working on works, part II

<sup>so i'm not sure i was very clear in my last post about works, hence the part 2! also, i had two more verses i wanted to post. my point was this: 

1. we don't need works to be saved. that is the GREATEST blessing ever, because if we were judged against the law (by how well we stuck to the rules and obeyed God's commandments) not one of us would make it to heaven.

2. in terms of overemphasizing grace, i only meant that i think a lot of churches emphasize grace at the expense of works. this makes sense, because we're not judged according to our works, but works are also important.

3. i think if we do good works, but non-christians can't identify us as Christ-followers, we're doing ourselves a disservice in terms of evangelism. good works are never not a good thing, but if you do good works in Christ's name i think the power of the works in terms of bringing others to Christ is multiplied. by a lot.

4. live by faith in Christ and you'll gain salvation. the Bible states it over and over again. why would you doubt it? righteousness can't be gained through the law (or circumcision, which a few verses use as an example of upholding the law). if we could be saved only by obeying the rules and being good people, then no one would need Jesus and (as is below) he would have given up his life, dying on the cross, for no reason at all.

20</sup>I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ²¹I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
 galatians 2:20-21


 ¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? ²If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁴Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
 ⁷"Blessed are they
      whose transgressions are forgiven,
      whose sins are covered.
 ⁸Blessed is the man
      whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
 ⁹Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
romans 4:1-12