That's a great summary, Gosso; I think you hit the nail on the head.Gosso wrote: I guess this is the whole debate of saved by faith alone or by works? My take is that everything begins with faith, and then God helps to transform us through prayer, so that it becomes natural or easy to follow the commandments/Law ("my yoke is easy"). Now I agree that none of us will achieve this level of perfection (at least in this life), but we still have to make an attempt, ask for forgiveness when fail, and then Christ will pick us back up again. We're sort of like children learning to walk.
The New Testament makes it clear in different passages that both faith and works/behavior are important, but that faith comes first and is far more important--because true faith in Christ will naturally influence one's deeds as a reflection of that faith, whereas deeds without faith can be tainted by various personal motives or a sense of self-important righteousness. Here are two passages that discuss this:
Galations 3:22-27 (NIV) wrote: But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
James 2:14-26 (NIV) wrote: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,”? but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”?
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”?and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.