Results 1 - 2 of 2
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is 'once saved always saved correct? | John 6:37 | yokefellow | 31492 | ||
Dear Tim, 1) Men will NEVER agree concerning WORKS until they understand fully that Paul in Eph. 2:9 is speaking of the "works" of the old law of Moses (Gal. 2:16; 3:10-12; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5) by which "no man could be justified" (Gal. 2:16; 3:10-12). 2) James also talks about "WORKS" but not "works of merit" (where man "works" to hold God accountable or deserving of salvation) as 2 Tim. 1:9 declares. Note that James even declares in James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." No man could "keep perfectly" the law of Moses because Rom. 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 3) GOD'S PART IN MAN'S SALVATION PROCESS - Therefore, in order to save man, God had to design a faith "system" by which man could be reconciled back to God. He accomplished this "by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 3:24). The shedding of Christ's blood "satisfied" God's requirement for man's sin (Rom. 3:24-31; 5:8-10). God provided the means through which man might be "forgiven" of his sins and be "reconciled" back to God (Rom. 5:10). Grace, then, is "God's part" in the reconcilation process (Eph. 2:8). 4) MAN'S PART IN GOD'S SALVATION PROCESS - Paul states in Romans 3:25-26 that God sent Jesus to be a "propitiation," which involves two ideas (1) satisfying the demands of the law, and (2) placating the wrath of God. No other sacrifice could accomplish "both" of these demands. Jesus died in our place (2 Cor. 5:21; John 1:29; 1 Thess. 5:9-10; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2; 4:10. This propitiation is "through faith in his blood." We must believe (faith) that the blood of Jesus has the power to "wash away our sins" (Acts 22:16) when we "obey" the Gospel. When a person is scripturally baptized (immersed in water), he is "baptized into" the death of Christ. Since Jesus shed His blood in His death (Rom. 6:3-4), that blood is applied when one obeys the Gospel, when he is "born again" of water and the Spirit, and his sins are "washed away" by His blood. The power is NOT in the water, but in the BLOOD! That blood "continues" to wash away the sins of the children of God as they "continue" to "walk in the light" and "confess" their sins before God ( 1 John 1:7-9). Romans 3:27 - Here Paul is showing that all boasting or glorying is "excluded" by the nature of God's plan to redeem man through the sacrifice of Jesus. The apostle here points out that there are "two" kinds of laws that could justify. By a "law of works" a man could be justified, but only if he kept every part of the law PERFECTLY (James 2:10). This, of course, no man could do. Thus "the law of faith" is the ONLY MEANS by which anyone can be spared the punishment of sin, and this "law of faith" excludes ANY boasting on man's part. The "law of faith" is the Gospel or the "law of liberty" as James declares (James 1:25; 2:12). This "law of faith or liberty" is the Gospel or New Testament (Heb. 9:15-16) which teaches us that we MUST OBEY God's will (or testament in order to be saved - Matt. 7:21). This is "man's part" in his salvation ("saved through faith" - Eph. 2:8). Romans 3:28 - Law-keeping alone, which the Jews believed was all they needed, will not save anyone. We must have faith IN CHRIST and trust Him to save us, however, OBEDIENCE to the Gospel IS NOT EXCLUDED, as we have already observed. Martin Luther added the word "only" to this text, but the Holy Spirit did not inspire Paul to write "faith only" here nor "grace only" in Eph. 2:8. 5) James is talking about the same "kind" of works as Paul talks about in Eph. 2:10. The "works" that Paul talks about are "works of obedience" that "God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them." This is the same "kind" of "faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6). This "love principle" motivates us as Christians to please God in the doing of His will. In order to demonstrate our love for God, we (his workmanship) have been "created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS (Emphasis mine), which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should WALK IN THEM (Emphasis mine). Some of those "good works" are listed in James 1:27; 2:14-26). 6) I pray that you (and others who read this posts) can understand that Christians who are "in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26-28) and who love Him should be engaging in "good works" that God has "ordained" (prepared) that Christians should do. NOT OUR WORKS - but GOD'S PREPARED WORKS - works of obedience - His commandments being part of those "good works" and "his commandments are not grievous." (hard to bear - 1 John 5:1-3). Paul even tells us in the letter to Titus that we as a "purchased people", should be "zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). Mike |
||||||
2 | Is 'once saved always saved correct? | John 6:37 | Morant61 | 31511 | ||
Greetings Mike! I think you mentioned your view of Eph. 2:8-9 before, and I think I asked then how you could make 'works' in verse 9 mean 'works of the law' while 'works' in verse 10 means 'works of obedience'. The same work is used in both verses. The context does not mention the law. A much better interpretation would simply be that works (of any kind) do not save, but that they are a part of God's plan for us after salvation. Does God expect us to obey? Yes! But, that obedience in no way saves us, only (as you pointed out) the blood of Christ can do that! However, nowhere in Scripture are we told that we need a repeated cleansing of His blood. Rom. 3:25 - "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—" This verse makes it clear that our participation in the atonement is by faith. But, Rom. 5:9 makes it clear that this justification (aorist, passive, participle) is a once and for all act. Eph. 1:7 makes forgiveness of sins a present possession (present, active, indicative) of believers. Heb. 9:28, indeed all of Heb. 9 - 10, makes it clear that all of our sins were taken away and forgiven in the one atoning act of Christ on the cross. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that if we sin as a Christian, we cease to be a Christian and must be re-saved. This is the one point where you and I disagree my friend. 1 John 1:9 doesn't refer to being saved again, it refers to a continual sanctification that takes place in the life of a believer. If we confess our sins, he will forgive and purify us. So, as I see it, in order to make your case Scripturally, you need to do two things. 1) Justify making 'works' have one meaning in Eph. 2:9 and another meaning in Eph. 2:10. 2) Provide any Scripture which says that a single act (or any number) of sin causes us to lose our salvation until it is confessed. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
||||||