Faith & Works: Partners In The Process Of Salvation

God provided the grace, faith received the gift. Jesus connected personal faith in Him to our eternal salvation. But Jesus also demanded good works to go along with faith.

Then there is St. Paul.  The apostle is known as the foremost advocate of justification by faith. St. Paul is not opposing faith to ethical works but to the “works of the Law.”

When we come to Christ as sinners, we have no works to offer to Him, but only faith and repentance.  But once we come to Him and receive the gift of salvation, we enter into a sacred covenant to honor Him with good works.

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Debunking The Myth Of The “Personal Relationship With Jesus”

The phrase personal Savior is yet another recent innovation that grew out of the ethos of nineteenth-century American revivalism. It originated in the mid-1800s to be exact. But it grew to popular parlance by Charles Fuller (1887–1968). Fuller literally used the phrase thousands of times in his incredibly popular Old Fashioned Revival Hour radio program that aired from 1937 to 1968.

Today, the phrase personal Savior is used so pervasively that it seems biblical. But consider the ludicrousness of using it. In Jesus Christ, you and I have received something far greater than a personal Savior. We have received Jesus Christ’s very own relationship with His Father!

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Are You Sure That You Are Sure About Your Salvation?

Since I was duly convinced that my “assurance” was the most important issue, there was this unexpected, subtle thing that happened inside me in response to heaven and my eternal assurance. It became of ultimate importance to protect the formula that leads to my 100% assurance.

I have decided to give back my assurance of salvation—or at least to give back the formula. I cannot trust myself to conceive of it in any non-self-serving manner. Maybe it is just me, but I am blinded by self-preservation.

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Parents Cannot Save Children

When I first realized that it brought me so much comfort in my parenting. I do a lot of stuff right with my kids, but I also do a lot of things wrong. The thing is I can’t give them salvation and I can’t take it away. Parents, rest in that today. Let that truth sink in. We are given the role to guide them, share with them, and even show them the right way, but, parents, we can not save our kids.

 

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R.C. Sproul Explains Common Grace & Saving Grace

In this video, Dr. R.C. Sproul explains some important theological terms. Theologians distinguish between “common grace” and “saving grace.” Common grace is the idea that there is goodness and benefit given to all mankind in a multitude of ways (e.g. sunshine, rain, air to breathe, etc.). All people are recipients of common grace, regardless of their religious affiliation. Saving grace, on the other hand, is far more nuanced and specific. This is the grace that Paul speaks of that is given as a gift to save those who were perishing. Each of these kinds of grace have big implications for things such as evangelism, mercy ministry, ethics, and so forth. So, pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable, and get schooled in grace. (more…)

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