The Engrafted Word

[Craig]

Dear Zion East Gate:

I have looked at and read some of your articles over the years. I generally do not have the time to respond to the
many hundreds and thousands of pages of material that is send to me.  Presently, I am battling stage IV terminal
prostate and metastasized bone cancer.  Also, I have two thousand, eight hundred, and eight unanswered emails
waiting for me to reply, so this will have to be short. . . . . . .

I have told many of those who sent me material in the past (sometimes four to five hundred page books), that in
almost all cases, I find in the first chapter statements and teachings that are either unscriptural or anti-scriptural.
Sometimes I find these false teachings on the first page, sometimes in the first paragraph or first sentence, and
occasionally even in the title itself.

I don't doubt that you have some knowledge that many Christians do not.  However, that does not justify your false
premises and teachings that are significant.  My COMMENTS.... are below your James 1 quotation in your first paragraph:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Zion East Gate"

"The Engrafted Word."

James 1:16-25

"Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and COMETH DOWN (which physical possessions, nor money does) from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."

The Babylonian churches today are preaching that salvation is without works.

COMMENT:  That is not true for most Christians.  The largest Christian Church in the world is the Catholic Church,
and they DO teach that good works are required for salvation, as do other Christian Churches:

"The 2,000 year-old Catholic position on salvation is that we are saved by Jesus Christ and Him alone (cf. Acts 15:11; Eph. 2:5).
But by the grace of Christ, we achieve the salvation God desires for us through perseverance in both faith and works. Many
Protestants, on the other hand, believe that one just has to accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior to be saved, and good
works are not necessary (they just flow from those already saved). But these verses, and many others, teach us that our
performance of good works is necessary for our salvation." (From:  http://www.scripturecatholic.com/salvation.html#salvation-I).

James said, that the Word is able to save your souls. To actually do the works that James is speaking of here, is a walk of works. It's a walk of faith. Faith without works is dead. It takes works, to stop sinning. It takes a work, or is work to put all of your faith and trust in God.

COMMENT:  Actually, James did not quite say that.  Here is what he said (in context):

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above [whether it be physical work or spiritual grace], and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  Of His
Own will begat He US with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.  Where-
fore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:  For the wrath of
man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
and receive with meekness the ENGRAFTED word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:17-21).

Not just "the word," but "the ENGRAFTED word."  The word is engrafted by the FATHER.  This is a gift
from the Father of lights, it is not something that we work up on our own.

Nobody that comes to Jesus, will automatically have faith.  They have to work to build that faith.

COMMENT: Your first two statements are decidedly not Scriptural.  A major problem with many of your
teachings is that they are built on a false premise, as is evidence in your first paragraph here.  Your false
premise is that man possesses "free will/free choice/free moral agency."  He does not, and when you
assume that position, much of what follows will be in error. (See my three installments, over a hundred pages,
on: "The Myth of Free Will Exposed" in my "Lake of Fire" series).

If one does not have faith, he CANNOT comes to Christ, and the idea that one can "...work to build that faith,"
is again, unscriptural.  Is it Scripturally possible to "come to God" or to "come to Christ," without first having
faith?  Here's the answer:   "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).

Notice that one must ALREADY (I prefer "already" to your word, "automatically") "believe"--belief and faith are
both from the same Greek word.  So NO, one does not "work to build that faith" necessary to "come to Jesus" as
you state.  Further evidence:  Our faith does not originate with US.

"In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith OF Him [Jesus]" (Eph. 3:12).

"Even the righteousness OF God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Rom. 3:22).

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we have believed in
Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2:;16).

"But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith OF Jesus Christ might be GIVEN [faith is a gift] 
to them that believe" (Gal. 3:22).

There is no escapting this fact of Scripture--We are only saved by the faith "OF" Jesus Christ, not the faith of OURSELVES.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that ['that FAITH'] not of yourselves: it [the faith] is the gift of God" (Eph. 2:.
We have no faith of our own which enables us on our own to come to Jesus in the first place:

"No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him [Gk: 'drag him']: and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44).

And no, I am not interested in any Scriptures which you think contradicts the Scriptures I have presented.  There are no
Scriptures that contradict other Scriptures--the Scriptures never contradict.

Try laying a foundation of a house without work.  It's impossible.  We are God's House, His abode, and we cannot become
His abode without doing the work to lay the foundation of His House.

COMMENT: Again, your teaching here is unscriptural.  We do NOT lay the foundation of
"For OTHER foundation CAN NO MAN LAY than that IS LAID, which IS Jesus Christ " (I Cor. 3:11).  There it is.

I know all of the Scriptures which some would use to try and contradicts the truth of these Scriptures
which I have presented, but there are no Scriptures that contradict these.  Some may retort:  "Well
what about THIS Scripture, Ray"--"...work out your OWN salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12)?  Surely
that must involve our our own free will/free choice to do the working of our "OWN" salvation, not?  NOT.  In the next
verse we are told WHY we are to work out our own slavation WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING. Is it because we have
some mysterious phantom "free will" which can operate independant from and even in opposition to God's will?  No...
"For it is GOD [Who?  Man? Us? Our  own? No--'GOD!'] which worketh in you both TO WILL AND TO DO  of HIS
good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

This reply of mine is not meant to be an invitation to debate these issues, as I have neither the time nor the inclination
to do so.  It is my hope, however, that you will be very careful in the future about making statements that just aren't true,

God be with you,

Ray Smith (bible-truths.com)