What is "Dead Faith?"

[Brandan Kraft]

Men are simply afraid to have a theology of Grace - to have every aspect of every doctrine centered on GRACE. Works? Yeah - the Christian will have them. They are NEVER the focus! NEVER! I COUNT my works as DUNG. MY WORKS MEAN NOTHING TO ME! NOTHING!

Kyle - what do works mean to you? What do they mean to you? Do they give you assurance that you are elect? Do they give you assurance that Christ died for you?

I'm being confrontational because I see this as an extremely serious matter. Grace means everything to me, and it is what binds me to others.

[MCoving]

My résumé today is: GRACE, GRACE, GRACE! As such is not mine but Jesus'! Even if I am honored by God to help the least of my brother (never smaller and more "least" than me), I simply say that it was BY GRACE that I was able to help him!

Grace plus nothing! That's MY assurance!

It was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace my fears relieved...
.........
Through many dangers toils and snares
I have already come
'T WAS GRACE THAT BROUGHT ME SAFE THUS FAR
AND GRACE THAT WILL LEAD ME HOME!

A sinner, a slave trader, a drunk, a demon possessed man saved by Grace called John Newton wrote those words under God's inspiration. That's what I believe about me!

Milt

AMEN!

I Like that assurance by Grace. Brandan might have to say that along with assurance by Faith.. assurance by Grace. I like the grace part.. I think I may just claim that for me it is assurance by Grace! God brings all things.. and gives all things.. and of course if one is adopted as his son or daugther God will bring fruits of the Spirit in their life. So assurance is by grace and faith alone! Of course these such things that God has provided will also produce His works within' us.. His Spirit within' us.

Nice post..

Mary

[MCoving]

Hello! Just wanted to apologize because I think I took the focus off of Gods Word.. sometimes I dont have time to qoute Scripture but I think it is so important. Otherwise it just becomes trying to convince one another.. a debate without the focus of Gods Word and His Truths.
So besides my thoughts I searched through Scripture and wanted to post some of these:

Ephesians 2:8
8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

What came first here? grace and faith. Was it those good works that God prepared beforehand? Nope! So why is one's assurance resting on works.. and I understand works of God.. when His first work within' us was grace and faith? Wouldn't our foundation our assurance as His followers rest on the foundation of grace?

Romans 1:4-6
4who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake, 6among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

What was first? grace. to bring about the obedeince of faith. So our foundation.. the first part of our building is grace.. our assurance grace. Without grace there is no assurance!! Without the foundation of a building there is no building that can withstand. Yeah faith produces works of Christ.. But least IMO assurance is faith.. assurance rests on grace.. not on the works that will come about because of that grace!

Colossians 2:1-3
1For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea, and for all those who have not personally seen my face, 2that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.


Hebrews 3:13-15
13But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, 15while it is said,
"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,
DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME."

"For we have become partakes of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance" What is the beginning of our assurance? Well I think it is grace.. Grace.. our begining is regeneration.. we are saved by Christ alone.. by His Grace. Our beginning.. our foundation.. what assures me and that is Grace that is faith.

Just some food for thought!

Mary

ps- And Hebrews 10, 11 and all of Ephesians 2

[MCoving]

okay more verses. First I wanted to point out that I believe in a combination of things for my assurance.. as another verse came up let me post that one:

1 John 3:17-19
17But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. 19We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him

So we will know by love that we are of the truth. So assurance is by grace, faith, Gods work in us. Gods work is grace.. it is faith. So saying assurance by works of God I would agree with. I would be assured by His work of grace in me!! So I would be assured by grace! Or I would be assured by Gods work. (not works of God.. not many or a certain amount but work.. grace.. regeneration).

But judging others by what we see of Gods work in them is wrong!! I dont agree in that.. I dont even agree with judging myself by the many works of God I see in myself.. because there are times where I dont see any! I have not showed kindness all the time, I have not loved all the time.. I am not perfect. So I wouldn't say my assurance is by how much Gods work I see in me. But that there is a work of God in me. Which to me is grace!!! So thats why I say assurance by grace. But people who say assurance by works if you mean Gods work of grace and regeneration in a person great! if you mean a certain amount of Gods work in a person to have assurance.. I say not cool. Of course seeing more of God working in one's life could increase ones assurance but one can be just assured about their salvation by the one work of Grace that God did in us!!

I hope this maybe can help clarify things here because I know I have been really confused.. because I dont want any appereance of works of man.. or even a certain amount of good works provided by God or sin in a persons life. I would not want to be assured by that. But assured by the grace of God which is His work. So maybe this makes sense and there wont be as much tension? or maybe not.. I do not know. But I just wanted to post my thoughts and what God has been showing me through His Word. You all are in my prayers and thoughts and I love all my brothers and sisters on this forum!!

Mary

[Highlyfavored]

What so called work can any of us find assurance in?
The good works from God comming through us are so tainted by the sin in our flesh what hope of assurance can we find in these?
I believe all our hope rests in Christ and in His Finished Work not in ours.
Q. And where do we find our assurance?

A. Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

[jmgipson]

I'm talking about James' "justification before men." Kyle here says good works are used for assurance of justification. I want to see what "good works" he sees in his life that provides justification before men - or his conscience.

I will not answer for Kyle but here is my thoughts:

We are commanded to be a Light unto men:

Matt 5:14-16

14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

John 3:20-21
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.


Rom 13:13-14

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.


Eph 5:8

8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

I don’t see our works before men as our assurance and justification, but I see the command of being light to the world as the Spirit of God working in us (what He commands He gives to us) to accomplish two things:

• To bring Glory to Himself
• To bring more condemnation to the wicked

Rom 12:18-21
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

John

[beloved57]

I am disappointed; the quote from Calvin seems to have been ignored! It is the increasing KNOWLEDGE OF GRACE in us that is the basis of our growing assurance. The love of the brethren is an 'added bonus' but John is not saying that having such a love INCREASES the assurance of God's imputed grace beyond what God's gift of believing gives us. It rather SUPPLEMENTS such assurance in giving us confirmation of our experiential transformation from death to life--not our justification before God!

Well, I'm weary of all this. It seems that simple concepts should not become complicated.

I was just informed of the untimely death by a massive stroke of a first cousin of mine, a 35 year old female physician practicing in Washington state. My wife and I just talked with her a lot a few weeks ago; we all attended a wedding of a relative in Kansas City together. Some of you will probably hear about it in the news--she took Imitrex (?) for migraine headaches and her death is being attributed to that.

Sad to hear Bob..

[melted]

First let me say I am sorry about your loss, Bob. May God comfort you all in your time of sorrow.

I guess I must go straw man hunting for a time, and then I will jump up on the pulpit (which I guess I am fooled into thinking I'm called for, by whom I know not; any suggestions?).

It seems Milt is errecting a straw man - arguing for GRACE GRACE GRACE when I am arguing for the exact same thing, except with the realization that God's grace does not STOP at gifting His elect with faith, but CONTINUES in His gifting them with good works to walk in. Brandan has jumped onto this same straw man and started beating him senseless along with Milt by saying such things as "Men are simply afraid to have a theology of Grace". I challenge either one of you to show me how WORKS are not a part of grace just as much as FAITH is a part of Grace. Read Eph 2:10 twenty times each until you get it if you must.

Furthermore Milt has errected a straw man of works somehow "proving to God that I am yours" when NOBODY has said any such thing. Works of the Holy Spirit are seen and appreciated by OUR MINDS, not by God's mind. There is a distinct difference and until this straw man is destroyed, there will only be futher confusion.

Brandan says "I count my works as dung" and that they mean nothing to him. I am not bold enough nor do I care to look so outwardly pious as to DENY THE GOOD WORKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD that HE HAS WORKED THROUGH ME. How is it glorifying to God to do such a thing? Shame on you. Repent. Now, if you mean to say that the works that you perform that are NOT OWED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT are dung then I agree wholeheartedly. I am but a wretched man saved by the grace of God. My flesh has such sin in it; such disgust; such perversity; such animalistic thoughts that any works that I can perform on my own are lower than dung. If you mean these works, then you have errected yet another straw man because every Christian counts these as dung. If you mean to say that the works of the Holy Spirit through you are dung, then repent. Now.

Clear Scripture after Scripture after Scripture has been offered with no rebuttal except wild accusations. Repent of this and look to the Word of God alone to form doctrine. Read the many posts, especially of late by such as John and Bryan who also attest to what is revealed by the inspired men of God in the Bible.

You want a list of works Brandan? I could hardly sleep last night thinking about all of this mess. I concluded that though God tells me that I am to do things "in secret and your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you", I will forfeit any such reward in the hopes that I may be the means by which God brings you to repentance. So if you really want a list, I will give it to you. Each item that I list will be credited ONLY and FULLY to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. You see, Brandan, it brings God glory when He causes us to walk in good deeds AND WE GLORIFY HIS NAME BECAUSE OF IT. We thank and praise Him for the GRACE that He has given us, not only that we might believe in Him but that we might walk in the good works set before us because of Christ's finished work upon the cross. Works, just as faith, are a RESULT of God's love and work on our behalf through His Son on the cross, they are not a CAUSE.

I can look back on my life and remember many times in which the Holy Spirit caused me to do something that was so outside my fleshly desires that I could not help but praise His Holy Name. For those things, I thank God that they have strengthened my assurance that I am His and that He is mine. When the Holy Spirit's work is so obvious, I am pushed down to my knees to thank Him yet again for His grace and mercy in condescending to deal kindly with such a worm as I.

I see that you have two options, Brandan, and any who agree with you:

1) Affirm that the Holy Spirit has worked good deeds through you and PRAISE HIM FOR IT; do not call His work "dung" - it disgusts me to see it.
2) Affirm that the Holy Spirit works nothing good through you

Pick one. Either way, repent.

[Brandan Kraft]

Affirm that the Holy Spirit has worked good deeds through you and PRAISE HIM FOR IT; do not call His work "dung" - it disgusts me to see it.

Phil 3:8, (KJV), Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

[Brandan Kraft]

Phil 3:8, (GILL), Yea, doubtless, and I count all things [but] loss,.... Not only the things before mentioned, but anything, and everything else but Christ, or that stood in competition with him, or were short of him; as his natural and acquired parts; the whole compass of learning he had attained to; all that honour, credit, reputation, and popularity he was in for knowledge and devotion; all worldly substance, the comforts of life, and life itself; and all his righteousness since conversion, as well as before; of this no doubt could be made by those who knew him, his principles and his practices: and all this


for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: "by the knowledge of Christ" is not meant subjectively the knowledge that is in Christ, or which he has of others, either as God or man; but objectively, that knowledge which believers have of him, who know him not only in his person, as God over all, but as a Saviour and Redeemer, and as theirs; they know him in all his relations, and particularly as their Lord, not by creation only, but by redemption and grace, as the apostle did, putting an emphasis on these words, "my Lord"; thereby expressing his faith of interest in him, his great affection for him, and cheerful subjection to him. And this knowledge is not general, but special, spiritual, and saving; it is a knowledge of approbation of Christ above all others; a fiducial one, which has faith in him joined with it, and is both experimental and, practical, and, at least at times, appropriating; and though imperfect, it is progressive and capable of being increased, and will at last be brought to perfection. It is attained to, not by the light of nature, nor by the help of carnal reason, nor by the law of Moses, but by the Gospel of the grace of God, as a means; and the efficient cause of it is Father, Son, and Spirit; the Father reveals Christ in his saints; the Son gives them an understanding to know him; and the Spirit is a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him; and this knowledge is very excellent: a spiritual knowledge of Christ is more excellent than a general and notional one, or than a knowledge of Christ after the flesh; and the knowledge of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, though the same in nature, is more excellent than that which was under the legal dispensation, by promises, prophecies, and the ceremonial law, in degree, extensiveness, and clearness; but the most excellent knowledge of Christ is that of the saints in heaven; yea, even there is an excellency in what the saints have here on earth, and a superior one to all other knowledge, if the author and original of it is considered: it is not of ourselves, nor by the assistance of men; it is not in the book of nature, nor in the schools of the philosophers; it is not of earth, nor earthly, but it comes from afar, from above, from heaven, from God the Father of lights; it is a free grace gift, a distinguishing one, and is very comprehensive, unspeakable, and unchangeable: and as to the object of it, it is Christ, the chiefest among ten thousands; who made the heavens, earth, and seas, and all that in them are, the sun, moon, and stars, men and beasts, birds and fishes, fossils, minerals, vegetables, and everything in nature; and therefore the knowledge of him must be superior to the knowledge of everything else; and, which adds to its excellency, it makes Christ precious, engages faith and confidence in him, influences the life and conversation, humbles the soul, and creates in it true pleasure and satisfaction; when all other knowledge fills with self-love, pride, and vanity, and increases sorrow; whereas this is not only useful in life, but supports, as under afflictions, so in the views of death and eternity; through it grace is received now, and by it glory hereafter; for it is the beginning, earnest, and pledge of eternal life. Well may the believer count all things but loss for it, as the apostle did; who adds, for further confirmation of what he had asserted,

for whom I have suffered the loss of all things; he dropped all confidence in his carnal privileges, and civil, ceremonial, and moral righteousness, for Christ and his righteousness; he parted with all for this pearl of great price; he lost his good name, credit, and reputation among men, and suffered afflictions and persecutions in various shapes; he lost the comforts of life, being often in cold and nakedness, in hunger and thirst, and was ready to suffer the loss of life itself for professing and preaching Christ:

and do count them [but] dung; or dog's meat; see Php 3:2; what is fit only to be cast to dogs, as the word signifies; and intends every thing that is base, mean, and worthless; as the faeces of men, the dregs and lees of liquor, the falling of fruit, chaff, stubble, the dross of metals, dung, and what not: so he esteemed his carnal descent; his form and sect of religion, and zeal in it; his ceremonial and moral righteousness before and after conversion; and everything of the creature, or what was his own, and but flesh; being of the same opinion with the church of old, who reckoned her righteousnesses, the best, and the whole of them, as "filthy rags". The apostle next expresses his end and views in this,

that I may win Christ; not get an interest in him, for this he had already, and he knew he had, and that he should never lose it; and besides, an interest in Christ is not a thing that begins in time, but commenced from all eternity; and is not gotten at all, not by good works, nor repentance, nor faith; for these, if right and genuine, are the fruits and effects of an interest in Christ, but is what is freely given. The apostle's meaning is, either that he might gain or acquire a larger knowledge of Christ; and he cared not what pains he took, what expenses he was at, nor what loss he sustained for what he esteemed the most excellent, and for which he had already suffered the loss of all things; and if he had had more to lose, he could willingly part with it for more of this knowledge; compare Php 3:10; or his sense is, that he might gain by Christ, or that Christ might be gain to him, as he found him to be, and as he is to every believer; who by parting with all for Christ, gains much by him, as a justifying righteousness, acceptance with God, peace, pardon, life, grace, and glory.

[melted]

That is all you have to say? You mis-use a passage of Scripture to justify calling the work of the Holy Spirit dung? Paul would have no part in that. He put "no confidence in the flesh" nor the works of the flesh, but I guarantee you he put confidence in the Holy Spirit of God.

[jmgipson]

Jn 3:20-21, (GILL)

20

For every one that doth evil, hateth the light,.... Every man, the series of whose life and conversation is evil, hates Christ and his Gospel, cause they make manifest his evil deeds, convict him of them, and rebuke him for them:
neither cometh to the light; to hear Christ preach, or preached; to attend on the Gospel ministration and means of grace:
lest his deeds should be reproved; or discovered, and made manifest, and he be brought to shame, and laid under blame, and advised to part with them, which he cares not to do; see Eph 5:11.

21

But he that doth truth,.... That which is true, right and good: "he whose work is just", as the Ethiopic version renders it; or, "he that does that which is right", so the Persic; that which is according to the will of God, and from a principle of love to him, and with a view to his glory:
cometh to the light; to Christ, and to his word, and ordinances:
that his deeds may be made manifest; being brought to the light, to the test, and standard, whether they, are right, or wrong; and that it may appear,
that they are wrought in God; or "by God"; by his assistance, and gracious influence, without which men can do nothing; for it is God that works in them both to will and to do: or, "according to God", as others render it; according to the will of God, both for matter and manner: or "for God", as the Ethiopic version renders it; for the glory of God, which ought to be the aim, and end of every action. The Persic version reads the whole thus, "that the work which is between God and him may be known"; that such deeds may be discovered, which are only known to God and himself.

[Mrs. Gill]

Simply put
I look to Christ and his accomplishment for my assurance. I know the truth. THis is assurance enough for me. If I have to look at works for assurance, then Imust not be regenerate. I sin everday, every hour, maybe even every few minutes.....and these are the ones I am aware of. My intentions inb my so called works are not even pure a lot of the time. Think about all those priests who do ore, and better works than anyone here, yet they do not have truth. There are many non believers I am sure that are "better people" than me, but do not have the gospel..It is simple to me.....

[Brandan Kraft]

That is all you have to say? You mis-use a passage of Scripture to justify calling the work of the Holy Spirit dung? Paul would have no part in that. He put "no confidence in the flesh" nor the works of the flesh, but I guarantee you he put confidence in the Holy Spirit of God.

Kyle - your ego is getting the better of you. I suggest you take a break. - Brandan

[lionovjudah]

Getting back to the issue of dead faith. Isaiah and Christ spoke the same words below:

Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

This is dead faith to a "t".

I know we have digressed into an assurance thread, but I do not believe we finished the topic of dead faith.

AS far as what is being said on assurance here, I believe a balance is needed. IF we ever reach the point of some morbid introspection, navel gazing, we will end up mad as some of the puritans did. But we must also "make our election and calling sure." All of our works are tainted with sin, there is no dount of that, but to deny the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit making us hate what we once loved and love what we once hated, is wrong also.

James is combatting exactly the words of Isaiah here and what Christ repeated in Matthew. THose who "SAY" they have faith, but do not do anything in their wretched lives to show it. Just like it was easier for Christ to say "Your sins are forgiven" vs take up your mat and walk, it is easier for some to SAY they have faith, but do not produce fruit.

I do not know if anyone read the article from Bunyan I posted, but you should immediately

[Robert R. Higby]

Ray: Wow Bob...35 years old . Did you know her well?

I knew her and saw her regularly most of her life; in recent years I did not have as much contact as before--around once a year.

What is the deal with this "Imitrex" ?? how is it that something even a physician takes winds up being attributed( by the Lord's sovereign will ..of course) to her death?? What is up with these perscribtions??

I am still waiting on all the relevant facts in this case; will know more in a week or so I'm sure. That is a prelimiinary conclusion from her dad and 2 brothers--who are also physicians. But I also heard it from a second hand source so it may be imperfect.

I do think many medications are very dangerous (including Zocor & company) but that is my opinion.

Back to the 'faith' issue. The very meaning of belief/faith is assurance/ confidence as far as I'm concerned. Justification is not based on faith but on the work of Christ. The gift of faith is how God communicates to us the confidence of our inclusion in the election of grace.

All believers are foreordained to good works (those that God deems as good), none of us deny that. The experience and performance of such works might indeed give us a sense of confidence, however, we should not rely on such confidence to be assured of justification.

[Brandan Kraft]

Back to the 'faith' issue. The very meaning of belief/faith is assurance/ confidence as far as I'm concerned. Justification is not based on faith but on the work of Christ. The gift of faith is how God communicates to us the confidence of our inclusion in the election of grace.

Thank you Bob - that is what I've been trying to say this whole time.

All believers are foreordained to good works (those that God deems as good), none of us deny that. The experience and performance of such works might indeed give us a sense of confidence, however, we should not rely on such confidence to be assured of justification.

Thank you!

[Mickey]

Back to the 'faith' issue. The very meaning of belief/faith is assurance/ confidence as far as I'm concerned. Justification is not based on faith but on the work of Christ. The gift of faith is how God communicates to us the confidence of our inclusion in the election of grace.

I agree, the cause of our justification is not our faith rather the merits of Christ ALONE and by faith we experience justification.

All believers are foreordained to good works (those that God deems as good), none of us deny that. The experience and performance of such works might indeed give us a sense of confidence, however, we should not rely on such confidence to be assured of justification.

I agree again, no reliance should be placed on our performance. Salvation for the elect is a completed act in Christ’s merits, so much so that the works that we are foreordained to perform are a sure thing.

I think the confusion here is in the language used to communicate the proper attitude towards works and how they are to be viewed in light of the already finished work of Christ. Bob, said, “…works might indeed give us a sense of confidence, however, we should not rely on such confidence to be assured of justification.” Very true! However the lack of works with the knowledge that the Christian is foreordained to perform them should cause the individual to question if the work of Christ has been applied to them by the Holy Spirit. Note that it is the work of the Holy Spirit that causes us to perform, NOT an infused righteousness of our own. I agree with Kyle that to call the work of the Spirit through us dung, Paul would have had no part in, but it has rarely been my experience that I could distinguish between my works or the Spirit’s, so I leave the issue alone.

So do I look to works for assurance? No, but I do think that a lack of works in the believer’s experience should cause him/her to question whether the work of Christ has been applied to them through the work of the Holy Spirit, and they should turn to Christ and seek repentance for their disobedience.

Are you committing adultery, fornication, witchcraft or homosexuality? If so, unless you are granted repentance you have no reason to believe that Christ merits have been applied to you.

Do you turn away brothers or sisters that are in need? If so, unless you are granted repentance you have no reason to believe that Christ merits have been applied to you.

[Brandan Kraft]

Thanks go out to a lovely brother and specifically sister for providing me by voice mail this verse.

1 Cor 4:3-4, (KJV), But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. (4) For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.

[Mrs. Gill]

Michael, I think I MAY understand what you mean, but you do state-perhaps this is just one example????? that if you turn away brothers and sisters in need, you should examine whether Christ's merits have been applied to you. Well, here lies the problem. What do you consider turning away? Not talking to enough, not feeding, not giving money???? Just what is enough? What is the official amount of "work" one should do.
Do you understand? For example, let's say I judge you unregenerite because you do not "help" another brother enough...is it any of my business what is "enough?" If you knew me well, and judged me on my works, you would have to conclude that I am not regenerate....I am not very good to my brothers and sisters, heck, I am not even that good to my husband if we are judging works....Yeah The world wouold say I am a good wife, but I know at least some of my sin, and it is sickenning....
I am a good wife by many standards, but the perfect standard of Christ, I cannot live up to no matter what I do, cause I will screw it up, so I must try my best, and look to Christ, becasue he has accomplished what I strive to be-perfect-but really, I am so sinful, I wouldn't even call it striving, but because I can look to Christ, I am assured of my salvation....
Make sense??