If christians are convinced that society's morals have gone to hell in a handbasket, then why (details) -- ?

Question

-- then why do they also insist (often in the same breath) that salvation is possible only through faith and not "works"?

In other words, it doesn't matter whether you're a good person or not, all that matters is membership in the club.

This appears to make the whole question of morality utterly irrelevant.

Answer 1

I think the step you're skipping is "And when we believe reallly hard, God fixes society."

Answer 2

Actually, it's our lack of perfect morality that causes people to need to be saved in the first place. God detests and will not tolerate sin at all. Jesus needed to die in our place to bring us new life and save us from our sin.

While we are not saved by works, the result of a person who is saved is to develop Christ-like behavior. The verse after the saved by grace part (Ephesians 2:8,9) says that we were created by God for good works. Christians are told to love others -how is it loving to have an absence of morality? Would you like it if I stole from you? Cheated with someone else's husband? Perhaps we should all just kill people we don't like since "morality is utterly irrelevant" for Christians. NO, as new creations in Christ Jesus, sin in any form should grieve us the way it grieves God. This is why society's bad morals distress us so.

Answer 3

You are certainly right about the club membership part; but let's not make it so complicated. Salvation is free, but so is a job at McDonald's. It costs nothing to accept the offers; but works will be expected in both cases. So you are right about works also! "Faith without works is dead."

While mercy with God is great and grace is free; it turns out that all who accept salvation must die to themselves to keep it. But this is nothing in relation to obtaining the life of Christ. Now dead men have no need for morals. A Christian should seldom have questions of morality; for what is done must flow out of the life of Christ. That life is love and it answers all things in God's kingdom; just as money answers all things in the world.

So you don't earn salvation but you must still lay down your life and take up the life of Christ. This not only happens at once in matters of the heart; but is also a process of giving up our own ideas, even about religion, to allow the mind of Christ to be in us.

So it does matter about works that are placed before you; and it does matter that your life produces those things which pertain to love, joy and peace --- otherwise the life of Christ is not in you. "By their works ye shall know them."

With or without the spirit of Christ, people have spiritual discernment and can spot a fake Chrisitian a mile away. There are many people who have a club membership, but no real Life inside them. They play church. Yet there is real Life and true love with Jesus. Don't be distracted from the real by what you already know is irrelevant.

Finally, faith is not a list of things one needs to believe; but faith is an ability in our own heart, and a gift from God, which contacts the eternal spirit which loved us and gave himself for us. While not human morals and ethics; it is a spiritual love affair which we hold by faith in our hearts. There is nothing like it on earth.

Answer 4

.
I think the crux of the matter is that in the beginning of the relationship, God just takes whoever he so pleases to be part of his family and not because of their past performance or moral qualitys then, a person has to maintain the relationship, even in their thinking. Colossians 1:21-23
.

Answer 5

The Ten Commandments show us that we are incapable of meeting God's standards of morality. They do not obviate the need to attempt to live a moral life.

Now, regardless of how "moral" we think we are we will never be able to work our way into Heaven. God knows that we cannot achieve the level of perfection necessary to enter Heaven. This is why He sent His Son. If we repent of our sins and accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross then we can be part of the club as you put it.

Notice the part about repentance. Turning away from our sins means we TRY to live the life God expects. We will fail from time to time but we still try. Not to earn our way but to show commitment.

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/goodperson.shtml

~Neeva

Answer 6

Even as a christian it is our responsibility to live the best righteous, God centered, life that we can.
Just because we believe that we are found righteous through the blood of the messiah doesn't give us the right to do and act as we choose.

Answer 7

I always tell people, I dont have morals I have ethics. Ethics are what you do when people arent watching, morals are what you do when you think they are.

Answer 8

I think it's because there are so many contradictions. Jesus was supposed to die so that EVERYONE would be saved, too. I think they're not sure what to believe, so they want to cover all of the bases.