[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Godswants for us to be saved, and it is only by salvation through HisGrace that we may be saved.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Butwe must do certain things to find salvation in Him. We must, forinstance, have first cleansed ourselves of sins we have knowingly andunknowingly committed in the past, so we may stand ready to receiveGod's Word and abide by it, toward loving Him. Hebrews 6 tells usthat once we have cleansed ourselves of such sins, we may stand cleanbefore the Lord and loving Him through His Word without our mindsbeing tainted by such past sins. Man is prone to sin when on earth,so this act of cleansing is necessary.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hebrews6:1-2 says, “...let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ andgo on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance fromdead works and of faith toward God,[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]andof instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, theresurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” The doctrine ofChrist involves repentance, so once we have achieved repentance wemay accept the Word of God willfully and love Him accordingly. Similarly, Ezekiel 18:21-23 says, “But if a wicked person turnsaway from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all mystatutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; heshall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shallbe remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done heshall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declaresthe Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way andlive?”[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]TheWord of God, with its statutes and ordinances, was first given to thechosen people, but as Jesus implies, it is meant for everyone whowould would be willing to come clean and accept and love God thoughHis Word. Jesus in Mark 16:15-16 says, “Go into all the world andproclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and isbaptized will be saved.” This is God's Will, inasmuch as He createdAdam and Eve in His own image and He expected Adam and Eve to abideby His direction. As we all came from Adam and Eve, we all have thesame standing under God, so we all answer to Him. God, therefore mayhave first conveyed His Word on the Chosen, but His Word is notlimited to the Chosen by any means.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hebrews6 says that having come clean, we may go beyond the stage ofrepentance, and abide by God's Word through Jesus, who had a betterunderstanding and love for God than the scribes and Pharisees of histime and place who only preached God's Word but did not practice it.Fortunately, there were many Jews of Jesus time who were morediscerning and who ended up willingly accepting what Jesus spoke tothem, and some of them became his disciples. And as through Jesus'teachings we once again realize that, as with Adam and Eve, we areall one under God.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Ina sense, Hebrews 6 may be regarded as the next stage toward gainingsalvation through God's Grace. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Butwe must do certain things to find salvation in Him. We must, forinstance, have first cleansed ourselves of sins we have knowingly andunknowingly committed in the past, so we may stand ready to receiveGod's Word and abide by it, toward loving Him. Hebrews 6 tells usthat once we have cleansed ourselves of such sins, we may stand cleanbefore the Lord and loving Him through His Word without our mindsbeing tainted by such past sins. Man is prone to sin when on earth,so this act of cleansing is necessary.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hebrews6:1-2 says, “...let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ andgo on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance fromdead works and of faith toward God,[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]andof instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, theresurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” The doctrine ofChrist involves repentance, so once we have achieved repentance wemay accept the Word of God willfully and love Him accordingly. Similarly, Ezekiel 18:21-23 says, “But if a wicked person turnsaway from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all mystatutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; heshall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shallbe remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done heshall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declaresthe Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way andlive?”[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]TheWord of God, with its statutes and ordinances, was first given to thechosen people, but as Jesus implies, it is meant for everyone whowould would be willing to come clean and accept and love God thoughHis Word. Jesus in Mark 16:15-16 says, “Go into all the world andproclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and isbaptized will be saved.” This is God's Will, inasmuch as He createdAdam and Eve in His own image and He expected Adam and Eve to abideby His direction. As we all came from Adam and Eve, we all have thesame standing under God, so we all answer to Him. God, therefore mayhave first conveyed His Word on the Chosen, but His Word is notlimited to the Chosen by any means.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Hebrews6 says that having come clean, we may go beyond the stage ofrepentance, and abide by God's Word through Jesus, who had a betterunderstanding and love for God than the scribes and Pharisees of histime and place who only preached God's Word but did not practice it.Fortunately, there were many Jews of Jesus time who were morediscerning and who ended up willingly accepting what Jesus spoke tothem, and some of them became his disciples. And as through Jesus'teachings we once again realize that, as with Adam and Eve, we areall one under God.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri, sans-serif]Ina sense, Hebrews 6 may be regarded as the next stage toward gainingsalvation through God's Grace. [/FONT]