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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Faith plus Baptism or Faith alone? | Matt 7:13 | arrow1 | 113735 | ||
you Must believe you Must repent and you Must have faith , by your own definition, those are all works | ||||||
2 | Faith plus Baptism or Faith alone? | Matt 7:13 | Hank | 113737 | ||
Arrow1: What's the difference between "to believe" and "to have faith"? And how do faith (belief) and repentance constitute "works"? Ephesians 2:8,9 makes a sharp distinction between faith and works -- having saving faith in Christ is not the same thing at all as attempting to earn salvation by works, such as the legalistic approach to salvation by "works of the Law" (Romans 3:20,28), which is consistently condemned in Scripture. We are justified by the gift of God's grace through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ (see the discussion in Romans 3:21-31). Faith and repentance are inward, things of the heart, renewing the mind, changing one's attitudes, aims, purposes, goals, system of values. They are not outward "works." Although they may well lead to good works, they are not themselves works at all in the bliblcal sense of "works." On the other hand, water baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion) are "works" of obedience. Neither contributes to salvation, but both are outward manifestations of an inward change in one's life, i.e., of regeneration that leads to obedience. Repentance and saving faith manifest themselves in works but they themselves are not works. So much of our confusion and differences stem from a lack of a clear understanding of what we mean by the words we use. It would serve all of us well to engage in periodic reviews of the exact meanings of some of the prominent and common terms that we use in connection with our Christian faith. Certainly words such as belief, faith, repentance and works deserve a top spot on this list. Knowing exactly what we mean by what we say contributes to fuller understanding and more effective communicaton in a most delightful way. --Hank | ||||||
3 | Faith plus Baptism or Faith alone? | Matt 7:13 | arrow1 | 113751 | ||
The biggest disagreement each view has seems to be is baptism a work. I don't believe it is ever called a work or a symbol or an outward sign in the Bible(correct me if I'm mistaken). Jesus did say "this is the work of God, to believe in the one He sent. That's interesting, calling belief(faith) a work. I think in Eph. 2:9 he is referring to works of the law. I've always viewed baptism as a spiritual act of faith whereby you receive something(grace) not a work whereby you try to earn something. | ||||||