The Forefathers of the Salvation by Works Christians

MDC · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
Issue is whether it "merits" salvation. If a person believes that his salvation is contingent upon doing "good" works, does such faith in his works "merit" salvation according to the gospel?

It’s reckoned of debt. Romans 4:4-5. Therefore nullifying grace and void of faith in the gospel

MDC · May 11, 2019

TuxAme said:
The Scriptural view is the Faith plus Works view- the Bible isn't opposed to this, only the interpretations of (16th century) men, and we shouldn't take their novel opinions over 1500 years of sound Christian doctrine.

There’s no faith when one believes his works are grounds for justification. Do you believe Gods grace guarantees salvation? Do you believe Christ’s blood and righteousness guarantees salvation? If not then there’s no faith in the gospel. Those who don’t believe this or rest in these truths will cling to their works or actions as the grounds for justification and acceptance before God. By not submitting to the righteousness of Christ you seek to establish your own righteousness

Shimokita · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
Issue is whether it "merits" salvation. If a person believes that his salvation is contingent upon doing "good" works, does such faith in his works "merit" salvation according to the gospel?

Likewise, if a person believes that his salvation is contingent upon faith, does such faith "merit" salvation according to the gospel?

Let Trent answer both questions for you:

Paul III Council of Trent-6

But when the Apostle says that man is justified by faith and freely, these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification.

. . .

Therefore, to men justified in this manner, whether they have preserved uninterruptedly the grace received or recovered it when lost, are to be pointed out the words of the Apostle: Abound in every good work, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

For God is not unjust, that he should forget your work, and the love which you have shown in his name;[94] and, Do not lose your confidence, which hath a great reward.

Hence, to those who work well unto the end and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered, both as a grace mercifully promised to the sons of God through Christ Jesus, and as a reward promised by God himself, to be faithfully given to their good works and merits.

For this is the crown of justice which after his fight and course the Apostle declared was laid up for him, to be rendered to him by the just judge, and not only to him, but also to all that love his coming.

For since Christ Jesus Himself, as the head into the members and the vine into the branches, continually infuses strength into those justified, which strength always precedes, accompanies and follows their good works, and without which they could not in any manner be pleasing and meritorious before God, we must believe that nothing further is wanting to those justified to prevent them from being considered to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life and to have truly merited eternal life, to be obtained in its [due] time, provided they depart [this life] in grace, since Christ our Savior says:

If anyone shall drink of the water that I will give him, he shall not thirst forever; but it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting.

Thus, neither is our own justice established as our own from ourselves, nor is the justice of God ignored or repudiated, for that justice which is called ours, because we are justified by its inherence in us, that same is [the justice] of God, because it is infused into us by God through the merit of Christ.

Nor must this be omitted, that although in the sacred writings so much is attributed to good works, that even he that shall give a drink of cold water to one of his least ones, Christ promises, shall not lose his reward; and the Apostle testifies that, That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; nevertheless, far be it that a Christian should either trust or glory in himself and not in the Lord, whose bounty toward all men is so great that He wishes the things that are His gifts to be their merits.

Shimokita · May 11, 2019

MDC said:
There’s no faith when one believes his works are grounds for justification.

Well then James must not have had faith because he believed that a man is justified by works:

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Let me guess. James didn't really mean "Justified" when he wrote "Justified".

bcbsr · May 11, 2019

Shimokita said:
Likewise, if a person believes that his salvation is contingent upon faith, does such faith "merit" salvation according to the gospel?

Let Trent answer both questions for you:

Hence, to those who work well unto the end and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered, both as a grace mercifully promised to the sons of God through Christ Jesus, and as a reward promised by God himself, to be faithfully given to their good works and merits.

...

we must believe that nothing further is wanting to those justified to prevent them from being considered to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life and to have truly merited eternal life, to be obtained in its [due] time, provided they depart [this life] in grace

Like I said, Catholicism teaches that you merit eternal life by your good works, eternal life being viewed as a reward for services rendered.

Whereas the scriptures indicate that salvation is by faith apart from works, faith being the sole condition, as I had pointed out. Faith is not a work, as Paul says that in effect in Rom 4:4,5 classifying it as not being a work. Rather faith in an attitude. If by "merit" you mean the compensation for services rendered, obviously faith would not be classified as a "merit", as no one gets paid for simply believing something. But if you mean an attribute upon which salvation is conditioned, yes "faith" is that.

dqhall · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
The Forefathers of the Salvation by Works Christians

The most serious deviation from a scriptural view of salvation is found in those who make salvation contingent upon one's performance. While today this soteriology can be found in various sects of Christianity, I believe it's origin to be from a deviant sect found in the church at Jerusalem spoken of in the New Testament where, Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." Acts 15:1 Turns out these men came from the church at Jerusalem, where resided the Eleven apostles and James who end up writing to the Gentiles concerning those men, "We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said." Acts 15:24

This was in response to Paul going down to that church to make them aware of the situation whereby their people were preaching this to the Gentile Christians. There he met privately with those who seemed to be leaders to present his gospel to see if they were on board with him. "I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders" Gal 2:2b Acts records that some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Acts 15:5 Apparently these were the category of men that had taken upon themselves to preach such an idea to the Gentiles. They were not only members of that church but also on the leadership team. And while Luke, speaking in a generic sense, calls them "believers", Paul says what they really were. "This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." Gal 2:4

Half measures were then taken to appease them by tinkering with gospel resulting in Neo-Circumcision sects arising which continue the tradition of compromising the gospel to this day.

One cannot be saved by works when the works are bad. There were those who did works such as donating animals to be used as burnt offerings and tithing. The Jewish priests collected the tithes by force (Talmud). The wicked did works such as calling for the stoning of an adulteress. They worked at trying to stone Jesus. There were works such as claiming genealogies older than recorded history; as old as geologic time. They worked to make a first century military uprising against the Roman occupying army as reported by the Jewish historian Josephus. The Romans surrounded Jerusalem while many were in Jerusalem for the Passover festival as required by Jewish law. The city was defeated in 70 AD after a long siege. The Romans burned the city and destroyed the temple. These works of the Jews did not prove Godliness or faith.

There are good works that can save a person such as discussed in the account of the Good Samaritan, in Jesus healing the sick, in Jesus teachings of good moral ethics, in Paul's friends contributing to his care, in Paul funding his ministry by doing physical labor, in Peter organizing the early church to share all things in common and instructing the apostles to devote themselves to studying the word and teaching.

God will instruct people to do good works. Salvation is in doing the good works God requires.

klutedavid · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
The Forefathers of the Salvation by Works Christians

The most serious deviation from a scriptural view of salvation is found in those who make salvation contingent upon one's performance. While today this soteriology can be found in various sects of Christianity, I believe it's origin to be from a deviant sect found in the church at Jerusalem spoken of in the New Testament where, Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." Acts 15:1 Turns out these men came from the church at Jerusalem, where resided the Eleven apostles and James who end up writing to the Gentiles concerning those men, "We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said." Acts 15:24

This was in response to Paul going down to that church to make them aware of the situation whereby their people were preaching this to the Gentile Christians. There he met privately with those who seemed to be leaders to present his gospel to see if they were on board with him. "I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders" Gal 2:2b Acts records that some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Acts 15:5 Apparently these were the category of men that had taken upon themselves to preach such an idea to the Gentiles. They were not only members of that church but also on the leadership team. And while Luke, speaking in a generic sense, calls them "believers", Paul says what they really were. "This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." Gal 2:4

Half measures were then taken to appease them by tinkering with gospel resulting in Neo-Circumcision sects arising which continue the tradition of compromising the gospel to this day.

A very accurate description of the early distortion of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Shimokita · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
Like I said, Catholicism teaches that you merit eternal life by your good works, eternal life being viewed as a reward for services rendered.

No, this is not what Trent teaches. By the parts that you have highlighted in boldface and the parts of the text that you have intentionally omitted, it appears that you are hunting for text to support your preconceived notions, instead of actually studying the entirety of the text to understand what it actually teaches. Here is what the the text states:

For since Christ Jesus Himself, as the head into the members and the vine into the branches, continually infuses strength into those justified, which strength always precedes, accompanies and follows their good works, and without which they could not in any manner be pleasing and meritorious before God, we must believe that nothing further is wanting to those justified to prevent them from being considered to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life and to have truly merited eternal life, to be obtained in its [due] time, provided they depart [this life] in grace, since Christ our Savior says:

You can only arrive at your conclusion if you ignore the first part of the paragraph (which you omitted) and the last part of the paragraph and the subsequent paragraphs. We do not merit eternal life (by our works) except for the grace of God merited for us by Jesus Christ, which is infused into us, as the text teaches:

Thus, neither is our own justice established as our own from ourselves, nor is the justice of God ignored or repudiated, for that justice which is called ours, because we are justified by its inherence in us, that same is [the justice] of God, because it is infused into us by God through the merit of Christ.

Thus, God rewards us for the very gifts that he has bestowed upon us:

Nor must this be omitted, that although in the sacred writings so much is attributed to good works, that even he that shall give a drink of cold water to one of his least ones, Christ promises, shall not lose his reward; and the Apostle testifies that, That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; nevertheless, far be it that a Christian should either trust or glory in himself and not in the Lord, whose bounty toward all men is so great that He wishes the things that are His gifts to be their merits.

The very same concept applies to faith, which is also the gift of God, as Sacred Scripture teaches (e.g. Ephesians 2:8).

Whereas the scriptures indicate that salvation is by faith apart from works, faith being the sole condition, as I had pointed out. Faith is not a work, as Paul says that in effect in Rom 4:4,5 classifying it as not being a work. Rather faith in an attitude. If by "merit" you mean the compensation for services rendered, obviously faith would not be classified as a "merit", as no one gets paid for simply believing something. But if you mean an attribute upon which salvation is conditioned, yes "faith" is that.

Well a person is saved by faith apart from works, just as Sacred Scripture states, so I have no issue that particular statement. I also agree that faith is not a "work" at least in the typical sense that the terms are used in the Bible (the former sense in your explanation).

It seems that we also agree that faith is one of the conditions for salvation. So then, does the fact that God makes good on his promise to save people who have faith in him, mean that those people "earn" or "deserve" to go to Heaven (thus negating grace)? No, of course not, right? Because that very faith itself is a gift of God, just as Sacred Scripture states.

I think that a lot of Protestants seem to have real difficulty with applying that same concept to works/obedience. If a condition of going to heaven is not raping infants, or throwing a life-preserver to a drowning man, for example, does that mean that a person "earns" or "deserves" to go to heaven because he did not rape an infant and threw a life-preserver to a drowning man? No, it does not, for exactly the same reason explained above with respect to faith. It is God's love infused into the person (or the Holy Spirit) working in the person's life that produces those things, which God then rewards as he promised.

If you read through the document I sent you carefully, you will notice that good works only "merit" justification (what we call an "increase in justification") in the man who is already justified. If a person does good works outside of the grace of God, those works merit nothing.

I think if you read though Paul carefully you will see that his main gripe is against those who would treat the idea of "reward" as though salvation is a debt owed by God for work performed, like some type of legal contract. But this is not what the document I posted teaches.

Another reason why many people reach your conclusion is that when they see words in the text such as "justification" and "merit" they assume that the document uses them in the same manner in which the words are understood within a Protestant theological framework. If they properly understood what the words mean in a Catholic framework, I think a lot of the misunderstanding would be cleared up (the Catholic/Lutheran joint declaration on the doctrine of justification was helpful here I think).

klutedavid · May 11, 2019

HTacianas said:
If all that hinges on the extra-biblical and unsupported idea of a pre-tribulation rapture I'm not following you.

But then even humoring that idea leads to three different gospels. One, the original, has it that we are justified by faith and our works. The second, coming some 1500 years later, has it a person is justified by faith only (from there it splits into countless ideas of what that means). And now a third gospel that has it that people at some later time are to be saved solely by their works.

Do you accept the following statement by Paul?

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

crossnote · May 11, 2019

How do we know that the Acts 15:5 group was the same as the Gal 2:4 group?

bcbsr · May 11, 2019

crossnote said:
How do we know that the Acts 15:5 group was the same as the Gal 2:4 group?

In Galatians 2 he's referring to same meeting in Jerusalem as in Acts 15. In Gal 2 he refers to false brothers who had infiltrated our ranks, so they were members of the church at Jerusalem as James also acknowledges in Acts 15:24. Acts 15:1 indicates these men said "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." In Acts 15:10 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Paul also says at that at the meeting, "We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." So he was in conflict with them at the meeting.

Sufficient for any rational person to see the relation between the two. Even more obvious is the implication of having such false brethren saying such things as are in conflict with the gospel right under the noses of the apostles who once again, as they had a number of times in Acts, acted negligently. Paul had to come all the way down to Jerusalem to set them straight about something that was occurring in their own church. And later according to Galatians 2 Paul had to rebuke Peter who still failed to act right even after the meeting.

If the church at Jerusalem could screw up so badly, how much more should churches today be subject to outside scrutiny, like Catholicism which insulates itself from scrutiny. Are there "false brothers" today who have infiltrated Christianity and have leaven the whole lump? Could they possibly be on these forums?

rockytopva · May 11, 2019

Where does James 2 fit into all of this?

Bible Gateway passage: James 2:14-26 - King James Version

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? - James 2:14

klutedavid · May 11, 2019

rockytopva said:
Where does James 2 fit into all of this?

Bible Gateway passage: James 2:14-26 - King James Version

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? - James 2:14

The letter of James concerns the topic of an idle faith and the perfection of faith.

The letter of James is not a doctrinal letter.

Why would you attempt to contradict the clear doctrinal teaching of Paul (Ephesians 2:8-10)?

Either you accept salvation by grace through faith as a free gift or you reject Paul's teaching on this matter!

crossnote · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
In Galatians 2 he's referring to same meeting in Jerusalem as in Acts 15. In Gal 2 he refers to false brothers who had infiltrated our ranks, so they were members of the church at Jerusalem as James also acknowledges in Acts 15:24. Acts 15:1 indicates these men said "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." In Acts 15:10 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Paul also says at that at the meeting, "We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you." So he was in conflict with them at the meeting.

Sufficient for any rational person to see the relation between the two. Even more obvious is the implication of having such false brethren saying such things as are in conflict with the gospel right under the noses of the apostles who once again, as they had a number of times in Acts, acted negligently. Paul had to come all the way down to Jerusalem to set them straight about something that was occurring in their own church. And later according to Galatians 2 Paul had to rebuke Peter who still failed to act right even after the meeting.

If the church at Jerusalem could screw up so badly, how much more should churches today be subject to outside scrutiny, like Catholicism which insulates itself from scrutiny. Are there "false brothers" today who have infiltrated Christianity and have leaven the whole lump? Could they possibly be on these forums?

I see the relationship and similarities between the two groups, just am wondering which happened first, Acts 15 or the Gal 2 incident as I have heard both sides.

MDC · May 11, 2019

Shimokita said:
Well then James must not have had faith because he believed that a man is justified by works:

You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Let me guess. James didn't really mean "Justified" when he wrote "Justified".

No, James didn’t believe one is saved and justified by ones works. He did believe ones works gives evidence of ones faith in Christ. James is coming against empty professors and hypocrites. If you believe what you said then James and Paul are contradicting each other. If you see the law as nothing more than justifying yourself before God by your obedience then you prove yourself to be lost and deceived. This is exactly what the teachings of Catholicism does to a person

MDC · May 11, 2019

Shimokita said:
Likewise, if a person believes that his salvation is contingent upon faith, does such faith "merit" salvation according to the gospel?

Let Trent answer both questions for you:

Paul III Council of Trent-6

But when the Apostle says that man is justified by faith and freely, these words are to be understood in that sense in which the uninterrupted unanimity of the Catholic Church has held and expressed them, namely, that we are therefore said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the fellowship of His sons; and we are therefore said to be justified gratuitously, because none of those things that precede justification, whether faith or works, merit the grace of justification.

. . .

Therefore, to men justified in this manner, whether they have preserved uninterruptedly the grace received or recovered it when lost, are to be pointed out the words of the Apostle: Abound in every good work, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

For God is not unjust, that he should forget your work, and the love which you have shown in his name;[94] and, Do not lose your confidence, which hath a great reward.

Hence, to those who work well unto the end and trust in God, eternal life is to be offered, both as a grace mercifully promised to the sons of God through Christ Jesus, and as a reward promised by God himself, to be faithfully given to their good works and merits.

For this is the crown of justice which after his fight and course the Apostle declared was laid up for him, to be rendered to him by the just judge, and not only to him, but also to all that love his coming.

For since Christ Jesus Himself, as the head into the members and the vine into the branches, continually infuses strength into those justified, which strength always precedes, accompanies and follows their good works, and without which they could not in any manner be pleasing and meritorious before God, we must believe that nothing further is wanting to those justified to prevent them from being considered to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life and to have truly merited eternal life, to be obtained in its [due] time, provided they depart [this life] in grace, since Christ our Savior says:

If anyone shall drink of the water that I will give him, he shall not thirst forever; but it shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting.

Thus, neither is our own justice established as our own from ourselves, nor is the justice of God ignored or repudiated, for that justice which is called ours, because we are justified by its inherence in us, that same is [the justice] of God, because it is infused into us by God through the merit of Christ.

Nor must this be omitted, that although in the sacred writings so much is attributed to good works, that even he that shall give a drink of cold water to one of his least ones, Christ promises, shall not lose his reward; and the Apostle testifies that, That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation, worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; nevertheless, far be it that a Christian should either trust or glory in himself and not in the Lord, whose bounty toward all men is so great that He wishes the things that are His gifts to be their merits.

Christ and His work merits salvation. Faith is what lays hold upon this truth. Christ’s righteousness justifies. Not some infused righteousness you think you have

StephenDiscipleofYHWH · May 11, 2019

bcbsr said:
The Forefathers of the Salvation by Works Christians

The most serious deviation from a scriptural view of salvation is found in those who make salvation contingent upon one's performance. While today this soteriology can be found in various sects of Christianity, I believe it's origin to be from a deviant sect found in the church at Jerusalem spoken of in the New Testament where, Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." Acts 15:1 Turns out these men came from the church at Jerusalem, where resided the Eleven apostles and James who end up writing to the Gentiles concerning those men, "We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said." Acts 15:24

This was in response to Paul going down to that church to make them aware of the situation whereby their people were preaching this to the Gentile Christians. There he met privately with those who seemed to be leaders to present his gospel to see if they were on board with him. "I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders" Gal 2:2b Acts records that some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." Acts 15:5 Apparently these were the category of men that had taken upon themselves to preach such an idea to the Gentiles. They were not only members of that church but also on the leadership team. And while Luke, speaking in a generic sense, calls them "believers", Paul says what they really were. "This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves." Gal 2:4

Half measures were then taken to appease them by tinkering with gospel resulting in Neo-Circumcision sects arising which continue the tradition of compromising the gospel to this day.

We are saved by Grace through Faith alone. But we are justified(proven true to God) by faith and works(James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:17-18). Without works faith is dead and is not a saving faith, if we do not keep the commands of God and do his work then we show that we are not his children.

1 John 2:
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Revelation 14:
12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We must keep the Word, Doctrine, Traditions, and Law of Faith preached by the Apostles and Christ to show that we are the true servants of God. We do the Lord's work/perform works Not for Salvation but for Justification as that is why what we were created in Christ to do. We were created in Christ to Walk in Good works.
Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Knowing this we must then make every effort to keep the Law of Christ given to us by the Apostles and Christ, to walk in the Ordinances given to us and to perform the works of God that we were created in Christ to perform. We must keep the Law of Liberty.
Declared all the counsel of God(Acts 20:26-28)
Continued in Doctrine of the Apostles(Acts 2:42)
Hold Fast to the Doctrine(Titus 1:9)
Paul has Planted the word(1 Cor 3:6)
Do the things commanded by the Apostles(2 Thess 3:4,6)
Hold Fast to the word and Tradtions we have been taught(2 Thess 2:14-17)
Doctrine of Christ(2 John 9-10)
Oberserve these things(2 Tim 5:21)
Be mindful of the words spoken by the prophets and the commandments of the Apostles and Christ(2 Peter 3:1-2, 15-18)
Keep the sound words given by Paul(2 Timohty 1:13-14)
Fully known the Doctrine, continue in things learned(2 Tim 3:10, 14-15)
Laws of God (Rom 13:2,9-10)
Stablish according to the Gospel and preaching of Christ(Romans 16:25-27)
Fully preached the Gospel of Christ(Romans 15:19,29)
Acknowledge things spoken as commandments of the Lord(1 Cor 14:37)
Gospel received by Revelation of Christ(Gal 1:6-12)
Christ the same today yesterday and tomorrow, so to is the word of God the same. (Hebrews 13:8-9)
Keep the Commandments given by Christ(John 14:21,23, Matt 28:20)
Keep the Ordinances as delivered by the Apostles(1 Cor 11:1-2)
Do the things we have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in Paul(Phillippians 4:9)
Holy word of God is of no private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20-21)

Saved by Faith in Christ, Justified by both faith and works.

bcbsr · May 11, 2019

crossnote said:
I see the relationship and similarities between the two groups, just am wondering which happened first, Acts 15 or the Gal 2 incident as I have heard both sides.

I see you identify as a Berean as well. My bcbsr identity stands for my site "The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources". As for the order of events it seems clear to me that in Galatians 2 he's referring to his experience in Acts 15 and what follows. So Acts 15 would have occurred first as I see it. Here's a link to my study guide on Galatians 2

Shimokita · May 11, 2019

MDC said:
Christ and His work merits salvation. Faith is what lays hold upon this truth.

Well, to be a bit more precise:

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Justification

For according to the teaching of the Catholic Church the righteousness and sanctity which justification confers, although given to us by God as efficient cause (causa efficiens) and merited by Christ as meritorious cause (causa meritoria), become an interior sanctifying quality or formal cause (causa formalis) in the soul itself, which it makes truly just and holy in the sight of God. In the Protestant system, however, remission of sin is no real forgiveness, no blotting out of guilt. Sin is merely cloaked and concealed by the imputed merits of Christ; God no longer imputes it, whilst in reality it continues under cover its miserable existence till the hour of death. Thus there exist in man side by side two hostile brothers as it were — the one just and the other unjust; the one a saint, the other a sinner; the one a child of God, the other a slave of Satan — and this without any prospect of a conciliation between the two. For, God by His merely judicial absolution from sin does not take away sin itself, but spreads over it as an outward mantle His own righteousness.

Christ’s righteousness justifies.

In a sense, but not if you are referring to typical Protestant concept of alien righteousness, whereby our Lord's own personal righteousness is imputed to a believer. If you read the Bible carefully you will notice that there is not a single verse that actually teaches this.

Not some infused righteousness you think you have

Well if you say so. Let me put it another way. Has God's love been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit?

klutedavid · May 11, 2019

Saved by Faith in Christ, Justified by both faith and works.

Not "Saved by Faith in Christ".

Saved by grace through faith and that is a gift.

The Forefathers of the Salvation by Works Christians

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Love to pray! :)

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