Christ is the one that said "you shall know them by their fruits"
Christ does not suggest, "You will know you are saved by your fruits." Rather, in addressing the subject of false prophets, he writes, "you will know them by their fruits."
and Paul argues "EVERYONE will be judged according to the DEEDS done in the body whether they be good or evil" 2Cor 5:10. You seem to argue that God "can not let anyone look" at the tree - because to LOOK is to "change it".
Do you assume that the phrase "things due him" as set out in 2 Corinthians 5:10 is a reference to salvation? If so, why?
On the contrary you keep arguing that the exam itself is a threat to health and that health "hinges on the result of the exam".
No. That is an argument you have attributed to me. It is not an argument I have made. Rather, I have suggested that if a man's faith and assurance of salvation is built upon that which he can see, then it isn't really faith. I've never said that you cannot look. What I have said is that, if you look, you will see sin and this will hardly contribute to assurance. That's what faith is for.
But in Matt 7 Christ is not arguing this is "how to BECOME a good tree" he is arguing that once choices are made and people either ARE or ARE NOT good trees - you can TELL by their fruits.
Actually, he is talking about evaluating false prophets, and he indicates that you will know them by their fruits. In another time and another place, we can discuss the fruits of your denomination's prophet to see this principle in action.
Notice that in Heb 6 Paul addressed the problem you are having here
Is "the problem" real or imagined? Since you bring up Hebrews 6, I note the following:
"When God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Abraham had to wait to see signs of the fulfillment of the promise. We also have to wait. If we gauge our salvation according to our sinlessness, we will never have the assurance we've been promised.
Also notice that Jesus has become our high priest forever. He ever lives to intercede for us.
you refuse to get past step-1 the POV of the LOST that needs to BECOME saved.. .the POV of the terminally ill that NEEDS to be made well, the POV of the BAD tree that NEEDS to BECOME the good tree.
There is no question that the sinner is in need of salvation. He is in need of salvation not because he is sinless (which he will never be in this life), but because he sins.
Paul is not arguing one thing in Romans 2 and another in Romans 3-4. In Romans 3, we learn that all have sinned and that there is no one who understands. In Romans 4, we learn that Abraham was credited with righteousness.
I have already agreed a long time ago that this is not HOW the bad tree BECOMES a good tree -- rather it is the objective and accurate rule of Matt 7 that SEES that the tree either IS bad or good. Looking at the tree -- does not change the tree.
I agree. Looking at the tree does not change the tree. It merely confirms that the tree is in need of salvation. Matthew 7 does not establish a new justification that is different from the justification described throughout Scripture. The tree is credited with goodness and does not become truly good until all things are made new. According to Matthew 19:27-28, Revelation 21:1-5 and 1 Corinthians 15, this takes place in connection with Christ's return.
You seem to stumble when it comes to the Bible doctrine of "perseverance of the saints"
If so, then I am in good company. For all of us stumble when it comes to our perseverence. It is for this reason that we are in need of a Savior. Nonetheless, I rightly notice that, if I persevere, it is because of He who dwells within me and not because of any goodness that I independently possess.
by choosing to ONLY allow your thoughts to dwell on the context of the lost needing to BECOME saved. A thing that happens basically in an INSTANT!
Really? It would seem that you believe that, though a person may be saved in an instant, he doesn't really know whether he is saved because he doesn't know whether he has adequately earned the right to maintain the free gift of salvation.
I don't see that line of argument working for you as well as you may have at first supposed.
No, I suppose you would not. The veil is thick and unwieldy.
BFA