Results 1761 - 1780 of 1928
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Results from: Notes Author: Reformer Joe Ordered by Verse |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1761 | Why keep the Moral Law? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19253 | ||
Bill: On another side note, I notice that once again you failed to address the Scripture passages that make up 90 percent of my post. Is my interpretation of these verses in error? If so, what do they really mean? Also, where did I say that God NEEDS me? We are to live in righteousness for His name's sake. God doesn't NEED us to be righteous, but that is certainly the purpose for which we were saved (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Peter 2:9,10) "God never calls you to do things FOR Him"? My Bible seems to differ with that view: "Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; FOR ALL TO LIVE TO HIM." --Luke 20:38 "Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, IN ORDER THAT WE MIGHT BEAR FRUIT FOR GOD." --Romans 7:4 "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and WE EXIST FOR HIM; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him." --1 Corinthians 8:6 "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants FOR JESUS' SAKE." --2 Corinthians 4:5 "Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE; for when I am weak, then I am strong." --2 Corinthians 12:10 "For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer FOR HIS SAKE" --Philippians 1:29 "For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus." Philippians 2:21 "and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you FOR CHRIST"S SAKE." --Philemon 6 "For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. FOR YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED FOR THIS PURPOSE, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps" --1 Peter 2:21 There is a lot of text you have to rip out of your Bible if you want to make the claim that we are not saved with the end of serving Him and glorifying Him through our lives. Again, it is the Spirit of God who empowers us to live righteously, but that righteousness is part and parcel of the Christian life and is not just a neat "extra" for those who are truly regenerate. Again, if I am wrong here, please tell me what this list of verses really is saying. Why do the apostles stress works so much? Why do many of them state that "faith without works is dead" and that if we do not follow his commandments, that we are liars and do not truly belong to Him at all? Again, so as not to be mistaken as someone trying to "work his way to Heaven," let me try and close the barn door one more time: works do not save, but neither does a "faith" that does not result in works. We do not gain nor maintain a right standing with God through works, but as Peter states above, our works matter to Him; and as James and John make crystal clear in their epistles, righteous deeds for Christ's sake are the marks of a true believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. --Joe! |
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1762 | Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil law | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19267 | ||
Bill: You wrote: "But what I can't seem to be able to get through to you is the fact that you are not who you were before salvation." You don't need to get it through to me, because I fully understand 2 Corinthians 5:17. I am regenerated, given a new nature. However, justification, while it occurs at the same point in time as regeneration, is not the same thing. You wrote: "A legalist can often be someone who believes with all their heart that they are saved by grace alone, but after that, it is up to them to live a life pleasing to God." Again, something I do not hold. Apparently you do not understand the Reformed view that well at all. At the core of my theology is the notion of the complete and total sovereignty of God. It is He who initiates salvation, grants me repentance and faith and he who works within me to will and to work for His good purpose. I am anything but on my own in my sanctification. However, I also believe that in every case, God brings forth visible fruit in His elect, and it is by that fruit (read: good works which correspond to his moral will, including the Ten Commandments) that we know who is truly a follower of Christ. This isn't sinlessness, but rather a propensity over our lives to honor God by doing what He says. God is the Author and PERFECTER of our faith. You wrote:"The Holy Spirit of God would never unite Himself with something sinful or less than perfect." Do you realize the implications of what you are saying? You have just claimed to be perfect. 1 John 1:8 is for you. Furthermore, show me a Scripture which cites that the Holy Spirit of God would never unite Himself with something less than sinful or perfect. Again, I point out to you that rejecting the doctrine of imputed righteousness is agreement with Roman Catholicism. Also, I find it interesting that you have finally used the term "moral law" and say that we adhere to it. Where do we find the moral law of God? --Joe! |
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1763 | Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil law | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19269 | ||
My mouth is wide open as I read how far out in left field your interpretation of Ephesians 6:1-3. Do you really think Paul was giving this instruction to UNREGENERATE children? It is completely off-the-wall eisegesis like this which caused me to happily abandon the churches which hold to your view. Show me one shred of evidence that he was not talking to redeemed children. I guess any. interpretation will do as long as your view remains intact. Oh, loving one another? That is Leviticus... --Joe! |
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1764 | Why keep the Moral Law? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19271 | ||
You wrote: "See my other post. We view through different lens, brother. You see works as proof of what you are. I see works as a result of what we are." Actually, I see works as both, as does the Bible: "So then, you will know them by their fruits." --Luke 7:20 "But someone may well say, 'You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'" --James 2:18 --Joe! |
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1765 | Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil law | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19280 | ||
Great verse, even though it is not found in Ephesians and does not explain how you insist that Ephesians 6 is for the unregenerate from that epistle. When Paul tells the Thessalonians to be sexually pure (not violating the fourth commandment), is he speaking to the unregenerate? When Paul says that a covetous person (i.e. violators of the Tenth Commandment) has no place in the kingdom of God, is he speaking to the unregenerate? When James quotes Leviticus 19:18 in telling the church to love their neighbors as themselves, is he speaking to the unregenerate? When Peter says not to suffer as a murderer (see the pattern?), is he speaking to the unregenerate? Was Paul out of line at the end of 1 Timothy 1 for kicking out those blasphemers? How dare he invoke laws against using God's name in vain! Doesn't he realize he is living in the New Testament? It simply does not hold water, Bill. Launch as much silliness as you wish regarding "bulls and goats" to try and anger me. Keep intentionally confusing moral uprightness with the slaughter of animals. The very reason I reject the theological views in which I was raised and you promote here is that they are inadequate to explain entire epistles which stress that works are both a component and mark of a person who possesses true faith. God changes me so that I will live out the purpose for which I was re-created. God sees to it that Christ's death on my behalf is not fruitless. He is my source, and the fruit of my Christian life is evidence of my connection to the Vine. You reject the Ten Commandments as useful; yet every specific commandment regarding the conduct of a believer given in the New Testament is in some form or fashion a reiteration of the moral will of God as revealed in the Old Testament. To say that you have not only been declared righteous but actually have BECOME 100 percent righteous just shows how poor your perspective is of the utter and absolute holiness and perfection of God the Father and of Jesus Christ. Read Revelation 1 to see how "righteous" John considered himself in the presence of the glorified Christ. Read how in 1 Timothy 1 that Paul calls himself the foremost of sinners. Read how Paul tells "righteous" Timothy to pursue righteousness in 1 Timothy 6:11 (why would he pursue something that he already is?) This is the sad state of evangelicalism in the United States today. Obedience to God on the part of the believer is ridiculed, and easy believism and cheap grace rule the day. So-called Christians bend over backwards to say, "But I am already saved! God is already pleased with me in every way. He sees nothing but Jesus. Don't tell me I have to be a DISCIPLE of Christ! No rules; and don't even bother me with passages which try to restrict my freedom in Christ to do whatever I want. They were meant for anyone else but me." I am just glad that when the teenagers I work with ask, "I am saved; what else is there?" that I can point to a purpose outside themselves why Christ paid such a high price. Man-centered theology is going to be the destroyer of the North Amercian Church. I am done here. You go on insisting that God doesn't call for us to do anything for His sake, despite all the Scripture which says that that is our sole purpose. I will go take my seat between Jack and Rexella Van Impe and wait for "that temple to be rebuilt." Any day now, right? ;) --Joe! "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." --Ephesians 2:10 THIS is the word of the Lord. |
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1766 | Why keep the Moral Law? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19281 | ||
Since you are calling me "brother," I can only take that as realization on your part of my point. Glad these two verses helped... --Joe! |
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1767 | Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil law | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19283 | ||
You wrote: "Was your 'new self' created in righteousness and holiness or not? Eph 4:24 in my Bible says that it was." So does mine. In the preceding verses it also implies that the "old self" is still with us as well. The metaphor here is to garments, taking one off and putting it away and putting the other one on. Paul is speaking to Ephesian believers, so telling them to put the old self away would indicate to most individuals that the old self has not disappeared in a practical, day-to-day sense. Then Paul goes on in the following verse to tell the Ephesians to follow the Ninth Commandment. Then a few verses later, he tells them to stop stealing (number 6). Of course Christ exemplified the moral law, but where do we find that law stated? You know where... I am not trying to insult you by pointing out that your views are in line with Catholicism. The fact that you have no concerns about rejecting historic Protestantism in favor of the Pope should be a red flag, however. It really never hurts to examine other points of view in detail. If nothing else, it gives you the ability to more intelligently refute them. My Bible has the same Hebrews 10:14 that yours does. So you say that you are not perfect, but perfected in a real, present sense. Please explain the difference between the two, since I do not understand the distinction you are trying to make. --Joe! |
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1768 | Moral, Ceremonial, and Civil law | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19309 | ||
"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 What yoke is he talking about? "Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you." --Galatians 5:2 Ohhhh..he is talking about CIRCUMCISION. "And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law." --Galatians 5:3 Roger that. I won't be circumcized, and I won't be under the Law. Got it. "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." --Galatians 5:4 Good thing I am justified by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, then. "For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness." Galatians 5:5 Waiting for the HOPE of righteousness? I thought according to Bill we already WERE righteous... "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." --Galatians 5:6 Faith WORKING....hmmmm.... "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" The truth is something that they were OBEYING in faith, but now are being hindered. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." --Galatians 5:13 Serving one another. Sounds like works. Using our freedom to SERVE is what Paul's writing about. "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'" --Galatians 5:14 Note: See Leviticus 19:18. That is in the LAW, for those allergic to the Old Testament. If Christ fulfilled the Law in every possible sens of the term, how are we still fulfilling it here by loving our neighbor? "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." --Galatians 5:24 Now what could this mean? Is the flesh dead now in our day-to-day lives? "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." --Galatians 5:16 So if we have crucified the flesh and it is completely a thing of the past, how could we possibly be able to live by its desires? "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." --Galatians 5:19-21 Wow...quite a list! So if we practice these things, we will not share in God's inheritance. Works again? Paul emphatically states here (as elsewhere) that those who are truly possessing saving faith will NOT practice these things. "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." --Galatians 5:25 Walking in the Spirit, the term Paul utilizes time and again for living what we say we believe. So there we have Galatians 5. Saved by a faith which produces works which are in obedience to and conformity with God's law. I am not running to be circumsized, since I have no desire to put myself under the Law to earn or maintain my salvation. Christ earned it for me, and the proof is in my walking in the Spirit and not fulfilling the desires of the flesh, which is a continuing work of the Holy Spirit in me (read: NOT my own power, as some have suggested). When I am in Heaven, I will be completely righteous, and I hope for that day just as Paul did. The problem isn't that I am desiring to be justified by the Law -- I see that I have to emphasize yet again that I am not. The problem is that you deny that law is good, even in the life of the believer. Every New Testament epistle writer disagrees, and I will continue to point it out every time you put forward antinomianism ("against Law"). There is a distinction between not being under the Law and being AGAINST the Law. You err by adhering to the latter view in your insistence that the Law is useless for the saints of God. --Joe! |
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1769 | Why keep the Moral Law? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19312 | ||
Where are all of these moral commandments found in the Old Testament? In the Law. An important distinction must be made between insisting that being moral is the road to salvation and that those who are truly saved are commanded to live morally. No evangelical proposes following the moral commandments in the Law as a means to salvation, but it is a mark and result of our salvation. The way the Reformers put it makes a lot of sense to me: "We are saved by faith alone, but not be a faith that IS alone." The moral commandments found in the Law are identical to the moral commandments which the epistle writers give to believers. Therefore, in a very real sense there is a "moral" aspect of the Law that God leads believers to follow, although not to earn salvation. --Joe! |
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1770 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19346 | ||
Well, my only problem with that is that the tenses of the verbs in English seem to be present imperatives rather than past indicative. In other words, it seems that he is telling them what to do rather than describing what they have already done. --Joe! |
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1771 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19348 | ||
Bill: I see no reference to Law here at all. The thrust here is against the licentiousness of the Gentiles who do not know Christ. Where do you conclude that legalism is in view here? Secondly, if this "truth" you put forward is so central and essential to a correct understanding of the gospel of Christ, how in the world could these regenerate individuals NOT know that they had a new self? Even if they could not detect it themselves, I doubt an apostle of God would only at this point mention this "essential point." --Joe! |
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1772 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19367 | ||
Bill: The NT was written as instruction. The point I was making was that this whole idea of the old self being non-existant is so predominant in your view that the associates of Paul responsible for planting the church in Ephesus (most likely Priscilla and Aquilla -- Acts 18) would have been pretty bone-headed not to have even mentioned it to the converts there. What verse are you referring to when you say that Christ was slain before the foundation of the world? I agree that God has created a new self for us. I also agree that there are vestiges of our old nature present, which is what we have to "put off." There is nothing you wrote in that last paragraph that I have a problem with. What I just don't get is your refusal to acknowledge that part of us just simply isn't righteous in practice. It is more than the fact that we are walking around in a biological construct (our bodies) that is defective despite our spiritual renewal. Every time I commit a sin, it is not because despite my attempts to fight it that I can't help myself. At the point in time that I sin, I do indeed place serving myself above honoring God. My problem is that I don't hate sin as much as God does, despite my regeneration. --Joe! |
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1773 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19368 | ||
Bill: This brings up another question which cuts at the heart of where we don't see eye-to-eye. We do have a new nature. We are spiritually re-born. The question is whether this new nature is in itself righteous or not. I hold that this new nature is oriented toward righteousness, as our old one was oriented toward unrighteousness. However, that righteousness only comes about through the indwelling, transforming presence of the Holy Spirit working with that new self. In other words, my justification does not mean that God sees me as righteous on my own, but rather he sees me and sees Christ's payment for my sins and says: "You are forgiven and considered righteous." And there is a big difference between declaring us righteous on account of Christ's work and actually saying, "You, Joe are righteous now." Which brings me to the all-important question that no Bible church was able to adequately answer for me. Perhaps you can: If I am saved by faith alone (which I am, of course), and God only sees righteousness when he sees me (which you seem to be saying), why should I live a righteous life? Mind you, I am not looking for a reason not to; however, if my nature at its core is already 100 percent righteous, then there is abolutely no compelling reason for me to OBEY God. How do you answer that? I am sure that you ahve heard the question before from antagonistic skeptics, or even from sincerely questioning believers in the church. In your view, why obey God when He says, "Do good works which honor Me"? --Joe! |
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1774 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19393 | ||
All true. My problem is that far too many people avoid verses like this when they answer: "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" --James 2:14 "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him." --1 John 2:29 "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." --1 John 3:9 "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." --1 John 3:15 "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." --1 Corinthians 6:9,10 Galatians 5:19-21; Galatians 6:7,8; John 14:15; Luke 9:23-26; and the some of the most sobering words of Scripture: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'" --Mathhew 7:21-23 (the four verses following are pretty good as well) Time after time we see that those who practice sin will not enter the kingdom. Yet we are saved on the basis of faith alone. Then what is the CONTENT of saving faith? Is it just a real good feeling about what Christ has done, or a mere intellectual acknowledgement? Or is it a complete and total dependence on Christ which will result in God-honoring works and a changed life? My answer to the question, "Why OBEY God?": Because that is what the truly faithful do. No works? No faith, and therefore no place in God's Kingdom. I cannot tell you how many times that I have heard people try and explain how a "dead" faith can save anyone. If that were the case, then James 2 might as well have never been written, since his whole argument loses any meaning whatsoever. Same with John's first epistle and those Pauline passages which say that those who practice sin have no part in the Kingdom. Obedience matters to God, and all those who possess saving faith can and will obey Him (Romans 8:7-10). --Joe! |
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1775 | Joe, I agree with you here. | James 2:10 | Reformer Joe | 19394 | ||
You wrote: "Joe, some people do not live long enough after conversion to manifest any good works. Granted, this is rare, but it is none the less true." Acknowledged. But as you said, the "thief on the cross" type of situation is rare. God knows what He has or has not accomplished in the heart; but for those of us who are not converted on our deathbeds, over time God will bring about God-honoring works as evidence to ourselves and men that we are truly saved. I can tell you precisely when I was saved, not simply because I prayed some prayer, but because that was the moment that God changed my disposition toward Him completely. I was only 11 or so, but despite my sinning, since that point my life generally has been characterized by a propensity to desire to do the things of God. You wrote: "What God requires of us, He Himself supplies." What a very Reformed thing to say! Augustine said very much the same thing regarding our works: "Father, require what You will, but grant what You require." This statement you made not only applies to our justification, but also to our Christian walk. You wrote: "I delight in Christ. I will boast in what He has done not the Law." Boasting in our compliance with what God wants from us is different from delighting in God's moral will as good. David was indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and he knew of the coming Christ. Yet we still have Psalm 119. Therefore, I too boast in my Savior's accomplishments and at the same time delight in God's good and perfect moral law. --Joe! |
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1776 | Zana Hodges study of James 2:14-26 | James 2:14 | Reformer Joe | 28767 | ||
DJ: It is people like Zane Hodges and his horrific, antinomian views which make me so glad that I am no longer identified with the theological bent that he has. This "exegesis" is nothing but drivel from a man who twists Scripture to try and show that faith is nothing more than an intellectual nod of the head about the most minimal bit of doctrine. His views fly in the face of God's holy standard, reducing the works that come from faith as merely a nice addition to the Christian life, but by no means essential at all. According to Hodges, the most reprobate person could pray a prayer, live the rest of his/her life in complete disregard of God, and go to Heaven. Apostasy to Hodges is completely impossible. More specifically, here in his terrible treatment of James, he does damage to the word in several ways. First, he takes a very obvious, rhetorical question from the verse cited above and says that indeed a dead faith can save eternally. He rips the passage from the previous context of God's judgment upon human beings and says that the saving here regards our mortal lives, not our immortal souls. What nonsense! He goes on to say, "[T]he presence of a dead faith shows that this faith was once alive." Again, nonsense! "Dead" simply means "lifeless." If we carry Hodges' argument to its logical conclusion, then when Paul says in Ephesians 2 that we were once dead in our tresspasses and sins, then at some point previous to that we were spiritually alive. Goodbye, original sin and a sin nature! Hodges says that the saving here is in reference to our own lives, but all of the illustrations he uses from James chapter 2 talks about the effects of our "works-less faith" on OTHERS! Finally, he re-interprets James 2:19 from the Greek in such a way that changes its entire meaning from how every major Bible translation has rendered the verse (by translating the phrase most often rendered "faith WITHOUT the works" as "faith FROM works"). Therefore, his argument becomes as absurd as the tone in which he alleges that James is adopting here. This is exactly what happens when someone takes a couple of verses and uses it to re-interpret the entirety of Scripture (in this case Ephesians 2:8-9) rather than letting the rest of Scripture give context to the couple of verses. James does not write that works save. We are saved by grace through faith. But a "faith" that does not manifest itself in a changed life (read: works) is not a real faith at all; and as James 2:14 implies, it IS dead and CANNOT save anyone. Take a read through the New Testament. Look at the words of Jesus. Read the letters of Paul. Then read James and Hebrews and 1 and 2 Peter and 1 John, and then come back and try to tell us that works have no necessary place in the life of a believer. No works? Then there is no faith. And that is the point of James 2 (and the rest of the NT). Be very, VERY careful of what Hodges writes. It is theology like his which give millions of sinners a false assurance of salvation. The road to eternal life is a narrow one, and Hodges has dedicated himself to making it seem as wide as he can. How wide, you ask? Would you believe that he has recently written that someone can be saved without knowing ANYTHING about the cross of Christ? He did, and here is a quote: 'Let me put it to you this way. The Gospel of John is the only book in our New Testament canon that explicitly declares its purpose to be evangelistic. Of course, I am thinking of the famous theme statement found in John 20:30-31, where we read: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” 'This statement does not affirm the necessity of believing in our Lord’s substitutionary atonement. If by the time of the writing of John’s Gospel, it was actually necessary to believe this, then it would have been not only simple, but essential, to say so."' He actually wrote this in an article in the Autumn, 2000, issue of the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society, denying the necessity of knowing that Jesus dies for our sins in order to be saved! The URL is http://www.faithalone.org/journal/2000ii/Hodges.htm if anyone else wishes to see the entire article in its context. No wonder R.C. Sproul has called this teaching "pernicious." Imagine how many people have bought into this lie and are happily living as so-called "carnal Christians" with Jesus as "their Savior but not their Lord." Nothing short of heresy that flies squarely in the face of historical Christian doctrine. If you sense that Zane Hodges makes my Bible-loving blood boil, then I have made my point well. --Joe! |
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1777 | Is salvation by faith only scriptural? | James 2:14 | Reformer Joe | 54621 | ||
"Actually, Eph 2:8 tells us that "grace" is the gift of God. There was nothing the Gentiles could do to make God send His son as a sacrifice for sin. By faith they obtained access to this gift, but again, faith is more than belief." Actually, it is gramatically impossible that the "this" in "this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" refers solely to grace. The Greek word translated "this" is neuter, while the Greek word translated "grace" is feminine. If the gift of God were just the grace, then the word "this" would have to be feminine as well. The best way to understand it from the grammatical forms is that the whole package--being saved by grace through faith--is what is the gift of God. You are correct that biblocal faith is more than just a nod of the head at certain facts, but a trusting of one's whole life that will result in actions. However, the Bible makes it clear that it is the faith and not the resulting actions that are the means of God's justification. Faith without works is indeed dead, but my works will never be the basis of why God lets me in heaven. --Joe! |
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1778 | Is salvation by faith only scriptural? | James 2:14 | Reformer Joe | 54623 | ||
What does Romans 4:5 tell us? That was Paul's whole point in this section of Romans, and the point you deny to your peril. Your righteous deeds getting you to heaven? Please! "For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." --Isaiah 64:6 That's you Isaiah is talking about! Do you think an infinitely holy and just God, who hates all unrighteousness with an unending, supremely righteous indignation, is going to look at your pathetic efforts and false righteousness and say, "Good enough; come on in!"? Examine yourself...are you really "good enough"? --Joe! |
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1779 | Is salvation by faith only scriptural? | James 2:14 | Reformer Joe | 54626 | ||
You wrote: "The attribute of Faith is having complete trust, confidence, reliance and loyalty in God." You missed something very important here. There was this guy named Jesus who died for the sins of all those who had faith in him, and then rose again on the third day. That is the key element of saving faith (1 Corinthians 2:2). You wrote: "Faith is shown by a person’s willful obedience to God’s law and is not the simple belief that God’s law exists without need of any future consideration." Absolutely correct! Faith is SHOWN by obedience. That is not the same thing as faith BEING obedience. I can show that I am wealthy by buying lots of expensive items. However, that is evidence of wealth, and not the wealth itself. Same with faith and works: 'But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."' --James 2:18 Works SHOW our faith, but it is the faith in Christ's perfect works by which we are justified before God. 'Why is this important? -The world preaches, “all you must do is believe and you’ll be saved."' No, I think the world is preaching a much different set of messages. One of them is that heaven can be earned by horrifically sinful human beings like you and me. Sound familiar? Those who truly have faith will be doers of the word. But it is the faith that God credits as righteousness (Romans 4:5) and not the "doing." --Joe! |
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1780 | Empty inside being a Roman Catholic? | James 2:17 | Reformer Joe | 24744 | ||
Hello, Catrose: I would recommend two books that are excellent for examining how one can delight in one's relationship to God and make it a vital part of one's life. They are both by John Piper. The first and longer one is called "Desiring God" and it is destined to become a classic in the order of Mere Christianity and Pilgrim's Progress, in my opinion. The other, shorter version just came out, and it is called "The Dangerous Duty of Delight." Both have as their premise that we are most satisfied in life when we are doing what we were created to do: glorifying God. It is a worthwhile and doctrinally sound book which I would encourage you and your husband to read together with the Bible, which is God's prime means of communicating His truth and changing hearts and lives. I pray that your husband may become a partaker of the joy that only comes from a thriving relationship with Christ. "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his DELIGHT is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night." --Psalm 1:1-2 |
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