Quote:
Originally Posted by deltaguitar
Is it your faith that makes Jesus Christ work at the cross effective in our lives for salvation or is it Jesus Christ giving himself on the cross which purchased us and gave us the gift of saving faith along with repentance? This is not a trick question but it is something that I have been thinking about lately.
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Deltaquitar and others,
When you read my post, please read its entirety, without skipping any sentences.
Faith without obedience voids the "cause" at the cross.
It's in our obedience that we obtain salvation. James states "faith without works is dead." If your faith is genuine, your faith's fruits will be evidentiary. I purport two faiths, one absent of works while the other is accompanied by works/manifestations. James states, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." The authentication (i.e. works, faith) of those devils believing is their trembling.
Another beautiful example of what I'm trying to convey is found in
James 2:15-17. If your brother/sister is naked and hungered, and at their departure you say "depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled", and you fail to cloth or feed them, where is the sincerity in your faith of your brother/sister's well being? Your faith alone isn't enough unless it's accompanied by obedience, which is the same message the entire second chapter of James is conveying.
To acknowledge Jesus as your Lord, that requires more than a confession of Him being your master. To accept Him as your master, you must obey and submit to his rules and authority.
To understand what I'm about to state doesn't require a Theology degree. What is required is basic comprehension.
Delta here's something interesting for you to ponder.
Read Roman 6:3-11, there it speaks of water baptism and its symbolism.
According to Romans 6:3-11, when we are water baptized, we are:
baptized into His death -
Romans 6:3
buried with Him -
Romans 6:4
raised with Him -
Romans 6:4
united with Him in His resurrection -
Romans 6:5
crucified with Him -
Romans 6:6
no longer slaves to sin -
Romans 6:7
free from sin -
Romans 6:7
we will live with Him -
Romans 6:8
dead to sin -
Romans 6:11
alive to God -
Romans 6:11
This would conclude that when we are NOT WATER BAPTIZED, we are:
NOT baptized into His death -
Romans 6:3
NOT buried with Him -
Romans 6:4
NOT raised with Him -
Romans 6:4
NOT united with Him in His resurrection -
Romans 6:5
NOT crucified with Him -
Romans 6:6
STILL slaves to sin -
Romans 6:7
NOT free from sin -
Romans 6:7
NOT live with Him -
Romans 6:8
NOT dead to sin -
Romans 6:11
NOT alive to God -
Romans 6:11
You can't argue with simple interpretation of scripture. Baptism is necessary! For this reason Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned"
Mark 16:16
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