Closing the Theological Loop of the Faith and Works Debate.

The Death of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Cruising the blogosphere or Twitter can be very revealing.

It seems you can always find a comment or article by someone expressing concern for an apparent lack of focus on works and holiness on the part of Christians. They almost always quote James 2:17.

 ^“Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone.”(James 2:17)

And then you have another group who only wants to quote about love.

 “ If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”(1 Corinthians 13:3) 

Both are true. The Answer is in closing the theological loop of the Faith and Works Debate.

Faith without Works is dead.

Works without Love is Nothing.

The only question is; “How do we find this LOVE we need so our works will amount to something instead of nothing?”

This is how,…

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. He is God in flesh and He came here just to save us and make us His own.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and His cross. Jesus was born to die there. He took our sins on Himself. He was perfect and Holy. Christ alone was worthy to pay our debt.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus and His resurrection from the dead. He conquered death so He alone could give life to all who come to Him in faith, believing Christ died for them and accepting Him as Lord and Savior.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the JOY set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

“We love because he first loved us.”(1 John  4:19)

Excerpt- “The fruit of the Spirit featured in Galatians 5 are not behaviors; they are attitudes of a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit. Fruit is not a work.”

Let’s start with an excerpt from Tullian T’s blog. Then I will add some comments.

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I am saddened when the very pack of people that God has unconditionally saved and continues to sustain by his free grace are the very ones who push back most violently against it. Some professing Christians sound like ungrateful children who can’t stop biting the very hand that feeds them. It amazes me that you will hear great concern from inside the church about “too much grace” but rarely will you ever hear great concern from inside the church about “too many rules.” Why? Because we are by nature glory-hoarding, self-centered control freaks. That’s why.

 It’s high time for the church to honor God by embracing sola gratia anew–the “high-octane grace that takes our conscience by the scruff of the neck and breathes new life into us with a pardon so scandalous that…

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What Must We Do To Do The Works God Requires ?

Resurrection. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus’ followers once asked Him this question,

“What must we do to do the works God requires ?” John 6:28

“Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.” John 6:29

Someone in that crowd had the courage and honesty to admit they did not have the will and desire to do the works God requires of them.

Jesus’s answer is clear, that until we believe in Him, whom God sent to die for the sins of the world, we cannot even think about anything else.

Salvation must come first because our good works are the result of genuine salvation, not a condition for our salvation.

Only Jesus Christ works of sacrifice for you and I on the cross can save us because only He was perfect and Holy and without sin.

And as if Jesus’ sacrifice for us was not enough, God then does something wonderful, He comes into our hearts to live there forever.

Philippians 2:13 states, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

They asked “What must we do to do…?”

God answered, “Believe,…”

Then God , who is love ,and His Spirit that He places in you is love, will begin to win over our desires because nothing in the universe is more desirable, more beautiful, more majestic, more wonderful and beyond description than Him.

As we grow we will trade more and more of our selfish desires for more and more of Him because we realize those things come between our relationship to each other.

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Romans 5:5

If you know you need Christ’s salvation just come to Him in prayer now, without regard for the current state of your heart or the things you know are not right in your life.

Jesus will win over your desires.

He is the Hope that does not disappoint.

Simply pray to Him,
“Save me, come into my heart ! “, and He will abide with you forever.

“That if you confess with your mouth and believe with your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10: 9,10

Then tell someone, anyone, that you have trusted Jesus as your savior.

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him will I confess before My father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32

Until we believe in Christ Jesus as our savior, nothing else matters.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia in an effort to correct a similar misconception.
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians 3:3

Both before and after salvation, our work is to believe, and then take action based on that hope alone, with faith in Christ Spirit in us alone.

^” because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:” 1 John 1:2

Related articles

• The Exclusive Claims of Christianity (pilgrimpassing.com)
• Galatians 2:11-21 (vesselsofclay.org)