What does this mean to you...
"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Ephesians 2: 8,9
Is there a question? Why then do so many "Christian" religions say we have to earn our way to heaven one way or another? If we have to earn salvation, then did Christ die in vain?
2006-11-06 03:17:12 · 32 answers · asked by bandit 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
We are saved by grace through faith!
It does not matter how many good things you have done in your life - it will not get you into heaven.
Only believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus will get you there.
Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life and that no one can get to God but through Him - He did not say do good things and I'll let you in...
2006-11-06 03:23:05 · answer #1 · answered by delo 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
James 2:24
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
The only place in the NT that "faith alone" is mentioned is preceded by the words, "NOT BY"
Read the rest of James 2 to get the whole story. As a side note, Luther wanted to chuck out James from the NT for this very reason!
Peace,
MoP
2006-11-06 03:24:18 · answer #2 · answered by ManOfPhysics 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not only Christians say that. There's another "religion" or belief that feels that they have to do this or can't do that to go to heaven. If that was the case, then God would've just sent us a bunch of rules and says do this and it will get you into heaven, but no, He sent His son to redeem lost man. He gave the rules/law to show us that no-one can do them and that we need a Savior. A Christian doesn't work to be saved, He works because he IS saved.
2006-11-06 03:24:06 · answer #3 · answered by Gail R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only instance I've seen personally of people having to work to get to heaven is in the Catholic religion and that is because it is all about power and control.
That ephesians verse you quoted, to me it means I should just jump off the cliff and hope that there are no jagged rocks below me, instead of looking before I leap and finding a soft place to land.
That is faith for you.
2006-11-06 03:21:37 · answer #4 · answered by m_thurson 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is one of the great debates in Christianity. Unforunately, this verse is taken out of context like so many others. Faith and Works have to go together. They cannot be separated from each other. Paul does not want us to think that we can earn our salvation by ourselves from all the good works that we do. We must understand that even after all that we can do, we are still short of the cleanliness that we need to enter His kingdom. That is why we have the atonement of the Savior to clean us every whit to make us fit for His kingdom. James teaches us that we must have works as well. "Know ye not that faith without works is dead, being alone" "I will show you my faith by my works". In the Book of Mormon, this concept is made clear with the passage that says "by faith we are saved, after all that we can do". Thus, we cannot be saved by faith without works, nor can we be saved by works without faith. We need both. Christ's atonement is good for all of God's children that will repent and follow His example and do His works.
2006-11-06 03:35:53 · answer #5 · answered by rac 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well, this question has vexed everyone since Martin Luther. In the Epistle of James he writes, "Faith without good works is dead." I assume what James means is that in order to show that you are truly faithful, you must live the message of Christ's love, and care for others. An interesting observation is that in the Bible, the word "good" appears many more times than "bad" or "evil," but references to our duty towards the poor and oppressed appear even more times. So, yes, I believe that good works are important.
2006-11-06 03:29:56 · answer #6 · answered by jcboyle 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
(c: We are saved by grace of God because we demonstrate OUR FAITH in our daily lives BY doing good works TO SHOW our appreciation for the gifts of
E A C H
DAY>
How that?
2006-11-06 03:21:57 · answer #7 · answered by dbzgalaxy 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We are saved through faith. Works are just what naturally comes next. Those who are saved seek to do God's will. The Bible says "faith without works is dead." To me that means if you claim to have faith but are not producing fruit, it's a symptom that your faith is "dead".
2006-11-06 03:20:30 · answer #8 · answered by Elle 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hi, we are saved by the sacrifice on Calvary,but we have to co-operate with grace also, good works are not optional by the way they are part of that co-operation, read what Jesus said about visiting the sick,feeding the poor and clothing the naked,by avoiding these works of mercy He said that you avoid doing this to him,the penalty for this is in the Lords own words terrible indeed.
2006-11-06 03:25:06 · answer #9 · answered by Sentinel 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You have to show that by your works that you really do believe... but God's fogiveness does not depend on how much we do for Him. Some folks can't do anything... They don't have the physical ability to do works... But the Bible does teach that faith without works is dead. Inother words, you can believe and believe, but if you don't do something to show that you believe, its not really in your heart.... just your head.
In reality, salvation comes from our willingness to believe in What Christ did for us all, by shedding his blood and providing our forgiveness. We then respond in grateful love and humility and appreciation by doing things to help others as He helped us.
We can never earn our way to heaven... Its not about what we do, but about what He did for us.
2006-11-06 03:24:58 · answer #10 · answered by rejoiceinthelord 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋