Do you really believe that faith plus works saves and makes us acceptable unto God?
Of course not, Dean.
I did not hear what these "bishops" actually said, but I wouldn't read too much into the statement you quoted nor would I necessarily or perhaps prejudicially interpret their statement to mean what you claim it means.
John said to those [Pharisees] who were coming to be baptized by him,
"You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Luke 3:7ff)
Lk 7:10 -
And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" --- just as the crowds questioned Peter, having been pierced to the heart and deeply convicted by his Spirit-filled sermon saying,
"Brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37).
Too much emphasis is placed on "works" w/r to salvation. The real emphasis should be placed on
God's work in salvation, which He does for those who obey Him,
"When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." (Col 2:13ff)
And the term "works" itself is misused - there is no way we can do for ourselves what God alone does for us [ala the above]. Any attempt to do what He alone can do is what "salvation by works" is referring to.
Jesus said,
"...every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit." (Mt 7:17)
James comes right to the point and says,
"What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (Jas 2:14).
Make no mistake however; that we are wholly incapable of "saving ourselves" by any "works" of our own (so as to be deemed somehow worthy of salvation based on our own merit, something over which we could boast of ourselves) is
unequivocally obvious (Romans 3:9-18).
But this does not mean we sit idly by, waiting for the Lord to perchance someday save us. "Saving faith" comes from hearing His word (Romans 10: 14) and hearing His word is what prompts those who would be saved to WANT TO ACT.
"Then what shall we do?" and
"Brethren, what shall we do?"
When God revealed Himself to the Hebrews in Egypt, with all manner of signs and with a great deliverance out of the hands of Pharoah so as to lead them into the "promised land," there were many who objected, grumbled, even rebelled. And God became angry with them and did not allow them into His promised land.
"For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief." (Hebrews 3: 16ff)
Where one places no personal value on what He promises, there is no motivation to obey (Heb 11:6). Obedience is a prerequisite for faith. Where there is no heart to obey, there can be no faith.
But a heart to obey, that
desires to repent will always ask "What must I do?" Such an attitude should never be confused with "works salvation." Even such a heart is God-given and never man-made.
"Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls."
Ignore for a moment the "when" of salvation w/r to baptism, i.e. before asking "what shall we do," or before repenting, before receiving forgiveness of sins, or before receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, I don't know on what basis those who did not "receive his word," who would not be baptized, would claim salvation or membership/fellowship among the "added" - particularly if their very first act as a Christian is to refuse to obey, to refuse to be baptized (Mk 16:16, Mt 28:18-20). I'm sure many who didn't still "believed," but belief alone, if not coupled with a desire, a motivation to obey has never saved (Jas 2:19, Mt 8:29, Lk 4:41, John 12:42f).
Those modern ecumenicals who claim baptism is a "work," unless they be referring to the hearts and mentality of those who approach it as those "brood of vipers" who came to John as they did with similar hearts today, promote what I believe is an unfortunate, and pernicious doctrinal error (if scriptural baptism is a "work" then so is the "sinner's prayer" a "work"). But if some deem Acts 2 to be a "work", then so be it. But I'm not ashamed of the gospel nor Him graciously allowing me to hear His word, believe in it, respond to it (repent, confess), and to participate in His death, burial, and resurrection... Moreover, I pray daily for a willing heart to obey Him, and opportunity to bear fruit on His behalf and for His glory and His glory alone. Romans 6: 1-6, Gal 2:20, Col 2:12, etc..
