Agreed
that is the true meaning behind the intent of what James was trying to make.Saved by faith alone?
- Thread starter Lamar
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that is the true meaning behind the intent of what James was trying to make.
Now it makes sense.
I never knew his position but his questioning and posting seemed to claim there was a difference between Jew and Gentile when he asked who James was writing to.
Unfortunately for him, anything we read in the Bible that we know to be Inspired comes from God and is for ALL Believers.
A genuine, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ is continual and begins based on our past decision (with ongoing present results) to trust in Him as the ALL-sufficient means of our salvation. (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (which is an intimate, experiential knowledge, found only in a relationship). The term "know" implies intimate, experiential knowledge, through a relationship with Him and not merely theoretical knowledge.
Now although born again Christians start off as babes in Christ and over time grow to maturity, we have our weak moments along the way. The apostle Peter had his weak moments and even denied knowing Christ three times, but ultimately, his faith did not fail and Jesus had a lot to do with that. Unlike Judas Iscariot who ultimately betrayed Jesus and his true colors were exposed by Jesus who knew his heart. (John 6:64-71; 13:10-11)
Ultimately, you seem to have more faith in self preservation than you do in God's preservation. (Psalm 37:28; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Ephesians 1:13-14; Peter 1:5; Jude 1) I'm just the opposite. IF is a confirmation and is not salvation by works at the back door.
Apparently, you believe that ALL belief is the same. In James 2:19, we read that the demons "believe" that "there is one God," but they do not "believe" in the Lord Jesus Christ and are not saved. (Acts 16:31)
I agree with you here. While I do believe God knows EVERYTHING past present and future, I do not believe that means He doesn't give us agency, or a will of our own. Just because God knows what I'm going to choose doesn't ean He made me choose it. This is not a hard concept for me to grasp. I can get that, logically at least. The part that really takes this so far beyond my understanding is how this all works together to bring about His plan. How all this works together to bring about His perfect plan is WAY beyond me, I would assume it's WAY beyond any of us, but I'll just speak for myself here.
I believe Demons knew and believed who Jesus was because of verses like Luke:
At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
^
And maybe I am misunderstanding you because that could be a possibility...
No, actually I don't.
You said the following re: belief in Jesus:
So, it looks to me like you're saying belief progresses and there is a point where it falls short of saving belief in Jesus and thus there is a point where it doesn't fall short of saving belief, which sounds to me like non-saving belief becomes "firmly rooted and established belief... which I simply in response labeled as "Belief" with a capital "B".
So, I'll ask differently, when does belief become Saving Belief?
The demons did know who Jesus was, and they believed in facts about Him. They just did not believe in him as their Savior, unto salvation. They are not trusting in Jesus for salvation.
If we read the Passage in complete context we see this is the"Angel" talking. It's possible that the Angel is speaking the truth from his own perspective.
11 And the angel of HaShem called unto him out of heaven, and said: 'Abraham, Abraham.' And he said: 'Here am I.'
12 And he said: 'Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him; for now I know that thou art a G-d-fearing man, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Me.'
Amen and I figured this is what you meant but I read it weirdly unfortunately.
You are making this out to be more complicated than it really is. I'll explain it another way. The demons believe who Jesus is and that His death, burial and resurrection "happened" (and so do many "nominal" Christians) but they are not trusting in His death, burial and resurrection for salvation. That is what it means to believe the gospel. (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) So one can believe certain things about Jesus without believing the gospel unto salvation.
Belief becomes faith the moment it turns to assurance confidence and trust. Until then it is just belief. Even demons believe
So, belief becomes Belief when belief turns to trust?
When belief turns to Belief, this is when belief has taken root?
And demons believe but don't trust Christ for salvation, so they don't Believe?
If there comes a gotcha moment, I might highlight it, but in these threads they're basically pointless.
Don't you think our interpretations need to stand up under scrutiny?
Belief that trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation turns into saving belief. The demons believe "mental assent" that "there is one God" (James 2:19) and they also believe certain facts about Jesus Christ but they do not trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. They do not believe in/on the Lord Jesus Christ and are not saved. (Acts 16:31) They belive in their head and not in their heart. (Romans 10:9,10)
So, if we take the Parable of the Sower, the 2nd and 3rd(?) soil believed but never trusted for salvation so never truly Believed and only the 4th soil trusted and thus Believed, correct?
Do you not think the demonic rebellion against God has anything to do with their belief? Do you think they are looking for salvation from God whom they rejected, or do you think salvation is available to them?