8 replies to this topic

[Tkulp]

I would appreciate some information about the original core beliefs of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Are these beliefs still being taught by the C&MA pastors and missionaries around the world?

 

I believe that the second coming of the Jesus Christ is the believer’s hope and is a very important truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.

 

I also believe that salvation is through Jesus Christ; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, if they remain in Him they will receive eternal life, and become the children of God.

 

In reading the blogs and forums on the C&MA web site I find some indication that the idea of salvation is by faith alone. This is  what a number of people on the site believe and hold very firmly to. I can not see any incentive to any type of life change if salvation is by faith alone.

 

In my youth, my father was a C&MA pastor. I was not raised with the belief that salvation was by faith alone; that was the teaching of the Southern Baptists. In all the devotionals that I have read from Tozer and Simpson I do not recall ever getting the idea that they believed in salvation by faith alone.

 

Could some one that is very familiar with the writings of both of these men enlighten me to your opinion of their beliefs in regard to the doctrine of salvation by faith alone? References to their beliefs either way would be deeply appreciated.

 

 

[Layman363]

I am disappointed of the lack of responses to your request as I want to see their statements on the Alliance doctrinally as well. I have been a member o the CMA off and on for years and have held the understanding that by faith alone means that out of our freewill we acknowledge the power of God and through His acceptance of the perfect sacrifice for our sins God provides grace to grant us eternal life. We are saved by our faith alone and God's abundant grace and mercy. But I am just a layman and surely one of the theologians will give you a better answer and relate it to Simpson's and Tozer's writings.

The current issue of Alliance Life (Nov/Dec 2017) has an article by Dan Wetzell reviewing some of the concepts of the Reformation and he states "Our justification before God is by our faith alone in the accomplished work of Christ." and he cites a professor at Nyack College.  I would encourage you to return to the alliance as I have. The denomination has changed dramatically over the years that I have been associated with it and I do hope to read with you tomorrow a profoundly difinitive response to your inquiry.  

[Layman363]

I am disappointed of the lack of responses to your request as I want to see their statements on the Alliance doctrinally as well. I have been a member o the CMA off and on for years and have held the understanding that by faith alone means that out of our freewill we acknowledge the power of God and through His acceptance of the perfect sacrifice for our sins God provides grace to grant us eternal life. We are saved by our faith alone and God's abundant grace and mercy. But I am just a layman and surely one of the theologians will give you a better answer and relate it to Simpson's and Tozer's writings.

The current issue of Alliance Life (Nov/Dec 2017) has an article by Dan Wetzell reviewing some of the concepts of the Reformation and he states "Our justification before God is by our faith alone in the accomplished work of Christ." and he cites a professor at Nyack College.  I would encourage you to return to the alliance as I have. The denomination has changed dramatically over the years that I have been associated with it and I do hope to read with you tomorrow a profoundly difinitive response to your inquiry.  

[LampstandDevotions]

TKulp--

 

Hello again!

 

I believe your understanding is correct, and I can see why you struggle with the faith alone idea. I am not very familiar with Simpson's & Tozer's writings, but in attending our local C&MA here, I can say the pastor is very insistent that salvation is by faith alone. But I have struggled, too, with this, have been tempted, and would like to share the insight the Lord has given me regarding this, so that I might help you also.

 

First, I would like to say that we need to first look to scripture and ask the Holy Spirit's help to discern spiritual truth. I understand that reading a noted Christian author can confirm whether our understanding is correct or faulty, but to elevate it further would be dangerous, because all of us are by nature fallible, but the Word of God is not, and the Holy Spirit will always teach us truth and correct us if we are going astray. 1 John 2:27 says, "As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him."

 

What is important to understand about works is that they are the fruit of God's work in our lives. When we are born again, we are given a new birth, and like any child, we grow and learn in God's grace, and he faithfully teaches us through his Word, Holy Spirit, and by fellowship with other genuine Christians. God's power saves us--he initiates salvation, putting the desire to seek him in our hearts, granting us repentance from sin and dead works, and enabling us to live for him. Romans 1:16-17 says:

 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith."

 

So please understand, works do not save us. If what we do should be added to the gospel, then logic would have to admit that what Christ did on the cross was not sufficient to declare us righteous before God. When Jesus breathed his last, he said, "It is finished." Justification, our declaration that we are righteous before a holy God, is realized when we believe that (have faith in) Jesus' life, death, and resurrection accomplished our salvation. Acts 4:12: 

 

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

 

So, when something is initiated by God, when God causes us to be born again, that spiritual reality is evident in our life. We do not work to be saved, we work because we are saved. Salvation is a precious gift and work of God, and he gives us the power to live lives worthy of him. What he starts, what he promises, he finishes: "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6).

 

If we add works to salvation, our fleshly tendency is to pride, to say, "Look at all I've done." But our attitude should be, "Look at all God is doing in me." Paul said, "For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." (Romans 7:18)

 

Paul talks about our sinful nature being at war with the new nature God has given us, and directs us: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." (Romans 8:11-14).

 

So, in James 2, he says, "14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

 

18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”[e]and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone."

 

I have come to understand this is not a contradiction to Paul's assertion that salvation is Jesus' name is by faith from beginning to end. James is correcting the misinterpretation of Paul's words. Some people were twisting them to mean I need do nothing after salvation, that God doesn't demand anything but belief. James is saying what good is belief (mental acceptance of an idea), if you do not live it out. He is saying that real faith, given to us by faith in Jesus, is accompanied by actions, or fruit, that proves God's work in us in genuine.

 

I have often faced spiritual battle where the devil tries to make me feel guilty for doing good. But the Lord is helping me understand that obedience to God is not a work. If God commands something in the bible, and we obey him, that is the Holy Spirit enabling us to do it. Also, repentance is not a work (I recently read an article on the web that some consider it a work). I prayed about it, and felt impressed by the Holy Spirit that it is his work, a gift initiated by God. How can we live for Christ if we are not willing to turn from sin?

 

To sum up, then, real, honest to goodness faith works, not for salvation, but in obedience. Salvation is always prior to works, not the twisted human idea that works is prior to salvation, or in addition to salvation. It is the result of salvation. Does that help? I sense you are very genuine, and want to help you grow in love and faith for our Lord Jesus. You may want to watch these 4 podcasts on Pastor David Platt's web site: http://www.radical.n...he-glory-of-god. I found them very helpful for my understanding works/faith topic.

In Christ,

Laura

[ADVRider]

Good post Laura!

[Tkulp]

Layman363 and Laura,

 

I found the answer to my question about the beliefs of A.B. Simpson and A.W. Tozer regarding 'salvation by faith alone'. They did not believe it or teach it, as you can read what the taught in the devotionals below.

 

This seems to be a new teaching in the ranks of the C&MA Denomination. I know that I was not taught that 'salvation was by faith alone', by my father, a C&MA pastor.

 

I have been doing a bit of reading and study on the doctrine of "Sola Fide." The concept has been around for some time but was really brought to attention by Martin Luther. A brief acquaintance with his writings did not remind me of the words and life of Jesus. He was a man of many struggles. He appeared to me as one that made his beliefs and the doctrines he taught, fit his own good, rather than to purely follow the teachings of the entire Word of God, the Heart of God.

 

The worst thing that I learned about Martin Luther was his hatred for God's people, the Jews. What Martin Luther wrote about doing to the Jews and mentally handicapped, Hitler acted upon.

 

It is the doctrines of this man that most of the Protestant churches of America hold as sacred.

 

We are told by Paul to, "Follow me - as I follow Christ".

 

Paul repeats this three times - to emphasize the fact that we should also follow the example of truly godly men who follow in Christ's footsteps. (1 Cor.4:16; 1 Cor.11:1; Phil.3:17).

 

Jesus said, "Follow Me" (Mt.4:19; Jn.21:19; Lk.9:23). He taught how to gain eternal life by word and example.

 

Who do people follow? What teachings do men hold in highest regard? The Bible? or.... the books and documents that are written by men explaining away the Truths of the Bible? ...making the Bible more livable or suited for the culture, man's personal experiences.

 

The leadership has not responded but I was encouraged, in my spirit, tonight to read a group of devotionals written by A. W. Tozer. I was surprised to find the answer to my question regarding his beliefs about 'salvation by faith alone' in his devotionals.

 

Below are a few of A. W. Tozer's devotionals for the current week which are in opposition to, the erroneous idea of 'salvation by faith alone'.

 

https://www.cmallian...ns/tozer?id=990

 

Thu, November 09, 2017

God Encounter

It is fear of falling into the hands of God that makes us so eager to get things reduced to a formula. We feel that if we can learn the “secret” of salvation or the “steps” into the blessed life, we can control our future and (though we would not admit it) control God Himself to a large degree. This saves face and preserves our self-confidence, but it also mutes the voice of power in the gospel and weakens the operations of God in the soul. Only the despairing heart can know the inward witness.

In the final analysis, no one can lead another to God. All he can do is to lead the inquirer to the door of the kingdom and urge him onward. Between God and the returning soul there is a zone of obscurity through which he cannot see. It is the light that no man can approach unto and past which no one can go on his feet or by means of reason or theological knowledge. There faith must make its leap of pure trust into the arms of God crying with Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15), or with Newton, “O Lord, I trust in Thee completely, and if I go to hell I’ll go down standing on Thy Word.”

 

It is this utter desperation that brings the witness, and yet I cannot tell anyone how to reach such a state. All I can do is to urge everyone to repent and believe on Jesus Christ. If the repentance is genuine and the faith real, all human confidence will come crashing down and the humbled soul will be forced to make its leap of faith alone.

 

The reader that cannot find his way from here is in all probability still impenitent. And let him beware of seeking cheap comfort from a text jockey who will cry “ `Peace, peace,’. . . when there is no peace” (Jeremiah 6:14). He had better by far take his Bible and retire to the secret place to seek God alone. If there’s hope for him, he’ll find it there. But he’ll find it nowhere else.

 

Verse

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. Luke 24:45

 

Thought

Salvation is wholly God's work. By His enablement we can share the Good News and pray. It is God who opens minds to understand. Imperative is one-on-one encounter with God.

 

 

https://www.cmallian...ns/tozer?id=991

 

Fri, November 10, 2017

Mistaking Word for Deed

The genuine philosopher, Epictetus used to say, was not one who had read Chrysippus and Diogenes and so could discourse learnedly on the teachings of these men, but one who had put their teachings into practice. Nothing else would satisfy him. He refused to call any man a philosopher who showed evidence of pride, covetousness, self-love or worldly ambition.

 

Epictetus was not impressed by eloquence or learning. It was a waste of time for the student to recite the list of books he had read. “What has your reading done for you?” he asked his students, and looked not to their words but to their lives for the answer. He required of the young men who sought him out that they bring their lives into immediate harmony with the Stoic doctrines. “If you don’t intend to live like a philosopher, don’t come back,” he told them bluntly. He drew a sharp distinction between a philosopher in fact and a student of philosophy, and would have nothing to do with the mere student. With him it was all or nothing. There was no middle ground.

 

This is not to advocate the teachings of the Stoics, but to assert that many of “the heathen in their blindness” appear to have more light than some Christians and that the children of this world often show more real wisdom than some of the children of God. For the snare Epictetus warned against is the very one into which multitudes of professed Christians are falling, viz., mistaking the word for the deed and falsely assuming that if they know the teaching of the Christian faith they are therefore in that faith.

 

Verse

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26

 

Thought

Speaking "church" language, even quoting Scripture, is not the same as practicing it. Faith will express itself in faith deeds not just words. Is our practice consistent with our profession?

 

 

https://www.cmallian...ns/tozer?id=992

 

Sat, November 11, 2017

Living Out Faith

. . . the snare Epictetus warned against is the very one into which multitudes of professed Christians are falling, viz., mistaking the word for the deed and falsely assuming that if they know the teaching of the Christian faith they are therefore in that faith.

The One who said, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways, and be wise” (Proverbs 6:6), would hardly be displeased if we were to humble ourselves to learn an important lesson from an old Greek philosopher.

 

It will help us to locate ourselves spiritually if we face up to the rather ungracious question: “Are you a Christian in fact or merely a student of Christianity?” A lot will depend upon the answer, and if ever we should be frank, it is when we examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith. Multitudes tread a hazy path to death because they will not bring themselves under the searching eye of God. They prefer to assume everything is all right, though so to assume is always dangerous and may be deadly.

 

Verse

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:17

 

Thought

Are we living out our faith? If not, is ours genuine faith? In Christ there is enablement but it has to be appropriated and exercised.

 

 

https://www.cmallian...ns/tozer?id=993

 

Sun, November 12, 2017

Submitting to Christ's Lordship

No one has any right to believe that he is indeed a Christian unless he is humbly seeking to obey the teachings of the One whom he calls Lord. Christ once asked a question (Luke 6:46) that can have no satisfying answer, “Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

 

Right here we do well to anticipate and reply to an objection that will likely arise in the minds of some readers. It goes like this: “We are saved by accepting Christ, not by keeping His commandments. Christ kept the law for us, died for us and rose again for our justification, and so delivered us from all necessity to keep commandments. Is it not possible, then, to become a Christian by simple faith altogether apart from obedience?”

 

Many honest persons argue in this way, but their honesty cannot save their argument from being erroneous. Theirs is the teaching that has in the last fifty years emasculated the evangelical message and lowered the moral standards of the Church until they are almost indistinguishable from those of the world. It results from a misunderstanding of grace and a narrow and one-sided view of the gospel, and its power to mislead lies in the element of truth it contains. It is arrived at by laying correct premises and then drawing false conclusions from them.

 

Verse

Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46

 

Thought

If Christ is really our Lord we will submit to His Lordship, not just in selected areas of life but in all we are. For Christ to be Lord there can be no restrictions placed on His Lordship.

 

 

https://www.cmallian...ns/tozer?id=994

 

Mon, November 13, 2017

The Inseparability of Faith and Obedience

The truth is that faith and obedience are two sides of the same coin and are always found together in the Scriptures. As well try to pry apart the two sides of a half-dollar as to separate obedience from faith. The two sides, while they remain together and are taken as one, represent good sound currency and constitute legal tender everywhere in the United States. Separate them and they are valueless. Insistence upon honoring but one side of the faith-obedience coin has wrought frightful harm in religious circles. Faith has been made everything and obedience nothing. The result among religious persons is moral weakness, spiritual blindness and a slow but constant drift away from New Testament Christianity.

 

Our Lord made it very plain that spiritual truth cannot be understood until the heart has made a full committal to it. “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own” (John 7:17). The willing and the doing (or at least the willingness to do) come before the knowing. Truth is a strict master and demands obedience before it will unveil its riches to the seeking soul.

 

For those who want chapter and verse here are a few, and there are plenty more: Matthew 7:21; John 14:21; First John 2:4, 3:24, 5:2; First Peter 1:2; James 2:14-26; Romans 1:5; and Acts 5:32.

To sum it up, saving faith is impossible without willing obedience. To try to have one without the other is to be not a Christian, but a student of Christianity merely.

 

Verse

Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. Romans 1:5

 

Thought

Genuine faith generates obedience to the one in whom our faith rests.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Now here is what God has shown me, today, in the same miraculous way that he revealed A.W. Tozer's beliefs on the subject of 'salvation by faith alone'.

 

This is not A.B. Simpson's personal devotional, but it is a Godly woman's devotional, who is quoting what impressed her from A. B. Simpson's writings.

 

Here is the devotional from....

 

Streams In The Desert    

November 13

He Knows Us

I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what he promised him.”—Gen 18:19 NET

 

God wants people that He can depend upon. He could say of Abraham, “I know him, that he will command his children … that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken.” God can be depended upon; He wants us to be just as decided, as reliable, as stable. This is just what faith means.

 

God is looking for men on whom He can put the weight of all His love and power and faithful promises. God’s engines are strong enough to draw any weight we attach to them. Unfortunately the cable which we fasten to the engine is often too weak to hold the weight of our prayer; therefore God is drilling us, disciplining us to stability and certainty in the life of faith. Let us learn our lessons and stand fast. —A. B. Simpson

 

God knows that you can stand that trial; He would not give it to you if you could not. It is His trust in you that explains the trials of life, however bitter they may be. God knows our strength, and He measures it to the last inch; and a trial was never given to any man that was greater than that man’s strength, through God, to bear it.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------

 

The following is a supporting and maybe more easily understood rendering of what the Bible has to say about the idea of 'salvation by faith alone'.  You must follow the link for the entire article.

 

Here are just are a few excerpts from a very well written and Biblically documented article including a quote from A. W. Tozer.

 

 

http://www.inplainsi...aith_alone.html

 

 

Myth of Faith Alone

Carol Brooks (Edited By Vicki Narlee)

 

I dread to think what would happen if someone in a modern church were to preach that you have to attain a certain level of righteousness to be saved. The hue and cry would be deafening, with the preacher soundly denounced, from one end of the Christian world to the other, as a false teacher who is teaching salvation by works. But, consider for a moment Jesus' words in the sermon on the mount.... ""For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven". [Matthew 5:20 NASB.

 

"A world of confusion and disappointment results from trying to believe without obeying. This puts us in the position of a bird trying to fly with one wing folded. We merely flap in a circle and seek to cheer our hearts with the hope that the whirling ball of feathers is proof that a revival is under way”. A. W. Tozer

 

Our Options
As always, we have a couple of options open to us at this point..

A) We can ignore, to our eternal detriment, all the Bible verses that contradict the modern, and very popular, salvation by faith alone myth.

B) We can treat the Bible as an integrated whole, and choose to believe the 'whole counsel of God'. "Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word the proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4)

And, if we choose the latter, we are faced with the fact that we are not saved by any one thing, but by a combination of faith and hope, repentance, calling on the Lord, obedience, and endurance to the end etc.. And then, and only then can we go about working out our salvation with fear and trembling.

-------------------------------

 

My conclusion is that we have a master deceiver who has not changed his tactics. Satan picks the tools that he would use very carefully; he chooses the best, the shrewdest.

 

Gen 3:1  Now **the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals** that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?"

 

Gen 3:4  The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, ..."

 

Satan told the woman, in concept, you do not have to obey God and you will not really die.

 

Is there really any difference between that deception between 'obedience and life' and today.  You are 'saved by what you believe, have 'faith' in. You can not be saved by obedience because that would be a 'work'!

 

Satan tells believers today, in concept, you do not have to obey God, just believe, have faith, and you will live eternally. (No man can be perfect, it is impossible to live without sin, nothing you do can save you, "surely you will live").

 

May the Holy Spirit help you, if you can not see the parallels in deception; may your eyes be opened.

 

**{ Gen 3:14  The LORD God said to the serpent, "***Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life.}

***(...because you have permitted Satan to use you?)

 

So Satan worked in the beginning!

 

Revelation tells how Satan was still working in the same manner, in the early Church. (Teaching that you can live in sin and not be punished.)

 

But I have this against you: that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and who is teaching and leading astray my servants and beguiling them into practicing sexual vice and eating food sacrificed to idols. [1Ki. 16:31; 2Ki. 9:22, 2Ki. 9:30]    I gave her time to repent, but she has no desire to repent of her immorality [symbolic of idolatry] and refuses to do so. Rev 2:20-21  Amplified

 

 

We are all tools or instruments!

 

We are spreading Light or spreading Darkness! There is no fence post to sit on any more as we approach the closing moments of time! We are either a servant of righteousness or we are a servant of selfishness, evil, deception!

 

Please, this is not just Tozer's or my beliefs; this is the Word of God!! This has nothing to do with our personal opinions, whether you reject what has been revealed or whether you accept it!!

 

You are the only one to benefit if and when you turn to the Truth, repent and daily fill yourself with the  Holy Spirit, walking in obedience to His still small voice!

 

I could not have put all of this together, at this time, even if I was the most brilliant scholar. I am simply an instrument!

 

The choice is yours!

 

Martin Luther, Salvation is by faith alone! “Be a sinner and sin?? boldly,? but believe and?? rejoice in Christ even more boldly.”

 

Jesus Christ,  Turn away from sin, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him. Anyone who does not [really] love Me does not observe and obey My teaching. And the teaching which you hear and heed is not Mine, but [comes] from the Father Who sent Me.
 

[Justin]

1. Rom. 3:28-30, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. ²⁹Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one."
2. Rom. 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,"
3. Rom. 5:1, "therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;"
4. Rom. 9:30, "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith;"
5. Rom. 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
6. Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
7. Gal. 2:16, "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."
8. Gal. 2:21, I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.
9. Gal. 3:5-6, "Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? ⁶Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
10. Gal. 3:24, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."
11. Eph. 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. ⁹Not by works, lest any man should boast."
12. Phil. 3:9, "and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."

My question is always "How do you know when you have done enough good works to be justified, if we are not justified by faith alone?" I will trust(have faith) in the works of Jesus the perfect one. We are saved by works, just not our works. Thank God. Only through faith in Jesus can we stand justified before God. So Faith Alone.

 

Read the Four-Fold Gospel by AB Simpson Here is a section from that book.

 

It is called God's salvation. It was not invented by man. God alone is the author of

it, and He is the only Saviour.

2. It is also called "your own salvation," because you yourself must appropriate it.

3. It is called "the common salvation," because it is free to all who will accept it.

4. It is called a "great salvation," because it is full and infinite in its provisions. It is

large enough for all your needs.

5. Christ is called the "mighty to save," because no matter how weak or how wicked

the sinner may be, He is able to save him to the uttermost.

6. It is called a near salvation. "Say not in thine heart, who shall ascend into heaven?

(that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, who shall descend into the deep?

(that is, to bring Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The Word is nigh

thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the Word of Faith which we

preach: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe

in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." We

do not have to get up into some exalted state to find Christ, nor down into some

profound and terrible experience, but we can find Him everywhere we are.

Salvation is at our door. We can take it as we find Him very near to us. No steps

were allowed to God's ancient altar, for then some poor sinner might not be able

to get up to it. Jesus is on the very plane where you are this moment. You can take

His salvation here now. Take Him as you are, and lie will lead you into all the

experiences you need.

[Tkulp]

Thanks Justin for your reply here and in another forum that I did not feel to reply to your comment.

 

I could not hope to reply to each of the verses you have mentioned, I would write a book that you would not want to read. Send me a private message with one verse and I will attempt give you the context of the verse as well as the Strong's and OT understanding of the verse. (Jesus opened the eyes and understanding of the Scriptures to the two men that were on the way to Emmaus. The Scriptures were just the Old Testament! My thinking would be that if a belief is not supported in the Old Testament, the belief should be taken to the Holy Spirit for a revelation of the Heart of God.

 

We are made righteous by faithfulness to God and staying under His divine influence (grace). Draw nigh to me and I(God) will draw nigh to you.

Paul gives the tests that we can evaluate our lives to see the evidence, especially Gal. 5. Is the flesh ruling or the Holy Spirit.

 

As to Simpson and salvation, I would encourage you to begin looking up in the Strong's Dictionary the meaning of key words in the verses that you are quoting. See what they mean. If it is an OT quote, go to the OT and see if it is accurately quoted and what it means in context.

 

Salvation means deliverance, refuge, protection. It is really easy to know if you are delivered or not. If you are not delivered, for real now, I would question if you are delivered eternally. Ask God, He is a great Father and He will show you. He sent Jesus to the cross that we might be delivered from the power of sin... for real, now!

 

Try reading the NT letters all the way through in one sitting. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of what the author is try to get accros to the readers and why. What does it tell me? How does it encourage me to the foundational concept of God's heart; to be holy as He is Holy.

 

-------------------------------

 

Here is a Bible study for you to look into, check out with Bible and old Dictionary. The meanings of words are changing over the centuries.

 

Where does the doctrine of Sola Fide come from? It primarily comes from the letters of Paul as he quotes from a verse in the Old Testament Romans 1:17. The verse in the Old Testament is found in Habakkuk 2:4.

 

If you have ever read the NetBible version of the Bible you would have found that it says, " Habakkuk 2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness."

 

This is a correct translation of this verse!

 

So why NetBible translate Romans 1:17 as  "For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, "The righteous by faith will live."" instead of the way the Torah Times translates it?

 

TT Romans 1:17 because the justice of the Alm?ghty in it is revealed from faithfulness to faithfulness, even as it is written, “But the righteous one by faithfulness will live.”

 

Your guess is a good as mine! ...I really do not know! I do know that the translation of is accurate though.

 

Could it be that to translate the New Testament with Strong's G4102 meaning faithfulness instead of faith would shake American Christianity to the roots?

 

Here is how Strong's defines it;  G4102  ???????  pistis   pis'-tis

From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:

Translated into English as; - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

 

"Constancy in such profession" would be very compatible with "faithfulness".  But rarely is the concept of 'faithfulness' translated where it should be. If you do not know this information and have the idea in your mind you will many time miss the intent of the writer. A false doctrine can be created.

 

From what I have read, Habakkuk 2:4 can be translated either as "God's faithfulness" or "man's faithfulness".

 

If Paul understood that then his letter to the Romans would make, as some of considered, more sense to say something like this...

 "For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from God's faithfulness to man's faithfulness, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness."

No matter, there is absolutely no way that Habakkuk 2:4 or any of the rest of the Old Testament teach the concept of "Sola Fide"!

Faith is only mentioned in the King James Version of the Old Testament two times and neither one of those times does the context of the Hebrew word match the idea of 'faith,' believing. They both care the context of faithful, faithfulness or integrity.

[Tkulp]

Justin just an unimportant note on the comment about steps and the altar. Here is what the Bible says...

 

The Bible states that the altar may not be approached by way of steps, since this would be considered unseemly and immodest behavior for this holy place: "Do not climb up to My altar with steps, so that your nakedness not be revealed on it" (Ex. 20:23).

 

The thought may be a nice one, about the sinner, but not a Biblical one!