Bible Study Are works important or not 3?

[Pegasus]

So he didn't say:
Eph 4:20-32 But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, putting away lying, "[Let] each one [of you] speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.

"Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.

Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with [his] hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Or any of the rest of the 98 passages from Paul that I posted for you.

It's not just about OUR salvation.
2Co 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

There are millions of people out there who are going to hell because there was so little difference between the Christians and the Pagans that they rejected it all as religious nonsense. One of the reasons is the constant preaching, "Oh! You don't have to do good works!". The good works aren't for you. They're for the thirsty, the hungry, the naked, the alien, the imprisoned and the sick so that they experience the love of God first hand from OUR hands.

It's not just about MY salvation. God so loved the WORLD. Our good works are for the salvation of mankind so that they see them and praise God in heaven. (Mat 5:16 again)

just trying to clarify

Jim this would have been a good opportunity to say "Hey Pegasus, that is exactly what I was getting at."

And be graciously done as I helped your point the apostolic teachings call baptized believers to holiness.

 

[Jim Parker]

Jim this would have been a good opportunity to say "Hey Pegasus, that is exactly what I was getting at."

And be graciously done as I helped your point the apostolic teachings call baptized believers to holiness.

Sure. Why not?
Holiness and purity are made up of observable and countable behaviors. The NT refers to those behaviors as "works."
And, along with personal holiness and purity, Believers are called to love God, love one another, lover our neighbors, and even love our enemies. Love, according to 1Cor 13:4-7, is a set of behaviors. They are the things we do. They are "works."
They are the behaviors (works) which Jesus will look for in our lives when He comes again and judges all of mankind.

Mat 25:34-36 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ "
and
Mat 25:41-43 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ "

I don't know why there is so much resistance from Christians who don't want to acknowledge that Jesus is going to judge us by our works just like He said He would.



I posted these scriptures so that people would just think about what Jesus and the apostles said we need to be doing as a way of life. (that we "walk" in the way prescribed in scripture)