Are christians justified by faith only?

[Rejoice evermore.]

Isn't that a wonderful thing?

The Devil made it so sinning was easy, that's why so many people are quick to go that route.

But God, in his wisdom and genius, made it also easy to seek forgiveness! All we have to do is accept Jesus' death on the cross and that's it!

Sounds too good to be true? Of course it is! Why do you think we have so many complicated religions and spiritual beliefs in the world? All of them are about US working our way to salvation through works.

We don't need to go to church (though Jesus encourages this for the sake of fellowship), we don't have to do any Hail Mary's on a rosary, no spiritual meditation or mantras, or even giving to charity. We just have to believe.

Do you recall the story in Luke of the man who was being crucified next to Jesus? The man asked Jesus while he was dying "Remember me when you enter your kingdom."

And what was Jesus' reply? "Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43)

That man wasn't told to give to the poor or do any 12 step program, or even go to church! He simply believed in Jesus and was forgiven then and there.

So yes, faith alone in Jesus is enough! The question now is: What will you do with Jesus?

To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

 

[lentz]

Jas 2:19; You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

You misquoted the verse. Thats how confusion starts

 

[Rejoice evermore.]

Yes they are

In thee is the scripture fulfilled which saith, A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. And shall be thy end if thou repent not? He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

 

[lentz]

So....theres a point to this?

 

[lentz]

In thee is the scripture fulfilled which saith, A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. And shall be thy end if thou repent not? He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

So you are saying that because i believe one is justified by faith alone,im therefore a stiff necked fool?
You slay me with your kindness and deep scriptural knowledge.

 

[ChristianConsFurryGuy]

What kind of works do you feel James was talking about?

Works do not generate faith, but works are the result of your faith!

 

[lentz]

Works do not generate faith, but works are the result of your faith!

Exacly. Thank you. I raise my Dr. Pepper to you.

 

[Admon Mikha'el]

I understand what you are saying. But these are not really works. Those are more of an act of will

More like things we DO. As in...I make myself spend time in the Word when I want to watch a movie. I make myself do what is necessary to line up with Him Not a mindset but action I have to make myself DO

 

[Rejoice evermore.]

So you are saying that because i believe one is justified by faith alone,im therefore a stiff necked fool?

Indeed, child of the devil. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. But wisdom is justified of her children.

 

[lentz]

Indeed, child of the devil. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. But wisdom is justified of her children.

Well isnt that nice. And just whom are you to judge and condemn me to hell?
Are you a part of some looney cult or what? Seriously

 

[lentz]

More like things we DO. As in...I make myself spend time in the Word when I want to watch a movie. I make myself do what is necessary to line up with Him Not a mindset but action I have to make myself DO

Then you are living by law not faith

 

[B-A-C]

Then you are living by law not faith

A lot of people confuse the law with the ceremonial laws of the old testament. Sacrificing animals for sin, confessing to priests, stoning people, putting blood over the door-posts, yearly grain offerings, etc...
The commandments are not "the law" per se. Yes they are a part of the greater old testament law. But just a small part. You still can't kill people, commit adultery, steal, etc...

Matt 5:19; "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
Matt 22:40; "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Mark 10:19; "You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
Luke 1:6; They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
Luke 18:20; "You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
John 14:15; "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Even if keeping the commandments weren't required, do you love Jesus? Do you just love Him by your words, or by your actions?

John 14:21; "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him."
John 15:10; "If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
1Cor 7:19; Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
1Thes 4:2; For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
1Jn 2:3; By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1Jn 2:4; The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

There are a LOT of liars around who claim to know Jesus.

1Jn 3:22; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
1Jn 3:24; The one who keeps His commandments abides in Christ, and Christ in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Christ abides in those who keep His commandments.

1Jn 5:2; By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
1Jn 5:3; For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
2Jn 1:6; And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
Rev 12:17; So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Rev 14:12; Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

 

[lentz]

By grace through faith are you saved. Nothing added. Reading bible and doing good works is adding to what Christ did. He said its finished. All you do is add laws and regulations,saying his work his blood wasnt enough.
You will end up like those in Hebrews going back to law and aking Christ of non effect.

 

[lentz]

A lot of people confuse the law with the ceremonial laws of the old testament. Sacrificing animals for sin, confessing to priests, stoning people, putting blood over the door-posts, yearly grain offerings, etc...
The commandments are not "the law" per se. Yes they are a part of the greater old testament law. But just a small part. You still can't kill people, commit adultery, steal, etc...

Matt 5:19; "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
Matt 22:40; "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."
Mark 10:19; "You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
Luke 1:6; They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
Luke 18:20; "You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
John 14:15; "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Even if keeping the commandments weren't required, do you love Jesus? Do you just love Him by your words, or by your actions?

John 14:21; "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him."
John 15:10; "If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
1Cor 7:19; Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
1Thes 4:2; For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
1Jn 2:3; By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1Jn 2:4; The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

There are a LOT of liars around who claim to know Jesus.

1Jn 3:22; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
1Jn 3:24; The one who keeps His commandments abides in Christ, and Christ in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Christ abides in those who keep His commandments.

1Jn 5:2; By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
1Jn 5:3; For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
2Jn 1:6; And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
Rev 12:17; So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Rev 14:12; Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

And?
Its still grace through faith plus NOTHING

 

[B-A-C]

Its still grace through faith plus NOTHING

I'd rather go with the 20 verses that say otherwise, than the one that is usually misquoted and taken out of context.

Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph 2:9; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We can't get saved without faith, that's true enough.

Jas 2:24; You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

We won't be judged by what we say we believe, we will be judged by how we lived our lives.

John 5:28; "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29; and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Matt 7:21; "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Matt 7:22; "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
Matt 7:23; "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Why does Jesus cast these people out? They believed in Him. They did everything in His name. But they continued to live in lawlessness.

 

[lentz]

I'd rather go with the 20 verses that say otherwise, that then one that is usually misquoted and taken out of context.

Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph 2:9; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:10; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We can't get saved without faith, that's true enough.

Jas 2:24; You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

We won't be judged by what we say we believe, we will be judged by how we lived our lives.

John 5:28; "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
John 5:29; and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Matt 7:21; "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Matt 7:22; "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
Matt 7:23; "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

Why does Jesus cast these people out? They believed in Him. They did everything in His name. But they continued to live in lawlessness.

Youre right we must perform works.
And Christ casts them out for not performing works.
But those works are to believe on him and produce fruit. The fruit of the Spirit.
John 15 would maybe help

 

[KingJ]

Nay. They are not. People who imagine that they are somehow justified by faith only have been admonished by the law which saith:

"Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
— (Proverbs 30:6).

It is written again:

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."
— (Deuteronomy 4:2).

The Word of God testifies that:

"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God..."
— (1 Peter 4:11).

We can therefore not say that christians are justified by faith only. Because the oracles of God say no such foolish thing. Having said this, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God has written to us who are christians that we are:

"...Justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
— (Romans 5:1-2).

Furthermore, holy scriptures make it manifest many times that the royal priesthood is:

"...Not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law..."
— (Galatians 2:16).

Even Abraham, who is the father of all them that believe, was justified by faith. He believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. As it is written that God:

"...Brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness."
— (Genesis 15:5-6).

It is written again:

"...If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
— (Romans 4:2-3).

Abraham was not justified by the works of the law:

"...For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
— (Galatians 2:16).

But, Abraham was not justified by faith only. Because:

"...As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
— (James 2:26).

Abraham was justified by works and not by faith only. As it is written:

"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?"
— (James 2:21-22).

And what happened when Abraham's faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

"...The scripture was FULFILLED which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."
— (James 2:23).

This is where the scripture in Genesis 15:6 concerning Abraham was fulfilled. As it is written:

"And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast OBEYED MY VOICE."
— (Genesis 22:15-18).

It is therefore true that:

"...By works a man is justified, and NOT by faith only."
— (James 2:24).

For what is it called when a man obeyes not the voice of the LORD? Rebellion. And rebellion:

"...Is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry..."
— (1 Samuel 15:23).

And where shall sorcerers and idolaters end up? They:

"...Shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
— (Revelation 21:8).

People who say that they are justified by faith only are therefore not abiding in the doctrine of Christ and also are not christians. As it is written:

"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son."
— (2 John 1:9).

These are they of whom it is written:

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."
— (Titus 1:16).

May this message be a blessing to those who have ears to hear. Because deep calleth unto deep at the noise of his waterspouts.

Agreed!

Faith is the cart after the horse. A sign that we are saved and sealed.

The Holy Spirit gives us faith to believe Jesus is Lord. 1 Cor 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.


We draw near to God / get this faith by following the second part of James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

 

[Curtis]

Anyone can have works without faith, but it is impossible for anyone to have faith without works.

 

[lentz]

Anyone can have works without faith, but it is impossible for anyone to have faith without works.

So true

 

[Rejoice evermore.]

By grace through faith are you saved. Nothing added. Reading bible and doing good works is adding to what Christ did. He said its finished. All you do is add laws and regulations,saying his work his blood wasnt enough.
You will end up like those in Hebrews going back to law and aking Christ of non effect.

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. Thy blood be upon thine own head, vain man. I am clean.