Don't believe us read it and decide. The Bible says work out your on salvation

The Bible is the blue print . You must follow the blue print .

I was being facetious. I've read and studied it quite a bit and I'm pretty confident on my understanding of it. I was really just making a joke about how these discussions pop up periodically and always go 8-10 pages of people arguing back and forth, but never really accomplishing anything.

I feel pretty confident in saying that most of the folks that participate in these arguments more-or-less believe the same thing and mostly just argue semantics. People love to nitpick individual things about the Bible and its teachings, instead of taking the message as a whole, as it was intended to be taken.

Example: I think we probably all agree that "works" don't save you, God's grace does, through Jesus. We can all also agree that "faith without works is dead". Yet y'all have spent like 4 pages arguing about it...."works" don't lead to salvation, rather salvation leads to works. In other words, if you're truly saved, your "works" will show it. "You'll know them by their fruits.....every good tree bears good fruit and every bad tree bears bad fruit".

Nobody is saying works lead to salvation, but they ARE connected.

Short Version: y'all are so concerned about being "right", that y'all keep arguing even though you're basically saying the same thing, just in slightly different ways, and it's counterproductive

2 Corinthians 7:10 says Godly sorrow brings repentance unto life and earthly sorrow unto death. Please don't confuse my earlier post about working out your salvation as meaning a salvation by works. Once you are saved you will have a heart that will produce works. Not out of an obligation

You have said repeatedly that the only thing that can save us is faith and believing that works is involved is heresy. But, you also say that obedience to commands is works. We are commanded to have faith (believe, trust) to be saved or else you wouldn't think we need to have faith to be saved. So, if we believe and have faith, according to your definition, we are doing a work because we are being obedient to a command and therefore doing wrong because we are counting on a work (our obedience to have faith) to save us. By your very own definitions, you are committing heresy by teaching faith saves us.

I think if you read my first posts carefully you will see I was trying to make the point not to judge and condemn someone that has been married before. You will also see I was talking about the importance of the lost soul and not what a person thinks. I brought up a person committing suicide because she thought she was doomed. If I really wanted to argue I could make some on here do mad skinny would quickly shut it down. lol I enjoy talking scripture and you will very seldom see me make a post about anything without trying to give scripture. We baptized 4 that were saved this past Sunday that is what we need to rejoice in. Not not pick. I got to go trap beavers good day to yall

Great post

Speaking from experience.

When Mrs. Bamaeyedoc and I went for our premarital counseling, I told my pastor (who actually helped officiate my 1st wedding) that I was struggling with all this with regard to having a failed marriage and the guilt of that. Even though I had asked for forgiveness. He put his hand on my shoulder and said: “I have 1 word for you. Redemption. We serve a redeeming God who forgives and wants his children to be happy and live in his blessings. She (Janet) is a blessing to you and your boys and He has long forgiven you. You need to get rid of that stinking’ thinking’ that Satan wants to hold over you and press forward and dedicate this marriage to God.”

I cannot tell y’all how those words of encouragement instantly released me and gave me the freedom to be happy again.

There is more grace in God than sin in me. Works, repentance, grace, forgiveness, a change of heart, obedience- they all play a role in our salvation. It is a choice to have a relationship with God. You either let Him in your heart, or you don’t. You choose the fires of Hell or the fire of His presence. You have to want that relationship with Him- seek, grow, pray, walk, talk, fast…all ways we grow closer to Him and mature as Christians.

I will say, some of yall get into the weeds on this stuff. If you just read the Bible, it stands on its own. The Word doesn’t need to be propped up, helped, explained, etc.There is a lot of head knowledge in this thread, but you can see the heart knowledge in the words and responses of the several of the men of God in this thread. That’s what I desire. Do you know the formula better than you know His presence? That is spiritual maturity.

Good posts Jwalker, Bamaeyedoc, and Gomer.

Just a humble, Pentecostal guy that enjoys the forum…

Amen

Incredible take....as always

God called it fornicating, didnt he? He was pretty serious about fornicators. Yeah, im guilty too, and of much worse. But when i gave my life to the Lord and my now wife came back, i told her she couldnt move back in till we got married. I believe God honored that. We honered him with our marriage and hes kept us together 17yrs now

That’s a powerful testimony of redemption JWalker!!!

And thats pretty much the essence of repentence, you say "yes God, ill do it your way". I believe with all my heart and all i know that if a man will give his life to the Lord and say "from this point forward, i will do it Gods way" and do his very best to trust God to be who he said he is and do what he said he will do, he will do all that and more.. He will provide, he will protect, he will lead, he will help us when we need help, he will comfort us when we need comfort, he will love us like no other, he will chastise us when we need that. One day he will end our life and take us to be with him forever. God will do his part if we will set our hearts to doing our part. I dont even think hes all caught up in performance, he knows we will fail, he loves us anyhow. What hes looking for is a willing heart in an able body. Hes got me convinced. Ill spend the rest of my life trusting him. Its the only way that i know will work. If he says "go", ill go. If i want to go and he says he wont go with me, im not going either. Hes the most important thing in my life, the only thing that ever made a difference

Good read

Yes, fornication is the sin, God forgives.

Well said! And that’s coming from me, a bapticostal guy 🤣🤣🤣

Satan does love to keep us thinking we are in bondage to are sin when Jesus has already paid for it and God has already forgot about it.

I don’t know where this fits into what you guys are going back and forth about but I believe Ephesians says the faith comes from the Lord.

Copy and paste:

Faith is the avenue or the instrument God uses to bring salvation to His people. God gives faith because of His grace and mercy, because He loves us (Ephesians 4—5). Faith comes from God in the form of a gift (Ephesians 2:8).

A gift is not earned by some good deed or kind word, and it is not given because the giver expects a gift in return—under any of those conditions, a gift would not be a gift. The Bible emphasizes that faith is a gift because God deserves all of the glory for our salvation. If the receiver of faith could do anything whatsoever to deserve or earn the gift, that person would have every right to boast (Ephesians 2:9). But all such boasting is excluded (Romans 3:27). God wants Christians to understand they have done nothing to earn faith, it’s only because of what Christ did on the cross that God gives anyone faith (Ephesians 2:5, 16). Receiving faith is a non-work (see Romans 4—Abraham’s salvation was dependent on faith in God, as opposed to any work he performed).

Suppose someone anonymously sent you a check for $1,000,000. The money is yours if you want it, but you still must endorse the check. In no way can signing your name be considered earning the million dollars—the endorsement is a non-work. You can never boast about becoming a millionaire through sheer effort or your own business savvy. No, the million dollars was simply a gift, and signing your name was the only way to receive it. Similarly, exercising faith is the only way to receive the generous gift of God, and faith cannot be considered a work worthy of the gift.

By knowing our saving faith comes from God alone, it should encourage Christians to “not think of yourself more highly than you ought,” but remember God decides the measure of faith each one receives (Romans 12:3). The apostle Paul gives an example of the godly humility believers should have when they contemplate their own faith: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:13–14). Paul understood faith in Christ was given to him because of God’s grace in spite of his own sinful life (1 Corinthians 4:7).

The Bible specifies the way, or the means, that God gives faith to people. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). It is the Word of God that produces faith. Someone could receive faith while hearing a sermon teaching the gospel, someone else by reading about Jesus in the Bible—any time the true gospel of Jesus is communicated, there is potential for faith. This is why it’s of paramount importance for believers everywhere to be obedient to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16–20) and tell people what Christ has done for humanity. Faith is not the product of a preacher’s compelling presentation, his eloquence, or even his theological soundness—faith is given through the message about Jesus. This is the means God has chosen.

It is good for anyone who wants faith to ask for it. God freely gives what is good to all who ask (Luke 11:9–12), and it’s good to ask for an increase of faith (Luke 17:5; Mark 9:24). Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith to be strengthened (Luke 22:32). As with any gift from God, it is our responsibility to exercise the gift and not become complacent, lazy, or apathetic (Romans 12:1–2, 6–8). Christians can find comfort and peace of mind knowing their faith is from God, because He has said He will finish the good work He started (Philippians 1:6). God is the Author and the Perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2a; Romans 8:29–30).

Do you get the money without signing or is the signature REQUIRED? I'm glad you used this example, I use similar examples myself. There are "works" one must perform BUT those "works" are not enough to EARN the gift. When you perform those works, you are "signing the check" so to speak, not earning anything. MP believes that repentance is a work that folks do to try to earn salvation when it, along with other things, are simply "signing the check". No, signing the check, taking it to the bank, depositing it isn't earning it but you will not enjoy the benefits of that check without doing those things. You don't get the money by simply saying thank you. There are things you have to do to accept the money. Abraham had faith in God when he was told to go into another land. He "signed the check" by packing up and going (obedience).