Agreed. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the Glory of God alone. The reformers got that part right, but "scripture alone and faith alone" are not in the Bible.
You just AGREED...through "faith alone"...
Then say, "faith alone", is not in the Bible.
Mans ACT is BELIEF..."alone".
John 11:
[
25] Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
[
26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Gods ACT is FAITH......FULL-NESS for mans heartfelt BELIEF.
Eph 2: [
8]...ye saved through faith; ... it is the gift of God:
Rom 10:
IF...THEN
[
9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Luther made that up because he was mentally ill and was angry at the Pope.
Hogwash.
Luther was a diligent Catholic student and Catholic teacher.
Luther Challenged the highest authority of Catholic teaching, for answers.
And at first Luther was "IGNORED" and "Called names".
When the Catholic church did not hear him, Others Did, and Luther, being Catholic, challenging Catholic teaching, became a visible thorn the Catholic Church had to deal with.
It is an age old Catholic practice...of the Catholic Church, and it's leaders are "always RIGHT",
(It is no different today).
To challenge "the Catholic leaders"...is always followed by, booting the person out of the membership, and publically degrading the person.
Calling Luther mentally ill...mad....is a FRONT, and attempt to discourage ANYONE from considering Luthers questions.
Plain and Simple...Without FAITH ....
a man is Dead already.
James 2:17,26 – James clearly teaches that faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
IN Context:
James IS SPEAKING to the Tribes of Israel...Is that you?
James IS REFERENCING Mosaic LAW...does that apply to you?
James IS EXAMPLING Abraham being JUSTIFIED by HIS WORKS...does that apply to you?
Works are a cause, not just an effect, of our justification because good works achieve and increase our justification before God.
WORKS "WERE" HOW men "UNDER" the Law, "WERE" observed "AS BEING ...FAITHFUL.
Jesus DID not DESTROY the LAW...He fulfilled the LAW.
However NOT everyone BELIEVED or BELIEVES...IN Jesus the Lord Messiah...OR THAT Jesus fulfilled the Law.
And For a person who "WAS" UNDER the Law
And "REMAINS UNDER" the Law...THEY CONTINUE TO BE "JUSTIFIED"...BY DOING WORKS..."according TO the LAW"....and Abraham THEIR Example of "works"...and the VIEW of God toward Abraham, "for" his works, is an expectation for a man WHO Continues Under the Law.
YOU are teaching...YOU receive "JUSTIFICATION" BY DOING WORKS.
THAT ^ Application IS TAUGHT, "according to Mosaic LAW".
I am not, nor have ever been UNDER Mosaic Law.
Tribes of Israel WERE Taught, The LAW, and WERE Under the Law and "MANY" Continue UNDER Mosaic Law...and absolutely According to the Law,
THEY ARE JUSTIFIED BY WORKS.
AND IN CONTEXT...James is speaking TO the Tribes of Israel...not Gentiles.
Since the Law does Not Apply to me, a Gentile...I must find in Scripture FOR JUSTIFICATION that does Apply to me...A Gentile.
My ACT of choosing to hear, follow, believe, and continue...LEADS TO;
MY ACT to Voluntarily GIVING MY BODY, unto to Death, Crucified WITH Christ.
^ THAT is not a life long string of me doing "WORKS"...That is myself making a ONE TIME choice and ACT of Commitment TO the Lord.
Jesus' Responsive ACT...IS:
Cleansing, Sanctifying and JUSTIFYING MY BODY to be Risen IN Glory.
1 Cor 6
[
11] And such were some of you: but ye
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Rom 5
[
9] Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Protestants cannot show us from the Scriptures that “works” qualify the “faith” into saving faith.
Just did. It is Applicable to a man UNDER the Law.
A mans Belief AND Works according TO the Law, justified a man, and the man given Faith.
It is NOT Applicable to a man IN Christ.
A man BELIEVING IN and FOLLOWING Jesus, Becomes Justified by Jesus' BLOOD.
Instead, here and elsewhere, the Scriptures teach that justification is achieved only when “faith and works” act together.
Justification IS achieved differently from men UNDER the LAW...and men NOT UNDER the LAW.
Belief and Works...OT covenant.
Belief and Submission of Body...NT covenant.
NOT under the Law...
Rom.4
- [2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Rom.5
- [1] Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
- [9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Your teaching is obscure..
You are a Gentile, presumably committed to Jesus....Yet operating as IF you are UNDER Mosaic Law in your teaching.
How do you explain that?
Scripture puts no qualifier on faith.
Sure it does.
Enlightenment...PRECEEDS receiving FAITH.
Enlightment IS hearing Gods Word.
A man cannot UNHEAR, what he heard.
A man CAN Believe or Reject what he hears.
A man WHO Believes Gods Enlightening TRUTH...receives "measures" (increments) of Faith.
FAITH...is given in measures.
A man who STOPS believing, REJECTS the enlightenment he is receiving...
The Lord STOPS giving measure of FAITH...
And the man is called, having FALLEN FROM FAITH.
FAITH-FULL-NESS, occures WHEN...
A man has CONTINUED being enlightened...
Continued believing...Continued receiving Measures of Faith....and Heartfully committed himself to the Lord.
Thereafter...
A man has RECEIVES, (the indwelling Spirit of God,) and IS ONCE and FOREVER, "SEALED" unto God, that THEY;
1) are NOT subject to Gods Wrath.
2) Are "set apart" to be Raised in Gory.
Rom 12:
[
3] ...according as God hath dealt to every man the
measure of faith.
2 Cor 1
[
22] Who hath also
sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
1 Thes 5
[
9] For God hath not appointed us
to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Eph 4
[
30] And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption.
WORKS of a man ALREADY SEALED...
THAT: Glorify God;
Are rewarded with Blessings and Gifts from God.
WORKS of a man ALREADY SEALED...
THAT: DO NOT Glorify God;
SHALL be burned, and the rewards and blessing the man "COULD" have had, is an opportunity lost to the past.
Arguing, your Catholic doctrine, based on James teaching TO the TRIBES of ISRAEL, is MOOT, in trying to make Mosaic LAW Applicable to Gentiles...WHO are NOT under the law.
Glory to God,
Taken