Ep.149 - I Was Just Wondering? - Can God Really be Pleased with me if I Don’t Believe?

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Can God really be pleased with me even if I don’t believe? If I live with good intentions, and perform good deeds, will it draw the favour of God to me? Does the Bible infer that one’s behaviour can draw the attention of heaven? What about Cornelius in Acts 10? Wasn’t he brought to God‘s attention through his good works? Is the goodness of God contingent on the level of acceptability he offers to individuals? How do we understand common grace in the broader context of the goodness and justice of God? Think about Matthew 25, the sheep and the goats. Doesn’t it teach us about the power of good actions? Can good works in of themselves create a space in which God reveals himself to people who may not explicitly believe? How does justice and mercy work together?God’s salvific relations to faith and our good works is a complicated and complex issue that gives rise to multiple questions. This week the curious team examine the difficult and at times contentious place our behaviour and deeds take in the overall salvific purposes of God. Was James in his epistle, truly offering an alternative to Paul or merely addressing a balance? How important is what we do in connection to what we believe? These difficult issues and more, the team dig into. Join us this week in what promises to be a rather interesting conversation. Further ReadingHere’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….How Are Faith and Works Related When it Comes to Salvation? - EPM.orgFaith and Works - TheGospelCoalition.orgIs My Salvation an Event or a Process - DesiringGod.orgWhat we’re reading?As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy! Thomas H. McCall, Caleb T. Friedeman & Matt T. Friedeman — The Doctrine of Good WorksThomas R. Schreiner — Faith Alone: The Doctrine of JustificationSend your questions or thoughts to: [email protected] us on Instagram @theologyforthecuriousFind us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious