Once Saved Always Saved

[raumzeitmc2]

Think about it.Works alone will not get us into heaven but a faith lived in love(works)will.
A Faith NOT lived in love is a dead faith and will preclude us from Heaven and the Beatific Vision.Don’t make me quote James again,ok?

Again, yes!

Good works, in and of themselves, and without grace, avail nothing for salvation. But with grace, good works become a source of merit and thus a means to eternal life. *That *is what is meant by “saved by grace.” That is why we are given grace - to help us avoid sin and to do those meritorious works which lead to eternal life. It’s grace and works; it’s grace for works.

Sadly, all this was lost on the carnal Reformers, who, blinded by pride (and oftentimes lust), simply could not understand. Thus they raged against any possibility of good works as being meritorious, even going so far as to attack the Sacred Writers!

An example from Luther’s Tischreden, or *Table Talk *- my emphasis:

Luther has Low Opinion of Epistle of James: Summer or Fall, 1542. No. 5443. Recorded by Caspar Heydenreich (Kaspar Heidenreich (1510-1586)).

We should throw the Epistle of James out of this school, 27 for it doesn’t amount to much. It contains not a syllable about Christ. Not once does it mention Christ, except at the beginning [Jas. 1:1, 2:1]. I maintain that some Jew wrote it who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any. Sine he heard that Christians place great weight on faith in Christ, he though, ‘Wait a moment! I’ll oppose them and urge works alone.’ This he did. He wrote not a word about the suffering and resurrection of Christ, although this is what all the apostles preached about.

Besides, there’s no order or method in the epistle. Now he discusses clothing and the he writes about wrath and is constantly shifting from one to the other. He presents a comparison: ‘As the body apart form the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead’ [Jas. 2:26]. O Mary, mother of God! What a terrible comparison that is! James compared faith with the soul! The ancients recognized this, too, and therefore, they didn’t acknowledge this letter as one of the Catholic Epistles. 28

Luther’s Works, American Ed., 1967, Theodore G. Tappert, Helmut T. Lehmann, eds., Fortress Press, Philadelphia, ISBN 0800603540 ISBN 9780800603540, vol. 55, pp. 424-425.

 

[brb3]

A “gift” that is “given conditionally” is not a true gift, but is rather a reward merited by the receiver meeting the conditions required.

(Luke 12:48) is speaking of those who heard the gospel and did not truly receive (believe) it.
A true believer would not “say in his heart, My Lord delayeth His coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;”.
A born again believer does not have such a heart and verse 46 calls those who have such a heart an “unbeliever”.

Good point. This is why the OSAS elect are embarrassed by their failings, not emboldened or arrogant.

 

[brkn1]

Again, yes!

Good works, in and of themselves, and without grace, avail nothing for salvation. But with grace, good works become a source of merit and thus a means to eternal life. *That *is what is meant by “saved by grace.” That is why we are given grace - to help us avoid sin and to do those meritorious works which lead to eternal life. It’s grace and works; it’s grace for works.

To combine good works with grace to make them a source of meriting eternal life does not fit what Paul says about works in Romans.

I would be interested in how you could make sense out of (Romans 11:6) with your description of meriting works coming from a combination of “graced” works?
“6 And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

This verse clearly prevents the unbiblical idea of somehow combining grace and works which then supposedly allows one to become “saved by grace”. They do not mix that way according to Paul.