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It does contradict itself and people who believe not are from my point of view using faith in it not doing it to blind themselves. James and Paul are not giving the same story and "people who have no interest in the bible as a whole being the only truth" will "see it" if they "seek" knowledge with critical logical thinking.
The work of GOD is to believe... That is HIS work that YOU believe... Not your own Thus Faith is not Our work.... But God working
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
IF It was Faith alone, he would not have needed to tell us how God wants us to live.... but all of the gospels cover the same thing... How God wants his children to live
IF one believes in Jesus... they do as he asked...
Paul never wrote you are "saved" BY faith or works.....he said by grace(the power of the creator God which is the anointing..christ) and then explains how NOT by your faith or works but by what God has done.
originally posted by: ServantOfTheLamb
a reply to: NOTurTypical
I put my thoughts on James because I knew someone would come along and tell me the Bible says something about faith without works is dead .
originally posted by: Bisman
But needing Faith in a god to receive anything at all, be it direct gifts, be helped, or even a have a positive feeling, defies the meaning of what Grace even is.
Religous folk sure love their buzzwords. Makes them feel all nice and holier then thou to use em.
But they don't know what they mean xd
I think what it is talking about in Ephesians is what it is calling "the first believers", who would likely include the Apostles, where they were given the spirit, as in the Pentecost story in Acts, to have God's power to preach the gospel in a convincing way.
These men were seeking Jesus, and Jesus uses the analogy of food fulfilling hunger to what he does for a person spirit. Jesus is the one who will give you the bread (John 15:26, v27) and the Father will seal you as his for all eternity(Ephesians 1:12-13; v27).
In the same sort of way as the ancient Israelites believed in Moses. It had nothing to do with the Israelites just saying the thought that Moses existed, or was from God, but it involved carrying out all the things he instructed they to do.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
The work of God is to have faith in Christ. The words "believe" and "faith" come from the same same word in the Greek. If anything else was required to work the works of God Jesus was either lying or equivocating on a very important question...
The two things go together, you have to believe that is what God wants you to do, so you can then go ahead and do that thing. It does not end at the believing stage.
Now Abraham is before Christ was reveal so a work for OT people was to have faith in God. Does that stand in the verses above? Yes. Did Abraham do anything more than trust God when he went to offer Issac? Notice verse 23, "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD.." and that is was what attributed righteousness to him and made Him a friend of God. Works are acts based on trust in God.
She didn't work like go out into the fields and hoe weeds all day, she did the kind of work prostitutes do, receiving men into their company, so it is still work, and physical, where she was doing something.
It took no physical work for Rahab to recieve the messagers that was simply an dangerous act she preformed based on faith in God. Choosing to trust in Christ is the only work God requires. Christ is the root of all Good works because all good works are done with faith in Him in mind.
Faith comes through hearing, like in the quote by Akragon in the post below yours,
. . . Faith comes first in order of time.
I don't think that the Bible contradicts itself, it is just that the New Testament was written with a limited choice of words available for use, so they had to be used to mean slightly different things according to the context.
Saved by grace thru faith alone? Not according to scripture. well ... scripture contradicts itself ..
Conversion is a meaningless thing outside of what a person does.
People are still confusing salvation with sanctification and service. No one says a saved person should not show any evidence of that conversion . Good works follow a true conversion.
originally posted by: jmdewey60
a reply to: NOTurTypicalConversion is a meaningless thing outside of what a person does.
People are still confusing salvation with sanctification and service. No one says a saved person should not show any evidence of that conversion . Good works follow a true conversion.
That new behavior is what the conversion essentially is.
Faith is an influence of change, as in relation to the literal meaning of it in the New Testament Greek, that it is being convinced of something.
You are of the opinion that the individual's work matters. It doesnt. The work of God is our faith.
There wouldn't be any works to wonder if they were "dead" or not.
Faith is the beginning of works. If you work without faith, your work is as dead as your faith.
Jesus did not die to somehow "pay" for sins.
If you reject His payment for sins, your works are illegal in God's eyes.
There is no justification that comes from some sort of ethereal, non-physical thing or concept, it has to be based on a person's actions.
Well, I would clarify that it doesn't matter for our justification, but it does matter in glorifying the Lord, helping our fellow man, and trying to be Christ for others. We may be the only impression of Jesus someone may ever see. So in that instance works are huge.