 | Dr. John Click, has been the Pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church for 27 years now he is the pastor emeritus. He’s a graduate of Baylor University with a BA and Southwestern Seminary with a BD. He received his DMin at Midwestern Seminary. He has served in numerous positions in the Southern Baptist Convention, including: President of the Kansas/Nebraska Convention, Executive Committee of SBC, North American Mission Board, International Mission Board, and Houston Baptist University Board. He has traveled to preach in Europe, Central and South America and the Far East. Dr. Click is the founder and first President of Harvest Communications, which is a TV production company specializing in producing teaching materials for Para- Church organizations. You may contact him for comments or questions by e-mail at: Jcclick99@aol.com. |
Religion
2008-04-01 12:10:00
Are these Bible passages contradictory?
Answer: No, this is not a contradiction. You are seeing the two sides of salvation discussed in different places in the Bible. Christian salvation is given freely by the sacrifice of Jesus and the love of God. It is not earned by our works so that God is obligated to give it. But the result of salvation is what Jesus called “new birth”, a change in the nature of the person who has accepted Christ as Lord and Master of his or her life. The good works are the result and the evidence of salvation. If a good life does not result from the experience of salvation, there is reason to doubt that salvation has occurred.
What is this “new birth”, this “born again” that Jesus offers? It is change in the personality of the person: a sensitivity to sin, a desire for forgiveness, a love for others, a joy of the presence of God, honesty and humility.
Paul’s’ writings often emphasize that our goodness cannot buy salvation, while James may emphasize that goodness is expected to accompany salvation. But these are not exclusive. Note what Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, it is a gift of God -not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” See that both aspects are present here. (Don’t stop after verse 9.) And Paul gave the warning in II Cor.13:6: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, or course, you fail the test?”
