Here's a straight-forward question that Musty and Nick have so far avoided.
Am I saved or unsaved according to the Gospel (of Paul)?!
I've included several long posts in this thread CLEARLY indicating ONE thing. One is saved through faith by grace, and works has absolutely no bearing upon whether one is saved. There is NO single or multiple work/s that can one could ever do to initiate, effect, or accomplish salvation.
By that faith we have access into the grace wherein we stand (Rom 5:2). We are made righteous (justified) by that faith (Rom 5:1). So we have imputed righteousness, which could never be earned or deserved or worked for.
We are saved by grace through faith, not of works. Period. Even the one work of believing (John 6:29) is not a "work". There is not one work involved in us receving the salvation that is by grace through faith. Not one work. Only the finished work of Christ on Calvary.
The disconnect for everyone is that the very word righteousness, also translated justice, means "standard of conduct". So not only are we imputed the character of God's standard without our works, but we're also empowered by that imputation of character for conduct. Righteousness includes conduct, because the very word means recognizing God's claim upon our lives for conduct from character.
The righteousness doesn't come by works. But the righteousness will inherently include works because righteousness is both character and conduct. We could have neither if we didn't have salvation. The conduct can only be accomplished because the character was imputed and will result in conduct.
This in no way refers to individual acts, or that those individual acts could save anyone or leave anyone lost again after salvation. There isn't any one sin or group of sins as actions that could ever void one's salvation.
But in the same way Lordship Salvation is an abomination to the Gospel of Paul, excluding the empowerment of God's standard of conduct from imputed righteous by faith and grace alone is to be in the opposite ditch of the Lordship Salvation ditch.
This is what the MADs refuse to understand; and when their shocking behavior is mentioned, they hide behind an imputed righteousness that is supposed to include conduct FROM that character. And then accusations are made toward non-MADs about their doctrine and behavior because non-MADs don't understand the simple word righteousness.
Like grace and mercy, faith and hope, and other paired things in scripture, the righteousness we are imputed by grace and faith is both to have the character of God's standards and the empowerment to fulfill those standards in conduct. Being made righteous is being made to walk as Jesus walked because we have both His character and conduct imputed to us. It's a package, and it's the inherent definition of the word righteousness. This is not an opinion, it's a linguistic fact.
So presenting shock-value, in-your-face, over-the-top, nasty attitudes and behaviors while lambasting others non-stop and calling it "a war" or "a battle for souls" is absurd. Others are simply looking for the demonstration of the imputed righteousness of character being exhibited as conduct.
That doesn't make them "sons of Cain" or all the other epithets that they're scolded with and judged for. It simply means they have some sense of knowing that imputed righteousness includes conduct with the character, and it's all to be God's standard rather than our own.
And in the end, most MADs and non-MADs alike are mistaking elpis (hope/trust) for pistis (faith) anyway. Hope, which saves us (Rom 8:24-25), is where the Church-at-large is "stuck", thinking it's faith. But that's a whole 'nother related topic.
This argument is one that has divided Believers for centuries, and especially in our lifetimes. It's not a conflict over whether works is salvific. They aren't. PERIOD. Salavation is by grace through faith, and we're imputed the righteousness of God IN CHRIST JESUS.
The problem is in understanding the definition of the righteousness that is imputed to us. Those who DO understand that imputed righteousness includes empowerment for conduct along with the imputed character, will consider others Semi-Pelagian or Antinomian or whatever, and may accuse them of being lost and preaching another Gospel.
Those who DON'T understand that imputed righteousness includes empowerment for conduct along with the imputed character, will consider others as promoting works-salvation or Lordship Salvation or whatever, and may accuse them of being lost and preaching another Gospel.
And this is all clouded by those, like many/most Catholics and other individuals, who ARE depending upon a works-based salvation by their own efforts according to the law or whatever other standard they've set for themselves, which is the very definiton of sin. And we're certainly not saved by sin as works.
This SHOULD clear up the topic, but it won't. Others will proceed on whatever course they're on, for the most part. But behavior IS an inherent part of faith-imputed righteousness. That's not an opinion among other opinions, it's a direct linguistic fact.
Why not just have and be and do according to the complete righteousness of God's standard in everything in our lives? Resting in Christ and having ceased from our own works. All the bullying and silliness just denies the very righteousness we were imputed AS conduct with character.
