Spiritual Israelite
Well-Known Member
You've seen the miscommunication we've had, so, yes, do whatever you need to do to make your beliefs clear, so I don't have to guess.Besides the obvious....
Do I have to make a list.
Are you not aware that scripture teaches that we are not saved by good works?Acts 2:38
Participate in the Bread and Wine Ritual.
Love God and one another.
Help one another.
Be good and do good.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Notice here that good works are what God prepared for those who become saved by grace through faith. So, we are saved by God's grace through putting our faith in Christ as our personal Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-13) but we are not saved by our works. What you're saying contradicts this because you are saying we have to do certain good works to be saved. No, the good works reflect the kind of faith that we have, but we don't do them in order to earn salvation. Otherwise, salvation would not be by God's grace and we could boast of saving ourselves.
Paul taught the same thing here:
Romans 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” 4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”