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Fast Fact - Final Judgment Based On Works Not Faith |
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Defense of the Necessity of Good Works In Salvation |
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The New Testament teaches that at the end of time we will judged on our works and not on the basis of belief alone. (The hyper-linked references will open an online NASB to the chapter cited). Job 34:11– "For He pays a man according to his work, And makes him find it according to his way." Psalm 62:13 [12]– "And lovingkindness is Thine, O Lord, For Thou dost recompense a man according to his work. Isaiah 3:10-11– "Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions. Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him. Jeremiah 17:10– "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds." Jeremiah 32:19– "…great in counsel, mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of men, giving to each according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds:" Matthew 11:23-24– "And as for you, Capernaum: ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done inSodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you." Matthew 12:37– "For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." Matthew 24:45-51– "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is long delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant’s master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Matthew 25:31-46- "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ "And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ "Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me..’ "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." Mark 9:39-47– "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. "And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] "And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46 [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] "And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." Luke 13:6-9– "And He began telling this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any. "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ "And he answered and said to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’" (See also Luke 16:1-9 esp. v. 9) Luke 19:12-27– " He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ "And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done. "And the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ "And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.’ "And the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ "And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ "And another came, saying, ‘Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ "He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? ‘Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ "And he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ "And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ "I tell you, that to everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence." Luke 12:42-46– "And Peter said, "Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?" And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. "Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. "But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. "And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, shall receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Romans 2:5-8– "By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness." Romans 2:16– "…on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." Romans 14:10-12 – "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.’ So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God." 1 Cor. 4:5– "Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God." 2 Cor. 11:15– "So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds." Galatians 6:7-8– "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life." Ephesians 6:8– "…knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free." Col. 3:23-25– "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." James 2:12-13– "So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." 1 Peter 1:17– "And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth;" 2 Peter 3:10-14– "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless…" Revelation 2:23– "…I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.’" Revelation 20:10– "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds." Revelation 20:13– "The sea gave up its dead; then Death and Hades gave up their dead. All the dead were judged according to their deeds."ens; but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My fight hand, until I make Thy foes Thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made [that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Hereies, 3.5.2 written AD 180) Our Final End is determined by our works and not by our Faith only.
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www.HandsOnApologetics.com |
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