YOU ARE SAVED BY FAITH AND YOUR DEEDS...FAITH ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH.
BIGGEST HERESY IN CHURCH HISTORY
Are we saved by faith only....YES..
Are we saved by faith and works..NEVER.
Ephesians 2 8.
So where does the conflict arise??From James 2 in which religious folk hope to have a part in becoming righteous by their own deeds.
James did not say that we are saved by faith and works.He only says that after faith comes good works and uses Abraham as an example.
It is the same thing Paul says when He speaks of the the fruit of the Spirit which are"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law(no need of the 10 commandments) note
You cannot be under the spirit and live under the law at the same time(galatians 5 18)
Mature Christians know that the law was only given to prove man cannot keep it and show their sinful nature and in addition to that...it was not meant to last past the coming of Christ.(galatians 3 19 20)
Now you must understand the difference between good works and dead works.
Dead works come when we try to please God by our efforts and good deeds or by living under the law(ten commandments).
Good works come when we perform good deeds and obey promptings of the Spirit because we know we are righteous and accepted in Christ and nothing we do can ever change that.
Do you for one moment think that your own good deeds can allow you to access God's favor and blessings or more of His love??.Isaiah 64 6 says all our righteousness(the good we do which is really dead works)are like filthy rags in God's eyes.
Good works are necessary to be justified among the eyes of men(people around you),but in the eyes of God,you are justified by faith alone and not your deeds ephesians 2 9.
When James uses the example of Abraham.The question is WHY AND WHEN Abraham was credited as righteous.Now many will quote james 2 21 "Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar"and THEY STOP THERE and say that Abraham was considered righteous because OF WHAT HE DID.That is the danger of reading a singe verse and leaving it at that.Read the next verses if not the whole chapter.
Let's continue to verse 22 and 23"22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend."
Ok..now the question is WHEN was Abraham called righteous by God???Was it after he went to sacrifice Isaac??NO...God announced Abraham righteous more than 10 years before isaac was born(Genesis 15 6.)Therefore there is NO way Abraham was called righteous because of his doing but simply because he believed in God's word for him that he will have a son one day in the future.
James proves this part when Abraham obeyed God and Paul proves this by stating everywhere that our righteousness is based on faith.
THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION WHATSOEVER.Even if you want to go by the legalistic stance.Look at the two example of "works" given in James 2.Abraham was about to murder his son while Rahab in verse 25 lied to save the spies,both are a contradiction in the effort to keep the ten commandments.
Religious people use James to say your faith alone cannot save you,it must be shown by your good works.That is the Heresy of Heresies.Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
You will find that most people who say such things live under the very sin they promise not to commit.Maybe this explains why a group of people can take a vow of celibacy(no where stated in the bible)and end up molesting children.Simply because they try to please God by their own deeds and knowledge.Why not just accept that Christ made you righteous without your works?the answer is pride.The same pride that brought the devil out of heaven.
Our righteousness is based on our faith not our actions. We don't live righteously to become righteous. We live righteously because we ARE righteous.Get it??This way who gets all the glory and honour??Jesus!!!
There are christians,even some new covenant believers who still keep tabs on their performance according to the ten commandments and whenever they fail,they feel like they have disappointed God.Listen,God DOES NOT WANT YOU LOOKING AT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO RATE YOURSELF...HE SIMPLY WANTS YOU TO LOOK AT JESUS AND HIS FINISHED WORK FOR YOU ON THE CROSS...THAT'S IT!!!! Don't even bother looking at your feelings or how much "love" you have for God.Focus on Jesus and let Him live through you.
If all this sounds too good to be true then now you know the reason its called the "GOOD NEWS GOSPEL."
Good works are necessary to be justified among the eyes of men,but in the eyes of God,you are justified by faith alone and not your deeds ephesians 2 9.
BIGGEST HERESY IN CHURCH HISTORY
Are we saved by faith only....YES..
Are we saved by faith and works..NEVER.
Ephesians 2 8.
So where does the conflict arise??From James 2 in which religious folk hope to have a part in becoming righteous by their own deeds.
James did not say that we are saved by faith and works.He only says that after faith comes good works and uses Abraham as an example.
It is the same thing Paul says when He speaks of the the fruit of the Spirit which are"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law(no need of the 10 commandments) note
You cannot be under the spirit and live under the law at the same time(galatians 5 18)
Mature Christians know that the law was only given to prove man cannot keep it and show their sinful nature and in addition to that...it was not meant to last past the coming of Christ.(galatians 3 19 20)
Now you must understand the difference between good works and dead works.
Dead works come when we try to please God by our efforts and good deeds or by living under the law(ten commandments).
Good works come when we perform good deeds and obey promptings of the Spirit because we know we are righteous and accepted in Christ and nothing we do can ever change that.
Do you for one moment think that your own good deeds can allow you to access God's favor and blessings or more of His love??.Isaiah 64 6 says all our righteousness(the good we do which is really dead works)are like filthy rags in God's eyes.
Good works are necessary to be justified among the eyes of men(people around you),but in the eyes of God,you are justified by faith alone and not your deeds ephesians 2 9.
When James uses the example of Abraham.The question is WHY AND WHEN Abraham was credited as righteous.Now many will quote james 2 21 "Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar"and THEY STOP THERE and say that Abraham was considered righteous because OF WHAT HE DID.That is the danger of reading a singe verse and leaving it at that.Read the next verses if not the whole chapter.
Let's continue to verse 22 and 23"22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”and he was called God’s friend."
Ok..now the question is WHEN was Abraham called righteous by God???Was it after he went to sacrifice Isaac??NO...God announced Abraham righteous more than 10 years before isaac was born(Genesis 15 6.)Therefore there is NO way Abraham was called righteous because of his doing but simply because he believed in God's word for him that he will have a son one day in the future.
James proves this part when Abraham obeyed God and Paul proves this by stating everywhere that our righteousness is based on faith.
THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION WHATSOEVER.Even if you want to go by the legalistic stance.Look at the two example of "works" given in James 2.Abraham was about to murder his son while Rahab in verse 25 lied to save the spies,both are a contradiction in the effort to keep the ten commandments.
Religious people use James to say your faith alone cannot save you,it must be shown by your good works.That is the Heresy of Heresies.Ephesians 2 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
You will find that most people who say such things live under the very sin they promise not to commit.Maybe this explains why a group of people can take a vow of celibacy(no where stated in the bible)and end up molesting children.Simply because they try to please God by their own deeds and knowledge.Why not just accept that Christ made you righteous without your works?the answer is pride.The same pride that brought the devil out of heaven.
Our righteousness is based on our faith not our actions. We don't live righteously to become righteous. We live righteously because we ARE righteous.Get it??This way who gets all the glory and honour??Jesus!!!
There are christians,even some new covenant believers who still keep tabs on their performance according to the ten commandments and whenever they fail,they feel like they have disappointed God.Listen,God DOES NOT WANT YOU LOOKING AT THE TEN COMMANDMENTS TO RATE YOURSELF...HE SIMPLY WANTS YOU TO LOOK AT JESUS AND HIS FINISHED WORK FOR YOU ON THE CROSS...THAT'S IT!!!! Don't even bother looking at your feelings or how much "love" you have for God.Focus on Jesus and let Him live through you.
If all this sounds too good to be true then now you know the reason its called the "GOOD NEWS GOSPEL."
Good works are necessary to be justified among the eyes of men,but in the eyes of God,you are justified by faith alone and not your deeds ephesians 2 9.
