Since God does works in our salvation. Then it only follows logically that Works save us. Therefore the true gospel is saved by works. To say we are not saved by works is found nowhere in the gospel of Christ.
Christians and Jews are both anti Acts 2:38.
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Paul does state it strongly as being "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2.9).
Yes faith is a gift from God just as every blessing on earth is a gift from God. Air to breath is a gift from God, Did we merit air to receive it? No. Do we have to wait on God to miraculous give each individual faith? No if so God would be a respecter of persons. Nowhere does the scriptures teach Gid works a miracle that we might believe. All have the ability to have faith by hearing the gospel, Roman's 10:17
Interesting that Peter says:
"...see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." (1 Peter 1.22-23).
James says:
"Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." (James 1.18)
Incorrect. Paul teaches we are saved by a working faith, Galatians 5:6.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is teaching of the works man do to merit salvation. These works save no one but condemn.
God saves us by His works. Therefore we are Biblically saved by works. Not the works of man, that do not come from God, Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5
Faith is a work, John 6:28-29. Therefore when we obey the commandment to believe/faith in Christ, we are working the works of God. Man does play a part in his salvation. If not then we are saved without faith.
1John 3:23-24
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
We are saved by Grace, faith and obedience to Gods commandments.
I'm glad you brought up Peter,
1Peter 3:20-21
Who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few that is, eight souls were saved through water.
There is also an antitype which now saves us--- immersion (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the ressurection of Jesus Christ.
Peter, Paul and James all taught we are saved by Grace, faith and obedient works.
John 6.44 says: "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6.64-66 says:
"But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him."
Calvinist always intentionally leave out verse 45 in John 6. It reads
No one can come to the Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
Now Jesus teaches how the Father draws all of mankind,
Verse 45 It is written in the prophets, AND THEY SHALL BE TAUGHT BY GOD.
Exactly what Paul taught in Romans 10:17, Faith cometh by hearing the gospel. Therefore faith is born of teach, preaching.
If faith comes without teaching, then the gospel is not the power to draw men.
Nowhere in the new testament is there Mentioned a miracle that God performs on each individual to receive the gift of faith. Faith is given to all freely, through the gospel. For it is the power to save,
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation, for the jew first and also for the Greek.
Ephesians 2.1-7 says:
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; )
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."
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How? How did God quicken us? Through the gospel not by miraculous direct operation of the Holy Spirit,
We are born agian by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1Corinthians 4:15
For through you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have BEGOTTEN you THROUGH THE GOSPEL.
The gospel is the power to save.
Paul in Ephesians 1 has just been speaking of the Ephesian believers having been 'sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise' (v. 13) and about His own power in raising the Lord Jesus from the dead: "the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places" (vv. 19-20).
This same power is spoken of in chapter 2, showing how grace works: "...even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved; )
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus".
How were the Ephesians saved, quickened, born again? BY BELIEVING AND OBEYING THE GOSPEL.
The Ephesians were not saved before faith. They were not saved the moment they believed. They were saved when they obeyed the whole gospel commandments of Jesus. Notice: the Ephesians also did not get the Holy Spirit at the moment of belief. They were saved, then after salvation they got Holy Spirit gifts.
Acts 19:1-6
Paul having passed through the upper regions of EPHESUS(land of the ephesians)
And finding some disciples he said to them,
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, into what then were you baptized? So they said, Into John's baptism. Then Paul said, John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people
that they should BELIEVE on Him who would come after him, that is Christ Jesus.
When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.
The Ephesians from Ephesians 2:8-9 were not saved by faith only. They were saved by Jesus gospel that Paul taught them, Mark 16:15-16.
They did not have any Holy Spirit miracle worked on them before faith or directly at the moment of faith.
We are quicker, begotten by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace, Faith and obedient works is the gospel of Jesus unto salvation.
Some of what you say is not accurate; it was the disciples of John in view in Acts 19 and not normative.
mailmandan
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We are saved by grace through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8,9) yet you teach salvation by grace through faith “and works” in contradiction to scripture. (Romans 4:5-6)
Mark 16:16 - He who believes and is baptized will be saved (general cases without making a qualification for the unusual case of someone who believes but is not baptized) but he who does not believe will be condemned. The omission of baptized with "does not believe" shows that Jesus does not make baptism absolutely essential to salvation. Condemnation rests on unbelief, not on a lack of baptism. So salvation rests on belief. NOWHERE does the Bible say "baptized or condemned."
If water baptism is absolutely required for salvation, then why did Jesus not mention it in the following verses? (3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26). What is the one requirement that Jesus mentions 9 different times in each of these complete statements? *BELIEVES. *What happened to baptism? *Hermeneutics.
John 3:18 - He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who (is not water baptized? - NO) does not believe is condemned already, because he has not (been water baptized? - NO) because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
All Jews everywhere were baptized by John, Mark 1:4-5
John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Then ALL the land of Judea and those from Jerusalem went out to him, and were all baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.
Only the few Jews John rebuked were not baptized. The Ephesians in Acts 19 were faithful servants to God. This is why Apollos batized them with the baptism of John.
The problem was Jesus gospel was already in effect. John's baptism had ended.
Apollos did not know about the gispel of Jesus Christ.
This is why Paul had to teach the Ephesians in Acts 19, to believe in Jesus and be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15-16; 1Peter 3:20-21.
Notice that the Ephesians were saved BEFORE they got any power from the Holy Spirit.
This proves God does not work miracles on us through the Holy Spirit to save us.
We are saved by hearing, believing and obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ, Romans 1:16.
Acts 18:24-25
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, THOUGH HE KNEW ONLY THE BAPTISM OF JOHN.
Everything I taught is scripturally correct. There is no error in what I taught you.
Apollos taught the Ephesians John's baptism during the gospel baptism of Jesus, Acts 2:38.
This is why Paul had to rebaptise them. That they believe in Jesus and His gospel. Only after their baptism
Were they saved and given miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Nowhere did the Ephesians obey a gospel of faith only and no works of obedience to God.
They were saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul preached to them, Mark 16:15-16.
Ephesians 2:8-9 is not teaching no works salvation. The Ephesians were saved by Grace, faith and obedience to the gospel, Acts 19:1-5.
Phoneman777
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Didn't realize that - but not surprised by your uncertainty. If the saved and the lost were designated to be such according to some ancient divine blueprint that precedes Adam, it's no wonder that we're left wondering who's who in the human zoo.
BTW, Matthew 24:12-13 KJV completely overthrows OSAS because there we read that many saints will allow abounding iniquity to kill their agape cold and dead, leaving them in the same wretched condition as the rejected Laodiceans who will be spat out of Jesus' mouth simply for lukewarmness.
Jesus taught to believe you must believe in Him, 1Corinthians 15:1-4.
Jesus taught to have faith, you must believe in His word.
Jesus taught that faith and baptism saves, Mark 16:15-16.
Therefore if you do not believe what Jesus said, "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved....
You are not a believer.
Salvation comes from believing in Him and His word,
John 5:24
Most assuredly I say to you, he who HEARS MY WORD and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life.
You don't believe you have to be baptized to be saved. You do not have faith in Jesus' word.
We are saved by obeying commandments,
1John 3:23-24
And this is His COMMANDMENT that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ....
Danthemailman, do you think you can be saved by not obeying Jesus' commandment to believe?
Do you think you can be saved without obey Gods commandments?
Then you believe you can be saved without faith.
Phoneman777
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The Galatians began by believing in Jesus...they did not continue to believe in Jesus. "If ye continue in My word, ye are My disciples in deed". They didn't continue "in" His word, and thus were seduced by satanic deception. Therefore, there's no difference in "believing in" and "believing" Jesus.
The point I'm addressing is this prevailing church sentiment that all we need to do is "believe" which is a veiled assault against Christian Obligation/Duty/Reasonable Service, or whatever we choose to call it.
Again, if we are to be believers in Jesus at all, we must believe in all that He said.
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Phoneman777
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