Not By Works

Title: The Transformative Power of Works in Salvation: A Personal Reflection as Pastor of BibleHeaven.org

Dear fellow believers,

As the Pastor of https://BibleHeaven.org, I come before you today to share a perspective on the transformative role of works in our journey towards salvation.

While faith is undeniably the foundation of our relationship with God, I firmly believe that our works play a significant and complementary role in attaining salvation.

The Bible teaches us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). This profound truth has resonated deeply with me throughout my personal and spiritual journey. It has led me to understand that salvation is not merely a one-time event but an ongoing process of transformation and renewal.

Through my experiences as a pastor and a follower of Christ, I have witnessed how engaging in good works and living out Christ-like virtues can have a profound impact on our lives and the lives of those around us. Our actions are not a means to earn salvation but rather a genuine response to the love and grace that God has freely bestowed upon us.

At https://BibleHeaven.org, we encourage our congregation to actively participate in acts of love, compassion, and service as an outpouring of our faith. These works are not meant to be burdensome obligations, but expressions of gratitude and a desire to align ourselves with God's will.

By engaging in acts of kindness, seeking justice for the oppressed, and extending a helping hand to those in need, we exemplify the transformative power of Christ's love in our lives. Our works become a living testimony to the message of the Gospel, touching hearts, and inspiring others to seek salvation and live lives of moral excellence.

However, it is essential to remember that salvation is ultimately a gift of God's grace, which we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. Our works do not merit or earn salvation; rather, they are a reflection of our faith and an evidence of the internal change that occurs when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.

In conclusion, I can attest to the profound significance of works in the journey of salvation. Let us not underestimate the transformative power of actively living out our faith through good deeds. As we embrace both faith and works, may our lives be a testament to God's love, grace, and transforming power, inspiring others to join us on this beautiful journey towards salvation.

I invite you all to share your thoughts and experiences on this topic, as we continue to learn and grow together in our walk of faith.

Blessings,

Pastor Harry, https://BibleHeaven.org

What do you mean about our journey towards salvation?


How can this be, since scripture is clear it is not of works. lest anyone should boast. And even later paul says it is not by the good deeds (works) we have done but By Gods mercy he saved us


Did James contradict paul?

Who were the people james talked to?

Did james said they even had faith? did he not say they claimed TO HAVE FAITH?


Yes, they are a result of being saved. not to get saved


You seem to have contradicted your earlier statement here..


you have me confused.

do you believe as paul said we have been saved (forgiven)

or do you believe we are working towards our eternal salvation

It does not get any plainer..........Our righteous works have ZERO to do with Salvation!

English Standard Version
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Berean Study Bible
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Berean Literal Bible
He saved us, not by works in righteousness that we did, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

New American Standard Bible
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

King James Bible
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), .

is this all we are saved from? If this is true, everyone who is saved would be sinless.. because they have been saved from sin..

what about the penalty or wage of sin?

In Titus 2:11-13, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so being saved from continuing to live in sin is an ongoing process. Moreover, in Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so while he paid the penalty for our sin, then is also the ongoing aspect of our salvation of becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law (Acs 21:20). If we were only saved from the penalty of our sin while we continued to live in sin, then our salvation would be incomplete.

what did John mean when he said whoever lives in sin has never seen or known God. whoever is born of God cannot live in sin.

God's eternal nature is truth, sin is what is contrary to God's nature, and God's law is His instructions for how to testify about His nature, which is why God's righteousness is eternal and God's law is truth (Psalms 119:142), and the sum of God's word is truth and all of God's righteous laws are eternal (Psalms 119:160). God's way is the way in which He expresses aspects of His nature such as righteousness and justice (Genesis 18:19) and the Bible often uses the same terms to describe aspects of God's eternal nature as it does to describe aspects of His eternal life, which again is because it is God's instructions for how to testify about those aspects of His nature, such as with it being holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12), and by doing good works in obedience to it we are testifying about God's goodness, which is why our good works bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:16).

God's law is God's way (Psalms 119:1-3), the truth (Psalms 119:142), and the life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47), and the way to see and know the Father (Exodus 33:13), and Jesus is God's word made flesh expressed through living in sinless obedience to it, so he is the embodiment of the way, the truth, and the life, and the way to see and know the Father (John 14:6-7). In other words, we can't see aspects of the Father's nature like holiness, righteousness, and goodness, but we can see them in bodily form when we look at Jesus, which is why he is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). The way to know God is through having the experience of practicing aspects of His nature by obeying His law, which is why those who continue to practice sin in transgression of God's law have neither seen nor known him.

A chip off of the old block is someone who has the same character or nature as their father expressed through doing the same works, which is why Jesus said in John 8:39 that if they were children of Abraham, then they would be doing the same works as him, so that is the sense that Jesus is the Son of God insofar as he is the radiance of God's glory and the exact image of His nature (Hebrews 1:3), which he expressed through setting a singles example of how to walk in obedience to God's law, so that is also the sense that we are born again as children of God when we are partaking in the divine nature through following his example. This is why 1 John 3:4-10 says that those who are born again can't live in sin and that those who do not practice righteousness in obedience to God's law are not children of God, and why Romans 8:4-14 contrasts those who are born again of the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to His law.

you did not answer my question

what Did john mean when he said that

I spoke in regard to what it means to live in sin and its connection to what it means to have never seen or known God, and to what it means to be born of God and why we can't live in sin, so it is not clear to me why you think that I did not answer your question.

It does not get any plainer..........Our righteous works have ZERO to do with Salvation!

can a born again child of God live in sin?

BINGO!!! No question about it. (Eph 2:8,9) ROman Catholic theology to the contrary not withstanding. Salvation begins and ends with FAITH in the SIN OFFERING of Jesus on the cross. (Isa 53:10)

In Ephesians 2:10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while Ephesians 2:8-9 deny that our salvation is the result of our works, it does not deny that doing good works is intrinsically part of our salvation from not doing good works. For example, while it is not the case that we need to have first done a certain amount of honoring our parents in order to result in becoming saved from not honoring our parents as if our salvation could be earned as a wage, honoring our parents through faith in Jesus is nevertheless intrinsically part of the concept of him saving us from not honoring our parents. In Titus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law is the way to have faith in what Jesus accomplished through the cross, which again is intrinsically part of the concept of him saving us from not doing good works.

No.

Yup - no problem.

Roman Catholics (and other non-Christian cults) are trained to THINK that they're "saved" by a COMBINATION of what Jesus did, and what THEY do. In the case of ISLAMIC victims, their "Salvation is completely by "Works" since they reject Jesus as SAVIOR.

Consequently they HAVE NO ASSURANCE of their salvation, even with the addition of "Purgatorial torture" to "Cleanse them". In Fact they CRITICIZE anybody who CLAIMS TO HAVE ASSURANCE, even though the Bible is clear that Born again folks have it.

However what they're IGNORANT OF is the simple fact that being BORN AGAIN BY FAITH WILL RESULT in the born again person producing good works AS THE RESULT of their salvation.

thank you,

which means they can not lose salvation. amen!

Not sure what you meant by that, but let me guess.

Acts 4:12 (NASB)
12 "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

Romans 1:16 (HCSB)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Matthew 7:22-23 (HCSB)
22 On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?’
23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!’

Matthew 7:26 (HCSB)
26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.