You’re not wrong there, but we were talking about salvation. Specially, people doing good deeds to get into heaven. Good deeds are absolutely necessary for a healthy spiritual life and are the natural consequence of real faith. But you don’t buy your way into heaven with them. The blood of Christ paid for our salvation. Nothing we are capable of would be sufficient payment; we are all sinners and we all fall short of earning our way into heaven on our own. God the Father sacrificed His perfect Son for this.
Again, incorrect. No one is saying that "Good deeds buys your way into heaven". Faith must go hand in hand with good deeds, for having real faith requires good deeds. Good deeds can also occur regardless of one's faith, but real faith requires good deeds in order to be real. A Christian seeks to emulate Christ, and the majority of direct references to Christ in the Bible reference his deeds.
Were good deeds not required, there would have been no point in Christ's ministry on Earth or his sacrifice.
Were good deeds not required, there would be no need for proselytizing.
Were good deeds not required, the parables of the talents, the olive grove, and the bridesmaids would have no meaning.
Other scriptures directly reference the requirement of good deeds. Pretty much the entirety of Matthew Ch. 5 references good deeds being required, but of particular interest are verses 16 and 19:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
James Ch. 2 also features this theme in verses 14-26:
"14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
To say that faith does not require work is vainglorious at best and mockery of the life and purpose of Christ at worst.
again, you’re not wrong. I’m not saying “faith does not require work”. Not at all.
The original comment was that Christian altruism is a thing. Someone responded that Christians only do good because they believe that’s how they attain salvation. This is what I was responding to. The idea that Christians think they can buy their way into heaven.
I am NOT saying good deeds aren’t a necessary part of the Christian life. They are. But Christians don’t do good deeds because they think it’s what gets them saved. They are already saved! Christians do good works because their faith is not dead.
Yet you continue to misunderstand the passage I linked. Good deeds exist with or without faith. However, "good faith" requires "good deeds", as doing such follows Christ's example and thus shows that one "believes in his name" (i.e. one's reputation).
The notion that one can simply "believe and be saved" is evangelist clap-trap and is directly refuted by what is taken to be the very words of Christ himself (versus words from prophets who are still fallible mortals). It's religion for the lazy.
In the same vein, non-Christians who believe that Christians only do good deeds to "buy their way into heaven" are just as lazy. They are jaded individuals who project their own apathy and poor attitudes onto others. "I'm a hedonistic asshole, therefore everyone else must be".
You’re not wrong there, but we were talking about salvation. Specially, people doing good deeds to get into heaven. Good deeds are absolutely necessary for a healthy spiritual life and are the natural consequence of real faith. But you don’t buy your way into heaven with them. The blood of Christ paid for our salvation. Nothing we are capable of would be sufficient payment; we are all sinners and we all fall short of earning our way into heaven on our own. God the Father sacrificed His perfect Son for this.
Again, incorrect. No one is saying that "Good deeds buys your way into heaven". Faith must go hand in hand with good deeds, for having real faith requires good deeds. Good deeds can also occur regardless of one's faith, but real faith requires good deeds in order to be real. A Christian seeks to emulate Christ, and the majority of direct references to Christ in the Bible reference his deeds.
Were good deeds not required, there would have been no point in Christ's ministry on Earth or his sacrifice.
Were good deeds not required, there would be no need for proselytizing.
Were good deeds not required, the parables of the talents, the olive grove, and the bridesmaids would have no meaning.
Other scriptures directly reference the requirement of good deeds. Pretty much the entirety of Matthew Ch. 5 references good deeds being required, but of particular interest are verses 16 and 19:
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
James Ch. 2 also features this theme in verses 14-26:
"14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
To say that faith does not require work is vainglorious at best and mockery of the life and purpose of Christ at worst.
again, you’re not wrong. I’m not saying “faith does not require work”. Not at all.
The original comment was that Christian altruism is a thing. Someone responded that Christians only do good because they believe that’s how they attain salvation. This is what I was responding to. The idea that Christians think they can buy their way into heaven.
I am NOT saying good deeds aren’t a necessary part of the Christian life. They are. But Christians don’t do good deeds because they think it’s what gets them saved. They are already saved! Christians do good works because their faith is not dead.
Yet you continue to misunderstand the passage I linked. Good deeds exist with or without faith. However, "good faith" requires "good deeds", as doing such follows Christ's example and thus shows that one "believes in his name" (i.e. one's reputation).
The notion that one can simply "believe and be saved" is evangelist clap-trap and is directly refuted by what is taken to be the very words of Christ himself (versus words from prophets who are still fallible mortals). It's religion for the lazy.
In the same vein, non-Christians who believe that Christians only do good deeds to "buy their way into heaven" are just as lazy. They are jaded individuals who project their own apathy and poor attitudes onto others. "I'm a hedonistic asshole, therefore everyone else must be".