Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!wuarchive!psuvax1!ukma!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: math1h3@jetson.uh.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Faith and Works: The Perennial Question Message-ID: Date: 15 Jan 91 09:35:57 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Houston Lines: 33 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , dragon!cms@gatech.edu writes: > > Luther's major problem was in totally separating faith and works in a > way that Paul never intended. Faith and works are inextricably > intertwined. Paul's message, that we are saved by faith and not by > works, was simply to hammer home that works are an essential part of > the salvific process, but the real reason we are saved is because, as > noted above, when we do perform the good work of repentence, God is > there to accept our sorrow for our sins and desire to do good works in > the future as a sign of our faith. Without God, good works mean > nothing. Without good works, faith is as dead as a body without a > spirit. I think Cindy is mirepresenting Luther here, or at least Lutheranism. What we believe is that works are a neccessary result of salvation. They cannot of themselves contribute to our salvation, for salvation is entirely God's work. So works and faith are inseparable, except that we are saved on the basis of faith alone. I think this captures Pauls meaning in Romans 3:28 "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the law" and Ephesians 2:8,9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast" and then the result of faith, Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." David H. Wagner a confessional Lutheran