Will you give me more help with deeds and faith issue?

Question

Sorry, this is going to be a little long, but I want to know every Christian's perspective on the following statement. Please only base your ideas on the Bible, and not your gut feelings, and look up the verses that I am citing, if you do not already know them off the top of your head.

Alrighty, I have been reading multiple verses for a week now concerning this one issue (don't worry, this one issue hasn't hindered my job as a Christian). I have come up with key verses that seem contradictary, but aren't, since we all know that the Bible is perfect. The Bible says that it is Jesus that saves us, not our works(Eph. 2:8, 1 Cor. 3 (but mainly 3:11-15)). It also states that we will be judged by our acts (Matt. 25:31-46) and that faith without works is dead (James 2:20). How do you get them to flow in harmony? Am I missing something? I'll share what I have concluded after others have given their answers. Thanks for all of your time, and I really appreciate it.

Answer 1

Ok. Think of Eph. as Christ is the only one who can open the door to Heaven, but Matt. says we have to do more than just believe to get in.

Cheers :-)

Answer 2

Dan, Anna gave you an excellent answer about reading and getting into the Book of Romans. I'll just add one thing. Most Christians probems reconciling Faith & Works is because of the "up and down" nature of their christian life. We WILL be judged by our works at the "Bema" judgment. But Salvation is not an issue there. Just what we have done serving the Lord since we became a Christian. I'm going to tell you a little "secret" here. The "secret" to living a life pleasing to the Lord. The whole tension between Faith & Works in the Christian life dissapears if we CONSISTLEY practice 1John 1:9. The MATURE christian, when they sin, IMMEADIATELY confesses it to the Lord, and resumes their "walk". The IMMATURE Christian tends to wallow in it for awhile because of guilt, pleasure in the sin, or whatever. And they never seem to get to get "closer" to the Lord. Its like a "rubber" ball. You have to keep bouncing back "up". Not a "flat basketball" and stay on the ground for awhile. At first this means "confessing" who KNOWS how many times a day. 50? 75? 100?. The point is: If your a real Christian, you are eventually going to get to that place anyway. Why NOT do it as SOON as you are aware of the sin? It sure saves a lot of wasted time dreading "facing the Lord". Of course, after you've been walking with the Lord for awhile, and "keep on confessing" as you go, the need to do it eventually keeps getting longer and longer, as your walk becomes more consistent. You dont have to worry about being a "hypocrite" in the eyes of the Lord. He KNOWS your heart. And knows that your confessing is truly repentent. The WORST thing you can do, is to just "STAY" on the ground. That really hinders your growth. So be sincere. CONFESS it and move on. Once you acknowledge it before the Lord, He's already forgotten about it. Hope that helps. It did wonders for my Christian life when I first realized this truth. And I've had many wonderful years walking with the Lord since then....theBerean

Answer 3

Jesus saves us through our acts ( our following His commandments), faith without works is dead; If we believe in Him, we must show our faithfullness by telling others about Jesus, no being ashamed to do so.

We will be judged by our acts, in other words, the acts that we do to stand up for Him, not be ashamed of Him. If we say we are a christian, then go out and do evil or sinful deeds then Jesus sees our acts and knows that we are not honestly a follower of Him.

Answer 4

There are many people that if judged strictly by their works are wonderful Christians but they don't even know God or His Son Jesus Christ.
There are many that do the different works as a service to their Church or Pastor, not Jesus Christ.
There are those that lie, cheat and steal but they attend Church every Sunday and Wednesday. Their works say they are Christian, but the reality of their hearts say something else.
I have FAITH in GOD and JESUS CHRIST and it is the fruition of that FAITH that brings about the works.

Answer 5

Faith is something we have in Jesus and the words of God, They are to guide us protect us and to give us all the wisdom we need, to survive this world and to get into heaven.How do we do that, He wants us to thank Him, and Praise Him, and give Him glory, that is all he wants, and if we do it. then, we should have the spirit of a child, meaning ,that Jesus wants us to fill protective and safe by Him and his words, Like we did our parents,When we where all children, not a care in the world, And didn't fear nothing, because we new our parents where their to protect us. Well some of us have no parents, they have pass own or etc: So, the Lord wants us to trust in Him like that.because, Jesus knows, what we want and need before we need it,He tells us in His words i think this is all in Matthew, why is that so hard for some to understand...It is Jesus that saves us, because if our Spirit is of a child, then we would have no worries.. or cares we would trust Him and go own no matter what we face are go through..We would have no worries or fears,but our child like spirit is what will save us...with its compassion, that will reach out and hug you. and come into a room and say Hi I am here and everyone turn to greet you because they see a little child running into a room or a spirit filled child, , And if someone is hurting. That child spirit will, be the first one, to run, and say its ok, it will be ok..that is a true child spirit, That is what will get you in heaven...your spirit Because with a child like spirit, that is true faith, and true faith, brings great acts, or actions with out a drought, and true faith brings true spirit we will be judge by our acts, if your spirit is not of a child spirit, then yes you will be judge by your, what ever kind of spirit your body soul and mind holds, because if your spirit is not that of a child then your acts cant be doing what God wants of us...that is how you no where your spirit is with the Lord.By you acts your actions...the choices that you choose, He gives us all a choice. And the best one is to keep your spirit like a child's spirit.And with a child spirit Faith is grand strong and not much thought about by a spirit of a child because with no fear that is the best faith,you can have, a child fears nothing or no body as long as their in the arms of their Mom or dad. and us as adults, should no this better now, that we have grown up then when we did as a child, We lose our child spirit that is what cause faith with out works. or faith dies if we dont feed it just like your body would die if you stop eating. To have a child filled spirit is how you get them to flow in harmony.with out it your faith is not whole.God bless All

Answer 6

OK here goes...1; we are saved by grace and faith in The Lord Jesus so no one can boast..
2; means build honestly and righteously, keeping your heart right...
3; having compassion for the lost and needy and doing what you can to make a difference in their lives...
4; Abraham trusted God when he took Issac to sacrifice him, that was his faith and action flowing together...i know why your asking it's difficult to explain...hope you get the answer your looking for..be blessed..

Answer 7

I understand your confusion, reading the entire book of Romans put it into perspective for me... My interpretation is that your faith is enough to save you, because it will cause the Holy Spirit to dwell within you, which will then cause you to want to do the works....In other words, if you REALLY have faith, you will WANT to do the works...
Saying with your mouth that you have the faith, if you don't REALLY have the faith, will not save you, because the HS will not be within and you will not do the works. Similarly, doing the works, because you feel you have to, is not the same as WANTING to do these things for the Lord....
I hope that makes sense....check out Romans.

Answer 8

We are saved by the shed blood of Jesus. And as it says in James 2;20 Faith without works is dead. Your works will not save you, they are as filthy rags in the sight of the Lord.
The reason that faith without works is dead is you prove your belief in faith by acting on it. It is nice to have a car, but if you do not drive it, what good is it? By works it is not saying that you are earning your way to Heaven. It simply means that you are showing other people the way. Tything is a good example, we are told to tythe. WE know that God supplies everything we need every day, but if you do not tythe you are telling God that you do not think you can make it on 90% so you want His 10% also. If you have FAITH in God and His promise to supply you pay the tythe and have FAITH that God will meet your needs. Your work is to pay the tythe and have Faith in God.
The two go hand in hand. We are told by Jesus to tell the world the good news. You are saved by faith, that is the good news we are to tell. If you believe it then you will want to tell others, that is the work. The Bible also says that we are saved by the BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND THE WORD OF OUR TESTAMONY. You must tell others or you deny Jesus, Jesus said "If you deny me before man I will deny you before my Father." Again your work is to testify about Jesus, if you do not do this you in a sense deny Him, so HE will deny you before the Father.

To break it down. Our work is to Testify about Jesus and His sacrafice, if you do not do that Jesus will not have you covered in the end.

Answer 9

Faith without works is dead. You cannot call on the name of the Lord saying 'Jesus, Jesus, I am saved" without showing the fruits of the spirit. If you love Jesus you must show it by what you do to love your brothers and sisters. Faith without works is not real faith. Show your faith by what you do in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Answer 10

First, look at the thief on the cross next to Jesus.
Then, remember Roman 10, verses 8-10.
If you belief with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved.
Now, put the two together. Did the thief fulfill Rom 10:8-10?
You know, of course, that he did, because Jesus said he would be with Him in Paradise that very day.
He had to have believed in his heart that Jesus was God or he would not have asked Him to save him. And, we know this because he confessed it with his mouth.
Now ask yourself, what works did he do to go along with his profession of faith?
As one reader said, we are saved by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. But that reader implied that you have to go about witnessing to others and give them your testimony. You don't have to, to be saved, but you should. Obviously, the thief did not go out witnessing. And, as another reader quoted the bible, "we are not saved by works lest any man should boast". If you could get saved by works, you could demand an entrance to heaven. But, God calls it a free gift. And, of course, if even one work could save you, then Christ died for nothing.
So, as the Berean pointed out, you are confusing two different issues. Yes, you are saved by faith and not works. The key here, is the word saved. So, then, what use are all our good works? The answer is your second study question. We are judged for our works. But, not to see if we will be saved or not. The "We" that he is referring to are believers. We will be judged for our works. There are two different judgements described in the bible. One, to separate the believers from the unbelievers. And, a second one, to judge the believers. This verse refers to saved people whose walks will be judged to see if they built anything eternal on the foundation that Christ provided for free. All works for yourself will be burned away (hay and stubble). All works for the kingdom, will survive the fire (judgement) and will be left standing on the foundation (your free salvation). If there are indeed good works, the bible says that crowns will be given.

Note that Jesus had talked about the greatest and the least in the kingdom. Just as he had talked about the lowest regions in hell being reserved for those who cause His children to stumble. So, we can see that there will be different levels of reward in heaven and different levels of punishment in hell. Some in heaven, will just get in with their free salvation (the thief). Others will have crowns. Some in hell, will not have been particularily bad people, but still rejected the free gift. Others in hell will apparently go to a deeper level.

As for the verse that faith without works is dead: Again, he is talking about believers and how to recognize them. He refers to some people as "so called Christians." Many such people will attend churches and call themselves, for example, "Catholics" because they practice Catholic rituals; or, "Baptists" because their parents made them attend a Baptist church as a child. But, a born again Christian is obvious, isn't he?
His life has changed. He can be reconized by the changes (his works).
Remember, the bible says that even the devil believes that Jesus is God. But, he doesn't confess with his mouth that Jesus is his Lord (master).

Review Hebrews. They had been told by Paul about Jesus and had received it. But, then, they went back to their rituals (their works) thinking again that it was necessary for their salvation. So, don't go back to seeing works as a salvation issue.