FAITH | WORKS | GRACE
” OUR ULTIMATE GOAL IS
Eph 2:8-9 by grace ye are saved, not by works
Gal 2:16 …works of the Law [of Moses]
John 14:12 ● He that believeth in me, the
works that I do shall he do.
John 14:15 ● If ye love me, keep my comm.’s
Phillip 2:12 ● work out your own salvation
Matt 24:13 ● endure to the end.
Rom 4:16 (JST) ● Ye are justified of faith and
works, through grace
2 Nef 25:23-26 ● by Grace are ye saved, after all
ye can do.
Matt 7:15-20 ● by their fruits ye shall know them.
Titus 3:8 ● be careful to maintain good works
James 2:14-18 ● faith w/o works is dead
Matt 7:21-22 ● “saved by obedience.”
See John 3:16, 2 Timothy 2:6, Luke 19:12-26
EASY GRACE
John 3:16 “whosoever believeth in
Him…should…have everlasting life”
Many Christians, unfortunately, are happy to take the
Easy Way to Salvation. They use John 3:15-18,
Luke 23:39-43 [Last-minute Repentance], Acts
17:30-31 [Believe on the Lord Jesus, and your family
will be saved] and Eph 2:8-9 [Grace, not works].
Combining these four as a neat little circle of
scriptures, these “Easy Grace” believers tell
themselves that they don’t need to do anything
Christian with their lives--except for making a one-
time announcement of belief in Jesus, which “saves”
them and automatically protects them from Hell.
No further action required. Just invite Jesus to come
into your heart. May as well throw away the rest of
the scriptures, because you don’t even need to read
them…!
If these believers did read them, they would have to
justify their rationalizations according to Matt 7:21-
22. They would find from Luke 19:12-26 that their
lack of action would eventually get them labeled as
“wicked.”
REPENT, AND ENDURE TO
THE END, TO BE SAVED
Luke 13:3-5 ● Matt 24:13 ● Mark 13:13
2 Cor 7:9-10 ● Jam 4:7-10 ● Acts 3:19
Acts 2:37-39 ● Acts 17:30 ● DC 14:6-7
REWARDS ACC. TO FAITH AND
WORKS
REV 21:7 ● REV 20:12
Job 34:11 ● Zech 1:6 ● Psa 62:12
Rev 22:11-12 ● Prov 12:14 ● Prov 24:12
Matt 25:31-46 ● Rev 11:18 ● Jer 19:10
Ezek 7:27 ● Luke 19:12-26
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Matt 16:27 ● 2 Cor 5:10 ● 1 Cor 2:13-15
Rom 2:6 (5-11) ● 1 Cor 2:8 ● Eph 6:8
See Matt 24:13 “Endure to the End.
SAVED BY OBEDIENCE
+ MATT 7:21-22 - 3rd ARTICLE OF FAITH
Obviously, the mere proclamation of one’s faith
is insufficient for entering the Kingdom. If
basic desire and a few shouts of “Amen” were
all that was necessary, then the Five Unprepared
Virgins (Matt 25:1-13), the Rich Young Ruler
(Luke 18:18-25) and the Casual Man at the Feast
(Matt 22:12) would all have been accepted
quickly into Heaven.
But they weren’t. It’s not about pretense (v. 21- Prov. 4:18 - Path of the Just… perfect
22) but about real discipleship. The wide-and-
easy path (v.13-14) is really the wrong road.
There are things we must DO, and Prepare, and
Be, in order to show our obedience to the
Father. See also Luke, chapters 13 & 14.
Matt 7:21-22 ● John 14:15 ● Titus 1:16
John 7:17 ● John 8:31-32 ● Acts 2:37-38
Matt 7:13-14 ● 2 Nef 25:23-26 ● Jam 2:14-18
3rd Article of Faith 2 Nef 31:5-13, 17, 20-21
Jam 1:22-25 ● 2 Tim 2:21
BUT NOTE: We will never do enough to
“deserve” being saved in the Kingdom of the
Father. That is entirely beyond us. But we
CAN show our faith through obedience to the
will of the Father, by following the example of
Christ in all ways.
Take the next step. 2 Tim 2:21
SAVED BY WORKS?
JAMES 2:14-17
Don’t go too far with this scripture. While
our good works display our faith,
WE CANNOT be saved through
our works---period!
- 2 Nef 25:23 - Matt 5:20
- Matt 7:22 - Tit 3:4-5
- 2 Tim 1:9 - Eph 2:8
- Gal 3:10-11 - Rom 9:16, 31, 32
- Eccl 1:14
A case can be made [Acts 13:39, Rom 3:20,
Matt 5:20, Gal 2:21] that the “works” Paul was
speaking so negatively about were the ritual
works of the Law of Moses. While this is
generally true, it doesn’t mean that ANY works
that we do are works unto salvation. You
can’t work your way to Heaven.
So spend more time talking about Grace and
Obedience, and about Following Christ’
example and God’s Commandments. Don’t get
on the wrong side of the argument. You
shouldn’t be arguing, anyway ;-)
JUDGMENT ACC. TO OUR
WORKS
John 5:28-29 ● Matt 16:27 ● 2 Cor 5:10
Rev 20:12 ● Rev 22:12 ● Rev 11:18
Rom 2:6 ● 1 Cor 2:8
PERFECTION - MATT 5:48 .
Matt 5:48 - Be ye therefore perfect
Eph 4:13 - Shall become like the
perfect man.
1 Jon 3:2 - We shall see him, and shall
be like him.
Luke 6:40 - Everyone that is perfect
shall be like his Master.
2 Cor 13:11 - Farewell, be perfect.
day
DC 50:20 - Receiveth light… perfect
day
Don’t get discouraged if you can’t
be perfect by tomorrow.
Call it “the Million-Year Plan,”
and keep working at it.
“Perfect” also means “Complete.”
“If today you are a little better than
yesterday, then that’s good enough. If
tomorrow you are a little better then today,
then that’s good enough.” ~ David A.
Bednar
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DO NOT CONTEND
- 1 Cor 11:16 If any be contentious, we
have no such custom.
- Moses 2:32-33 Don’t obey the
contentious spirit.
- Mos 18:21 Commanded priests that
there be no contention.
- Prov 15:1 Soft answer turneth away
wrath.
- DC 18:20 Contend with no Church
- DC 136:23 Cease to contend one with
another.
- Matt 5:25 Agree with thy adversary
quickly.
- Php 2:14-15 No murmurings or
disputations, that ye may be blameless.
+++++++++++++++++
M I S S I O N A R I E S:
YOU LOSE if anyone gets
angry in your discussions on this
topic. ESPECIALLY if you “win”
in a scripture bash--!
Know your stuff -- Present your
case -- and be RESPECTFUL.
~ R. Dale Jeffery