"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5
Not everyone is friendly to this verse. I've heard many pastors say that "that's not what it means." That's what's wrong with stale and un-renewed theologies. Once a group has made a doctrine of faith or a church resolution or a church polity, in many cases that stays the rule for decades or centuries, leaving no room for new light from God; growth in the inner man that dissuades one from believing something that parts from the true meaning of a verse. As the church grows, so does our understanding and with understanding comes enlightenment, a bigger view of God and a better view of God.
Verses like this one strike at the heart of religious philosophies that teach that Christianity is a performance based religion. requiring its members to follow a set of rules that were not imparted to us by God. That's the way it was when Jesus came. Jesus wasn't angry at those who were living a holy life or trusting in God or even following tradition as long as they were not making up rules and traditions that would nullify the truth from God. It is the same today.
I hear more extra biblical teaching than I do worthy biblical teaching. It seems that too many pastors, preachers, ministers are willing to preach church doctrine or 'get something quick schemes' instead of Biblical truth. It appears that those in leadership are more worried about bringing in enough income to build an empire, than they are in teaching the infallible truths of God's Word. Sometimes if you were to tell the people the truth, they would not like to hear it. It goes against what they have believed for forty years.
Jesus did all the work that you need to be accepted into the kingdom of God. You are not accepted because you said the right things or because you did something or because you gave a certain amount every week. You are accepted because God called and you answered. You were made righteous (by the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation) you didn't become righteous over time. You were made righteous by God because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. You can't add to that. Quit trying. Accepting the work of Christ in its truest sense is the Biblical way. Remember we are following Jesus, not your denomination.
(Just to set the record straight; in no way am I saying that being a part of a main-line denomination is bad or less desirable than any other way of serving God. Denominations are for people to have organized and prosperous groups to join together to serve God and man. The rules for the denomination are a good thing and those who are members should follow the rules of the denomination, but the rules of a denomination are not scripture. Scripture truths supersede church doctrine.)
What I am saying is, too many church members don't read or know the scriptures as well as they should and they rely on being told what the scriptures say, too often. If you have a Bible, read it and then make up your mind if certain religious traditions are true or not.)
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