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- an atheist who actively works to bring peace and Love among his fellow beings;
- or a Christian who talks about the Bible all day and nothing else.
Blessings to all!
Brian
Both. God is pleased no matter what we do . He is no respecter of persons and it is by our own actions that we are judged. As long as we are happy, God is happy and no matter what we do, we please God because He loves us without condition.
If the question were worded differently, say, which one is following the path that Jesus set forth, then I would say definately the athiest.
Brian, you loaded the question. We all know that only a Christian (Believer in Christ) can please God --- Works-based legalism only attempt to indebt God!
However, you have now introduced a "Christian" ... who ONLY talks about the Bible all day... and nothing else!" -- The problem with this proposition, is that the latter is not really an active "follower" of Jesus Christ, and is likely only a professing Christian, not a true, 'Born Again' Believer. They would be those of whom Jesus said, "you honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me."
Professing, 'non-Christians' are often only 'Atheists or Agnostics ... in disguise.' They are no more pleasing to God than the hard-working Atheist, who is 'already' lost and condemned (Jn 3:18).
The Good News is that God is still open to even the now-hardened Atheist - (In fact, all believers were once non-believers). God will be pleased with and save ALL who come to Him by/through faith in Jesus Christ. BUT, the 'window of opportunity' is only open during this lifetime.
well,no man gets to the father except by the Son..I agree,a no-brainer.the believer is actively witnessing,whereas the atheist cannot get to heaven by good works alone.
God won't condemn good works,it's just that,of course,there's more to it than that.
We're not trying to get to heaven, because it doesn't exist. We wicked, horrible, terrible, soulless atheists do good things simply because it's the right thing to do, not because we're looking for approval or reward from anyone or their mythical gods.
Brian, you loaded the question. We all know that only a Christian (Believer in Christ) can please God --- Works-based legalism only attempt to indebt God!
However, you have now introduced a "Christian" ... who ONLY talks about the Bible all day... and nothing else!" -- The problem with this proposition, is that the latter is not really an active "follower" of Jesus Christ, and is likely only a professing Christian, not a true, 'Born Again' Believer. They would be those of whom Jesus said, "you honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me."
Professing, 'non-Christians' are often only 'Atheists or Agnostics ... in disguise.' They are no more pleasing to God than the hard-working Atheist, who is 'already' lost and condemned (Jn 3:18).
The Good News is that God is still open to even the now-hardened Atheist - (In fact, all believers were once non-believers). God will be pleased with and save ALL who come to Him by/through faith in Jesus Christ. BUT, the 'window of opportunity' is only open during this lifetime.
Hi jghorton,
There is faith, and there are works. And they are different in an important way: faith is a gift, and impossible to have if God doesn't grant it.
But works are things which anyone, believer or not, are able to perform. They do not require the gift of faith. They have "their own" rewards, and are available to all.
Finn,
Is faith not a gift? Are some born with faith, and others not, or do all men and women have an equal amount of faith?
Where does faith come from?
- an atheist who actively works to bring peace and Love among his fellow beings;
- or a Christian who talks about the Bible all day and nothing else.
Blessings to all!
Brian
The Christian. It does not matter as long as Christ is preached. (Phillipians 1:15-18)
"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely,...But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true,Christ is preached."
Unlike the atheist, that "piece and love" has no meaning to God. The atheist's "actively works" are looked upon like as a used tampon. Isaiah 64:6
Finn_Jarber is correct in quoting God:
Hebrews 11:6
"And without faith it is impossible to please God,"
I don't know if you are going to answer my question, so I will..
If faith is a gift, then we cannot be held guilty for not having it, if it is to be considered as what saves us.
But if it is innate in man, each person having his own amount, then it is still a gift, since God made each of us with that amount.
Now faith comes by hearing the word, and this word is in us, and we speak it, too.
We also read that faith "worketh by love." Or, as the Amplified Bible reads, "faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love." Gal. 5:6.
So perhaps this is why Love is the greatest, more than faith and hope. Love is an expression of the Spirit of God, and creates faith and hope.
Whereas faith by itself lacks love.
I think that righteous works are also sparked by Love, and are an expression of it. Faith comes along the way, and is probably more present, even in the lives of atheists, more than we can ever know. In fact, we cannot know what another person is experiencing, all we can do is love, and that may be sufficient to produce faith in God.
Finn,
Is faith not a gift? Are some born with faith, and others not, or do all men and women have an equal amount of faith?
Where does faith come from?
Salvation is a gift, and it comes through faith. Be it gift or not, the fact remains that without faith it is impossible to please God.
Have you ever heard the term "leap of faith"? You need to take that leap in order to receive the free gift of salvation. Sadly many refuse to take this leap of faith. There are people who have had God knock on their door for years, but they never opened the door. They have received numerous invitations to the 'wedding' but they chose to not go.
Consider this short story:
A BUILDING WAS BURNING IN NEW YORK'S HARLEM DISTRICT SOME YEARS AGO, A BLIND GIRL WAS PERCHED ON THE 4th FLOOR, PANICKED ABOUT THE FLAMES COMING FROM THE WINDOWS ALL AROUND HER. SHE COULD NOT ESCAPE THE FIRE AND NO ONE COULD GET TO HER TO RESCUE HER. UNFORTUNATELY, THE ALLEY WAY WAS TOO NARROW FOR THE FIRE TRUCKS TO GET IN AS WELL. THE FIREFIGHTERS HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ATTEMPT TO USE A NET T0 CATCH HER AS SHE FELL, BUT THEY COULD NOT GET HER TO JUMP. NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY PLEADED, SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE THEY HAD A NET OR COULD GET HER. SHE COULDN'T SEE ANYTHING, AND SO SHE WAS AFRAID AND UNWILLING TO TRUST THESE STRANGERS. FINALLY HER FATHER ARRIVED ON THE SCENE AND THROUGH A BULL HORN HE TOLD HER TO JUMP, THAT THERE WERE INDEED ENOUGH MEN AND A STRONG NET TO CATCH HER, SHE COULD TAKE HIM AT HIS WORD! ON HER FATHER'S COMMAND SHE JUMPED, SO CONFIDENT OF HER FATHER'S WORD THAT SHE WAS SO RELAXED THAT EVEN AFTER 4 FLOORS SHE LANDED WITHOUT TIGHTENING UP, AND SO NOT EVEN A SINGLE BROKEN BONE RESULTED, NOR EVEN A STRAINED MUSCLE! SHE TRUSTED COMPLETELY IN HER FATHER'S WORD, AND THIS SAVED HER!
Last edited by june 7th; 11-22-2010 at 07:32 AM..
Reason: Please refrain from using "red" as it is used by mods for "mod cuts" and moderation. Thanks.
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