what were u expecting?

I think we all understand that the equation isn't "Faith + Works = Salvation", but rather "Faith = Salvation" with 'works' left out of the equation, b/c it's only a byproduct of faith. But it is a very important byproduct, because works is a natural outpouring of your Faith in Christ that God has given u. Pastor Ting once said that you can be sure of your salvation, but you can never be sure of others. He made many biblical references to his reasoning.. and man, i wish i took notes... b/c i always thought that you could tell if i person was saved by their "fruit" or "works"... but that doesn't fly b/c of the whole clean glass on the outside but dirty on the inside thing... hmm... part of the passage we went over last night for prayer mtng was on Jesus telling his desciples that only children were to be admitted into heaven (not meaning only those under the age of 16)... but we're called to have childlike obedience to our Father and yet at the same time, by calling us children, that automatically assumes that our IQ isn't up there. we still have so much to learn and yet we'll never learn it all... The 2nd part of the parable (which is found in Mark 16?) was about a Rich man who came to Jesus and told him that he's kept all the commandments, so what does he have to do next in order to receive salvation... That in itself just shows how much our human nature wants to earn salvation thru works. Then Jesus says, give ur riches to the poor and follow me, and the guy couldn't do it. It just goes to show that Frank Lee's saying is so true... "If it salvation was obtained by works alone... I'd be screwed."
==================================