PeaceByJesus
Unworthy servant for the Worthy Lord + Savior
- Feb 20, 2013
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See post on p. 1 by God's grace: If we are saved by faith why do some verses of the Bible seem to state that we are not?Faith is not what saves us, but GRACE. They are two different things. Take a look at the wonderful, yet short book of James and it is clearly shown.
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, 'Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled'; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." - James 2:14-18
Yeshua (Jesus) preached throughout his teachings that we ought to perform and do good works. He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” - Matthew 5:16
But he also said, "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 6:1
This is not a contradiction here. Yeshua clearly commanded that we ought to go out of our way to do good works at any time we see a chance. However, he told us that when we do them, that we should do them without seeking an audience or the validation of others. That we should not flock to Facebook and say, "Man I feel great! Just fed 30 homeless people today! Aren't I the greatest? What have YOU done for your community today?" You should want the feeling you get in your heart after doing your good work to be your reward, not the applauding of men. There is nothing wrong with a community coming together for the betterment of the people as whole, but we should be able to discern between the right and wrong times to have an audience when doing good works. If you see a homeless man on the street, FEED HIM if you can. Even a dollar will buy a bundle of bananas at your local Wal-Mart or Meijer. But when you do it, always remember why you are doing it. Who cares if somebody sees you doing it? "Well I want to show other people in the hopes of inspiring them though. It's for a good cause! A good reason!" No no no. If you want to get other people to do good in the world, give them the gospel of the Son of God and his teachings. Give them over to God. You give them that and they will be all about doing good. They need a reason to care about others in such a Godless world as this. And always pray for them as our Lord commanded us. Pray for their renewal unto life. Pray that they wake up. My friend, we are commanded to do good works. We are commanded to abstain from evil. One man Yeshua healed is an example that faith alone does not save.
“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.” - John 5:14
And again Yeshua said this to the adulteress woman.
"When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and SIN NO MORE." - John 8:11
People argue that it is impossible to not sin because it is in our very nature to do so. Well that is a terrible excuse to not try. God knows we aren't perfect friend. That is why it is written, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” - Romans 3:23
But this is why we should try all the more to fight against it. Why would the Bible tell us to "put on the full armor of God" if there were no battle to fight? On the contrary, we are taught that we are actually in a CONSTANT battle for our very souls. Faith is important, yes. There is no arguing that. But it is where you place your faith that counts and what you do with it to prove it. Again, look at what James wrote. "show me thy faith without thy works and I will show you MY faith BY my works." Faith and works are intended to go hand in hand. The two most compelling and obvious verses I can think of to support my claim are the following:
“He that SAITH he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” - 1st John 2:6
“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” - Matthew 15:8
Basically the message here in black and white is this: It's not enough to talk the talk and honor the Lord with your lips. But you must also take up your cross and WALK THE WALK, even as Christ walked. May God bless you my friend and all that are digitally roaming this forum.
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