True Christianity

[saintmichaeldefendthem]

SM, grace comes only from Jesus, not anything else. Works are a result of faith, I agree but not the other way around. You can't put the cart before the horse.

How many times does James have to phrase it before it sinks in?

"What does it profit if someone says he has faith but not works? Can faith (alone) save him?" (2:14)

"This faith by itself, if it lacks works, is dead" (2:17)

"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" (2:20)

"Then it is evident a man is justified by works and NOT faith alone" (2:24)

"For the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works too is dead" (2:26)


Faith alone is a Protestant teaching, authored by Martin Luther. But it isn't a Biblical teaching at all.

I became Catholic because of the Bible, not in spite of it. That's the same story for most Catholic converts.

you are taking these verses out of context. I can show you 50 times more verses showing saved by faith alone. If you are trusting in your works to save you; you are in for some serious trouble- we all fail.

Actually you can't show me any. The only time you see faith alone is in the passage I showed you. And saying I'm quoting out of context is meaningless unless you can demonstrate how. The context refutes your false belief. The sermon by James is very clear. The problem is that you Protesants assert your traditions over the Word of God.

Sound familiar?

faith alone verses....


Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)
Faith alone, without doing any specific work saved Mary in Luke 7:48-50, the blind man in Luke 18:12,42, and the paralyzed man in Matthew 9:2 They all did different things that showed their faith.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)
Romans 3:21-22 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (NIV)
Romans 4:1-5 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Romans 4:9-12 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Galatians 5:2-5 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. (NRSV)
Romans 4:13-24 It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring -- not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. (See Galatians 3:16-18) 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. 18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” [Compare Romans 4:20-21 to James 2:21] 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (NIV) Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (NIV) Galatians 3:2-3 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? (NRSV) We see here that you do not get saved or stay saved by doing a specific work or by not doing specific works.

Thanks for proving me right.

 

[ninja007]

how does that prove you right? These are faith alone verses....

 

[Meriweather]

how does that prove you right? These are faith alone verses....

A wheel cannot work if we carve out one-third of it and attempt to roll with it.

Grace from God prompts faith which begins discipleship which is nourished by the grace of God, which strengthens our faith that we have chosen our discipleship wisely, which strengthens our faith, which makes us more receptive to the grace from God...

Faith alone does nothing. Being alone, it is not acted upon. Grace alone does nothing. Being alone it has nothing to prompt. We should remember a dissected animal or insect goes nowhere. Neither do dissected beliefs. To live, all parts must remain together, not be 'a-lone'.

 

[kjw47]

True Christianity can be defined as the set of true Christianity doctrines, meaning that all are saved who have faith and trusts those doctrines. Whoever believes and remain faithful to True Christianity and its doctrines are guaranteed salvation.

I understand that people will have different thoughts about what constitutes True Christianity. With that in mind, what do you believe are crucial doctrines of True Christianity?

you are in error---Jesus taught( Matt 7:21)--those who do the will of my Father in heaven will enter his kingdom( be saved) as well Gods word teaches one must do it until the end( death or Har-mageddon)Matt 10:21)
Do you know that will? its much more than you have said.

no one does the Will of the Father- no one. Thats the point. Jesus came because we cannot always do the will of the Father.

Actually--Few do. Remember Jesus taught--enter through the narrow gate, for cramped( no stepping left or right=sin) is the road that leads off into life, Few will find it, for many have entered the broad and spacious path that leads to destruction( not eternal suffering)as well Jesus taught--Matt 7:21--those who do the will of my Father in heaven, will enter his kingdom(so obviously few do) because at 22,23--Jesus says the many will hear those fateful words as judgement.

 

[PostmodernProph]

With that in mind, what do you believe are crucial doctrines of True Christianity?

long ago Christianity established some basic ground rules and called them the Apostles Creed......it would seem to me that any group that rejected any of those ground rules would be hard pressed to call themselves a Christian church..........

 

[saintmichaeldefendthem]

With that in mind, what do you believe are crucial doctrines of True Christianity?

long ago Christianity established some basic ground rules and called them the Apostles Creed......it would seem to me that any group that rejected any of those ground rules would be hard pressed to call themselves a Christian church..........

And the purpose of the Creeds was to create a unifying standard around which to rally all true Christians in the midst of subversive doctrines. When Satan failed to destroy the Church through persecution, his next strategy was the infiltration of false teaching. Just like persecution, this only made us stronger and gave us the Creeds and eventually the Bible.

The issue I have is that dissent from those time honored truths happens not in readily recognizable contrasts, but rather in shades and degrees. It was why I was quick to bring up the Mormons who, by all reasonable standard, fail your test because of their unorthodox beliefs about the Godhead. They pose Christ as a created being, a brother to Lucifer, and in a stage of evolution that man too can attain; that is, God was once man and we men can become like God....which sounds eerily similar to something a snake once said in a garden. Obviously this is repugnant to sound Christian doctrine of the kind that has survived for 2000 years.

And yet Mormons are sincere in their faith, prolific in charitable deeds, and seem to endure the same trials and struggles common to all Christians, learning to trust in the Lord, growing in grace, learning to forgive readily, overcoming pride, pursuing righteousness, being abstemious in their lifestyle, and shunning sinful behaviors. It's as if the Holy Spirit found a way to work even with a faith that's riddled with ignominious error, which seems to fit my belief about the Holy Spirit to begin with, looking for willing hearts wherever they may be found.

So the answer as to whether or not they're Christian in short is yes and no. Yes in their sincerity to follow the teachings of Christ and become Christ like in their daily walk, no in adherence to essential, time tested Christian dogmas. I do believe that Mormons will be in heaven right along side with all the righteous of the earth.