Not By Works

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Dec 12, 2013
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This is in response to the discussion on baptism (immersion) in relation to salvation and works.

I always have interpreted baptism as following Jesus in obedience to God the Father Who said, "This is My Son in Whom I am Well Pleased" after Jesus' baptism of immersion by John the Baptist. Secondly, as a public confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior.

To me, baptism doesn't fall in either realm: being necessary for salvation or as a work; but rather, a simple act of obedience.

Thanks!
It is an act of obedience and Jesus also calls it a work of righteousness.......
 
Dec 12, 2013
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You are not understanding history of the Bible. The writings of it were completed as you say. But they were sent various places and possibly a few had all of them. It took Constantine to have them copied, put with the Old Testament and sent as a package to the elders. That was the first time the whole Bible was put together in one package.
Lose the Catholic roots and get right..........the letters were shared by the churches, both Paul and Peter speaks to this and Revelation as well....having been written unto the 7 churches in Asia.......God did not use an originator of a false religion to spread his word to the churches......wow!
 
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Amen brother..the truth is the truth......the only ones who cannot receive it are the religionists that believe in their ind that works help secure that which is already eternally given by faith <---the plenteous in number that say, "LORD, LORD, have we not blah blah blah........"

Bad day coming for them
 
Dec 12, 2013
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I see there are those who are still conflating saving faith with a mere mental assent that there is a god (the God)

The fatal mistake of James out of context with eternal consequence.......
 

TruthTalk

Senior Member
Jul 17, 2017
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Now you TWIST what I said. I said when you CLAIM CLIMBING INTO A BAPTISTRY
IS NECESSARY for Salvation, YOU TAKE THE GLORY AWAY FROM JESUS.
Hi VCO, perfect example of how benhur constantly twist our words and the Scriptures. In your example he completely misses your point by a mile. There is something decent about being honorable and truthful. But when you twist someone's words you are being less than truthful, you are a deceiver.
 
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eternally-gratefull

Guest
You can have works and the world might even consider them good, but God sees them as filthy rags if you don't have saving faith.
.works before or after doesnt earn folks salvation....why is that so hard for some to accept?

Grace is a free gift,
Thats why many call it religion, It sounds good. But it only sounds good to prideful itchy ears. Like you said, To God it is filthy rags, it mocks the cross. It is like going to someone who paid your way to someplace because you could not offord it, And you shoving the ticket back in his face and say thanks, But i got this.

They take Jesus, and his work, and basically say thanks Jesus, But I got this..
 
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eternally-gratefull

Guest
I've never been baptized with water. I'll bet it doesn't compare to being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

While your right, it does not compair. I must ask why you would not obey one of Gods commands?

 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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As I said before there is a difference between fruit and works.

Matthew 7
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

****

You test the words of false prophets by what their words do to your heart.

Does it you more prideful or more humble?

Does it cause you to judge others hypocritically or to have compassion and forgiveness?

Does it give you peace or cause you to fear?

Does their words inspire love or cause more hate and strife?

Do their words bring joy or pain and despair?

Are their words gentle or do you feel steamrolled?

Are you inspired to live a more godly life or do you just want to give up or believe it doesn't really matter?

****

Note there is a difference between what some people say and what others hear, but over all people who speak as Oracle's of God, speak with heavenly wisdom as described In James 3...not demonic wisdom described in the same chapter.

****

The next question: are all God's people called to be prophets and speak as His oracles?
You give a scripture about how Jesus identifies false prophets. He identifies them by what fruit they produce. False prophets bear bad fruit. Good prophets bear good fruit. So you identify a false prophet by their fruits.

So what is fruits. It is the whole compilation of their ministry. Do they speak with authority as a true prohet would. Do their words elevate you (here is where a false prophet can be difficult to identify because they are great orators and can lift a crowd to great heights of wonderment). Do they do the works of God. Do they look out for the poor, and the needy, and the naked, and the oppressed? Are they on the front lines against heresy and false doctrine. There are lots of signs that are available that Jesus refers to as 'fruit'.

And so Jesus tells us to look for the whole compilation of their ministry and the kinds of fruits it is producing as the way to identify false prophets.

Your way to identify false prophets is all about their 'words'. That is only 1 of many ways. But their words is the least way to identify them because they are gifted with wonderful oratory and the preaching of God. Do their words do this to you or that to you. And you miss the whole point Jesus was making.

Look at the fruit they bear = their works, their actions, and their words.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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Brother did you say that the Lord...failed us? The problem is with us,we fail to "Yield" our everyday choices to Christ. So He may transform us, by His Spirit from glory to glory. We MUST surrender our lives to God, the one's who do this have ALWAYS been God's people. They have the Living God living in them, prompting them what's best for them. Jesus is Coming Soon and He's coming for His people, a people without spot or wrinkle. A mere "profession of faith" will NOT result in eternity, many pastors/people believe/teach this, a " once saved always saved " teaching. But this is not what the Word of God teaches. Jesus warned us in Matthew 24 saying "let NO ONE DECEIVE you by any means. I pray that we read for ourselves what the God of the universe has to say to us, individually and to not leave our eternity in the hands of anyone other than our Loving Saviour and Creator Jesus to the glory of God the Father, may Be richly bless you on your walk with Him
Jim
Thank you Jim for your thoughts.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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Did you not read what I said? I said we, yeah know Christians cannot earn their way to heaven. It's the gift of God, lest anyone should boast. BUT once someone SURRENDERS one's life to God, you leave the ranks of the world. It's very serious when someone enters into Fellowship with the ALMIGHTY.
We don't keep the law (the 10 COMMANDMENTS) in order to be saved, we KEEP THEM because Jesus saved us, so you understand? God's COMMANDMENTS are as binding for us today as they have been throughout the history of the world. The 10 COMMANDMENTS are actually a transcript of God's Character. I'm afraid we today are to WORLDLY, Jesus REBUKES the Laodacean church in the book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Jesus tells the last day church that they are LUKEWARM and that they say they have need of nothing, the churchmembers say in Revelation. That's the condition of the church now. In the epistles of John, God's Word says "do ye not know that friendship with the world is Enmity with God, therefore whosoever is a friend of the world is an ENEMY of God. John saying that we must separate from the world, when one accepts Jesus as Saviour but ALSO LORD of their life. And Lord means MASTER. Jesus clearly teaches this throughout scriptures, He tells people " Why do you call me LORD...LORD and NOT DO..... the things I tell you". And also Be tells us "IF........IF you love Me KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS" . IF is a conditional proposition, TRUE BIBLICAL CHRISTIANS, meet the condition, others dont. OBEDIENCE is TRUE LOVE to GOD.
Wow, is this refreshing. A Christian who believes they actually want to keep the commandments that Jesus taught us to do.
The NT is the guideline to eternal life and the words of the Savior are important, and we should want to follow them.

It is also important to keep our eye on the cross and always trust in Jesus and his atoning sacrifice. If he does not sacrifice himself and fulfill the law of Moses there would be no eternal life. So we must confess that this is the center of the gospel. We must have faith that the grace of Jesus will cover our filthiness and reconcile us to God. Because of our faith, and our love of God, we will be of a new nature and our good works will be the sign of this new person in Jesus. The combination of believing in Jesus, and our trust in his word, and our faith and good works all work together as we endure to the end and separate ourselves from the world that will help us stay on the path to eternal life.

So thank you again Jim.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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I did not ignore what Jesus said in the WHOLE verse or what He said in John 3:15,16,18; 5:24; 6:29,40,47; 11:25,26 and I harmonized Scripture with Scripture in order to reach the proper conclusion on doctrine. Jesus NEVER said whoever is NOT water baptized will be condemned. You only concentrate on one half of one verse and ignore the rest.
Your absolutely right, he did not say that whoever is NOT baptized will be condemned, but he did say: that whosoever believeth and is baptized will be saved. I believe that, apparently you do not. Too bad because those are the words directly from Jesus's mouth, as recorded in your bible.
 

benhur

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Feb 8, 2018
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The issue here is you think that baptism is water, its not. It is spirit baptism. It is done (by the hand of God I may add) the moment you are saved, You are baptized into Christ, Baptized into his death and burial, And baptized into his body.

No water is involved, period.

You do nothing to save yourself.

Jesus did the dying - (cross)
Holy spirit does the conviction and teaching (gospel)
God supplies the things required to show us he is real, and our need for him (nature - romans 1) and the word (torah) so that there is no excuse

we take these and other works of God, and must then make a choice to repent and have faith, which will lead us to become born again, or continue in our sin and die.

Again, No water is involved.


Sorry, I and at least half of Christendom believe that verse refers to baptism by full immersion in the water. I'm not sure if there is a way to prove one way or the other.
 
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NoNameMcgee

Guest
Thanks Bro....just a "work" in progress and always seeking the mercy and grace of God because I know I fail daily in some form or fashion......
Amen the fruits of THE SPIRIT <---NOT our works......
how refreshing

another brother in Christ who wants to keep the commands of God out of love

because of the new heart and quickened spirit God has placed in him


not seeking to establish his own righteousness or earn the gift of grace


but trying to walk in a way that represents the body he has already become a part of

while still admitting his own weakness in failure but giving God the glory for any victory
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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Who said anything was automatic? If it was automatic God would just save everyone, it is his will.

Face it dude, the penalty of sin is death, The gift of God is life.

You do not work to earn a gift, it is freely given, paid for by the giver.

But he will not just give it to anyone, He told adam, If you eat of this tree, you will die, Adam had to chose to say yes or no. He tells us now. I came to offer you forgiveness, We have to say yes or no.

No amount of works will cause God to forgive one sin. If you think your goodness will cause God to overlook your sins, You are in serious denial of the truth.

Good luck trying to earn the gift of eternal life. Good luck having faith in self over faith in God.
Again for the 10th time, a person cannot earn their way to eternal life, by doing good works. But a person can be damned if good works do not accompany the gift that God has given you.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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yeah yeah whatever dude, continue to blaspheme the HS by attributing his work to some man who immersed (baptised) you in water and see where it gets you on jugment day
On judgement day, I will say that I was born of the water = water baptized, just like Jesus and I was born of the spirit = baptized of the spirit, just like Jesus. Where is the baspheming? Accept I am blaspheming your theology, but certainly not the HS. Don't throw around blaspheming lightly. At least 1/2 of Christianity is according to you blaspheming the HS. I don't think so.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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i was not water batised to save myself, nor did my indwelling and seal of the spirit occured then, it was when i showed the world what God himself did to me a year earlier,
Whatever you believe. Just what happened to Jesus when he decided to be baptized. First he was born again = water baptized by full immersion, by another human man. Then when he came up out of the water, he was born again of the Spirit = baptized of the Spirit. The HS came from above and settled upon him.

This is the same order that Peter taught in Acts 2. Remember: Repent, and be baptized for the remission of sins, and then receive the gift of the HS.

Do you see how the bible confirms that water baptism by full immersion is what Jesus meant when he said you must be born of the water. It all fits nicely.
 

benhur

Senior Member
Feb 8, 2018
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Actually, in context, He was speaking of anyone who tries to thwart the truth of the new covenant and mislead people into the den of the devil. True spiritual fruits come from the understanding of the truth in the Gospel and believing it. Once you know true doctrine, you can produce good fruits by physically doing nothing. The fruit of the Spirit is Love, joy, peace, etc. If you have the Spirit of God in you, you yield good fruit, and are unable to deny whatsoever that Jesus is The Christ. What if I were an invalid and was unable to show my works? My works would then be my fruit of the Spirit and my belief in Christ. For when the crowd asked Christ "What might we do to do the works of God?" He replied "Believe on him who he has sent,"
Then you better believe that believing is enough. The bible seems to expect more. But you have just about eliminated good works from the equation. So hope believing is enough.
 
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NoNameMcgee

Guest
wrong

born of water = born of flesh (fleshly birth)


born of spirit = when your spirit is made alive/ quickened (spiritual birth)

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

(He uses birth as an earthly example to help the lost Nicodemus who believed in works and didnt understand spiritual things to explain something spiritual to him)

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

(again Nicodemus is unable to understand this spiritual lesson even with an earthly example of birth so he uses his earthly reasoning to question Jesus speaking of two physical births)

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

(still speaking of brith and trying to relate the two.... born of water = anatomical fluid/natural birth and born of the Spirit = when God makes His children new)

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

(again further explaining to hammer the point in of the two births.... flesh = water Spirit = God)


7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
bump for ben
 

VCO

Senior Member
Oct 14, 2013
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Are you of the Catholic church?
Not hardly. I am a non-denominational Believer, who attends a conservative evangelical type, of BIBLE TEACHING CHURCH.

Here is where we get the concept AFTER we BELIEVE IN THE HEART (BORN AGAIN), we will WANT TO WALK IN OBEDIENCE OUT OF LOVE FOR HIM.


Acts 8:26-39 (HCSB)
[SUP]26 [/SUP] An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.)
[SUP]27 [/SUP] So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem
[SUP]28 [/SUP] and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
[SUP]29 [/SUP] The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”
[SUP]30 [/SUP] When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
[SUP]31 [/SUP] “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
[SUP]32 [/SUP] Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth.
[SUP]33 [/SUP] In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.
[SUP]34 [/SUP] The eunuch replied to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?”
[SUP]35 [/SUP] So Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.
[SUP]36 [/SUP] As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water! What would keep me from being baptized?”

[SUP]37 [/SUP] [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] {There is the EXACT order of SALVATION, described in Rom. 10:9-10. He believed in his HEART, and Confessed the with his mouth the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and was SAVED from that MOMENT ON. Therefore even in that example, getting Baptized is something that you DO AFTER SALVATION.}
[SUP]38 [/SUP] Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
[SUP]39 [/SUP] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing.


John 14:15 (HCSB)
[SUP]15 [/SUP] “If you love Me, {Which equals BORN AGAIN or SAVED}
you will keep
My commands. {After we are SAVED, then the New Nature a characteristic of all who WERE BORN AGAIN in our Human Spirit, will want to be baptized and walk as Jesus walked .}


May I ask a personal question: "Why the PHOBIA of looking Catholic, that appears to be in you?"