Hello gallenwalsh
To add, here are some excerpts out of Rays paper titled
Saved By Grace Thru Faith
[By Divine influence upon our HEARTS]
….everything is interrelated in the scriptures. Everything comes down to one main objective - one main purpose - one thing, remember I’ve said that so often, it’s all ONE. You study out any subject in the scripture and it all comes down to one thing…. it’s all ONE.
1 Cor 15: 10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace (divine influence on the heart) which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all (labored): yet not I (labored), but the grace of God (labored) which was with me (labored).”
There it is, the grace of God…. labors.
Grace is a gift, but it’s got to be USED.
That’s the grace and that’s free, it’s a gift. But it doesn’t mean there is nothing to be done. It’s like my wife’s exercise bike, it’s a gift, it’s free, but it’s meant to be used, you see.
Eph 2:8 for by grace (a gratuitous gift - divine influence upon the heart) are you saved through faith(believing and doing God‘s will); and that (faith) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
v. 9 not of (our) works, less any man should boast (you boast when you do your own works).
v. 10 For we are HIS workmanship (His achievement - His works), created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
Do you get that? Where it says “not of works,” but “for good works.” Wait a minute is that a contradiction? No, “not of (our) works” but “for (His) good works.” There are works, they’re just not ours. But we are of His workmanship. Workmanship has the word ‘work.’ The Concordant translates it ‘achievement.’ When you want to achieve something it takes work. Who’s doing the work here? God is doing the work. What is that work? Divine influence upon the heart and then you do things.
Eph 2:10 “… created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God has afore ordained that we should walk in them.”
So there are works.
Rom 8:28 “And we know that God WORKS all (things), together for the good…”
Then verse 29 “….predestined us to be conformed into the image of His Son.”
That is the whole thing.
We are saved by grace. It’s free, gratuitous gift from God, but it does something. It teaches - it chastens - it educates - it is divine influence upon the seat of our emotions - thinking - plans - purpose - goals - aspirations and everything else. It divinely influences that heart, you can’t help it, it does it.
This just smacks free will right in the teeth.
Grace is a gift, you don’t have it. Now this is something you can’t conjure up, it’s a gift of God. It’s always the grace OF God, it comes from God, there is nothing you can do. You say, ‘well what about the faith we’ve got, that comes from us.’ No no no, it says in Eph 2: 8-10 “… faith; and that NOT OF YOURSELF, it is the gift of God;”
The faith it’s a gift, the grace it’s all a gift, everything is a gift. It’s all a gift of God. It’s all faith, it’s all grace, they are all one thing. Grace causes you to live rightly. What does faith do? If you believe God, you do what He says. It is virtually the same thing.
Now what is the goal? To make you like Christ!
It is a spiritual thing that God is doing.
So the more you study these scriptures, the more God opens your eyes to these things. It’s not that complicated. He only made it sound complicated, so that those who won’t obey, then it’s just all this fuzzy sanctimonious stuff that nobody can ever figure out. It’s not that hard. And all the words they are just different aspects of the same thing.
It’s not that hard when you understand the basic parable of the Bible. That is God is making us into His image
Arc