Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Grace AND? | Matt 6:20 | Hank | 120264 | ||
Mommapbs: One of the problems we encounter on the Forum and in real life is the use of theological terms by people who don't know what they mean. I'm thinking of such words as grace, regeneration, justification and sanctification. One of the most recurring errors I've seen on the Forum in regard to soteriology is the jumbling in one's mind of the two terms, justification and sanctification, to the extent that they teach outright (or strongly imply) that the latter is the cause of or contributes to the former. This simply isn't true because the Bible teaches no such thing. Man is saved (justified) by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Period. That's all. Nothing else. Nothing added. Sanctification is the result of, not the cause of, justification. Unless one has the meaning of these fundamental theological terms fixed firmly in his mind, he is prone to err; and he should not attempt therefore to teach others what he himself does not understand. And it really isn't all that difficult to understand. John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-10 are not written in code. We are saved by God's grace through faith in His Son. These are plain statements that a child can understand. Why can't we? Why do we say, "Yes, I believe we are saved by grace, but..." and then insist on attaching our own laundry list of things we must do to in order "to be safe instead of sorry"? Was our Lord lying to Paul when He said, "My grace is sufficient for thee."? (2 Cor. 12:9). Or did Paul omit any essentials and mislead the Philippian jailer when he, in answer to the jailer's question about how to be saved, told him, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."? Will we vain little vessels of clay never learn how useless it is to wave our own righteousness before the Lord seeking His salvation, knowing that they are nothing but filthy rags to Him? (Isaiah 64:6). --Hank | ||||||
2 | Grace AND? | Matt 6:20 | Rowdy | 120278 | ||
I knew you guys were going to tackle this subject but I was hoping you were going to address all the points in my post. The major loose ends you left dangling are: 1) The Book of James, the famous straw epistle of Martin Luther. Even he had to admit the thorny concept of works demanded by this book in conjunction with the Grace of God. How do you reconcile these concepts? 2) Why do the acts of kindness as commanded by Jesus in Matt 25? Why should we if we're absolutely assured of going to Heaven as per your teaching or interpretation of Grace without works? 3) Why should we bother with our talents as commanded by Christ in His parable of the three men, 5 talents, 2 and 1 talents? 4) What is the implied meaning of the parable of the ten virgins? Why should we maintain anything in particular with regard to our spiritual growth? 5) Why should we grow as encouraged by Paul? See below. When we could remain as babes in Christ, with less burden and less responsibilities? Eph 4:14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. 6) Why should we bother to add the fruits of the Spirit to our lives (Gal 5:22) in our journey to Heaven which has been absolutely promised to us with no strings attached? 7) Why should we bother forgiving our enemies or our brother for that matter if they keep on sinning and making our lives miserable in spite of Christ's teaching in Matt 18:21-22? I threw in a few extra points as you may of noticed but you can handle it, right? This concept of Grace is all comprehensive, right? Any of you folks (Hank, Mommapbs and BradK or anyone else on the Forum) can feel free to answer the questions but I am looking for responses to all of them. I do hope God will bless you all with an open mind in this endeavor. --Rowdy |
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3 | Grace AND? | Matt 6:20 | Hank | 120296 | ||
Rowdy: Chapter 6 of Romans and 2 Corinthians 5:17 knit up all the "loose ends" that Mommabps, BradK and I are accused of having left to dangle, and they also answer in full your entire battery of "why bother" questions. ..... Rowdy, your soteriological position is puzzling to say the least. You have stated that you believe in salvation by grace. That's fine. It's what the Bible teaches. But you don't seem content to put a period after grace. You say you believe in salvation by grace, but you continue to gussy up your statement of faith with the addition of a long series of statements that fall nothing short of a works-based system of soteriology. If salvation is by grace alone, what role do works play in salvation? If by works alone, what role grace? If salvation is of God, what does man have to do with it? If of man, what does God have to do with it? If salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-10), how can man earn that which has already been declared free? What saves -- the finished work of Christ on the Cross or the works of man? Rowdy, we've been through this hedge- your-bet, be-safe-not-sorry business before. There is no Scripture that supports this theory of yours. I suggest you go scrap your theories, go back to the drawing board and learn what the Bible actually teaches about soteriology -- about grace, works, regeneration and sanctification. In the meantime, let's not discuss your theories any more. It's becoming tiring and boring, not to mention a sad waste of time. --Hank | ||||||
4 | Grace AND? | Matt 6:20 | Rowdy | 120318 | ||
I guess you can call me dense but I don't see how Rom 6 and 2 Cor 5:17 provide answers to the points in my post on this subject. Apparently, you don't wish to tackle my points, all in the same response. How about if we break them down say two at a time? How about if we start with the following: 1) Please explain to me how your interpretation of Grace from God with no strings attached, no need for works is reconciled with Jesus' very own earthly brother, James' teaching on this subject? Ref James 2. 2) Please explain to me how God on Judgment Day will distinguish between the sheep and goats, (christians and non-believers) without works of any kind? Ref Matt 25. Remember, even the Devil believes in the Lord. In answer to your questions: 1) Yes, I believe very emphatically that the saving Grace of God is the ONLY thing that stands in the way between all of us and Hell as our eternal doom. BUT I also believe in the Words of our Lord when He said He would judge the world on Judgment Day by His Words which includes His delegation of some authority to His appointed Apostles. Also, He promised the Comforter or the Holy Spirit would lead them and It lead them to provide us with the balance of the NT, God's Word. So we'll be judged by the WHOLE NT. I'm not able to explain the actual mechanics of how Grace and works blend together; I just know our Father will be looking for both in our lives as His children. 2) I'll have to admit "better safe than sorry" is a modern, man-made designation. What would you call the concept where God sets the example of forgiving us over and over again? We supposed to follow that example and forgive our enemies and our brethren over and over. BUT now that we're assured of our home in Heaven, we don't have to bother. IF a brother can't get his act together, grow up and stop sinning (sins and repents over and over again), we'll just kick him out of the church and send him somewhere else. We don't have to put up with that kind of extra burden and headache, we've got Heaven to anticipate. No need to make certain of anything, we've been assured by Grace. You tell me, is there something wrong with this scenario? I do hope you'll respond in kind and answer my questions above and of course provide scriptures in support. As always, I open up the whole line of discussions for Forum-wide participation. This should result in some really good productive discussions. God bless you all. --Rowdy |
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5 | Grace AND? | Matt 6:20 | BradK | 120319 | ||
Rowdy, Let me see if I can tackle and answer your first question in 2 parts. What is the Grace of God and how does it apply to our salvation? "The Grace of God "In our discussion of the doctrine of salvation to this point we have already mentioned the grace of God several times. What is this feature of God’s activity toward human beings? In the Old Testament two different words are frequently involved in the presentation of God’s gracious work, one indicating unmerited favor of a superior to an inferior (Ex. 33:19, translated “gracious” [AV, NASB] and “merciful” [NIV], and the other suggesting faithful lovingkindness, particularly in covenant relationships (2 Sam. 7:15, translated “mercy” [AV], “lovingkindness” [NASB], and “love” [NIV]). In the New Testament the word charis (often used in the Septuagint to translate the above-mentioned Hebrew words) is used of general goodwill, loving-kindness, and favor (Acts 7:10, 46) as well as of the benefits of the death of Christ (1 Pet. 1:10: the appearance of Christ was the coming of grace; Jn. 1:17: grace and truth were brought through Jesus Christ). In 1 Cor. 15:8–10 Paul underscores the undeserved nature of grace as he emphasizes his unworthiness (“the least of the apostles” [NIV]). We could examine more passages, but the essence of the biblical picture of grace is this: (1) It was undeserved favor on the part of God that sent the Son; (2) It is undeserved favor that applies His work to some individuals. One particular passage that portrays the relation between our need and God’s response in grace is Rom. 4, where grace is related to the provision of righteousness. Abraham was justified, declared righteous, by the grace principle (v. 16). He could not obtain right standing before God by his works, because (1) no one can gain any merit before God, since our works are evil, and (2) works simply gain us wrath (4:15). But righteousness comes through grace because (1) we can’t earn it, and (2) we don’t deserve it, since we’re under wrath. The only responsibility we have in a grace transaction is faith. In the application of righteousness, works are not compatible with grace. But faith is (v. 16). Grace, then, is God’s undeserved and unsolicited favor toward those who cannot help themselves because of sin. God’s provision of salvation in sending Christ to die on the cross is an act of grace, as is its application to each individual. Works on our part are totally excluded. Faith can be part of the process because it is not a work, indeed, it has its source in God (Phil. 1:29)." [Paul S. Karleen, The Handbook to Bible Study] I hope this helps, BradK |
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