Faith, Grace, and Good Works

  First, I hope you like what I've done to by blog. I was having problems with somethings so I decided to choose a background that had white behind the text! This has been a great week, but sadly I haven't finished all of what I planned to post. So, they will be up this weekend.... or next Wednesday! Well, enjoy!  ***Remember, what I say is how I perceive it and it is not doctrine!***

    

What is the importance of faith, grace, and works?

Well, let me tell you. First, through Romans 2-5 there are verses that can help us understand what they might mean. On the left are verses about Faith and Grace. On the right are some for Good Works. After each of them is the chapter and verse (chapter:verse) 

Faith and grace

Good Works

·          “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” (2:4) ·          “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” (2:13) ·          “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.” (3:27) ·         “Do we then make void the law through faith? May it not be! But we establish the law” (3:31) ·         “… his faith is counted for righteousness.” (4:5) ·         “…Who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.” (4:12-13) ·         “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (5:2-3) ·         “For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man. Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” (5:15) ·         “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” (5:21)

·         “We are sure that the judegment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” (2:2) ·         “Glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good.” (2:10) ·         “For as many have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.” (2:12) ·         “Show the work of the law written in their hearts.” (2:15 ·         “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather,… Let us do evil that good may come? Whose damnation is just. What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise… as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (3:7-10)

It is important to have example to look to when we aren't sure about what to do. We are given an example by Paul. Paul chose Abraham as an example of faith, in Romans 4:17-25, because “against hope [he] believed in hope. Abraham was “not weak in faith” when the Lord told him that Sara would bear a child. He gave glory to God.

      While reading the scriptures it is important to apply what you read to your own life. If we look at Romans 4:19-22 we can easily apply that to our lives. First, in verse 19 “being not weak in faith.” What can we learn from that? Just as it says “be not weak in faith.” We always need to do more than our best to believe. In verse 20, “He staggered (doubted, hestitated) not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Don’t doubt that God will keep his promises. So, the ‘first’ and ‘second’ thing really wasn’t needed. The one thing that we can learn and apply to our lives is faith in God.

      Many think that Adam’s fall was a bad thing. It wasn’t. Adam’s fall was essential to God’s Plan. Without the Fall there would be no knowledge of good or evil, joy or sorrow, pain or peace. Imagine life without really feeling any emotions or learning anything, but then without the Fall there would be no us. If the Fall didn’t happen Adam and Eve would have been the only people on earth. 

      Faith, grace and good works a work hand in hand. We can’t have one without the others. Well, maybe we can, but it wouldn’t do any good. Always remember the last part of 2 Nephi 25:23, “it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do.” We can’t truly do everything we can without having faith that something good will happen. However, we have to be doing good works if we want good things to happen.  ***Remember, what I say is how I perceive it and it is not doctrine!***