Subject: Balance: Faith and Works |
Bible Note: Quoted for reference: On previous post Bill said, "We should look at our relationship with our Lord and Saviour as our working off a debt as He paid for our sins for our very souls. I think this is made so clear in the Lord's Parable of the debtor in prison, Matt 18. That's why I think it's important for us as christians to adopt a ministry of some kind if it's nothing more than cleaning the building on a regular basis." BradK said: Are you suggesting salvation entails us workig to repay this debt to our Lord? Are you suggesting we to do this in order to maintain salvation? Or, are you suggesting we do this in order to show we are saved (cf Eph. 2:10)? Response: I thought my previous post made this clear. Seems like I said we can never, EVER even begin to think we can gain anything by these "works of faith." We should do them as proof of our genuine faith. James makes it very clear: the conjunction "and" marries these two items for a true christian. Faith and works go together like all the other couples in the Bible. We see that we must "worship God in Spirit AND in Truth," John 4:24. We must love God first and foremost BUT we must also love our fellow man, 1 John 2:9-11. Does this mean our walk with God is like a balancing act? I think that might be an extreme way of putting but to some degree, God does want us to do our best. I do agree with the sentiment of your post; I do think we must always place our faith in God far above our works. It's just that we can't take this position as a license to get out of working for the Lord. BradK said: I hope you're not implying that we do this to merit (earn) any justification before God? Response: No, please don't misunderstand. See above. As a matter of fact, as you alluding to, any hint of such pride in such an attempt to earn might be just the thing that keeps us out of Heaven forever. Prov 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. 20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he. I hope this is an adequate response; gotta go to school and get myself all edumacated. I'll check back with you later this evening. Thanks for the dialouge. Go with God in all His Ways, Bill |