What does it mean to abide "in Christ?"

[BRB1]

Abraham wasn’t a Jew, nor was he ever under the Law. Israel-ites are descendants of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. Get the connection? It’s the “sons of Jacob” with whom God entered into a covenant relationship based on the Law of Moses (Mosaic covenant)…

Exactly … he wasn’t Jewish. The Jews hadn’t even been invented/birthed.

Yes, God’s people were birthed via a COVENANT. Same applies today for Christian disciples. We call it the New Covenant [Testament Gospel]. The OT Jewish Covenant had Mosaic rules to follow. Our NT Covenant also has new rules/obligations Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Law of Love ]… plus the original Big 10.

The Catholic Church is highly configured around Covenantal relationships. Christ never taught the Jews to forget their heritage. He taught he was the fulfilment of all they had previously known. Baptism doesn’t relegate circumcision to the junk pile. But, for the New Covenant … baptism is the essential, current standard.

Why would Christ have circumcision for the Jewish males on day 8 … and not allow valid baptism for infants on day 8 ? Baptism became the new gold standard Covenant for the Christians … and they performed it early on in Christian families, just as had been the custom of Jewish circumcision for infants.

 

[moondweller]

MD
You wrote:

If one chooses not to believe the message of salvation is one not saved?

True.

If one is saved by believing “the message of salvation through the Person and work of His beloved Son” then ones saves oneself by this choice to believe.

No. Read it again and compare it to what you just incorrectly reasoned:Eph 2:8 "For by grace (God’s) you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."It’s God who does the saving at the time of one’s belief. No one saves himself by believing. One believes but God does the saving - once for all and forever - since at the time of belief the believer is gifted eternal life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:23).

I am a bit confused, but do you get the point I am trying to make?

Yes, I understand your point. But it’s a false one. God is the one who saves the believer “by grace through faith.” Salvation is an act of God, not man.

 

[NoelFitz]

MD
thank you for your patience and attempts to explain your views to me.

You write:

For by grace (God’s) you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves,

By grace you mean God’s grace. By faith do you mean God’s faith (ie His faithfulness, His commitment to man) or my faith/trust in God?

Is this gift given, whether one accepts it or not? Or does one have to accept it? If this is so the act of accepting, call it what you may, is what saves.

I think the interpretation I am suggesting is an extreme sort of Protestantism. Is it a type of Calvinistic predestination to say that one is saved or damned irrespective of anything one does?

I think you know what I am getting at, even though I am not too clear myself in my own mind.

I do appreciate that you understand my point.

Paul wrote:

For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Ro 3:28.

By this Paul is merely stating that by circumcision, eating Kosher food and keeping the sabbath one is not saved. Catholics believe grace is a gratuitous gift of God, we do not earn it.

Perhaps we do not differ as much as might seem at first.

 

[AmbroseSJ]

“We” born again believers who agree with the Scriptures that one is “saved by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves; a gift of God, not as a result of works…”

I’m very comfortable being eternally associated with such people.

So it’s as I suspected then. You weren’t being truthful when you said “we” believe in the value of good works and teach them etc. etc. In fact you aren’t a “we” at all. It’s just you, your bible, alone in your closet teaching the cobwebs.

 

[moondweller]

MD:
By grace you mean God’s grace.

Yes, His exercise of “favor” toward us who believe in His Son alone for salvation.

By faith do you mean God’s faith (ie His faithfulness, His commitment to man) or my faith/trust in God?

Your faith in what Christ accomplished FOR YOU, once for all, on the cross.

Is this gift given, whether one accepts it or not? Or does one have to accept it?

The only volitional act on man’s part for salvation is believing: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…". Upon belief the believer is saved by God: Forgiven of ALL sins (Col. 2:13-14; Acts 10:43; 13:38; Col. 1:14); Reconciled to God (Rom. 5:11; 2 Cor. 5:18-19) and Redeemed, purchased for God’s own possession from the slave market of sin, never to return (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 1:7).

If this is so the act of accepting, call it what you may, is what saves.

No, upon the act of belief in Christ it’s the act of God that saves: He appropriates (in full) all that Christ accomplished on the cross FOR us, TO us. Look at this article. Then He gifts (imputes to) the believer the righteousness of Christ Himself, which is the gift of justification (Rom. 3:24).

I think the interpretation I am suggesting is an extreme sort of Protestantism. Is it a type of Calvinistic predestination to say that one is saved or damned irrespective of anything one does?

I’m not a Calvinist (nor am I Arminian). According to Calvinism and Augustianism, one is either saved or damned FOR all eternity because one is either saved of damned FROM all eternity.

Rom. 3:28: By this Paul is merely stating that by circumcision, eating Kosher food and keeping the sabbath one is not saved.

It’s doesn’t matter what “works” Paul is referring to. The fact is Paul teaches over and over again that a man is justified by God according to his FAITH. He, of course, doesn’t say those who are justified by faith don’t do works pleasing to God, but his teaching is that it’s one’s faith that God credits to him as righteousness:Rom 4:5 "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,The gift of justification is through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ alone, not through any righteous works done on our part.Rom 3:24 “…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”

Perhaps we do not differ as much as might seem at first.

We do differ a lot if you believe God saves and justifies on the basis of any works we have done.Rom 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

 

[moondweller]

So it’s as I suspected then. You weren’t being truthful when you said “we” believe in the value of good works and teach them etc. etc. In fact you aren’t a “we” at all. It’s just you, your bible, alone in your closet teaching the cobwebs.

Speaking of “cobwebs,” the doctrine of justification is quite old and was, in fact, divinely taught long before a church ever existed in the city of Rome. Moses records:Gen 15:6 "Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and He (the Lord) reckoned it (his FAITH) to him as righteousness."And some two thousand years later Paul wrote to the church at Rome:Rom 4:2-5 "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it (his FAITH) was credited to him as righteousness. Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,It seems it’s the church at Rome that has changed the ancient doctrine originally taught to it by Paul two thousand years ago by adding works.

 

[BRB1]

what Christ accomplished FOR YOU, once for all, on the cross.The only volitional act on man’s part for salvation is believing: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved…”. Upon belief the believer is saved by God: Forgiven of ALL sins (Col. 2:13-14; Acts 10:43; 13:38; Col. 1:14); Reconciled to God (Rom. 5:11; 2 Cor. 5:18-19) and Redeemed, purchased for God’s own possession from the slave market of sin, never to return (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 1:7).

I]justification

(Rom. 3:24).I’m not a Calvinist (nor am I Arminian). According to Calvinism and Augustianism, one is either saved or damned FOR all eternity because one is either saved of damned FROM all eternity.It’s doesn’t matter what “works” Paul is referring to.

The fact is Paul teaches over and over again that a man is justified by God according to his FAITH. He, of course, doesn’t say those who are justified by faith don’t do works pleasing to God, but his teaching is that it’s one’s faith that God credits to him as righteousness:]We do differ a lot if you believe God saves and justifies on the basis of any works we have done.Rom 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”

Not Calvinist … what church are you joined to ?

When you say Christ died ‘Once for All’ … what should we take that to mean? Once for All people … or once for All of your Sins [past & Future ones].

When you say you were ‘purchased, never to return’ … what do you mean ? That you no longer have ‘free will’, that you are now God’s robot, that regardless of your future actions … God only considers what you once believed in the distant past about Christ, or that satan has no ability to tempt you or you are guaranteed to always reject him ?

Define Grace … on your terms. Saving Grace, and other types of grace … if you accept that other grace exists.

How does an action[work] done in faith fit into your theology ? Does it have any value, worth, or necessity to God ?

Is man only justified once [upon his conversion] … or can you accept other occasions where God may desire to restore a lost sheep to his flock via offering his mercy to a contrite, wayward sinner ?

Do you see any distinctions in scripture between works done before vs after one’s conversion ?

 

[banjo]

QUOTE=moondweller;5209159]Gen 15:6 “Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and He (the Lord) reckoned it (his FAITH) to him as righteousness.”

Heb 11:8 says “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance.” God called him in Gen 12 why wouldn’t he have been justified then instead of at Gen 15?

It seems it’s the church at Rome that has changed the ancient doctrine originally taught to it by Paul two thousand years ago by adding works

.
Mt and Mk tell us to love our neighbor as ourselves. In the Gospel of John, Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us. In 1 Jn it says “he who says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (v 6). In the same letter at 3:17ff we read “But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth.”

Faith in action (bearing fruit; good works) was not invented by the Catholic Church, it was commanded by Christ and reaffirmed in Jn, in Jas, in Gal (faith working through love)…really, throughout the NT. Salvation cannot be earned, but it can be lost (Cf. Mt 25).

 

[BRB1]

Yes.It’s doesn’t matter what “works” Paul is referring to.

Really ? So you’re the expert on Paul ? You know more than the Vatican ?

Paul wrote extensively, but lets just take a few verses from 5 Chapters in Corinthians … to let the expert teach us. Tell us what Paul meant by the following verses …

1st Corinthians 7:19 For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

1st Corinthians 9:1-2 … Are you not my workmanship in the Lord ? … for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

1st Corinthians 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. …but, we an imperishable. … I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1st Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ ?

1st Corinthians 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

 

[BRB1]

]1 Cor 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of Godfinally

judged justified or not, finally saved or not, according to your works. That dear Catholic friend is a “gospel” of salvation by works. From start (baptism) to end (judgment according to works) it’s a “gospel” of salvation by works.

I see you quote Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:9 above …

You stopped too soon. Lets look at the very next verse 10. Lets place things in CONTEXT.

1st Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I WORKED HARDER THAN ANY OF THEM [referring to the other 12 Apostles], though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.

Now, isn’t that interesting. Your errant idea that Works are rendered meaningless in Pauline Soteriology … is contradicted. Paul explains himself just as do Catholics, in referrence to Works. Gracious Works he did under the direction of Holy Spirit.

Imagine, your Paul boasting he has ‘Outworked’ Peter/John/James, etc. Now that really blows your errant interpretation of Works. Exposing the fallacy of your interpretation of Paul’s Theology … and placing Paul solidly within the Catholic camp.

 

[BRB1]

Read again the fourth chapter of Romans and the whole Book of Galatians.

MD …

You have missed the point Paul makes in Galatians … regarding the OT Law. Paul is specifically making reference to circumcision … as the stumbling block for the Jews. Some Jews were attempting to get the Galatian Gentile Christians to undergo circ … taking them away from the their Spiritual Rebirths in Christ and drawing them into OT legalism via circ.

Paul repeatedly mentions circ. as the issue at hand … never speaking of other OT laws like the Big 10 [which you have assumed is at issue here]. Whenever Paul mentions OT law or legalism … you automatically default to assuming it means the Big 10. Read scriptures more critically [with full attention to context of whole book].

The stony 10 were written by God’s finger … and kept in the Ark. God’s Word [OT & NT] was/is Christ … yet the Mosaic Tablets are no longer extant … since Christ has written his Word into everyones heart [2 Cor. 3:14-18].

Christ fulfilled the original 10, but added extra Law of Love — which ‘spiritualizes’ all the law for the Christian. Furthermore, via Infusion of Grace [Born Again Spiritual Rebirth] … the Jewish Temple to house the Ark is no longer needed [destroyed in 70 AD]. Christ dwells within every true believer ----they are his Temple 2 Corinthians 6:16]

Baptism and Infusion of H.S. now make circ. obsolete [per Paul’s testimony in Galatians to the orthdox Jews and Gentile Christians of his day].

OT Jews relied on IMPUTED grace of God via tablets & animal sacr. attonement. NT Christians are secured/sealed by INFUSED grace via Christ & H.S & joined to his Body via Church & Sacraments.

 

[NoelFitz]

BRB!
You wrote to MD

Really ? So you’re the expert on Paul ? You know more than the Vatican ?

Paul wrote extensively, but lets just take a few verses from 5 Chapters in Corinthians … to let the expert teach us. Tell us what Paul meant by the following verses

…

I believe MD is writing in good faith. He is a Protestant, so can one be surprised if he holds Protestant teaching. We are Catholics so we hold to the teaching of the Catholic Church. But I think we should try to reply with courtesy and respect.

I am not an expert, so my views may be wrong, but I do hope that, while being faithful to the Church, I am not unsympathetic to the sincerely held views of others.

I am studying the Pastoral Epistes at present and I see:

He must have a firm grasp of the word that is trustworthy in accordance with the teaching, so that he may be able both to preach with sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict it
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Tit 1:9.

Perhaps we should all try to be listen to that advice.

I somewhat disagreee with you when you wrote:

Christ fulfilled the original 10, but added extra Law of Love — which ‘spiritualizes’ all the law for the Christian

The Law of love was there before Jesus was born.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.a 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might
The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Dt 6:4-5.

 

[BRB1]

BRB!

The Law of love was there before Jesus was born.

Yes it was. God is love in his deepest essence. And the OT elect always knew it. But, it was not taught by the temple scribes, priests, etc. Paul was an Mosaic Law expert … yet he didn’t follow the Beatitudes. Christ uniquely revealed the Law of Love to his people.

While the Pharisees and Scribes believed they could keep the Big 10, they knew the Beatitutes took law keeping to another level. Since Moses hadn’t taught the Beatitudes … they rejected Christ for making it the new legal Gold Standard.

Christ taught they needed him to keep the law … and they declined the offer of help. Paul accepted Christ … and gave us 1 Cor. 13, as full support for the New Law.

 

[NoelFitz]

BRB!
Thank you for your reply to me.

You wrote

But, it (God’s love) was not taught by the temple scribes, priests.

I do not know if I agree with you.

Even today a pious Jew recites the verses below twice daily. I presume in the time of Jesus Jews also taught and reflected on these words.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.a 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. 7 Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblemb on your forehead, 9 and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Dt 6:4-9.

 

[BRB1]

BRB!
I presume in the time of Jesus Jews also taught and reflected on these words.

The OT is filled with language of exacting revenge on one’s enemies [eye for an eye, etc ]… and it being God’s will to return tit-for-tat… Do we see Israel able to turn the other cheek, or offer their cloak when assaulted by Hamas or Arab extremists ?

Even USA does not subscribe to Beatitudes, death penalty is still approved by majority of voters, etc.

The world teaches if one is wronged … to get even, to file suit, etc.

 

[moondweller]

When you say Christ died ‘Once for All’ … what should we take that to mean? Once for All people … or once for All of your Sins [past & Future ones].

Primarily, once for all time, for all sins. It’s a living, bodily resurrected, glorified, never again subject to death, Man who now sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High functioning their as the believer’s High Priest and Advocate before the Father.

When you say you were ‘purchased, never to return’ … what do you mean? That you no longer have ‘free will’, that you are now God’s robot, that regardless of your future actions

“Redeem” means to purchase, BRB. I’ve explained this thoroughly to you in past posts and you always fail to comprehend it because you, quite simply, refuse to believe it because you insist on working for your salvation. You hope for the day when God will finally accept you based on your own good merits; your good works and good behavior.

But the divinely revealed truth is that salvation is based totally on the once for all redemptive work of Another, and one is redeemed through faith in Him alone.Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.Well there you have it. In this passage you have the objective truth of Christ’s, once for all, work of redemption, and the fact that those who are redeemed (through faith in Him) are now His possession redeemed from “every lawless deed,” purified (by His blood), and have a zeal for good works. Not robots or slaves, BRB, but a redeemed people who know they are now redeemed (purchased for His own possession) and consciously desire to serve their Redeemer (spiritual regeneration).

The Greek work for “redeem” in the above passage is “lutroo,” which means to purchase out of the market and set free. God is the one who does the purchasing. True believers are redeemed out from their lawless deeds, never to return and set free - purified by His blood, the purchase price.1 Cor 6:20 "For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Define Grace

Umerited, unrecompensed, undeserved, divine favor.

How does an action[work] done in faith fit into your theology ? Does it have any value, worth, or necessity to God?

Not FOR salvation:Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."The the value of the believer’s works will be appraised at the judgment seat of Christ (which is future). Not for salvation but for reward (1 Cor. 3:9-15). God Himself saves the believer on one work, and one alone: The, once for all, finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Is man only justified once [upon his conversion] … or can you accept other occasions where God may desire to restore a lost sheep to his flock via offering his mercy to a contrite, wayward sinner?

Rom 3:23-24 "…for all sinned and (continually) fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Rom 4:5 "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,"Justification is not “restoration.” It’s crediting to the believer’s account, once for all, the righteousness of Christ Himself.

Do you see any distinctions in scripture between works done before vs after one’s conversion ?

I don’t speak in terms of “conversion,” I speak in terms of salvation. And in respect to salvation here’s your BIBLICAL answer:Eph 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."Since salvation is not at all “the result of works” how does your question even relate? How is it valid?

 

[NoelFitz]

MD

Thank you for your most recent post.

At present I am trying to study the Pastoral Epistles and I note you quote Tit 2:11-14. Thus this is an opportunity for me to focus on the verses you have used. First of all I had to find out which version of the Bible you used. I gather it is the New American Standard Bible (with codes, 1995).

An initial reading causes me no problems. For a Catholic it seems very straight forward. We are clearly instructed “to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age”. To me this seems to show that the ways we live (our works) are important.

D. V. Edelman wrote in the Anchor Bible Commentary:

Righteousness is at times connected with the day of the Lord and judgment (2 Tim 4:8). Above all there is emphasis on Christians’ living righteously between their baptism-justification and Christ’s future appearance (Titus 2:12–14; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22; 3:16).

Thus good living for Christians is important. I am sure you would not disagree with this,

However in the Catholic Collegeville Bible Commentary Fr Jerome H. Neyrey S. J. wrote:

Either we are saved entirely by Christ or we save ourselves by observing laws and customs. When the issue is put this starkly, the church has always maintained that redemption is a gift of grace from Christ, not our own doing. While resisting these Judaizing tendencies, the author is no less emphatic that true Christian faith must subsequently flower in a life of uprightness and integrity. Morality is no less important for him than it was for the Judaizers, but the understanding of its place in relationship to Jesus’ saving death is radically different.

I do not think you would disagree much with this. As I said before we are not too distant. Catholics believe Christ is our Savior, but our Christian life must be ethical.

Fr Neyrey also wrote:

We noted above that good theology leads to good morals, which axiom serves as the link between the previous list of duties and the present passage. “Grace” is proclaimed (v. 11), which if authentic “trains us to reject godless ways and … live temperately” (v. 12).

This seems clears enough. Good theology and good living go together (orthodoxy and orthopraxy).

I do not see how any Christian could seriously disagree with the concept that Jesus is our Savior and that the Christian should avoid sin.

I am also reading *The Pastoral Epistles *by F Benjamin Fiore S. J.
On page 210 he wrote:

“The favor of God effects the conversion…from vice to virtue and makes Christians capable… of performing good deeds.”

I hope we all can agree on this.

Thus for Catholics it is clear that Jesus is our Savior, we do not merit grace, but the outcome of our salvation is good living.

I am sure you would, partially at least, agree with this.

 

[NoelFitz]

MD
In my last post I wrote that I was studying the Pastoral Epistles.

A few minutes ago I read

I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone. 9 But avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, 11 since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned.

The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Tit 3:8-11.

Would it be a good idea for all of us to think about this?

 

[Hope3]

Since we know that we are saved/justified by the grace of God through faith, then the only question remaining is, “What must we do in order to remain/abide in the grace of God until death so that we may inherit eternal life (the crown of life)?”

John 15:6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

A person has to be first attached to the Vine/Jesus as a branch (saved) in order to be later cast out as a branch and withered and then thrown into the fire (damned).

So, the person loses his salvation if he does not remain/abide in Christ (remain faithful) until death. [Revelation 2:10]

Also, what free will actions of the branch will sever him from the Vine and cause him to be damned?

Hope3

 

[moondweller]

banjo:

Heb 11:8 says “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance.” God called him in Gen 12 why wouldn’t he have been justified then instead of at Gen 15?

It’s true that Abraham obeyed the Lord and by faith left his home. But Gen. 15:6 takes Abraham’s faith to another level to which it wasn’t before. And it’s on this level of faith that God justified him - and all men of the same faith:Gen 15:6 "Then he (Abraham) believed in the Lord (He believed the Lord to be a God of His Word by believing what He promised); and He (the Lord) reckoned it (his faith in Him) to him as righteousness."On that personal belief in the Lord, not just faithfully obeying, God justified Abraham. One’s faith in the Lord is revealed to be the vital and sole condition of Divine justification and all aspects of salvation. Both are revealed as gifts upon personal belief in the testimony of God concerning His Son (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:8-9). As is eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

Man is completely without righteousness, even born in iniquity (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 3:23). So righteousness must come from a source outside himself. IOW, a foreign righteousness. It’s God who reckons (credits) to man’s account His own righteousness through faith in Christ alone - like Abraham. This kind of belief in the Lord, the faith by which God justifies men, turns completely away from self and begins a life of trust in what God has said He has DONE through the Person and work of His beloved Son on his behalf. As James says in chapter two, such faith manifests itself in works, but it’s the man’s belief “in” the Lord, not the works, through which God justifies him (Rom. 4:5).

Salvation cannot be earned, but it can be lost (Cf. Mt 25).

Then ultimately you’re saying it’s by works and therefore it is earned. But that’s not the gospel the Apostles took to the world, nor the one recorded and preserved in the Scriptures for us.