Our show notes are at tinyurl.com/bs5orzx and include nearly 100 verses of scripture refuting this doctrine.
There are two parts of faith that are enunciated in Scripture. One is belief (the Greek noun pistes) and the other is trust (the Greek verb pisteo). The latter is informed by the former and that is why faith, the noun, illuminates, faithfully, the verb. The first is assent and the second is response. They are inextricably linked. If one has faith, one will act faithfully to demonstrate that faith.
Nowhere is this duality clearer than in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, where the writer states that faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things not seen
So it is both belief and trust and that results in hope.
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
So Noah believed, that is, he assented to faith but he didn't stop there. He acted on God's revelation through faithfulness, in reverent fear, by building the ark. likewise, the same chapter tells us;
- By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain
- By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance.
- By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.
- By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward
James 2:
18: But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works."
Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my
faith.
19: You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons
believe -- and shudder.
James is clear that belief alone (pistes) is not true saving faith without trust or faithfulness (pisteo). In the King James Bible, the word faith is rendered in this action sense-faithfulness-about 1 time in 3. What James says is certainly true. The demons know who Jesus is. They were with Him in heaven! They did not put their trust in him by obeying Him. They wanted their own way and they rebelled.
In the only use of the term faith alone in scripture, James specifically states that man is justified by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24). In the 13th chapter of his 1st his letter to the Corinthians, Paul specifically states that a man who has all faith, even enough to move mountains, but has not love is nothing. In fact, of the three Cardinal virtues of faith, hope and love, Paul says that love is the greatest of the three.
Jesus, Himself said that love is the summation of the commandments
Mark 12
29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God.
30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and
with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
Protestants teach that are sins can only be covered by the direct application of Christ's completed and fully sufficient work at Calvary but this runs counter to scripture. 1 Peter 4:8 says that love covers a multitude of sins and James 5:20 says the same about converting a sinner. In the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians, he speak of how his own sufferings fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ, for the sake of the church.
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1 John 2:4 tells us that He who says 'I know Him' but keeps not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.
Trying to separate faith, hope and love is like trying to separate fire from the heat and light it produces.
The necessity of belief doesn't translate to sufficiency. Air is absolutely necessary for human life but it is absolutely not sufficient. You must have water, food and shelter as well.
In the same way, these things the Bible attaches to salvation;
- He who perseveres to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22)
- He who endures to the end shall be saved (Mark 13:13)
- He who believes and is baptized will be saved (Mark 16:16)
- Those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21)
- Those who keep the commandments will be saved (Matthew 19:17)
- Those who multiply grace will be saved (Matthew 25:14-30)
- Those who perform the corporal acts of mercy will be saved (Matthew 25:31-46)
- One must eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His blood to be saved (John 6:54:58)
- By hope we are saved (Romans 8:24)
- By confessing the Lord Jesus and believing in the Resurrection we are saved (Romans 10:9)
- We are saved as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15)
- We are saved through the destruction of the flesh (1 Corinthians 5:5)
- We must work out our salvation through fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)
- We are saved by works and not by faith alone (James 2:24)
- We are saved by baptism (1 Peter 3:21)
- We are saved by suffering with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12)
Each one of these proof-texts points to the necessity of action in cooperation with the economy of salvation.
What protestants define as faith is a verbal and intellectual assent to faith. They claim that to believe Jesus is Savior and Lord and to verbalize the same is enough for salvation. They claim Romans 10:9 teaches this.
9 For if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe
in thy heart that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
However, the word translated confess is translated from the Greek homologeó meaning to agree, being of one voice. The sense is not of a personal confession of faith but of assenting to the truth of what has been revealed, as in a creed. Remember that what you are confessing is not merely Jesus as Savior but Jesus as Lord. To confess one as Lord over you is total submission to Him as your Master.
The believe in your heart is translated from pisteuses and kardia and signify complete abandonment and trust, much more than mere strong feeling of affirmation to a fact.
Finally, the verse says do these things and you will be saved, not are saved. It shows a continual action of belief resulting in the eventual culmination in salvation. The protestant notion of eternal security is a myth, not found anywhere in Scripture.
Once again, you are referred to the show notes where these things are greatly expanded.
Salvation by faith alone is based on the false dilemma that one must choose between salvation by faith alone or salvation by works. Works, in this scenario are portrayed as the nullification of faith. This presentation is the height of absurdity.
To this scenario, I would ask the same question Jesus did.
Matthew 21
28: "What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said,
`Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'
29: And he answered, `I will not'; but afterward he repented and went.
30: And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,' but did not go.
31: Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them,
"Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
The one who said yes but did not do the work is the one who did not do the will of his father and Jesus makes it very clear that won't do.
Matthew 7
21: "Not every one who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Now let's address what on the surface appears to be a clear contradiction in Scripture.
In James Chapter 2, Scripture states;
21: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22: You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works,
23: and the scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness"; and he was called the friend of God.
24: You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
but Paul, in Romans 4 says;
2: For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3: For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
4: Now to one who works, his wages are not reckoned as a gift but as his due.
5: And to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness.
6: So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:
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7: "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;
8: blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not reckon his sin." |
Protestants too often attempt to deal with this apparent conflict by ignoring what James says and attempting to use Paul's words to support the notion of the imputed righteousness of Christ. The first and most obvious sign that Paul is not defending such a notion is that he makes an appeal to David who died centuries before Christ.
The second is that Paul would be directly contradicting his own words from the very same letter, chapter 2;
6: For he will render to every man according to his works:
7: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8: but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury.
Paul is talking in chapter 2 about the moral law, concrete and unchangeable and in chapter 4 of the mosaic law, through which the sacrifice of Christ was foreshadowed. No one was saved through the works of the mosaic law but only the grace that it was a shadow of.
John 1
16: And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon grace.
17: For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
This concludes my opening statement.
Our show notes are at tinyurl.com/bs5orzx and include nearly 100 verses of scripture refuting this doctrine.
One of the most quoted scriptures in support of the doctrine of Sola Fide is this exchange from Chapter 6 of John's gospel:
28: Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"
29: Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."
Once again, the active verb sense of to put your trust in is used. What makes this especially important is how these two verses are taken out of context.
The conversation continued;
30: So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?
31: Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
32: Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33: For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world."
34: They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always."
So, here, yes, Jesus is saying that the work you must do is to put your trust in Him but that must be taken in context of just what sign you are being asked to trust in Him about. Jesus gives that sign, the definitive sign of what it means to put your trust in Him;
51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."
52: The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53: So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
54: he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55: For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57: As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
58: This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."
Now I realize that this debate was not on the Eucharist and I am not trying to get in a preemptive strike for a future debate. I am making a point. When protestants claim that salvation is by faith alone, they cannot agree on what that faith means exactly. Among the 42,000 protestant denominations there is much disagreement on fundamental doctrines such as the Eucharist, Baptism, the Trinity and scores of others. This disagreement extends even to the doctrine we are discussing tonight- Sola Fide.
As we stated early, in Romans 10:9, the sense of confessing Jesus Christ is from the Greek word homologeó meaning to agree, being of one voice. In John 17, Jesus last prayer was that the Church would be one and, in Luke 11, He points out that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Finally, in Ephesians 4:5, it is stated that there is One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism. Yes, Salvation indeed finds it's origin in faith, but which faith?
I have heard the false claim, many times, that Catholics bring a different gospel, a desperate attempt to juxtapose Catholicism, the faith of the Apostles, onto verses like 2 Corinthians 11:4. I would not even stop at saying that Protestantism brings a different gospel because that would not go far enough. The truth is that Protestantism brings 42,000 different gospels and counting and that is why the faith that it purports to uphold is so divided and splintered as to be totally lacking in credibility in it's claim to be the saving faith proclaimed by Christ and the Apostles. This concludes my closing statement.
Here are some scriptures I expect my opponent to use to support Sola Fide.
By Grace you have been saved
8: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God --
9: not because of works, lest any man should boast.
What is dishonest about this argument is that verse 10 is left off;
10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
My opponent would argue that these verses state that salvation is a free gift from God and that works are no part of salvation. The clear structure of these 3 verses refutes that. Grace is what saves, Grace is the free gift from God. Saved is an action, not a noun. It refers to the subject, Grace. It is received through faith, not through any of our efforts, thus, nothing to boast about. Nevertheless, though grace isn't of works, it is for works, that is it's purpose to sanctify us to do the work of God. Grace is received through the church, who have been made ministers and stewards of that Grace (Ephesians 3:2-8)
Response to any number of different verses saying "If you believe in Jesus,
you will be saved"
There are three senses in which one can say "I believe in Jesus" and it is dishonest to pretend they are all one and the same.
In the first sense, one can say "I believe in Jesus Christ" in the same sense that one would say I believe in a God. That is, I believe He exists. I believe He was an actual historical person.
The second is "I believe in Jesus" in the sense that He will grant a petition. I believe in Jesus to save my loved one.
The third, and highest is to take the first two and go even further. "I believe in Jesus" in the sense of "I abandon myself totally to him and I will follow without reserve or any consideration of the cost". In other words, I believe in, trust in and lean on Jesus.
This third sense is the sense of belief you have in your country, if you feel the cause for which it fights is just. If you had to, you would die for it.
It is this third sense, translated faithfulness 96% of the time in the Old Testament of the King James Bible, that is the belief required for salvation.
2 Timothy 2:
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he will also deny us.
The idea of a belief that doesn't cost us anything runs directly counter to Scripture.
The Good thief on the Cross
I just love it when I hear protestants say that the good thief on the Cross did nothing to merit his salvation except believe in Christ in the sense of mere assent. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In Matthew 10:38 and 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and 14:27, Jesus says that anyone who wishes to be His disciple must deny them-self, take up their own cross and follow Him.
The good thief on the cross did this is the most literal way imaginable, accepting the agony of a crucifixion as the just sentence for his crime.
Luke 23
39 And one of those robbers who were hanged, blasphemed him, saying: If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art condemned under the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done no evil.
42 And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise.
I doubt that any of the people I have heard say that the good thief did nothing would willingly accept such agony as his due punishment.
Was Christ's death sufficient to save every person?
The sufficiency card is a bit of bait and switch apologetics. Protestants talk about the five solas Grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone through scripture alone for His glory alone. When you ask to see any of these concepts in Scripture, all you hear are crickets alone. The only time any of the five sola terms appears in Scripture is the one we are discussing tonight, faith alone in a verse telling us explicitly that salvation is not by faith alone.
On the contrary, what you see is a covenant relationship.
The word covenant appears almost 300 times in the King James Bible.
In Colossians 1:24-25, Paul tells us that he adds, with his own suffering, what is lacking in Christ's sufferings for the sake of the church. What is lacking in Christ's sufferings? Our part of the Covenant.
Protestants will often spin this by intimating that we follow a so-called weak Jesus who needs our help in the action of salvation. On the contrary, we follow a Sovereign Jesus who will be obeyed and a just Jesus who must punish us if we refuse to do so without repentance.
So, was Christ's death sufficient for the salvation of all? Materially, yes. Practically or Covenentially? No. Jesus cannot force us to choose Him. That is something we must do.
Scripture tells us that we must produce good fruit or we will be cut down and thrown in the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10) and that God will render to every man according to his deeds (Romans 2:6)
It is finished
A popular protestant argument concerns the Greek word TETELESTAI being discovered written over 1st century tax receipts indicating paid in full. Since this is the same Greek word attributed to Christ in John 19:30 where He says It is finished, the implication is that Jesus was declaring the bill for all the sin of man, past, present and future, paid in full.
The analogy falls on it's face logically when you understand that the full payment of one debt does not preclude to establishment of another. Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery "go and sin no more", not "sin as much as you want, I have it covered"
The truth is that the word simply implies what the translation says. Something, in this case Christ's sacrifice, is finished. To extend it to full payment for past, present and future sin is a complete non-sequiter.
Matthew 10:23
23 And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. Amen I say to you, you shall not finish all the cities of Israel, till the Son of man come.
Tetelestai is the Greek form of the Hebrew Kalah which the priest uttered after the last lamb was slaughtered for the paschal sacrifice.
In the passover meal there are 4 cups but Jesus, at the last supper stopped after the third cup and said I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until I come into my kingdom.
In John 19:30, He drinks the sour wine (vinegar) held up on a hyssop branch and says It is finished. What is finished? The Paschal sacrifice. Jesus is connecting His death to the passover. drank of the fruit of the vine, He has come into His Kingdom on earth.
I give them eternal life No man shall pluck them out of my hand
John 10:
27 My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me.
28 And I give them life everlasting; and they shall not perish for ever, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand.
29 That which my Father hath given me, is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father.
The explanation is quite simple here, right in verse 27. They hear my voice and they follow me. Here, Jesus is clearly showing that His true sheep are the obedient ones. Nothing in this passage suggests that those who are disobedient will be saved. In fact, scripture tells the opposite;
2 Peter 2:
21 For
it had been better for them not to have known the way of justice, than
after they have known it, to turn back from that holy commandment which
was delivered to them.
22 For,
that of the true proverb has happened to them: The dog is returned to
his vomit: and, The sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire.
He became sin
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
A proper translation of the verse (and the one that is faithful with the rest of the Bible) is that Christ became a sacrifice for sin. I may be reasonably accused of splitting hairs here but the distinction is an important one.
As I often hear my protestant friends say that "Jesus took my sin upon Himself",
I have to respond that you are ascribing to Jesus that which He simply
could not do. God cannot take, that which contradicts Himself, upon
Himself. A careful reading of the scriptures shows that Jesus took the penalty of sin upon Himself, not the sin itself.
Isaiah 53:4 Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
While we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
53:5 But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins,
Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
Jesus
Christ, by offering Himself as the atoning sacrifice, purchased the
Graces sufficient to save every man. He did not directly remit our sins
at Calvary. Rather, He provided the Sacrificial means for their
remittance. Otherwise, all men
would be saved and, clearly, all are not. All men are redeemed but not
all are saved. Sufficient graces exist to save us all but we are free to
refuse those graces if we (foolishly) choose to do so.
Romans 5:2 through whom we have gained access (by faith) to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.
Protestants contend that Our sin was imputed to Jesus so that Jesus could impute His righteousness to us. To support this, they misuse 2 Corinthians 5:21
The context is made known by the previous 4 verses
17: Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold,
the new has come.
18: All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation;
19: that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20: So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.
We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
So, Calvary does not provide reconciliation, it provides the means to reconciliation by Christ's suffering. He became a sacrifice for sin and made suffering salvific. Thus, we by united our sufferings to His can become righteous, as the text clearly shows.
In these verses, it is being shown that Jesus joined us in our sufferings so that, through them, we can join Him in His righteousness. It is synergy, not transfer.
The Greek word Logizomai (strong's 3049) means to recognize something for what it is, not to impute or transfer as the KJV wrongly asserts.
Examples; (source)
There are none righteous, no not one
All have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
and, no, I am not playing games with the scriptures. Once again, context is of dramatic importance. The folks at Catholicscomehome.org argue this brilliantly!
Romans 3, verse 10 says, "...as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one.'" Yet, James 5:16 says that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much. If absolutely no one is righteous, then who is James talking about? Luke chapter 1 says that Elizabeth and Zechariah were righteous before God. If absolutely no one is righteous, then how can that be? Is Scripture contradicting itself? No, the folks who interpret Romans as saying absolutely, without exception, no one is righteous, are misinterpreting that passage. They are failing to realize that the key to understanding Romans 3:10 is the phrase, "it is written."
Here in Romans, Paul is quoting from the O.T., Psalm 14 to be exact. In Psalm 14 it says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God. They are corrupt...there is none that does good.'" But then that same psalm goes on to talk about the "righteous." Well, if none has done good, who are these righteous the psalm is talking about? Obviously, when the psalmist says that none has done good, he is talking about the fools who say there is no God. He is not talking about absolutely everyone.
Just so Paul when he quotes from this psalm. Paul is not saying absolutely no one is righteous, if he was, then how do you explain all the Old and New Testament passages that refer to the righteous? In Romans 3:11 it says that no one seeks for God. Does that mean that absolutely no one is seeking God? No, to interpret it that way would be ludicrous!
Just so verse 23 which says that "all have sinned". Babies haven't sinned, have they? Little children haven't sinned, have they? No! This is not an absolute. There are exceptions. What about John the Baptist? Did he sin? Scripture says that he was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. Can someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit his entire life ever sin? It's something to think about.
The word all in Romans 3:23 is translated from the Greek pas meaning collectively. Man collectively has sinned and fallen short of god's Golory. It does not mean every single erson and can't. What about pre-born babies, or Jesus, Himself?
The works of the law
The works of the law refer to the works of the Mosaic law which is replaced by Grace:
John 1:16 And of his fulness we all have received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
This is not to be confused with the moral law that can never pass;
QUESTION 1)
Protestant RC Sproul said the following:
For Rome, God both makes just and declares just. For Protestants God both makes just and declares just -- but not in the same way. For Rome the declaration of justice follows the making inwardly just of the regenerate sinner. For the Reformation the declaration of justice follows the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the regenerated sinner.
the consequences of Sproul's assertion is that under the protestant model, Christ must declare just a sinner who is, in fact, unjust. How does this not clearly violate Proverbs 17:15;
15 He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the
just, both are abominable before God.
Again, in Romans 4:5, it says that God justifies the ungodly, not God declares the ungodly justified. How does the protestant model not violate the clear sense of scripture?
QUESTION 2)
The beatitudes in Matthew 5 say;
Matthew 5:3
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,*
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:4 * Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5:5 * Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
5:6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, *
for they will be satisfied.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
5:8 * Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
5:10 Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, *
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11 Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.
5:12 * Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Everything here centers on action, not mere belief. How do you address this?
QUESTION 3)
James 2:24 tells us with painful clarity that man is justified by works and not by faith (pistes) alone. This is the only appearance of the term faith alone in Scripture and it directly counters what you claim. How can you stand by your position?
QUESTION 4)
How can you claim that faith alone in Jesus saves when James says the even the demons believe and 1 John 2:4 says that anyone who says 'I know Him but keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him'?
The following verses all disprove Sola Fide:
- Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
- Matthew 5:48 (part of the Expounding of the Law within the Sermon on the Mount): "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Compare Imitatio dei)
- Matthew 7:21 (part of the Sermon on the Mount): "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
- Matthew 7:24-27 (part of the Sermon on the Mount): "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
- Matthew 12:36-37: "I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
- Matthew 16:27: "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."
- Matthew 19:17: "'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 24:10-20 (part of the Olivet discourse): "Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."
- Matthew 25:31-46 (part of The Sheep and the Goats): "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
- Matthew 28:19-20a (part of the Great Commission): "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
- Luke 8:21: "But He answered and said to them, 'My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.' "
- Luke 10:25-28: "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'What is written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read it?' He answered: ' "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" '; and, ' "Love your neighbor as yourself." ' 'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live.' "
- John 5:29: "And will come out--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."
- Acts 26:20: "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds."
- Romans 2:6,7; 13: "For he will repay according to each one's deeds. To those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; for it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified."
- Romans 2:16: "on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all."
- Galatians 6:7b-9: "A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
- 1 Corinthians 7: 19: "Circumcision means nothing and uncircumicsion means nothing; what matters is keeping God's commandments."
- 1 Corinthians 10:12: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
- 1 Corinthians 13:2-3: "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."
- 1 Corinthians 13:13: "And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."
- 2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done is his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
- Philippians 2:12b-13: "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, For God is one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work."
- 1 Timothy 4:16: "Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you."
- 1 Timothy 6:18-19: "That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
- Hebrews 10:24: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
- James 1:22: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
- James 2 (excerpts): "... What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? ... Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? ... Ye see then how that by works a man is justified."
- James 2:24: "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone."
- 1 Peter 1:17: "Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one's works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning."
- 1 Peter 2:12: "Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation."
- 1 John 2:3-7: "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard."
- Revelation 2:23: "Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds."
- Revelation 14:12-13: "Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them.’ "
- Revelation 20:13: "All the dead were judged according to their deeds."
- Revelation 22:12: "Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds."
Before I begin my artical on FreeMasonry, I want to encourage anyone who might be interested in this subject, please get John Salza's book, "Masonary Unmasked". 
Several American patriots like Ben Franklin, Paul Revere, and George Washington, were Masons. Many of those who framed the Constitution of the United States, such as John Hancock, Samual Adams, and Thomas Jefferson, were Masons.
In what is called the 'York' rite in the 7th degree, Masons learn the secret name of the Masonic god and takes upon himself the password of the 'Royal Arch Member', "I am that I am".
The Masons will equate all the "gods" of men as equal taking what they believe as 'good' from all of them and combine them. One popular question heard a lot even from well meaning Christians is, "Don't you think Jesus and Buddha are the same god"? Don't you think they just represent different cultures and backgrounds"?
It was laid out in the form of central Masonic symbols; the square, the compass, and the rule. Take the map, face the capital building from the mall and using the capital as the head or the top of the compass.
On top of the White House is an inverted five-pointed star, called a pentagram. This is a high-level symbol of witchcraft and Satanism. The point rests squarely on the White House and is facing south in the true occult fashion. It sits within the intersections of Connecticut and Vermont Avenues north to Dupont and Logan circles with Rhode Island and Massachussetts going to Washington Circle to the west and Mount Vernon Square on the east.
Within the right triangle of the pentagram sits many of the headquarters buildings of our government such as the Justice Department, U.S. Senate, and the I.R.S.
Most of the federal building have had a cornerstone laid in a Masonic ritual and specific Masonic paraphernalia placed in each one. These cornerstones contain Masonic documents showing that the building have been dedicated to the god of masonry, "Jao-Bul-On".
