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Why works for hire will fail to earn you salvation.

patience said:
And he said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. . . Thus says the LORD God tonthese bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. . . Thus says THE LORD God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves. . . . . Ezekiel 37:3,4,5,12

You're right dead people don't talk. The bones were not literally speaking but figuratively.
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These bones figuratively represented all of Israel. Israel was spiritually dead. Remember this was a vision and not a reality.
 
patience said:
Simply, I trusted in the word of God which I heard and trusted in what Christ accomplished, which would be "saved through faith" - doesn't make me any better than anyone else. Everyone has the same opportunity. Some will trust in what they hear, some won't. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes . . . . [Romans 1:16]
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If you are no better than they are then how is your decision better than theirs?
 
Arial said:
Confidence, reliance, belief, assurance, are all a part of trust. Believing Jesus saves.

The faith that saves. The faith given is believing that Jesus is who He says He is and did what He says He did. The faith is in Jesus.
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Trust (faith) is given so we can have trust (faith)?
Arial said:
It is called the living word of God because His word is Him. It accomplishes that for which He sends it out. If someone isn't brought to life by it, He did not send it to do that---at least not at that moment. I heard it, read it, many times and didn't believe it. Until I did.
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"For the word of God is living and  active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart." . . . I would think it would be able to open eyes and open ears! It may take some longer than others but everyone will have the opportunity to hear and believe.
Arial said:
Eph 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased, to the praise of His glory.
This is not Paul giving a chronological order of salvation. He is saying that if you believed the gospel, you are saved and when that happened you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, which is our assurance that all the promises of salvation, the fulness of our redemption is secure.
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Well, I do believe he is giving a chronological order for salvation. Yep, he is saying when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, you believed in Christ, i.e were saved and were sealed with the promised holy spirit which guarantees our inheritance until we actually acquire it.
Arial said:
Salvation and faith are equal to each other. Not separate occurrences. You cannot take this verse legitimately to be saying that our faith causes God to grant us salvation. That would no longer be grace. It would be our faith, found within ourselves all by ourselves. It would be the natural man being the quickening power that ignites God's grace or salvation. It is not feasible, knowing what we know of God, that salvation is a gift, but useless He also gives us what is necessary to attain salvation.
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I thought grace was unmerited favor? We aren't saved through trust? Why wouldn't it still be by grace? It is through our trust in the completed work of Jesus Christ that we are saved which makes it not of our doing but of Christ's doing - and the result is eternal life which is the gift of God.
Arial said:
And there is nothing that suggests that when Paul says "Not of works," that he is referring to the Mosaic covenant law.
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Here are the verses I previously posted showing that we are not justified or made righteous because of the law of works which I believe tie into this: not of works.
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, . . . . [Rom. 3:20]
Then what becomes of our boasting? (glorying) It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? NO, but by the law of faith (trust). For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from the works of the law . . . [Rom. 3:28]
yet we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith (trust) in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. [Gal. 2:16]
. . . Did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith (trust)? . . . Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith---[Gal. 3:2,5]
 
patience said:
My first thought would be - who are the ones perishing? Wouldn't they be considered the ones who don't believe (trust in, have faith) in God's only Son and "to us who are being saved" - the ones who believe (trust in, have faith) in God's only Son. [John 3:16]
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This puts them lower than you by default. You trusted, they did not, why? What makes you better at trusting than they are? We are obviously talking two different levels here. You on the high road and they on the low road.
 
Grace Accepted said:
These bones figuratively represented all of Israel. Israel was spiritually dead. Remember this was a vision and not a reality.
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I just disagree - within the context it is speaking of the resurrection when Israel will be raised and brought in their own land in the age to come. Of course, you have the freedom to believe what you want. :ROFLMAO:
 
patience said:
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. . . . For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe. [1 Cor. 1:17,21]

Why some believe and some reject would be in the hearts and minds of each individual - so I really can't presume to answer for them.
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But you are better than they are or you wouldn't be where you are, right. You chose to believe, they didn't. This is why Paul added, "Lest any should boast."

You didn't stand a chance at even recognising God's call to you if He had not made you alive. A living person can hear and understand and make an informed choice for weal or woe, but a dead person cannot chose anything.

You he made alive even when you were dead. That is what Paul said.
 
patience said:
I just disagree - within the context it is speaking of the resurrection when Israel will be raised and brought in their own land in the age to come. Of course, you have the freedom to believe what you want. :ROFLMAO:
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I believe what the word says and Ezekiel records God saying it was all of Israel at the time.
 
Grace Accepted said:
And what makes the difference?
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Grace Accepted said:
This puts them lower than you by default. You trusted, they did not, why? What makes you better at trusting than they are? We are obviously talking two different levels here. You on the high road and they on the low road.
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It doesn't in any way make me better than anyone else nor anyone lower than me - everyone is offered the same opportunity to believe in the work of Jesus Christ, to confess him as Lord, believe God raised him from the dead and be saved.
 
Grace Accepted said:
But you are better than they are or you wouldn't be where you are, right. You chose to believe, they didn't. This is why Paul added, "Lest any should boast."
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Paul's talk of boasting was about works. Keeping the law.
Grace Accepted said:
You didn't stand a chance at even recognising God's call to you if He had not made you alive.
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This is not true. Anyone has the capacity to believe.
Grace Accepted said:
A living person can hear and understand and make an informed choice for weal or woe, but a dead person cannot chose anything.
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Unsaved people (the dead) can choose to believe the gospel.
Grace Accepted said:
You he made alive even when you were dead. That is what Paul said.
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God made us alive when we decided to believe the gospel.
 
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