Simplelogic
Well-Known Member
Hi Simplelogic,
As I said before, works can only be seen through external means and I cannot blame you why works is very visible—same as Pharisees who displayed their holiness by works. Jesus can see the heart of the people he met. He is the Son of God. You are right that repentance brings Zaccheus salvation because of demonstration of righteousness for repayment. It is not works that saved Zaccheus, for no man can saved by works; but his works did demonstrate that he had placed faith in Christ, and had received righteousness by faith.
If we will base our salvation by works, then the rich would win because they have so much money to do good works.
Thanks
"Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Yeshua was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was going to pass that way. And when Yeshua came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house." So he made haste and came down, and received him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner." Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord. "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Yeshua said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:2-10
It was his acts of repentance, charity, and making things right with those he had cheated that earned him "salvation". The case for works-alone is established here again!
I have yet to find anyone who has put together the picture that Zacchaeus was almost certainly under the influence of John the Baptist's teaching and had been baptized by him. Yeshua knew this, and it was the reason why he called Zacchaeus by name and said ,"today I must stay at your house". Remember, John had come to prepare the way for Yeshua. Notice what John had taught concerning staying out of judgment and fire, as well as what he said to certain "tax collectors".
Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees, Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." Luke 3:7-13
Zacchaeus was one of those tax collectors who was there that day. What John had said that day could be interpreted to mean he instructed those who had possessions to give half to the poor. "He who has two... give to him who has none." This is exactly what Zacchaeus had done. And since Zacchaeus had already defrauded others and collected more than what was appropriate, he went and made it right with them by going over and above the requirements of the Law, as found in Leviticus 6:1-5, and restored what he had taken as though he had stolen sheep... a "fourfold" requirement. (Exodus 22:1, and 2 Samuel 12:6) One might even surmise from this that Zacchaeus had made a practice of collecting the excess charge in sheep! Whatever the case, he had made it right, and the point to be made is that both Yeshua and John the Baptist made it very clear that it was works-alone, of loving others through charity as well as treating them the way he would want to be treated, that saved him from fire." http://judaismvschristianity.com/heavenorhell.htm