[chette777]

Originally Posted by gophgetter

Greetings Chette,

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

2Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

You do see that the writter of Hebrews is telling them if they fail of the grace. under theKingdom Gospel which is offered to Jews and Gentiles pre church age and during the tribulation a work is added to their faith.

in this case they better folllow peace with all men, they better follow holiness to perfection, or they wont see the Lord. They best not fail of the grace of God (reject Jesus Christ or take the mark), and they better not let a root of bitterness grow in their hearts. if that last one were applied today a whole lot of people including Stephenos wont go to heaven.

James may be speaking an anology there but it still addressed to people hearing and receiving the Gospel of the Kingdom. that is why works is such a big thing to him. Faith plus Works otherwise youfaith is dead. Kingdom Gospel always requires works to accompany faith.

in 2Corithians it is as I said in another post your duty to walk in the works God has prepared for you. these are what Paul is describing here. we could never get to perfect Holiness on our own and it wont happen in this life time. It will happen though when God finishes the work he has started in us at our gathering to the Lord. But this is not something you do according to Paul toget Saved or stay saved. it is for your perfection and rewards.