Are we saved by faith alone, or do we need works, too?

[slabdans]

@slabs

Question: "What is the Great White Throne Judgment?"

Answer: The great white throne judgment is described in Revelation 20:11-15 and is the final judgment prior to the lost being cast into the lake of fire. We know from Revelation 20:7-15 that this judgment will take place after the millennium and after Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7-10). The books that are opened (Revelation 20:12) contain records of everyone’s deeds, whether they are good or evil, because God knows everything that has ever been said, done, or even thought, and He will reward or punish each one accordingly (Psalm 28:4; 62:12; Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23; 18:6; 22:12).

Also at this time, another book is opened, called the “book of life” (Revelation 20:12). It is this book that determines whether a person will inherit eternal life with God or receive everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. Although Christians are held accountable for their actions, they are forgiven in Christ and their names were written in the “book of life from the creation of the world” (Revelation 17:. We also know from Scripture that it is at this judgment when the dead will be “judged according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12) and that “anyone’s name” that is not “found written in the book of life” will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

The fact that there is going to be a final judgment for all men, both believers and unbelievers, is clearly confirmed in many passages of Scripture. Every person will one day stand before Christ and be judged for his or her deeds. While it is very clear that the great white throne judgment is the final judgment, Christians disagree on how it relates to the other judgments mentioned in the Bible, specifically, who will be judged at the great white throne judgment.

Some Christians believe that the Scriptures reveal three different judgments to come. The first is the judgment of the sheep and the goats or a judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-36). This takes place after the tribulation period but prior to the millennium; its purpose is to determine who will enter the millennial kingdom. The second is a judgment of believers’ works, often referred to as the “judgment seat [bema] of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christians will receive degrees of reward for their works or service to God. The third is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

Other Christians believe that all three of these judgments speak of the same final judgment, not of three separate judgments. In other words, the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 will be the time that believers and unbelievers alike are judged. Those whose names are found in the book of life will be judged for their deeds in order to determine the rewards they will receive or lose. Those whose names are not in the book of life will be judged according to their deeds to determine the degree of punishment they will receive in the lake of fire. Those who hold this view believe that Matthew 25:31-46 is another description of what takes place at the great white throne judgment. They point to the fact that the result of this judgment is the same as what is seen after the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. The sheep (believers) enter into eternal life, while the goats (unbelievers) are cast into “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46).

Whichever view one holds of the great white throne judgment, it is important to never lose sight of the facts concerning the coming judgment(s). First, Jesus Christ will be the judge, all unbelievers will be judged by Christ, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). Believers will also be judged by Christ, but since Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us and our names are written in the book of life, we will be rewarded, but not punished, according to our deeds. Romans 14:10-12 says that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that each one of us will give an account to God.

but just to make the story short..we will be judge according to our work mao na iyang summary basta buhi pata padayon pa ang pag suwat sa atong libro

were judged out of those things which were written in the books,

[shockie]

but just to make the story short..we will be judge according to our work mao na iyang summary basta buhi pata padayon pa ang pag suwat sa atong libro

were judged out of those things which were written in the books,

Yes we will be judged bro but there is a difference between the judgment for the believers and the unbelievers. Believers are judged for a reward while the unbelievers for their total destruction. Dili na salvation ang gihisgutan diha.

[slabdans]

Yes we will be judged bro but there is a difference between the judgment for the believers and the unbelievers. Believers are judged for a reward while the unbelievers for their total destruction. Dili na salvation ang gihisgutan diha.

nop not sure of that, Remember this brethren

Matthew 7:21

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

kung ato ilahos pag basa ang naa sa revelation, ang katong makasasala mapunta sa lake of fire which is the second death, unya katong nagbuhat ug matarong maka-angkon ug second life

[shockie]

nop not sure of that, Remember this brethren

Matthew 7:21

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

kung ato ilahos pag basa ang naa sa revelation, ang katong makasasala mapunta sa lake of fire which is the second death, unya katong nagbuhat ug matarong maka-angkon ug second life

Tinuod mana sya bro.
Daghan baya nagprofess karon panahuna nga Christian daw, sweto sad about sa bible, pero lau ra sa tinuod ang mga gipangbuhat. Hopefully we are not one of them.

Ang katong makasasala will be thrown into the lake of fire which is the second death. True.
Kinsa mang tawhana sa kalibutan ang walay sala? Wala, kay pulos tang tanan makasasala atubangan sa Dios.

So only those who are justified by Faith in Jesus Christ and are washed by His blood are worthy of eternal life.

[slabdans]

Tinuod mana sya bro.
Daghan baya nagprofess karon panahuna nga Christian daw, sweto sad about sa bible, pero lau ra sa tinuod ang mga gipangbuhat. Hopefully we are not one of them.

Ang katong makasasala will be thrown into the lake of fire which is the second death. True.
Kinsa mang tawhana sa kalibutan ang walay sala? Wala, kay pulos tang tanan makasasala atubangan sa Dios.

mao pero kung magpataka sad tag yawit about salvation kay lagi faith alone...bisan kita ra pud unya ang maka ingon sa atong pagka alaot ang nakapaet..dili na nato ni ma undo..judgement naman...nakapangamong pa gyud ta sa uban hinumdomi nga judgement day na atong gi istoryahan wala nanay usab.

mao man bitaw nga tan-awon tong libro sa kinabuhi para didto ibasi ang pag judge sa matag usa

So only those who are justified by Faith in Jesus Christ and are washed by His blood are worthy of eternal life.

palihog gud kog post sa verse ani bro kay para atong matuki ug klaro

[SioDenz]

ang punto ra jud nako sio is nganu dili ma consider nga maayong tao ang usa ka tao kung walay Faith sa Ginoo?
and in Biblical Terms, tungod kay it is impossible to please the Lord without Faith..
nagpasabut ba na nga ang way Faith sa Ginoo bati na nga mga tao sa mata sa Diyos?

I dont know, i havent read any Passage that said God Consider a Man without Faith as Good. That's my Point. Maybe its between God and Him but in our own view, God did Not mentioned that and i will stick to that.

what if that person's Athesim is out of pure and honest conscience..meaning mao ra jud ang naabut sa iyang konsensya nga walay Ginoo..pero of course unlike other Atheists..di siya manghilabut,mu respetar siya sa mga pagtuo sa uban..pero di lang siya mutoo..active kaayo sa mga charity,dili manlimbung..
do you really believe that the God of Mercy and Justice would consider this person as dili maayong tao?

we are talking about people who Knew God and rejected it.

When you have heard the Bible, when you heard the Teachings of GOD in the Bible, When somebody told you about him - and You still Dont believe HIM - I dont think we can consider it as "mao ra jud ang naabut sa iyang konsensya" because he basically DENY or REJECTED God.

Is He maayung tawo? God did Not Mentioned it so its between him. And we all know what God said about people who rejected HIM.

natural God would never be pleased with unbelief..ug impossible nga malipay siya kung naay dili mutoo niya..
but ang question diri..Does God see them as evil people 'cause they refused to believe in Him? mao man puy ilang pagtuo nga insakto.. we know that a person can be truthful but wrong at the same time diba?

I would Not Set myself In the LEVEL of God, I will Not try to EXPLAIN what he FEEL or DO because im Just me and He is God.

I will only Stick to what He said FOR US, If he said WE Need FAITH to Please Him, then we should have that.

[shockie]

Mao jud bro, so angay natong badlongon ang atong mga loved ones nga wla magsunod sa sugo sa Dios.

Kay mostly baya sa mga "so called" Christians mao pa nuon ang mga tag-iya or ni approve ug mga sugalan, discohan, inoman, bar, etc. Nya mao pud ang kusog mo insist nga Faith + works kuno ang kaluwasan....


Justification by Faith

by Matt Slick

Justification is the legal act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his or her sins. It is not that the sinner is now sinless, but that he is "declared" sinless. This declaration of righteousness is being justified before God. This justification is based on the shed blood of Jesus, "...having now been justified by His blood..." (Rom. 5:9) where Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). God imputed (reckoned to our account) the righteousness of Christ at the same time our sins were imputed to Christ when he was on the cross. That is why it says in 1 Pet. 2:24, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." Also, 2 Cor. 5:21 says, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Additionally, we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1) apart from works of the Law (Rom. 3:2.

To be saved means that God has delivered us (saved us) from His righteous wrathful judgment due us because of our sins against Him. It means that we will not be judged for our sins and be therefore sentenced to eternal damnation. To be saved means that we are justified before God. Only Christians are saved. Only Christians are justified. The issue at hand is whether or not this salvation, this justification, is attained by faith or by faith and something else.

Following is a list of verses that show that salvation/justification is by faith. Bold references are particularly pointed.
1.John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
2.Rom. 3:22, "even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction."
3.Rom. 3:24, "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;"
4.Rom. 3:26, "for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
5.Rom. 3:28-30, "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one."
6.Rom. 4:3, "For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
7.Rom. 4:5, "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,"
8.Rom. 4:11, "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,"
9.Rom. 4:16, "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all."
10.Rom. 5:1, "therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
11.Rom. 5:9, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him."
12.Rom. 9:30, "What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith."
13.Rom. 9:33, "just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
14.Rom. 10:4, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
15.Rom. 10:9-10, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
16.Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."
17.Gal. 2:16, "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."
18.Gal. 2:21, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
19.Gal.3:5-6, "Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 6Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
20.Gal. 3:8, "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you."
21.Gal. 3:14, "in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
22.Gal. 3:22, "But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."
23.Gal. 3:24, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."
24.Eph. 1:13, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise."
25.Eph. 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God."
26.Phil. 3:9, "and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."
27.1 Tim. 1:16, "And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience, as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life."

James 2:24, not by faith alone

The scriptures clearly teach that we are saved (justified) by faith in Christ and what He has done on the cross. This faith alone saves us. However, we cannot stop here without addressing what James says in James 2:24, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone."

There is no contradiction. All you need to do is look at the context. James chapter 2 has 26 verses: Verses 1-7 instruct us to not show favoritism. Verses 8-13 are comments on the Law. Verses 14-26 are about the relationship between faith and works.

James begins this section by using the example of someone who says he has faith but has no works, "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). In other words, James is addressing the issue of a dead faith; that is nothing more than a verbal pronouncement. It is empty of life and action. He begins with the negative and demonstrates what an empty faith is (verses 15-17, words without actions). Then he shows that that type of faith isn't much different from the faith of demons (verse 19). Finally, he gives examples of living faith that is words followed by actions. He writes of Abraham and Rahab as examples of people who demonstrated their faith by their deeds.

In brief, James is examining two kinds of faith: one that leads to godly works and one that does not. One is true, and the other is false. One is dead, the other alive; hence, "Faith without works is dead," (James 2:20).

Also, notice that James actually quotes the same verse that Paul uses to support the teaching of justification by faith in Rom. 4:3. James 2:23 says, "and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘and Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.'" If James was trying to teach a contradictory doctrine of faith and works than the other New Testament writers, then he would not have used Abraham as an example.

Conclusion

Justification is by faith. True faith is God's work (John 6:28-29), granted by God (John 1:29), and is concurrent with regeneration (2 Cor. 5:17), which God works in us by his will (John 1:13). This result of this justification and regeneration is that the sinner turns from his sin and towards doing good works. But it is not these works that earn our place with God nor sustain it. Jesus accomplished all that we need to be saved and stay saved on the cross. All that we need, we have in Jesus. All we need to do to be saved, to be justified, is to truly believe in what God has done for us in Jesus on the cross; this is why the Bible says we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1). This true belief with justification before God and regeneration in the new believer, results in good works.

[SioDenz]

Yes we will be judged bro but there is a difference between the judgment for the believers and the unbelievers. Believers are judged for a reward while the unbelievers for their total destruction. Dili na salvation ang gihisgutan diha.

I remember my Friend having the same understanding like this. This View is more Common on Born Again or Baptist doctrines.

This is another Good Topic though..

- - - Updated - - -

Just to Clarify about Good works:

Kung naa ra sa Huna-Huna, can it be considered GOOD WORKS?

Kung imug rang SULTI, or butang nga nigawas sa imung Bah-Bah, can it be considered Good Works?

[shockie]

I remember my Friend having the same understanding like this. This View is more Common on Born Again or Baptist doctrines.

This is another Good Topic though..

- - - Updated - - -

Just to Clarify about Good works:

Kung naa ra sa Huna-Huna, can it be considered GOOD WORKS?

Kung imug rang SULTI, or butang nga nigawas sa imung Bah-Bah, can it be considered Good Works?

Good morning bro
Definitely not. It should be manifested through actions.

Pero naa say matawag tingali ug good intentions bro like thinking to do something good, though napa sa huna2 but seconded by the heart. Kay naa mansad sala nga bisan gimold sa huna2 palang wala pa buhata.

We can only determine good/bad works by what we see but thoughts and intentions can be seen by God.

[slabdans]

Mao jud bro, so angay natong badlongon ang atong mga loved ones nga wla magsunod sa sugo sa Dios.

they have already their means of salvation bro...sila nay mag igo ana makita na nila ang mensahi sa Dios bisan asa

Kay mostly baya sa mga "so called" Christians mao pa nuon ang mga tag-iya or ni approve ug mga sugalan, discohan, inoman, bar, etc. Nya mao pud ang kusog mo insist nga Faith + works kuno ang kaluwasan....

naa pud mo ingon nga faith alone save...ang pasabot baya sa revelation sa second life means salvation pero magdepende lang gihapon sa imong buhat.


naa nay bible bro dili nalang ko mobasa ato kang Matt Slick

interpretation nasad sa uban