Posted on 12/19/2014 1:30:26 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Thanks for posting that.
Well, do you agree with everything the author said?
Excellent points all.
But, I would personally emphasize what Jesus stated in John 6:28, 29: “THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD - that you BELIEVE in Him whom He sent.” IMHO, one of the biggest periods in scripture, though not in the Greek which had no punctuation.
The reality emphasized in Point 1 is only a result of vs. 29 being first a reality in experience. All works that are not out of faith (”obedience of faith”, Romans - Paul) are dead works.
Only works that are out of faith, done by the Holy Spirit in and through us, last forever.
Oh, yeah. I should have said “Thanks, I needed that!”. God bless
2. The only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is through DOING the will of God.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 ESV
“An expert in the law stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”“What is written in the law?” He asked him. “How do you read it?”He answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.“You’ve answered correctly,” He told him. “Do this and you will live.”- Luke 10: 25-28 HCSB
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And when you realize you can’t fulfill it perfectly:
John 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Funny, I thought it was Jesus’ teaching on divorce.
“The problem is that a faith that is rooted in the Scripture alone is not sustainable. It will dry up and wither on the vine.”
There are too many verses in the Bible that describe the exact opposite of that statement— makes the whole essay suspect. I guess I’m supposed to substitute what ever anyone writes for scripture.
I was just about to post a comment to that effect. Jesus answer to the expert in the law and the rich younger ruler, both, is that we CANNOT love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, with all our strength, and with all of our minds nor can we love our neighbors as ourselves. NO ONE can attain a perfect record of law keeping. Paul makes this very clear in Romans, and this is why, praise God, Jesus is our only hope.
I do agree that faith without works is dead, indeed, but salvation doesn’t come by works lest any man should boast.
#1 No disagreement
#2 Not true. John 3:16 belief in Jesus is enough as witnessed by the thief on the cross. However, if one believes, that belief will cause one to do.
#3 Jesus did not need to condemn the world - that would be redundant as the world is already condemned. That did not stop Jesus from calling out sin.
#4 No disagreement.
Yeah, while I agree with the author somewhat, I find his emphasis on experiential Christianity a little unnerving. EVERYTHING must be tested against Scripture, and I have seen what emotionally-led Christianity can do to others. Holy Spirit-led Christianity will always take us back to the Scriptures.
RE: Funny, I thought it was Jesus’ teaching on divorce.
I think that’s covered in Point #2.
1. How do we know Jesus without the Bible? The lesson there is that the scriptures testify to Jesus, and the context was that the Jew were relying on the Law to save them, but the Law points to Jesus. Yes, there is no salvation in the Bible, but the Bible is the only place where salvation is clearly taught. This is a false dichotomy, at best.
2. As pointed out before, John 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
3. Jesus condemned the Pharisees on several occasions, calling the sons of satan, a brood of vipers, etc.
4. The ultimate love for our neighbors is not to let them live in their sin, but to point them to Jesus. We have to confront sin.
Jesus, not the Bible, is God’s living and active Word that brings life. That’s accurate, but calls for continuing revelation which few will accept because they know better.
James contrasts compares belief to mere mental accent saying even the demons believe. But demons don’t trust Jesus for their salvation. Faith alone saves. Works can be evidence of faith, but works do not save. Lack of works can be evidence of lack of faith, but not necessarily. For example the thief on the cross or a deathbed confession.
Yes.
And even if one COULD fulfull the Law (only He could & did), Jesus adds this giant-killer in Luke 17:10 - (NASB)
10 “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
The deeper one goes in Christ, the better one knows Him, the more one knows his own blackness and depravity of heart. Only those who know Him little are proud and boastful, and think they are good servants.
How amazing is it that the apostle John - who knew the Lord Jesus probably better than any other man - at the END of his life, even after seeing the transfigured Jesus, saw Him fully glorified (Rev. 1:17) FELL AS A DEAD MAN?
Where does that leave you and me?
In the end, one worships whom one obeys.
A lot of things in this article come under the category,
“Sounds good until you think about it................”
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