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Out of context: Reply #186
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- discipler0
arinya, you are confusing the "root" with the "fruit". It's not faith + works. It's works "because of" faith. What is replete throughout the NT is the teaching that true faith in Christ produces a changed life. So, we conclude that, if someone claims to be a Christian, but their lifestyle is not consistant, we can safely conclude they were never truly saved in the first place - their faith was not a true saving faith. They never truly embraced Christ as savior. Look at these passages:
Romans 3:
"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
Romans 4:
"If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Ephesians 2:8 & 9 -
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— NOT BY WORKS, so that no one can boast."
Romans 3:28 -
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."
arinya, faith plus anything is not faith. It nullifies what Christ did on the cross, saying his sacrifice was not good enough and that we have something to do with it. That is unscriptural.