Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | 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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2 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | srbaegon | 19370 | ||
What a wonderful question. I hope Bill responds. There are multiple compelling reasons to obey God. 1. Because He wants us to -- 1 Pet 1:14 2. Because it's normal -- Phil 2:12-13 3. Others glorify God because we do -- 2 Cor 9:13 4. Because Christ is our example -- Phil 2:5-11 5. Because of shame if we do not -- 2 Thess 3:14 How's that for starters? Steve |
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3 | 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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4 | Joe, who is ya, man? | James 2:10 | Bill Mc | 19400 | ||
Joe, excellent post. Mere intellectual assent can save no one. These are great verses that you'd listed here. I especially like this, 'Or is it a complete and total dependence on Christ which will result in God-honoring works and a changed life?' I think that you have hit the nail on the head here. You've got it in the right order, too. Total dependence on Christ RESULTS in works and change. The type of 'born-again' that we see in the scripture is a complete life-altering experience. Obedience does matter. Works do matter. Believe and trust in Christ is more than an acknoledgement of the facts concerning Jesus. It is a radical change in your whole belief system. I wanted to share another passage that came to mind that, I believe, highlights the correct order. The disciples, impressed with Jesus' works, came to Him to see how they could also DO the works of God. Notice who's works Jesus did. Yes, He was and is God, but He was doing His Father's works. So they ask, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." -John 6:28,29. Some people use this to support easy-believism or 'dead' faith but I don't think it was recorded for that purpose. I think that Jesus was again stressing the abiding factor. Look at the Source. Abiding in Christ is not inactive. If we as a branch are not 'bearing' displaying any fruit, then we need to look to see if we are indeed grafted into the Vine. If we practice sin, we need to check to see if we really understand the FULL gospel message. Practicing sin is a concerted, willful, thoughtful effort to accomplish it. I play the piano and I can tell you, practice takes effort. When I am 'practicing', it involves the efforts of my mind, my will, my emotions and, obviously, my body to get the musical piece 'right'. I think that this is what James is saying. If you are just looking for ways to sin (that grace may abound) and you are bent towards it, then you need to question your salvation. If your whole being is geared to 'practicing' sin, then your faith, by biblical standards, is in vain. Thanks for your comments, brother, Bill Mc |
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