So let me get this straight, you apparently believe that when people do good things, this ‘goodness’ comes totally from their own human effort and has nothing to do with Jesus, right?
No. Of course you
don’t believe this.
You believe (as do I) that good works proceed via the power of God’s grace. You probably also believe that God’s grace can be either
preventive or
redemptive (I know I believe this).
In other words, God’s grace can both prevent people from sinning and redeem people after they’ve sinned too.
God’s grace, whether this grace be
preventive or
redemptive, proceeds from Christ cruxified on the cross apophasis.
For example, Acts 20:32 points out that God’s grace can
build us up and give us an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. In 1 Corinthians 3:10 Paul himself notes how by the grace God had given him, he laid a foundation as an expert builder-- and someone else is building on it. This is even more prononced in 2 Corinthians 9:8 where the Scriptures say that God is able to make
all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will
abound in every good work.
These are examples of preventive grace, the means by which God
prevents people from sinning.
Likewise, however, according to Romans 3:24, we are also justified freely
by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:5-7 captures this very well when it says he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ to the praise of his
glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In Jesus we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace. This can be seen in Ephesians 2:4-5 too…
These are examples of redemptive grace, the means by which God redeems people
after they’ve sinned.
Both forms of grace proceed from Christ on the cross.
Because the just would not have been “just” without Christ’s dying on the cross.
All grace,
preventive or
redemptive, proceeds from Christ’s death on the cross.
So you believe that little babies have sinned? How about the mentally disabled?
I’m sorry but I disagree with you.
And if you believe that little babies
cannot be baptized because they
have not sinned, then you do not actually believe that
babies can sin– and that means that even you do not believe that
“all” have
literally sinned either.
In other words, I think
you disagree with
yourself.
I think JoeyWarren has done an excellent job dismantling your presumptions about the passage found in Romans 3:22-24. I kind of figured something like this was the case already, but I wasn’t sure until now.
Anyway, thanks for the contributions.
Isn’t it fun when we compare our belief systems to see where we agree and disagree?
It’s kind of like finding
redemptive analogies in all the different layers of meaning within the One Gospel message as expressed by dozens of different Christian denominations.