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From: gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: JW: Faith vs Works
Message-ID: <Dec.13.04.55.46.1990.575@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 13 Dec 90 09:56:07 GMT
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Again, I want to reiterate, Steve, that the faith is not of ourselves.
It is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8).  I do not disagree that after
salvation comes works.  However, let's be careful about walking a
legalistic line here.  God forbid that we should make a new Law out of
the Gospel.

For the moment, let's take a side trip and examine salvation.

The Hebrew and Greek words for "salvation" imply the ideas of
deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness.  Salvation is
the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering together all the
redemptive acts and processes: such as justification, redemption, grace,
propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and
glorification.

Salvation is spoken of in three tenses:

1.  The Christian has been saved (implying a current possession) from
the guilt and penalty of sin (Luke 7:50; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph.
2:5, 8; 2 Tim. 1:9) and is safe.

2.  The Christian is being saved (a working out of that which we already
possess) from the habit and dominion of sin (Rom. 6:14; 8:2; 2 Cor.
3:18; Gal. 2:19, 20; Phil. 1:19; 2:12, 13; 2 Thess. 2:13).

3.  The Christian will be saved (the blessed hope of that which we
possess) at the Lord's return, from all the bodily infirmities that are
the result of sin and God's curse upon the sinful world (Rom. 8:18-23; 1
Cor. 15:42-44), and brought into entire conformity to Christ (Rom.
13:11; Heb. 10:36; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 John 3:2).

As I said in an earlier posting, salvation is by grace through faith, is
a free gift and wholly without works (Rom. 3:27, 28; 4:1-8; 6:23; Eph
2:8).  The divine order is: first salvation, then works (Eph. 2:9, 10;
Titus 3:5-8).


Gene