Enter in, for to you the gates are wide open!

[skyblue888]

It wouldn't hurt to re-visit the following statements as they, like no other I know of, clearly show the relation between faith, merits, grace, works and reward.

"We are accepted through Christ’s merits alone; and the acts of mercy,the deeds of love, which we perform, are the fruits of faith; and they become a blessing to us; for men are to be rewarded according to their works. It is the fragrance of the merits of Christ that makes our good works acceptable to God, and it is grace that enables us to do the works for which He rewards us. Our works, in and of themselves have no merit. When we have done all that it is possible for us to do, we are to count ourselves as unprofitable servants. (Luke 17:10) We deserve no thanks from God. We have only done what it was our duty to do, and our works could not have been performed by the strength of our own sinful nature.” E.G. White, 5 B.C.1122.

Notice that when she says that "our works, in and of themselves, have no merit" she is talking about the works that the grace of the Holy Spirit enables us to do. These good works wrought by the Holy Spirit in and through us do not play a part in the salvation of the soul or in merit and yet God will reward us for these good works as if they were our own works and the merit our own.

"Although we have no merit in ourselves, in the great goodness and love of God we are rewarded as if the merit were our own. When we have done all the good we can possibly do, we are still unprofitable servants. We have done only what was our duty. What we have accomplished has been wrought solely through the grace of Christ, and no reward is due to us from God on the ground of our merit. But through the merit of our Saviour, every promise that God has made will be fulfilled, and every man will be rewarded according to his deeds." RH, June 27, 1893 par.15

Those who shall walk through the gates into the City of God will have daily exercised the only true faith, the faith that lays right hold upon the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Saviour in order to bring Christ's righteousness into the life. They will have a deep sense of their own unworthiness saying, Lord, we are unprofitable servants. If we walk through these gates into the City of God it will only be on account of the all-sufficient merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. We have no goodness within or merits whereby we may claim salvation but we present before You the all-sufficient merits of the spotless Lamb of God. This is our only plea.

"Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, adn unto the Lamb forever and ever. Rev.5:13.

And the Father will answer, "Enter in, good and faithful servants, for to you the gates are wide open. Take possession of the Kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world."

What say you?

sky

[Gibs]

Sky,

Here is just a dab to add to it from EGW,

"By living faith, by earnest prayer to God, and depending upon Jesus' merits, we are clothed with His righteousness, and we are saved. "Oh, yes," some say, "we are saved in doing nothing. In fact, I am saved. I need not keep the law of God. I am saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ." Christ came to our world to bring all men back to allegiance to God. To take the position that you can break God's law, for Christ has done it all, is a position of death, for you are as verily a transgressor as anyone. {FW 71.2}

Then what is it? It is to hear and to see that with the righteousness of Christ which you hold by faith, righteousness supplied by His efforts and His divine power, you can keep the commandments of God. {FW 71.3}

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[skyblue888]

Yes Gibs because "His righteousness accomplishes everything," as it is "made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God." Faith & Works,27; Testimonies to ministers,92.

sky

[ClubV12]

Indeed His righteousness is everything.

Now don't put your feet up on the footstool and think your "work" is done here on earth!

We need to bring to the table a certain self determination to believe and follow through of what God has told us to do. Keep the Sabbath, for instance. Get up in the morning, get dressed and go serve the body of believers in some capacity. Share your faith, you actually have to put one foot in front of the other.

Of your own free will? Well, not exactly, even our will must be given to Christ to be sanctified, to give us the power to put one foot in front of the other.

Ah, the balance is never ending....