Last post dealt with the Faith side of the faith vs works discussion. For those who don't understand this discussion, there are some who believe that you have to act a certain way to be saved while others think that is their faith in Jesus that justifies them rather than doing good. The most extreme of the faith argument is that our behavior no longer matters. One of the scriptures that team faith quotes as their argument is the Ephesians 2:8-9 scripture from the previous post. This scripture states that salvation is the gift of God through Jesus. The works side of the argument lifts up James 2 and this is what we are going to deal with in this post.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without [f]your works, and I will show you my faith by [g]my works. 19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is [h]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made [i]perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was [j]accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
considering that scripture and Ephesians 2 which one is right? Both of them. If we have faith in Jesus as our LORD and savior, then his Holy Spirit comes into us and starts working on us and through us. How do we know that we have GOD's Spirit working in us? Let's look at Galations 5
13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Walking in the Spirit
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [d]adultery, [e]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, [f]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [g]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This is a mouthful, but in summation,
the fruit of our relationship with God through Jesus is the proof that we have his spirit. As the Holy spirit works in us, He changes us into a closer and closer image of who GOD originally made us to be. HIS image. The result is a life full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Beware anyone who doesn't have any of these qualities. All those in Christ are a work in progress, however, there will be signs of the work being done. I know that I am resisting God when I lose my patience and start to think more negatively. In those moments I have to go back and pray and read my Bible to help me regain my prespective. God speaks to me in prayer and his Holy Scritures, and I am so grateful because I always am set right by his word. Through his word Holy Spirit reminds me of what I have been taught when I need it. It is amazing how every time I am about to respond to life wrong, the scriptures pop up and remind me what to do. That is the work of the Holy spirit and it results in my doing right when I would have done wrong. This is my faith growing arms and legs. The spirit of God gives us power to do right; to heal; to deliver; to know things that people didn't tell us; to respond in ways that the world can not. That is faith with works as it should be. The last two verses of James 2 says:
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
So let's address the "good people" issue in light of this. I stated in the prvious post that there are no objectively good people according to the scriptures. Everyone has messed up and is deserving of permenant separation from God. It is his grace that has allowed us a way to be adopted into the family of God in spite of ourselves. I said it before and I will say it again. There are no good people going to Hell. There are only bad people going to Hell and Bad people who God has made good through his spirit going to Heaven. It is the spirit of God making us good, and that works shows up visibly in our lives through the fruit of the spirit. Salvation through Jeuss the Christ is the beginning of us being good. Doing good is no being good, but being good will result in doing good. I hope that makes sense. Go with GOD!
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