Belief
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
This is ridiculous unless you understand what the NT means by “believe”,
which is to truly believe in your heart, have faith in, trust, and obey.
(Evangelist T. L. Osborne was the first I know of who fully researched this out.)
If a person does these things … he/she truly is a believer in Christ and His words!
Many passages teach us that obedience is necessary for salvation.
Faith
Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Gal 3:6)
And “the just shall live by faith” (Gal 3:11) and “we might be justified by faith.” (Gal 3:24)
Awesome, but there is more to faith than this!
“For in Christ Jesus (nothing) avails anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal 5:6)
Grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8)
Terrific, but there is more to grace than this (it can be lost)!
Paul writes to Jewish Christian males who decided they needed to be circumcised:
“You have been estranged from Christ … you have fallen from grace.”(Gal 5:4)
Sons of God
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” (Gal 3:26)
Wonderful, but there is more to being sons/daughters than this!
“For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Rom 8:14)
Righteousness
“… the righteousness from God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe.” (Rom 3:22)
Super, except there is more to righteousness than this!
Many passages insist one’s righteousness must be maintained, but my personal favorite is:
"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are
that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether (slaves) of sin leading to (eternal) death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16)
A new one has just popped up, Praise God …
“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Gal 5:5)
Yes, if you have faith, you may (through the Spirit) eagerly hope for righteousness!
Do you see from this very quick and small sampling that …
• ALL of the NT must be taken into account to understand what the words/terms mean.
• ALL of what the NT says about believers is conditional upon their co-operation with God.
So, perhaps you should turn off the TV and find out what the NT is really saying!
P.S. -- Just couldn’t resist practicing a hobby of mine:
Truly believe in your heart; have faith in Jesus, trust Him, and obey.
And your righteousness must be maintained and not thrown away.
(This one has not yet been copyrighted, so you may use it as often as you wish.)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
This is ridiculous unless you understand what the NT means by “believe”,
which is to truly believe in your heart, have faith in, trust, and obey.
(Evangelist T. L. Osborne was the first I know of who fully researched this out.)
If a person does these things … he/she truly is a believer in Christ and His words!
Many passages teach us that obedience is necessary for salvation.
Faith
Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Gal 3:6)
And “the just shall live by faith” (Gal 3:11) and “we might be justified by faith.” (Gal 3:24)
Awesome, but there is more to faith than this!
“For in Christ Jesus (nothing) avails anything, but faith working through love.” (Gal 5:6)
Grace
“For by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8)
Terrific, but there is more to grace than this (it can be lost)!
Paul writes to Jewish Christian males who decided they needed to be circumcised:
“You have been estranged from Christ … you have fallen from grace.”(Gal 5:4)
Sons of God
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ.” (Gal 3:26)
Wonderful, but there is more to being sons/daughters than this!
“For as many as are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Rom 8:14)
Righteousness
“… the righteousness from God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe.” (Rom 3:22)
Super, except there is more to righteousness than this!
Many passages insist one’s righteousness must be maintained, but my personal favorite is:
"Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are
that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether (slaves) of sin leading to (eternal) death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16)
A new one has just popped up, Praise God …
“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” (Gal 5:5)
Yes, if you have faith, you may (through the Spirit) eagerly hope for righteousness!
Do you see from this very quick and small sampling that …
• ALL of the NT must be taken into account to understand what the words/terms mean.
• ALL of what the NT says about believers is conditional upon their co-operation with God.
So, perhaps you should turn off the TV and find out what the NT is really saying!
P.S. -- Just couldn’t resist practicing a hobby of mine:
Truly believe in your heart; have faith in Jesus, trust Him, and obey.
And your righteousness must be maintained and not thrown away.
(This one has not yet been copyrighted, so you may use it as often as you wish.)
