So in your view, you believe in
True saving faith = salvation + works after you are saved.
But you don't want to say Salvation = Faith + Works, because that would contradict what Paul is saying.
Paul does not teach faith alone.
Paul teaches salvation = Faith plus works.
The question becomes WHICH works?
Paul was preaching to persons (the Jews) that believed all their life that their works....the keeping of the 613 laws would save their soul. They toiled to work for their salvation.
Paul taught two mysteries...
The major mystery was that salvation was for all nations. Genesis 22:18
The second was that we are saved by faith and not by works. This is justification.
Abraham had faith already in Genesis 12:1
Why?
Because he obeyed God. We can only obey God when we have faith in Him,,,and this is the faith that can save us...believing (obeying) Him is what you call true saving faith. God told Abraham to go,,,and he went. He was saved at this point, Genesis 12:1 -- no need to wait till Genesis 15:6
He wanted his brethren to understand that we are saved by faith....just as in the O.T. and which message had become lost to them, and to which the Law had become burdensome. Jesus wanted them to understand that we change from the inside out...not by ritual.
Paul preached this same faith to the Gentiles.
Every one of his letters has works in it.
Didn't Paul himself work?
Isn't preaching the gospel a work?
Isn't being a missionary a work?
When we work from our faith, we are doing God's work.
Ephesians 2:10
Romans 1:5-9
5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
6among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.
9For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you,
Paul states above that we have received Apostleship, which is Discipleship. A disciples follows his leader and teacher and master and does what is required of him. Sometimes we do out of love for him, as is proclaimed here on this thread....and sometimes we do because that is what is required of us.
Galatians 6:9
9Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
If Paul says we might grow weary, it means that possibility is there.
He's saying that even IF WE DO grow weary....we still have to do good.
And anything we do for God is a work of God as in Ephesians 2:10
If we want to call ourselves a Christian, we are required to be a disciple and work for God.
Those in the Kingdom of God will be doing the works of the Kingdom...
It's a real place (dimension) with a real ruler and real rules.
Check every letter of Paul. He tells us what not to do, flip it and he's telling us what TO DO.
Some here say this is descriptive and not prescriptive.
I say we stop using words that are not even biblical and read the N.T. plainly and understand its simple message.
2 Timothy 3:16
16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
This is sanctification.
