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GRACE, FAITH and WORKSWe are saved "by grace through faith" (Ephesians 2:8), "not as a result of works" (Ephesians 2:9), we are "created in Christ Jesus for good works" (Ephesians 2:10). Good
works are something we do because we have been justified, not in order
to be justified. Concern and care for the poor is an effect of salvation,
not the cause of salvation. Ignatius of Antioch (14-107): "Those who profess to be Christ's will be recognised by their actions. They will give and be given graciously unto the poor just as the Lord gave and was given unto them." Clement of Rome (34-100): "Let us not merely call Him Lord . . . Let us acknowledge Him by our actions of mercy and charity." The Didache (110): "Every prophet who teaches the truthbut fails to practice what he preaches is a false prophet." John Chrysostom (347-407): "The essence of the Gospel is not concern for the poor, but it certainly provokes that concern. In fact without that concern, the essence of the Gospel surely has not been grasped." Ambrose of Milan (339-397): "Faith is the begetter of a good will and of good actions to the least of these." Jan Hus (1369-1415): "Doubt must be cast on fruitless lives.Profession must be followed by deeds of charity, otherwise that profession is false." Martin Luther (1483-1546): "Where there are no good works, there is no faith. If works and love do not blossom forth, it is not genuine faith, the Gospel has not yet gained a foothold, and Christ is not yet rightly known." The Augsburg Confession (1530): "It is necessary to do good works; not that we may trust that we deserve grace by them, but because it is the will of God that we should do them." The Belgic Confession (1561): "It is impossible that the holy faith can be unfruitful in man." The Westminster Confession (1646): "Good works, done in obedience to God's commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith: and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the Gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto; that, having their fruitunto holiness, they may have in the end, eternal life." For
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