Why should we do good works if works don't merit or maintain our salvation? Why should we serve God if service isn't required for salvation? Why not "live like the devil?" I pray this video provides clarity and dispels confusion. God bless! - OD
Do the right thing because it's the right thing to do.
Sometimes religion is is functioning for the benefit of parasites (religious or political elites for example)— thats when it is harmful.
I entirely agree if you mean 'religious organizations' such as the RCC, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism.
I think that salvation based on faith alone is a strategy church leaders push to prioritize loyalty to them over eugenic behaviors. Thats extremely exploitive. It mistakenly values zealousness to the religious group over all other things. Its a very scary doctrine.
You have it the other way around.
You're confusing 'faith alone' with 'works', here.
Faith alone frees the individual from 'loyalty' to a group, because salvation is between you and God in faith alone, there are no arbiters of your salvation, no middle-man to hi-jack your faith.
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. - Matthew 20:25-28
Whereas works based salvation leads to the mentality that your side/church has the 'correct salvation' and thereby creates a team of haves vs. have nots, and entrenches those people to extol the virtues put forth by that organization, rather than the doctrines that the Bible teaches, predominantly, being Christ-like.
Works based salvation is what Catholicism preaches, and their mentality is clearly on display as they declare that there is no salvation outside of the RCC.
Islam, Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses are of this same 'works based salvation' persuasion.
The Bible teaches free grace by faith in Jesus Christ, which is entirely antithetical to those works based religions.
Love240 0 points 2 months ago
I entirely agree if you mean 'religious organizations' such as the RCC, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism.
You have it the other way around.
You're confusing 'faith alone' with 'works', here.
Faith alone frees the individual from 'loyalty' to a group, because salvation is between you and God in faith
alone, there are no arbiters of your salvation, no middle-man to hi-jack your faith.
Whereas works based salvation leads to the mentality that your side/church has the 'correct salvation' and thereby creates a team of haves vs. have nots, and entrenches those people to extol the virtues put forth by that organization, rather than the doctrines that the Bible teaches, predominantly, being Christ-like.
Works based salvation is what Catholicism preaches, and their mentality is clearly on display as they declare that there is no salvation outside of the RCC.
Islam, Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses are of this same 'works based salvation' persuasion.
The Bible teaches free grace by faith in Jesus Christ, which is entirely antithetical to those works based religions.