Jesus was redefining what “works” can get us to heaven. His point was that it is faith and not works that allow us to experience grace.
Not so, this is the question that Jesus was answering:
John 6:28
Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might
work the
works of
God?
To paraphrase, the Jews asked Jesus, “which work of God empowers us to perform works for God?”
And Jesus said, “believing in me empowers you to perform work for God.”
Neither the Jews nor Jesus insinuated that only one work was to be performed. The Jews understood that our works perfect and express our faith. As the Apostle says, “Faith without works is dead.”
i agree, but the grace to have faith is not a saving grace. God calls us to Him first, if we continually reject that call, that is how i would define blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. He calls us to faith, and when we have that faith, we get grace.
Faith is a work and faith is a grace. Faith is a gift of God. We must exercise that faith and when we do it becomes a work of God and we exercise that faith by performing good works in the name of God.
Romans 1:5
By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience to the
faith among all nations, for his name:
i disagree with what i bolded. it’s not what the scripture says. even what you quoted doesn’t say that if we don’t do works we won’t be saved. it says that if our faith doesn’t produce works we won’t be saved. these are different.
You are splitting hairs. Its the difference of saying on one hand “God working through us” and on the other “we are working for God”. They are two ways of saying the same thing.
The only time that works are worthless is if they are done without God in the equation but for personal gain and profit.
it’s the faith that gives us grace and this faith will produce works. (Eph. 2:8-9) then in verse 10 it says that we have been “saved” so that we may do the good works God planned for us.
No it doesn’t. Your interpretation is a classic case of “eisegesis”. You are reading INTO Scripture.
Let me break it down for you:
*1. it’s the faith that gives us grace *
faith doesn’t give us grace. God gives us grace.
**8For by grace are ye saved… it is the gift of God:
**
*2. then in verse 10 it says that we have been “saved” so that we may do the good works God planned for us
*
10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Verse 10 said we are created for good works. Not saved unto good works.
Ephesians 2:8-10
**
** 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: **
** 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. **
** 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
In other words, God gives us the grace of faith for which we were created that we might walk in the good works which faith produces.
The problem is divorce. Protestants are the religion of divorce. First you divorced yourselves from the Catholic Church, then you divorced yourselves from your wives, then you divorced the Bible from Tradition, and here you want to divorce faith and works as though they were two different things. But they aren’t. People of faith, work for God. Because work is an expression of our faith. The more and better we work the more faith we have. Because works are transformative. It is easily seen in real life.
Sincerely,
De Maria
