This question seems to be a preoccupation in this site:
What is the relationship between works and salvation?
For me, it's an easy question to answer, and involves union with Christ.
Works oriented people seem to think their status before God is dependent on works, one way or the other.
Some claim works justify you before God. Some claim works don't justify you, but if you don't do good works, you will lose your salvation.
Others claim that works aren't even a necessary fruit of salvation.
The truth is pretty plain in the Reformed perspective.
No works or personal merit can justify you. You are justified, or accounted righteous, by God through being united with Christ. Because of this union, God views you the same as Christ, in terms of his righteousness and acceptability.
This aspect of union with Christ is legal. It doesn't depend on behavior. It is a legal status conferred upon sinners who deserve eternal death. Peiod.
It is not earned by faith or repentance. In fact, God must give the person a heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone, so that they can respond in faith and repentance.
This is a truth denied by all free-willers, though. They believe in decisional regeneration. In other words, they believe that your personal decision of faith and repentance causes you to be regenerated, and to receive a heart of flesh to replace your heart of stone. Some don't even believe in regeneration, claiming that the saved man is still basically the same after salvation. This is why I reject their theology.
What about sanctification?
Scripture is plain in teaching that those who are saved are being made holy. In fact, this is a product of union with Christ, too. Believers become branches that are attached to the vine, who is Christ. They produce fruit because they are joined to the vine. Christ's presence is in them, being mediated by the Holy Spirit, and fruit is produced by necessity.
This aspect of union with Christ is called vital, because this union with Christ gives spiritual life to the person, which defeats sin and death in the person's life over time. Ultimately, sin and death is totally defeated at the resurrection.
Additionally, I think dispensational teaching has caused a lot of these issues. For instance, some dispensationalists on this site outright deny that Scriptures related to God giving the believer a new heart are specific to Israel and the Millennial kingdom. I would suggest that they are correct if dispensational hermeneutics are true, but their hermeneutic is flawed. So, dispensationalism creates a half-baked cake if their theology is consistently applied.
I believe that all the arguments regarding the place of works in salvation, in essence, are based on a misunderstanding or rejection of the believers' union with Christ. In many cases, they are related to a denial of God's sovereignty in salvation, too.
Anyways that's a summary of my thoughts on this issue. What about yours?
Here are the questions I have:
1. Is justification, in terms of being accounted righteous by God, by faith alone, or faith and works?
2. What other senses can the word "justification" or "sanctification" involve?
3. Is justifying faith provided by God, or by man?
3. If by God, is it provided to all men?
4. If all men receive this justifying faith, why is it ineffective in some?
5. Are good works and obedience a necessary fruit of salvation, or an optional fruit of salvation?
6. How does union with Christ result in both justification and sanctification?
Note: I am discussing justification in the sense of being accounted righteous by God at the moment of salvation, and sanctification as being progressively transformed by Christ over the person's life.
I am not discussing justification or sanctification in other senses. I know that justification can be used in the sense of being vindicated in the eyes of man by good works (such as James 2) and sanctification can also be used in a positional sense (being set aside by God for holy purpose at the moment of salvation), but I am not referring to those senses.
Please provide Scriptures to support your assertions.
I would produce a poll on this, but there are so many dimensions to the question.
What is the relationship between works and salvation?
For me, it's an easy question to answer, and involves union with Christ.
Works oriented people seem to think their status before God is dependent on works, one way or the other.
Some claim works justify you before God. Some claim works don't justify you, but if you don't do good works, you will lose your salvation.
Others claim that works aren't even a necessary fruit of salvation.
The truth is pretty plain in the Reformed perspective.
No works or personal merit can justify you. You are justified, or accounted righteous, by God through being united with Christ. Because of this union, God views you the same as Christ, in terms of his righteousness and acceptability.
This aspect of union with Christ is legal. It doesn't depend on behavior. It is a legal status conferred upon sinners who deserve eternal death. Peiod.
It is not earned by faith or repentance. In fact, God must give the person a heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone, so that they can respond in faith and repentance.
This is a truth denied by all free-willers, though. They believe in decisional regeneration. In other words, they believe that your personal decision of faith and repentance causes you to be regenerated, and to receive a heart of flesh to replace your heart of stone. Some don't even believe in regeneration, claiming that the saved man is still basically the same after salvation. This is why I reject their theology.
What about sanctification?
Scripture is plain in teaching that those who are saved are being made holy. In fact, this is a product of union with Christ, too. Believers become branches that are attached to the vine, who is Christ. They produce fruit because they are joined to the vine. Christ's presence is in them, being mediated by the Holy Spirit, and fruit is produced by necessity.
This aspect of union with Christ is called vital, because this union with Christ gives spiritual life to the person, which defeats sin and death in the person's life over time. Ultimately, sin and death is totally defeated at the resurrection.
Additionally, I think dispensational teaching has caused a lot of these issues. For instance, some dispensationalists on this site outright deny that Scriptures related to God giving the believer a new heart are specific to Israel and the Millennial kingdom. I would suggest that they are correct if dispensational hermeneutics are true, but their hermeneutic is flawed. So, dispensationalism creates a half-baked cake if their theology is consistently applied.
I believe that all the arguments regarding the place of works in salvation, in essence, are based on a misunderstanding or rejection of the believers' union with Christ. In many cases, they are related to a denial of God's sovereignty in salvation, too.
Anyways that's a summary of my thoughts on this issue. What about yours?
Here are the questions I have:
1. Is justification, in terms of being accounted righteous by God, by faith alone, or faith and works?
2. What other senses can the word "justification" or "sanctification" involve?
3. Is justifying faith provided by God, or by man?
3. If by God, is it provided to all men?
4. If all men receive this justifying faith, why is it ineffective in some?
5. Are good works and obedience a necessary fruit of salvation, or an optional fruit of salvation?
6. How does union with Christ result in both justification and sanctification?
Note: I am discussing justification in the sense of being accounted righteous by God at the moment of salvation, and sanctification as being progressively transformed by Christ over the person's life.
I am not discussing justification or sanctification in other senses. I know that justification can be used in the sense of being vindicated in the eyes of man by good works (such as James 2) and sanctification can also be used in a positional sense (being set aside by God for holy purpose at the moment of salvation), but I am not referring to those senses.
Please provide Scriptures to support your assertions.
I would produce a poll on this, but there are so many dimensions to the question.
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