Not By Works

EleventhHour · Mar 9, 2020

We do not work to be right with God according to scripture.
Romans 4:4

We are made right with God by faith apart from any and all works.
Ephesians 2:8-9

That's right @IFOLLOWHIM since you liked his post.

VCO · Mar 9, 2020

EleventhHour said:

Yes, I know, and it is all Part of the Great Falling Away.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NKJV)
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

The New Jerusalem Bible words it this way:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NJB)
3 Never let anyone deceive you in any way. It cannot happen until the Great Revolt has taken place and there has appeared the wicked One, the lost One,
4 the Enemy, who raises himself above every so-called God or object of worship to enthrone himself in God's sanctuary and flaunts the claim that he is God.

That Great Revolt is, "I do not need CHRIST to do it for me, I CAN DO IT MYSELF."

VCO · Mar 9, 2020

VCO said:

WRONG!

Salvation TOOK PLACE BEFORE TIME BEGAN.

AND ON THE CROSS.

2 Timothy 1:9 (HCSB)
9 He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

Romans 5:8-11 (HCSB)
8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
9 Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.
10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ⌊then how⌋ much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

How many times have I explained this ? ? ?

It is not THAT we do righteousness, it is WHY we do those deeds, AFTER WE ARE SAVED THE MOMENT WE FIRST GENUINELY BELIEVE IN HIM as LORD, which means MASTER, OUT OF AGAPE LOVE FOR HIM. That is the SAME LOVE that HOLY SPIRIT POURED INTO OUT HEARTS, Rom. 5:5. The ONLY MOTIVE than is ACCEPTED BY GOD, is Godly Love for HIM and the Brethren. WITH OUT AGAPE LOVE ALL our works of righteousness are Wood, Hay, and Stubble at BEST, and at WORST, just FILTHY RAGS.

I am sorry LADIES, for this somewhat crude reality, BUT I MUST explain what the phrase Filthy Rags, literally what it is referring to. This is how worthless GOD says DEEDS, without AGAPE LOVE MOTIVATING THEM really are. The Bible Translation Teams never had the intestinal fortitude to TRANSLATE that phrase LITERALLY.

Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags {.ʿiddâ beged,};
and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The phrase is literally: soiled mentral rags.

That is what GOD thinks of DEEDS without the Desired AGAPE LOVE MOTIVATING THEM.

In other words, If you do not HAVE the Spiritual Stamina to strive to AGAPE LOVE HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL, ALL YOUR MIND, AND ALL YOUR STRENGTH, motivating the deed, whether FOR GOD or the BRETHREN, you are wasting your time. Sure we fall way short of that GOAL, but that is to be our GOAL for LOVING HIM.

How to I know GOD WANTS AGAPE LOVE, to be the DOMINATE MOTIVE FOR SERVING HIM ? ? ? HE SAID SO!

Deuteronomy 6:5 (HCSB)
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Mark 12:30 (HCSB)
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

John 14:15 (HCSB)
15 “If you love Me, you {STRIVE is the verb Tense, Gk. has 6 Primary Tense, 3 are not in English} will keep My commands.

1 John 5:3 (HCSB)
3 For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,

OH MY, it is not Part of SALVATION, it is Part of GODLY LOVE.

HEAR IS THE KIND OF LOVE HE PUT IN US:

Romans 5:5 (HCSB)
5 This hope will not disappoint ⌊us⌋, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

That Kind of Love HE SOWED INTO OUR HEART, will Certainly produce the same kind of LOVE in our Human Spirit.

1 John 5:3 (HCSB)
3 For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,
{Striving to keep HIS commands, are only NOT A BURDEN, when you do it out of Agape Love, because YOU WANT TO.

OneOfHis · Mar 9, 2020

Brandnewday said:

No.

4102. pistis ►

Strong's Concordance

pistis: faith, faithfulness

Original Word: πίστις, εως, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pistis
Phonetic Spelling: (pis'-tis)
Definition: faith, faithfulness
Usage: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.
HELPS Word-studies
4102 pístis (from 3982/peithô, "persuade, be persuaded") – properly, persuasion (be persuaded, come to trust); faith.
Faith (4102/pistis) is always a gift from God, and never something that can be produced by people. In short, 4102/pistis ("faith") for the believer is "God's divine persuasion" – and therefore distinct from human belief (confidence), yet involving it. The Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will (1 Jn 5:4).

_____

Faith, belief, confidence, trust....

This is not a choice, but an indwelling response to recieved information.

You do not need to work to trust that fire is still as hot now as it was last time you felt the heat.

star · Mar 9, 2020

I'm so Thankful and Grateful that my Lord accepted me just as I am. For I am the least of perfection and never will reach that height til Gloryland.

EleventhHour · Mar 10, 2020

star said:

Amen Star....

We do not become righteous by doing righteous deeds, but having been declared righteous.. we do righteous deeds.

His perfection and righteousness is our focus.... that is where we are set free.

VCO · Mar 10, 2020

EleventhHour said:

EXACTLY! It is HIS working in us to Accomplish HIS WILL.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (HCSB)
5 ⌊It is⌋ not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God.

Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)
13 For it is God who is working in you, ⌊enabling you⌋ both to desire and to work out His good purpose

WE DO NOT GET TO PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACKS FOR DOING HIS WILL.
All the Glory belongs to HIM who Enabled us and put the Desire in our Hearts.
We were just the TOOL that HE used.

EleventhHour · Mar 10, 2020

VCO said:

EXACTLY! It is HIS working in us to Accomplish HIS WILL.

2 Corinthians 3:5 (HCSB)
5 ⌊It is⌋ not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God.

Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)
13 For it is God who is working in you, ⌊enabling you⌋ both to desire and to work out His good purpose

WE DO NOT GET TO PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACKS FOR DOING HIS WILL.
All the Glory belongs to HIM who Enabled us and put the Desire in our Hearts.
We were just the TOOL that HE used.

To the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure.

Titus1:15

star · Mar 10, 2020

EleventhHour said:

My devotion this morning was all about We are HIs. Nothing can take us out of His Hands. What a comfort to know that.

VCO · Mar 10, 2020

VCO said:

It seems like:
To the "WE HAVE TO MAINTAIN OUR SALVATION OR LOSE IT" Bunch, it is all about patting themselves on the back for service to Him.

mailmandan · Mar 10, 2020

VCO said:

You hit the nail on the head!

blue_ladybug · Mar 11, 2020

Tellion · Mar 11, 2020

blue_ladybug said:

Good morning! God bless!

EleventhHour · Mar 11, 2020

mailmandan said:

They sure seem happy with themselves don't they??

Reminds me of... "Lord, Lord.. have we not...."

Lightskin · Mar 11, 2020

VCO said:

They emanate pharisaic arrogance while proclaiming wrongful judgment on us sinners. Oh yeah, not to mention putting stumbling blocks in front of everyone.

mailmandan · Mar 11, 2020

EleventhHour said:

Amen! "Lord, Lord didn't WE" will be the wrong answer when standing before Jesus at the judgment. (Matthew 7:22-23)
The correct answer will be "Lord, Lord, didn't YOU." (John 3:15,16,18; 10:9; 14:6)

eternally-gratefull · Mar 11, 2020

mailmandan said:

that about says it all

the amazing thing is,

they deny it!

dcontroversal · Mar 11, 2020

lightbearer said:

Cry us a river and tell that to Jesus, Paul, Elijah, John the Baptist Nolightbar.....make no mistake...you bear NO LIGHT by your false pseudo dogma

dcontroversal · Mar 11, 2020

Brandnewday said:

All God or fraudulent!!

star · Mar 11, 2020

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

As Easter approaches, this verse has more and more of a meaning for me. Just imagine if you will, the most perfect, sinless person ever, bore the sins of the whole world. Just my sins alone would have been enough to crucify Him, let alone the sins of the world.

And for anyone to actually believe they can maintain, hold on to, work to keep up the work done thru Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation is mind boggling to me.

Not By Works

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