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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | What does baptism consist? | 1 John 5:6 | Makarios | 23312 | ||
Greetings Tim! Again, you have mentioned the verse James 2:24.. Martin Luther said it best: James 2 is not teaching that a person is saved by works. Rather a person is "justified" (declared righteous before God) by faith alone, but 'not by a faith that is alone.' In other words, genuine faith will always 'result' in good works in the saved person's life. James is writing to Jewish Christians ("to the twelve tribes"- James 1:1) who were in danger of giving nothing but lip service to Jesus. His intent, therefore, is to distinguish true faith from false faith. He shows that true faith results in works, which become visible evidences of faith's invisible presence. In other words, good works are the "vital signs" indicating that faith is alive. Apparently some of these Jewish Christians had made a false claim of faith. It is the 'boasting' of faith that James condemned. Merely claiming to have faith is not enough. Genuine faith is evidenced by works. Workless faith is worthless faith- it is dead! Great claims may be made about a corpse that is supposed to have come to life, but if it does not move (if there are no vital signs, no heartbeat, no perceptible pulse) then it is still dead. The false claims are silenced by the evidence. The fact is, apart from the spirit, the body is dead; it's a lifeless corpse. By analogy, apart from the evidence of good works, faith is dead. It is lifeless and nonproductive. That is what James is teaching in this passage. So if we have this genuine saving faith, then we too will be saved by His grace (Eph. 2:8). I fail to see what James 2:24 has anything at all to do with Baptism. As for Salvation and the "requirements" thereof, I would direct you to the following verses, my friend: Matt. 18:3; Luke 19:10; John 3:14-17, 5:24, 6:44-47; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:1-2, 11:6; 1 Cor. 1:21; Eph. 2:1-9; and Col. 1:19-20. These are just a few verses in Scripture that help describe Salvation, and not a SINGLE ONE of them mentions anything about "water baptism"! :) Blessings to you, Nolan |
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2 | What does baptism consist? | 1 John 5:6 | arrow1 | 113610 | ||
Yes, and many of those verses mention nothing of repentance. Surely you are not going to say it is unimportant or not required. | ||||||
3 | What does baptism consist? | 1 John 5:6 | Makarios | 113612 | ||
Go back and read those passages of Scripture that I cited in my 11/19/2001 post. Makarios |
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