Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!ukma!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: A Question Message-ID: Date: 15 Jan 91 09:56:33 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC Lines: 61 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article mmh@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Matthew Huntbach) writes: > >They were people with a deep faith in the Jewish interpretation >of God but they allowed this faith to become dry and they >suffered from complacency and pride in the belief that they >were "saved". Always a danger, Matt. >I read the scripture usually quoted in defence of >"justification by faith alone" as a warning not to let the >ritual overshadow the deeper meaning (which reduces to the >essentials of love of God and love of neighbour). I'm going to make an assumption that you are referring to Ephesians 2:8, 9. And certainly this can be taken as a part of what the apostle would have us to learn. But I think more importantly we should come away with the understanding that salvation is the work of God, not of humanity. God provides all that is necessary for our salvation. And because it is God's work, we can have confidence in its eternality. >What worries me about this whole justification by faith alone, >is that it ends up as justification by one particular work. You >are saying that because at one stage you uttered some >appropriate words such as "Jesus is Lord", and felt at that >time you really meant it, you are saved, that's it, full stop, >nothing more to worry about. This is what I was getting at when >I criticised you rather sharply in an earlier message. Actually, Matt, there are very few Christians that I know who would say that accepting and professing "Jesus is Lord" is the end all and be all for our Faith. Through salvation, the new birth, we make the commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to do as He wishes. And what does He wish us to do? The works of faith that are enumerated in the holy writ, i.e., feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the widows and orphans, witnessing and making disciples, and much, much more. So while I believe that our salvation is through God's grace by faith, which He gives to us, I do not believe that we can sit back and rest upon our "laurels." And there a number of folks here on this group who would say much the same thing -- the new birth is only the beginning. >It is a bit like saying that someone is perfectly married >because once on a nice sunny day he said "I love you" and meant >it. We can all feel good during intense moments of love, but a >marriage is not just made of these, but also of the day to day >good works we do for our partner. The "I love you" is >necessary, but not sufficient. Isn't it great that we don't have to depend on weak human emotion or faith!? Our salvation is dependent upon the eternally complete and sufficient work of God through Jesus Christ. Nothing human can grant to us eternal anything, except damnation. Storming the walls of Heaven by human power and faith won't get anyone one fraction of an inch up the wall. However, why try to climb the wall under our own power and faith when God has graciously opened the Gate for us and provided all that we need to enter through that Gate? En Agape, Gene