Every Christian believe that they should do good works, that they should follow the law of the Prophets. However they do not believe that a man can be justified by the good works.
“For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith (On Jesus). But the law is not based on faith, but the one who does the works of the law will live by them. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.“
Galatians 3 : 10 – 13
The above-mentioned teachings and belief of the Christians are based on Paul’s teachings and the New Testament, which are against the teachings of Old Testament.
In Old Testament, justification and forgiveness from God is possible without any faith in Christ and without any salvation through a blood atonement.
“If my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.“
2 Chronicles 7:14
This is also noted in the following :
“Seek the Lord while he makes himself available ;
call to him while he is nearby !
The wicked need to abandon their lifestyle and sinful people their plans.
They should return to the Lord, and he will show mercy to them,
and to their God, for he will freely forgive them.“Isaiah 55
It should also be noted that the New Testament also proves that the beliefs mentioned in the Old Testament were quite enough for justification.
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works ? Can this kind of faith save him ? you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless ? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar ? You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way ? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.“
James 2 : 20 — 26
Conclusion
After the (alleged) crucifiction of Jesus (P), if there is still need of doing good works and good deeds for forgiving our sins, then the crucifixion of Jesus is without purpose, for there is already been the way of pardoning our sins, i.e. through good works as mentioned in the Old Testament. Or, if there is no need to do good works and good deeds after believing on the Jesus crucification then it means Christians are free to do crimes and sins.
Therefore this is, in our opinion, a doctrinal paradox and thus if the Christian insists that mankind is saved by the blood of Jesus, we must therefore allege that there is a Bible contradiction.
And only God knows best !
Comments
35 responses to “To do good works or saved by the blood of Christ ?”
Hello.…I am a Roman Catholic married to a Muslim.…These words should not be taken personally as it is the story of my FAITH
I can truly tell you I see no barriers between my faith and my husband’s…I respect and he respects.…but then the question is always there, “So what is the truth?”….the truth will ONLY be revealed to us by the Grace of GOD.…I see many brothers and sisters giving opinions about the Trinity and including Mary…which I find them confused…I see some saying and I quote, “Every Christian believe that they should do good works, that they should follow the law of the Prophets” which saddens me that they lack information.…As a Catholic, which by the way the word “Catholic” means “Universal” I can tell you all that
the church of Christ has been persecuted from day one, (Evil never sleeps) Yet the Holy Spirit protects it and it is open to everyone, not just catholics.…but it was not always this way….as I was growing up as a child,I saw many catholic hipocrites, even in my family, and since I have been praying the rosary since the age of 5, I was saddened that my role models (family & friends) were not always well behaved.…but one day I needed to understnd what my religion meant because my classmates were Muslims, Buddists and Jews and some of my family members were Christians non-catholic…so I was very amazed at the fact that we were all children of GOD but had too too many different ideas, which did not bothered me but instead made me curious to know more about my religion…so as a child’s mind works…innocently I asked My Lord, whom I spoke directly to GOD the father because I did not know Jesus.…and asked him to give me a signal of where to find the truth.…that signal came when I was in the military at age 18, In a moment of desperation and seeing how unfair some govt employees were, I needed to understand what purpose I had in the military, why did I choose to go somewhere I did not belong at….I was too young… I needed to do many things in life, soooooooo…..the Lord answered me whenI opened the BIBLE my parents’ had packed in my luggage and came across the following verse :
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. Colossians 1:15 – 18
I had no idea what it meant until I was realeased from the Military for bad eye sight that was not correctable with glasses.……I started working for a Gasket Co in the accounting dept. I met a friend whom was also catholic…..I confided my experience to her and that following weekend she took me to a youth group which later I became the Secretary of and which later I made a retreat called “Encuentros de Promocion Juvenil” which translates to “Encounters of Youthful Promotion” its Intl…here I met HIM for the first time…..Jesus was the revelation to that biblical verse and he pulled me out of the military….anyhow I started to learn more about my faith so I opted in reading the BIBLE more, attending youth groups and being very active in church….and although I was not a child anymore one breezy day I asked myself….when does something you have faith in become so true…..well first of all you have to be in love with it…and second you have to comprehend it, but if at times you don’t agree or understand, Believe that GOD will choose the right moment to reveal himself to you and then you will no longer have any questions, Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)…..so I then I started to see all the peoples in my life & what we had in common…..and I came to the conclusion that the most important thing in life was FAMILY….so in order to believe a prophet or messenger of GOD, he had to be powerful but not a tirant, he had to be a role model, he had to have a family like all of us (Mom, dad, bros & sis, and for those of us who are single parent children, Mother Mary is our mother and GOD is our father & please, let’s b’careful how we interpret this, GOD’s will we cannot refute) and of course that messenger had to LOVE…everyone….He had to be perfect, he could not believe in killing or war(instead he gave up his life) No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13)
All those characteristcs only lead to Yeshua…after the Holy Spirit answered me….nothing was ever the same again….But I still love my husband, I still Love my family and I still love my friends…..I truly believe that no one can convert anyone, but only GOD can lead us…..we as humans only have the responsibilty to unite our faiths in the positive for human dignity, let us be the hands of GOD and find Peace among us, to understand a culture we must live within it like I learned with my husband….Respect is the ultimate weapon against conflict….Love is the ultimate purpose for the Birth of Christ, and Love was his message, How could I not believe in HIM and his words full of promises ?
The following explains the Divine Trinity (In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit) Mary was only a servant of GOD in his plan of the human salvation, and before I speaketh anything negative about the mother of GOD….I first think of my mother who gave me birth and whom I love and respect and I believe no one has the right to speaketh bad about anyone’s mother, specially GOD’s.
I would love to make emphasis on the following, hence it clearly states that Christian believe that they should do more than good works or deeds, that they should imitate the life of Yeshua, whom is MORE than a Prophet.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
John 3:16 — Have you seen the banners at sporting events ? It refers to the pinnacle verse in today’s Gospel, which contains the heart of the Good News : God so loved the world (the motive) that He gave (a sheer gift) His only Son (Jesus is the gift that was given) so that everyone who believes (the role of faith) in Him might not perish (what we fear), but might have eternal life (the goal).
I remember the first time I read this passage on my own and really understood/discovered its meaning. I was stunned. It was as if I had never heard it before. Up to that point in my life, I had put the cart before the horse and I didn’t know it. I had believed that if I kept the 10 commandments as perfectly as possible, if I did all the things Jesus tells us to do in the Gospel, then God would love me and at the end of my life, presuming my sins didn’t outweigh my good deeds, I would be saved. God would allow me to enter heaven.
This view of the Christian life puts all the emphasis on our efforts and very little on God’s grace. It’s actually very ego-centric and arrogant, even though it sounds very good. In fact, it’s a heresy known as Pelagianism. “We can save ourselves, thank you!” In my own life, when the turmoil of adolescence arrived, I began to have little hope of being saved. The cart was now careening downhill fast and the horse was nowhere to be found !
But what Jesus says very clearly in this passage is something very different : salvation is a gift. It is not something we can earn. Jesus has won it for us. I repeat : salvation is a gift. It is not something we can earn. Jesus has won it for us. The horse must come before the cart : God’s love has to come before any response on our part. If we, by our will power or virtue, could earn God’s love, then Jesus died on the cross for nothing. In fact, He came to earth for nothing. If we can earn salvation, there is no need for Jesus at all.
Link to complete article : http://www.chnetwork.org/journals/justification/justify_5.htm
Link to Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus : http://www.bprc.org/topics/fulfill.html
Link to Grace video : http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/animations/walk/index.html
Thank you for your time and may the Love of God dwell in our hearts….Peace to all of Us…..
Grace said, “Hear, O Israel : The LORD our God is One”. I understand it as it telling us that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are one.
Grace, I will not be discussing this in length if this was not of the utmost significance and importance to both you and I. Grace, you truly worry me when something SO CLEAR and non-ambiguous as “God is One” can somehow suddenly be into “it telling us that God, Jesus, Mary and the Holy Spirit are one”.
The Bible rejects the ‘atonement’
To what purpose [is] the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? saith the LORD : I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. (Isaiah 1:11)
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou opened : burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. (Psalms 40:6)
For thou desirest not sacrifice ; else would I give [it]: thou delightest not in burnt offering. (Psalms 51:16)]
“I am come to end the sacrifices and feasts of blood, and if ye cease not offering and eating of flesh and blood, the wrath of God shall not cease from you, even as it came to your fathers in the wilderness, who lusted for flesh, and they ate to their content, and were filled with rottenness, and the plague consumed them.” (Jesus Christ, The Gospel of the Nazorenes)
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this [is] the first commandment.
And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth : for there is one God ; and there is none other but he :
And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love [his] neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. (Mark 12:30 – 33)
To do justice and judgment [is] more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:3)
But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice : for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Matthew 9:13)
Jesus will have mercy and not sacrifice ; he was not crucified for the ‘sins of the world’, but rather he was sent to put sinners to repentance. He came to preach the discarded teachings of the Torah (Matthew 5:17 – 20) he came to preach the Gospel (Matthew 4:23) he was Prophet and Messenger (Matthew 21:11) not the pagan ‘crucified Christ’ the Church upholds today.
Jesus made it clear that salvation is not attained through blood sacrifice, but simply keeping the commandments of God.
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” (Matthew 19:16 – 17)
Jesus never said “salvation comes through my blood”, he simply told the man that salvation comes through obeying the commandments. The crucifixion is not even mentioned or alluded to. The Old Testament says :
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter : Fear God, and keep his commandments : for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (Genesis 26:5)