Not By Works
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The gospel is the "good news" of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who BELIEVES.. ( Romans 1:16).
To BELIEVE the gospel is to trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of your salvation.
To BELIEVE the gospel is to trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of your salvation.
People lose their salvation, but no one loses His salvation.
Note Psalm 51:12 -- Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Note Psalm 51:12 -- Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
True Gospel:
God's Grace: "unmerited favor" our salvation was known to God from the beginning. Nothing we could do would take away the enmity between God and man; except His Son Jesus shedding His blood on the cross, for you and I and the world.
Through Faith: Even our faith is a gift of God; "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark9:24
In Jesus Christ: The perfect man and perfect Saviour who took our place on the cross.
Plus Nothing: No man could keep God's Law perfectly except Jesus.
If you mix: Grace + Faith + Jesus Christ, "plus my works" - you have fallen from Grace.
"You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." Gal5:4
True Gospel
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Hmm, eloquently put, but let's see what Scripture says on this topic.
First off an illustration:
If I offered you a gift and when you went to take it from my hands, I pointed out to the fields for you to get to work. And then I watched you work out in the fields until I was satisfied, Once satisfied I gave you your reward, would you call that a FREE gift my friend?
And finally consider this Scripture that does compares wages, which is clearly your reward for your work. And eternal life which is the free gift from God:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
First off an illustration:
If I offered you a gift and when you went to take it from my hands, I pointed out to the fields for you to get to work. And then I watched you work out in the fields until I was satisfied, Once satisfied I gave you your reward, would you call that a FREE gift my friend?
And finally consider this Scripture that does compares wages, which is clearly your reward for your work. And eternal life which is the free gift from God:
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This Scripture teaches that good works are a result of His free gift. And how do we prove the will of God?
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, for you to prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.
As we AGREE (Amen) what God has done, our minds are renewed and we prove His perfect will (through us) to the world.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, for you to prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.
As we AGREE (Amen) what God has done, our minds are renewed and we prove His perfect will (through us) to the world.
Hi Rosemary,
I love your name by the way. I have a rosemary plant in my garden and will think of you fondly when I water it. And I love the aroma of the plant - it's a sweet smelling aroma.
Here's the reference to Philippians. I like to read before and after the scriptures in question because it always helps to understand and know the context for the purpose of interpretation.
Philippians 2:1-18
1. Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2. make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4. do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6. who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7. but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10. so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11. and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12. So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
13. for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
14. Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
15. so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,
16. holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
God is at work in us to will to obey to want to obey.......if we don't want to obey we must ask if God is at work in us. And it's to bring pleasure to our Lord.
Isn't that so exciting and so beautiful....... that through obedience we bring pleasure to the Lord. So because God is at work in us, we are to take great care to take His working in us to fruition through our obedience.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.........that wisdom produces the obedience we're called to. It's showing God at work and us at work together in cooperation with God empowering grace that cause us to work.One of the reasons I wanted to give context is because there's a comparison going on here.
Just as Jesus obeyed to the point of death, that's how important it is for us to obey as well. We are to have the same attitude as that of our Lord Jesus.Even though Jesus was equal to God for He is God, He emptied Himself of that fact and humbled Himself to the extreme. He, being God came to be treated shamefully.
He, being God was beaten and tortured and spat on and ridiculed.....called a liar, a fake a charlatan and etc. He continued to remain humble and obedient to the point of death. He took everything upon Him for our sakes. He endured the most excruciating pain and ridicule a person could experience for us.........for love and to reunite us with our Heavenly Father.
So if Jesus did that for us, what sort of persons should we be?
vs 3 ~ We're not to live selfishly......we're to think of others higher than ourselves, as more important. vs 4 ~ We are not too look only to our own interests, but also to the interest of others.
vs 5-8 ~ We are to live a life of sacrifice - to humble ourselves to the point of death, for our family in the Lord and for our enemy.
So for that very reason we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, because it's God at work in us to empower us to desire His will and not our own and therefore we will be obedient because He says His grace is at work to empower us to do so.
So because of that Paul says we can ...
vs 14 ~ Do all things without grumbling and complainingSo that ...
vs 15 ~ We will prove that we are innocent children of God, blameless and above reproach as we shine brightly in this crooked and perverse world.
So we can be obedient children because it's God at work in us. His work is empowering grace that works within us to pursue His will and His pleasure which if (our work) for us to obey.
He has given us everything for life and godliness through the true knowledge of God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He's too wonderful - wondrous when we consider all He has done for us and continues to do! Glory Hallelujah!!!
...I must always remember to read the above and beyond Scriptures, i do normally do this, but i guess all i saw was fear and trembling and got stuck on that, another reminder i need to remind myself that when i come across something that stops me in fear, i shall say " There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus "...xox...I feel so free lol, so happy i got my brothers and sisters to come to in here, despite how hot it can get between all the heat, but i like being in the deep water, it makes one a stronger swimmer among the fish and sharks ...xox...Let's get real a minute.
Falling from grace? Grace is what empowers us to be conformed into the Image of His Son.
Yet, if we think OUR works are needed for us to be saved, we frustrate grace, because we are not walking in the reality of what the cross accomplished. Yet, when we step into the rest found in the Lord we begin to see HIS WORK manifest through us. Jesus says, if we do not abide in Him we can do NOTHING. And then somehow people think that means abiding in Scripture? Yet, many religious teachers know Scripture better than any on this thread and have no faith.
But that's not all.
Some are still trying to be perfected by their works. Because they have not yet received the totality of His work.
To go a bit deeper, what's ironic about these threads is this: those who teach we must "work to keep ourselves saved" end up putting the focus on what doesn't empower the believer to actually walk in good works.
As a result many believers struggle instead of reigning in this life through His righteousness.
Yet this same powerless tradition keeps beating its drum, preachers put the focus on the effort of the believers instead of the faithfulness of God. And while self-righteousness begins reveal itself the good works of love rarely are.
Why do you think we have church clubs? Why do you think people come to these forums instead of going to their local church. It's so completely twisted and those who pound the drum of good works are only frustrating that which actually frees people!
As we read Scripture we see that it is primarily focused on Him not on us. We worship Him, we praise Him, we are thankful to Him, we celebrate Him, we are lead by Him. But then people say oh that's just "spiritual nonsense" just read your Bible!
And the powerless tradition is passed on.
And just like in the days of the Pharisees tradition teaches us to look in Scripture for what we must DO for eternal life instead of realizing it is always, completely, and fully pointing to Him.
Except now in the New Testament pointing to Him is pointing to Him in us.
We ARE His witnesses. Our hearts are an epistle written on by the hand of the Spirit of God. Our lives pointing to the cross that allows mankind to finally stop consuming the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And to finally receive the righteousness of Christ that allows them to stop looking at their nakedness and see His goodness.
This is the gospel.
2 Co 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[SUP]b[/SUP] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
And what is God saying in His appeal though us? Be joined with Him. Receive His righteousness. And as we are abide in Him the FRUIT of the Spirit will grow mighty. And He shall be glorified.
Falling from grace? Grace is what empowers us to be conformed into the Image of His Son.
Yet, if we think OUR works are needed for us to be saved, we frustrate grace, because we are not walking in the reality of what the cross accomplished. Yet, when we step into the rest found in the Lord we begin to see HIS WORK manifest through us. Jesus says, if we do not abide in Him we can do NOTHING. And then somehow people think that means abiding in Scripture? Yet, many religious teachers know Scripture better than any on this thread and have no faith.
But that's not all.
Some are still trying to be perfected by their works. Because they have not yet received the totality of His work.
To go a bit deeper, what's ironic about these threads is this: those who teach we must "work to keep ourselves saved" end up putting the focus on what doesn't empower the believer to actually walk in good works.
As a result many believers struggle instead of reigning in this life through His righteousness.
Yet this same powerless tradition keeps beating its drum, preachers put the focus on the effort of the believers instead of the faithfulness of God. And while self-righteousness begins reveal itself the good works of love rarely are.
Why do you think we have church clubs? Why do you think people come to these forums instead of going to their local church. It's so completely twisted and those who pound the drum of good works are only frustrating that which actually frees people!
As we read Scripture we see that it is primarily focused on Him not on us. We worship Him, we praise Him, we are thankful to Him, we celebrate Him, we are lead by Him. But then people say oh that's just "spiritual nonsense" just read your Bible!
And the powerless tradition is passed on.
And just like in the days of the Pharisees tradition teaches us to look in Scripture for what we must DO for eternal life instead of realizing it is always, completely, and fully pointing to Him.
Except now in the New Testament pointing to Him is pointing to Him in us.
We ARE His witnesses. Our hearts are an epistle written on by the hand of the Spirit of God. Our lives pointing to the cross that allows mankind to finally stop consuming the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And to finally receive the righteousness of Christ that allows them to stop looking at their nakedness and see His goodness.
This is the gospel.
2 Co 5:17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[SUP]b[/SUP] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
And what is God saying in His appeal though us? Be joined with Him. Receive His righteousness. And as we are abide in Him the FRUIT of the Spirit will grow mighty. And He shall be glorified.
Yes,
Taken as a whole, we see Judas was not saved.
In fact looking at the Greek here:
John 17:12 Interlinear: when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Thy name; those whom Thou hast given to me I did guard, and none of them was destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing may be fulfilled.
Jesus says none of them has perished.
Except Judas who was called THE son of destruction not A son of God.
Taken as a whole, we see Judas was not saved.
In fact looking at the Greek here:
John 17:12 Interlinear: when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Thy name; those whom Thou hast given to me I did guard, and none of them was destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing may be fulfilled.
Jesus says none of them has perished.
Except Judas who was called THE son of destruction not A son of God.