Posted on 11/16/2002 1:02:27 PM PST by f.Christian
This does address the point I just made to f.christian.
All scriptures on the matter of grace and works must be reconciled before a true understanding can be reached.
Grace is certainly sufficient to save mans sould but Gods plan/will requires action on our part to be able to realize the gift of grace.
Everyone including myself fall into the same traps where we hold fast to a favorite passage then try to make all other passages fit into our favorite or simple ignore passages that are contrary.
This trap is easily seen regarding the topic of baptism.
I haven't been to code talkers school but I think you are agreeing that not all works are contrary to grace, and that the article is unclear at best.
‘To keep me from being conceited. . . there was given me a thorn in the flesh. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
"Paul pictures himself in a weak condition. It was far from an innocuous kind of weakness. He designates it with a strong metaphor-a thorn in the flesh. Originally, his language is even stronger. He says: "a stake for the flesh." His weakness is imposed on him, against his will. Scholars conjecture as to the exact nature of this problem. Some believe it took the form of a painful soreness of the eyes. Others refer to his experience when he visited Galatia. He had a bodily ailment there, which was disgusting to look at (Galatians 4:12-14). Whatever the source of Paul's weakness, it was disastrous. The imagery of his language portrays a man trying to get on with his life; do his work; meet his responsibilities, while impaled on a wooden stake."
"Understandably, he prayed to be delivered from this affliction, and God told him "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is perfected in weakness." In other words: "Paul, my working in your life, will most readily take place in the least impressive aspects of your personality. In fact, your handicap, and your humiliation, is a foil for the might of my grace. From a natural, and reasonable standpoint, Paul's thorn in the flesh was hindering him in his work. But from the perspective of grace, it was making him more useful."
"The power of the gospel is in God's grace-his freely-bestowed kindness. When men and women rely on their skills, their gifts, their strengths, their competence, it is not grace. It is something else."
"When the human agent has reached the... end of its rope---then grace comes into its own."
To get to Heaven? No.
What's the difference? Please give me some examples.
‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.’ (Matthew 11:28)
"Normal human life is burdensome. This is not so say that labor is a bad thing. It is not! It's a good thing. Yet, men and women everywhere do confess to being badly worn by the cares of this life. Added to the need for us to bend mind and muscle to earn daily bread, there are other things that complicate existence. Included are illness, injustice, natural disasters, and war with its carrion load of wounds and death."
"But there is a weariness of the spirit, which Jesus also has in view, in this passage. It was common in Judaism, to refer to the Law as a yoke; a metaphor for service (Lamentations 3:27; Jeremiah 2:20, 5:5). The Jewish religion in Jesus' day had become an instrument of oppression. Peter described the Law as "a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear" (Acts 15:10).
"Jesus offers relief from religious drudgery. He appeals to the common folk. "You know what your life is," he says. "You have been taught what you must do to please God, but you have not the wherewithal to do it. You are covered in cultic obligations which-far from granting you consolation, and strengthening-are... crushing---you."
"Come to me. I will give you rest."
"May this, Christ's rest, be yours."
Cultic indulgencences(bondage) too!
-----------------------------------------
Good News For The Day
‘But now that you know God-or rather, are known by God.’ (Galatians 4:9)
"The Galatians have inherited a new situation, in the gospel. They have come to know God. But having said as much, Paul checks himself, realizing that there is another way of saying that, which is closer to the truth: "Rather, now that God knows you." The first statement has the human agent in view. The second, centers on God. In Christianity, the work is not so much done by us, as upon us. It is not our recognition of God, but his recognizing us, that counts for everything."
"It is always possible for Christians to lose this perspective. They can become busy in service; anxiously involved in many programs; vigorous in their promotion of sacrifice, commitment, decision and loyalty. The result can be a hectic, stressful life, without serenity or assurance."
"Peace for the soul does not come from a religious experience that majors in what we are doing for God. The things we are doing are often not very good, and often they are fruitless. Spiritual rest comes from trust in what God has done for us."
"The human quest for God, is not and never will be the gospel. The gospel is God's quest for humanity. God, seeking us; God, finding us; God, not willing to let us go."
"Let me no more,
my comfort draw,
From my frail hold on thee."
"In this alone rejoice with awe,
Thy... mighty grasp---of me!"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.