Faith flows from the indwelling Holy Spirit which is the gift of life (of the soul) from God. So the fruit of the Spirit can never be dead.

Rom 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works...

Psalm 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

There it is.....Abraham did no work...but believed God. And we also see the relationship of Faith and righteousness as well. They are one in the same. Which is why Paul concludes:

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Paul said the persuasion they (Galatians) were being exposed to did not come from Him that calleth you (Gal. 5:8), it was coming from the brood of vipers (Matt.23:33) aka Jews who taught lies of traditions and works of self righteousness which God did not teach nor asked for. (Isa. 1-11,12)

Certain men of James were trying their best to entangle true believers back into works of self righteousness (Gal. 5:1) which is the yoke of bondage and believers were instructed not to be persuaded by them.

The Jews had fed deceit to true believers for years and were instructed to renew their minds from the mind of Christ which they had (1 Cor. 2:16) and John validated in his letter.

1 John 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which *we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life*

When we Prove all things and hold fast that which is good, there's only one source. The fruit of the Spirit.

That is just one testimony of what the reformation is about. Your extremely narrow and generalized view is not the true picture. but only contains the unfortunate actions of some, therefore missing the big picture. Here's another.

The Father gave the Son a commission:

John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

Here's what Jude had to say:

Jude 1:24-15 Now unto *him that is able to keep you from falling*, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Something to consider DKH, The RC was not a new start up but was simply the continuation of the evil man made organization and their ways which Paul was once a part of. The RC is nothing more than the progeny of the harlot and they carry on that lie to this day. FAITH + works.

Also, Here's another mention of Faith in Acts. It is the sole means God uses for purification, not man made cisterns (Jer. 2:13) and their idols which is figuratively compared to money in Psalm 115:4

DKH wrote:
unbiblical ideas from the reformers (faith alone).

Faith alone is not unbiblical and it was not just Paul who spoke on it.

Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Paul teaches what The law of Faith is but it permeates the entire Bible from cover to cover.

Hebrews chapter 11.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the **faith which was once delivered unto the saints.**

Past tense. Faith has been delivered. Given. A gift.

Here's a OT prophecy that speaks regarding faith or lack thereof which was due to what Jer. 2:13 says.

Deut 33:20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

Here is what David had to say.

Psalm 51:16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

5. SALVATION:
We believe and confess that all who believe in Christ shall be saved. Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He is the sacrifice, the payment for the sins of fallen man. Man must respond with repentance (a change of heart) toward God and with faith (a heart attitude of belief) in our Lord Jesus Christ. Believing is a present, continuous act of the will.

I Cor. 15:1-4; John 3:16; Romans 10:13; Acts 20:21; I Peter 1:5.
_____________________

While it sounds great it is not correct.

DKH wrote:
‭“But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.”
Acts‬ ‭26:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Ladybug, your comment surprises me. I do not wish to get involved in a political discussion but want to point out that repentance is central to the gospel. All these verses are in Acts where the Apostles are confronting unbelievers. Shouldn’t we preach the gospel that the Apostles preached? And yet, if I would say “repent and do works meet for repentance” people would say I’m a heretic or quickly explain that Paul didn’t mean what he said.

Dr. Tim wrote:
The U.S. House of Representatives should be a museum. It’s filled with interesting but useless relics.

Why?

Sardis does sound somewhat like what happened during the reformation. Once Luther and Tyndale translated the Scriptures from legitimate Greek manuscripts fresh from A 1000 year stay in Constantinople, the RC error would be exposed for all who could read or hear God speak for Himself. (Rom. 10:17)
Not unlike those 2000 years ago who only spoke Greek but yet attended synagogues where it Aramaic/Hebrew was spoken and then traditions peddled.

In 1 Thess 3:4, tribulation had come to pass said Paul which I think would one would indicate a falling away had occurrd or eww as ongoing when he penned the letter. In his second letter Paul said the mystery of iniquity doth already work so sounds like what occurs during a time of tribulation.

We are to compare spiritual with Spiritual per Paul, which I understand to be comparing Scripture with Scripture which leads to Scripture interpreting Scripture. Paul gives an example of this very thing in 1 cor 9:9-10 in his exegesis of Deut. 25:4.

Hope that makes sense.