timdiggerm said:
darth_ender said:
If someone does not exercise good works, they are not exercising enough faith to truly accept Christ.
I think this is specifically where we differ - the idea that there's an "enough faith" threshold necessary. Protestants believe that good works and faith go hand in hand, though, because good works are the result of faith.
It usually is where I differ with most of my Protestant friends. Allow me to share an analogy I've probably shared before, but retyping might be easier than finding and linking to it. I came up with it myself, so hopefully it is adequate.
One night, Jesus was walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee. His frightened apostles saw him and were at first frightened, but after he assured them of who he was, Peter asked the Lord to bid him to walk on the water as well. When Jesus did, Peter stepped onto the waters, to his surprise he was successful at first, but after a very few steps, he was overcome by doubt and fear and began to sink. At that he cried out to the Lord, who then took hold of him and pulled him to safety.
Here is the analogy. The stormy sea is much like this life of sin. As in this story, Jesus has always been able to remain above water, never succumbing to even the slightest of sin. But while he bids us to keep his commandments, we will always fall short and sink. But if we call out to him for salvation, with the faith that he can save us, he indeed will reach out and pull us to safety. However, all the calling in the world won't do any good if we refuse to do our part. Imagine if Peter refused to hold out his hand, or if once Jesus grabbed him, he then said, "Okay Lord, I've got it, I've got it," and pulled away. He would once again sink. As long as he was doing his part to keep hold on his Master, both physically and in faith, Jesus could bring him safely back to the boat.
"Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
-Jesus
Matthew 7:21
But I definitely agree, there is no threshold (except admittedly we Mormons believe in a few essential ordinances). Christ is the judge if our actions were pure and motivated by faith. He doesn't have a set scale for everyone. He judges us individually.
I also agree that if one is truly converted and has face in Christ, the good works will follow on their own, and any true disciple shouldn't even have to worry about how much good they are doing. A true convert simply does good for the sake of love and discipleship.