Danthemailman completely denies faith is a work or that any works are involved in our salvation below,
You can try to twist that all you want to teach we are saved by "these" works and just not "those" works all you want, but it's a bogus argument! Roman Catholics make thar same bogus argument as well because they also teach a "works based" false gospel. We are saved FOR GOOD works and NOT BY good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
Dan says hear, "NOT By good works"
Dan teaches no good works save us!
The Bible really teaches we are saved by good works. The good works of God!
Without the work on the cross, we could not be saved.
It is ignorance to teach we can be saved without any works.
Now Dan contradicts himself as confused men do,
Through believing, we are completely trusting in "Another's work," (Christ's finished work of redemption).
Dan you are inconsistent and regularly contradict what you teach.
I don't think you even notice the errors you make.
Repentance actually "precedes" faith in our Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation. (Acts 20:21) - See posts #353 #355 #368 #369
Wrong.
Notice the error of Dan's gospel faith ALONE salvation.
Yet here Paul preaches repentance and faith!
Dan tries in vain to put repentance before faith in an effort to make the gospel teach faith only salvation.
But Dan needs to admit but will not, that repentance is still required! It doesn't fix his predicament to move repentance before faith or after faith.
Fact: repentance and faith are both required in Jesus' gospel to be saved.
Faith alone? Can Dan honestly say we are saved by faith alone and everything else is excluded?
He knows repentance must be included with faith. And this contradicts his error of faith only salvation.
Dan makes lots of contradictions in his teaching.
You are ignorant of the context of Acts 20:21,
I'm glad you brought this passage up.
First it proves faith and repentance are not the same thing as you try to equate both as having the same similar meaning.
Paul says first repentance toward God.
Then he says AND faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
The repentance therefore is not unbelief to belief.
It is repentance of their sins.
Then faith toward Jesus.
Paul includes turning from sin as a requirement of God to be saved.
Why does Paul say repentance then Faith?
These folks WERE ALREADY BELIEVERS IN GOD.
They had become disobedient to Gods old law, the Mosaical law.
Paul is telling them they need to repent of their unfaithfulness to God.
By getting their minds and lives right, then they would be ready to believe in Jesus.
This is why Paul says,
- how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house.
This group of Jews and Greeks already heard Paul's teaching.
Paul knew they were believers that were not living faithful to God.
Therefore Paul says about them,
V.21
- Testifying to Jews and to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
They needed to repent of their unfaithfulness so that they would be ready to believe in Jesus.
Repentance of their unfaithfulness is repentance of sins against God.
Faith toward Jesus also includes obedience to Christs new law, Galatians 6:2.
Dan rejects faith being defined this way but this is the way the Bible teaches true saving Biblical faith.
These folks had to learn to be obedient to God before they were ready to be a faithful obedient servant to Christ.
If they had not repented of their unfaithfulness to God under the old law.
They would not be faithfull to Christ under His new law, hence Repentance and then Faith toward Christ.
Dan needs to give just one verse that teaches unbelievers being commanded first to repent toward God before they believe in God
There is no verse in the new testament.
Only unfaithful believers in God that lived under the old law were told to repent toward God first, then believe in Christ. These people lived under the old law then lived into the new law.
No one today lived under the old and then the new.
We all are born under the new covenant.
All today must believe in God then repent of sins.
These folks in Acts 20:21 lived during a time when God was taught but Jesus was later revealed.
We only are taught today that Jesus is in the Godhead.
Thus we must all believe in Jesus and Him who sent Him as well as the Holy Spirit.
After faith we must repent of sins.
This is the example we have in Acts 2:37-38.
That is Jesus' gospel.
Dan continues to prove he has been taught by confused and ignorant men by this belief below,
Confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead are not two separate steps to salvation but are chronologically together. (Romans 10:8-10) - See post #23 from the link below
According to Dan confessing with our mouths our faith in Christ is the exact same thing as believing in our hearts, no difference!
Heres the passage Dan does not rightly divide,
Romans 10:9-10,
- and if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation.
Notice: one is done in the heart
The other is done with the mouth
Dan teaches confession and believing equates, as one in the same.
Jesus does not teach this,
Here the confession must be PUBLIC SAID OUTLOUD WITH THE MOUTH,
Matthew 10:32-33,
- Therefore whoever confesses Me before MEN, him will I also confess before My Father in heaven.
But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father in heaven.
This is Jesus telling that the confession must be before men.
Paul said it is with the mouth.
Does belief in Jesus have to be with the mouth before men?
No.
Since Dan believes that the confession is the same as believing in the heart then he must be ignorant of John 12:42,
- Nevertheless even among the rulers many
believed in Jesus but because of the Pharisees they did not
confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.
John teaches faith and the confession are NOT the same thing as Dan wrongly does.
We have an example of a man being converted, obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved.
He gives His confession AFTER he has already believed in his heart.
Acts 8:37,
- See here is water what hinders me from being baptized?
Then Philip said if you
believe with all your heart you may,
And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
First he believed in his heart.
Then before Philip he confesses with his mouth his faith in Jesus Christ.
This is the confession with the mouth that is made unto salvation.
Here is the gospel of Christ to be saved,
Faith, repentance, confession, baptism.
That is not faith alone salvation.