Not By Works

You can argue you all you want Peter and feign truth.....How any times have you been banned now? At least two or three times......so......your deception and failure to actually do what you peddle is clear for all to see......and for sure you have Macaroni jumping hoops.....

And Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons say they believe in JESUS as well..........maybe your smart enough to figure out the point......!!

And God can use anyone He wants, like a brilliant chess player, we may question His wisdom sometimes, but we are to obey because God has foresight

dcon - lol - I complemented you too highly, you are indoor fireworks, but no content no bangs, no flashes.
God bless you, you are just harming yourself by saying nothing but trying to be pointed

Now this is a new one. I am now either a JW or a Mormon.
Jesus is the Son of God, the word of God, eternal, not made, who came in the flesh and died for us for the
forgiveness of our sins. ( JW's believe Jesus was created)
We will rise to a new heaven and new earth, and God will dwell with man for all eternity.
(Mormons will reign on different planets)

I wonder how desperate does someone have to get. Maybe because the final problem is if this guy
truly knows God and is walking with Him, what am I?

Jesus caused this problem with the pharisees, and their only solutions was to kill Him, except He
rose again, and His disciples testified to His reality, Amen. God bless you, before Jesus we will all
bow and proclaim He is Lord of All, Amen

Absolutely, because I had found other verses that encouraged me to TRUST, like:

Romans 8:28 (HCSB)
28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

2 Peter 3:8-9 (NASB)
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

Plus Like I said that Total TRUST in the LORD, had to have been a Spiritual Gift, and it came in Handy my whole life.

How does a Nebraska Farm Boy with no Bible College experience, know GOD wants Him to start a Prison Ministry in Northern California? Only GOD Knows!

If you are looking for one momentary SCARE, that caused me to question if He was going to let me FALL, it would have to be the first time I was called upon to PREACH totally unexpectedly, a little less than 2 years in the Ministry.

But in the back of my mind I still remembered this verse:

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

At that particular time it was early in my Prison Ministry. I would have to escort Pastors from the community Churches to come at 2:00 PM on Sunday afternoon on a rotating basis, to Teach the Sermon in the Minimum Security Yard. There is always one Minimum Security Yard at every Super-Max Prison. Those are non-violent crime inmates, like third offence drunken driving, first offense possession of a controlled substance, etc. They are the inmates that can be trusted to Mow the Lawns, act as Janitors in the Institution's Offices, Kitchen Help in the Staff Chow Hall, etc.

So part of my ministry was to escort those Pastors in, and it was Pastor Terry's turn. So at 1:45 PM, I walked over to the Chapel window, because Minimum Yard only had a Chain Link Fence between the Parking Lot and the Yard, and I could watch for Pastor's car from there.
1:50 PM, I thought "Pastor Terry is usually here by now."
1:55 PM, I thought "Man, he is cutting it close."
2:00 PM, I thought "Hurry Pastor Terry, it is time!"
2:05 PM, I thought "Pastor Terry FORGOT IT WAS HIS SUNDAY TO TEACH THE SERMON! I HAVE TO PREACH! I have nothing Prepared, Do not Know what I will PREACH! I HAVE NEVER PREACHED IN MY LIFE. I CANNOT DO THIS!" I did an about face with my KNEES ABSOLUTELY SHAKING, went straight to my Office Door, and after closing the door, I got down on my knees, and PRAYED, "LORD, you know I cannot do this, but I will trust You. You will have to come into my heart and teach the Sermon." Instantly I remembered in the back of the back of my Bible I had written the VERSES for the Plan of Salvation, and thought that will be the SERMON.

I got up from my knees, started the Worship Service with about 4 songs, and then as I stepped into the Pulpit, as I remembered a Prayer that Dr. Ed Young used to OPEN EVERY SERMON with.

"Father we thank you for your Holy Word that You gave PURE AND TRUE, through the Prophets of Old, and through the mind of the Disciples. Lord YOU SPEAK, and let me get out of the WAY, so the Message will be as pure and true as when YOU First Gave It. In Jesus Name I pray."

Well, DID JESUS TEACH THE MESSAGE ? ? ? Oh my, did HE ever. I wanted to take notes on HIS TEACHING. His Sermon through me, lasted about 30 minutes, which was perfect, because "YARD RECALL" sounded at 2:55 just as Chapel ended, which meant it was COUNT TIME. Yes, I am not joking, I would have loved to have Sermon Notes from that Sermon. It was Purest explanation of How a Person is SAVED by far.

After that, the Head Chaplain, said he wanted me to take over the Sermon Ministry every Sunday Afternoon in the Minimum Yard. I TRUSTED JESUS to bring something into my path that made it obvious, which HE WANTED ME TO TEACH ON the next Sunday. And He was Faithful, the Subject came to me, and I knew exactly what HE WANTED ME TO TEACH. I wrote or TYPED the verses, once I got a Computer in 1995. I kept in on one page, because inmate do not know were to find most of the Books of the Bible, AND I TOTALLY TRUSTED THAT HE WOULD GIVE ME WHAT HE WANTED TO SAY ABOUT THOSE VERSE. Honest, I NEVER WROTE out a single SERMON, instead I just put the Verses pertaining to a particular Subject, AND TRUSTED HIM TO GIVE ME WHAT TO SAY ABOUT THOSE VERSE, and all my Sermon ended up being around 45 minutes long.

Praise the LORD.

Here is a SAMPLE of how I presented the Sermon Notes to the Inmates:


Why the Pictures and nice Borders? A Picture is worth a thousand words. Almost everyone wanted to take them, some to send home to Mom. But my earlier Hand written Sermon Note Verses, just stayed on the Chair.

LOL, you would think what he agreed to would be enough to call off the heretic hunt...

For those that falsely think FollowHisSteps believes in "not saved UNTIL walk as Jesus walked", please read the following posts which show this is not the case.

I am smart enough to know that people are misunderstood and misrepresented here. FHS was accused of believing that one is not saved until they walk as Jesus walked", an accusation he denied weeks ago. Read the following posts...

gb9 said:
people also claim that one does not receive salvation until they " walk just as He walked ".

those people are lairs.

FollowHisSteps said:
And who are these people? I ask, because this is not what I believe, rather this is our walkand goal, having faith in Jesus that He can guide and lead us into this path Amen.

Do you have a post number? Or a citation from the creed you are referring to? If you are speaking of the Church of the Nazarene, I can assure you that no such statement is in their creed (doctrinal statement), and I have studied it.

Article 9 of doctrinal statement of Church of Nazarene- We believe that justification is the gracious and judicial act of God by which He grants full pardon of all guilt and complete release from the penalty of sins committed, and acceptance as righteous, to all who believe on Jesus Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior. 10. We believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of the repentant believer is spiritually quickened and given a distinctively spiritual life, capable of faith, love, and obedience. 11. We believe that adoption is that gracious act of God by which the justified and regenerated believer is constituted a son of God. 12. We believe that justification, regeneration, and adoption are simultaneous in the experience of seekers after God and are obtained upon the condition of faith, preceded by repentance; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness. Lu 18:14; Joh 1:12,13; 3:3-8; 5:24; Ac 13:39; Ro 1:17; 3:21-26,28; Ro 4:5-9; 4:17-25; 5:1; 5:16-19; 6:4; 7:6; 8:1; 8:15-17; 1Co 1:30; 6:11; 2Co 5:17-21; Gal 2:16-21; 3:1-14; 3:26; 4:4-7; Eph 1:6,7; 2:1; 2:4,5; Php 3:3-9; Col 2:13; Tit 3:4-7; 1Pe 1:23; 1Jo 1:9; 3:1,2,9; 4:7; 5:1; 5:9-5:13; 5:18

I have to say this example demonstrates why some of these theological discussions become personal,
and people believe something because of an impression and not something substantive and true.

This is also why loving ones enemies works. You can find ones enemy is actually ones friend, it was
it just needed time and revelation. An extreme example of this was Saul, when God told a disciple Ananias to
meet him.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!Yes, Lord," he answered.
11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."
13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."
Acts 9

Thankfully the Lord does work, and people do change, the Lord is full of love, and we are all redeemed sinners,
who always need more grace and faith to continue our walk.

I have to laugh, if some want to act as if they can spot heresy or failure, when they cannot read what is written
or carefully worked through in statements of faith, they are defeating their own position.

Jesus talked about throwing pearls before pigs, because the act of sharing implies something of value, which
the audience can take as a judgement, rather than a blessing, and turn and trample the sharer. This is why
I try and understand what is being shared and believe the best in the other party until proven otherwise.
Most times in the Lord this is a real blessing. God bless you. And thank you for sharing it is an encouragement
that you are prepared to take the time to read and listen.

you see, the issue with this statement is this- no salvation is mentioned.

I think this is where f.h.s ( peterjens ) gets things crossed up.

a person is forgiven, justified and SAVED the moment they truly believe. the person remains so as long as they truly believe.

the regeneration is NOT simultaneous for all people. it is different for all people

a person comes to Christ with a addiction. they never use the things again.

a person comes to Christ with an addiction . they struggle for years to break it.

is one more " saved " than the other?

no, they are both saved by faith and trust in Christ.

this is why religious people HATE salvation by Christ alone, because it levels the playing field.

if we are all saved by the same thing, then we cannot try to pump ourselves up and put others down.

so, I stand by my statement. this creed is a lie. I do not care how many out of context verses to it.

a non-truth written by religious men.

Here is the issue. You are not asking me do I agree all believers are equal in Christ, whether struggling
or growing as they trust and believe in Jesus? Amen both are redeemed in Jesus.

It is always the direction of travel and faith that matters, not necessarily how far you are along the road.
I am not a religious person in your definition, and I love salvation is in Christ alone.

All the Nazarene church is saying and I likewise, there is no limit to the work Jesus can do in our lives
and hearts.

Scientists have discovered something important about pain. If you distract the brain with activity, it
does not feel the pain or is aware of the problems so doctors can deal with the issue. Equally if we
focus on Jesus, love and blessing, a lot of our struggles disappear. You become what you dwell on.

Paul says this simply

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Phil 4

We are always merely vessels of Christ and His love. There is nothing of pride or achievement, but rather
being a light of reality and truth, integrity and love, care and empathy, reaching out and supporting others.

The real problem is guilt and failure tends to make people feel inferior and rejected, which they then blame
on those whose interaction brings these feelings about. Unfortunately this is what we feel everyday with
Jesus our Lord, because He is the King and we are only servants, humbly following Him, Amen.
But He forgives us, and leads us on deep into His grace, Praise Him.

see, here is my point- you wrote all this, which most of I agree with, but you did NOT use the word " saved". you and your church seem to go to great lengths to avoid that .

redeemed, forgiven, justified, yes, but, it is much better just to say the truth- believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

saved. all in Christ, done by Christ, all glory to Christ alone, he is Lord and Savior.

therefore, when you make Christ your personal Lord, He saves you.

Acts 16:31
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

Romans 10:8-10
8 In fact, it says,
“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.”
And that message is the very message about faith that we preach:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

John 16:8-9
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.

Ofcourse in Christ we are saved, brought into the Kingdom, washed, purified, loved, cared for.

Because we are saved we want to follow our King. So what is achieved does not have to be repeated,
our focus is on service and walking in Him.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Eph 2

So I fail to see this idea I avoid the word saved. Almost all of scripture is not about using the word saved but
about walking in the will of God, because we are saved, and in Him.

I suspect you are looking for a problem rather than just rejoicing in Jesus and His salvation, being saved and knowing
it ruling ones life, Amen.

I hate gouging my eyes

I hate chopping off my hands

Therefore, it is impossible to love God and obey Matthew 5 at the same time

Therefore it is impossible to love God at all times

But the Bible says, many are called, few are chosen

In that few exist, so how can that be?

How can there be few instead of "none"?

If every fiber of our being cause us to sin, ... For the wages of sin is death

And Jeremiah 17:9 - our heart is desperately wicked

And Ephesians says that we are dead in trespasses and sin, therefore life is impossible

Free are chosen, few are more than none, so how is that possible?

And Luke 10:20 - rejoice that your name is written in heaven


Verify that pleasure is not sin

For now, let us be thankful that we still have our eyes in tact, and that we still have our hands intact

Assuming that it is not sin to be thankful for intact body parts

If it is a sin to be thankful for those, then how can God possible be loved in those situations?

If someone has a foot on the back of our skull that can force compulsive bowing motion when that foot stomps on us, how can we bow with an attitude of love at that situation?

If the awareness of physical situation, becomes so consuming, we mind as well worship the situation and worship the all consuming awareness that we can never escape from

Incase it might be God ordained