Ephesians 2 is not preaching faith alone.

[Kroogz]

Yea, James gets isolated from Romans and John..whereas they all preach salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, but with emphasis on different aspects of faith.

Right on Brother.

THE faith gets lumped into one category by most......... Eternal life salvation.(faith alone in Christ alone)

Few can see the distinctions of eternal life salvation from physical, temporal and everyday salvation.....Which is in THE faith.

It is not just....... Not really saved or loss of salvation.

 

[ATG]

There are two spirits that can easily get confused as reference one for the other. The spirit of man and the Spirit of God.
And no one can make the leap over the gulf unless he is able to see.
Mat 15:14

Faith applies to both: Dead faith is a body with no spirit of man, and a life with no Spirit of God.

Faith that has no power to saved the body, has no power to save the life.

 

[Mem]

Faith applies to both: Dead faith is a body with no spirit of man, and a life with no Spirit of God.

Faith that has no power to saved the body, has no power to save the life.

This is an excerpt from Luke 18

8 I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
9 To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable:

I'm going to make an educated guess that the Son of Man is going to find as few of the former and a lot of the latter if I go by the statistical modeling of the dataset I see here.

 

[ATG]

Jesus Christ came in the same natural flesh, and one blood of all men and women on earth. And, How can His blood shed on the cross possibly now be sprinkled on any person on earth today?

Here's how:
The Word became flesh (Jn 1:1,14 & Rev 19:13), born of a woman (Gal 4:4) by the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:18–25 & Lk 1:26–38) His humanity was real & His blood was sinless (2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Jn 3:5 1 Pet 1:19, 1 Pet 2:22)

Scripture is clear: “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb 9:22).

Jesus said, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matt 26:28).

Revelation affirms the same: He washed us from our sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5)

I'll instruct once more for you, since you are at least sincere, though mistaken: The temporal natural blood of Jesus shed on the cross, is not the eternal spiritual blood of the risen Lord, that is sprinkled on them that believe and obey Him.

The only people Jesus 'washed' with His natural blood, were them that scourged and crucified Him. There was also Simon of Cyrene that helped carry His bloody cross, and Joseph who wrapped His bloody corpse in linen cloth.

And you say you have Jesus' natural blood being sprinkled on you. Do you also drink His natural blood contrary to the law of Christ:

Jhn 6:54
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed…He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

1Co 11:29
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

The Scripture admonishes drinking the wine of communion without judging it as the Lord's. Not that the wine is the Lord's natural blood, neither during communion nor at the last supper:

Mat 26:28
For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

By law of God, no one has ever drank Jesus's natural blood: Not at the last supper, nor at the cross, nor by communion after His resurrection.

Lev 17:14
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.

Act 15:29
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

If you refuse to discern the difference between natural temporal things and eternal spiritual things, such as the natural blood of Jesus, that was shed into the earth the same as righteous Abel's and all men's blood, then you can't be instructed on the difference between drinking the eternal blood of the resurrection Spirit, and drinking the Jesus' natural blood shed 2000 years ago.

1Co 2:14
For the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

No one is being sprinkled and washed, nor drinking Jesus' shed natural blood, as by some kind of supernatural osmosis. In this manner Protestants join the Catholics in saying the wine of communion is become 'in verity' the blood of Jesus, as by sanctification prayer of the priest.

2Ti 4:3
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 

[ATG]

haven't you read?
there is no reason to be afraid. fear is not of faith: fear is of unbelief.

Haven't you read? It's been quoted to you already:

1 Peter{1:15}
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; {1:16} Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. {1:17} And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:

And so it's confirmed that the 'Faith Alone' gospel teaches sinning believers, to forsake the fear of the Lord altogether.

Jer 2:19
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

Mal 1:6
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?

By falsely teaching fellow transgressors against the fear of the Lord, and His righteous judgment of works.

 

[ATG]

haven't you read?
there is no reason to be afraid. fear is not of faith: fear is of unbelief.

Jer 32:40
And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

God's fear is not to forsake Him by wicked works.

Jer 2:19
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

The love of God that has no fear, is not the Lord's own fear, but rather the fear of man and of death:

Pro 29:25
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Heb 2:14
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Mat 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

The fear of the Lord is good for the soul, that does not mock the Lord's judgment of works. The fear of the Lord rebukes any belief, such as by 'Faith Alone', that He is a respecter of person in judging evil works: Whosever does evil shall be judged the same by God for their evil doing.

Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

2Ch 19:7
Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

Psa 19:9
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

No person's faith alone saves him from the righteous judgment of God against unrighteous works. Without respect to whatever the evil doer believes.

As you confirm, the 'Faith Alone' justification apart from works, teaches transgressors in the churches of God, to despise the Lord's judgment, and cast away His fear.

 

[ATG]

Romans 8:1​

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.​

Correct. Only those walking after the Spirit, and not after the flesh, have no condemnation from God's judgment of works. God only condemns unrighteous works of the flesh.

Having no condemnation by 'Faith Alone', while doing the same unrighteous works as others, is having no fear of the Lord, while mocking His righteous judgement against all evil doers.

Rom 2:3
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?...For there is no respect of persons with God.

Gal 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting…For there is no respect of persons with God.

1 Peter {1:15}
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:

 

[ATG]

Romans 4
5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

James{2:21}
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

 

[HigherGospel]

Paul said that charity, love in action, works, is greater than faith.

And faith works by love.

God is love - 1 John 4:8

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

1 John 4:8-11
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we

might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

And let's not forget loving the Lord comes BEFORE loving others.

Matthew 22:37-39
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

This is not what many Christians preach. Hyper-grace is preached by very few, in fact. Yes, most Christians preach that salvation and justification is by faith alone, not by a faith that is alone. Works will always follow a true living faith, not because of effort, but because our desires have been changed.

The false teachers claim even if one lives in sin (doing the works of the devil) they are still saved and thus deceive many claiming "it's not possible to lose salvation"

This leads many to believe they can go ahead and live in sin and still be saved which is why Jesus said what He said in Matthew 24:12.

Matthew 24:12
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

What it's not is Faith + Works = Salvation.

And yet Faith Alone + Walking after the flesh = Damnation

Unless one wants to claim we can walk after the flesh (sin) and still be saved which is heresy

As you confirm, the 'Faith Alone' justification apart from works, teaches transgressors in the churches of God, to despise the Lord's judgment, and cast away His fear.

What is the fear of the Lord ???

Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverse mouth I hate.

It's not living in fear as being scared of God as some falsely claim which is sinful behavior according to Jesus.

The fearful will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)

Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind

Romans 8:15
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

 

[ATG]

what this comes to is do not judge, so that you will not be judged. for by the same measure by which you judge, you will be judged.

Jas 4:12
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?

Though we judge not others, God will judge all men by our works.

Not judging others, nor being judged by others, does not exclude any man from being judged by God:

Rom 2:3
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?...For there is no respect of persons with God.

Though men judge nothing, God will judge.

 

[Dino246]

No person's faith alone saves him from the righteous judgment of God against unrighteous works. Without respect to whatever the evil doer believes.

Um... that's exactly what faith saves from. Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf saves us from the judgment of God leveled at us for our sin (unrighteous works), because Jesus took that judgment (death) on our behalf.

As you confirm, the 'Faith Alone' justification apart from works, teaches transgressors in the churches of God, to despise the Lord's judgment, and cast away His fear.

You still don't distinguish between works for salvation and works from salvation. Until you do, your arguments are just clatter.

People who have put their faith in Jesus do the works that He prepared in advance for them to do. They are not saved by those works; rather, they demonstrate that person's faith is genuine.

There are people (Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses, for example) who believe that we need faith AND works to be saved, and that we cannot even know whether we are saved until the Judgment. That is not biblical Christianity.

Works before salvation don't bring about salvation.

Correct (biblically sound) faith results in salvation. Such faith is not mixed with works to earn salvation, for such works add nothing to our salvation.

Works motivated by the Spirit in us after salvation affirm salvation by demonstrating the faith is genuine. Absence of such works demonstrates something wrong or lacking in one's faith.

Works motivated by the desire to remain sufficiently "holy" (such as keeping the Law) add nothing to our salvation.

 

[ATG]

Sinners are spiritually dead and bound for hell before being saved, when they practiced the morality of the ungodly that is the environment of sinners, and the ruler of the ungodly is the devil or Satan, who indwells atheists and works evil using them.

True. All that sin against God are without God, and have no hope of resurrection unto life.

Conversion and sanctification are not by works (per Eph.2:8-10). The future resurrection when the saints will share Christ’s blessings is viewed as being present.

False.

Conversion and justification is not with works of righteousness we have done without God, but only with works of righteousness we do with Jesus Christ.

No one doing works of unrighteousness is with God, nor has any hope of resurrection unto life. Their 'Faith Alone' cannot save them from judgement of their unrighteous works.

1Jo 3:8
He that is committing sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.

Gal 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting…For there is no respect of persons with God.

—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

True. The only faith that saves by grace, is with works of God's righteousness, not any faith of man with works to boast of.

There is no faith alone without works in Eph 2, but only in James 2 where it is rejected as dead, being alone without works.

All we have is gifted by God per 1Cor. 4:7, and so salvation is not earned; faith is not meritorious. The reason for God’s creation of a holy humanity is so they will reflect His love to all manifested by good works, which are the fruit of the HS (Gal. 5:22-23) and a way of life in which we should walk.

True. No one earns salvation and favor of God by works of their own proud faith. And no one is rewarded with resurrection unto life by manifesting evil works. Nor is anyone inheriting eternal salvation and life by their faith alone, apart from their works.

The doers of righteousness are born of God by His faith, and inherit His righteous kingdom.

The doers of unrighteousness are of the devil, and their reward is of the wicked, no matter their faith in God:

Jas 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

 

[ATG]

Abraham was justified in terms of eternal life before he offered up his son Isaac, as Paul wrote.

End.

Paul writes Abraham was not justified by circumcision of the flesh. But he was imputed righteousness by faith.

James writes that Abraham was not justified by works, until offering up Isaac by the Spirit.

And no man is justified by his faith alone.

End.

 

[HigherGospel]

Faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ

The Blood of Jesus washes away sin, it doesn't just atone for them which means to cover over

In the OT they sacrificed animals to cover their sin - the Blood of Jesus is far more powerful and washes sin away

Big difference between the two

the judgment of God leveled at us for our sin (unrighteous works),

The false teachers take this and claim "even if you did live in sin you'll still be saved"

Which is why so many Christians choose to go back to living in sin like a dog returning to his own vomit.

You still don't distinguish between works for salvation

Choosing to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is a good work that causes salvation.

Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
(NOT in our own strength - see Philippians 4:13)

Romans 11:21,22
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

2 Peter 2:20
For if after they have escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

Hebrews 3:12
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

*A person cannot depart from something they were never a part of to begin with

1 Timothy 4:1,2
Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron

*A person cannot depart from the faith is they were never in the faith begin with

 

[Dino246]

The Blood of Jesus washes away sin, it doesn't just atone for them which means to cover over

In the OT they sacrificed animals to cover their sin - the Blood of Jesus is far more powerful and washes sin away

Big difference between the two

Do you think I don't know that?

The false teachers take this and claim "even if you did live in sin you'll still be saved"

False teachers will corrupt plain Scripture. That doesn't make Scripture wrong either.

Choosing to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is a good work that causes salvation.

That's a strange way of expressing it.

 

[HigherGospel]

Do you think I don't know that?

You claim it's not possible for a person to lose salvation which is heresy

After that we have to assume you are a follower of heresy since you, well, follow heresy

That's a strange way of expressing it.

Is you claim that choosing to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is a NOT a good work?

 

[Dino246]

You claim it's not possible for a person to lose salvation which is heresy

Quote me where I allegedly stated this.

Or, since you can't, retract your accusation.

 

[HigherGospel]

Quote me where I allegedly stated this.

Are you saying a person CAN in fact lose their salvation?

 

[Dino246]

Are you saying a person CAN in fact lose their salvation?

You made the accusation; you defend it.

 

[HigherGospel]

You made the accusation; you defend it.

See there, we'll take that as a yes.

You roll with the OSAS people and you know it.