it very clear that they were very much saved.

Once saved always saved is a very difficult doctrine to reconcile with the whole counsel of the Bible.
God does the justifying, of course. He gives it through one's faith in his offer of forgiveness.

If a person no longer has faith in that offer he can't have it anymore because justification is conditional on trusting in Christ. Of course some will argue that if you walk away from the free offer of forgiveness you never really had it in the first place. Which means the Galatians were never really justified to begin with since they turned away from Christ and to the law for justification. But the problem with that argument is Paul makes it very clear that they were very much saved.

Once saved always saved is a very difficult doctrine to reconcile with the whole counsel of the Bible.
Justification is not conditional....if it is no one has any hope.

The Galatians were justified... they fell away from grace.... (Walking in the spirit)..... Not in the positional sense but in the sense of it being the divine influence in the heart of the believer.
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
Justification is not conditional....if it is no one has any hope.
It is conditional on believing in Christ. What it is not conditional on is the performance of works of the law.


The Galatians were justified... they fell away from grace.... (Walking in the spirit)..... Not in the positional sense but in the sense of it being the divine influence in the heart of the believer.
They turned away from their justification in Christ and to justification through the law. That is abundantly clear in the Bible.

Paul plainly pointed out how they were keeping "days, and months, and times, and years" Galatians 4:10. And Paul makes it abundantly clear that the Galatians were people who had really gotten saved. Yet they fell away from Christ for justification and turned to justification through the works of the law. That messes ups a lot of once saved always saved doctrine.
 
E

EleventhHour

Guest
It is conditional on believing in Christ. What it is not conditional on is the performance of works of the law.



They turned away from their justification in Christ and to justification through the law. That is abundantly clear in the Bible.

Paul plainly pointed out how they were keeping "days, and months, and times, and years" Galatians 4:10. And Paul makes it abundantly clear that the Galatians were people who had really gotten saved. Yet they fell away from Christ for justification and turned to justification through the works of the law. That messes ups a lot of once saved always saved doctrine.

That is a new spin.... Does not work at all since Paul never states they were unjustified by going back to the law.

God does not undo His decree of justified which is a one time event that cannot be revoked.

Seriously how can you present God in such a poor light.
 

lightbearer

Senior Member
Jun 17, 2017
2,375
504
113
58
HBG. Pa. USA
Yes these a saved people... and they stay saved, the writer is not addressing false teachers.

Sinning willfully is not just that.... the writer of Hebrews is a person with a firm understanding of both the old and new system.
No the verses say directly that they who were saved, if they are sinning willfuly there remains no more sacrifice for their sins. Only a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation WHICH SHALL DEVOUR THE ADVERSARIES. If we are sinning willfuly we are GOD's adversaries and we shall be devoured. And that is what the willfull sinner HAS TO LOOK FORWARD TO FEAR FULLY. That is what the verse says.

For if we are sinning wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
(Heb 10:26-27)
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
That is a new spin.... Does not work at all since Paul never states they were unjustified by going back to the law.

God does not undo His decree of justified which is a one time event that cannot be revoked.

Seriously how can you present God in such a poor light.
Then would you answer 'yes' to the question I asked earlier?:
Even if the born again person turns their back on justification through faith in Christ and performs works of righteousness with the express intent of earning his own salvation (they are still saved)?
Do you believe the saved person who turns to the law for justification is still saved even though they don't trust in Christ for justification anymore? Or do you say the truly saved person can never turn away from justification through Christ and to works for justification?
 

Hevosmies

Well-known member
Sep 8, 2018
3,612
2,633
113
Even if the born again person turns their back on justification through faith in Christ and performs works of righteousness with the express intent of earning his own salvation?
My answer is simple: THE ELECT OF GOD wont turn their backs on justification through faith.

Here is how you know you've come to share in Christ:

Hebrews 3:14
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
 
Nov 16, 2019
3,441
860
113
My answer is simple: THE ELECT OF GOD wont turn their backs on justification through faith.

Here is how you know you've come to share in Christ:

Hebrews 3:14
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,
According to this, then, the Galatians didn't really come to share in Christ because they fell away and did not hold fast the beginning of their assurance firm to the end. So, while Paul says they were in fact saved, this doctrine says they weren't really saved because they fell away. Who's right?

If we won't know that we will hold fast to the end until the end gets here, how do we know if we or anybody else has really come to share in Christ? It seems in this doctrine we can only know those who haven't really come to share in Christ by if they don't hold fast their assurance in Christ now. All the rest of us can't know for sure until the end comes. We have to fall before that to find out for sure.