With Their Lips

[Frank]

If you profess to be a Protestant,
this is the problem:
Most of the Protestant denominations
profess to believe in salvation
by faith alone (the Protestant standard),
but then teach salvation
by faith plus repentance
(some Lutherans and Presbyterians
being the exception, but not plainly
telling people all trust must be on Christ).
Now if the denominations do that,
and cannot see
that faith alone means faith alone
and not faith plus repentance
(repentance is right and proper,
but must never take trust from Christ),
what does that mean about
the profession of so many Protestants
who say they believe in faith alone?
Even some Protestant theologians
regarded as defenders of faith alone
are redefining faith as "repentant faith".
If even denominations and theologians
are deceiving themselves about the gospel
(the Protestant Rebellion against the gospel
of the Protestant Reformation is rampant),
you need to make absolutely sure
that you are not just professing
salvation by faith alone,
but that all your trust actually is on Christ alone.
Your salvation depends on it.
The Jews who reject Christ
just cannot believe that they could all be wrong.
The Catholics who reject the gospel
just cannot believe that their church can be wrong.
The Protestants who give only lip service
to the Protestant gospel of faith alone
just cannot believe that so many denominations
could possibly be wrong.
But all of the above are wrong, terribly wrong,
and if they do not receive the gospel,
despite all their profession of spirituality,
they will be lost.

[mcv]

Post by Frank
If you profess to be a Protestant,
Most of the Protestant denominations
profess to believe in salvation
by faith alone (the Protestant standard),

Is it? Do they? I've always thought (and been taught) that
we receive salvation by grace alone.

Post by Frank
Now if the denominations do that,
and cannot see
that faith alone means faith alone
and not faith plus repentance
(repentance is right and proper,
but must never take trust from Christ),
what does that mean about
the profession of so many Protestants
who say they believe in faith alone?

I do not believe in faith, I believe in God. I have faith in God,
I (try to) repent my sins. But neither of these gives me any right
to salvation. If I receive salvation, it is by the grace of God
alone, and he is free to save unrepentant unbelievers, if he so
chooses. He is free not to save the most pious believers, if he
so chooses. It's his decision, not ours. And while faith,
repentance, love, goood deeds, etc may very well have some
influence on his decision, it's his decision alone.

At least, that is what *I* believe. YMMV.

I think if you have faith, repent, do good deeds, etc out of
hope for a heavenly reward, you've got the wrong approach. You
should do all of these because they are good. You should do
them out of love. Don't worry about whether they will earn you
a place in heaven.


mcv.
--
Science is not the be-all and end-all of human existence. It's a tool.
A very powerful tool, but not the only tool. And if only that which
could be verified scientifically was considered real, then nearly all
of human experience would be not-real. -- Zachriel

---

[This is the standard definition, I'd say, at least for classical
Protestants (i.e. Lutheran and Reformed). "Justification by faith" can
be misleading. It doesn't mean that we're saved by faith, nor that we
place our faith in faith. We've saved by God's grace. It is received
by faith.

I'd say Luther and Calvin would not accept the concept of an
unrepentant saved person. God is free to save people aren't repentant
initially. But salvation by definition involves union with Christ, and
that union transforms the person. Admittedly the transformation isn't
complete in this world. But I find it hard to believe that a saved
person wouldn't be repentant.

--clh]