Thoughts on Faith and Judgement
This document has been a work in progress. I have been born-again and have done my own Bible study, and I'm happy with what I have written here. I'm trying to speak the truth in mercy. This document shows my current understanding at the time of writing.
I agree whole heartedly with Keith Green here:
Almost all of verses are taken from the ESV (English Standard Version) bible with the odd NASB (New American Standard Bible), KJV (King James Version), and BSB (Berean Study Bible) used here and there.
By default I will use the ESV and where it is not from the ESV, I have almost certainly marked it with the alternative version used.
Romans 8:1-2 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (ESV)
Romans 15:17-18 - In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
In my understanding, I consider all who are repentantly trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, for their salvation, if they are willing turn to and obey Him, if God puts them in, to be in Christ Jesus, no matter what else I say in this document. I have been just trying to figure out my theology. One God, three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I don't have the say though. God puts a person in. AMEN!!
God puts a person in Christ Jesus:
I Corinthians 1:30 - But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (NASB)
No matter what I have said, I believe that anyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ, even they have no works, but only a trusting heart, believing what Jesus said, and putting their hope in Jesus for their salvation, repentant and willing to obey, theoretically are to be in Christ if God does it.
Eternal Security - Charles Spurgeon Sermon - YouTube
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I believe that a person is justified when they trust and believe on God in their heart, believing that they need saving and that Jesus Christ is their Lord and that Jesus Christ died for their transgressions and was raised for their justification - that they have a hearing heart and a heart that follows Him.
Christian love:
We endeavour to be justified through faithful obedience to Jesus, and if we fall short, we still believe Christ has us covered. But we do endeavour, we do try:
Galatians 2:17 - But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! (ESV)
At that stage they may have no work but I believe at that stage they are justified, when it's in their heart. But I'm not the one to justify, God is. And I assume that Jesus knows who those people are - He knows that they are His sheep, and that Father God draws those people to Him. And when they go through Jesus Christ, the door, they are saved.
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Isaiah 30:20-21 - And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
I believe the above prophetically talks about Jesus. We must obey Jesus. God doesn't guarantee that following Jesus will be easy.
John 6:44-46 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. (ESV)
II John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. (ESV)
II Peter 2:20-21 - For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Matthew 21:32 - For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1. Great commission
Obedience to Jesus' commandments (repentance from sin):
Luke 24:46-47 - and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance (G3341 metanoia) and forgiveness (G859 aphesis) of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Obedience to Jesus' commandments (becoming disciples, obeying Jesus' commandments):
Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Obedience to Jesus' commandments (trusting Jesus and being baptised):
Mark 16:15-18 - And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.
John 21:15-17 - When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? and he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.
The original Apostles were instructed to feed Jesus' sheep with the living bread that is Jesus Christ. Likewise, in living testimony we should teach others to walk the way of righteousness:
John 6:33 - For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
1.1. Even the Old Testament makes a person wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus:
Trust and believe:
Isaiah 53:7-8 - He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (ESV)
Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (ESV)
Trust and obey:
II Timothy 3:12-17 - Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (ESV)
2. My thoughts and bible references regarding theology
I've been thinking about belief, faith, works, law and receiving the Holy Spirit! Please let me know what you think if you have the time.
I'm trying to get clearer on this. Please feel free to discuss it with me.
2.1. Jesus
Jesus is the Word. The world was made through Jesus:
John 1:9-11 - The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (ESV)
Jesus is the divinely appointed servant of God:
Isaiah 53:4-6 - Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (ESV)
He's the image of God:
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (ESV)
2.2. Belief
Jesus has life in Him, and the life is the Light of men - the true Light.
John 5:26 - For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:21 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
John 6:33 - For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
John 1:4 - In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (ESV)
John 1:9 - The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (ESV)
1 John 2:8 - At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (ESV)
John 1:6-7 - There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
John 12:36 - While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
We testify about the Light, so that through our testimony, others might believe.
To anyone who receives Jesus, even those who believe on His name, Jesus has given the right to become children of God, to be born of God.
John 1:11-13 - He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Yes, I believe that Jesus can save a person who believes in His name. But He is the judge, and it is written in John's gospel that no person who remains disobedient to Jesus Christ will see life, and I believe that.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
I think Jesus calls us to pursue perfection through following Him, and we should definitely give it a go:
John 17:23 - I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Paul presses on to try to achieve a high level of Christlikeness, and his rational is that Jesus made him (Paul) his own (i.e. Jesus loved him), and Paul loves Jesus back, so he wants to be obedient out of love for Jesus (I'm convinced that's the motivation). He wants to be with Jesus.
Philippians 3:9-12 - and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
John 12:26 - If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (ESV)
I'm pretty convinced that what Jesus means by the following is that by giving up worldly treasure in the pursuit of Jesus, heavenly treasure is acquired. I'd say it's likely that the heavenly treasure is simply helping those people. Selling what a person possesses and giving to the poor is actually serving Jesus, so doing that is already starting to obediently follow Jesus.
Matthew 19:21 - Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
Jesus' perfect example of patience in mercy towards Paul is to:
- reassure us that we can trust Jesus as we hope for the promise of eternal life to be received from Him,
- for us to see that trusting in Him, we are loved by God and led by His love, following Him in patient [endurance] out of a response of love for Him, trusting in Him, as we receive mercy from Him
I Timothy 1:16 - But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (ESV)
We are set free from sin to become slaves of God. The fruit of being a slave to God leads to sanctification and at its end, eternal life:
Romans 6:22-23 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are not your own:
I Corinthians 6:17-20 - But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)
We must keep ourselves in the love of God by obeying Jesus Christ's commandments, because we're awaiting to receive eternal life:
Jude 1:21 - keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (ESV)
Keeping Jesus Christ's commandments is a requirement to inherit eternal life:
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (ESV)
Whoever truly believes Jesus trusts in and is obedient to Jesus. We must obey Jesus Christ, and that obedience means being a slave of righteousness, leading to sanctification, which leads to eternal life:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
The word for 'believe' which is used in the New Testament is the verb for faith and actually means to 'trust':
The ancient Greek word for “believe” is pisteuó, which derives from “belief” or “pistis.” The word “/pistis/” stems from peíthō, to persuade or be persuaded.
The Greek word pisteuó carries connotations of deep trust and confidence. It means to believe, to entrust, to have confidence in something.
2.2.1. Faith is not mere belief, but faith is walking as Abraham did
We hear the gospel, and we receive salvation through faith. Reaching it is a journey of applied faith:
Hebrews 4:1-2 - Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (ESV)
The demons have belief, but they don't have a response of love towards God:
James 2:19 - You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! (ESV)
We must know that God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We must believe:
I John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
We must obey:
II John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
The knowledge comes from having obeyed God's voice. Love becomes perfected in us when we abide in God:
I John 4:15-17 - Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, (ESV)
John 8:55 - But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. (ESV)
2.2.2. Faith in Jesus Christ's name to be saved
It's faith in Jesus' name that is powerful, and it's with faith in Jesus' name that we are saved.
We are granted repentance to life; being a slave to righteousness leading to sanctification and at its end, eternal life. We expect to receive salvation as we have faith in Jesus Christ:
Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
AMEN!!
Something like this:
I Thessalonians 1:3 - remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Acts 3:2-9 - And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, Look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk! And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God,
Acts 3:16 - And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
Acts 4:7-10 - And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.
Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Keep God's word:
John 17:6 - I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (ESV)
Be convinced and keep having and doing faith in Jesus Christ. John uses the verb for faith:
John 20:31 - but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)
2.3. By God's grace God has saved us and provided us with a means to be reconciled to Him through trusting faith in Him
God has called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light:
I Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)
Saving faith does come (originate) from hearing through the word of Christ:
Romans 10:17 - So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (ESV)
I believe that saving faith must arrive and settle in the heart, and as the heart is made clean, a person's outside changes:
Matthew 23:26 - You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. (ESV)
There are some doctrines that are so essential that to deny them is to not be a Christian:
I John 4:2 - By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, (ESV)
It's not enough to be saved just by believing that some things are true. Let's not focus on minimums, but maximums:
John Piper: How Much Error Can I Believe and Still Be Saved? - YouTube
I believe that trusting Jesus and obedience in the heart towards Jesus is required. Obedience to Jesus is love.
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
2.4. Receiving Jesus
2.4.1. Receiving Jesus may be as easy as receiving the one who He sends, or receiving a child in His name
John 13:20 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Mark 9:37 - Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.
A person may need to ask and seek to receive Jesus:
Luke 11:10 - For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
2.4.2. Receive Jesus and His words, and then put to death the deeds of the body
John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. (ESV)
Romans 8:13-25 - For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
2.4.3. God through His mercy saves us. We should respond well
Christ died for us, so through His mercy alone, he purchased us.
Ephesians 1:13-14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)
Ephesians 2:4 - But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (ESV)
I John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (ESV)
2.4.4. Those who have a heart of faith towards Him (and anyone who He wills) may receive forgiveness of sins through his name
An heart of faith looks like:
- Wanting to do God's will
- Obedience and repentance from sin: even if it just means wanting to turn from sin
- because God makes the new heart to enable the person to obey
- Wanting to follow Jesus
- Accepting Jesus Christ as one's Lord
- Accepting through faith the atonement for sin through Jesus Christ
- Turning away from sin
Return to obedience to God through obedience to Jesus. Turn from sin:
Joel 2:12-13 - Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (ESV)
God provides the new heart:
Ezekiel 11:19-20 - And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (ESV)
So to be saved a person must have an obedient heart, prepared for the good works which are prepared for us to walk in:
Ephesians 2:8-10 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
The tax collector here has an obedient heart (yielding to Jesus), but the Pharisee in the story has a self-righteous heart:
Luke 18:9-14 - He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.his house justified, rather than the other._ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
It's those that believe in him (trust Him, receive Him, expect to receive Him, have an obedient heart towards Him) that receive forgiveness of sins through his name:
Acts 10:41-44 - not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (ESV)
John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
We must honour Jesus Christ in our bodies and in our lives - fruitful labour, so that we can be confident with John 5:24
. AMEN!! We must be slaves of righteousness, leading to sanctification, which at its end is eternal life:
John 5:21-24 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes (G4100 pisteuo) him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
I believe John 5:24
is a true statement and that it should not be read outside of the words Jesus said directly before it (Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him
).
We do not nullify the rest of what Jesus has commanded of and asked of us. If Jesus is your judge, then I think it's wise to take on board the rest of what Jesus has said:
Philippians 1:15-22 - Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
Paul and the other faithful Apostles were exhibited as last of all, like men sentenced to death for following Jesus:
I Corinthians 4:9 - For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.
God still makes apostles and prophetic people:
Ephesians 4:11-16 - And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Daniel 2:28 - but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: (ESV)
God is loving and altogether gracious.
Exodus 34:5-8 - The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.
Having faith in God involves following Jesus:
Hebrews 10:32-39 - But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
2.5. I believe that a loving, trusting ( believing and obedient ) heart for Jesus Christ is essential for permanent abiding in Him
I John 4:19 - We love because he first loved us. (ESV)
If someone obeys Jesus they should arrive at belief in Jesus and who He is and what He has accomplished; they should accept Him:
John 8:42 - Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
If a person believes on Jesus and what He has accomplished they should arrive at obedience. Technically, if someone believes on Him they have begun to obey Him:
John 15:10-14 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I think faith in Jesus grows as both of these qualities increase.
- Those who believe in part yet do not obey the gospel, I think fall into condemnation.
- Those who obey in part yet do not believe the gospel, I think also fall into condemnation
Love (obedience) and belief:
John 16:27-28 - for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
It's possible to follow Jesus' voice even before having come to perfect knowledge and obedience, but Jesus knows His sheep. We must hear Jesus' voice, obey Him, become a slave to righteousness, following His commandments and at its end, Jesus gives us eternal life:
John 10:26-29 - but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (ESV)
Jesus' sheep:
- hear Jesus' voice
- follow Him (they're being obedient)
- Jesus knows them
I believe that what this says is that at the point Jesus knows you listen to His voice and obey His voice, He counts you as one of His sheep and He will not let you go.
The righteousness that comes through having faith in Jesus Christ - faith (not mere belief) is required to have the righteousness - to be found in Jesus:
Philippians 3:9 - and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (ESV)
Verse Ref | Believe (Jesus is their Saviour) | Obey (Jesus is their Lord) |
---|---|---|
Matthew 11:29 | learn from me | take my yoke upon you |
John 3:36 | Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life | whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life |
Romans 10:9 | believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead | confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord |
John 10:26-27 | but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock | My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. |
I John 4:10 | he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins | |
II John 1:6 | this is love, that we walk according to his commandments | |
John 6:35 | whoever believes in me shall never thirst | whoever comes to me shall not hunger |
We must have believing, obedient faith in God regarding Jesus Christ His Son as Abraham had faith in God:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The righteousness of faith:
Verse Ref | Believing God as Abraham believed God | Walking obediently in the footsteps of faith of our father Abraham |
---|---|---|
Genesis 15:6 | And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness | |
Genesis 22:17-18 | because you have obeyed my voice | |
Galatians 3:6 | Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness | |
James 2:21-23 | Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness | he offered up his son Isaac on the altar |
Genesis 26:4-5 | because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws |
Abraham had righteousness attributed to him when he believed God, while he had an obedient and faithful heart towards God:
Genesis 15:5-6 - And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
The blessing was assured to him by God because of obedience (the obedient works of faith brought him assurance for God's blessing):
Genesis 22:17-18 - I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
Therefore, we should believe with an obedient heart, and obey to receive God's assurance.
I believe that every one of Jesus' sheep have a believing, obedient heart, and Jesus knows who they are and no-one will be able to snatch them from Jesus' hand.
I personally believe that it's God's role to justify, not ours, and if we want personal assurance that we are saved, we must seek and follow Jesus, and arrive at the door.
Abraham was obedient the entire time, even when God counted Abraham's belief as righteousness. We should, likewise be obedient when we believe. Abraham was justified when He believed with an obedient heart but faith was completed by the works of faith and Abraham was given assurance of the blessing:
James 2:21-23 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God. (ESV)
Without an obedient heart the so-called belief doesn't qualify as belief. Anyone who claims to have faith in Jesus, yet does not obey Him is a liar:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
So to be saved a person must have an obedient heart, prepared for the good works which are prepared for us to walk in:
Ephesians 2:8-10 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Abraham believed and obeyed:
Genesis 26:4-5 - I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (ESV)
In this way we must have faith in God the Father of Jesus Christ, and believe and obey Jesus because God commanded it.
According to Paul, Abraham trusted God and that trust he had meant he didn't waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he have glory to God.
That's right, and Abraham's faith included:
- faithfulness
- giving glory to God
- obedience
- works of faith
What I mean to say is, the trust in God that Abraham had concerning the promise of God is exhibited plainly in Abraham's action, and was faithful, enduring, unwavering, over an amount of time.
Romans 4:20-25 - No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Therefore, when we trust wholeheartedly in God who has raised from the dead Jesus Christ (who is our Lord, meaning we obey Him), and because we believe, we then inevitably produce working faith.
Our faith is exhibited plainly in our action. Our own actions and way of expressing that faith paint a unique picture, with a faith towards God that may be expressed a little bit differently, in different works of faith, or simply keeping Jesus Christ's words and not denying His name - patient endurance.
Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
But it is all by God's grace that we are saved. A believing and obedient heart is a trusting heart - a heart of faith - and our obedience gives us confidence. All glory to God alone. We must obey Jesus to become like Jesus:
I John 4:17 - By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (ESV)
We should both believe and obey:
Deuteronomy 30:20 - loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. (ESV)
Believe and obey (follow) Jesus:
John 10:24-28 - So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Exodus 33:17 - And the Lord said to Moses, This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.
John 10:16 - And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (ESV)
Jesus knows us and we know Jesus:
John 10:14 - I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, (ESV)
We must be keeping Jesus' commandments for us to be sure that we have come to know Him:
I John 2:3-4 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Jesus commands us to take His yoke (obey Him) and learn from Him (believe Him):
Matthew 11:29 - Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (ESV)
Whoever believes Jesus obeys Jesus - His sheep hear his voice, trust and obey:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
God loves those who love Him and keep His commandments:
Nehemiah 1:5 - And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
If a person has an obedient and believing heart - a heart of faith - towards Jesus, then they will be saved:
- If a person truthfully confesses (admits) with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, they have an obedient heart.
- This must result in the person obeying Jesus; freely forgiving others, loving others as He loved us, keeping Jesus' commandments
- If they believe in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, they believe Jesus, and believe God who sent Him.
- This must result in the person accepting forgiveness for sin
Romans 10:9 - because, 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. (ESV)
I believe that a person does not have any security of eternal salvation unless they have in their heart obedient, believing faith in Jesus Christ, and even then there is often a race and a journey to receive it.
The knowledge of the truth is for those who abide in Jesus' word and follow Him:
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
I believe that obedience is as intrinsic and necessary to faith as belief is.
The good news must be united by obedient faith (putting Jesus' words into action):
Hebrews 4:1-2 - Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (ESV)
Philippians 2:12 - Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, (ESV)
I believe in 'once saved, always saved, while doing the will of God'. So someone must be a both a believer and a follower of Jesus.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Doing the will of God is what it means to be led by the Spirit. So you have to do the will of God, being a servant of Christ under the law of Christ, to have the blessing of not being condemned by the law of Moses:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
Walk according to the will of God. Walk the way Jesus Christ has called us to walk:
Galatians 5:16-18 - But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Those who love Him, obey Him:
James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (ESV)
The crown of life is gifted to those who are obedient, and have been tested:
Revelation 2:10 - Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. (ESV)
And I also think people have free will to sabotage their race.
Clearly 'believe' means also 'to be obedient' to because the ones that follow Jesus (which means obey His commandments) are the ones who are counted as believing (pisteuo):
John 10:26-38 - but you do not believe (G4100 pisteuo) because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.
Those enslaved by corruption are not sons:
II Peter 2:19 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
People may fall away if they sin:
John 8:34-35 - Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
True sonship is required to remain forever:
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (ESV)
But we must be in Christ Jesus:
II Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
A new creation has faith working through love and keeps Jesus Christ's commandments:
Galatians 6:15 - For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (ESV)
Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (ESV)
I Corinthians 7:19 - For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (ESV)
Following Jesus Christ is not having a religious spirit, but it's serving God in reality.
Galatians 3:26 - for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. (ESV)
Free from Judgment, Fighting Sin, Full Assurance - YouTube
Jesus is asking of us to believe that He is the resurrection and the life; Coming to a belief which [in John's terminology] involves personally committing oneself to Jesus as Son of God, Saviour, Lord, Lamb of God and King:
Jesus has to know us:
Matthew 25:1-13 - Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
I believe that Jesus has a lot of grace for the weak and the powerless, the children and the humble:
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
And it's about the heart:
Mark 12:41-44 - And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. (ESV)
Good work is rewarded. Lazy, disobedient belief is punished, and the worthless servant who was entrusted with some work but was unfaithful with his work (doesn't matter how much work it is) is cast away. Jesus isn't a hard taskmaster but wants our whole heart. Jesus must be our Master:
Matthew 25:14-30 - For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The righteous obey Jesus, and love our neighbour as He loved them; as He commanded:
Matthew 25:31-40 - When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
The ones who do not obey Jesus go to eternal punishment:
Matthew 25:41-45 - Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.
The ones who are slaves to righteousness, following Jesus Christ, go to eternal life:
Matthew 25:46 - And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
2.5.1. My understanding of repentance
We need all of these:
- Belief in Jesus and His atoning sacrifice
- Obedience to Jesus' commandments
- Obeying the law of Christ
- Putting a stop to sin
II Chronicles 7:14 - if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)
Repentance:
- Someone who has only belief in the gift of grace and no obedience to Jesus (which is effectively hating Jesus) must repent and come to have an obedient heart.
- Someone who has only obedience to Jesus' precepts but unbelieving and unsubmissive to the righteousness of God must repent and come to have a believing heart.
If people from either category do not repent, then beware because God has the ability and jurisdiction to cast that person out - graft them out of Christ. Also, let's not become proud, but stand in awe.
God draws the person to Jesus:
John 6:44-46 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. (ESV)
Jesus said He will not cast people out who have come to Him, and it's His sheep who come to Him, those who follow Him:
John 6:37 - All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (ESV)
Coming to Jesus is the requirement for not being cast out, and coming to Jesus Christ means obedience and following Jesus:
Luke 18:16-22 - But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. And a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. And he said, All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
We must be a servant of Jesus to not be cast out. We must have obedience:
John 12:26 - If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (ESV)
Coming to Jesus involves denying ourself and taking up our cross daily to follow Him:
Luke 9:23 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (ESV)
Christ Jesus judged Paul faithful - Paul was faithful, and Jesus Christ is Paul's Lord. Paul received mercy to become obedient. Paul received mercy because he was acting ignorantly - behaving in a way which came from disbelief. So then, Christ Jesus displays in Paul His perfect patience to those who would trust in Him for eternal life and be brought from ungodliness into godliness - disobedience into obedience.
I Timothy 1:12-16 - I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (ESV)
You must believe:
Romans 11:20-23 - That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
You must obey:
John 15:1-6 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
We must put a stop to sin:
Ezekiel 18:20-21 - The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. (ESV)
So I believe that Jesus saves us by giving us of His Spirit and helping us to put sin to death:
1 John 3:4-9 - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
Walking in obedient faith is walking in forgiveness and love towards other people, forgiveness and love that flows out from having been loved and having been forgiven.
The faith working through love towards God and other people flows out of believing in and accepting Jesus and His atoning sacrifice and from being freely forgiven by Jesus.
I think the person who has arrived at this point has repented from dead work and is now living for Jesus.
2.5.2. We must have a changed heart, which longs to serve the living God, to be a bondservant of Jesus. AMEN!!
God gives us the new heart when we seek to have that new heart.
To be saved we need to have an obedient heart to God.
Will to do God's will - will to be obedient, and God will give you the heart to obey Him.
When you trust Jesus, you will to do His will.
Living as a new Creation in Christ means God has given you the heart to desire to obey Jesus' commandments. We are under Christ's law.
It means, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to no longer practice lying, adultery, idolatry, and covetousness, and to no longer dishonour our parents, and to now honour Jesus Christ in our lives and bodies.
It's going from disobedience to God (as Adam was disobedient) to obedience to God (as Christ is obedient):
Romans 15:17-18 - In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
I Corinthians 7:19 - For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (ESV)
Faith works through love; we must be like Jesus - exercising sacrificial, merciful love. The term 'new creature' is used in Galatians 6 after saying we must 'put sin to death and do good', sowing to the spirit and not to the flesh. Sowing to the Spirit is obediently following Jesus:
Galatians 6:7-8 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (ESV)
Faith is obedient. Love is applied faith in Jesus:
Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (ESV)
Galatians 6:15 - For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (ESV)
No changed life salvation? Refuting Free Grace and @jacksmack77 - YouTube
Grace is free, but a person must become obedient - God gives the heart to obey, but a person must desire to do God's will to receive it.
Revelation of John 22:3 - No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. (ESV)
We must live for the will of God:
I Peter 4:1-2 - Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (ESV)
If a person doesn't obey Jesus and His commandments then they probably are not saved because they either deny they have the spiritual circumcision which causes us to obey, or they do not have the heart to obey and receive salvation - so they are a goat, not a sheep.
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
2.5.3. Work may be burned up, and the person who has a believing and obedient heart is still saved
This person worked - served God - and this verse guarantees that the one who tried to work for God is still saved:
1 Corinthians 3:15 - If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)
2.5.4. Forever abiding is believing and being a disciple, a servant
John 15:4-8 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
We don't try to save our worldly life. We seek the Kingdom of God:
John 12:20-26 - Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (ESV)
AMEN!!
Obey God, obey Jesus:
Mark 10:17-21 - And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. And he said to him, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
2.6. Gospel
Whoever trusts in Jesus Christ shouldn't perish, but they should have eternal life:
John 3:16-21 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever (G3956 pas) believes (G4100 pisteuo) in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God. (ESV)
The gospel involves having believing and obedient heart. It must start with one or the other, but should arrive at both.
Whoever does what is true comes to the light.
Whoever has faith in and puts their trust in in Jesus Christ is not condemned and should not perish.
We must honour Jesus Christ:
John 5:21-24 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes (G4100 pisteuo) him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
I believe John 5:24
is a true statement and that it should not be read outside of the words Jesus said directly before it (Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him
).
We do not nullify the rest of what Jesus has commanded of and asked of us. If Jesus is your judge, then I think it's wise to take on board the rest of what Jesus has said:
Philippians 1:15-22 - Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
We're not justified through the works of the law but through faith, and faith involves obedience to Jesus Christ:
Galatians 2:15-16 - “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
It's by faith in Christ that we are justified, and faith involves obedience (at least of the heart).
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
It's faith in the heart which we need; obedience to Jesus Christ and belief in Jesus Christ in the heart, and belief and obedience to God who has raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
1: : 4100 pisteuo pist-yoo'-o 2: 3: from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or 4: thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's 5: spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put 6: in trust with. 7: see GREEK for 4102
1: : 166 aionios ahee-o'-nee-os 2: 3: from 165; perpetual (also used of past time, or past and future as 4: well):--eternal, for ever, everlasting, world (began). 5: see GREEK for 165
1: : 2222 zoe dzo-ay' 2: 3: from 2198; life (literally or figuratively):--life(-time). Compare 4: 5590. 5: see GREEK for 2198 6: see GREEK for 5590
1 John 3:23 - And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (ESV)
Matthew 22:37-39 - And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ESV)
Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. Believing on His name is God's will for us, and loving one another is God's will for us as He has commanded. There is more that Jesus has commanded us, too.
The promise to Gentiles:
Galatians 3:8 - And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. (ESV)
Genesis 12:3 - I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (ESV)
Because Abraham obeyed God's voice:
Genesis 22:18 - and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. (ESV)
Repentance from sin, repentance from disbelief, and coming to the light are absolutely part of the gospel!
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 - Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (ESV)
John 8:34-35 - Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
The grace given to Paul allowed him to turn from his evil ways and pursue Jesus, working diligently for Jesus. Therefore, the grace given to Paul was not in vain, because Paul responded well to the grace:
I Corinthians 15:10 - But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (ESV)
Acts 2:47 - Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. (ESV)
2.7. Becoming a servant, humbling oneself and following Jesus is what we shoud do
A religious spirit is:
- not being a servant
- neglects the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness
- an emphasis on outward appearances over inner transformation
- hypocrisy
- uses the law as a beating tool on other people
- they use the law superficially
- but are lawless in reality
- their relationship with God is really busted up - not being faithful to God
True religion:
- focuses on purifying the heart, and obeying God's commandments in truth, accountable to God
- as far as the law is concerned
- externally prioritises justice, mercy and faithfulness
- inwardly tries to maintain a holy heart, and a relationship with God
- serving Jesus
- avoids judging people with the law to cut people down, but encourages people to be accountable to God with it
- bear one another's burdens
We're under the law of Christ, and that shouldn't be a heavy burden:
Matthew 23:4 - They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. (ESV)
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
You must obey Jesus, and that is choosing light and choosing love:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
Matthew 23:11-33 - The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Woe to you, blind guides, who say, If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? And you say, If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath. You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, saying, If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets. Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? (ESV)
2.8. I believe that I should try as hard as I can to enter via the narrow gate
2.8.1. Narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life
Matthew 7:13 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
Matthew 7:14 - For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Luke 13:24 - Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
The Way is Jesus Christ - believing in and becoming obedient to Jesus Christ.
It's being begotten as a servant of God, a disciple of Jesus, one of Jesus' sheep.
Believe:
I John 4:9 - In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
Obey:
I John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Believe and obey:
I John 2:5 - but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him:
Jude 1:21 - keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
2.8.2. Wide gate
Either of:
- Pursuing holiness without submitting to the righteousness of God
- This is denying Jesus and becoming guilty of sin by denying the atonement
- John 15:22-23 - If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
- Pursuing justification without becoming obedient to God
- This is being cast out and withering and being thrown into the fire
- John 15:5-6 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
A person needs to have obedient, believing faith in Jesus Christ to take the narrow gate.
These people did not obey Jesus, and produced bad fruit:
Matthew 7:13-16 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
These people did not believe, and their works were not done in faith:
Matthew 7:21-24 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
These people didn't endure in faith:
Matthew 7:13-14 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
These people just sat around watching Jesus but didn't obey Him:
Luke 13:24-26 - Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!
2.8.3. Obedience to Jesus has everything to do with receiving Him, and receiving Salvation
Hebrews 3:18 - And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? (ESV)
Ezekiel 33:31 - And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. (ESV)
Jesus' sheep follow Jesus. Jesus knows them:
John 10:25-28 - Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. But you do not believe (G4100 pisteuo) because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow (G190 akoloutheo) Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. (NASB)
1: : 190 akoloutheo ak-ol-oo-theh'-o 2: 3: from 1 (as a particle of union) and keleuthos (a road); properly, to 4: be in the same way with, i.e. to accompany (specially, as a 5: disciple):--follow, reach. 6: see GREEK for 1
People who do not serve the Lord Jesus, and do not obey Jesus, are deceivers. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with those who serve Him, and common grace even to the one who hasn't arrived [yet] at serving Jesus.
I Peter 5:14 - Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.
Romans 16:17-20 - I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
II Chronicles 7:14 - if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)
2.8.4. Disobedience
Let us continue following and obeying Jesus, and not turn back:
John 6:66 - After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Luke 9:62 - Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Judas betrayed Jesus after being chosen:
John 6:70-71 - Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
Hebrews 6:4-8 - For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. (ESV)
2.8.5. The way is easy that leads to destruction
Matthew 7:13 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
I'm not the judge. But Jesus's words which He left us will be the judge.
2.8.6. Narrow gate
II Peter 1:10 - Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. (ESV)
Hebrews 4:11 - Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (ESV)
I Corinthians 9:24-27 - Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (ESV)
Philippians 2:12-13 - Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)
Asking Jesus to save me:
I can only say that salvation was a total gift for me, an unrighteous sinner. But I'm still working it out.
2.8.7. The narrow gate vitally requires submitting to God's righteousness. We need God's forgiveness and His justification that comes through faith
Romans 10:3 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. (ESV)
Like the following example of the tax collector, we must submit to God's righteousness:
Luke 18:9-14 - He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Jesus is the Lamb of God. We must accept God's forgiveness through faith in Jesus:
John 1:29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
God's righteousness is received by faith - through obedience to the gospel:
- Romans 3:25 - whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)
We must receive atonement for sin through faith.
The tax collector in the story above has an obedient and believing heart. The tax collector has faith. It's not our own righteousness which is sufficient, but Jesus Christ's righteousness imputed onto us when we are in Him. We must have faith in Jesus.
2.8.8. We have to receive the Kingdom like a child. Don't resist Jesus or His teachings - follow Jesus
I accept that I need Jesus to have mercy on me. Because my own righteousness isn't good enough. I want to obey Jesus for the rest of my life, and live for Him, and I trust Him because I believe His gospel. I know that the Holy Spirit goes to those who obey Him.
Luke 18:15-17 - Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
And I'm still trusting and having faith in Jesus Christ even up until now:
Hebrews 5:9 - And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.
2.8.9. We have to believe in and obey Jesus. We all fall short but we still must have faith in Jesus
He is the Light, and He wants to give us the light of life but we have to allow Him to lead us:
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (ESV)
We have to obey Jesus and take heed to all that He has said. Those who don't take heed to His words walk in darkness:
John 3:19 - And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
Jesus is God's Son. Jesus is the Lamb of God.
We must receive the redemption that is in Christ Jesus through faith:
Romans 3:22-25 - the righteousness of God through faith (G4102 pistis) in Jesus Christ for all who believe (G4100 pisteuo). For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
All of these I believe belong under the umbrella of faith, not works:
- Taking communion is not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
- Getting baptised is not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
- Obeying Jesus Christ's commandments are not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
Faith presses on to walk the same way Jesus walked:
Philippians 3:9-12 - and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith — that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
God will be the judge of who has had faith in Jesus; who has obeyed Him and who has trusted in Him and who has made Him their Lord and who has accepted Him as their Saviour.
John 12:48 - The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
Hebrews 10:10-17 - And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.
Hebrews 10:26 - For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
2.8.10. All judgement has been given to Jesus
We must love Jesus and follow Him. Jesus is the judge. Our obedience to Jesus matters. Because the righteousness of God is received through faith. We are implored to strive to follow Jesus to our best ability:
John 5:17-29 - But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (ESV)
2.8.11. The gospel has to be obeyed
II Thessalonians 1:4-8 - Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
I Peter 4:12-19 - Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
2.8.12. God will be the judge of who has had faith in Jesus, and who has obeyed Him. I wouldn't take obedience lightly
Luke 20:13-18 - Then the owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him. But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. When they heard this, they said, Surely not! But he looked directly at them and said, What then is this that is written: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.
- Jesus was extremely humble here. Likewise, we should be able to recognise that we need Him as our Lord looking over us
Also, Jesus didn't actually deny that He is good:
Luke 18:18-19 - And a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
Isaiah 64:6 - We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (ESV)
Nevertheless, we should follow Jesus.
2.8.13. Let us serve Jesus Christ in truth, and have confidence
I John 3:21 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
Hebrews 3:14 - For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
I John 4:17 - By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
2.8.14. We must recognise that where our efforts to obey falls short, Jesus's blood covers us. But we must still have the heart to make Jesus our Lord and King, and be following Him
But we must be walking in the light, just as He is in the light.
I John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
So the blood of Jesus covers us while we are following Him.
2.8.15. Do not condemn others. Speak the truth and leave judgement to the Judge
John 8:16-18 - Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.
Luke 6:37 - , Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; (ESV)
Jesus is also extremely merciful to the woman who was brought before Jesus:
John 8:10-11 - Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more. (ESV)
2.8.16. Simply tell the truth from God. We must not reject Jesus
John 8:21-24 - So he said to them again, I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said, Will he kill himself, since he says, Where I am going, you cannot come? He said to them, You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
We must follow Jesus for eternal life:
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Jesus knows Father God, and Jesus keeps His word. Likewise, we must follow Jesus and keep His word. Jesus is obedient to Father God. We must be obedient to Jesus Christ:
John 8:55-58 - But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
John 10:27-29 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
2.8.17. Jesus is Almighty God's Son and is sitting in Power next to His Father
Jesus is One with Almighty God and their will is in perfect alignment.
John 10:30 - I and the Father are one.
By posing the question, Jesus doesn't deny that he is good:
Mark 10:18 - And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (ESV)
I believe there is only one good shepherd, and that is Jesus Christ, Immanuel (God with us, God incarnate, and not merely in the flesh, but the Word became flesh):
John 10:14-15 - I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (ESV)
John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)
Jesus makes intercession for those who draw near to God through Him:
Hebrews 7:25 - Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Likewise, the Holy Spirit is Almighty God.
I affirm the Nicene creed wholeheartedly:
1: We believe in one God, 2: the Father almighty, 3: maker of heaven and earth, 4: of all things visible and invisible. 5: 6: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, 7: the only-begotten Son of God, 8: begotten from the Father before all ages, 9: God from God, 10: Light from Light, 11: true God from true God, 12: begotten, not made; 13: of the same essence as the Father. 14: Through him all things were made. 15: For us and for our salvation 16: he came down from heaven; 17: he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, 18: and was made human. 19: He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; 20: he suffered and was buried. 21: The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. 22: He ascended to heaven 23: and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 24: He will come again with glory 25: to judge the living and the dead. 26: His kingdom will never end. 27: 28: And we believe in the Holy Spirit, 29: the Lord, the giver of life. 30: He proceeds from the Father and the Son, 31: and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. 32: He spoke through the prophets. 33: We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. 34: We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 35: We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, 36: and to life in the world to come. Amen.
AMEN!!
"Agnus Dei" with Michael W Smith & the First Dallas Choir & Orchestra - YouTube
Hebrews 1:3 - He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Jesus is sitting in power.
Hebrews 1:13 - And to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?
2.8.18. Jesus is the Lamb of God who sits with God on God's throne
Jesus Christ is our God. Forever, He is Father God's revelation to us of Himself.
Revelation of John 7:9 - After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, (ESV)
Revelation of John 7:10-12 - and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (ESV)
Revelation of John 7:17 - For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (ESV)
Revelation of John 19:4 - And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen. Hallelujah! (ESV)
Revelation of John 22:3 - No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. (ESV)
2.8.19. Follow Jesus for eternal life. Jesus is the Bread of Life
Luke 18:18-22 - And a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. And he said, All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
2.8.20. Believe Jesus and allow His word to abide in you
Proverbs 7:1-3 - My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Jesus' word:
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
These Jews had believed but didn't abide in Jesus' words, and so prove to be Jesus' disciples:
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
They didn't believe they needed Jesus to set them free from sin. No-one who commits sin has eternal life:
John 8:33-36 - They answered him, We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, You will become free? Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
They couldn't accept that they needed to be saved:
John 8:37 - I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
Jesus speaks of what He has seen with His Father:
John 8:38 - I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.
2.8.21. We are implored to love Jesus and follow Him
We need to love Jesus because He came from God, to show us the Way as the Light of the world.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life:
John 8:39-42 - They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing what your father did. They said to him, We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
John 8:43 - Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
We must obey His commandments to walk in the same way He walked so we get to know Him and are sanctified by faith in the truth, which leads to eternal life:
Hebrews 5:8-9 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (ESV)
2.8.22. We must listen to Jesus
Luke 9:35 - Then a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”
John 8:44-47 - You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
2.8.23. We are implored to honour Jesus
John 8:48-49 - The Jews answered him, Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon? Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.
John 5:21-24 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes (G4100 pisteuo) him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
2.8.24. We are implored to keep Jesus' words
John 8:50-51 - Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.
2.8.25. We must receive Jesus. Jesus is God's Only-Begotten Son
John 8:52-59 - The Jews said to him, Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death. Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be? Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God. But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
2.8.26. Even those who have faith in Jesus Christ's name may have the right to be born of God and become children of God
The worldly people rejected Him. Neither did His own people receive Him.
John 1:1-13 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens (G5461 photizo) every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
1: : 5461 photizo fo-tid'-zo 2: 3: from 5457; to shed rays, i.e. to shine or (transitively) to brighten 4: up (literally or figuratively):--enlighten, illuminate, (bring to, 5: give) light, make to see. 6: see GREEK for 5457
John 5:17 - But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working. (ESV)
I Corinthians 10:1-7 - I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
AMEN!!
2.8.27. We must do the will of God, which is the food and drink which Jesus gives us
John 6:27 - Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. (ESV)
John 7:34-39 - You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come. (ESV) The Jews said to one another, Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, You will seek me and you will not find me, and, Where I am you cannot come? On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Certainly, people are judged on their faith in Jesus:
John 5:28-29 - Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Whoever honours Jesus by obeying Him, honours Father God. Whoever hears these words from Jesus and trusts Father God has eternal life and doesn't come into judgement; When we start trusting (believing and obeying) Jesus, we have passed from death into life.
And in obeying Jesus we are performing good works which are works done in faith towards God.
John 5:17-29 - But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working. This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (ESV)
2.8.28. Having faith (living in accordance with the truth, and in relationship with God) is asked of us - faith continues
What I mean by relationship is:
- being obedient to God,
- abiding in Jesus
- being accountable to God,
- waiting on God,
- trusting on God,
- being led by the Spirit of God,
- etc.
Led by the Spirit of God is doing God's will:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
- We must abide by his teaching
II John 1:9 - Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
It is a gift to be obedient to Jesus:
Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)
- We must live sowing to the Spirit
Galatians 6:7-8 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (ESV)
- We must be servants of Christ
Ephesians 6:6 - not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Revelation of John 22:3 - No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. (ESV)
John 12:23-26 - And Jesus answered them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
- We must remain faithful to Jesus Christ
Jude 1:4 - For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. (NASB)
Colossians 2:18-19 - Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
- We should clean ourselves with the aid of the Word and the Holy Spirit
We should clean ourselves up:
II Timothy 2:21 - Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
Through faith, the Holy Spirit cleanses us:
Acts 15:8-9 - And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
By obedience to the word of God:
Ephesians 5:25-27 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
By the Holy Spirit washing and renewing us:
Titus 3:4-6- But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
It's the will of God:
I Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
And doing the will of God is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
- We must clean ourselves up with God's help
Daniel 12:9-10 - He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.
Revelation of John 21:27 - But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation of John 22:14 - Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (ESV)
- We must be wanting to be cleaned of sin
We must look upon Jesus and stop sexual immorality and stop idolatry. The stories mentioned here are examples for us to follow:
I Corinthians 10:1-7 - I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
We must take heed of this, because we don't want to fall:
I Corinthians 10:8-13- We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
II Peter 2:2-4 - And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
II Peter 2:19-20 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
Therefore, the way of truth involves following Jesus and putting a stop to sin.
I agree with Billy Graham:
Revelation of John 21:8 - But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." (ESV)
- We should put the ignorant to silence through doing good
I Peter 2:15 - For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Jesus says you must obey God to be part of His family:
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus implies you must obey Him (Jesus) to be part of His family:
John 7:16 - So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
2.8.29. The obedient children are the ones who are not conformed to the passions of our former ignorance
I Peter 1:14-16 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
I know I can testify to this fiery trial being a real thing:
I Peter 1:17-19 - And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (ESV)
2.8.30. The sons of disobedience are the ones who are conformed to sexual immorality, impurity, or covetousness, etc.
Ephesians 5:5-7 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them;
2.8.31. Get to know Jesus by following His commandments
Matthew 7:21-27 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
Luke 6:46-49 - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
You can't have an abundant life without knowing Jesus, so we must have faith in God and follow Jesus' commandments to get to know Him:
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
You must obey Jesus:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
We must obey God. We have faith in God who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification, and having faith in God is having faith in His Son which is believing in and obeying Jesus Christ:
Romans 4:23-25 - But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
We must obey Jesus' commandments to know Jesus, just as Jesus obeyed Father God's commandments, and knows Father God:
John 8:55-58 - But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. So the Jews said to him, You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.
2.8.32. Atonement
Jesus' sacrifice is the only atonement for our sin we need. It's comprehensive. It must be received through faith in Jesus Christ - and that is not mere belief but obedience:
Romans 3:25 - whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)
We have been crucified with Christ and we died to sin, as Jesus cancelled our debt, so now we must cease to walk in sin, and not go back to the vomit:
Colossians 2:13-14 - And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
We should do what is valuable in stopping the indulgence of the flesh, and not what is invaluable from human precepts, but instead we should following Christ and His teachings, and His example of what love looks like:
Colossians 2:21-23 - Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Instead, let's follow Jesus Christ's teachings:
Colossians 3:1-4 - If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
If people including free-grace Christians do not repent from sin, they will still be repaid impartially, and on account of sinful things the wrath of God comes. We have to put to death sin:
Colossians 3:5-10 - Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Absolutely:
I Peter 4:17 - For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (ESV)
Matthew 5:21-22 - You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, You fool! will be liable to the hell of fire. (ESV)
Ephesians 5:5-7 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them;
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
Colossians 3:23-25 - Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
We must serve our Lord:
Colossians 3:23-24 - Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Walk how Jesus taught us to walk, with faith in Him, and receive
I John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Be led by God's Spirit by doing God's will:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
We receive reconciliation through Jesus Christ who is our Lord:
Romans 5:11 - More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)
We are being made into people who walk in the light, not just intellectually but actually obeying God's commandment to love Him and to love one another:
Romans 5:19 - For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (ESV)
Our loving obedience abounds more as we grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness which looks like stopping sin and being obedient to Jesus, letting Jesus' righteousness shine through us:
Philippians 1:9-11 - And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Follow Jesus through the new and living Way:
Hebrews 10:19-27 - Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
2.8.33. Whoever makes an appeal to God, calls upon His name will be saved
1: : 1941 epikaleomai ep-ee-kal-eh'-om-ahee 2: 3: middle voice from 1909 and 2564; to entitle; by implication, to invoke 4: (for aid, worship, testimony, decision, etc.):--appeal (unto), call 5: (on, upon), surname. 6: see GREEK for 1909 7: see GREEK for 2564
Confessing that Jesus is Lord is becoming obedient to Him:
Romans 10:8-9 - But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”– that is, the word (G4487 rhema) of faith (G4102 pistis) which we are preaching, that if you confess (G3670 homologeo) with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe (G4100 pisteuo) in your heart (G2588 kardia) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; (NASB)
It's faith in the heart which we need; obedience to Jesus Christ and belief in Jesus Christ in the heart, and belief and obedience to God who has raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
Jesus has been perfectly obedient, so Jesus speaks what Father God speaks, and when someone seeks Jesus Christ, they see Father God, because Father God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. The Father is in the Son. The Word is God.
Also, through perfect obedience, Jesus has spoken Father God's commandment of eternal life, which is what He has said:
- "the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak._"
Whoever has faith in Jesus, has faith in God. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father:
John 12:44-48 - And Jesus cried out and said, Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
Jesus' words bring eternal life. The commandment which Father God gave Jesus is eternal life and the commandment is the words that Jesus Christ has spoken, so we need to abide in Jesus Christ by letting His words abide in us, believing Him and obeying Him; doing what He said:
John 12:49-50- For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.
Jesus has the words of eternal life.
We need to obey Jesus Christ and walk and believe as God has commanded and spoken through Jesus:
John 14:6-11 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
We must believe Jesus, and have faith in Jesus Christ, obeying Jesus, and that is obeying God and having faith in God:
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
Therefore, to arrive at the knowledge of the truth, you've got to have an obedient heart.
How can they call on Him whom they have not had faith in?
How will they have faith in Him whom they have not heard?
How will they hear without a preacher?
Romans 10:14-15- But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!
Confess:
1: : 3670 homologeo hom-ol-og-eh'-o 2: 3: from a compound of the base of 3674 and 3056; to assent, i.e. 4: covenant, acknowledge:--con- (pro-)fess, confession is made, give 5: thanks, promise. 6: see GREEK for 3674 7: see GREEK for 3056
- Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the [death and] resurrection of Jesus Christ's, taking part in it
I think baptism of water is an appeal to God and identifying oneself into Christ's death and resurrection but the sacrament maybe is not strictly required to be saved (as far as I understand).
To be baptised is an act of obedience.
I definitely believe that "believer's baptism" is the right way to perform baptism. Baptism does save.
Romans 6:3-4 - Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (ESV)
I Peter 3:18-21 - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
I Corinthians 6:14 - And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. (ESV)
2.9. Obedience - A heart of obedience is the start of faith, and belief is the start of continued obedience
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
2.9.1. Fear of the Lord
Isaiah 11:2 - And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Even after Jesus has come, the fear of the Lord is still important in getting God's attention. We still must obey God by obeying Jesus:
Psalms 34:11-22 - Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
We make it our aim to please him:
II Corinthians 5:9-12 - So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:5 - then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Proverbs 8:13 - The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 10:27 - The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Proverbs 14:27 - The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 15:33 - The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
2.10. Repentance does involve turning from sin
Luke 24:46-47 - and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance (G3341 metanoia) and forgiveness (G859 aphesis) of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Malachi 4:4-6 - Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. (ESV)
Matthew 11:12-14 - From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
Mark 9:11-13 - And they asked him, Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.
Matthew 11:21-21 - Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
2.10.1. Justification by having faith like Abraham in He who raised Jesus Christ from the dead
Paul the Apostle met James, brother of Jesus:
Galatians 1:15-20- But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie! )
Interestingly, James believes that a person is justified not by faith alone, but by works of faith:
James 2:21-24 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Fear-of-God:
Romans 4:5-8 - And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
AMEN!! But this doesn't mean the other elements of working faith can't play a part.
We may rest from our labors when we die in the Lord:
Revelation of John 14:13 - And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them! (ESV)
Circumcision of the flesh does not matter:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe (G4100 pisteuo) without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
We must share the faith of Abraham to receive the grace:
Romans 4:13-17 - For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, I have made you the father of many nations—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
In hope, Abraham believed against hope. He didn't weaken in faith, even when it seemed impossible. He trusted and believed God, and grew strong in his faith and gave glory to God. We should do the same.
We must believe on Him (God) who raised Jesus from the dead, with the faith that Abraham had - Abraham's faith was working, but it wasn't the works that justified Him, it was the faith.
If a person lives their life as a living sacrifice to honour and serve Jesus Christ, which is honouring and having faith in God, then all of that is analogous to Abraham's works of faith.
We must trust God in hope against hope, and not weaken in faith, and trust God's promise, and honour Jesus Christ with our lives - that is what I believe.
The most important thing is this faith - but God certainly uses our works of faith:
Our salvation comes from faith alone in God for the promise of forgiveness from sin and hope of eternal life with Christ Jesus for those who believe in God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead, our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
It's because of what Jesus Christ has done that we are justified, not because of anything we have done. We must trust in God to justify us we hold to our faith.
Romans 4:18-25 - In hope he believed (G4100 pisteuo) against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, So shall your offspring be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Therefore, do not put your hope on how little faith you can have for Jesus Christ to scrape through (because Jesus Christ is the judge), but instead live for Him sincerely, doing as He has instructed us.
To follow and obey Jesus Christ with the same type of faith that Abraham had - that is what we should be doing - that's saving faith, I think. Our justification is based on what Jesus Christ has done.
Now as we live by faith, we are justified by this faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ who we are believing, following, obeying and honouring.
And we only have access to the grace if we have faith:
Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Faith involves obeying Jesus Christ:
I John 2:3 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
I John 5:3-4 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
Jesus says you must obey God to be part of His family:
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus implies you must obey Him (Jesus) to be part of His family:
John 7:16 - So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
So obeying Jesus Christ is having faith in God:
Romans 4:23-25 - But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
2.11. The obedient children are the ones who are not conformed to the passions of our former ignorance
I Peter 1:14-16 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
2.11.1. Jesus Christ has explained what the faith of Abraham looks like for someone who believes in Him
Repentance from sin, obeying Jesus Christ, making Jesus your Lord and Saviour:
Luke 19:1-10 - He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (ESV)
Hebrews 6:20 - where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)
Matthew 5:20 - For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
2.12. The sons of disobedience are the ones who are conformed to sexual immorality, impurity, or covetousness, etc.
Ephesians 5:5-7 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them;
2.13. Get to know Jesus by following His commandments
Matthew 7:21-27 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
Luke 6:46-49 - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
You must obey Jesus:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
We must obey God. We have faith in God who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification, and having faith in God is having faith in His Son which is believing in and obeying Jesus Christ:
Romans 4:23-25 - But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
pisteuo
is the faith verb.
So the promise is for all who put their faith in God by obeying Jesus Christ with the faith of Abraham to a greater or lesser degree.
3. If the world is encouraging you, you're probably in falsehood or taking the wide road
John 7:7 - The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. (ESV)
John 15:18-19 - If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
I John 3:13 - Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
Paul and the other faithful Apostles were exhibited as last of all, like men sentenced to death for following Jesus:
I Corinthians 4:6-16 - I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (ESV)
4. Common grace
We are meant to exercise common grace to other people.
When we pray, we should desire to do God's will, as Jesus has prayed for us to remain here to do His will:
Matthew 6:9-12 - Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (ESV)
Jesus has us remaining here to be sanctified in the Truth:
John 17:15-17 - I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
Jesus wants us to do God's will, and love Him and be obedient to Him:
John 8:41-44 - You are doing what your father did. They said to him, We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
God has common grace for evildoers, and for the unjust, and Jesus wants us to help work that common grace into the lives of other people:
Matthew 5:44-45 - But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (ESV)
See, our actions reflect who our Father is:
Luke 6:35-36 - But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (ESV)
Christianity is God saves us & we respond to obey, not the other way - YouTube
5. Justification - declared 'not guilty', if in Christ Jesus
Jesus is God revealed in the flesh.
I think, that means that if a person loves (is obedient to) and has faith in Him, they are most likely saved.
5.1. We must live by faith
Galatians 3:11 - Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith. (ESV)
Habakkuk 2:4 - Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. (ESV)
5.2. We must be found in Jesus
Ephesians 2:18 - For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. (ESV)
Ephesians 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: (ESV)
Romans 8:1-2 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. (ESV)
Colossians 1:14 - in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
Colossians 2:10 - and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. (ESV)
II Corinthians 1:21 - And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, (ESV)
Colossians 3:3 - For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (ESV)
5.3. The ones who are in Jesus have been called out of darkness and into His light
I Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:38 - but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (ESV)
Romans 1:17 - For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, The righteous shall live by faith. (ESV)
5.4. Sanctification (turning from sin and being cleaned) is a marker of those who are in Jesus
I Corinthians 6:11 - And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)
5.5. We are justified by faith in God who delivered up for our trespasses and raised Jesus Christ from the dead for our justification
Galatians 5:4 - You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (ESV)
Galatians 2:16 - yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (ESV)
Galatians 3:24 - So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. (ESV)
We have to have faith which is characteristic of Abraham's faith, but with regards to following the Lord Jesus.
Our justification comes from having trusting faith in God our Father, who has raised from the dead Jesus Christ our Lord (our brother who we obey); the Jesus Christ who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised from the dead for our justification.
Obeying God is obeying Jesus. Having faith in God is having faith in Jesus.
He was raised for our justification; now in order to be justified by faith, we simply need to put our faith in Him and follow Him.
We have to die to our old self and live for Christ, simply abiding in Him.
If we walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised, but having faith in God by obeying Jesus Christ who was raised for our justification then we have Jesus Christ's righteousness; we have the righteeousness of faith in God.
Romans 4:22-23 - That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, (ESV)
And the promise will be ours also, because Jesus is our Lord, and we belong to Him.
Romans 4:24-25 - but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
So what Jesus is saying is quite similar - we must have the faith that Abraham had when he put Isaac on the Altar, but in regards to following Jesus. We must give up our old life to live for Christ:
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
5.6. Justified by our words
Matthew 12:37 - for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (ESV)
5.7. Justified by grace
Titus 3:7 - so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (ESV)
5.7.1. Justified by faith
We have peace with God:
Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
5.7.2. Justified by the blood of Jesus, received through obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord
The same Apostle Paul wrote these:
Romans 5:1-2 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:6-9 - For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
Romans 5:9 - Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (ESV)
The way that Jesus went is the way that we go. The new and living way is the Jesus way:
- self denial
- Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (ESV)
- obedience
- sacrifice
- death
We are sanctified by the Father in the way that Jesus was made perfect. We are made perfect the same way He was made perfect, by the sufferings that come through obedience to God's will.
Hebrews 2:10-11 - For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, (ESV)
Matthew 26:39-42 - And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. (ESV)
Thee same way Jesus went is the Way, the new and living way, the Jesus way:
Hebrews 5:8-9 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, (ESV)
Receiving this is a mixture of belief and obedience towards Jesus. Faith is a mixture of belief and obedience.
I Peter 2:21 - For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (ESV)
The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience:
Ephesians 5:5-7 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them;
That means that justifying faith involves obeying Jesus:
Romans 5:8-11 - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The free gift of justification is received through faith.
And I believe we need an obedient heart towards Jesus to receive.
It's not about obedience to the law but about obeying Jesus / loving Jesus / trusting Jesus.
The justifying work is finished - Jesus finished it, now we follow Him through the same way he went, by obeying Him.
Now we need faith to receive it and I believe that faith necessitates love for Jesus, which includes obedience to Jesus, and it's the heart that matters most, because all the work may be burned up but we are still saved, because it's not the work that saves, it's faith, but I believe that faith necessitates love/obedience to Jesus, as one of His sheep.
Romans 3:21-25 - But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)
5.7.3. Believing the Word of Truth - sealed with the promised Holy Spirit
We had faith in him. We had a faithful, obedient heart, and were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 1:13-14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)
I Corinthians 12:13 - For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. (ESV)
Paul 'hears of their faith' (their working faith; faith works; otherwise, what is to hear about) and their love toward the saints. (ESV)
Faith in the Lord Jesus means obedience:
Ephesians 1:15-16 - For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, (ESV)
Knowledge of Him results in the heart being enlightened:
Ephesians 1:17-20 - that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, (ESV)
Names have power. Jesus' name is above every other name:
Ephesians 1:21 - far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (ESV)
Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (ESV)
Philippians 2:9 - Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (ESV)
5.8. Faith, Law, Works
We must live under law of God:
Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (ESV)
Christians are under the law of Christ, which is within the law of God:
I Corinthians 9:21 - To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
5.8.1. Christians are not under the Mosaic law because we are under Christ's law, but we don't despise the Torah, nor annul it, nor teach others to annul it
I enjoyed this video, but I still am of the opinion that following the full Mosaic law is not necessary, (but not prohibited, so long as it is pursued by faith and submits to God's righteousness):
Public Debate - Should Christians Keep The Law? - YouTube
Relying on the 'works of the law' for one's righteousness puts a person under a curse:
Galatians 3:10 - For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.
The whole world is accountable to God over the law of God:
Romans 3:19-20 - Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (ESV)
The law is still used in judgement, but the one who has faith in Jesus is not condemned.
The law is good and just and Jesus both obeyed it flawlessly, but He also fulfilled it like a prophesy.
5.8.2. Didache
The Didache's estimated range of dating is 50-120 A.D, according to earlychristianwritings.com.
What I like about the Didache is that it upholds righteous living and following God's Great commandments and precepts.
Didache: The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations
I think it's important to live righteously out of love for God and one's neighbour, and out of faith.
That being said, I think God does justify through faith, and I believe faith works. And working may indeed be called faith if the work is done in faith. I also think God likely saves through works because it may be their way of demonstrating faith to Jesus.
5.8.3. Our point of reference
Through faith we are justified, but we should absolutely stop sinning
We are sanctified by the Spirit and faith in the truth (taking God's words as True and using them to combat lies):
II Thessalonians 2:13 - But we should always give thanks (G2168 eucharisteo) to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning (G746 arche) for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith (G4102 pistis) in the truth (G225 aletheia). (NASB)
- And the Spirit is the Truth
- And God's Word is Truth
- God's Words are Truth
- Jesus is the Truth
- We must have faith in the truth (i.e. believe and trust in the truth)
Deuteronomy 13:4 - You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.
Think of Jesus here:
- keep His commandments
- obey His voice
- serve Him
- hold fast to Him
Christians must do this.
It's Jesus' words are forever true:
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (ESV)
We will be judged by Jesus' own words which God gave Him, unless we accept Him, and accept His words:
John 12:48 - The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
I believe the following indicates the law exists pretty much forever - there probably isn't an expiry date:
Luke 16:17 - But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
Psalms 119:160 - The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)
John 17:17-19 - Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (ESV)
Those who are in the faith can't do anything against the truth.
I think the Apostle here understands that we must test ourselves to see if we are in the faith, and encourage others to test themselves. But interestingly, he says, "not that we may appear to have met the test", and "though we may seem to have failed", as if it may appear and seem as though others have failed, but that we should test ourselves.
Though there may seem to be apparent paradoxes, and apparent contradictions in the Scripture, I think they either resolve or we rest in God, not relying on our own understanding. But I confidently affirm God is True, though I don't understand everything, and I affirm that my spiritual eyesight is getting cleaned up by the Spirit, through faith, and by the washing of the word, and I have confidence that Jesus Christ is in me:
II Corinthians 13:5-8 - Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.
Because truth is truth, it is imperishable:
I Peter 1:23-25 - since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (ESV)
I Corinthians 15:51-58 - Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (ESV)
Stop sinning by faith in the truth - by faith in Jesus, and trusting obedience in God's words:
1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV)
Mark 10:19 - You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. (ESV)
1 John 3:4-9 - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
Jesus' words will not pass away:
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (ESV)
John 6:68 - Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, (ESV)
I Peter 1:23 - since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
I Peter 1:25 - but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you.
Ephesians 1:13,14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)
Adhering strictly to the Mosaic law is not needed to be justified by God if we believe in and follow Jesus:
Galatians 3:15-18 - To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, And to your offspring, who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
5.8.4. Purity of heart
The Mosaic law is not really in the same category as the 10 commandments, I believe. The 10 commandments if obeyed in truth from the heart would result in a clean heart, I think. So it serves to describe what a pure heart looks like, and the laws we should always try to keep whether Gentile or Jew:
I Peter 1:22 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,
Matthew 5:28 - But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Revelation of John 2:23 - and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.
II Peter 2:14 - They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!
II Corinthians 5:11-12 - Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
The Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts by faith:
Acts 15:8-9 - And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Do what Jesus says and receive eternal life - obey Jesus:
Romans 6:13-23 - Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
5.8.5. Being a slave to righteousness is possible without adhering to the Mosaic law, by being led by Jesus' Spirit
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 - He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. (ESV)
God through Jesus is the source of our personal righteousness, and He is our righteousness:
Philippians 1:9-11 - And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
We are set free from sin and become slaves of God (so we obey God!!) and the obedience leads to sanctification, and leads to righteousness:
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (ESV)
- If a person is led by the Spirit then the Lord Jesus is in control of their life, which means that person obeys Jesus' commandments:
Faith is the action word. We must be followers of Jesus Christ, not putting ourselves back under the law.
Faith receives and continues to receive the supply of the Spirit and we are led by the Spirit:
Galatians 3:1-5 - O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— (ESV)
The Law Refutes Justification by Law: Galatians 3:6a??9, Part 1 - YouTube
Faith receives and continues to receive the supply of the Spirit. So a person needs to be having faith in Jesus to be led by the Spirit.
Sanctification is personal righteousness that is fruit that comes from being in Jesus Christ, Him being our righteousness - we're grafted into Jesus like branches on a tree and become healthier. We must and should stop sinning.
5.8.6. We must have attention to Jesus Christ our Lord
We are saved from his sins, and from his evil practices. We are made a new man in Christ Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:33 - Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. (ESV)
John 10:27 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (ESV)
5.8.7. Make the tree good and the fruit good
We must simultaneously make the tree good (abide in Jesus) and make the fruit good (be sanctified and glorify God and Jesus in our hearts, minds, bodies and actions).
Matthew 12:33-37 - Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (ESV)
As we make the tree good, we make the fruit good!
I still think the 10 commandments are special, and following them in truth is repenting from sin.
Mark 10:19 - You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. (ESV)
Acts 15:28-29 - For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
5.8.8. Judgement
Luke 18:8 - I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
Will anyone be believing and obeying Jesus?
God's law is still used in judgement, but the one who has faith in Jesus is not condemned because they abide in Jesus, are Jesus' sheep, and are led by the Spirit, obeying and following Jesus' voice:
- Whoever is actively believing/trusting/obeying Jesus is not judged.
- Whoever is disbelieving/distrusting/disobeying Jesus is judged even now.
John 3:18 - He who believes (G4100 pisteuo) in Him is not judged; he who does not believe (G4100 pisteuo) has been judged (G2919 krino) already (G2235 ede), because he has not believed (G4100 pisteuo) in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (NASB)
If people including free-grace Christians do not repent from sin, they will still receive the wrath of God:
Colossians 3:5-10 - Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
1: : 2919 krino kree'-no 2: 3: properly, to distinguish, i.e. decide (mentally or judicially); by 4: implication, to try, condemn, punish:--avenge, conclude, condemn, 5: damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, 6: ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.
1: : 2235 ede ay'-day 2: 3: apparently from 2228 (or possibly 2229) and 1211; even now:--already, 4: (even) now (already), by this time. 5: see GREEK for 2228 6: see GREEK for 2229 7: see GREEK for 1211
John 3:19 - This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (ESV)
Matthew 12:36-37 - I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
When one speaks evil against a brother, they become a judge of the law.
James 4:11 - Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (ESV)
Eternal judgement:
Hebrews 6:2 - and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
- I believe I was saved and born-again by seeking Jesus and calling on the name of the Lord
Acts 2:17-21 - And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
I prayed a sinners prayer in my own room, and I had begun trying to repent from sin, but I was still stuck in it and I needed help.
And when we are born-again and given a new heart we should continue in obedience.
- We should not rebel against the law - but we should obey the truth in truth
Matthew 23:2-7 - The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (ESV)
We should not live a double-life. We should not deny in our private life what we preach in public.
I'm not a perfect person. I'm writing this document as I am learning, and interpreting as I go. And I am trying to clean myself up in my own private life.
6. Faith requires obedience
Luke writes that Peter says the Holy Spirit goes to those who obey Jesus. If the book of Acts is finished after Paul went to Galatia, then it is in knowledge of the letter to the Galatians, where Paul says the promised Spirit is received through faith.
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
Or since Paul's journey to Galatia happened after Peter said the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Jesus, and Paul writes that the promised Spirit is received through faith, even in these two passages, it's doubly confirmed that faith necessitates obedience.
Acts 16:6 - And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
Jesus says you must obey God to be part of His family:
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus implies you must obey Him (Jesus) to be part of His family:
John 7:16 - So Jesus answered them, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
Love Jesus (being obedient to Him) and believe that He came from God:
John 16:25-27- I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
6.1. The obedient children are the ones who are not conformed to the passions of our former ignorance
I Peter 1:14-16 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
6.2. The sons of disobedience are the ones who are conformed to sexual immorality, impurity, or covetousness, etc.
Ephesians 5:5-7 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them;
6.3. Get to know Jesus by following His commandments
Matthew 7:21-27 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
Luke 6:46-49 - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Matthew 7:21-27 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
You must obey Jesus:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
We must obey God. We have faith in God who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification, and having faith in God is having faith in His Son which is believing in and obeying Jesus Christ:
Romans 4:23-25 - But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
7. True religion
- Be a disciple and representative of Jesus
- Obedient to Jesus
- Being a servant to other people
- Sticking up for truth
- Be faithful to Jesus
- Be personally accountable to God and to Jesus
- Do not deny Jesus
- Be faithful to Jesus
- Have a pure heart
- Obey God, being accountable to God
- Have Jesus' heart
- Serving Jesus
- Endeavour to please God
- Be holy
- Be godly (behaviour in accordance with the knowledge of God)
Galatians 1:10 - For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (ESV)
James 1:27 - Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (ESV)
Matthew 15:8-9 - This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (ESV)
1 Samuel 16:7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (ESV)
I do actually consider theology to be quite important but we should not be whitewashed tombs.
I think the person's lifestyle should be 'pure and undefiled religion' as James defines it.
I should probably actually do my own Bible study though because there's a lot of false religion out there. Rather than fill my mind with other people's doctrines and religion, we should obey God, knowing God knows.
Also endeavor to also do lots of service as that is what Jesus' Kingdom is all about.
8. Repentance from sin
8.1. Parable of the prodigal son - God's joy over a sinner that repents from sin
1: prodigal 2: Wasteful. 3: 4: Spending money or using resources freely 5: and recklessly; wastefully extravagant. 6: "prodigal habits die hard" 7: 8: A person who spends money in a recklessly 9: extravagant way. 10: "he hated rich prodigals who lived 11: useless, imprudent lives"
The story of the prodigal son is about a person coming to repentance, and there is great joy over it. It's not saying that following God's commandments are wrong. It's not even saying that 'rulekeeping' is wrong. It does say that sin leads to destruction. It also says that God and the angels are overjoyed when people repent from sin and turn back to Him, and that God forgives and welcomes us back when we do this.
Luke 15:7 - Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:10 - Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:24 - For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.
The father was always happy with the obedient son, but he was simply full of joy that his wayward son had returned:
Luke 15:31-32 - And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
9. Obtain a faith of equal standing with the Apostles by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ
II Peter 1:1 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
We obtain a strong faith by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
This requires obedience to Jesus.
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Faith:
- Belief and Obedience => true knowledge => fruit
- Belief and obedience leads to true knowledge, and after true knowledge, fruit
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Also, the Old Testament speaks a lot about how to walk in righteousness:
II Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
This is why it's a good idea to study the Old Testament including Old Testament law, the nature of faith etc. and God's character, precepts and statues, to love God and one's neighbour.
9.1. Knowing and being found in Christ Jesus is what it's all about
Suffering for righteousness sake (suffering for being Christlike).
Philippians 3:8-11 - Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (ESV)
It involves:
- believing the truth
- sanctification while believing the truth
- putting a stop to sin
- becoming holy
- being a slave to righteousness, obeying Jesus
- being obedient to Jesus, instead of being obedient to the world
- loving selflessly as Jesus loved
9.2. We must believe the truth, stop sinning, and live to righteousness
Jesus didn't sin. We need to have the same way of thinking as Jesus had. We need to attempt to cease from sin, and live for the will of God.
1 Peter 4:1-2 - Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (ESV)
II Thessalonians 2:13 - But we should always give thanks (G2168 eucharisteo) to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning (G746 arche) for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith (G4102 pistis) in the truth (G225 aletheia). (NASB)
Jesus has enabled us to die to sin and live to righteousness:
1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (ESV)
Matthew 25:46 - And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (ESV)
Cleaned up by having faith in the truth.
Faith in the truth - strong faith word! Belief and ongoing faithfulness, trust, reliance.
1: : 4102 pistis pis'-tis 2: 3: from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious 4: truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially 5: reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such 6: profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth 7: itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. 8: see GREEK for 3982
II Thessalonians 2:11-14 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We want to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ - we do this by being Christlike through obeying Jesus Christ, which brings glory to Jesus and glory to God. We obey when we believe and are being sanctified.
Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
We must have faith in Jesus for the righteousness of God that comes by faith. We must believe what He's achieved, and we must be born-again of the Spirit.
Romans 10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (G4100 pisteuo has faith in Jesus).
Saved, and being saved. Being cleaned while believing.
Jesus is our High Priest.
Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Jesus condemned sin in the flesh. Now we walk according to the spirit so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.
It's still really important to put a stop to sin! And we must walk according to Jesus' commandments:
John 14:24 - Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
9.2.1. Holiness
When we repent from sin we allow Jesus' holiness to shine through us increasingly. Therefore, it's really not our own holiness or power that is responsible for miracles that happen through us or in cooperation with us, but it is Jesus' power and holiness.
Jesus is the True Vine. We are the branches. AMEN!! We can do nothing apart from Him. AMEN!!
Acts 3:12 - And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? (KJV)
Everyone who names the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity:
I Corinthians 6:17-20 - But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
II Timothy 2:19-22 - But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Our bodies are a vessel for Jesus' holiness to shine out of. It's the vessel of the Holy Spirit:
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own (G1438 heautou) vessel (G4632 skeuos) in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; (NASB)
We should not deceive our brothers by lying about the matter of sanctifying our bodies:
I Thessalonians 4:6-7 - and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification. (NASB)
Jesus is the light in us, and we must let our light shine:
Luke 8:14-16 - And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. , No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. (ESV)
Matthew 5:15 - Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (ESV)
Luke 8:21 - But he answered them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.
The power comes from Jesus:
Luke 8:46 - But Jesus said, Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.
When we repent and clean ourselves up, we allow Jesus' light to shine through us. The sanctification process is like cleaning a muddy window.
Luke 6:40 - A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:41-42 - Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Luke 6:43 - For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
- We approach Christ's very image
Romans 8:29 - For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Hebrews 2:11-12 - For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise. (ESV)
- Repentance: Put off the old self
Colossians 3:4-9 - When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
- Stop sexual immorality.
- Stop idolatry.
- Stop gossip and slander.
- Stop being hateful of people.
I Corinthians 10:7-14 - Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
- Put on the new self: Christ-likeness
Colossians 3:10-17 - and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
9.2.2. What must be believe, and what we must do: Walk in truth and love the way Jesus has commanded us
We must receive Jesus' words through faith, walk in them through faith and come to know in truth (we must truly know) that Jesus came from God, and continue in faith, continuing to be sanctified.
We must practice the truth.
John 3:21 - But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
Hebrews 10:14 - For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
This is what we must come to know in truth - that Jesus came from Father God, and that Father God sent Him - it is Father God's will:
John 17:8 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
- Come to the knowledge of the truth
I Timothy 2:3-6 - This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Therefore, we should receive Jesus' words and obey Jesus and arrive at the truth. Obedience is an essential part of faith. Like Abraham obeying God, or like Israel crossing through the Red Sea, it's obedience which leads to sure belief, and obedience that leads a person into sure knowledge of the truth, and obedience which cooperates with sanctification by the Spirit.
Exodus 14:31 - When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed (H539 'aman) in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
The true knowledge of Jesus grants us everything pertaining to life and godliness, allowing us to partake in the divine nature:
II Peter 1:3-4 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (NASB)
Being set free through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is at least in part being set free from the defilements of the world.
II Peter 2:20-21 - For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
Then we continue to add Work/Love/Virtue to be fruitful:
But we must practice Jesus' commandments even before we have arrived at the knowledge of the truth, in order to arrive at the knowledge of the truth:
II Peter 1:8 - For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I John 2:3 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
We come to know Him through obeying Him. He is the Truth. God sent Him. The point at which we have come to know Him is if we are managing to actually keep His commandments.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)
Jesus is the living Word. He obeyed God perfectly, and fulfilled the Law, Prophets and Psalms.
Psalms 119:160 - The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. (ESV)
John 17:17-19 - Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (ESV)
Jesus is eternally our Great High Priest. I believe this says Father God has sworn and will not change His mind.
Psalms 110:4 - The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 4:14 - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 5:9 - And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
And the obedience doesn't end. We continue to be sanctified through faith. We are saved from darkness, and saved from sinning, and even start doing good works pleasing to God.
II Peter 1:1-11 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
II Thessalonians 2:11-14 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Continuing to be sanctified by faith is a process where a person continues in Jesus' words because they are sanctified by faith in Jesus and that means ongoing trust and faithful obedience.
To be sanctified by faith in Jesus is an applied process, I think:
Acts 26:18 - to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (ESV)
In similar fashion to Jesus continually obeying Father God as he endured suffering, I think we should learn to submit and follow Jesus' commandments
Hebrews 5:7-10 - In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
I believe that after being born-again of the spirit, I had (with very little knowledge of Jesus' commandments) had to learn Jesus' commandments and apply them, and I believe the Holy Spirit taught me to obey Jesus as I read Jesus' sayings and was subsequently tested on those sayings. For example, if I read that we must give to all who ask, and then the Lord sets up a situation where someone asks for money, then I have a choice to obey Jesus, which means resisting those who try to deter me from obeying Jesus. Upon being tested, someone would offer worldly wisdom in an attempt to deter me from following Jesus, and as I obey God I am led by the Holy Spirit, and taught by the Holy Spirit. And this is an ongoing process. I say this for others' sake to explain how I have come to know how faith in Jesus, following Jesus, works practically, that it is more than mere intellectual belief to be led by the Spirit, but it is also obedience, and a process of sanctification, and walking in the light.
II John 1:1-11 highlights:
- knowing the truth
- the truth abiding in us
- walking in the truth
- we are commanded to do so
- love one another and loving one another is walking according to Jesus' commandments commandments
- we are commanded to do so
- lose not what we have worked for, but may win a full reward
- to not abide in this teaching is to work wickedness
II John 1:1-11 - The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. (ESV)
Definitely stop sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth:
Hebrews 10:26-29 - For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (ESV)
Hebrews 10:16-18 - This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
To know if Jesus' teaching comes from God, one must desire to do God's will.
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
Therefore, to arrive at the knowledge of the truth, you've got to have an obedient heart.
10. Put a stop to sin and practice personal righteousness
I John 3:7 - Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
I John 3:10 - By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
I Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
We must die to sin and practice righteousness.
Then while practicing righteousness after dying to sin, we may suffer for practicing righteousness. Therefore this righteousness is a personal righteousness, which we practice after dying to sin.
I Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
Faith working through love is obeying Jesus.
Galatians 5:5-6 - For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
Paul awaits Christ to be formed in the person:
Galatians 4:18-19 - It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
11. Justifying faith vs justifying works is misunderstood and is a false dichotomy
There's a false dichotomy between faith and works - because obedience is intrinsic to faith.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
True faith is always obedient; faith is always prepared to obey more:
John 7:17- If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
You can't even have faith in God without obeying Jesus because the one who has faith in God has already obeyed Jesus whether they know about Mark 11:22 or not
. So it's not a dead work.
And justifying faith is having obedient faith in God with regards to the promise given to Abraham.
Obeying God is having faith in God. Obeying God is loving God. AMEN!!
Mark 11:22 - And Jesus answered them, Have (G2192 echo) faith (G4102 pistis) in God (G2316 theos). (ESV)
pistis is the faith noun.
John 14:1 - “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe (G4100 pisteuo) in God, believe (G4100 pisteuo) also in Me. (NASB)
pisteuo is the faith verb.
echo means 'to hold' - so in Mark 11:22 Jesus says 'hold faith' in God. And in John 14:1 Jesus tells us to 'do faith' in God and to 'do faith' in Him.
If you are believing in Jesus, then you are obediently working.
To be justified, a person must walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Having faith in God is obeying God. Loving God is obeying God. AMEN!!
So what Jesus is saying is quite similar - we must have the faith that Abraham had when he put Isaac on the Altar, but in regards to following Jesus:
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
Now about the following:
Romans 4:4 - Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
I believe that what Romans 4:4 is saying is that before accepting God's forgiveness yourself, submitting to the righteousness of God, believing that you were in need of God's forgiveness, anything you try to give God is simply giving God what is due to Him, and that you will never be able to return enough stolen goods to God to ever be justified. Nor would you ever be able to forgive enough other people to attain that justification. You ultimately need God's forgiveness. However, forgiving others is still required if someone wants God to forgive them.
Mark 11:25 - And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Matthew 6:12-15 - and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (ESV)
11.1. Obedient action including seeking God in faith (trusting God's words and seeking)
I believe that obedient action which includes seeking God is an important part of faith.
I believe obedience is intrinsic to faith, actually.
True faith is always obedient; faith is always prepared to obey more:
John 7:17- If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
Obedient action is not dead works, and I believe that obedient action is just working faith.
Being disobedient to Jesus means disbelieving in Jesus:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
Romans 4:2 - For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Paul doesn't deny that Abraham could have been justified by works, but he claims that Abraham doesn't have anything to boast about before God. AMEN!!
Because he offered nothing to God through his work other than what was asked of him.
Jesus was perfectly faithful to God by being obedient:
Philippians 2:8 - And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Romans 9:15-16 - For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (ESV)
AMEN!! But that doesn't mean human will or exertion cannot be utilised by God.
God rewards faith and may choose to reveal Himself after a while serving God in faith instead of immediately.
Matthew 25:19 - Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Acts 20:35 - In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
11.2. Obedience belongs in faith
In God's mercy He has shown us the Way to be reconciled with Him. He has given us Jesus. He has told us what to do, and we can choose to be obedient or to not be obedient.
Jesus is the author of our faith, so having faith is grace from God, and even if works are working with our faith, it's all by grace and we still can't boast before God because our faith and our works are all gifted to us from God.
For example, Noah's works of building the ark was given to Him by God. God even outlined every detail.
Hebrews 12:1-2 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Obedience belongs inside faith because
- God commanded it and complying is not really bringing anything
to God which He hasn't told you to bring to Him.
- So it's just acting in faith
- If God commands you to build an ark, and you build it exactly as specified, is that considered dead works? No, it's just doing exactly what God said. It's faith.
- If God commands you to wait 5 days before going into battle but you think 8 days would be better, thinking God needs the extra time so you can be more prepared so you wait 8 days then that is no longer faith because it's disobedience.
- Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and Abraham did offer Isaac out of faithful obedience.
- Genesis 22:2 - He said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
- James 2:22 - You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
- But if Abraham thought he could get even more rewards from God by trying the same thing again and putting Isaac on the altar again without God even commanding it, then that is like trying to justify yourself by doing dead works (i.e. deeds without faith).
- Choosing to obey God's commandments even when no-one is watching (aside from God) is having faith in God.
- For example, not stealing from your employer.
- Therefore, there is a way of abiding by God's commandments which is faith and not works.
- To not steal is to love God and have faith in God.
- God commanded it and complying is not really bringing anything
to God which He hasn't told you to bring to Him.
- Seeking God in action belongs in faith because:
- When someone wills to do God's will, they come to know the truth
- John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
- When someone has faith, they believe that God exists and that in seeking God, God rewards them:
- Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
- When someone wills to do God's will, they come to know the truth
Salvation is the gift, and faith implies an obedient heart. Works can be dead works when they're not done in faith. Faith is what justifies. But faith works. Faith requires obedience to God. Faithless works do not justify:
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
With an obedient heart, a person will receive revelation as they hear the teaching of Jesus.
A person must be at least willing to do His will - obedience is the essence of faith:
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
Therefore, faith quickly progresses into good work, serving the living God.
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
'Believing in rewards from God for seeking Him' belongs in faith, or it's not faith anymore, even in regards to justifying faith.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:24-26 - By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
We should pursue Jesus Christ similarly. God commanded it.
Mark 9:7 - And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son; listen to him.
Luke 9:35 - And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!
1 Timothy 1:15-17 - The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him for eternal life. To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
11.3. The type of work that is good - works done in faith
John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (ESV)
Obedience is good.
Psalms 40:6-8 - Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart. (ESV)
'Working' for God is OK when it's done in faith. Obedience is intrinsic to faith.
Hebrews 11:31 - By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
And after a time, the LORD visits and judges on deeds, and on words:
Revelation of John 3:2-3 - Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Jesus judges on deeds and on words (possibly on the way you judge others, the same standard is measured back to you; also important is confessing Jesus Christ before others):
Matthew 12:35-37 - The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Matthew 25:19 - Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
Matthew 25:21 - His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
The LORD God judges impartially according to each one's deeds:
I Peter 1:17 - And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 - The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Ecclesiastes: fear God and obey His commandments- the only hope for a good life - YouTube
We must follow the way righteousness, repenting from sin, and following Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is Lord:
II Peter 2:1-3 - But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
II Peter 2:20-22 - For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.
11.3.1. Since Jesus has made the way, we serve God with good works. We have received mercy. We should then be merciful:
I Peter 2:10 - Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Luke 6:36 - Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
11.3.2. Works must serve God, submitted to the righteousness that comes from God
We have to submit to God's righteousness, accepting that we are sinners, and accept God's forgiveness through the atonement that comes through Jesus, and be obedient to God through being obedient to Jesus.
Mark 2:17 - And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.
Luke 5:32 - I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Romans 10:3-4 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (G4100 pisteuo has faith in Jesus). (ESV)
Philippians 3:8-11 - Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (ESV)
11.4. Dead works: The type of work that's bad
What is wrong is trying to establish a righteousness of one's own apart from submitting to the righteousness of God - it's saying, "God, I think you should have this, or, God I think I'm righteous because I did this for you." rather than, "here is what you asked of me, LORD."
Work not done in faith:
Leviticus 10:1-2 - Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
I Samuel 15:22-23 - And Samuel said, Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king. (ESV)
God didn't ask for the offering which Nadab and Abihu offered.
Ananias gave to God unfaithfully, in a manner similar to Cain.
Acts 4:32 - Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
Acts 5:1-5 - But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. (ESV)
Cain was half-hearted with his offering to the LORD, as Ananias was:
Genesis 4:3-5 - In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. (ESV)
1 John 3:12 - We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. (ESV)
Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
Dead works are works not done in service to God, but works done in service to God, He may accept.
11.4.1. Works of the law are dead works. God always desired us to serve Him with mercy
Hebrews 10:8 - When he said above, You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings (these are offered according to the law),
Hebrews addressed the same passage which Jesus addressed:
Matthew 12:3-8 - He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
11.5. Working faith
Works and faith can't exist apart from one another because even to believe in Jesus is a work, and if the belief is true then the obedience continues.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent.
To be justified, a person must walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
So what Jesus is saying is quite similar - we must have the faith that Abraham had when he put Isaac on the Altar, but in regards to following Jesus:
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
Even the demons believe God is one and they shudder. The faithful believe God and love God (a totally different response). Love is obedience to God, and includes accepting and having faith in the one who God sent, Jesus.
James 2:19 - You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
John 8:42 - Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
I John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Faith doesn't exist without obedience. Obedience doesn't exist without faith. The obedient will love Jesus, obeying Jesus, having faith in Jesus.
James 2:18 - But someone will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
Romans 1:5 - through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, (ESV)
Romans 16:26 - but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith — (ESV)
We go from performing 'dead works' to 'faithful works'.
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Matthew 25:21 - His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
We stop doing dead works to serve the living God, which I believe is obedience, which is really similar to work but it's obeying. Obedience gives glory to God.
John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (ESV)
Obeying Jesus' commandments are not 'dead works'.
Exodus 20:12-17 - Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
Jesus said:
Mark 10:19 - You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. (ESV)
Obeying God by following the 10 commandments properly, in truth, is not performing 'dead works'.
The Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts by faith:
Acts 15:8-9 - And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Service to God is obeying God through Christ's commandments. It's being a bond-servant of Christ.
Also, the following means that having faith in Jesus is tightly coupled to doing the works that Jesus did - to acting like Jesus - to obeying His commandments.
John 14:12 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
Whoever has faith in Jesus, the works that Jesus does, that person will do. Pisteuo (pisteuōn) = faith.
John 14:12 - Truly (G281 amen), truly (G281 amen), I say (G3004 lego) to you, he who believes (G4100 pisteuo) in Me, the works (G2041 ergon) that I do (G4160 poieo), he will do (G4160 poieo) also (G2548 kakeinos); and greater (G3173 megas) works than these (G3778 houtos) he will do (G4160 poieo); because (G3754 hoti) I go (G4198 poreuomai) to the Father (G3962 pater). (NASB)
1: : 4100 pisteuo pist-yoo'-o 2: 3: from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or 4: thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's 5: spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put 6: in trust with. 7: see GREEK for 4102
If someone trusts their Lord then they do what their Lord does and has commanded.
11.5.1. Faith is faithful, humble, and enduring - it's active and enduring faithfulness to God in humility
Psalms 31:23 - Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. (ESV)
11.5.2. Jesus's Lordship is not merely His authority over us, but us yielding our lives to Jesus - us wanting to do His will, and us wanting to obey Him
Luke 6:46-49 - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Even the demons are subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.
So are you are demon or are you one of Jesus' sheep?
John 6:70 - Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. (ESV)
11.5.3. Lordship salvation and free grace - an apparent paradox
You can't have only half of Jesus:
- I believe that free grace without belief and obedience is a lie.
- I believe a heart must be both believing and obedient to receive the grace through faith, since I believe true faith is both obedient and believing.
After receiving justification (counted not guilty) through obedient and believing faith, we should continue in obedient and believing faith but the work we do is to be tested and is not essential to our justification:
1 Corinthians 3:15 - If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)
We love (obey) because He loved us first, and through obedience we are sanctified, which leads to eternal life.
Heresies:
- free grace without Lordship (without sanctification by the Spirit)
- the person in this category abides in Jesus extremely precariously, and only if they are actively trusting in Jesus.
- Trusting and obeying Jesus qualifies, but belief without obedience or trust in the heart doesn't qualify.
- Lordship without free grace (working to be forgiven, without belief in the truth)
- Well, I mean, they are actually trusting in Jesus if they are following Jesus and doing what He said.
- But if they are just doing good works to get to heaven then I think that's not really right.
I believe that either of these heresies fall under this strong delusion category:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-13 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (ESV)
I Timothy 6:3-11 - If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (ESV)
II Peter 2:6 - if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
Jude 1:4-5 - For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
I'd rather be a doer than merely a hearer.
Correct Christology is important, but so is obeying Jesus' commandments, and obeying Jesus' commandments is possibly even more important than belief:
Matthew 21:28-31 - “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
We must keep ourselves in the love of God by obeying Jesus Christ's commandments, because we're awaiting to receive eternal life:
Jude 1:21 - keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (ESV)
Keeping Jesus Christ's commandments is a requirement to inherit eternal life:
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (ESV)
Whoever truly believes Jesus trusts in and is obedient to Jesus. We must obey Jesus Christ, and that obedience means being a slave of righteousness, leading to sanctification, which leads to eternal life:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
11.5.4. Yield to God
Submit to God's will:
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (ESV)
Submit to Jesus' lordship:
Matthew 16:24 - Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (ESV)
Sow your own life as an investment for Jesus' sake:
Matthew 16:25 - For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)
John 12:24-26 - Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (ESV)
Seek God:
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (ESV)
Accept God's plans:
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (ESV)
Psalms 23:3-4 - He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (ESV)
Desire to do the will of God, and allow God's word to teach you what that is:
Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)
Actually practice faith, and don't over-intellectualise God:
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)
John 5:39-44 - You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (ESV)
Yield to God:
Isaiah 45:9 - Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, What are you making? or Your work has no handles? (ESV)
Luke 14:33 - So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (ESV)
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)
11.5.5. Obey God and let Him save you
Fear of God or love for Him in obedience or thankfulness is work which comes out of belief. But faith works, even saving faith works. Saving faith especially requires obedience, I think. Faith without work doesn't exist I think because the work of God is to believe on who He has sent - Jesus.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
11.5.6. Don't underestimate Jesus' saving power
With Lazarus - Jesus performed the miracle so the people watching could believe and have faith. Jesus wept before he raise Lazarus from the dead, and many other people believed in Jesus and were saved, I assume.
John 11:41-42 - So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
John 11:35 - Jesus wept.
John 11:41-42 - So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.
And Jesus is able to save a person out of Jesus' own will, as he resurrected Lazarus.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=49JgVR30bLA
John 11:43 - When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
11.5.7. Just believe/obey Jesus to receive more faith and revelation and salvation
The account of Jesus itself when it's read, and Jesus' words, are enough to inspire faith. Therefore, faith comes by hearing the word of Christ.
Jesus calls persistent endurance a work. It's also required to keep our confidence:
Hebrews 10:35-36- Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.
Faith is like Peter stepping out on the water. Faith works. But I think sometimes to create faith someone just has to actually believe Jesus because Jesus performs the miracle / the work.
The LORD did something similar for the Israelites when He parted the Red Sea. The Israelites obeyed God, and their obedience led them to sure belief. Obedience, belief and trust are all important in faith.
Revelation comes as we do what God commands us:
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
And I feel like we just need to start obeying God and obeying Jesus in order to be saved. Obedience is steps of faith.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
Exodus 14:21-30 - Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
Exodus 14:31 - When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed (H539 'aman) in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
1: : 539 'aman 2: 3: a primitive root; properly, to build up or support; to foster 4: as a parent or nurse; figuratively to render (or be) firm or 5: faithful, to trust or believe, to be permanent or quiet; 6: morally to be true or certain; once (Isa. 30:21; 7: interchangeable with 541) to go to the right hand:--hence, 8: assurance, believe, bring up, establish, + fail, be faithful 9: (of long continuance, stedfast, sure, surely, trusty, 10: verified), nurse, (-ing father), (put), trust, turn to the 11: right. 12: see HEBREW for 0541
Exodus 15:2 - The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.
Salvation is the gift, and faith implies an obedient heart. Works can be dead works when they're not done in faith. Faith is what justifies. But faith works. Faith requires obedience to God. Faithless works do not justify:
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
- The obedience of faith
A person must be at least willing to do His will - obedience is the essence of faith:
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
I think Ephesians 2:8-9 when it says 'through faith' doesn't actually exclude obedience (obeying Jesus), because I think obedience is intrinsic to faith.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
When it says "not a result of works", I believe that something more like, even if works were tied into the faith, it's by grace. If a person's saving faith included works then that is fine.
I Corinthians 4:7 - For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (ESV)
Our works have been gifted to us by God's grace:
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
Faith-in-God is hearing God's word and believing it, and even acting on it, or at least the readiness to act on it. A person may act on faith in their heart by arriving at conviction. But it has to be faith in the truth. Then, like Peter stepping out on the water, or like the woman at the well going in to town to tell people about Jesus, or turning from sinful things, it produces more obedience.
Matthew 14:27-32 - But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
And there is an amount of faith, and true belief is all that's required to be saved, but Faith is so tightly linked to Obedience like Faith is linked to Hope. True belief is enough because it accepts what Jesus says, as a child believes. But I don't think this discounts that the same faith continues and increases through obedience.
Some people never seem to arrive:
II Timothy 3:6-9 - For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
But the ones who do arrive actually follow the teaching:
II Timothy 3:10-13 - You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Peter demonstrated obedience. A changed heart is essential to be saved, I think, because it must produce more obedience.
II Corinthians 10:5-6 - We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Hebrews describes faith as the hope and conviction we need to draw near to God because we need to believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 also describes many 'acts' of faith.
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Timothy 1:5 - The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (ESV)
11.5.8. Faith requires obedience
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
- The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Jesus.
- The Holy Spirit is given to those who have faith in Jesus.
You can't have faith without obedience.
Keith Green - To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice (live)
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
I Corinthians 13:2 - And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (ESV)
1: Faith-in-God = Hope-from/in-God * Work/Love 2: 3: Hope-from/in-God = Belief(believing God) * Truth(God's word is truth) 4: 5: Work/Love = Obedience * Faithfulness * Fear-of-God * Response-of-love-to-Jesus * Patient-Endurance(time) 6: 7: Obedience = Submitting to the Righteousness of God * Turning from sin, loving, showing mercy, etc. 8: 9: Fear-of-God = e.g. The poor in spirit recognise their need of God's mercy and tremble at His Word: "beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" 10: 11: Response-of-love-to-Jesus = e.g. praise, thankfulness, obeying His commandments 12: 13: L ∝ f 14: Love is proportional-to the baggage which has been forgiven 15: Love ∝ forgiven-baggage 16: 17: Obedience ∝ Love 18: 19: F = H * L 20: Faith = Hope * Love 21: 22: Faith-in-God when tested by God is found to be true Faith in God. 23: Faith-in-God must submit to the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, 24: Jesus Christ having paid the price of sin, enabling a relationship with God.
Something like this:
I Thessalonians 1:3 - remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Even after arriving at the true knowledge through obedience, faith is further supplemented/nourished/aided by virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love:
II Peter 1:3-7 - His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (ESV)
The true knowledge of Jesus grants us everything pertaining to life and godliness, allowing us to partake in the divine nature. We should then reinforce the divine nature with such things:
II Peter 1:3-4 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (NASB)
Because, having arrived at the true knowledge of Jesus, we are partakers of the divine nature, in order to be fruitful we should supply to our faith those qualities:
II Peter 1:8 - For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1: : 1922 epignosis ep-ig'-no-sis 2: 3: from 1921; recognition, i.e. (by implication) full discernment, 4: acknowledgement:--(ac-)knowledge(-ing, - ment). 5: see GREEK for 1921
- Work/Love
II John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. (ESV)
We must love in the same way Jesus has loved us - sacrificially, obedient to God - showing God's truthfulness, serving others:
John 15:12 - This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Matthew 19:17 And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.
Matthew 22:37-40 - And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.
Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, Which commandment is the most important of all?
Mark 12:31 The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord.
Jesus' commandments are consistent with the rest of God's commandments:
John 12:49-50 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
John 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
John 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
- Fear-of-God
Romans 4:5-8 - And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.
AMEN!! But this doesn't mean the other elements of working faith can't play a part.
Without love, faith is dead:
I Corinthians 13:1 - If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
pisteuo
is obedient faith as it is the verb for faith (pistis).James 2:22-26 - You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (ESV)
Without faith, work is dead. Whatever actions we make outside of faith is sin:
Romans 14:23 - But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
But the work of God is to believe in whom He has sent. So even believing in Jesus is work that is done in faith:
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
11.5.9. Faith vector illustration
Deeds, love, faith, service and perseverance are not mutually exclusive. They're all important to God and overlap:
Revelation of John 2:19 - ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
There is a relation here:
I Corinthians 13:7 - Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Timothy 1:5 - The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (ESV)
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Belief and action are like a vector.
1: 2: Faith plane __ 3: Serving God plane /| 4: / From past 5: / baggage o _ 6: An obedient __ __/ persecuting / /| 7: and believing /| 1x Love /| 2x Love Jesus / / 8: heart / / to receiving / → / 9: _ / / forgiveness / / 10: /| / / and loving |/_ / 11: o o o Jesus o 12: 13: --------------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------- 14: | Dead faith | Impossible to be 15: Faithless plane | | simultaneously 16: Serving yourself plane | o | 17: Justifying yourself plane | | yoked to God _ 18: __ | disobedient | (led by) /| 19: /| Dead works +-------------+ / 20: / | while o 21: / | / 22: / These are entirely worthless | |/_ 23: x | (led by) 24: | yoked to money
Faith has 'substance/magnitude' and may be described as a vector:
- The origin of hope/belief is represented by the point.
- On the Faith plane, positive magnitude comes from trust in God
- Hope-from/in-God is the direction.
- Work/Love/Obedience is the magnitude.
I want to be clear, having faith in Jesus Christ is not dead faith. Dead faith is precisely not having faith in Jesus Christ.
An obedient heart is required for it to not be 'dead faith'.
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
Faith in the wrong thing:
- On the Faithless plane, positive magnitude comes from trust in something else, i.e. money or self
But it's God that tests the faith, and God that justifies. That's why I don't like making an assertion on the exact way that God justifies, because God is the justifier.
Galatians 5:5 - For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
We must be doing the will of God to not be under the law:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Righteousness is the free gift to be received through obedience:
Romans 5:17 - If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
Jesus made the Way - He is the Way:
Romans 5:18-19 - Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
The Way is available to walk for everyone who is obedient.
Doing the will of Father God:
- obedience to Jesus leads to righteousness - obedience/faith to receive the gift, even of the Spirit
- led by the Spirit, obeying Jesus' words
- being led by the Spirit and obeying Jesus' words are in alignment and do not contradict
- led by the Spirit, obeying Jesus' words
- slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification
- at its end, eternal life
- sanctification leading to eternal life
- sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth
- knowledge of the truth
- justification
Romans 6:13-23 - Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The love of the truth must be received and accepted to be saved:
II Thessalonians 2:10 - and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (NASB)
People will trust in what is false:
II Thessalonians 2:11 - For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe (G4100 pisteuo) what is false (G5579 pseudos), (NASB)
Those people who did not have faith in the truth but took took pleasure in unrighteousness may be condemned:
II Thessalonians 2:12 - in order that all may be condemned who did not believe (G4100 pisteuo) the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
But God chose some to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth:
II Thessalonians 2:13 - But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
So that they may be obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ:
II Thessalonians 2:14 - To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We live by the Spirit:
Ephesians 2:18 - For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
We are made alive by the Spirit so we should walk by the Spirit:
Galatians 5:25 - If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
If we walk by the Spirit, we will not gratify the desires of the flesh:
Galatians 5:16 - But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
There are sinning people that alienate themselves from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart:
Ephesians 4:18-29 - They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
But having been taught in Jesus, the truth which is in Jesus, to put off the old self and to be renewed in the spirit our our mind, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness:
Ephesians 4:21-24 - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Speak the truth and do not sin:
Ephesians 4:25-27 - Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 1:17 - that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
The outcome of being set free from sin and becoming a slave to God is receiving the gift of eternal life:
Romans 8:33 - Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (ESV)
Romans 6:22-23 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (BSB)
A person must do the will of Father God (not their own will); They must be obedient. Faith and obedience are inseparable.
To be fruitful, a person must be further obedient after arriving at the knowledge of the truth and supplement their faith with Christian virtues:
II Peter 1:8 - For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of our Lord Jesus Christ.
12. Jesus has immortality and gives eternal life, but we must come to Him in obedience, and follow Him, to receive it
John 5:39-44 - You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? (ESV)
We must take hold of the eternal life to which we are called. We made the confession to eternal life, and we must now fight the good fight of the faith, until after being slaves to righteousness, obeying Jesus, we are sanctified and receive eternal life.
I Timothy 6:11-16 - But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Matthew 7:21-23 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. (ESV)
So those people doing works in Jesus' name were still disobedient, similar to the following example:
Leviticus 10:1-2 - Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
John 11:41-42 - So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.
The works have to be the will of Father God. Initially, and ongoing, this is believing in Him whom He has sent. It's believing in Jesus, and continuing to believe in Jesus, putting your trust in Jesus, having faith in Jesus, obeying Jesus and submitting to the righteousness of God.
John 6:29 - Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
Being a servant of Christ from the heart is doing the will of God.
Ephesians 6:6 - not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Repenting from sin is doing the will of God.
I Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
Doing good is doing the will of God.
I Peter 2:15 - For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Doing the will of God, a person will have eternal life.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (ESV)
Surely, the Bible teaches that all of these together are the will of God, and not simply one of them without the others.
12.1. Do not doubt, and believe that you have received it, even acting in a way in which it is already received
James 1:1-5 - James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
The one who does not doubt is unwavering and is not tossed around by the sea. Therefore, it's an ongoing thing.
James 1:6 - But he must ask in faith (G4102 pistis) without any doubting (G1252 diakrino), for the one who doubts (G1252 diakrino) is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (NASB)
But for our prayer requests to be answered this way, we must be keeping His commandments and do what pleases Him:
I John 3:21-24 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
Faith begins and continues:
- be walking in obedience
- no doubting
- no wavering
- no withdrawing
- no hesitating
Mark 11:22-23 - And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Walk in what you have asked for in prayer:
Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
It's important to forgive others in order to move forward, because unforgiveness I think may inhibit moving into what you have asked for in prayer:
Mark 11:25 - And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
We must receive Jesus' words, walk in them and come to know in truth (we must truly know) that Jesus came from God.
John 17:8 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Therefore, we should obey Jesus and arrive at the truth. Obedience is a part of faith. Like Abraham obeying God, or like Israel crossing through the Red Sea, it's obedience which leads to sure belief. And the obedience doesn't end.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
12.2. We work as servants of God, and the foundation of our work must be Jesus Christ
I Corinthians 3:9-15 - For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
12.2.1. For Christ
I Corinthians 4:9-10 - For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
12.3. Love
- Love without God's grace is not God's love
- It's sacrificial
- Not what we give, but how we give
- The condition of the heart is what God will judge
- It's cheerful obedience to God, cheerful obedience to Jesus
- It's what happens when faith is working
- It's sacrificial
12.3.1. Love is doing what Jesus has said for us to do. Love is following the commandments
II John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. (ESV)
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 - The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (ESV)
12.3.2. Almsgiving is a great practice - God really loves a cheerful giver
Acts 10:2 - a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.
II Corinthians 9:7 - Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
12.3.3. The person who loves their brother abides in light
1 John 2:10 - Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. (ESV)
12.4. Justifying faith should result in going from it being impossible to obey God to possible
All things are possible for God. Without God we can't have eternal life, because we need a relationship with Jesus.
We need to be able to fulfill the requirement of the law, to love God and one's neighbour and at the same time submit to the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ and to do the will of Father God in order to have eternal life. It's impossible without God's help.
12.4.1. Faith submits to God's will
Mark 14:36 - And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Learning God's will through submission to God's Word.
Ephesians 5:24 - Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
All things are possible for those who have faith.
Mark 9:22-27 - It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes (G4100 pisteuo).” Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
Matthew 17:20 - He said to them, Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 19:26 - But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Mark 10:27 - Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.
Luke 1:37 - For nothing will be impossible with God.
Luke 18:27 - But he said, What is impossible with men is possible with God.
It's impossible to please God without faith, but with faith all things are possible.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
12.4.2. The Mosaic law doesn't help people to keep the law. It doesn't save - it only condemns or justifies. Only grace through faith in God who raised Jesus from the dead saves
And we are also cleaned up through faith in Jesus, being led by His Spirit, following His commandments, helping us to meet the requirement of the law, not by following the Mosaic law but by following Christ's law.
Acts 13:38-39 - Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through (G1223 dia) Him forgiveness (G859 aphesis) of sins is proclaimed to you, and through (G1722 en) Him everyone who believes (G4100 pisteuo) is freed (G1344 dikaioo) from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. (NASB)
Due to Jesus, forgiveness is proclaimed:
1: : 1223 dia dee-ah' 2: 3: a primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through (in very 4: wide applications, local, causal, or occasional):--after, always, 5: among, at, to avoid, because of (that), briefly, by, for (cause) ... 6: fore, from, in, by occasion of, of, by reason of, for sake, that, 7: thereby, therefore, X though, through(-out), to, wherefore, with 8: (-in). In composition it retains the same general importance.
Forgiveness: Pardon, freedom.
1: : 859 aphesis af'-es-is 2: 3: from 863; freedom; (figuratively) pardon:--deliverance, forgiveness, 4: liberty, remission. 5: see GREEK for 863
Together with him, everyone who has faith (continues in faith) in him is freed from all things from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses:
1: : 1722 en en 2: 3: a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or 4: state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or 5: constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519 6: and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, + 7: almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ 8: all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, 9: -wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly, 10: one, X quickly, 11: X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on), 12: through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, 13: with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same 14: import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate 15: direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) 16: preposition.
Faith is how we receive the propitiation by His blood. God justifies the one who has (continues having) faith in Jesus. The law of faith is what we keep:
Romans 3:20-27 - For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
Yes, the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do something i.e. walk according to the spirit.
Romans 8:4 - in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The mind set on the spirit submits to the law.
Romans 8:5-7 - For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
The law is not of the flesh. The law is spiritual:
Romans 7:14 - For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. (ESV)
But the Spirit helps us to put to death the deeds of the flesh.
Galatians 5:19 - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Romans 8:10-13 - But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
If I understand correctly, the Law, which is spiritual, was weakened by our flesh, but Jesus Christ's flesh was rent on the cross in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us:
Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (ESV)
So we still must/should stop sinning after getting born-again, but the Holy Spirit helps us to do that. God saves us from sin by giving us immediate justification through faith to be in relationship with Him, plus the strength to stop sinning.
II Peter 2:2-4 - And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
II Peter 2:19-20 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.
Therefore, the way of truth involves following Jesus and putting a stop to sin.
The Hidden Parable of Moses that Few Christians Understand - YouTube
12.4.3. With God, following the 10 commandments and to love God and our neighbour is possible
Matthew 19:16-26 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
The guy was still coveting his possessions. To find life, one needs to let go of covetousness:
Luke 12:15 - And he said to them, Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (ESV)
12.5. Justifying faith should result in going from disobedient to obedient
Colossians 1:21 - And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
II Corinthians 10:5-6 - We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Ephesians 5:6 - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Now obeying God is more than just believing, it's obeying (which is proportional to the magnitude of the faith).
Understand that the ones who remained in the boat and did not step out onto the water did not have enough faith to walk on water.
Matthew 14:27-32 - But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt? And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Fear made them disobedient. They had only a small amount of faith.
Hebrews 2:2 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
12.6. Obedience is essential to justifying faith
Abraham's obedience which he had as part of his faith led him to obey:
Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (ESV)
Hebrews 4:6 - Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
Hebrews 4:11 - Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
And willing to do the will of God must become 'doing_'.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
pisteuo = to have faith upon
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
John 3:16 - "For God so loved (G25 agapao) the world (G2889 kosmos), that He gave His only (G3439 monogenes) begotten (G3439 monogenes) Son (G5207 huios), that whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in Him shall not perish, but have eternal (G166 aionios) life (G2222 zoe).
1: : 4100 pisteuo pist-yoo'-o 2: 3: from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or 4: thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's 5: spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put 6: in trust with. 7: see GREEK for 4102
We must trust Him and Obey.
12.7. Jesus' odedience resulted in turning others to obedience
Romans 5:19 - For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
A process:
- 'Will be made' => Turning people to obedience.
Adam disobeyed, and his descendants become disobedient.
Jesus obeyed, and his disciples become obedient.
12.7.1. Likewise, we are commanded to do the same
Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
12.8. It is the mercy of God that we are turned from disobedience to obedience
II Corinthians 10:6 - being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
Romans 15:17-18 - In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed,
I think that is the correct way to see the following Scripture:
Romans 11:29-33: For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
The obedient are led by the Spirit of God. But it isn't a Spirit of slavery, it's a Spirit of sonship, where we get to be conformed to the image of Christ!:
Romans 8:12-15 - So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father!
Even as we are going through hardship for following Jesus, we should rejoice because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us:
Romans 8:36-39 - As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12.8.1. As obedient children, we are to be conformed to holiness
I Peter 1:14-16 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Ephesians 5:5-10 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.
12.8.2. Illegitimate children are left without discipline and are not sons
Hebrews 12:6-8 - For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
12.9. The measure of what we hear and take heed of and how we hear and let take root in us will be measured to us
Mark 4:24 - And he said to them, Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
Luke 8:18 - So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
If you do not take care of how
you hear and what
you hear, then …
Isaiah 6:10 - “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.”
I think it's important to take in all the words which Jesus spoke which are available to us, and to come to a faith which is able to reconcile faith with works, and law and obedience, and the gospel Jesus taught before and after the resurrection, and reconcile the teachings of the epistles from Peter, Paul and John, and Epistle to the Hebrews.
Matthew 13:15 - For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’
The word return specifies 'action'.
John 12:40 - “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
Acts 28:27 - For the heart of this people has become dull, And with their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes; Otherwise they might see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.”’
13. Spirit of Truth vs Spirit of Error
13.1. Don't believe falsehood
If you listen to someone with a deceptive, beguiling spirit, then the same measure of that would come into you.
And that would would probably affect the truthfulness of your dreams if you have a prophetic gift, but there are other reasons a person may get dreams of falsehood including spiritual attack.
13.1.1. No lie is of the truth
1 John 2:21 - I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (ESV)
13.1.2. Garden of Eden
- Eve listened to another voice
Genesis 3:4 - The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! (ESV)
I Timothy 2:14 - And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (ESV)
13.2. Not all 'spirit' is true
It's false to say that 'all spirit is true' and body and soul are false.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)
Psalms 119:160 - The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. (ESV)
John 17:17 - Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (ESV)
13.3. Spirit of Truth
These do not contradict:
- Jesus is the Truth
- Jesus' words are Truth and Life
- God's word is truth
- The Scripture does not contradict
- Jesus Christ is the Word of God in the Flesh
- Emmanuel
- The Spirit of Truth is the Truth
13.3.1. We should listen to and obey Jesus' words and compare everything with the scripture
Psalms 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (ESV)
Acts 17:11 - Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (ESV)
II Corinthians 10:5 - We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (ESV)
sola scriptura
as the source of truth against false dreams and against lies
I've definitely had some issues, but I've noticed that repenting from sinful habits and obeying Jesus helps a lot to deal with that.
On 2 Jan 2023 I had a dream of defending a house with Bible verses written on the doorposts.
I didn't know this was Biblical until very recently:
Deuteronomy 6:9 - You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (ESV)
But now I know.
sola scriptura
(by Scripture alone) AMEN!!Jesus used the Scriptures to combat lies:
Luke 4:7-8 - If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. (ESV)
Luke 4:11-13 - and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. And Jesus answered him, It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. (ESV)
John 10:35-36 - If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken — do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, You are blaspheming, because I said, I am the Son of God? (ESV)
- Do God's will - follow Jesus in truth, and be obedient to God to combat falsehood
John 7:17-19 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me? (ESV)
13.4. Spirit of Error
- Contradicts Jesus
- Contradicts Scripture
- Contradicts God's Word
James 4:4 - You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (ESV)
13.4.1. Don't believe lies nor even listen to false dreams from false prophets and diviners
Zechariah 10:2 - For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. (ESV)
Jeremiah 23:25-28 - I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed! How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the LORD. (ESV)
Jeremiah 23:32 - Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord. (ESV)
Jeremiah 27:9 - So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your fortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon. (ESV)
Jeremiah 29:8 - For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, (ESV)
13.5. Renovating vs Innovating
I think God wants us to be born-again and move on from the old life, not asking us to renovate our old life.
I Corinthians 5:7 - Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (ESV)
Renovating is seeking to establish ones own righteousness while not submitting to God's righteousness. Following God's commandments is great - a person can renovate for a while but when presented with the Gospel of Jesus they must submit to God's righteousness and have faith in Jesus.
Romans 10:3-4 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (G4100 pisteuo has faith in Jesus).
Seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first of all:
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)
Renovating (bad):
- Disobedient to the gospel
- Pursues the fruit of righteousness but trying to establish a righteousness of their own without submitting to the righteousness of God.
- Working for justification outside of faith / obedience
- Tries to have the 'holiness' without Jesus.
- Has not obeyed the gospel.
- Never died with Jesus.
- From God's perspective even when they forgive others, it's out of self-righteousness.
- Forgiving is still good but they still need to submit to the righteousness of God, by believing and obeying the gospel of Jesus.
Romans 4:4 - Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.
The devil does not submit to Jesus. So anyone who doesn't submit to the righteousness of God, instead sides with the devil.
II Corinthians 11:14-15 - And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Innovating (good):
- The fruit of the Spirit is fruit (it comes after receiving the Holy Spirit).
- Obey the gospel for justification.
- Christ is the head.
- Died and rose with Jesus.
- II Timothy 2:11-13 - The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
- Ephesians 2:6 - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
- Colossians 2:12 - having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
- Raised with Christ through faith in the powerful working of God.
- Colossians 3:3 - For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Now live to serve Christ.
- II Corinthians 5:15 - and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
- Colossians 3:1 - If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
- Approaches Christ-likeness following Jesus.
- Having accepted their own need of forgiveness, and having been forgiven then forgives others who don't even see their need of forgiveness.
- freely forgives:
- Matthew 18:21-22 - Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (ESV)
- forgives even those who do not see their need of forgiveness:
- Luke 23:33-35 - And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One! (ESV)
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
We must forgive others the same way that God in Christ forgave us.
Colossians 2:14 - by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Luke 11:4 - and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.
It's necessary to submit to the righteousness of God:
- You have accepted that you needed forgiveness from God.
- You have accepted that it's through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ that God has forgiven you, forgiving a debt which was impossible for you to pay.
- Forgive others freely, knowing you've been forgiven of your sin. Give freely. Forgive the debt of others towards you. That looks like being a scapegoat and letting oneself be fleeced. Imagine you've just been born-again but noone else knows. You know you must forgive others. You know God can see your heart. Now all of a sudden people make these claims that you owe them X, Y and Z. You know you've been forgiven of a debt you were not able to pay. Now instead of contesting others on whether or not you owe them, you give freely. Seventy-times-seven.
Self-righteous forgiveness:
- Conditional forgiveness (not freely)
- Self-righteously forgive others as if you're perfectly innocent and of course they sinned against innocence by sinning against you
- Without accepting that you needed the forgiveness which Jesus has paid through His blood, you then forgive others
- This tries to establish one's own righteousness without submitting to the righteousness of God
- Believing that you're already good with God and never needed Jesus
- not prepared to forgive freely
- but not having yet submitted to the fact that you need forgiveness from God.
- Forgiving others is good to do, but without having truly accepted that you needed forgiveness yourself, you'd still be forgiving others out of debt to God.
- I think it's impossible to have Christ's heart without having first accepted being forgiven by Jesus
- Do not accept that one needs or ever needed forgiveness from God.
- That actually means that person's forgiveness is at least a bit self-righteous (at least from God's perspective)
- They do not give out of credit, but while indebted to God, they still give God what is due by forgiving others their offenses towards them
- nevertheless, a person can never achieve perfect right standing with God without submitting to the righteousness of God through faith in Christ and accepting the atonement which Jesus has purchased through His blood
- They do not give out of credit, but while indebted to God, they still give God what is due by forgiving others their offenses towards them
- That actually means that person's forgiveness is at least a bit self-righteous (at least from God's perspective)
14. laws
- Great commandments
- to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbour as yourself
- 10 Commandments
- the 613 Mosaic laws
- the law of Christ
- a law of faith
John 7:19 - Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?
The ones who live not under law of God will be thrown into the fiery furnace, as we must be under the law of Christ.
The lawbreakers will be thrown into the fiery furnace:
Matthew 13:37-43 - He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Romans 3:26-27 - It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.
And faith intrinsically includes obedience to Christ.
14.1. The law of Christ
- be led by the Spirit, applying Jesus' commandments (Jesus is your Lord)
- love one another as Christ has loved you
- bearing your neighbour's burdens
- obedient to Christ
- belief in Christ's atoning sacrifice
- you must forgive one another as Christ has forgiven you
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Doing the will of God is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
We must have obedient faith in Jesus, as God keeps His covenant with those who put their faith in Him:
Nehemiah 1:5 - And I said, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
We are under the law of Christ:
I Corinthians 9:21 - To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
We must bear one another's burdens:
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Otherwise, the Son of Man will send his angels, and gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth:
Matthew 13:41-42 - The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We must forgive our family in Christ:
Luke 17:3-4 - Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, I repent, you must forgive him.
Colossians 3:13 - bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (ESV)
14.2. The Torah
The Torah is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses by Christians.
II Timothy 3:12-17 - Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (ESV)
Keeping to the precepts of the law is great, and making yourself accountable to God with it, is great.
Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (ESV)
Here, Paul actually argues for keeping the precepts of the Torah, and relates actually keeping the precepts to those who have been circumcised in the heart:
Romans 2:25-29 - For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
I believe what Paul says here is that Christians who observe and follow the Torah in faith, not works, not being under it (because it doesn't condemn us while we are under Christ's law), but making themselves accountable to God over it, to receive praise from God, are Christian Jews. But we don't Judaise Gentiles.
Luke 16:15-17 - And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
I Kings 11:38 - And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
15. Whoever puts their faith in Jesus, puts their faith in God
We must follow Jesus, similarly to how the Israelites followed Moses through the Red Sea - it requires action.
John 12:44-50 - And Jesus cried out and said, Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in me, believes (G4100 pisteuo) not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. (ESV)
This is similar to how the Israelites trusted in Moses, and they actually were trusting in God.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. (ESV)
Exodus 14:21-22 - Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. (ESV)
Exodus 14:31 - When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed (H539 'aman) in the Lord and in His servant Moses. (ESV)
16. We should observe the law - but be a doer, and avoid judging others with the law
Matthew 23:2-7 - The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (ESV)
17. Be a doer of good, not merely a hearer
James 1:22-23 - But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. (ESV)
Romans 2:13-16 - For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. (ESV)
18. Mosaic Law, and progressing from having hope in Moses to having hope in Jesus
I enjoyed this video, but I still am of the opinion that keeping the Mosaic law is not necessary, placing oneself under it (to adhere strictly to it) is contrary to grace, but following it by faith (receiving our justification from Jesus by obedience to Jesus) is not prohibited, so long as it is pursued by faith and submitting to God's righteousness:
- Public Debate - Should Christians Keep The Law? - YouTube
- The law is good and just and Jesus both obeyed it flawlessly, but He also fulfilled it like a prophesy.
Christians follow Jesus first and foremost:
Matthew 12:3-8 - He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
Christians wish to comply with the law of God and do so in their mind, but know that the flesh is hostile to the law:
Romans 7:25 - Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (ESV)
Christians comply with the law by faith, not works:
Luke 6:9 - And Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it? (ESV)
Christians do not Judaize (Christians do not instruct Gentiles to conform to Judaism):
Ignatius to the Magnesians 10 - Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour leaven, and be ye changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be ye salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since by your savour ye shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believeth might be gathered together to God.
I read the following as, as we have faith in Jesus, following Him, where we have fallen short, Jesus has covered us, but we still try to live righteously. We still live with faith in God.
And when we continue to sin, Jesus is our High Priest and Advocate, and covers us, as we continue to have faith in Him.
The 10 Commandments and the 2 Great commandments are special because when followed from the heart they show people how to love God and one's neighbour.
And we are commanded (even as Christians not under the law) to love our neighbours:
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (ESV)
I John 3:21-24 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
The rest of the Mosaic law is still useful for training in righteousness. It shows people how to live in obedience to God and in love for God and one's neighbour. But we are not under the Mosaic law, but we are under the law of Christ. We have faith in Christ.
We can pursue the righteousness that is through faith (G4100 pisteuo) in Jesus Christ.
We must set our hope on Jesus, not on Moses.
John 5:45 - Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. (ESV)
Acts 7:35 - “This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.
Moses wrote about Jesus:
Acts 7:37 - This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’
Moses said we must listen to Jesus:
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen — just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die. And the LORD said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. (ESV)
Acts 7:52-55 - Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;
We must obey Jesus:
Romans 10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (G4100 pisteuo has faith in Jesus).
(G4100 pisteuo) is practicing faith.
This means, yes that by practicing faith in Jesus, we can pursue righteousness - Jesus' righteousness given to us.
II Peter 1:1 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
We obtain a strong faith by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
This requires obedience to Jesus:
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (ESV)
A person must receive the word:
- and not fall away
- and not let worldly desire distract from, and inhibit following and seeking Jesus
- and bear fruit
Mark 4:14-20 - The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
Because we keep His commandments, we receive from him whatever we ask. And our heart does not condemn us. And we have confidence before God.
By this we know he abides in us:
- He has given us His Spirit.
I John 3:21-24 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
We abide in Him, and He in us.
We keep His commandments, and we abide in Him:
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
By having an obedient, trusting faith (which fundamentally includes belief) in Jesus, following, we have Jesus' righteousness.
I read this as we are under grace and not under the Mosaic law, but we must bear fruit of repentance from disbelief and sin, and becoming good instead of evil, bearing fruit in our life which glorifies God in our bodies, hearts and deeds:
- obedience leads to righteousness
- slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification
- at its end, eternal life
Romans 6:13-23 - Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
19. Commandments and faith
Revelation of John 14:12 - Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
I read this as 'A saint is someone who has faith in Jesus AND keeps the commandments (pursuing by faith, not works)'. I read this as the Great commandments, 10 Commandments and faith in Jesus Christ, and potentially various other commandments from the Mosaic law if you know about them, or whatever subset a person practices by faith making themself accountable to God. But the law, if it's pursued at all, should be pursued by faith and not by works.
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
Romans 9:30-32 - What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, (ESV)
19.0.1. Christians do not Judaize (Christians do not instruct Gentiles to conform to Judaism)
Ignatius to the Magnesians 10 - Let us not, therefore, be insensible to His kindness. For were He to reward us according to our works, we should cease to be. Therefore, having become His disciples, let us learn to live according to the principles of Christianity. For whosoever is called by any other name besides this, is not of God. Lay aside, therefore, the evil, the old, the sour leaven, and be ye changed into the new leaven, which is Jesus Christ. Be ye salted in Him, lest any one among you should be corrupted, since by your savour ye shall be convicted. It is absurd to profess Christ Jesus, and to Judaize. For Christianity did not embrace Judaism, but Judaism Christianity, that so every tongue which believeth might be gathered together to God.
19.0.2. Jesus' commandments don't contradict the rest of the commandments
Also God's commandments (especially the 10 Commandments; loving God and your neighbour) are still binding on us - written on our heart when we get born-again and after being born-again we follow them in Spirit, but they don't bind on us in a way that condemns us if we break them, but we want to follow them.
Jesus fulfilled the law => We have the Spirit of Christ => We are led by the Spirit and naturally want to follow the law in faith but the world opposes us because when a person actually follows the commandments, they do not lie, do not commit adultery, do not commit idolatry, etc. and that means a person can be 'taken advantage of' by unfaithful people who do not obey God's commandments but exploit others who follow God.
But we neither pursue the law by works, nor seek it to be justified. We are freed from being under the law, and free from the curse of the law to serve and obey God in actuality, being under God's grace.
Romans 7:6 - But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit. (ESV)
I think that being led by the Spirit is still acting in a way that without observing the law is technically compliant with the law, and that is because we are led by the Spirit.
By being led by the Spirit, we are not under the law. And we have Jesus Christ as our Advocate and High Priest.
I John 2:1 - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Nevertheless, when we judge others by the law, we're judged by the same standard.
Matthew 7:1 - Judge not, that you be not judged. (ESV)
But if someone judges by the law, it seems right to submit to the law, unless it is that you are actually being obedient to Jesus (being led by the Spirit / following Jesus' commandments), in which you should carry on being obedient to Jesus. The law is meant for sinners.
Matthew 23:2-3 - The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. (ESV)
We then may observe the law and keep it in faith (not adhering strictly thought), and do not teach others to annul even the smallest commandment, and as we are led by the Spirit (obeying and following Jesus) we are not under the law, nor under its curse, and we are not seeking to be justified by the law, and if we are being obedient servants of Jesus then we naturally submit to God's law.
Romans 8:7 - For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. (ESV)
When someone uses the law to judge, comply if they are right, but do not act like the hypocrites.
John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
Matthew 23:2-7 - The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so practice and observe whatever they tell you —but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. (ESV)
But the mind set on the Spirit does submit to God's law meaning that they may walk in God's statues, and therefore the mind set on the Spirit is not hostile to God.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 - And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 4:13 - And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone.
Romans 10:5 - For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
Romans 13:9 - The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There's no contradiction between what the 10 commandments say and loving one's neighbour, i.e. for the way in which we must live entering into life.
Psalms 103:17-19 - But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
Romans 5:1-6 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
19.0.3. However, we must submit to God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ - this is what saves
It's not with the mind that a person believes, but with the heart:
Romans 10:6-13 - But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, 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. For with the heart one believes (G4100 pisteuo) and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But what does it take for the heart to truly believe? Because that's the condition. When the heart truly believes, a person is obedient.
More obedience may still need to take place for that individual to arrive at justifying faith, and God may be allowing you to come to your faith.
To be justified, a person must walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
It does say 'you will be saved', not 'you are saved'.
And the word confess I think means to admit with repentance - an admission of guilt to God and change of mind resulting in confessing that Jesus is Lord and that God indeed raised Him from the dead, and that you needed Him to do so, because His name means Jesus (The LORD Saves), Christ (Annointed Messiah, Saviour), Son of God.
If a person confesses this truthfully, they professes that they submit to the righteousness of God.
That's a little bit loaded. It results in a heart growing in obedience towards God. And I believe it's the resulting obedience to God that ends up saving that person, even if that obedience hasn't produced any work yet other than belief. God is the one that saves and justifies.
Then Jesus hits us with this:
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Ephesians 1:4 - even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
So while we might think we have done something, God had planned it in advance, and the entire thing is grace - but that doesn't mean from our perspective it does not look like we need to obey God - because we still need to have faith and do something. And if we don't do anything then we are asking God to do it for us.
Since the Bible does not teach that all people will be saved because they remain disobedient, I think we should teach people that they should do something; That they should repent from sin and they should repent from unbelief if they want to be saved from sin and leading to death, and if they want to enter into the light of the truth, and enter into a relationship with God.
The root of disobedience/rebellion is unbelief/denial.
John 20:27-28 - Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God!
Jesus helped Thomas believe by giving him a commandment to do. It's implied that Thomas obeyed and arrived at belief.
John 20:29-31 - Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Mark 6:11 - And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
19.0.4. Love never ends. Jesus' words never end.
1 Corinthians 13:8 - Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. (ESV)
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (ESV)
Luke 16:16-17 - The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (ESV)
19.0.5. The new heavens and new earth
Isaiah 65:17 - For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
Isaiah 66:22 - For as the new heavens and the new earth that I makeshall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain.
II Peter 3:13 - But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Revelation of John 21:1-7 - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
19.0.6. The Mosaic law is not abolished but Jesus fulfilled it like a prophesy
Luke 16:17 - But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
The righteousness we have through faith in Jesus Christ is needed whether someone keeps the Mosaic law or not.
Not that I keep the Mosaic law in its entirety, nor are circumcised. But I try to keep the Great commandments and the 10 Commandments out of faith (and a relationship with God) and follow parts of the Mosaic law, but I have faith in Jesus Christ for the righteousness that comes through faith because I need that because my own righteousness will never be enough without faith in Jesus for God's righteousness imputed to me.
Thank You God.
And I follow pursue the commandments by faith and not works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
A person must be at least willing to do His will - obedience is the essence of faith:
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
There is still obedience required. Obedience is intrinsic to faith.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
AMEN!!
Galatians 2:17 – But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! (ESV)
AMEN!!
Romans 10:3-4 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
This is why we are not under the law because we have the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ.
But we are under the law of faith in Christ.
And we are supposed to keep the commandments by pursuing them in faith.
If we teach others to annul even the least of the commandments and annul them ourselves, this I don't think condemn us but is prideful and result in being called the least in the Kingdom.
Matthew 5:19 - Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
19.0.7. A person must begin repenting of sin and have a faithful heart towards God to receive the Holy Spirit
Acts 8:9: But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.
Acts 8:18-21 - Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
19.0.8. I believe the 10 commandments are special, and Jesus calls us to follow them from the heart
Otherwise why would God make a distinction in Exodus 16 between commandments (mitsvah) and instructions/law (towrah)?
Genesis 26:5 - because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (ESV)
Exodus 15:26 - saying, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer. (ESV)
Exodus 16:28 - And the Lord said to Moses, How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? (ESV)
Exodus 16:28 - Then the Lord (H3068 Yhovah) said (H559 'amar) to Moses (H4872 Mosheh), “How (H575 'an) long (H5704 `ad) do you refuse (H3985 ma'en) to keep (H8104 shamar) My commandments (H4687 mitsvah) and My instructions (H8451 towrah)? (NASB)
Exodus 20:5 - You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, (ESV)
Exodus 20:6 - but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. (ESV)
Exodus 34:28 - So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (ESV)
- The Apostles also placed requirements on the Gentiles similar to the 10 commandments
Acts 15:28-29 - For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
19.0.9. Faith in Jesus justifies but Jesus helps us to follow the commandments
Mark 10:27 - Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.
19.0.10. Grace from Jesus is essential. Faith in Jesus is essential, even for the one who pursues the law
Galatians 5:4 - You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
I John 2:1 - My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
19.0.11. The doers of the law are justified. Jesus judges. No-one can be justified without faith
Complying with the law (not breaking it) is good.
Romans 2:13-16 - For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
- I still think there is hope for people who do what the law requires, and have not yet heard the gospel
I Timothy 4:10-11 - For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.
Romans 10:3-4 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
I Peter 3:18-21 - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
I Thessalonians 4:14 - For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Romans 10:12-21 - For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry. Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me. But of Israel he says, All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.
19.0.12. Faith in Jesus essential to even those who pursue the law, but the law is still pursued
Romans 3:28-31 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.
That's not a contradiction.
Jesus helps us to follow the law and where we fall short it's still faith in Jesus that justifies because Jesus is our advocate and High Priest.
Also, I think there's a difference between the commandments (10 and 2) and the full Mosaic law (613 laws).
Exodus 16:28 - Then the Lord (H3068 Yhovah) said (H559 'amar) to Moses (H4872 Mosheh), “How (H575 'an) long (H5704 `ad) do you refuse (H3985 ma'en) to keep (H8104 shamar) My commandments (H4687 mitsvah) and My instructions (H8451 towrah)? (NASB)
20. The Old Testament makes a person wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, and is profitable for training in righteousness:
Old Testament theology is supposed to be profitable for:
- becoming wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus
- doctrine
- reproof
- correction
- training in righteousness
Jesus Christ is the bread from heaven:
John 21:15-17 - When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, Tend my sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me? and he said to him, Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.
The original Apostles were instructed to feed Jesus' sheep with the living bread that is Jesus Christ. Likewise, in living testimony we should teach others to walk the way of righteousness:
John 6:33 - For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
II Timothy 3:12-17 - Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (ESV)
2 Timothy 3:15-16 - and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (ESV)
Torah means instruction for righteousness.
21. Jesus allowed himself to be baptised by John for the fulfillment of all righteousness
Matthew 3:11-17 - I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. (ESV)
22. Jesus fulfilled the law
- Who gave Moses the law and the instructions to build the tabernacle? God did.
- The blueprints came from God.
- The Law, the Psalms and the Prophets all point to Jesus.
- Moses wrote about Jesus.
- Jesus fulfilled the Law and the prophecies.
We still follow the law but by faith and not by works.
We keep accountability with God, and in truth over following the law - God knows when we lie, cheat, commit adultery, idolise etc. We follow the law in truth. Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus' blood is the atonement for sin. So we go to Jesus for forgiveness instead of perform the ceremonial law to try to make atonement for sin.
This looks like an interesting resource about that - http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/tabernacletype.html
22.1. Don't be deceived: Keeping commandments isn't the same thing as placing oneself under the Mosaic law for justification. We're commanded to obey Jesus, and that matters
I Corinthians 7:17-19 - Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.
22.2. Justified by faith alone
Romans 4:12 - and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (ESV)
Faith eclipses the law:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
I think someone who trusts in God to save them through saving faith in Jesus Christ, is saved, or is in the process of being saved. But keep in mind that someone who truly trusts Jesus will do as Jesus has commanded.
Abraham's faith was both obedient and believing.
God is the judge of what saving faith looks like, and how long the process of 'being saved' takes.
We must receive Jesus' words, walk in them and come to know in truth (we must truly know) that Jesus came from God.
John 17:8 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
John 1:11-13 - He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Therefore, we should obey Jesus and arrive at the truth. Obedience is a part of faith. Like Abraham obeying God, or like Israel crossing through the Red Sea, it's obedience which leads to sure belief. And the obedience doesn't end.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
Through faithful endurance we endeavor to be justified in Christ.
Galatians 2:17 – But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! (ESV)
The Revelation of John shows that Jesus looks at people's works.
Faith without working through love doesn't count for anything.
22.3. Friends of God obey God
James 2:22-24 - You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
John 15:14 - You are my friends if you do what I command you.
James 4:4 - You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, (ESV)
22.3.1. The love of the truth involves sanctification
II Thessalonians 2:10-13 - and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
22.4. Dead faith is disobedient
I want to be clear, having faith in Jesus Christ is not dead faith. Dead faith is precisely not having faith in Jesus Christ.
Adam's disobedience caused our disobedience:
Romans 5:19 - For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
22.4.1. We were disobedient
Romans 11:30 - Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,
Romans 11:32 - For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
22.4.2. We are brought to obedience
An obedient heart is required for it to not be 'dead faith'.
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
II Corinthians 10:6 - being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
22.4.3. The disobedient will receive the wrath of God
Ephesians 5:6 - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
John 3:36 - Whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
Hebrews 2:2 - For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution,
Hebrews 4:6 - Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,
Hebrews 4:11 - Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
22.5. Saving faith
22.5.1. believing on Jesus
I think entry level saving faith is having faith on Jesus' name - but the salvation is a gift which needs to be received through faith. I no longer call it 'baseline' saving faith, but rather 'entry level'.
He is the resurrection and the life.
Whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die.
I believe that a person needs to have an obedient heart - wanting to do the will of Father God - wanting to obey Jesus Christ.
Keeping Jesus Christ's commandments is a requirement to inherit eternal life, not an extra:
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (ESV)
Faith may come from simply observing Jesus work, reading Jesus' words and believing, or through work from disciples of Jesus, etc.
John 11:14-15 Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.
It's for their sake, so that they would be able to believe (have faith):
John 11:15 - and I am (G5463 chairo) glad (G5463 chairo) for your sakes (G1223 dia) that I was not there (G1563 ekei), so (G2443 hina) that you may believe (G4100 pisteuo); but let us go (G71 ago) to him.”
1: : 4100 pisteuo pist-yoo'-o 2: 3: from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or 4: thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's 5: spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put 6: in trust with. 7: see GREEK for 4102
John 11:23-27 - Jesus said to her, Your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? She said to him, Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.
The person has to really believe - to have actual faith - the faith that continues to produce obedient work, the faith that continues to produce love.
Even Martha's faith here was put on display when she confessed, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world." It shows she has faith.
22.5.2. by the grace of God alone - no works
This guy was expecting to receive - he had solid faith:
Acts 3:5-7 - And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene– walk!” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
Acts 3:16 - And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
I think it's possible but you have to expect to receive it:
John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?
AMEN!!
True faith (does a person actually believe) is enough to be spared from death.
However, I still think that inheriting the Kingdom and inheriting eternal life involves being obedient to Jesus which leads to true knowledge.
22.5.3. fear of God
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Acts 10:34-35: So Peter opened his mouth and said: Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.
Isaiah 66:2 - All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (ESV)
The repentant sinner next to Jesus on the cross knew he deserved his punishment, and he even demonstrated that he had a heart that obeys the gospel (whereas the other person appears to have been disobedient to the gospel to death):
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
The unrepentant sinner wanted Jesus to save his present life:
Luke 23:39 - One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!”
The repentant sinner feared God and put his hope on Jesus Christ, not to save him from the cross, but to save his soul:
Luke 23:40-43 - But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
A key thing here is that the repentant sinner didn't value his present life, and didn't care to ask Jesus to save his present life on earth. The repentant sinner had come to the end of caring about his present life, and put his trust in Jesus. This is what we should do, and it looks like sacrificing the present life to follow Jesus. And I believe that to someone who isn't literally at the end of their earthly life that looks like repentance from sin and an obedient heart, serving Jesus. You can see that he had a changed heart, and was remorseful. He knew he was being justly punished. And he had the heart to want to follow Jesus.
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
- Fear of God
- Fear-of-God = e.g. The poor in spirit recognise their need of God's mercy and tremble at His Word
- Luke 18:13 - But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (ESV)
- And a sinner (with that attitude, I believe) who trusts God to justify him, that person's faith is counted as righteousness:
- Romans 4:5 - And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
- And a sinner (with that attitude, I believe) who trusts God to justify him, that person's faith is counted as righteousness:
- Do what is right and acceptable to him
- Romans 13:10 - Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (ESV)
22.5.4. a life of faith
The followers of Paul the Apostle live by faith; those are the righteous ones. It's a lifestyle.
Galatians 3:11 - Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith.
I think there's probably some nuance between between being spared from death, from condemnation and receiving eternal life.
Romans 6:22 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
While Jesus can save someone from dying, I think eternal life the way it's presented is more than that - it's becoming a part of the Truth - it's union with Christ and with God.
I think it's perpetually having faith in Jesus, having arrived at true knowledge of Him, and being in relationship with Him and with God.
Matthew 19:29 - And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. (ESV)
22.5.5. Saving faith / Works of faith / Faith with works
Jesus said that patient endurance is a work.
Revelation of John 2:2 - I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Revelation of John 2:19 - I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Likewise, love for Jesus by obeying His commandments, love for Jesus by loving one's neighbour also qualifies as a work, love for Jesus by .
Mark 11:23 - Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Saving faith with work (yes, obedience is intrinsic to faith, like belief):
Matthew 14:28-31 - And Peter answered him, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water. He said, Come. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?
Obeying Jesus' commandments - believing Jesus and acting on Jesus' commandments is faith.
Keeping Jesus' deeds is saving faith:
Revelation of John 2:25-29 - Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
James isn't talking about work of the law, he's talking about the works of faith.
God desires us to have mercy.
There are a lot of 'do nots' in the law but the most important thing is the 2 'do' commandments. The 'do nots' are to stop people from doing bad things, but the 2 Greatest commandments command us to love God and our neighbour.
Matthew 22:37-40 - And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.
James 2:13-17 - For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
MERCY.
Matthew 12:3-8 - He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
MERCY.
Faith without work is dead; it's useless.
That person is completely at the mercy of Jesus and of the saints, I think.
1 Corinthians 3:15 - If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)
But having true faith in Jesus is work.
Sometimes a person's work is all burned up but they are still saved.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
- Salvation is through grace alone, but through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, which is cooperative
II Thessalonians 2:10-13 - and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
The Spirit sanctifies as we have faith in the truth. The faith in the truth is the cooperative part, where we obey the truth.
22.6. Working faith / faith with substance
Faith is a relationship with God. God has promised inheriting the Kingdom, inheriting eternal life to those who obey Him. But God is sovereign to save.
I made these equations to describe my understanding that faith is actually closely related to belief, obedience, hope and love, and they actually are not completely separate things.
I Corinthians 13:2 - And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (ESV)
1: Faith-in-God = Hope-from/in-God * Work/Love 2: 3: Hope-from/in-God = Belief(believing God) * Truth(God's word is truth) 4: 5: Work/Love = Obedience * Faithfulness * Fear-of-God * Response-of-love-to-Jesus * Patient-Endurance(time) 6: 7: Obedience = Submitting to the Righteousness of God * Turning from sin, loving, showing mercy, etc. 8: 9: Fear-of-God = e.g. The poor in spirit recognise their need of God's mercy and tremble at His Word: "beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" 10: 11: Response-of-love-to-Jesus = e.g. praise, thankfulness, obeying His commandments 12: 13: Love is proportional-to the baggage which has been forgiven 14: Love ∝ forgiven-baggage 15: 16: Obedience ∝ Love 17: 18: F = H * L 19: Faith = Hope * Love 20: 21: Faith-in-God when tested by God is found to be true Faith in God. 22: Faith-in-God must submit to the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, 23: Jesus Christ having paid the price of sin, enabling a relationship with God.
But salvation is a gift and God is sovereign to save. That's why it's grace. Saved by grace through faith.
I think a person needs some faith to be saved, and faith works. Salvation has to be accepted.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
James 1:21-22 - Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (ESV)
Galatians 3:11 - Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith.
A person must be at least willing to do His will - obedience is the essence of faith:
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
There is still obedience required. Obedience is intrinsic to faith. Obedience leads to knowledge of Jesus.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
John 17:8 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
I Timothy 2:3-6 - This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
I John 5:1 - Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (ESV)
Therefore, we should receive Jesus' words and obey Jesus and arrive at the truth. Obedience is an essential part of faith. Like Abraham obeying God, or like Israel crossing through the Red Sea, it's obedience which leads to sure belief, and obedience that leads a person into sure knowledge of the truth, and obedience which cooperates with sanctification.
Exodus 14:14-16 - The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
Mercy is available:
Luke 18:13 - But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (ESV)
Those who fear God inherit the Kingdom.
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Condition: Those who are poor in spirit
- Promise: They will inherit the kingdom of Heaven
Isaiah 66:2 - All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (ESV)
We need faithfulness and not faithlessness and disbelief to inherit the promises:
Hebrews 12:16-17 - that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
Revelation of John 2:2 - I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Here it says that unless the church does the work which it had started out doing, their lampstand will be removed from its place.
Revelation of John 2:5 - Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
A response of love for Jesus is justifying work.
Luke 7:47-50 - Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this, who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (ESV)
James 2:22-25 - You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
ONLY working faith counts for anything. Even Paul agrees. However, it says 'in Christ Jesus', and I believe that those who trust in Jesus without work still abide, but by the skin of their teeth.
Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (ESV)
Loving God is obeying His commandments.
I John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
23. Kingdom of Servants
- Jesus Christ is God's servant
- We are Jesus' servants
Psalms 34:22 - The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (ESV)
II Timothy 2:24-26 - And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
Jesus is God's servant:
Acts 3:13 - The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
Acts 4:24-30 - And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed— for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
Romans 15:8 - For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
Jesus, as God's servant, came to serve others, and to save:
Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Because God loves people, and wants them to be saved:
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
God loves and sees as a son those who love (by obedience) Jesus and believe that He came from God:
John 16:26-27 - In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
We are Jesus' servants:
John 18:36 - Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.
Philippians 1:1 - Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:
Colossians 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
For Jesus' sake we serve others:
II Corinthians 4:5 - For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
A good servant of Jesus is trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine.
I Timothy 4:6 - If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.
God saved us through Jesus:
Titus 1:1-3 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
Servants of Jesus Christ are servants of God. Servants of God are servants of Jesus Christ:
James 1:1 - James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
I Corinthians 4:1 - This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
The apostles of Jesus are servants:
II Peter 1:1 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
Romans 1:1 - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
Jude is Jesus' servant:
Jude 1:1 - Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
The Revelation of John is for God's servants:
Revelation of John 1:1 - The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
If anyone's will is to be a servant of God, they will receive revelation which confirms the scriptures:
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
God's angels are servants:
Revelation of John 19:10 - Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
The world cannot hate people who are disobedient to God:
John 7:5-7 - For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.
But the servant of Christ is to be a light to the world:
The world (the remaining people, who have not repented) may know that Father God has sent Jesus and loved Jesus' disciples:
John 17:23 - I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Servants of Jesus who are servants of God encounter resistance from the world:
I John 2:15 - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
II Timothy 4:10 - For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:38 - but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (ESV)
John 8:31 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (ESV)
Hebrews 10:38 - but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. (ESV)
John 12:25 - Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (ESV)
Matthew 6:30-32 - But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
John 15:18-19 - If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
John 15:23 - Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
II Corinthians 11:23 - Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
Pleasing man is loving the world:
Galatians 1:10 - For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Ephesians 6:6 - not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
As servants of Jesus, we should encourage other servants of Jesus to maturity:
Colossians 4:12 - Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
Colossians 1:7 - just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
23.1. Entering into life / the Kingdom of Heaven
Endurance is important:
Luke 9:62 - Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. (ESV)
I John 2:19 - They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:36-39 - For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
A disciple of Jesus is a servant of Jesus:
John 8:31 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (ESV)
It requires letting go of this world:
II Timothy 4:10 - For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. (ESV)
Matthew 19:22-23 - When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
Repentance is important:
Matthew 3:3-9 - For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight. Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Jesus will gather His wheat into the barn:
Matthew 3:10-12 - Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
We should become followers of Jesus.
Justice, mercy and faithfulness are essential for entering the Kingdom of God.
Repentance and holiness are very important for entering the Kingdom of God too.
Matthew 23:23-25 - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
We must turn from sin and lead godly lives with faith in Jesus:
Matthew 5:14-20 - You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Believing John the Baptist is in accordance with believing Jesus:
Matthew 21:28-32 - What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today. And he answered, I will not, but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, I go, sir, but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, The first. Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
The works of the law are not essential for being justified by God, but faith in Jesus is, and I believe that following Jesus is in accordance with having faith in Jesus:
Galatians 2:16 - yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Nevertheless, following the commandments and repenting from sin are of great value, I think.
But through faith in Christ Jesus we are justified and have peace with God.
Galatians 3:24-26 - So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
23.2. Guideline
According to Matthew 19
, obeying (actually keeping, complying with) the commandments (10 commandments, from the heart, and in reality, accountable to God / the 2 Great commandments) is important for entering into the Kingdom of Heaven [well], entering into life [well]:
Matthew 19:16-26 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
II Corinthians 11:31 - The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
Apply them in truth - keep accountability to God, not merely to other people. God can see.
Also, lay up treasure in Heaven:
Matthew 19:21 - Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
Also, most importantly believe in the atonement which Jesus provides:
John 6:55-71 - For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, This is a hard saying; who can listen to it? But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. )
Both free grace and Lordship are required.
If either the atonement is rejected or Jesus' Lordship is rejected, I think both groups of people who have rejected atonement or Lordship will be rejected. And I define Lordship as obeying Jesus Christ, and I define obeying Jesus Christ as obeying His commandments; not just sharing the gospel but also His commandment to love others in the same way that He has loved us. However, if someone hasn't heard the good news yet, but lives righteously then God will judge that person fairly, I think.
Also, most importantly, become obedient to Jesus:
- Obey Jesus' commandments
- Do not follow the pattern of this world; leave this world behind
- Become a servant of Jesus
- We must forgive others
Matthew 10:24 - A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
Matthew 18:33 - And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?
Don't shrink back:
John 6:63-69 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. ) And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father. After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
Most importantly, don't betray Jesus:
John 6:70-71 - Jesus answered them, Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.
Obey the law (to your knowledge or level of commitment) in faith, not by works, making yourself accountable to God, not men, and accept the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice through having faith in Jesus:
We need to be justified before God, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
Luke 16:15-17 - And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
Do the will of Father God.
To do the will of Father God, one must do it in truth - God knows and can see the heart.
II Corinthians 11:31 - The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
Don't be a ravenous wolf on the inside (repent from sin)!
Matthew 7:14-23 - For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
We must obey God's commandments to love Him and love our neighbour, and have faith in Jesus Christ. We must submit to the righteousness of God.
II Peter 1:10-11 - Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We must live for the will of God:
I Peter 4:1-2 - Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (ESV)
23.2.1. We practice personal righteousness AND we have obtained a faith of equal standing with the Apostles by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ
An entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be provided, so long as you do this.
II Peter 1:1-11 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
23.2.2. Follow the commandments (get out of falsehood; stop sinning) and put your heart in Heaven
Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Loving God is obedience to God.
I John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
AMEN!!
Deuteronomy 11:13-14 - And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.
I Kings 3:14 - And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.
AMEN!!
Obey God, put your heart in Heaven, follow Jesus.
Matthew 19:16-26 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
AMEN!!
The guy thought he was obeying the commandments, but he still coveted his possessions, probably making an idol out of his money. I don't think he was really following the commandments from the heart. Also he wasn't prepared to give up his old life to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is obeying his commandments.
We must try to stop sinning:
I Kings 15:5 - because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. (ESV)
We now live for the will of God:
I Peter 4:1-2 - Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (ESV)
23.2.3. Then arriving at eternal life - follow Jesus
Matthew 19:17-21 - And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
Romans 2:7-8 - to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
23.3. We are certainly supposed to keep the commandments - we're supposed to love God and our neighbour in truth
23.3.1. Keeping the commandments is how to love.
Romans 13:9 - The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
AMEN!!
Galatians 5:14 - For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
AMEN!!
James 2:8-13 - If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
AMEN!!
Romans 2:13 - For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. (ESV)
Yup - and in truth. I think the commandments often need to be looked at to see what loving looks like.
Romans 3:31 - Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV)
AMEN!!
23.3.2. It matters that we are loving, going into eternity
Matthew 5:30 - And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (ESV)
Matthew 18:3 - and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:9 - And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
23.3.3. We must submit to the righteousness from God through faith in Jesus
Romans 10:3-5 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
Following the law is how to love. It's always important.
Following Jesus is having faith in Him.
Submitting to the righteousness that comes through having faith in Jesus is believing and obeying the Gospel.
- All things are put under Jesus' feet whether we are compliant or understand it or not
The victory has already been won.
Jesus Christ has overcome the world and He is the head of all rule and authority.
Everything is in subjection to Jesus, God has left nothing outside Jesus' control.
From our perspective it may look like things are still being brought into subjection to Him:
John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (ESV)
Colossians 2:9-15 - For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Colossians 2:20 - If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
Even from the believer's perspective, we have already won:
1 John 4:4 - Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (ESV)
Romans 8:37 - No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
Father God is LORD of Heaven and Earth:
Matthew 11:25 - At that time Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
Luke 10:21 - In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Acts 17:24 - The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
All things are placed under Jesus' feet:
Psalms 8:6 - You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
Colossians 2:15 - He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. (ESV)
Jesus has already conquered:
Revelation of John 3:21 - The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
In our own lives we conquer the enemy by the blood of the Lamb (the blood of Jesus Christ) and the word of our testimony:
Revelation of John 12:11 - And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
All things are under God's feet. In the LORD, all of the offspring of Israel shall be justified:
Isaiah 45:22-25 - Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance. Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. (ESV)
Everything is in subjection to Jesus, God has left nothing outside Jesus' control.
From our perspective it may look like things are still being brought into subjection to Him:
Ephesians 1:22 - And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church,
Hebrews 2:5-8 - Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.
Everything is put in subjection under Jesus and in subjection under Father God:
I Corinthians 15:24-28 - Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet. But when it says, all things are put in subjection, it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.
23.3.4. The Kingdom of Heaven - is a kingdom of servants
- you must be holy!
The parable of the 10 virgins:
Matthew 25:1-13 - Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
When we repent from sin we allow Jesus' holiness to shine through us increasingly. Therefore, it's really not our own holiness or power that is responsible for miracles that happen through us or in cooperation with us, but it is Jesus' power and holiness. Jesus is the True Vine. We are the branches. AMEN!! We can do nothing apart from Him. AMEN!! Everyone who names the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity. Our bodies are a vessel for Jesus' holiness to shine out of. It's the vessel of the Holy Spirit: Jesus is the light in us, and we must let our light shine.
- you must be a servant!
The parable of the bags of gold:
Matthew 25:14-30 - For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours. But his master answered him, You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (ESV)
Eternal punishment vs eternal life:
Matthew 25:31-46 - When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (ESV)
24. Coming into the Body of Christ / into abiding in Jesus
Psalms 127:1 - Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.
Luke 6:47-49 - Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
We must throw out the old and allow God to build the new house/life for us. We must cooperate with God by doing what Jesus has instructed, and not fighting against Jesus' commandments.
We work, obediently serving God, but it's God working in us:
*Philippians 2:12-13 - Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (ESV)
We must obey Jesus.
24.1. An infant in Christ
I Corinthians 3:1 - But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. (ESV)
24.2. A person who is mature in Christ
Colossians 1:28 - Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (ESV)
25. Faith
One must have faith to receive the gift of salvation.
Mark 11:22 - And Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.
The basic Faith equation is Believing-God * Obedience/Action/Work
.
Mark 11:23 - Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and thrown into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Here, asking God in prayer is the work.
26. Receiving the Holy Spirit
26.1. The Holy Spirit cleanses the heart by faith
Acts 15:7 - And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
Acts 15:8-9 - And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith.
For example, out of faith in trying to follow the 10 Commandments / 2 Great Commandments, the heart is cleaned by the Holy Spirit.
Faith involves obedience. It's repentance from sin to the aligning of the heart to God's commandments.
26.2. The faith itself may be a gift, but certainly is cooperative
God and Abram (Abraham) had a real relationship first.
God spoke to Abram first, and then Abram obeyed. Abraham was faithful. God noticed Abram's faithfulness, and told Abram he would be rewarded. God gave Abram a promise. Abram believed God.
But God made the first move. The first move from Abraham's perspective was obedience, followed by belief.
The Lord God spoke first - this itself is a gift. We have the Bible and the testimony of others as a gift from God. We must then believe what is said in the Holy Scriptures and trust it and obey it (put into practice).
The Holy Spirit goes to those who obey God, and causes the person to walk in God's precepts - stopping lying, stealing, coveting, idolizing, cheating, etc.
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Faith involves:
- Obedience
- Loyalty (faithfulness to God)
- God rewarded Abram with a promise
- Abram believed God
- God counted Abram's belief as righteousness
Genesis 12:1 - Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
Abraham obeyed God.
Genesis 12:4 - So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.
God promised him something, and gave Abram an instruction.
Genesis 13:14 - The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.
Abram obeyed.
Genesis 13:18 - So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
OBEDIENCE!
Hebrews 5:9-10 - And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Abram interacted with Melchizedek, priest of God Most High, blessed by God Most High. Abram was faithful to God even when God wasn't speaking directly to Him. God can see everything though.
Genesis 14:18-20 - And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High. ) And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Abram, in an act of faith with faithfulness, displayed loyalty to God. Abram wanted to prove it will be God who has empowered future blessing which Abram has faith about.
Genesis 14:21-24 - And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.
God noticed and gave Abram a vision and made a promise to Abram, and Abram believed God and God counted it to Abram as righteousness.
Genesis 15:1 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
26.2.1. Faith and works - they overlap and are not mutually exclusive!
James 2:22-25 - You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
A person, I think, can be justified by faith that includes obedient action.
Even continued belief in the form of patient endurance is a work, I think!
I believe justification is God's prerogative, and He justifies because of our faith in Jesus, not because of any dead work we offer Him. I just believe that faith in Jesus may include obedient action. Actually, I believe that even believing in Jesus is obedience, because Jesus commanded it.
Romans 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:16 - yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 3:24-26 - So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
But I think God can save a person who has belief without work because God is sovereign to save in this way.
Anyway, see Revelation and you will see Jesus points out different works for different churches.
Revelation of John 2:2 - I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.
Revelation of John 2:5 - Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Revelation of John 2:6 - Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation of John 2:19 - I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Revelation of John 2:22-23 - Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.
Revelation of John 3:1-2 - And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.
Revelation of John 3:15 - I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
26.2.2. The faith of Abraham looks like this. This is what salvation-accepting faith looks like
To be justified, a person must walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Salvation is received by faith - which necessitates an obedient heart:
Romans 3:25 - whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Faith receives - believing in Him is having faith in Him - trusting Him:
Acts 10:41-44 - not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (ESV)
Although a gift, salvation must be asked for and sought after:
Luke 11:9-13 - And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Obeying God.
Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Genesis 12:1-3 - Now the LORD said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (ESV)
Believing God.
Genesis 15:1 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Conviction.
Hebrews 11:17-19 - By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
Like Abraham, a believer's faith may be tested.
Trust in God.,
Fear of God.,
Testable faith.
Genesis 22:9-14 - When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, Here am I. He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.
Holding onto the promise, even to death if required.
Hebrews 11:13 - These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Like Abraham, a believer keeps the faith right to the end of their life or until Jesus takes them home.
Patient endurance / waiting on God (belief * time).
We should have busy (non-sluggish) faith, and imitate the faith of people such as Abraham, so that we inherit the promises. We can believe those promises which we inherit.
Hebrews 6:12-15 - so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, Surely I will bless you and multiply you. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
26.2.3. The repentance of turning away from sin is an act of faith / a work of faith and also essential for eternal life, I think
Matthew 21:32 - For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. (ESV)
To follow the law by faith, I think, is to not lie, commit adultery, idolize, etc. in truth and reality, keeping yourself accountable to God.
This is the key, I think, to following the law by faith: praise from God and not men.
Romans 2:29 - But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.
Luke 16:15-17 - And he said to them, You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
- John the baptist taught 'turn from sin and believe in the One to come'.
- Jesus taught to 'come to and believe in Him (Jesus) for forgiveness and stop sinning'.
Acts 3:25-26 - You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.
Stopping sinning is important from either angle.
- The apostles also taught people to turn from sin, believe and stop sinning.
John 5:14 - Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (ESV)
Romans 8:13 - For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Examples of receiving forgiveness from Jesus.
Matthew 9:2 - And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.
Forgiven after Jesus saw their faith.
Mark 2:5 - And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.
Acts of faith.
Matthew 9:5 - For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise and walk?
Mark 2:9 - Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise, take up your bed and walk?
Turning.
Mark 4:11-12 - And he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.
John 8:11 - She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.
26.3. Loving God is obedience to God
I John 5:2-3 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
26.4. The law
Matthew 19:4-9 - He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. (ESV)
Matthew 5:14-20 - You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (ESV)
Romans 7:22 - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, (ESV)
26.4.1. The law may be pursued by faith. Justification through faith
Faith eclipses the law:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
The ones under the law who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised, come under the umbrella of the faith of Abraham, which the Gentiles who also share the faith of Abraham are included within.
1: Faith (Galatians 3:6-9) 2: / \ 3: Those who Gentiles who share 4: pursue the law the faith 5: by faith of Abraham
Galatians 3:6-9 - just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (ESV)
Romans 9:31-32 - but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, (ESV)
The most important thing though is faith because it applies to both the adherent of the law and also the Gentile who has faith.
Romans 4:16 - That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring-not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (ESV)
I Corinthians 10:1-5 - I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
26.4.2. One in Christ Jesus - not excluding the adherent of the law
Romans 10:12 - For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
I Corinthians 12:13 - For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Galatians 3:28 - There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
26.4.3. But we are not justified by the law. We are justified by faith
Galatians 5:4 - You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
We receive the Holy Spirit through faith:
Galatians 3:2 - Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
But faith is obedient.
26.5. The law is good, if used properly - and its usage is part of the gospel
1 Timothy 1:8-11 - Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)
26.6. Both Father God and Jesus Christ God's Son have life in Himself and the power to resurrect
John 5:24-26 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:21 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. (ESV)
26.7. Salvation in no-one else other than Jesus Christ - But we must obey the gospel, and walk in the Way
Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (ESV)
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus has shown us the Way we have to walk in. The Way is Himself. To walk in it we make Him our Teacher and believe Him and obey Him, and arrive at the Truth, and the Truth is Himself.
Hebrews 10:19 - Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
Isaiah 30:20-21 - And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen — just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die. And the LORD said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. (ESV)
John 12:49-50 - For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.
John 14:6-7 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.
John 14:16-24 - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Jesus manifests to those who keep His word and obey Him.
John 14:22-23 - Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world? Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
I John 2:4-6 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
John 14:24 - Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.
26.8. Anyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins
Acts 10:43: Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins."
But before and/or after believing and being forgiven a person needs to also turn away from sin. To be 'saved' I think means:
- for God to forgive one's sins through Jesus Christ, and
- for that person to be progressing towards holiness and not away from holiness - towards sanctification and ultimately, eternal life
- the Holy Spirit helps a person to do that
- to be eagerly waiting for Jesus to save them
Hebrews 9:27-28 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Becoming a slave of God, rather than sin, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and at the end, eternal life - it leads to knowing the only true God, and Jesus Christ who He sent.
Romans 6:16-22 - Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (ESV)
So obedience leads to sanctification which leads to eternal life which is knowing God and Jesus Christ.
Repentance from sin is required step for those who are in sin, along with forgiveness, and is followed up with sanctification and eternal life.
Luke 15:7 - Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (ESV)
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
26.8.1. Eternal life available for all who believe in Jesus, but obedience and sanctification is necessary
John 3:14-18 - And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
I believe there is a strong emphasis on continued belief, and becoming a bondservant of God.
- 'may have'
- 'should' not perish
27. Spiritual gifts
27.1. Excel in building up the church to see manifestations of the Spirit
I Corinthians 14:12 - So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.
27.2. Using one's mind to speak to others intelligible words in the church is not subordinate to speaking in tongues
I Corinthians 14:19 - Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
27.3. Speaking in tongues speaks to God
I Corinthians 14:2 - For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
27.4. The spirit prays when a person prays in tongues
I Corinthians 14:2 - For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.
I Corinthians 14:14-15 - For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.
28. The prophets
Psalms 51:9-11 - Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. (ESV)
Zechariah 13:1 - "In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. (ESV)
Isaiah 53:11 - As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. (ESV)
Jeremiah 31:34 - They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (ESV)
Malachi 4:2 - "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. (ESV)
Daniel 9:24 - "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. (ESV)
Micah 7:18 - Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. (ESV)
2 Chronicles 7:14 - if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)
28.1. 44 Prophecies Jesus Christ Fulfilled
Prophecies About Jesus | Old Testament Scripture | New Testament Fulfillment |
---|---|---|
Messiah would be born of a woman. | Ge 3:15 | Mt 1:20 Ga 4:4 |
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. | Mc 5:2 | Mt 2:1 Lk 2:4-6 |
Messiah would be born of a virgin. | Is 7:14 | Mt 1:22-23 Lk 1:26-31 |
Messiah would come from the line of Abraham. | Ge 12:3 Ge 22:18 | Mt 1:1 Rm 9:5 |
Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. | Ge 17:19 Ge 21:12 | Lk 3:34 |
Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. | Nb 24:17 | Mt 1:2 |
Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. | Ge 49:10 | Lk 3:33 Heb 7:14 |
Messiah would be heir to King David's throne. | 2Sa 7:12-13 Is 9:7 | Lk 1:32-33 Rm 1:3 |
Messiah's throne will be anointed and eternal. | Ps 45:6-7 Da 2:44 | Lk 1:33 Heb 1:8-12 |
Messiah would be called Immanuel. | Is 7:14 | Mt 1:23 |
Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. | Ho 11:1 | Mt 2:14-15 |
A massacre of children would happen at Messiah's birthplace. | Je 31:15 | Mt 2:16-18 |
A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah | Is 40:3-5 | Lk 3:3-6 |
Messiah would be rejected by his own people. | Ps 69:8 Is 53:3 | Jn 1:11 John 7:5 |
Messiah would be a prophet. | De 18:15 | Ac 3:20-22 |
Messiah would be preceded by Elijah. | Ml 4:5-6 | Mt 11:13-14 |
Messiah would be declared the Son of God. | Ps 2:7 | Mt 3:16-17 |
Messiah would be called a Nazarene. | Is 11:1 | Mt 2:23 |
Messiah would bring light to Galilee. | Is 9:1-2 | Mt 4:13-16 |
Messiah would speak in parables. | Ps 78:2-4 Is 6:9-10 | Mt 13:10-15, 34-35 |
Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. | Is 61:1-2 | Lk 4:18-19 |
Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. | Ps 110:4 | Heb 5:5-6 |
Messiah would be called King. | Ps 2:6 Zc 9:9 | Mt 27:37 Mk 11:7-11 |
Messiah would be praised by little children. | Ps 8:2 | Mt 21:16 |
Messiah would be betrayed. | Ps 41:9 Zc 11:12-13 | Lk 22:47-48 Mt 26:14-16 |
Messiah's price money would be used to buy a potter's field. | Zc 11:12-13 | Mt 27:9-10 |
Messiah would be falsely accused. | Ps 35:11 | Mk 14:57-58 |
Messiah would be silent before his accusers. | Is 53:7 | Mk 15:4-5 |
Messiah would be spat upon and struck. | Is 50:6 | Mt 26:67 |
Messiah would be hated without cause. | Ps 35:19 Psalm 69:4 | Jn 15:24-25 |
Messiah would be crucified with criminals. | Is 53:12 | Mt 27:38 Mk 15:27-28 |
Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. | Ps 69:21 | Mt 27:34 Jn 19:28-30 |
Messiah's hands and feet would be pierced. | Ps 22:16 Zc 12:10 | Jn 20:25-27 |
Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. | Ps 22:7-8 | Lk 23:35 |
Soldiers would gamble for Messiah's garments. | Ps 22:18 | Lk 23:34 Mt 27:35-36 |
Messiah's bones would not be broken. | Ex 12:46 Ps 34:20 | Jn 19:33-36 |
Messiah would be forsaken by God. | Ps 22:1 | Mt 27:46 |
Messiah would pray for his enemies. | Ps 109:4 | Lk 23:34 |
Soldiers would pierce Messiah's side. | Zc 12:10 | Jn 19:34 |
Messiah would be buried with the rich. | Is 53:9 | Mt 27:57-60 |
Messiah would resurrect from the dead. | Ps 16:10 Psalm 49:15 | Mt 28:2-7 Ac 2:22-32 |
Messiah would ascend to heaven. | Ps 24:7-10 | Mk 16:19 Lk 24:51 |
Messiah would be seated at God's right hand. | Ps 68:18 Psalm 110:1 | Mk 16:19 Mt 22:44 |
Messiah would be a sacrifice for sin. | Is 53:5-12 | Rm 5:6-8 |
28.1.1. Psalm 31 and Jesus' last words and Jesus saving me
Psalms 31:5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth. (NASB)
Luke 23:46 - Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last. (ESV)
Jesus saving me:
Astral Projection Pt. 2 // Bodacious Blog
I Timothy 2:6 - who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (ESV)
God never lies:
Titus 1:1-3 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
1 John 2:21 - I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (ESV)
28.2. Faith has a quantity, and faith receives from God / walks into what He has promised
Luke 17:5 - The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith!
II Corinthians 10:15 - We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged,
Luke 7:8-9 - For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. (ESV)
Since Faith is proportional to Love for God, which is proportional to obeying God, the following can be understood.
James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 2:5 - Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
A person with true faith in God walks into the truth because true faith has eyes fixed on Jesus and goes to Jesus as it obeys the will of God.
28.2.1. Faith has substance, and a quantity, usually drawn out over time
Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (KJV)
Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (ESV)
Matthew 17:20 - He said to them, Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. (ESV)
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
I think faith is like casting a net to receive something.
If you want to catch something big then you need a lot of faith.
Faith receives salvation, and salvation is the gift which is received through faith. Faith is something which a person must have to receive the free gift. The onus is on us to receive the free gift.
We must approach Jesus. We must repent (change our minds, turning from our wicked ways, and turn to God) and obey God. God has said many things, about his statutes and about how we should listen to Jesus. I think repentance (from the heart turning from sin) is still approaching Jesus because Jesus fulfilled the law.
Humble yourself and obey God's commandments (not out of pride, but out of authentic faith with God, being accountable to God, in secret).
For example, abstaining from partaking in stealing, or adultery and being faithful to God, even if you lose friends over it. This type of obeying God's commandments is nothing to do with pride or self-exultation or self-righteousness and everything to do with being faithful to God and humbling oneself to God.
Trying to turn from sin in truth and reality.
2 Chronicles 7:14 - if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (ESV)
Matthew 18:3 - and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
It says unless you turn - The onus is on you.
Matthew 5:20 - For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
It says unless your righteousness.
Faith in Jesus probably qualifies a person to 'enter' the Kingdom of Heaven. Also, following the law by faith in truth I think qualifies a person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Also the Kingdom of Heaven, I think is from Heaven to Earth.
II Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Titus 3:7 - so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Through faith a person is saved (the onus is on us to receive)
Salvation is the gift. Works can be dead works when they're not done in faith. Therefore works don't save.
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
A person must be at least willing to do His will - obedience is the essence of faith:
John 7:17 - If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.
28.2.2. The work of faith
- love, faith, service and patient endurance are all considered works
Revelation of John 2:19 - I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
Abraham's obedience is a work of faith.
Hebrews 11:8 - By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (ESV)
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (ESV)
Work substantiates faith because it is the act of receiving from God.
A work of faith could indeed be following the law in faith (as opposed to following the law by works).
For example, keeping your integrity, remaining faithful to God and not lying to God.
Patient endurance is a 'work of faith'.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
28.2.3. Justified by Faith + Works of faith (works not necessarily works of the law)
James 2:22-26 - You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. (ESV)
This is not a work of the law, but it is a work of faith: "when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way"
James 2:26 - For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Romans 3:28-31 - For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one. He will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV)
The law is not overthrown but it is upheld.
28.2.4. Faith receives
Hebrews 11:13 - These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
28.2.5. Her faith saved her / is forgiven because she loved much - her love gave substance to her faith
Her love is a work of faith.
Luke 7:47-50 - Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this, who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (ESV)
I also currently believe that one's response to forgiveness must be like the woman Jesus mentions in Luke 7:47 - with a proprotional love for Jesus.
29. Worldly precepts completely contradict the Truth and don't help to stop sin
Colossians 2:20-23 - If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. (ESV)
I think that choosing a relationship Biblically is contrary to worldly precepts:
Mark 7:7-9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. And he said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
James 4:4 - You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (ESV)
Matthew 6:31-33 - Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
30. Who will enter Heaven? Only the ones who do the will of Father God
Matthew 7:21-23 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. (ESV)
OBEDIENCE!
In Spyridon's words, "Paradise will not be filled with sinless people - it will be filled with people who have repented."
31. Sermon on the mount
Those who mourn will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
The earth may be inherited.
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
The merciful shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Without holiness, no-one will see the Lord.
Matthew 5:8 - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Th peacemakers shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
The kingdom of heaven may be inherited.
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3-9 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:11-13 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
32. The Kingdom of God
After I got born-again I started getting dreams with themes of the 'Kingdom of God', and also through interactions I began having with people, while I was pursuing following Jesus' commandments, etc. So my 'evidence' is a personal conviction that comes through faith in Jesus which has been working.
That's how I interpret how the following passage says that the Kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed:
Luke 17:20-21 - Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.
33. Entering and inheriting the kingdom
There's so much stuff to do to enter the kingdom… I feel entirely unworthy.
Firstly, it has been by grace because I asked God to save me, even when I was very much stuck in sin. And I still feel as though I am approaching it and haven't quite entered it (just being honest here).
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.
Please God, give me the righteousness required to enter the kingdom.
33.1. Entering the kingdom
33.1.1. This is the good news. I do think 'believes' really means has active faith in
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
John 5:34 - Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. (ESV)
John 6:47 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (ESV)
John 11:26 - and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (ESV)
33.1.2. We must be born-again
John 3:3-5 - Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
John 1:12 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (ESV)
It is the sovereign work of God to make someone born-again of the Spirit, but the Apostles say the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe in / obey him:
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
John 1:11-13 - He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe (G4100 pisteuo) in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
33.1.3. We must do the will of God
Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
33.1.4. We must have faith in Jesus
Matthew 5:20 - For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
33.1.5. We must accept it as a child
Matthew 18:3 - and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
33.1.6. We must serve people. We must give up our wealth for others' sake
Matthew 19:23-24 - And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Mark 10:23-25 - And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Luke 18:24-25 - Jesus, looking at him with sadness, said, How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (ESV)
33.1.7. We must turn from sin
Mark 9:47 - And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
After being born-again we must reckon dead the 'old man', and put sin to death.
Those in Christ Jesus have been set free from the law of sin and death, and we should not succumb to sin.
Romans 7:20 - Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (ESV)
Romans 7:24-25 - Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (ESV)
Romans 8:5 - For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (ESV)
Romans 8:10 - But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (ESV)
Romans 8:13 - For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (ESV)
Free from Judgment, Fighting Sin, Full Assurance - YouTube |
33.1.8. We must endure to enter the kingdom of God
Acts 14:22 - strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
33.2. Salvation absolutely involves repenting from sin
Zacchaeus was repentant, and was saved through Jesus as he had the faith of Abraham, but towards Jesus:
Luke 19:1-10 - He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today. So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (ESV)
33.3. Inheriting the kingdom
33.3.1. We must be born-again
I Corinthians 15:50 - I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (ESV)
33.3.2. We must repent and be sanctified
Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
But only the ones who are truly remorseful.
I Corinthians 6:9-10 - Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Galatians 5:21 - envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
33.3.3. We must be a good and faithful servant
Matthew 25:31-34 - When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
33.3.4. We must be servants
Colossians 3:23-24 - Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (ESV)
Matthew 25:35-46 - For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
34. Who will enter the holy city of Jerusalem which is in Heaven? Not sinners. Only servants. Only those who follow Jesus' commandments
I think it's really the hope of inheritance for people who have strived to enter the kingdom while on earth.
Luke 13:22-27 - He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, Lord, will those who are saved be few? And he said to them, Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us, then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets. But he will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!
Hebrews 12:22 - But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
Revelation of John 21:10 - And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
Revelation of John 21:27 - But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (ESV)
34.1. Those who have stopped sinning (potentially through the power of the Holy Spirit) and who believe in Jesus Christ
Acts 5:31 - God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 11:18 - When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.
34.2. Sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God
Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
34.3. We've died to sin, now we live to Christ, and do not allow sin back in
We are slaves of righteousness now - we must obey God, keeping sin dead:
Romans 6:1 - What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Do not make sin come alive again, but be a slave of righteousness - be obedient as it leads to righteousness:
Romans 6:12-16 - Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
We must be slaves to righteousness, which leads to our sanctification:
Romans 6:17-21 - But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.
At the end of sanctification is eternal life:
Romans 6:22-23 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
34.4. Compliance with the Torah (Law) is not self-righteousness, but obedience
Revelation 22:15 - Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (ESV)
Ephesians 5:5 - For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV)
1 John 3:4-9 - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
Derek Prince may have an even better understanding of the Torah's (the Law's) role in Christianity:
We must obey Jesus:
Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (ESV)
34.4.1. The law is good, if used properly - and its usage is part of the gospel
1 Timothy 1:8-11 - Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)
But Christians are not under the law while we are led by the Spirit:
34.5. The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians
Ignatius to the Magnesians 8 - Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. For the divinest prophets lived according to Christ Jesus. On this account also they were persecuted, being inspired by His grace to fully convince the unbelieving that there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word, not proceeding forth from silence, and who in all things pleased Him that sent Him.
34.6. This makes sense - the law certainly still exists
1 Timothy 1:8-11 - Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)
35. The LORD our God and my Lord Jesus Christ
Acts 2:34 - For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
36. Jesus, the Bread of Life
36.1. Have faith in Jesus. Continue in faith in Jesus and it will well up to eternal life
John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:38-40 - For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
36.1.1. Drink
John 7:37-38 - On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
John 4:14 - but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Whoever believes in Jesus.
36.1.2. Food
John 4:32-34 - But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (ESV)
John 6:27 - Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
Whoever believes in him who God has sent.
36.1.3. Look upon, consider and have faith (which is a relationship with God)
John 6:40 - For this (G3778 houtos) is the will (G2307 thelema) of My Father (G3962 pater), that everyone (G3956 pas) who beholds (G2334 theoreo) the Son (G5207 huios) and believes (G4100 pisteuo) in Him will have (G2192 echo) eternal (G166 aionios) life (G2222 zoe), and I Myself (G1473 ego) will raise (G450 anistemi) him up on the last (G2078 eschatos) day (G2250 hemera).”
1: : 2334 theoreo theh-o-reh'-o 2: 3: from a derivative of 2300 (perhaps by addition of 3708); to be a 4: spectator of, i.e. discern, (literally, figuratively (experience) or 5: intensively (acknowledge)):--behold, consider, look on, perceive, see. 6: Compare 3700. 7: see GREEK for 2300 8: see GREEK for 3708 9: see GREEK for 3700
John 6:47-58 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
36.2. Jesus, the Bread of Life
Doing words (verbs):, eats, feeds, drinks.
Action is required on the part of the believer - walking in the light, as he is in the light.
Obeying Jesus:
- Believing in him
- Continuing to believe in him
- Trusting him
- Obeying him
John 6:48-58 - I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
Hebrews 10:16-22 - This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds, then he adds, I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
36.2.1. They will be taught by God, through Jesus
Isaiah 54:5-17 - For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. For the Lord has called you like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit, like a wife of youth when she is cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. This is like the days of Noah to me: as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you, and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted, behold, I will set your stones in antimony, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles, and all your wall of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.
Isaiah 30:20-21 - And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
John 6:44-47 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 - But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (ESV)
36.3. Abiding in Jesus; Abiding in the Truth
John 6:33 - For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Believing in Jesus is good work. Believing in Jesus keeps us alive. Obeying Jesus keeps us alive. Following Jesus keeps us alive.
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
John 6:28-29 - Then they said to him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God? Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe (G4100 pisteuo) in him whom he has sent. (ESV)
John 6:56 - He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
Get intimate with Jesus - really intimate.
I believe this means to become a disciple of Jesus and become one in spirit with Jesus; to think like Jesus, to walk as Jesus walked, to love God and obey God as Jesus did, even if one is persecuted for being righteous as happened to Jesus, to do as Jesus commanded, to become one in spirit with Jesus. Also, taking communion is about that.
It's really important to come to communion with the type of heart that would yearn to be a good disciple of Jesus - repentant and obedient, and thankful for what He has done.
I John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
I Corinthians 2:11 - For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
John 5:39 - You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.
We must have faith in Jesus, we must hope in Jesus, and we must love like Jesus:
I Corinthians 13:13 - So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (ESV)
36.3.1. We must love - we must obey Jesus
Loving the way Jesus loves is a requirement!
Keeping Jesus' commandments is obeying Jesus. Obedience to Jesus is a requirement of a Christian - obedience in the heart, which translates into deeds.
John 8:31 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, (ESV)
John 13:35 - By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (ESV)
John 15:8 - By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. (ESV)
I John 4:16 - So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (ESV)
36.3.2. Communion is spiritual, and helps us to abide in Him
John 6:53-58 - So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
We remember Jesus as we take communion:
- We give thanks to God
- We proclaim the Lord Jesus' death until He comes
- We examine ourselves and compare our hearts to the heart of the Lord Jesus
- We consider what our Lord Jesus has done for us on the cross
- Before we take communion, we want to examine our own heart to see how we could be more like Jesus
- How we can be more selfless
- How we can be more loving
- How we can be more like disciples of Jesus
- How we can be more trusting of Jesus
- How we can be more believing of who He is and believing of His atoning sacrifice
- How we can be more obedient to His commandments
- We believe that Jesus will return
I Corinthians 11:24-29 - and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.
I believe that taking the Eucharist absolutely has spiritual and physical effects, and the body and blood of Jesus are received through faith.
I Corinthians 11:30 - That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
I Corinthians 10:16-18 - The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
Hebrews 10:19 - Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
Didache 10:6 - Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the Son of David. If any one is holy let him come (to the Eucharist); if any one is not, let him repent. Maranatha. Amen.
Proclaim the Lord's death until He comes:
I Corinthians 11:25-26 - In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
36.3.3. Getting Jesus' words in us helps us to abide in Him
If a person believes Jesus' words their faith will grow.
Father God authorizes people to come to Jesus, but that person must come to Jesus (of their own volition, I think).
John 6:61-65 - But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. ) And he said, This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (ESV)
John 15:3-4 - Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
John 15:7 - If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. (ESV)
36.3.4. Living the way Jesus commanded us helps us to abide in Him
Living as Jesus instructed us to live. Living as Jesus also lived.
I John 3:24 - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (ESV)
John 15:13 - Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. (ESV)
I John 4:16 - So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (ESV)
37. The day
If someone has the light in him, he walks in the day.
I Thessalonians 5:8 - But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (ESV)
John 9:3-5 - Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (ESV)
John 12:35 - So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. (ESV)
If someone walks in the day with the light in them, they will not stumble. With the light in them, they should not be concerned about such worries. They should put confidence in the light.
John 11:6-10 - So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, Let us go to Judea again. The disciples said to him, Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. (ESV)
Interestingly, Jesus goes confidently back to Judea where the disciples were worried he would be stoned, but instead of someone killing Jesus, Jesus resurrects Lazarus. I guess it pays to walk while you have the light.
John 11:11-15 - After saying these things, he said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him. The disciples said to him, Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover. Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him. (ESV)
We should be more confident with the light!
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
37.1. No more night
Revelation 22:3-5 - No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (ESV)
Matthew 17:1-3 - And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. (ESV)
38. Christian perfection through suffering with Christ is a thing
38.1. Living a godly life in Christ Jesus is to be wise for salvation
II Timothy 3:12-15 - Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
38.2. Unity in love
Colossians 3:14 - Beyond all (G3956 pas) these things put on love (G26 agape), which (G3739 hos) is the perfect bond of unity.
John 17:23 - I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected (G5048 teleioo) in unity, so that the world (G2889 kosmos) may know (G1097 ginosko) that You sent Me, and loved (G25 agapao) them, even as You have loved (G25 agapao) Me.
38.3. It's wholeness and fullness, knowledge of Jesus
I Corinthians 13:10 - but when the perfect (G5046 teleios) comes, the partial (G3313 meros) will be done away.
Ephesians 4:13 - until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, (ESV)
38.4. It's cleaning ourselves up from all defilement of flesh and spirit
II Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves (G1438 heautou) from all (G3956 pas) defilement of flesh (G4561 sarx) and spirit (G4151 pneuma), perfecting holiness in the fear of God (G2316 theos).
38.5. It's a process leading to the day of Christ Jesus
Philippians 3:12 - Not that I have already obtained (G2983 lambano) it or have already become perfect (G5048 teleioo), but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which (G3739 hos) also I was laid hold of by Christ (G5547 Christos) Jesus (G2424 Iesous).
Philippians 1:6 - For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work (G2041 ergon) in you will perfect it until the day (G2250 hemera) of Christ (G5547 Christos) Jesus (G2424 Iesous).
38.6. Having suffered for righteousness-sake
I Peter 5:10 - After you have suffered (G3958 pascho) for a little (G3641 oligos) while (G3641 oligos), the God (G2316 theos) of all (G3956 pas) grace (G5485 charis), who called (G2564 kaleo) you to His eternal (G166 aionios) glory (G1391 doxa) in Christ (G5547 Christos), will Himself (G846 autos) perfect (G2675 katartizo), confirm (G4741 sterizo), strengthen (G4599 sthenoo) and establish (G2311 themelioo) you.
38.7. Without lack
James 1:4 - And let endurance have its perfect (G5046 teleios) result (G2041 ergon), so that you may be perfect (G5046 teleios) and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 2:22 - You see that faith (G4102 pistis) was working with his works (G2041 ergon), and as a result of the works (G2041 ergon), faith (G4102 pistis) was perfected (G5048 teleioo);
I John 2:5 - but whoever keeps His word (G3056 logos), in him the love (G26 agape) of God (G2316 theos) has truly been perfected (G5048 teleioo). By this we know (G1097 ginosko) that we are in Him:
I John 4:12 - No one has seen God (G2316 theos) at any time; if we love (G25 agapao) one another, God (G2316 theos) abides in us, and His love (G26 agape) is perfected (G5048 teleioo) in us.
38.8. Perfection is the result of sanctification
Hebrews 5:8-10 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:11 - Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?
Hebrews 10:14: - For by one offering He has perfected (G5048 teleioo) for all (G1336 dienekes) time (G1336 dienekes) those who are sanctified.
Hebrews 12:23: - to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven (G3772 ouranos), and to God (G2316 theos), the Judge of all (G3956 pas), and to the spirits (G4151 pneuma) of the righteous (G1342 dikaios) made (G5048 teleioo) perfect (G5048 teleioo),
Hebrews 2:11-12 - For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise. (ESV)
39. Eldership
39.1. Don't dominate the flock, but be an example
Dominating others in your flock and forcing them to believe what you believe is like witchcraft, and will forfeit glorification. - See glorification. We're supposed to lead by example.
To be domineering is to behave like a lord.
1 Peter 5:1-4 - So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (ESV)
I Corinthians 8:6 - yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Ephesians 4:5 - one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
I Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (ESV)
39.1.1. Jesus is our only Teacher and Lord
John 13:13 - You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. (ESV)
Matthew 23:8 - But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. (ESV)
39.1.2. Jesus has said we must stop sinning and follow Jesus to enter the kingdom
Anyone who says otherwise is a false teacher.
Luke 18:18-27 - And a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. And he said, All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, looking at him with sadness, said, How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Those who heard it said, Then who can be saved? But he said, What is impossible with men is possible with God.
II Peter 2:1 - But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
39.2. Stop sinning
Proverbs 20:23 - Unequal weights are an abomination to the LORD, and false scales are not good. (ESV)
Proverbs 21:27 - The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent. (ESV)
Proverbs 12:22 - Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. (ESV)
Proverbs 15:26 - The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure. (ESV)
Proverbs 29:27 - An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked. (ESV)
Proverbs 3:32 - for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence. (ESV)
Proverbs 6:16-19 - There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. (ESV)
Proverbs 17:15 - He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD. (ESV)
Proverbs 28:9 - If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (ESV)
Do not even seek them out:
Leviticus 19:31 - Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God. (ESV)
Exodus 22:18 - You shall not permit a sorceress to live. (ESV)
Leviticus 20:27 - A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them. (ESV)
Revelation of John 21:8 - But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (ESV)
Leviticus 20:6 - If a person turns to mediums and wizards, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people. (ESV)
I Samuel 15:22-23 - And Samuel said, Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king. (ESV)
Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)
39.3. Those that are younger, be subject to the elders
I Peter 5:5 - Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
God's grace goes to the humble.
39.4. It's more important to obey God if an elder is teaching falsehood
Acts 5:29 - But Peter and the apostles answered, We must obey God rather than men.
I Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (ESV)
Ephesians 5:23 - For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
39.4.1. Obedience to Christ is also necessary for salvation
Hebrews 5:8-10 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
So sometimes a person needs to choose Jesus over false teachers and blind guides.
40. Can other religions exist anywhere in the Kingdom of God. They have to put their faith in and follow Jesus
John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. (ESV)
It's not really the religion but who puts their faith in Jesus and obeys the gospel who will be saved.
But it is all by God's grace that we are saved. A believing and obedient heart is a trusting heart - a heart of faith - and our obedience gives us confidence. All glory to God alone. We must obey Jesus to become like Jesus:
I John 4:17 - By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (ESV)
John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
Therefore, I'd have more confidence if I was following Jesus is reality and from the heart but was caught up in incorrect theology, than if thought I had all the correct theology but didn't do what Jesus said.
Correct Christology is important, but so is obeying Jesus' commandments, and obeying Jesus' commandments is possibly even more important than belief:
Matthew 21:28-31 - “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
It's not the ones with the correct doctrine who will stand in the congregation of the righteous, but the ones who do the will of God:
Psalms 5:5 - The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. (ESV)
For that reason, I would have more confidence before God if I was serving Him, having put sin to death and trying to be holy and selfless and loving, than if I believed precise theology but had no changed life:
Psalms 1:4-5 - The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; (ESV)
We must keep ourselves in the love of God by obeying Jesus Christ's commandments, because we're awaiting to receive eternal life:
Jude 1:21 - keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (ESV)
Keeping Jesus Christ's commandments is a requirement to inherit eternal life, not an extra:
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (ESV)
Whoever truly believes Jesus trusts in and is obedient to Jesus. We must obey Jesus Christ, and that obedience means being a slave of righteousness, leading to sanctification, which leads to eternal life:
John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (ESV)
Therefore, I don't want to flat-out disqualify people who do not have precisely the correct doctrine or theology.
Jesus goes to those who hear His voice to bring them into His flock:
John 10:16 - And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (ESV)
Jesus Christ is God's servant. We are Jesus' servants. It is a kingdom of servants, obedient to God.
Not all religions are equal. There is only one true God, the Father of Jesus Christ who has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ.
The only way is Jesus:
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 8:5-6 - For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth-as indeed there are many gods and many lords- yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (ESV)
Jesus Himself is the bread of God - Jesus Himself is the source of life:
John 6:33 - For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (ESV)
Galatians 1:6-10 - I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (ESV)
Micah 4:1-13 - It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why do you cry aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pain seized you like a woman in labor? Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you shall go out from the city and dwell in the open country; you shall go to Babylon. There you shall be rescued; there the LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. Now many nations are assembled against you, saying, Let her be defiled, and let our eyes gaze upon Zion. But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your horn iron, and I will make your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples; and shall devote their gain to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth. (ESV)
James 1:26 - If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
40.1. They also have to repent from idolatry
I Thessalonians 1:9-10 - For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
I Corinthians 10:14-31 - Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, This has been offered in sacrifice, then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
40.1.1. Idolatry
Acts 17:29 - Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
Romans 1:23 - and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Psalms 106:20 - They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass.
41. Man is made in the image of God
Job 33:4 - The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
41.1. Male and female
Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Matthew 19:4 - He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, (ESV)
41.2. In God's own likeness
Genesis 5:1-2 - This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. (ESV)
41.2.1. Righteousness and holiness
Ephesians 4:24 - and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (ESV)
The new self should be Christ formed in you:
Colossians 3:5-10 - Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Colossians 1:15 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (ESV)
Galatians 4:18-19 - It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
41.3. Created for God's glory
Isaiah 43:6-7 - I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
41.3.1. Man wasn't designed to kill and curse each other
Genesis 9:6 - Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. (ESV)
Luke 6:31 - And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. (ESV)
James 3:9 - With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (ESV)
Matthew 26:52 - Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. (ESV)
I John 3:15 - Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (ESV)
41.4. Jesus Christ, Son of God
II Corinthians 4:4 - In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
John 5:26 - For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
John 5:21 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
John 1:4 - In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (ESV)
John 1:9 - The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (ESV)
Ephesians 3:9-11 - and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
By him all things were created. Firstborn here does not mean 'created first'.
Colossians 1:15-20 - He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
John 1:2: He was in the beginning with God.
Psalms 2:7 - I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten you.
Acts 13:33 - this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, You are my Son, today I have begotten you.
Hebrews 1:5- For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son, today I have begotten you? Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son?
Hebrews 5:5 - So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, You are my Son, today I have begotten you;
I John 5:20 - And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
42. The sheepfold
Psalms 23:4 - Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (ESV)
When the person starts trusting Jesus they are justified. But they must reach the end to be saved.
However, I believe that, so long as Jesus knows that you're trusting in Him, he knows you're His sheep.
The question is, when it is considered they have entered the door and received eternal life and been saved?
Jesus says a person is saved when they enter the door.
John 10:9 - I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (ESV)
The following verse says they will (when they have eternal life) be unable to be snatched away from His hand, when they are saved.
John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (ESV)
1: || 2: | | | | | || 3: Unbelieving | | Jesus' voice || 4: and disobedient | | | | || 5: goat | | | | | | || Saved by entering through Jesus 6: | | | | | | | | |||| 7: | | | | | | | | | Jesus, the good shepherd - John 10:11 8: | | | | | Jesus, the Door - John 10:7 9: Trusting--------------------------------------|---> 10: sheep (justifed) | | |||| pasture 11: | | _| || 12: | | / \ Jesus knows his || 13: Trusting----- \ --> sheep || 14: sheep (justifed) \_/ || 15: (wandering) || 16: | | || 17: || 18: || Thief comes to 19: unbelieving dead works /||\ steal, kill 20: dead worker --------------------------------- || -> and destroy 21: (thief/goat) || John 10:1
John 10:7 - So Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. (ESV)
John 10:1 - Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. (ESV)
John 10:11 - I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (ESV)
It's possible to follow Jesus' voice even before having come to perfect knowledge and obedience, but Jesus knows His sheep:
John 10:26-29 - but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (ESV)
Jesus' sheep:
- hear Jesus' voice
- follow Him (they're being obedient)
- Jesus knows them
I believe that what this says is that at the point Jesus knows you listen to His voice and obey His voice, He counts you as one of His sheep and He will not let you go.
A Psalm of David:
Psalms 23:1-6 - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
43. Marriage
43.2. Marriage is between man and woman
This is the design:
Genesis 2:22-24 - And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (ESV)
Jesus is in agreement with God's design:
Matthew 19:3-9 - And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. (ESV)
43.2.1. Pursue marriage with those who share our faith and walk in holiness
I Corinthians 7:39 - A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (ESV)
43.2.2. Gay 'marriage' is not blessed at all by God
So-called 'marriage' between man and man, or woman and woman, is not blessed at all by God.
We've got to be clear on that, but like all other corruption/falsehood, if agreed with and pursued it leads to the abyss.
43.2.3. The law may have come later, but the law still doesn't annul God's former decrees
Galatians 3:17 - This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. (ESV)
- Let's be clear: God's law does not endorse gay marriage
Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 18:12 - for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. (ESV)
Leviticus 18:26-29 - But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. (ESV)
Leviticus 20:13 - If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 22:5 - A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 7:26 - And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction. (ESV)
Jeremiah 44:22 - The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. (ESV)
43.2.4. However, we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ - but that means obeying Jesus
Galatians 3:22-26 - But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
James 2:13 - For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Jesus' servants are given mercy by Jesus and they also show mercy to others.
43.3. Marriage should not be forbidden
1 Timothy 4:1-8 - Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. (ESV)
Marriage itself is good.
43.3.1. But gay 'marriage' should not be held in equal standing to God's design
Isaiah 6:20 - Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
43.4. Workers of the kingdom may take a believing wife
I Corinthians 9:5-9 - Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Is it for oxen that God is concerned?
43.4.1. But for the sake of the Kingdom, they may choose to be single
Matthew 19:12 - For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.
I Corinthians 7:8-9 - To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.
Revelation of John 14:4 - It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb,
43.4.2. Being ready for Jesus comes first
Luke 14:20-24 - And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the servant said, Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the servant, Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.
Matthew 25:1-13 - Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
43.5. Marriage should be holy for future sake
God's covenant was given to Noah and his wife and Noah's sons and their wives.
Genesis 6:18 - But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.
Genesis 7:7 - And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
Even the animals went into the ark two by two, male with their female:
Genesis 6:19 - And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
Noah still had a wife, a believing wife, I assume.
Matthew 24:38 - For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
43.6. Covenant marriage is great, but for the Gentiles who turn to God, it's not essentially required to burden them beyond abstaining from sexual immorality
Malachi 2:14 - But you say, Why does he not? Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. (ESV)
Acts 15:19-20 - Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.
43.7. Marriage in the next age
43.7.1. Incorruptible love to make it into heaven, but not lust
Ephesians 6:24 - Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
I Corinthians 13:8 - Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
- There is no lust in heaven
II Peter 1:3-4 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (NASB)
43.7.2. No-one marrys (verb) or is given in marriage (verb)
Luke 20:33-36 - In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife. And Jesus said to them, The sons of this age (G165 aion) marry (G1060 gameo) and are given in marriage (G1061 gamisko), but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age (G165 aion) and to the resurrection (G386 anastasis) from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
43.7.3. In heaven, people are like angels - imperishable
Mark 12:25 - For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (ESV)
Revelation of John 21:4 - He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (ESV)
We receive an imperishable reward:
I Corinthians 9:25 - Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. (ESV)
I Peter 1:4 - to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, (ESV)
Even our bodies will be imperishable:
1 Corinthians 15:4 - So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. (ESV)
I Corinthians 15:52 - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (ESV)
43.7.4. Jesus is incorruptible
Hebrews 1:3 - And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature (G5287 hupostasis), and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Luke 16:17 - But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
1: : 5287 hupostasis hoop-os'-tas-is 2: 3: from a compound of 5259 and 2476; a setting under (support), i.e. 4: (figuratively) concretely, essence, or abstractly, assurance 5: (objectively or subjectively):--confidence, confident, person, 6: substance. 7: see GREEK for 5259 8: see GREEK for 2476
43.7.5. We are married to Christ
Revelation of John 21:9 - Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.
Ephesians 5:23-33 - For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
1 Corinthians 15:42 - So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. (ESV)
Galatians 3:26 - for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Revelation 20:6 - Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (ESV)
43.7.6. We must present ourselves as virgins to Christ. We must be being sanctified
Matthew 25:1-13 - Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him. Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves. And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us. But he answered, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
43.8. Bride of Christ
Revelation of John 21:9 - Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.
Revelation of John 19:7-9 - Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God. (ESV)
We must espouse ourselves to Christ:
II Corinthians 11:2 - I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (ESV)
The new Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ:
Revelation of John 21:2 - And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (ESV)
John 3:29 - The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. (ESV)
John the Baptist says that the Christ is the bridegroom:
John 3:28-31 - You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Jesus reinforces that idea:
Mark 2:18-20 - Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast? And Jesus said to them, Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. (ESV)
Revelation of John 21:9 - Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. (ESV)
Isaiah 54:5 - For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called. (ESV)
Revelation of John 21:9-11 - Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. (ESV)
Isaiah 62:3-5 - You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
Revelation of John 22:17 - The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let the one who hears say, Come. And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (ESV)
43.9. I do not endorse gay marriage - I consider it to be sin - grave sin, actually
I personally do not endorse gay marriage. When I have in the past, I repent of that.
That is not to say it is not possible to endorse it yourself (and take the consequences of that) but a person is accountable to God for that act of annulling one of His commandments.
Matthew 5:19 - Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
In the manner in which I judge, I know I will be judged.
Matthew 7:1-2 - “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
So I believe that because I do not / no longer endorse gay marriage for others, I do not endorse it for myself, and I'll be held to that standard.
Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (ESV)
However, endorsing gay marriage is not merely breaking commandment, but also it is contrary to the spiritual reality:
Genesis 2:22-24 - And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (ESV)
43.10. God's law is still used. It's part of the gospel, and can certainly be used to judge the sinners, including those who are unrepentant from sexual immorality
1 Timothy 1:8-11 - Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)
43.11. God's law is good. His precepts are good. I don't identify with any of this LGBT stuff
Psalms 119:49-94 - Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. Zayin This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life. The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD. Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my sojourning. I remember your name in the night, O LORD, and keep your law. This blessing has fallen to me, that I have kept your precepts. The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words. Heth I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies; I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me, I do not forget your law. At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules. I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts. The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love; teach me your statutes! You have dealt well with your servant, O LORD, according to your word. Teth Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word. You are good and do good; teach me your statutes. The insolent smear me with lies, but with my whole heart I keep your precepts; their heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. Yodh Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice, because I have hoped in your word. I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant. Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight. Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts. Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies. May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame! My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. Kaph My eyes long for your promise; I ask, When will you comfort me? For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me! They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Lamedh Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast. By your appointment they stand this day, for all things are your servants. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts. (ESV)
I have not forsaken your precepts - AMEN!!
43.12. Can gay 'marriage' exist anywhere in the Kingdom of God? It's certainly not generally endorsed, nor should it be normalised or made equal with marriage
I don't know if gay marriage can exist anywhere in the Kingdom of God.
I don't think it should be generally endorsed, especially by Christians.
43.12.1. God still does not endorse practicing homosexuality, nor lust
1 Timothy 1:8-11 - Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted. (ESV)
43.12.2. The most weighty matters of the law are justice, mercy, faithfulness, and service
Justice, mercy and faithfulness are essential for entering the Kingdom of God. Repentance and holiness are very important for entering the Kingdom of God too. Greed and self-indulgence will stop a person from entering the Kingdom of God:
Matthew 23:23-25 - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
When applying the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness are the weightier matters of the law. However, the remainder of the law is not supposed to be neglected either.
43.12.3. Even though the law came later, practicing homosexuality has always been sinful
Genesis 13:13 - Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
Genesis 18:20 - Then the Lord said, Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
43.12.4. Faith in Jesus is required - Him paying the price for our sin
I think endorsing LGBT, etc. leads the world progressively closer to the abyss.
I personally wouldn't do it or endorse it for eternal safety sake.
Leviticus 18:22 - You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. (ESV)
Yes, it is an issue in the law and in God's design, and gay marriage is not endorsed or blessed by God.
Matthew 5:14-20 - You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I currently believe this means that grace may possibly exist for gay people who have faith in Jesus but they are accountable to God for it, and they wont inherit the kingdom of God and His saints.
To enter, a person's righteousness needs to exceed that of the Pharisees and Scribes in order to enter the Kingdom of God and the weightier matters of the law are justice, mercy and faithfulness.
Also, I think eternal life is for those who:
- a) receive forgiveness from Jesus,
- b) obey Jesus and become a bondservant of God.
43.12.5. Sanctification (turning from sin, etc.) is essential for eternal life
Romans 6:22 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
This is my current understanding. So most likely it is not tolerated in the kingdom of God.
I 100% believe that anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ can be saved / spared from being condemned to hell, but that doesn't mean they inherit the Kingdom. But faith requires obedience, and salvation requires turning from sin.
And it doesn't excuse them from repentance from sin. But they're accountable for God to it.
Repentance is essential for eternal life.
John 8:34-35 - Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
43.12.6. Practicing homosexuality is very sinful and so locking it in with a covenant is very self-destructive
But justice, mercy and faithfulness are the weightier matters of the law. What I mean to say is that without the sinners themselves showing justice, mercy and faithfulness, gay 'marriage' would be totally unjustifiable.
Judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
God, please have mercy. I repent from all sexual immorality, and from endorsing it.
43.12.7. Without following Jesus Christ's commandments, gay 'marriage' would never be justifiable
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
But we have to speak and act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty:
James 2:10-13 - For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Without acknowledging the truth, and without acknowledging that God's law and design is good, gay 'marriage' would be totally unjustifiable.
43.12.8. The slave to sin doesn't remain in God's house forever
John 8:34-35 - Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
Also, the Kingdom stretches from heaven to earth, so gay 'marriage' may happen on earth but such a thing could never exist in heaven.
But neither does marriage between man and woman even exist in heaven.
But those who practice sexual impurity which includes homosexuality probably wont inherit the kingdom, nor enter into the New Jerusalem in Heaven - those are for the saints (those who keep God's commandments AND have faith in Jesus).
II Corinthians 11:2 - I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (ESV)
The new Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ:
Revelation of John 21:2 - And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (ESV)
But can they enter the kingdom on earth? I'm not sure. God is the justifier. So long as they continue in practicing homosexuality, they wouldn't stay.
They have to be practicing righteousness, through following Jesus Christ - and obeying Jesus' commandments:
I John 3:7 - Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
Matthew 6:10 - Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
I don't think God ever endorses people to sin, but has grace for sinners.
John 1:17 - For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
I don't think it's possible to receive the grace without receiving the truth, because Jesus Christ is the grace and the truth.
Luke 18:13 - But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (ESV)
Prideful sin definitely doesn't make the cut.
43.12.9. The everlasting covenant if one is in the everlasting covenant, should incite a person's shame for their past sin - not their pride
Ezekiel 16:58-63 - You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.
43.12.10. The abyss is a thing. And our security is faith in Christ
Romans 10:6-13 - But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down) or Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, 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. For with the heart one believes (G4100 pisteuo) and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
But just because Jesus can save us when we have the righteousness based on faith, that doesn't mean we should purposefully sin and go towards the abyss.
We want God's will to be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. We also want to do God's will.
Matthew 6:10 - Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
43.12.11. Grace even for the evildoer
The Revelation of John is for Jesus' servants. I'm going to claim this.
Revelation of John 1:1 - The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Matthew 5:7 - Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
The merciful shall receive mercy.
Revelation of John 22:14-15 - Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (ESV)
Proverbs 26:11 - Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
II Peter 2:21-22 - For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.
Here's the grace. I choose to interpret this in this way, and I claim it because I claim to be a servant of Jesus:
Mark 7:27-29 - And he said to her, Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs. But she answered him, Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. And he said to her, For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.
Isaiah 56:11 - The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.
Philippians 3:2-3 - Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
- God's original design is male and female union and also the law reflects the spiritual reality
I saw a dark spot around my rib when I was born-again. I think this indicates I am male, and there's a female kingdom partner out there for me!
https://web.archive.org/web/20220402091720/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/astral-projection/
Being born-again of the Spirit gave me insight, and I believed God was real.
God did it and it was a surprise:
John 1:12-13 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV)
It gave me insight:
Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
- The truth is God made them male and female, but handed erroneous, rebellious people over to their lust in impurity
Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 5:2 - Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.
Genesis 6:19 - And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female.
Joel 2:27-29 - You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (ESV)
Matthew 19:4 - He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, (ESV)
Mark 10:6 - But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. (ESV)
Romans 1:24-32 - Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (ESV)
43.12.12. We have to walk the straight and narrow to reign with Christ
II Timothy 2:11-13 - The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
44. Employment
44.1. Kingdom work is work
Jesus wants more kingdom labourers:
Matthew 9:37-38 - Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (ESV)
The Apostles prioritised themselves to focus on prayer and devotion to the ministry of the word over serving at tables, because it was more important for them to focus on the ministry of the word:
Acts 6:2-4 - Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Also Paul says he does indeed have the right to be a burden on others (because, I assume, they have given themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word), but rather he wants to be a good example for others to follow on how a Christian should work.
2 Thessalonians 3:8-10 - nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. (ESV)
45. Hearing the gospel progresses to abiding in Christ
I John 2:24 - Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
If what you heard from the beginning abides in you…
- hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
- Then there's letting the word abide in you
- Which leads to the following
- Then there's abiding in Jesus - believing and confessing Jesus
- Which leads to the following
- Then there's forever abiding in Jesus
- Not able to fall away
The word has to remain.
Mark 4:3-20 - Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. And he said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. And he said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
Good soil:
- Hears the word
- Accepts the word
- Bears fruit
The word is spoken to us and we must receive it and nurture it and produce fruit:
John 15:3-4 - Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
To bear fruit involves sacrificing this life for the advancement of the kingdom:
John 12:24-25 - Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
If your fruit abides then whatever you ask the Father in Jesus' name, He may give you:
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
God takes away fruitless branches:
John 15:2 - Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
We must be fruitful branches, abiding in Jesus:
John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
46. Abiding in Christ
John 3:36 - He who believes (G4100 pisteuo) in the Son (G5207 huios) has (G2192 echo) eternal (G166 aionios) life (G2222 zoe); but he who does not obey (G544 apeitheo) the Son (G5207 huios) will not see (G3708 horao) life (G2222 zoe), but the wrath (G3709 orge) of God (G2316 theos) abides (G3306 meno) on him.”
Abiding in Christ, one abides in God.
1 John 4:15 - Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (ESV)
Thomas going from unbelief to belief.
John 20:27-28 - Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, My Lord and my God!
Jesus helped Thomas believe by giving him a commandment to do. It's implied that Thomas obeyed and arrived at belief.
John 20:29-31 - Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
There's abiding in Christ, and then there is ABIDING FOREVER in Christ, and forever in God.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Ephesians 6:6 - not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
I John 2:6 - the one who says (G3004 lego) he abides (G3306 meno) in Him ought (G3784 opheilo) himself (G846 autos) to walk (G4043 peripateo) in the same (G3779 houto) manner (G3779 houto) as He walked (G4043 peripateo).
I believe that to abide forever in Christ, one must produce good fruit.
Matthew 3:8-10 - Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
I believe that producing good fruit is necessary for being saved:
- a heart that is turning away from sin
- believing the Gospel and obeying Jesus
46.1. When it says 'hate' here, it means 'unfollow'
Luke 14:26 - If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27 - Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33 - So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
Revelation of John 12:11 - And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (ESV)
46.2. The slave to sin doesn't abide forever. Repentance from sin is essential for eternal life
John 8:34-35 - Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
Like begets like:
- Like Father,
- like Son (Jesus).
- Like disciple of Jesus / adopted son
Matthew 5:44-45 - But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:48 - Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
I Peter 1:16 - because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Luke 10:6 - And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you.
46.3. Having the Spirit given to us and keeping Jesus' commandments
I John 3:24 - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
46.4. Eternal life is forever abiding
A person must do the will of God for that.
The will of God is that we have faith in God and faith in Jesus. The work/will of God is that we believe in Him whom He has sent - believing in Jesus - faithing in Jesus. The will of God is that we are bondservants of Christ from the heart. The will of God is that we repent from sin. The will of God is that we do good
Eternal salvation is given to those who obey Jesus:
Hebrews 5:8-10 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus' sheep follow Jesus:
John 10:27-30 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.
Accomplishing the will of God the Father is food:
John 4:34-38 - Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
II John 1:2 - because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
II John 1:9 - Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
Mark 3:35 - Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.
John 6:29-40 - Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
I Corinthians 5:11 - But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
Ephesians 6:6 - not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
I Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
I Peter 2:15 - For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (ESV)
I John 2:14-17 - I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
I John 2:17 - The world (G2889 kosmos) is passing (G3855 parago) away (G3855 parago), and also its lusts (G1939 epithumia); but the one who does (G4160 poieo) the will (G2307 thelema) of God (G2316 theos) lives (G3306 meno) forever (G165 aion).
1: : 3306 meno men'-o 2: 3: a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or 4: expectancy):--abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, 5: stand, tarry (for), X thine own.
46.5. Whoever truly believes / has faith in Jesus has eternal life
John 3:33 - Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
John 4:13-14 - Jesus said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
A spring which wells up to eternal life.
So a person believed and they embark on a relationship with God, leading to eternal life. It wells-up to eternal life. So if they receive the living water then they receive eternal life. When was eternal life received? When the person first truly believed, I guess.
Accomplishing the will of God the Father is food.
John 4:34-38 - Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
Discern the will of God.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Yes, believing in Jesus is obeying the gospel - but there is so much more to the gospel! Doing the will of God.
Romans 2:7-8 - to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
46.5.1. Every human being who does evil will receive tribulation and distress. God is fair.
Romans 2:9-11 - There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
46.5.2. Human beings were totally at the mercy of God. We needed Jesus to come. We still need Jesus
Romans 3:10-13 - as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips.
Psalms 53:1-3 - The fool says in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (ESV)
46.5.3. Atonement and sanctification, and eternal life in Jesus - righteousness apart from the works of the law
Romans 3:20 - For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
If followed flawlessly then the law justifies.
Jesus both followed the law flawlessly and fulfilled the law prophetically, and was convicted by sinners. Jesus is our atonement.
Hebrews 9:26 - for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (ESV)
1 Peter 3:18 - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, (ESV)
Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. (ESV)
Hebrews 9:22 - Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
John 1:29 - The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (ESV)
1 John 2:2 - He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (ESV)
In Jesus, there is no sin.
1 John 3:5 - You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (ESV)
Mark 10:45 - For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (ESV)
Isaiah 53:5 - But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (ESV)
Propitiation by Jesus' blood is to be received by faith.
Romans 3:25 - whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 15:3 - For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, (ESV)
God has enabled us to die to sin and live to righteousness.
1 Peter 2:24 - He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (ESV)
We are cleaned up by having faith in the truth. Having faith is a continuing process.
We must both believe the truth and be sanctified, and stop sinning:
II Thessalonians 2:11-14 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
46.6. Abiding in Christ through His name
- Maintaining actual belief in Jesus is the basic requirement which prevents you from being cut off, because the life is in His name.
- Believing on His name
- Trusts in Jesus
- He is your Saviour in reality - entrusted yourself to Him
- Trusts in Jesus
- Believing on His name
Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Believe in, believe with. Trust in.
Having life in Jesus Christ's name by believing and trusting in Jesus Christ - Absolutely. And with obedience to Jesus, He has promised eternal life.
Matthew 16:16 - Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
John 20:31 - but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (ESV)
Exodus 23:21 - Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don't provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
God's name was in the angel:
Exodus 23:20-22 - Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
Believing is just the starting point. This is honestly just the starting point. Obedience is expected. Also, Jesus is forgiving, unlike the angel.
Continuing to trust in Jesus as the Messiah, your Saviour, and the Only-begotten Son of God through patient endurance is enough to get saved, I think, but it's not enough to be counted a 'disciple' of Jesus.
And it's 'saved' but 'being saved' at the same time.
One wants to progress from 'believing that' to having Jesus abide inside them.
I think that rejects His commandments but claiming to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God is an extremely precarious, and tentative position to be in, and may indicate that the person doesn't really believe.
And if a person doesn't believe in reality, then that person probably isn't saved - so they are only lying to themself that they are saved.
However, if a person trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
Trusting Him means having faith in Him, obeying. Ungodly here means wicked.
Romans 4:5 - And to the one who does not work but trusts (G4100 pisteuo) him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
This qualifies:
Luke 18:13 - But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! (ESV)
46.7. Jesus abiding in you / me
It quickly progresses to obeying Jesus, receiving the Spirit.
I John 3:24 - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
46.8. Loving God and loving Jesus and loving others and abiding in His love
I John 5:2 - By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
I John 5:3-4 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
II John 1:6 - And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
46.9. Saint - an imitator of Jesus - keeps the commandments of God AND has faith in Jesus
John 15:10 - If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
Ephesians 1:1 - Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
Revelation of John 12:17 - Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
Revelation of John 14:12 - Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Psalms 97:10 - O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
46.10. Followers of Jesus - the saints (people who keep God's commandments) judge the world
Matthew 19:16-30 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Then Peter said in reply, See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? Jesus said to them, Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
I Corinthians 6:2 - Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?
46.11. Saints inherit the Kingdom with Jesus
Daniel 7:18 - But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever. (ESV)
Revelation 2:26-28 - The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. (ESV)
46.12. Following Jesus
Luke 6:46-49 - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. (ESV)
OBEDIENCE!
46.12.1. You cannot serve God, and also be yoked to money
Priorities:
- 1. Jesus
- 2-∞. Everything else
Matthew 6:24 - No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (ESV)
You cannot follow money. You have to drop money in order to follow Jesus!
OBEDIENCE!
Seven Reasons We Must Pursue Supreme Satisfaction in God - YouTube
We must get on the path:
II Corinthians 1:20 - For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)
Hebrews 5:8-10 - Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
We must be yoked to Jesus Christ alone. How? By following His commandments in reality. If you're not yoked to Jesus then you're susceptible to being yoked to anything else.
You cannot serve God and cryptocurrency. With money, and with cryptocurrency, you are making a black and white choice between God and money.
Matthew 8:22 - And Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead. (ESV)
Acts 8:18-21 - Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
This widow gave in faith, because she believes God will take care of her even if she gives everything (that's the mindset of faith):
Mark 12:41-44 - And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. (ESV)
Following Jesus doesn't mean not providing for family. In fact, following Jesus does mean providing for family. So when you read Jesus' commandments and someone asks you for help, you give them what they need, without stealing though. If the money is for taking care of family, we must keep that. But our neighbour who we must love are more than just our immediate family. We are commanded by the Apostle Paul to provide for our family:
I Timothy 5:8 - But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (ESV)
Following Jesus comes first, even before following your family. To even love your family best is to put Jesus first. It's for their sake too:
Matthew 10:36-39 - And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)
Mark 8:34 - And he called to him the crowd with his disciples and said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (ESV)
It's black and white - we must be yoked to Jesus:
Mark 10:21 - And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (ESV)
The thoughts that go through our minds must not be:
- How can I secure my life here on earth with enough crypto to be taken care of so I don't have to worry - that type of thinking is emnity against God. That's making money #1 and Jesus after that.
James 4:4 - You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (ESV)
John 12:25 - Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (ESV)
The thoughts that go through our minds must be:
- How can I help other people / where can I sow money to help other people.
Luke 9:23 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (ESV)
Luke 9:59-62 - To another he said, Follow me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and bury my father. And Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. Yet another said, I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home. Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Luke 18:22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (ESV)
You can't follow Jesus Christ's instructions in faith while asking OpenAI if it's OK. You can not be led by God and be led by an AI such as ChatGPT.
Matthew 8:22 - And Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead. (ESV)
We have the Word of God. We can also walk in Jesus' commandments. We've got to be yoked to Jesus Christ.
God can speak to us directly without internet, even through His Spirit, even in a dream.
46.12.2. Make friends with charity while money hasn't yet failed
Money is temporary. While it's in your hands, make friends with it, by giving in charity to those in need.
Money will fail - bitcoin will fail, ethereum will fail, and when it fails people will see you as a friend.
Luke 16:1-8 - He also said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager. And the manager said to himself, What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, How much do you owe my master? He said, A hundred measures of oil. He said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures of wheat. He said to him, Take your bill, and write eighty. The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. (ESV)
Luke 16:8-9 - And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (ESV)
46.12.3. In this world God can see if we are to be trusted with true heavenly wealth by seeing how we used our money
Luke 16:11-12 - If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
I Timothy 6:9-10 - But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV)
46.12.4. We must actually make following Jesus a reality to take hold of the eternal life to which we are called
We make the confession, but we must then take hold of it.
I Timothy 6:11-12 - But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. (ESV)
46.13. Be humble in this world and serve others of humble circumstances while in this world
James 1:9-11 - But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. (NASB)
Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
John 12:25 - Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:26 - If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (ESV)
Matthew 25:35-40 - For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
46.13.1. Jesus' friends are those who actually do what Jesus says
John 15:14-15 - You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
46.14. Entering the kingdom of heaven
It's possible while here on earth:
Luke 9:27 - But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.
Following the commandments properly from the heart is a good thing to do.
I Kings 11:38 - And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
Jesus has to be your Lord in reality, i.e. doing Father God's will.
Matthew 7:21 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV)
I Peter 2:15 - For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
Obey the word:
I Peter 2:8 - and A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
Jesus is the cornerstone. We must believe in Christ Jesus and obey His words, and let his words abide in us and continue in them.
46.15. Knowing Jesus
To know Jesus and Father God, then you must follow His commandments, and they must not be a burden on us, but we follow them with the faith of Abraham.
I John 2:3 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
I John 5:3-4 - For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
Getting to know Jesus will come to result in you too abiding in the Son and in the Father.
I John 2:24 - Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
I John 3:24 - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
My intuition says that walking as Jesus walked and obeying His commandments and believing in the truth produces in us an empathy for Jesus.
- empathy
- understanding and entering into another's feelings
We can know in part what Jesus experienced by walking in the truth as he walked.
However, I believe keeping Jesus' word and obeying Jesus also leads to communion with Him and with Father God in the Spirit:
- communion
- sharing thoughts and feelings
John 14:22-23 - Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world? Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
46.15.1. Anyone who doesn't abide will be thrown away like a branch and withers. Eventually they will be into the fire (Hell, I assume)
John 15:6 - If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
46.16. His name: Jesus Christ, the Son of God
Acts 3:16 - And his name-by faith in his name-has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.??
Hebrews 1:1-4 - Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. (ESV)
Philippians 2:9-11 - Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)
John 17:11-12 - And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (ESV)
46.17. Securely abiding in Jesus, abiding in Jesus Christ's love
- Loving Jesus and abiding in His love involves keeping His commandments
- Love one another as He loved us - the same way, selflessly, forgivingly, mercifully, compassionately
- Love God faithfully
- An indicator is that the world hates you
- Keeping all of Jesus' words, keeping His commandments
- Ask whatever you wish
- Bear fruit
- Forgiving others, loving others (charity, etc.)
- Bringing others to Christ
- Prove to be a disciple of Jesus
46.17.1. Abiding forever vs abiding - there's a difference
Psalms 125:1 - Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
I John 2:17 - And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
46.18. The fruit (work) of disciples of Jesus then abides
John 15:2 - Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
John 15:5 - I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:8 - By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
46.19. Secure rewards and a guarantee of eternal life for Jesus' disciples
Matthew 19:29 - And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. (ESV)
Luke 14:26-28 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
John 12:25 - Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (ESV)
Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (ESV)
46.19.1. Eternal life is receiving an eternal name, I think
Isaiah 56:5 - I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. (ESV)
Receiving an eternal name.
Becoming a part of the Truth. Full union with God.
46.20. The work of God, believing in Jesus
John 6:29-40 - Jesus answered them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So they said to him, Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus then said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. They said to him, Sir, give us this bread always. Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Jesus doesn't cast people out.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
I think that salvation is a totally free gift and the baseline salvation is trusting in Jesus, because of His finished work done on the cross. But the people that oppose obeying the full gospel of Jesus saying that works oppose grace are very deluded.
But salvation is a gift and God is sovereign to save. That's why it's grace. Saved by grace through faith.
I think a person needs some faith to be saved, and faith works.
Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
46.21. God the Father can graft people in and out of Christ
A person would have to reject Jesus to be grafted out, I think.
We must be perpetually approaching Jesus:
John 6:37 - All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (ESV)
So most importantly, believe in Jesus, and that he has paid the price for your sin with His blood, and continue in relationship with Jesus.
Have in your heart faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour:
Hebrews 3:12 - Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
Bear fruit for Jesus (be obedient):
John 15:2 - Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (ESV)
Those who do not abide in Jesus are grafted out:
John 15:6 - If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. (ESV)
Yet they can be grafted back in:
Romans 11:23 - And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
The relationship is essential! So take stopping sin seriously, and keep Jesus' words and His commandments, and also bearing fruit for Jesus.
Revelation of John 3:2-3 - Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
John 15:1-14 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Romans 11:15-32 - For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob; and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
Matthew 12:33-37 - Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. (ESV)
Rebellion = disobedience.
1 Samuel 15:23 - For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king. (ESV)
Ephesians 5:6 - Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (ESV)
46.22. The law of Christ
We are still under a 'law of faith', but we are not under the Mosaic law.
We are under the law of Christ which is a law of faith.
But the Mosaic law still exists.
I Corinthians 9:21 - To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.
Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I John 3:4-11 - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
46.23. Sharing Jesus' holiness / personal righteousness (fruit of righteousness) - coming after faith in Jesus
46.23.1. The yoke of the Lord Jesus
Yes, there is an amount of following Jesus.
"resisted to the point of shedding your blood."
Hebrews 12:1-11 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
If a person is obedient and doing the will of God then God can use that person's human will and exertion. Jesus was faithful to God. Jesus was obedient to God.
I'm reluctant to use external sources outside of the Bible, but this is also described in the Didache.
The Didache's estimated range of dating is 50-120 A.D, according to earlychristianwritings.com.
Didache Chapter 6 - See that no one causes you to err from this way of the Teaching, since apart from God it teaches you. For if you are able to bear the entire yoke of the Lord, you will be perfect; but if you are not able to do this, do what you are able.
Matthew 5:47-48 - And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Of course, I believe God doesn't send all His servants to be martyred, but probably uses what amount a person is willing to bear for the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 19:21 - Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
Matthew 11:29-30 - Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
46.24. Personal holiness
Everyone who names the name of the Lord must depart from iniquity:
II Timothy 2:19-22 - But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Following Jesus means obeying Jesus:
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 9:5 - As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Jesus instructed his his disciples to be holy:
Matthew 5:14-20 - You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I believe following Jesus includes exercising personal righteousness/holiness.
I believe that God's grace extends to all who put their faith in Jesus and have Jesus' righteousness imputed onto them, the righteousness of faith in Jesus Christ God's Son who has paid through his blood the price for our sin.
Imputed righteousness is important, but we need also personal holiness.
We must live in holiness. This is practical holiness, the opposite of impurity.
Hebrews 12:14 - Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
- antinomianism is a heresy.
I believe one must know that God's law is right and when presented with God's law, they recognise that the law is right and recognise their transgression, and continue towards sanctification, putting off the old, sinful self.
Hebrews 12:14,15 - Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; (ESV)
I Thessalonians 3:13 - so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
I consider practicing homosexuality to be erroneous and sinful, and God's original design to be correct.
Matthew 19:4-12 - He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to him, Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away? He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. The disciples said to him, If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry. But he said to them, Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.
And no-one should endorse sinful things. Homosexuality is erroneous. If they do, however, endorse it then I think that inhibits them from approaching God.
46.25. Belief comes before or at the time of receiving the Holy Spirit (receiving the Holy Spirit comes at the time of or after believing)
I believe that the Holy Spirit goes to those who obey God. I believe belief in Jesus comes first.
Acts 2:38 - And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
John 14:15-17 - If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (ESV)
Belief in Jesus comes first but receiving the Holy Spirit and baptism may happen in any order after that.
I think this is generally the order of things.
46.26. God is sovereign to reveal Himself, sovereign to save and sovereign to destroy
Romans 10:20 - Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me. (ESV)
Matthew 10:28 - And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
46.27. Just saying a creed doesn't guarantee that a person is saved (I think)
God chooses who is saved, and how they are saved. God justifies.
I Timothy 6:11-16 - But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Confessing and holding to a creed is working faith though.
Hebrews 4:14 - Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 3:1 - Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
Hebrews 10:23 - Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
II Corinthians 9:13 - By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
Jesus sees here that though they have little power, they kept His word and did not deny His name.
God justifies.
Revelation of John 3:8 - I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
46.28. It's the obedient who are justified, not the hearers
God keeps us from stumbling along the way:
Jude 1:24-25 - Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
I Peter 2:25 - For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Fulfilling the requirement of the law is required of us by God. God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Romans 2:13-16 - For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
46.28.1. These people performed dead works, and never obeyed Jesus
Matthew 7:21-27 - Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
To get to know Jesus, follow His commandments - be obedient to Jesus.
46.29. Outside of the Holy Spirit, noone can say Jesus is Lord
1 Corinthians 12:3 - Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says Jesus is accursed! and no one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. (ESV)
46.30. Works accompany the true believers
Mark 16:16-17 - Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; (ESV)
46.31. Those that reject the gospel are not the same as those who haven't heard the gospel
Mark 6:11 - And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.
46.31.1. The following applies to believing Jesus, not to believing that a disciple of Jesus is Jesus
John 8:24 - I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins. (ESV)
A disciple of Jesus isn't Jesus, but a disciple.
- There's more chances to accept Jesus after hearing the gospel and initially rejecting or being unsure
John 4:36-38 - Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
John 4:34-38 - Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
46.31.2. If someone receives the one who Jesus sends, they receive Jesus
John 13:20 - Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Matthew 10:40 - "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Mark 9:37 - "Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me."
46.31.3. People always have the choice to believe the gospel
Romans 11:23 - And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
Matthew 21:32 - For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him. (ESV)
Joel 2:12-13 - Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster . (ESV)
46.31.4. I lean towards this interpretation
- People who hear the gospel and ultimately reject it / reject Jesus / choose to not put their trust in Jesus are condemned.
- There's more chances to accept Jesus after hearing the gospel and initially rejecting or being unsure
- Rejecting Jesus in front of others is not good because it's a testimony against them
- Acknowledging Jesus in front of others is very good
John 3:19 - This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (ESV)
Luke 19:10 - For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
46.31.5. Rejecting Jesus in front of others is not good
Luke 9:26 - For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
I John 2:23 - No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
I John 4:15 - Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
Matthew 10:32 - So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
Matthew 10:33 - but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Luke 12:8 - And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God,
46.31.6. It's really important to not reject Jesus through
John 8:12 - Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 8:21-24 - So he said to them again, I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said, Will he kill himself, since he says, Where I am going, you cannot come? He said to them, You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
I Peter 3:18-21 - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
If this verse suggests that Jesus went to the spirits in prison who had in the days of Noah disobeyed, then we should definitely obey the gospel while we're alive today.
46.32. I believe that repentance is important in faith and faithfulness to God
Acts 2:38 - And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)
Joel 2:12-13 - Yet even now, declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (ESV)
And repentance has the fruit of in your heart truly deciding to tell the truth, not commit adultery, etc. - being accountable to God, knowing that He sees.
Matthew 3:8 - Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. (ESV)
This is following the law by faith, I think; Truly loving God and one's neighbour.
There are a lot of 'do nots' in the law but the most important thing is the 2 'do' commandments. The 'do nots' are to stop people from doing bad things, but the 2 Greatest commandments command us to love God and our neighbour.
Matthew 22:37-40 - And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.
Colossians 3:4-9 - When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Lots of people say these days that trying to follow the law is self-righteousness and I don't really agree with that because to follow the law in faith is OK. But to be 'under' the law is put oneself under a curse.
46.33. Celebrating/endorsing sin / error is not right
If a newly born-again Christian is spending all their time with sinners though and endorsing continually instead of being discipled, then they can have their mind conformed to the sinners instead of being strengthened in the truth. This is why I think it's not especially great to, immediately after getting born-again, be overly exposed to unbelievers and sinners.
Jesus ate with sinners but Jesus was the special guest. Think of Nicodemus inviting Jesus over.
46.34. Faith has substance to it, and an amount to it, usually drawn out over time
Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (KJV)
For me, I was acting in faith ever since I was born-again, resulting in a huge chain of events and confirmations!
46.35. Faith believes God and hopes in invisible things, and is convicted of them
But at the end of the day, justification by faith in Jesus justifies the ungodly sinner - but it is faith that God justifies and not faithlessness. It's the type of belief that recognises one's sin, and results in love for Jesus, and it's obedient and submissive to God - it's repentant.
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (ESV)
Where we are unfaithful, though, God is faithful. God wants us to choose Him. He wants us to repent.
46.36. Jesus' words never pass away. The law could only pass away after heaven and earth passes away
Psalms 119:160 - The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)
Matthew 11:25 - At that time Jesus declared, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Mark 13:31 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Luke 10:21 - In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
Luke 16:17 - But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
Matthew 5:14-20 - You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
Luke 21:33 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
46.37. Structure of the Kingdom
When applying the law, justice and mercy and faithfulness are the weightier matters of the law. However, the remainder of the law is not supposed to be neglected either:
Matthew 23:23-25 - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
The law still exists. A thought I have : "Perhaps structure of God's kingdom might be determined by the law and Jesus' words."
Psalms 119:160 - The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. (ESV)
Heaven is God's throne and its foundation is righteousness and justice.
Psalms 97:2 - Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Psalms 89:14 - Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. (ESV)
Acts 7:49 - 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?' says the Lord, 'Or what place is there for My repose?
The universe is upheld by the word of Jesus' power.
Hebrews 1:3 - He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (ESV)
Revelation of John 20:4 - Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
46.37.1. Great or small in the kingdom of God
- The least will be greatest
Luke 9:48 - and said to them, Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great. (ESV)
- Your servant will be greater
Mark 9:35 - And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all. (ESV)
Mark 10:43 - But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, (ESV)
- The humble and obedient will be called great
Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Those who annul and teach others to break the law will be called least in the kingdom.
- It's prideful to say that God is wrong, Jesus behaved badly and that the Law is wrong
- It refuses to acknowledge sin
Those who keep God's commandments and AND the righteousness of faith / the testimony of Jesus will be called great in the kingdom.
- This is humility to keep God's commandments by faith (and not works)
There is a self-righteous way of trying to keep the law, and there is a humble way.
- The self-righteous way
- Pursues the law as if by works
- Observes the law in detail but doesn't follow even the basics from the heart and in truth, or in faith.
- Doesn't maintain being honest and faithful to God.
- Doesn't maintain loving one's neighbour in truth and reality.
- Lacks mercy.
- Often criticizes others but with hypocrisy, not seeing they break the law while they accuse.
- Often makes the mistake of condemning the innocent.
- Often makes the mistake of being without mercy, or love.
- The humble way, with faith
- Is accountable to God - it's not lying to God.
- No deceit.
- It's acknowledging that God is right, and His law is right.
- It's loving God, and loving one's neighbour.
- It's compatible with being led by the Spirit, not opposed
Matthew 7:3-5 - Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (ESV)
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We must be doing the will of God to not be under the law:
Psalms 143:10 - Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (ESV)
- It's prideful to say that God is wrong, Jesus behaved badly and that the Law is wrong
46.37.2. God's kingdom is from Heaven to Earth
Genesis 14:19 - And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
Isaiah 66:1 - Thus says the Lord, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest???
Jeremiah 23:24 - "Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?" declares the Lord. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the Lord.??
Acts 7:49 - 'Heaven is My throne, And earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?' says the Lord, 'Or what place is there for My repose???
Matthew 11:25 - At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Luke 10:21 - At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
Revelation of John 14:7 - And he said with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.
Acts 17:24 - The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;
- Jesus inherits the entire Kingdom
Hebrews 1:2 - in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
I Corinthians 15:25 - For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
I Corinthians 15:27 - For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.
Ephesians 1:22 - And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
Hebrews 2:8 - You have put all things in subjection under his feet." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.
Hebrews 10:13 - waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
- Jesus' sheep/followers/saints inherit the Kingdom with Jesus. Jesus' sheep follow Jesus
Matthew 24:45-47 - Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. (ESV)
Luke 12:32 - Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
John 10:27 - My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Luke 9:23 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Luke 18:22 - When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.
John 12:26 - If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
John 21:22 - Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!
1 Corinthians 6:9-20 - Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food-and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, The two will become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)
Zechariah 8:23 - Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.
Revelation of John 2:26 - The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
- Followers of Jesus become fishers of men
Mark 1:17 - And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.
- One must be born-again to enter in and inherit the Kingdom of God
John 3:3 - Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 - Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
I Corinthians 15:50d - I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
46.38. There is no sexual immorality in Heaven, no violence, no sinners.
Heaven is not Earth. It's a place without sinning.
But the Kingdom of God exists from Heaven to Earth.
II Peter 3:13-14 - But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
Revelation 21:22-27 - And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. (ESV)
Isaiah 11:6 - The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. (ESV)
Matthew 22:30 - For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
46.39. Adhering to the law like a Pharisee - pursuing the law by works
But adhering to the law like a Pharisee is like strapping yourself to a razor blade, but that doesn't mean the law is wrong.
Romans 3:20 - For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
46.40. Follow the law mercifully and without self-righteousness, accountable to God, being a servant to others
So as to not become a hypocrite or condemn the innocent. Accountable to God - a relationship with God. Without self-righteousness.
Acts 23:3 - Then Paul said to him, God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?
Matthew 12:3-8 - He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.
The greatest among you will be your servant. Keeping the commandments by faith results in a person a who is a servant, serving others.
Luke 22:26 - But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.
Matthew 5:19 - Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Not the best example, but, for example, when someone says you owe them money, and you can see they are blind, it's paying them because you're the one submitting to God. It's humbling yourself even to others and following God's commandments in truth and reality, with a real faith relationship with God. It's serving others as Jesus has served us. It's keeping accountable to God and maintaining faithfulness to God, not keeping others accountable to you.
This isn't self-righteousness, but is a self-sacrificial obedience to continue working as a bond-servant of Christ, being the light of the world.
Philippians 2:14-16 - Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
46.41. All the law is still used
We're not under / condemned by the Mosaic law but we still don't encourage the breaking of the Mosaic law.
The law is good and it still exists, and God still uses the law. All of it. We are supposed to stand for truth and live righteously as the light of the world.
If a person rejects this because they don't like law then they are lying to themself because Jesus teaches that not a jot will pass away:
John 12:48 - The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
Heaven and earth is still around, so therefore the law still exists, but those who are doing the will of God and being led by God's spirit, following Jesus are not under it nor condemned by it - that is a conditional promise:
Luke 16:17 - But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
We all fall short of the glory of God and require the God's righteousness imputed to us through faith in Jesus, but having the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus is not license to sin.
Jesus Christ is the end of the law to all who believe, but grace isn't an excuse to sin.
God's commandments (especially the 10 Commandments; loving God and your neighbour) are still binding on us - written on our heart when we get born-again.
Right after I got born-again I wrote about the 10 commandments being written on my heart, and I believe it was the Holy Spirit inspiring me.
46.41.1. Even the smallest of laws still come into effect in certain circumstances
Leviticus 19:27 - You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. (ESV)
For example, if Jesus sends you as an ambassador to some pagans and they asked you to shave your head in this specific way, or eat food sacrificed to idols.
James 4:17 - So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (ESV)
Romans 14:23 - But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (ESV)
Therefore, a person should do what is out of love and faith for the LORD, based on their knowledge of the law, their faithfulness to God and their conviction.
46.42. Justification by faith - Jews + Gentiles, and in-between
Paul preached the same gospel as Jesus, Peter and John, but some people think Paul's gospel is different - but that is because they have been deceived by the two-gospel heresy:
To be raised up as a child of Abraham, bear fruit in keeping with repentance:
Luke 3:8 - Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
To be justified, a person must walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised, I believe with having faith in Jesus Christ:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
How do we become sons of Abraham:
I do believe that trusting inevitably bears fruit. Also Abraham obeyed God's commandments - that's all tied up inside the faith which Abraham had towards God. We must have faith in God, too, but with respect to having faith in Jesus Christ, following Jesus Christ.
It is because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished through His obedience to God, His death and resurrection, that having faith in Him is effective. Everyone in Christ has Him as their High Priest.
We must be a child of Abraham. The blessing comes through being counted as sons of Abraham.
Romans 9:7-8 - and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but Through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. (ESV)
Genesis 17:4 - Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. (ESV)
The sign of circumcision was a seal of righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised This righteousness by faith was not based on lawkeeping. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised so righteousness can be counted to them as well.
Romans 4:11-12 - He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. (ESV)
The promises go to Christ:
Galatians 3:16 - Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, And to your offspring, who is Christ. (ESV)
If you belong to Christ by faith then you are one in spirit with Christ and Abraham's offspring, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29 - And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. (ESV)
Jesus Christ's blood is the atonement for our sin.
We should also become obedient to Him - we must have faith in Jesus.
John 8:39 - They answered him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did,
One of the blessings is that we are counted as righteous before God, because we have faith in Jesus, loving Jesus.
Another promise is that we would be an heir of the world. We belong to the Messiah. In the Messiah, God can make promises such as this to His chosen people:
Romans 4:13 - For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. (ESV)
Another promise is that in Christ (in union with Christ), the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we together Jew, and Gentile, might receive the promised Spirit (God's Spirit) through faith:
Galatians 3:13-14 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
God can raise up children from anyone who has repentance and may grant being a child of Abraham to anyone who walks in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Luke 3:3-8 - And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Galatians 3:13-14 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
John the Baptist even taught people to love one another:
Luke 3:11-15 - And he answered them, Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, Teacher, what shall we do? And he said to them, Collect no more than you are authorized to do. Soldiers also asked him, And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages. As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,
And I assume that repentance and loving one's neighbour are good precursors to being baptised by Jesus with the Holy Spirit and fire:
Luke 3:16 - John answered them all, saying, I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Justification by faith is the correct teaching but the promise is for the gentiles AND the adherent of the law but they all must have faith, and pursuing the law as if by works is the problem, but pursuing the law by faith is ok.
I believe in-between is OK, so long as it is by faith.
Romans 7:22 - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, (ESV)
It's possible for Gentiles to keep Jewish commandments if they want (I think it's honorable) - but we are justified by faith in Jesus, not by being under the law:
Romans 2:25-29 - For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
It's possible to keep commandments by faith:
Romans 9:30-32 - What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, (ESV)
Romans 4:15-16 - For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring-not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (ESV)
Matthew 5:17-25 - Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, You fool! will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. (ESV)
46.43. Theoretically belief usually comes before or at the time receiving the Holy Spirit
But for me I believe before I was born-again and before I was baptised in the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:1-7 - And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into what then were you baptized? They said, Into John's baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. (ESV)
47. Receive through the hearing of the word and faith
Galatians 3:2 - Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? (ESV)
Not just by hearing but by hearing with faith.
47.1. Faith requires obedience
Acts 5:32 - And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. (ESV)
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
47.2. The promised Spirit is received through faith
Galatians 3:14 - so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. (ESV)
Matthew 19:16-26 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
I was born-again on 2 April 2022. On 1 April 2022 (one day before) I was wearing a pendant which on one side I had written 1023 which is decimal for the binary 1111111111 - which are ten ones. I was trying hard to follow the ten commandments from the heart, like Jesus teaches. I was doing this to seek Jesus. Then I was born-again. What a mystery.
Since then I've been trying to follow Jesus' commandments to get to know Him out of love for God, and because He has commanded His disciples to be fruitful for Him, and to abide in Him.
I had my belief in Jesus Christ and I had taken small steps of faith in remaining loyal to Jesus.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 - And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (ESV)
The following links obeying the commandments it to Jesus:
I Kings 11:38 - And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
II Timothy 2:8 - Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel,
47.2.1. Everlasting covenant
Genesis 17:19 - God said, No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.
An indicator of the ones who are saved is that they have the fear of God in their hearts.
Jeremiah 32:40 - I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (ESV)
An indicator of the ones who are saved is that they have remorse for their past sin.
Ezekiel 16:58-63 - You bear the penalty of your lewdness and your abominations, declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord God: I will deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant, yet I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish for you an everlasting covenant. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you take your sisters, both your elder and your younger, and I give them to you as daughters, but not on account of the covenant with you. I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.
Hebrews 8:10-13 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
God gives the Spirit to help keep the commandments. When she says the gospel is loving your neighbour, she is actually speaking part of the gospel. In the way that the man on the cross next to Jesus also spoke part of the full gospel message. They deserve the punishment but Jesus has done no wrong.
Hosea 2:19-20 - And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (ESV)
47.2.2. 2 years before being born again of the Spirit - prayer - proving belief came before being born-again
https://web.archive.org/web/20220402091720/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/prayer/
Not that I have to prove it though!
47.2.3. Over easter
The old covenant is growing old and ready to vanish, but the New Covenant still involves the commandments but they are written on our heart. We follow them in faith.
- Being born-again
https://web.archive.org/web/20220402091720/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/astral-projection/
As interesting as what happened to me is, regarding a light body, I believe more important is objectively walking in the light of the truth.
John 1:9-11 - The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. (ESV)
John 12:36 - While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
- Meeting with the Holy Spirit
https://web.archive.org/web/20220402091720/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/astral-projection-pt-2/
I Timothy 6:20 - O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”–
II Timothy 1:14 - Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
- I wrote about following the law by faith, also law written on my heart.
https://web.archive.org/web/20220703044748/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/the-tapestry-of-truth/
Hebrews 8:10-13 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
- Baptised in the Holy Spirit
https://web.archive.org/web/20220806085237/https://mullikine.github.io/posts/astral-projection-pt-3/
Betrothed to God:
Hosea 2:19-20 - And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. (ESV)
AMEN!!
Hosea 2:21-23 - And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, You are my people; and he shall say, You are my God.
AMEN!!
II Corinthians 11:2 - I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. (ESV)
47.3. Later in the year
John 15:26 - “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, (ESV)
47.4. New covenant
Hebrews 8:10-13 - For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
Covenants require faithfulness between both parties, but we are able to move on from dead works and focus more on faith towards God, and serving God now.
Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (ESV)
Hebrews 9:14 - how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (ESV)
Hebrews 9:11-15 - But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (ESV)
Hebrews 9:18-20 - Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you. (ESV)
Mark 14:22-25 - And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, Take; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. (ESV)
Luke 22:15-20 - And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (ESV)
John 6:46-51 - Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.” (ESV)
John 6:52 - Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
John 6:53-56 - So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (ESV)
John 6:57-58 - As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 6:59-60 - These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
John 6:61-62 - But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
John 6:63-65 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
47.5. Born of God
When a person is born-again of the Spirit, they receive the Spirit which helps them to stop sinning and it's really important to do so.
1 Peter 1:23 - since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (ESV)
1 John 5:18 - We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. (ESV)
Ezekiel 11:19-20 - And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. (ESV)
Jeremiah 32:40 - I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (ESV)
I John 3:9 - No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.
But I would much like my dream life to be like the following:
John 5:19 - So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
Whoever loves in the way Jesus loved us and the way Jesus commanded us has been born of God and knows God.
I John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who truly believes.
We must receive Jesus' words, walk in them and come to know in truth (we must truly know) that Jesus came from God.
John 17:8 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
Therefore, we should obey Jesus and arrive at the truth. Obedience is a part of faith. Like Abraham obeying God, or like Israel crossing through the Red Sea, it's obedience which leads to sure belief. And the obedience doesn't end.
John 8:31-32 - So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (NASB)
I John 5:1 - Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
I John 5:4 - For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.
I John 5:18 - We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
I feel like stopping sin is very important after being born again.
John 5:14 - Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.
47.6. Justification by faith for the both adherents of the law and the gentiles
Justification by faith is the correct teaching but the promise is for the gentiles AND the adherent of the law but they all must have faith, and pursuing the law as if by works is the problem, but pursuing the law by faith is ok.
Romans 7:22 - For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, (ESV)
Romans 9:30-32 - What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, (ESV)
Romans 4:15-16 - For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring-not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (ESV)
47.7. Paul used the law to judge back, but without hypocrisy
Matthew 23:27 - Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
Acts 23:3 - Then Paul said to him, God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?
47.8. Justified by God through faith [and works done in faith?]
All of these, for example, I believe belong under the umbrella of faith, not works:
- Taking communion is not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
- Getting baptised is not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
- Obeying Jesus Christ's commandments are not 'dead works'. It's obedience.
God will be the judge of who has had faith in Jesus, and who has obeyed Him.
47.8.1. God is the one who justifies
Romans 8:33 - Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Romans 8:30 - And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (ESV)
But repentance is a work of the heart which is an act of faith. I believe repentance is inseparable from faith because intrinsic to faith is belief and intrinsic to belief is metanoia (changing one's mind).
At it's most basic form repentance means a person believes in Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah who, being innocent, paid the price for their sin through His broken body and shed blood on the cross - a perfect and eternal offering; that He died there but God resurrected Him, and He is Lord of Heaven and Earth, and has a heart of obedience to the will of God, wanting to do the will of God, which involves their sanctification. We must honour Jesus.
But I believe we are forgiven to forgive others. That must be part of the act of faith and the change of heart, I think.
Matthew 6:15 - but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (ESV)
47.8.2. Justified by faith alone. But faith is substantiated by works
James 2:10 - For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
I tend to agree with James on this. Eliminating works from faith is not good.
Works:
- obedience
- faithfulness
- keeping God's commandments
- trust
- fear of God
- response of love
- thankfulness
- praise
- forgiving others
- humility
- keeping God's commandments
- patient endurance (time)
If a person believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God then they abide in Christ. But do they really believe? Because if they don't really believe it deep down then but are lying to themself they may not abide in Christ at all. How can a person believe without having a relationship with God? A relationship involves more than belief.
If a person does not have obedience, trust and repentance from sin, but their faith has belief, then they only abide in Jesus extremely precariously, and also that person's 'faith' probably wont receive much at all from God.
1: Faith-in-God = Hope-from/in-God * Work/Love 2: 3: Hope-from/in-God = Belief(believing God) * Truth(God's word is truth) 4: 5: Work/Love = Obedience * Faithfulness * Fear-of-God * Response-of-love-to-Jesus * Patient-Endurance(time) 6: 7: Obedience = Submitting to the Righteousness of God * Turning from sin, loving, showing mercy, etc. 8: 9: Fear-of-God = e.g. The poor in spirit recognise their need of God's mercy and tremble at His Word: "beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" 10: 11: Response-of-love-to-Jesus = e.g. praise, thankfulness, obeying His commandments 12: 13: Love is proportional-to the baggage which has been forgiven 14: Love ∝ forgiven-baggage 15: 16: Obedience ∝ Love 17: 18: F = H * L 19: 20: Faith-in-God when tested by God is found to be true Faith in God. 21: Faith-in-God must submit to the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, 22: Jesus Christ having paid the price of sin, enabling a relationship with God.
These things are factors of faith.
Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (ESV)
God is the judge.
A person must/should do what Jesus said.
Luke 6:47-49 - Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.
Matthew 7:24-27 - Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (ESV)
1: : 4102 pistis pis'-tis 2: 3: from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious 4: truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially 5: reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such 6: profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth 7: itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. 8: see GREEK for 3982
Galatians 2:15 - "We are Jews (G2453 Ioudaios) by nature (G5449 phusis) and not sinners (G268 hamartolos) from among (G1537 ek) the Gentiles (G1484 ethnos);
Justified through (G1223 dia) faith (G4102 pistis) in Christ.
Galatians 2:16 - nevertheless (G1161 de) knowing (G3609 oikeios) that a man (G444 anthropos) is not justified (G1344 dikaioo) by the works (G2041 ergon) of the Law (G3551 nomos) but through (G1223 dia) faith (G4102 pistis) in Christ (G5547 Christos) Jesus (G2424 Iesous), even (G2532 kai) we have believed (G4100 pisteuo) in Christ (G5547 Christos) Jesus (G2424 Iesous), so (G2443 hina) that we may be justified (G1344 dikaioo) by faith (G4102 pistis) in Christ (G5547 Christos) and not by the works (G2041 ergon) of the Law (G3551 nomos); since (G3754 hoti) by the works (G2041 ergon) of the Law (G3551 nomos) no (G3756 ou) (G3956 pas) flesh (G4561 sarx) will be justified (G1344 dikaioo).
Justified through (G1223 dia) faith (G4102 pistis) in Christ (G5547 Christos) Jesus (G2424 Iesous). Pistis is a strong word for faith that doesn't merely encapsulate belief, but it includes trust.
The greeks can turn the noun faith into the verb believing faith (G4100 pisteuo). It's not the noun 'believe' as the root of the verb faith
we have believed (G4100 pisteuo) in Christ means we have 'faithed' in Christ.
The 'believing faith' verb pisteuo has a root of faith (pistis).
Faith is a relationship with God. Before Abraham believed God, he obeyed God. Faith requires belief but it's more than belief.
I Timothy 4:1: But the Spirit (G4151 pneuma) explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith (G4102 pistis), paying attention to deceitful spirits (G4151 pneuma) and doctrines of demons (G1140 daimonion), (NASB)
Faith is ongoing. Ongoing faith is patience endurance. Jesus says patience endurance is a work.
Revelation of John 2:19 - I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
47.8.3. Paul here mentions trust even for the one who trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly
Romans 4:2 - For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Paul doesn't deny that Abraham could have been justified by works, but he claims that Abraham doesn't have anything to boast about before God.
Romans 4:5 - And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
So Paul says that for someone who does not have any works but trusts Him who justifies the ungodly, the person's trusting faith is counted as righteousness.
AMEN!! God is good for justifying people who are poor of spirit, and have fear of God.
47.9. Conditional Promises In The New Testament
Matthew 5:3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Condition: Those who are poor in spirit
- Promise: They will inherit the kingdom of Heaven
—
Matthew 5:4 - Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (ESV)
- Condition: Those who mourn
- Promise: They will be comforted
—
Matthew 5:5 - Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (ESV)
- Condition: For the gentle, humble and/or meek
- Promise: They will be inherit the Earth
—
Matthew 5:10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
- Condition: It's those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness
- Promise: The Kingdom of Heaven will be theirs.
—
Matthew 5:11-12 - Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (ESV)
- Condition: If people revile and persecute you for Jesus' sake and your faith in Him
- Promise: The Son of Man (Jesus) will reward you in Heaven and the reward will be great
—
Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (ESV)
Condition | Promise |
---|---|
If you ask | It will be given you |
If you seek | You will find |
If you knock | It will be opened to you |
—
Matthew 24:14 - And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (ESV)
- Condition: When the Gospel has been preached to all nations in the whole world.
- Promise: The end (eschaton) will come.
—
Matthew 24:45-47 - Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. (ESV)
- Condition: If that person is faithful and wise in charge of the "little things"
- Promise: God will make a person ruler over all that is His (His possessions).
—
Mark 9:41 - For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. (ESV)
- Condition: Giving a cup of water (being charitable) in Christ's name for the exact reason that we belong to Christ.
- Promise: A person will not lose their reward.
—
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (ESV)
- Condition: To whosoever will have faith in the true God by being faithful to His Son
- Promise: You will have eternal life
Stress: Trust in God.
—
Romans 8:31 - What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (ESV)
- Condition: When God is for you.
- Promise: No one can be against you.
—
Philippians 3:21 - who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)
Philippians 4:1 - Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. (ESV)
- Condition: If we stand firm in the Lord
- Promise: Jesus will transform our current perishing bodies in exchange for a body that does not perish like His glorious body (Resurrection body)
—
Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (ESV)
- Condition: If Christ strengthens us
- Promise: We can do all things.
—
Colossians 3:1-4 - If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (ESV)
- Condition: If we too are risen or raised up in Christ, and seeking the things above
- Promise: When Christ appears at the second coming, we will appear with Him in glory.
—
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 - For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (ESV)
- Condition: If we have faith that Jesus died and rose again.
- Promise: The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are still alive will be called up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. We will then be with the Lord forever after that.
—
II Timothy 4:6-9 - For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Do your best to come to me soon.
- Condition: Those who have loved His appearing and faithfully preach the Gospel and the Word of God in season and out of season.
- Promise: There is a crown of righteousness laid up for us by God which I will be awarded with on my day of glory.
—
Hebrews 12:28 - Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, (ESV)
- Condition: If we serve Him with reverence and fear.
- Promise: We will serve God acceptably.
—
James 1:5-6 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (ESV)
- Condition: If you ask of God in faith.
- Promise: Wisdom will be given.
—
James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. (ESV)
- Condition: If we endure trials by temptation and love the Lord.
- Promise: We will receive the crown of life
—
1 Peter 5:1-4 - So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (ESV)
- Condition: If they feed the flock God has given them, by taking the oversight of the flock willingly and not for money (blood money). Thereby setting an example for said flock.
- Promise: Elders will receive a crown of glory that will not fade.
—
1 John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (ESV)
- Condition: If we are children of God
- Promise: When Jesus appears we will be like Him
—
1 John 3:9 - No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
- Condition: If/because we have been born of God
- Promise: A Christian cannot habitually sin without feeling horrible and wishing to repentant of it.
—
2 John 1:7-8 - For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. (ESV)
- Condition: If we acknowledge that Jesus has indeed come in the flesh (incarnate).
- Promise: We will receive our full reward from God.
—
Revelation 2:7 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (ESV)
- Condition: If we persevere over evil and endure for Christ's namesake and overcome (persecution and trials)
- Promise: We will be allowed to eat from the Tree of Life which is in the paradise of God
—
Revelation 2:10 - Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. (ESV)
- Condition: If we are faithful to the point of death.
- Promise: Jesus Himself will give you a crown of life.
—
Revelation 2:11 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. (ESV)
- Condition: If we overcome persecution and trials
- Promise: We will not be hurt by the second death which is damnation in the Lake of Fire
—
Revelation 2:17 - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. (ESV)
- Condition: If we overcome persecution and trials
- Promise: Jesus will allow us to eat of the hidden Manna and will give a us white stone with a new name written on it that only the one that receives it will know.
—
Revelation 2:23 - and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. (ESV)
- Condition: According to their works.
- Promise: Jesus will give to every one.
—
Revelation 2:26-28 - The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. (ESV)
- Condition: To those that overcome and keep Jesus' works until the bitter end
- Promise: Jesus will give power over the nations and will give the morning star
—
Revelation 3:21 - The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (ESV)
- Condition: To those that overcome persecution and trials.
- Promise: Jesus will allow people to sit with Him on His throne
—
Revelation 20:4 - Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (ESV)
- Condition: Those that did not worship the beast, nor his image, nor received his mark (666)
- Promise: Some will live and reign with Christ for 1000 years.
47.10. Body without spirit is dead. But I think the spirit without the body is still alive
James 2:26 - For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
Matthew 22:32 - I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.
Mark 12:27 - He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.
Luke 20:38 - Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.
Yet we await an imperishable body.
47.11. Forgiveness and ongoing sin
I Corinthians 9:25-27 - Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
47.11.1. New covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (ESV)
I'm confident that God gives a person a new life in Christ Jesus, where God has totally forgiven their past sin, but expects them to turn a new leaf and turn away from sin.
1 Peter 1:18-20 - knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, (ESV)
We must have faith in Jesus for the righteousness of God that comes by faith.
Romans 10:4 - For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Jesus is our High Priest
- Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Jesus condemned sin in the flesh. Now we walk according to the spirit so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. It's still really important to put a stop to sin!
47.11.2. We must stop sinning after receiving the 'big forgiveness' for past sin
Matthew 12:33 - Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
Hebrews 10:26-31 - For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine; I will repay. And again, The Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (ESV)
The big forgiveness, and that we must stop sinning to be provided an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:
II Peter 1:1-11 - Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We must stop sinning after the big forgiveness:
II Peter 2:20-22 - For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.
47.11.3. We totally should stop sinning, since we await a place without sinning
II Peter 3:13-14 - But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
- Mark 10:19 - You know the commandments: Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother. (ESV)
- 1 John 3:4-9 - Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
If Israel had pursued the Mosaic law by faith they would have reached the righteousness of God.
Romans 9:30-32 - What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
This is prophetic - the attitude we are called to is the same today as it was back then:
Deuteronomy 10:12-15 - And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.
Circumcise your heart and do not be stubborn:
Deuteronomy 10:16-17 - Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
47.11.4. The 'all time' means we can still approach Jesus for forgiveness for future sins
Hebrews 10:12 - But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
Hebrews 10:14 - For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
47.11.5. If we sin
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (ESV)
1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (ESV)
48. Personally judging sin
48.1. We should always discern what is right on our own initiative
Luke 12:57 - "And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?"
48.2. We should be examining, judging, cleaning ourselves up, taking a look in the mirror first
Judge yourself first (by God's standards) before judging others.
Clean yourself up first before the Lord judges you (in this world) - the Lord judges a believer while this world to discipline them and clean them up before final judgement. I know this is talking specifically about taking communion, but I believe it applies also at the macroscopic level.
I Corinthians 11:28-32 - But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
God looks at the heart:
II Corinthians 5:10-12 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.
Make yourself ready imminently:
Matthew 24:42-44 - Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (ESV)
Matthew 7:3 - Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
II Corinthians 7:1 - Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves (G1438 heautou) from all (G3956 pas) defilement of flesh (G4561 sarx) and spirit (G4151 pneuma), perfecting holiness in the fear of God (G2316 theos).
Revelation of John 22:14 - Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (ESV)
I hold myself accountable to the standard which I subscribe to.
I Corinthians 9:27 - But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
I try to keep the 10 commandments by faith. I observe the Mosaic law, and try to keep parts of it by faith, particularly on the topic of sexual morality, body markings, etc.
48.3. It is necessary sometimes to judge others, but do it properly
John 7:24 - Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.
Matthew 7:1 - Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
I don't hold others accountable to the same standard that I hold myself to.
For Gentile believers I'm with the Apostles on the following:
Acts 15:28-29 - For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
But I also would add that one should not bear false-witness or worship idols.
48.3.1. Here we go
I Corinthians 10:14-20 - Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
48.4. I repent from being liberal and ever endorsing LGBT or idolatry
At first, to not judge that others wear clothes of the opposite sex seemed mostly harmless to me, but I feel like endorsing sinful, erroneous things, or annulling laws is not helpful in liberating people from sin.
48.4.1. Endorsing sinful things endorses people to become enslaved by sin / stuck in falsehood
Also, I feel as though endorsing it is in a way similar to endorsing that people commit adultery, in that it gets people stuck in sin, even without the awareness they are in sin, and makes it harder for people to find God.
I feel like getting a person unstuck from sin is a bit like freeing an animal in that they are often not aware that they need freeing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbB2K7YP4zE&ab_channel=DustinZornig
48.4.2. Endorsing sinful behavior welcomes demons
Also, I believe that endorsing sinful behavior or annulling God's law allows people who do such things to come into one's life and situation - a bit like putting holes in a boat, or lowering the drawbridge to a castle.
It's spiritual, so I think it may actually welcome demons into a person's life to endorse sinful things.
Deuteronomy 7:26 - And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction. (ESV)
48.4.3. Personal holiness
I Corinthians 9:27 - But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Well, I repent of endorsing sinful things, which are explicitly mentioned in old testament law, such as transvestisim.
I no longer think that in order to be compassionate I must say "I do not judge." But if someone were to ask me if I think it is sinful, I would say, "I believe it is sinful."
I pursue personal holiness for myself, and I think deliberate lawbreaking is wrong, but I stress I am not under the Mosaic law.
I'm under the law of faith in Christ and I believe LGBT and transvestism are sinful.
Deuteronomy 22:5 - A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God. (ESV)
49. The law of liberty
James 1:25 - But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James 2:11-13 - For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
49.1. Submitting to God is submitting to Christ
Psalms 81:11 - But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 5:23 - For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
I Corinthians 11:3 - But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (ESV)
49.2. The freedom Christ gives us involves obeying Christ
Obeying Jesus, even Jesus' commandments, is actually freedom. To disobey Jesus is to submit to slavery.
Galatians 5:1 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Ephesians 5:24 - Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
Romans 8:21 - that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
II Corinthians 3:17 - Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
John 6:63 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Don't think that obeying Jesus is submitting to slavery.
We are bondservants of Christ and it is freedom.
Romans 1:1 - Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
49.3. We are no longer 'under' the Mosaic Law but we have freedom as we are led by the Spirit
Galatians 2:3-5 - But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. If you are disobedient to God then you are under the Law.
Galatians 5:18 - But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
I Peter 2:16 - Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
Galatians 5:1 - For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:13 - For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
II Peter 2:19 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
49.4. Submitting to God's righteousness involves obeying Jesus because Jesus is God's righteousness
Romans 10:3 - For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
50. Both God the Father and God the Son raise the dead
Both the Father and the Son give life to whom they will.
John 5:21 - For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. (ESV)
John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
God gives life.
Deuteronomy 32:39 - See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. (ESV)
John 10:29 - My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
God the Father and God the Son are one.
John 10:30 - I and the Father are one.
God the Father raised this child from the dead:
I Kings 17:21-22 - Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again. And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.
God the Father raised this child from the dead too:
2 Kings 4:32-35 - When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. (ESV)
God the Father raised Jesus from the dead:
Romans 8:11 - If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (ESV)
God gave authority to Jesus to raise the dead:
John 17:2 - since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. (ESV)
Jesus raises people from the dead:
John 11:25 - Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, (ESV)
Luke 7:13-15 - And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, Do not weep. Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
People recognised Jesus as a great prophet like Elijah or Elisha
Luke 7:16 - Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has arisen among us! and God has visited his people!
Jesus was doing the works of Father God:
John 10:37-38 - If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.
Who can question it?
Acts 26:8 - Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? (ESV)
50.1. Leaving the tomb / spiritual prison which was a result of disobedience
This is really interesting.
Romans 6:8-9 - Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
John 5:25 - Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. (ESV)
Jesus as a life-giving spirit proclaimed to the spirits in prison.
Baptism is an appeal to God for a good conscience - It's an appeal to God but not strictly required to be saved. It is an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I definitely believe that "believer's baptism" is the right way to perform baptism. Baptism does save.
I Peter 3:18-21 - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
This sounds interesting:
John 5:28-29 - Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
It's totally worth following Jesus, doing good and proclaiming the gospel after getting born-again - following Jesus, even faithfully stopping sin, is the correct response, for if being born-again is dying with Christ, and being given life by the life giving Spirit of Jesus, we are partaking in the death and resurrection of Jesus, where Jesus had actually suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, so we too should continue living in a way that is turning away from sin.
Galatians 6:7-8 - Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (ESV)
Spiritually died with Christ:
Colossians 2:20 - If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
Spiritually raised with Christ:
Colossians 3:1 - If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
OK, so spiritually resurrected and raised. Now we wait for the resurrection of the body.
Things make a bit more sense now:
Matthew 19:16-26 - And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept. What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Jesus is the Saviour of the world.
I John 4:14 - And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Isaiah 43:10-11 - You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.
God saves through Jesus.
Jude 1:25 - to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Titus 1:1-3 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
John 5:43 - I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
John 10:25 - Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
Titus 3:4-7 - But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
I Peter 3:19 - in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,
Romans 8:10 - If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
That was a total gift. Thanks Jesus!
So in this life we can know that we will partake in the resurrection at the second coming.
51. The resurrection at the second coming
Hebrews 9:27-28 - And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
51.1. So don't be in Adam, but be in Christ, because all in Christ will be made alive, but all in Adam will be destroyed
- Christ the firstfruits, then
- at his coming those who belong to Christ.
I Corinthians 15:20-26 - But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
51.2. What it looks like
Our heavenly inheritance is imperishable!
1 Peter 1:4 - to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, (ESV)
51.2.1. The resurrection of the just
- Luke 14:12-14 - He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (ESV)
51.2.2. The natural first, then the spiritual
We may die a natural death in this life but be raised at the second coming with an incorruptible body.
I Corinthians 15:42-48 - So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
Philippians 3:21 - who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 15:49 - Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (ESV)
- This - we are made like the man of heaven
I Corinthians 15:49 - Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
AMEN!!
And then it's possible to inherit the imperishable:
I Corinthians 15:50 - I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
I Corinthians 15:51-54 - Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
- The mortal puts on immortality (at the resurrection)
I Corinthians 15:53 - For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.
Isaiah 25:8 - He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
- Victory over sin and death through Jesus
Because truth is truth, it is imperishable.
I Peter 1:22-25 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you. (ESV)
II John 1:1-2 - The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:
Titus 1:1-3 - Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;
A strong indicator that we are of the truth is that against every condemnation, we know God is greater than our heart and knows everything
I John 3:18-20 - Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
More strong indicators that we are of the truth are that:
- if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God:
- whatever we ask of God, we receive from Him
- because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him
- we know we are believing in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and
- we know we are loving one another,
- just has He has commanded us.
- because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him
I John 3:21-23 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
Who is of God listens to us:
I John 4:6 - We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
We know that God abides in us by the Spirit whom He has given us:
I John 3:24 - Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
We will be raised imperishable, just as the truth is imperishable:
I Corinthians 15:51-58 - Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (ESV)
51.2.3. No lust/corruption in heaven. The divine nature does not have lust/corruption
II Peter 1:3-4 - seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (NASB)
I John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
I Thessalonians 4:5 - not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
Addictions, the lusts of the world, the pride of life, etc.
II Peter 2:19-21 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
We must be holy.
Ephesians 1:4 - even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
I Peter 1:15-16 - but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
Revelation of John 22:11 - Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.
Ephesians 5:27 - so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
These angels were corrupted:
Genesis 6:2 - that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
51.2.4. Incorruptible inheritance
God is incorruptible:
Romans 1:23 - and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
We will receive an incorruptible body as Jesus' resurrection body does not corrupt:
Acts 13:36-37 - For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption.
Incorruptible love is something we can have in this life:
Ephesians 6:24 - Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.
I Corinthians 13:8 - Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
An imperishable reward:
I Corinthians 9:25 - Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
I Peter 1:4 - to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
The Holy Spirit dwelling within us guarantees our imperishable inheritance:
II Timothy 1:14 - By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.
I Peter 1:23 - for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.
Ephesians 1:13,14 - In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (ESV)
Even our bodies will be raised imperishable:
I Corinthians 15:52 - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
52. Commandments of God
52.1. Commandments of Father God in the New Testament:
Listen to Jesus and believe Jesus is God's Son:
Mark 9:7 - And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son; listen to him. (ESV)
Luke 9:35 - And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him! (ESV)
Acts 3:22 - Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die. And the LORD said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. (ESV)
Walk in the truth, love one another and do not deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh:
II John 1:4-9 - I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (ESV)
52.2. Commandments of Jesus (which are from God)
"These things I command you" Jesus' own words from the 4 Gospels - YouTube
Have faith in God:
Mark 11:22 - And Jesus answered them, Have (G2192 echo) faith (G4102 pistis) in God (G2316 theos).
Have faith in God and have faith in Jesus:
John 14:1 - “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe (G4100 pisteuo) in God, believe (G4100 pisteuo) also in Me.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near:
Matthew 3:2 - Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (ESV)
Follow the 10 commandments from the heart in truth as far as to not idolize or covet your material possessions, leave behind your old life and follow Him (Jesus).
Luke 18:18-22 - And a ruler asked him, Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother. And he said, All these I have kept from my youth. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (ESV)
Have faith in God to help you achieve this:
Luke 18:26-27 - Those who heard it said, Then who can be saved? But he said, What is impossible with men is possible with God. (ESV)
Come and follow Jesus and allow Him to make you into a fisher of men:
Matthew 4:19 - And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (ESV)
Rejoice when you're persecuted in Jesus' name:
Matthew 5:11-12 - Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (ESV)
Let your light shine before all people:
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
Be reconciled to one another:
Matthew 5:23-24 - So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (ESV)
Take sin very seriously:
Matthew 5:29-30 - If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. (ESV)
Follow the commandments from the heart, and in truth, accountable to God:
Matthew 5:32 - But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (ESV)
Turn the other cheek:
Matthew 5:39 - But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (ESV)
Go above and beyond. Forgive:
Matthew 5:40-42 - And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (ESV)
Love your enemies as well as your friends. Be like Your Heavenly Father. Be perfect:
Matthew 5:43-48 - You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (ESV)
Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect:
Matthew 5:48 - You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (ESV)
Be accountable to God. Do not seek reward from others but from God. Focus on spiritual disciplines for the right reasons.
Matthew 6:1-18 - Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (ESV)
Have a relationship with God:
Hebrews 11:6 - And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (ESV)
Seek heavenly reward, not earthly reward. Have a heart seeking reward from God and not from man. Have your heart in heaven, not in earth:
Matthew 6:19-21 - Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (ESV)
Seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first of all:
Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (ESV)
Do not worry about tomorrow:
Matthew 6:34 - Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)
Use right judgment. We should be examining, judging, cleaning ourselves up, taking a look in the mirror first (by God's standards) before judging others:
Matthew 7:1-5 - Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (ESV)
Practice discretion:
Matthew 7:6 - Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (ESV)
Ask, seek, and knock:
Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (ESV)
Ask God for your needs, which includes asking God for the Holy Spirit:
Luke 11:1-11 - Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. And he said to them, Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he will answer from within, Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; (ESV)
Treat others as you would like to be treated:
Matthew 7:12 - So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (ESV)
Choose the narrow path to life:
Matthew 7:13-14 - Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (ESV)
Look out for false prophets:
Matthew 7:15-20 - Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. (ESV)
Pray for kingdom laborers. Pray that God sends out kingdom laborers:
Matthew 9:37-38 - Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. (ESV)
Be on your guard. Jesus sends us out to be like scapegoats. Be wise and remain blameless:
Matthew 10:16-17 - Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, (ESV)
Do not fear persecutors. Fear God. But put your trust in God because He takes care of those who fear Him. Speak the truth:
Matthew 10:26-31 - So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (ESV)
Take Jesus' yoke upon yourself:
Matthew 11:28-30 - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (ESV)
Do not despise the little ones:
Matthew 18:10 - See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
How to deal with offenders:
Matthew 18:15-17 - If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (ESV)
Forgive extremely generously / almost without limits:
Matthew 18:21-22 - Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (ESV)
Lead through service:
Matthew 20:25-28 - But Jesus called them to him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (ESV)
Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul:
Matthew 22:37-38 - And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. (ESV)
Love your neighbor as yourself - fulfill the requirement of the law:
Matthew 22:39 - And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ESV)
Stay alert and keep watch:
Matthew 24:42-44 - Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (ESV)
Make disciples of all the nations, teaching them to obey Jesus:
Matthew 28:18-20 - And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (ESV)
Deny yourself daily, and follow Jesus:
Luke 9:23-24 - And he said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
Do not covet your possessions:
Luke 12:15 - And he said to them, Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. (ESV)
Give to those who can't reciprocate:
Luke 14:12-14 - He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (ESV)
You must be born again:
John 3:7 - Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. (ESV)
If you love Jesus, keep His commandments. The one who keeps Jesus' commandments is the one who loves Jesus:
John 14:15 - If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 14:21 - Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
Those who have testimony of Jesus should preach testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead:
Acts 10:41-44 - not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (ESV)
Acts 13:47 - For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
Those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel:
I Corinthians 9:14 - In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
52.3. Precepts of Paul
- Pursue godliness with contentment but not without contentment. Pursue personal righteousness
- righteousness,
- godliness,
- faith,
- love,
- steadfastness,
- gentleness.
I Timothy 6:3-11 - If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (ESV)
53. godliness
The word godliness, I think means, to act in a way fitting of having true knowledge of our God, and of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and preparing oneself for eternity.
Titus 1:1 - Paul, a bond-servant (G1401 doulos) of God (G2316 theos) and an apostle of Jesus (G2424 Iesous) Christ (G5547 Christos), for the faith (G4102 pistis) of those chosen of God (G2316 theos) and the knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of the truth (G225 aletheia) which is according to godliness (G2150 eusebeia),
Perfect godliness revealing God through Jesus Christ:
I Timothy 3:16 - Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (ESV)
Relevant verses | Characteristics of godliness |
---|---|
Titus 1:2 | Behaviour in accordance with true knowledge about God |
Isaiah 32:6, Romans 1:18 | Disinclined towards wickedness; inclined to practice righteousness |
Isaiah 32:6, Romans 1:18 | Speaks the truth about the Lord |
Isaiah 32:6 | Takes care of their neighbour |
Romans 1:21 | Honours God as God |
Romans 1:21 | Gives thanks to God |
Romans 1:18-22, Proverbs 1:7 | Has the fear of God |
I Timothy 3:8 | Knows God can see your heart |
I Timothy 2:1-4 | Cares that any person, even the worldly, may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth |
I Timothy 2:9, I Timothy 3:8 | Not worldliness, knowing that humility pleases God |
I Timothy 6:10-11 | Not worldliness, knowing that true riches are in heaven. No love for money |
I Timothy 2:10 | Performs good works (works which are pleasing to God) |
I Timothy 3:11 | Dignified, sober-minded |
I Timothy 3:11 | Faithful in all things |
I Timothy 4:7-8 | Profitable for all things (physical and spiritual), present life and eternity |
I Timothy 6:4, II Timothy 2:16 | Has eyes set on God. Doesn't fall into vain, time-wasting arguments |
II Timothy 3:5 | Keeps themself accountable to God. Has a real relationship with God. |
Titus 2:11-14 | Cooperates with Jesus purifying them, and employing them in good works, for eternal life |
Titus 1:2, Titus 2:11-14 | Hopes for eternal life |
II Peter 3:10-12 | Prepares for eternity |
II Peter 1:3 | Responds well to Jesus' supply to us of what we need to live godly lives. |
II Peter 1:5-7 | Supplements steadfastness (helps us to be more steadfast) |
II Peter 1:5-7 | Is supplemented by brotherly affection (in accordance with true knowledge about God) |
II Peter 2:6, I Corinthians 6:18 | Obeys God, and lives righteously, and in love for one's neighbour, and flees from lust |
I Corinthians 10:8-14 | Does not put Christ to the test. Clings to God, flees from idolatry, sexual immorality and other sin |
53.1. Verses
Isaiah 32:6 - For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart inclines toward wickedness: To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord (H3068 Yhovah), To keep the hungry person unsatisfied And to withhold drink from the thirsty.
Romans 1:18 - For the wrath of God (G2316 theos) is revealed from heaven (G3772 ouranos) against all (G3956 pas) ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth (G225 aletheia) in unrighteousness,
Romans 11:26 - and so all (G3956 pas) Israel will be saved (G4982 sozo); just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
I Timothy 2:1-4 - First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I Timothy 2:10 - but rather by means of good works (G2041 ergon), as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
I Timothy 3:16 - By common confession, great is the mystery (G3466 musterion) of godliness (G2150 eusebeia): He who (G3739 hos) was revealed in the flesh (G4561 sarx), Was vindicated in the Spirit (G4151 pneuma), Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world (G2889 kosmos), Taken up in glory (G1391 doxa).
I Timothy 4:7-8 - But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness (G2150 eusebeia); for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness (G2150 eusebeia) is profitable for all (G3956 pas) things (G3956 pas), since it holds promise for the present life (G2222 zoe) and also for the life to come.
I Timothy 6:3-6 - If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness (G2150 eusebeia) actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
I Timothy 6:10-11 - For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.
II Timothy 2:16 - But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,
II Timothy 3:5 - holding to a form of godliness (G2150 eusebeia), although they have denied its power (G1411 dunamis); Avoid such men as these.
Titus 1:1 - Paul, a bond-servant (G1401 doulos) of God (G2316 theos) and an apostle of Jesus (G2424 Iesous) Christ (G5547 Christos), for the faith (G4102 pistis) of those chosen of God (G2316 theos) and the knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of the truth (G225 aletheia) which is according to godliness (G2150 eusebeia),
Titus 2:11-14 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Jesus has granted us what we need to live a godly life:
II Peter 1:3 - seeing that His divine power (G1411 dunamis) has granted to us everything (G3956 pas) pertaining to life (G2222 zoe) and godliness (G2150 eusebeia), through the true (G1922 epignosis) knowledge (G1922 epignosis) of Him who called us by His own glory (G1391 doxa) and excellence.
II Peter 1:5-7 - For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
II Peter 3:10-12 - But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
54. 'Election' / predestination, theology etc. is a massive distraction, I think
I believe that here on earth, God wants us to choose Jesus. But from God's perspective, who knows how it works.
God can raise up children from anyone who has repentance and may grant being a child of Abraham to anyone who walks in the footsteps of the faith that Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Luke 3:8 - Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
We do have the ability to make choices:
Isaiah 66:3 - He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations; (ESV)
A gift can be accepted or rejected - and this is a choice we can make:
Romans 5:17 - If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Even the elect need help to obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory:
II Timothy 2:10 - Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. (ESV)
We should not lean on our own understanding:
Isaiah 55:9 - For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
What we should do now is acknowledge the LORD, keep our eyes on Jesus, and live godly lives:
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)
Focusing on predestination, election etc. without obeying what Jesus said to do, is not really obeying the will of God and may put a person in this category:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-13 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. (ESV)
Although God chooses who He has mercy on, we should still have a godly and humble response to God's mercy:
Romans 9:10-16 - And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call— she was told, The older will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means! For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
We should be confident that God will continue to take care of us:
Romans 8:29-39- For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God has good plans for us and we should submit to His wisdom, and obey Him:
Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Who chooses who? I believe Jesus chose me and I also choose Jesus every day but Jesus chose me first:
John 15:16 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (ESV)
Romans 8:29 - For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
God is the Creator, our Maker.
- For those who love God
- obedient to God
- For those who are called according to His purpose
- All things work together for good
God's ultimately the one in control of us but from our perspective we must submit to His righteousness and His will and be obedient.
To make election sure, and to not fail, one must practice personal righteousness and put a stop to sin.
II Peter 1:10-11 - Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Acts 13:14-16 - but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it. So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. (ESV)
- The elect fear God
- They had soft hearts
- able to believe and obey
- They had soft hearts
- The non-elect judge themselves unworthy of eternal life
- They had hard hearts
- unable to believe and obey
- They had hard hearts
One thing is for sure. The elect do not have hard hearts. So I'd say if a person's heart is not totally hard, then soften it.
A heart not easy to be moved with virtuous affections:
- Deuteronomy 15:7 - If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, (ESV)
- Mark 3:4-5 - And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. (ESV)
- Do I Have a Hard Heart? - YouTube
- Mark 8:17 - And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? (ESV)
- II Chronicles 36:12-13 - He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. (ESV)
- Romans 2:4 - Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (ESV)
- Zechariah 7:12 - They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. (ESV)
If we have a hard heart, we should ask for a new one:
- Ezekiel 36:26 - And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Don't let your heart go hard - find a community of encouraging believers:
- Hebrews 3:13 - But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Acts 13:46-48 - And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. (ESV)
I do believe, however, that cooperation is generally required on the part of the believer:
- Before regeneration, and
- After regeneration
Before regeneration, I was trying hard to repent of my sin by trying to obey the 10 commandments from the heart. And I would say I was also making progress. After regeneration, I had to learn to walk in Jesus' commandments, and to submit to His righteousness.
To be sanctified by faith in Jesus is an applied process, I think:
Acts 26:18 - to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (ESV)
In similar fashion to Jesus continually obeying Father God as he endured suffering, I think we should learn to submit and follow Jesus' commandments
Hebrews 5:7-10 - In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.
I believe that after being born-again of the spirit, I had (with very little knowledge of Jesus' commandments) had to learn Jesus' commandments and apply them, and I believe the Holy Spirit taught me to obey Jesus as I read Jesus' sayings and was subsequently tested on those sayings. For example, if I read that we must give to all who ask, and then the Lord sets up a situation where someone asks for money, then I have a choice to obey Jesus, which means resisting those who try to deter me from obeying Jesus. Upon being tested, someone would offer worldly wisdom in an attempt to deter me from following Jesus, and as I obey God I am led by the Holy Spirit, and taught by the Holy Spirit. And this is an ongoing process. I say this for others' sake to explain how I have come to know how faith in Jesus, following Jesus, works practically, that it is more than mere intellectual belief to be led by the Spirit, but it is also obedience, and a process of sanctification, and walking in the light.
So I was born-again of the Spirit and when that happened I was given some very strong faith/knowledge that God exists, but I still had to seek Jesus because the Bible says that anyone who claims to know Jesus but doesn't walk in His commandments is not telling the truth, and I want to come to know Jesus.
I John 2:4 - Whoever says I know him but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
John the Baptist taught repentance and love for one's neighbour before receiving the baptisim of the Holy Spirit:
Luke 3:3-8 - And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Regeneration is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit, though. AMEN!! Nevertheless, I believe in allowing Jesus Christ to be my Lord.
John 3:5-8 - Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.
John 6:45-47 - It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me — not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes (G4100 pisteuo) has eternal life.
Also, I believe that this is what God actually wants from us - to seek Him and worship Him of our own volition.
Romans 11:7-10 - What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day. And David says, Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.
The Gentiles should not harden their own hearts. Neither should the Jews.
Psalms 95:8 - do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
Hebrews 3:8 - do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,
Hebrews 3:15 - As it is said, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
Hebrews 4:7 - again he appoints a certain day, Today, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
God puts the fear of Him into the elect's heart.
Jeremiah 32:40 - I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. (ESV)
I still think there is co-operation by the believer before and after spiritual regeneration.
Having heard the truth, the Spirit sanctifies us through our obedience to the Spirit, and are we are conformed to holiness, not to impurity:
I Peter 1:14-16 - As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.
We purify ourselves as we have faith in Jesus:
I John 3:3 - And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Having purified ourselves by obedience to the truth:
This here says we must obey for the sake of purification of our souls even after being born-again:
I Peter 1:22-23 - Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
And Jesus instructs us to have an obedient heart if we want to know that Jesus' teaching is from God:
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
54.1. God loved us first
I John 4:8-11 - Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
54.1.1. God's love is greater
Romans 8:35 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
Romans 8:39 - nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
54.2. God was faithful to us first
54.2.1. God's faithfulness is greater
Romans 3:3-4 - What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.
II Timothy 2:13 - if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
54.3. The Way is available for everyone, but not everyone ends up walking it
Jesus made the Way - He is the Way:
Romans 5:18-19 - Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
- for all men
- the many
54.4. We have free will
When we hear Jesus' voice, we must open the door. We have free will to receive or reject Jesus - we must be obedient believers:
Revelation of John 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (ESV)
The Scriptures say Abraham believed God, and it doesn't say God believed God. We must believe God:
Romans 4:3 - For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. (ESV)
The Scriptures say Abraham obeyed God - we must become obedient believers:
Genesis 26:5 - because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (ESV)
Also, in advance of being given the promise, Abraham was faithful to God:
Genesis 14:23 - that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich.
That is when God rewarded Abraham for Abraham's faithfulness, with a promise:
Genesis 15:1-6 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. But Abram said, O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir. And he brought him outside and said, Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them. Then he said to him, So shall your offspring be. And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Rewards are for people who choose to do the right thing.
It doesn't say, God rewarded God. God said that Abraham's reward shall be very great. God rewarded Abraham.
54.5. Seeking God
Blessed are those who like being around Jesus and trust Him:
Luke 7:23 - And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.
Blessed are those who have believed before having come to see and know for certain:
John 20:29 - Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.
Blessed are those who ask and seek for a blessing:
Matthew 7:7-8 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
54.6. Run the race
Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
I Corinthians 9:24 - Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
Luke 13:24 - Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
Galatians 5:7 - You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? (ESV)
Philippians 3:13-14 - Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
II Timothy 4:6-9 - For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. Do your best to come to me soon.
54.7. God has planned in advance our salvation
54.7.1. Grace alone - sola gratia
(by grace alone) AMEN!!
I Corinthians 1:30 - But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (NASB)
Ephesians 1:3 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, (ESV)
Ephesians 1:4-5 - just as He chose (G1586 eklegomai) us in Him before (G4253 pro) the foundation of the world (G2889 kosmos), that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined (G4309 proorizo) us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention (G2107 eudokia) of His will, (NASB)
1: : 1586 eklegomai ek-leg'-om-ahee 2: 3: middle voice from 1537 and 3004 (in its primary sense); to 4: select:--make choice, choose (out), chosen. 5: see GREEK for 1537 6: see GREEK for 3004
1: : 4309 proorizo pro-or-id'-zo 2: 3: from 4253 and 3724; to limit in advance, i.e. (figuratively) 4: predetermine:--determine before, ordain, predestinate. 5: see GREEK for 4253 6: see GREEK for 3724
In the fullness of time, all things in heaven and earth are united to God:
Ephesians 1:10 - as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Given that we have an inheritance, it's evident that God must have predestined us:
Ephesians 1:11-14 - In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
54.8. We are fellow workers with God. It's by God's power that our work flourishes
Ephesians 3:16 - that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
54.8.1. Without God we can do nothing
I Corinthians 3:6-9 - I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.
John 1:3 - All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (ESV)
We work in God's field:
John 4:34-38 - Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.
54.8.2. God's power through Jesus, through the man's faith in Jesus' name made the man walk
Acts 3:12 - And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? (KJV)
The man had faith - faith enters into the truth / receives from God:
Acts 3:5-8 - And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene– walk!” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
Jesus made the man walk through Jesus' power and Jesus' holiness:
Acts 3:11-12 - While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
The faith which He had in Jesus' name is what healed him:
Acts 3:16 - And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
There are other instances of this - it's faith in Jesus which makes a person well and receives forgiveness and salvation from Jesus:
Mark 5:34 - And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease. (ESV)
Luke 7:47-50 - Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven. Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, Who is this, who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace. (ESV)
55. Sanctification
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 - But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. (ESV)
II Thessalonians 2:13 - But we should always give thanks (G2168 eucharisteo) to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning (G746 arche) for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith (G4102 pistis) in the truth (G225 aletheia). (NASB)
Faith in the truth - strong faith word!
II Thessalonians 2:11-15 - Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:10 - And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (ESV)
1 Thessalonians 4:3 - For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; (ESV)
Abstain means stop.
55.1. God is the source of our life in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the source of our wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 - He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. (ESV)
55.1.1. We only boast in Christ Jesus, since He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption
He is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
Yes, but that means we must have faith in Him, obeying Him and becoming like Him, and that brings us confidence, because He's in us, and we don't have our lamp hidden, but are cleaned up:
I John 4:17 - By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (ESV)
We are wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:15 - and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
We must put our trust in Jesus and believe Him and obey Him, and be cleaned up, shining His light:
I Corinthians 1:28-29 - God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
Psalms 5:5 - The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. (ESV)
The cross means a changed life, becoming like Jesus, keeping Jesus' commandments:
Galatians 6:13-15 - For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (ESV)
I Corinthians 7:19 - For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (ESV)
55.1.2. Filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God
Jesus is the source of our personal righteousness, and He is our righteousness.
Philippians 1:9-11 - And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
55.2. We must both believe the truth and be sanctified, and stop sinning to be saved
II Thessalonians 2:13 - But we should always give thanks (G2168 eucharisteo) to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning (G746 arche) for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith (G4102 pistis) in the truth (G225 aletheia). (NASB)
Cleaned up (stop sinning) by having faith in the truth.
Faith in the truth - strong faith word! Belief and ongoing faithfulness, trust, reliance.
1: : 4102 pistis pis'-tis 2: 3: from 3982; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious 4: truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially 5: reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such 6: profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth 7: itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. 8: see GREEK for 3982
55.2.1. Bad desire - leads to death. We do not want to be enslaved to corruption
- Lust is super bad, even after born-again.
I John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
II Peter 2:19-21 - They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.
55.2.2. Good desire - Love God and one's neighbour
Deuteronomy 11:13 - And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy 30:6 - And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Joshua 22:5 - Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
Luke 10:27 - And he answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.
Leviticus 19:18 - You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
56. Father God
II Chronicles 15:3-4 - For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.
Jeremiah 10:10 - But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
Ephesians 3:9-11 - and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Romans 1:18-25 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
56.1. Jesus is the Only Way to Father God
John 14:1-6 - Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
We must get to know God through knowing Jesus:
John 14:7-9 - If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father?
A relationship is formed between the obedient person and God:
- Get to know Jesus by following His commandments and being obedient and willing to do God's will.
- But as we do God's will, God comes to know us (it's simultaneous):
Galatians 4:8-9 - Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
56.2. The life that Father God gave us is in His Son, Jesus Christ
56.2.1. God made Himself knowable by sending Jesus Christ, who has made Father God known
John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God is knowable through having faith in Jesus Christ:
John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Exodus 33:18-23 - Moses said, Please show me your glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name The Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But, he said, you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.
Grace, mercy, and the eternal life which God has given us is in Jesus Christ. He is the bread of life:
II John 1:3 - Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.
I John 5:11 - And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
God was acting through Jesus Christ as He walked the earth in the flesh, around 2000 years ago.
John 10:32 - Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
56.2.2. The testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son
Whoever has faith in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.
I John 5:9-13 - If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
56.2.3. We must be in Him, Jesus Christ
I John 5:18-20 - We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
We know that we abide in Him because He has given us of His Spirit:
James 1:17 - Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
I John 4:13-17 - By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
Acts 2:33 - Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
For the day of judgement, we must seek to:
- abide in His love
- be loving as He loves
We should be like Jesus while we are in this world:
I John 4:16-17 - So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. (ESV)
Abide in His love:
I John 4:10 - In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Be loving as He loves:
II John 1:4-6 - I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
There are those who have faith, and those who betray. Betrayal is counter to having faith. Faith includes belief, obedience and faithfulness:
John 6:63-65 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. ) And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
56.2.4. Father God was always with Jesus
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
John 16:25-32- I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. His disciples said, Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God. Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
56.2.5. Our will must be aligned with God's will - We start by desiring to do His will
So put into practice Jesus Christ's commandments, and line up your will line up with God's will:
I John 5:14-15 - And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
III John 1:11 - Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
If we love one another [as He loved us]:
I John 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
We must be drawn to Jesus Christ, who is the bread of life. We do the will of God and Jesus Christ will raise us on the last day:
John 6:44-48 - No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.
We must have faith in Jesus Christ and the words He has spoken:
John 6:57-58 - As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.
Don't betray Jesus. Continue walking with Jesus:
John 6:63-69 - It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him. ) And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, Do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.
56.2.6. The Holy Spirit testifies about Jesus
John 15:26 - “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
The Holy Spirit is a person, and is a He:
John 14:26 - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
56.2.7. We must do God's will
John 4:32-34 - But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. So the disciples said to one another, Has anyone brought him something to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. (ESV)
56.2.8. We must walk in His commandments
If we want God to make His home with us, we must keep Jesus' words, and obey His commandments:
John 14:23-25 - Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.
In the following case, I think that obedience would have come before belief as if the disciples had loved Him then they would have rejoiced, but that Jesus explains things in advance so that we will believe when we see. Jesus tells us in advance that He goes to the Father, and will come to us, so that we will believe:
John 14:27-29 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.
Faith is a lifestyle. It's walking in the truth:
II John 1:4-6 - I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received commandment to do from the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
Loving Jesus, obeying Jesus, and believing that He came from God are essential:
John 16:25-27- I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
56.2.9. The Holy Spirit is a He and brings to remembrance all the words of Jesus
As Jesus came in His Father's name, and spoke His Father's words, the Holy Spirit comes in Jesus' name and brings to remembrance all the words of Jesus:
John 14:26 - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
56.2.10. Jesus is God with us
Matthew 1:18-25 - Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (ESV)
Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (ESV)
Luke 1:35 - And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (ESV)
56.2.11. The Word became flesh
John 17:5 - And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (ESV)
John 16:28 - I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.
Matthew 1 -23: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). (ESV)
56.2.12. Jesus returned to the Father
John 16:5 - But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, Where are you going? (ESV)
John 14:28 - You heard me say to you, I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (ESV)
Isaiah 55:11 - so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (ESV)
56.2.13. We also become one with the Father as we are kept in His name
John 17:11 - And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. (ESV)
56.2.14. We can know Father God directly, while Jesus tells us plainly about Father God
We must walk in Jesus' commandments and believe that He came from God.
John 16:25-28 - I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.
56.3. We must love God
I John 2:15-17 - Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
I Thessalonians 5:18 - give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (ESV)
56.4. In a way, the Son is the Father as far as we can see because looking upon Jesus we see the Father, but the Father is greater
One thing is for sure, Jesus is the only way to the Father.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
The Father abides in Jesus:
John 14:10 - Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
Jesus abides in the Father:
John 1:18 - No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
This says the Word was God, but it doesn't say the Word was the totality of the Father. We can be sure that in the beginning there was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God:
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (ESV)
John 16:32 - Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. (ESV)
Jesus came in Father God's name:
John 5:43 - I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. (ESV)
John 10:25 - Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,
Revelation of John 14:1 - Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144, 000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.
The Father is with the Son, the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father:
John 10:30 - I and the Father are one.
The Father is not specifically the Son (Jesus Christ) but Jesus is the Word, and the Word is God. And Jesus came in the Father's name. God was revealed in Jesus Christ for us.
56.5. God adopts children, fellow heirs with Christ
The sons of God on earth who are being adopted by God:
- are led by the Spirit
- obeying Jesus Christ
- are sons of Abraham, with the faith of Abraham
- demonstrating the faith that Abraham had
- have had faith in Jesus Christ's name
- suffer with Christ in order to be glorified with Him
- await their adoption as sons when our bodies are redeemed
- have the creation eagerly longing for their revealing
- have heard God and had faith
Romans 8:14-23 - For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (ESV)
To those who had faith in His name:
Acts 3:16 - And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
John the Baptist came as a witness to the Light that is Jesus Christ, so that through John the Baptist's testimony, all might come to faith:
John 1:6-7 - There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness (G3141 marturia), to testify (G3140 martureo) about the Light, so that all might believe (G4100 pisteuo) through him. (NASB)
Jesus Christ is received through faith:
John 1:12 - But to all who did receive (G2983 lambano) him, who believed (G4100 pisteuo) in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (ESV)
1: : 2983 lambano lam-ban'-o 2: 3: a prolonged form of a primary verb, which is use only as an alternate 4: in certain tenses; to take (in very many applications, literally and 5: figuratively (properly objective or active, to get hold of; whereas 6: 1209 is rather subjective or passive, to have offered to one; while 7: 138 is more violent, to seize or remove)):--accept, + be amazed, 8: assay, attain, bring, X when I call, catch, come on (X unto), + 9: forget, have, hold, obtain, receive (X after), take (away, up). 10: see GREEK for 1209 11: see GREEK for 138
Receiving is a mixture of believing, obeying, trusting, believing to receive - as Abraham's faith was. The faith to receive Jesus, getting to know Him I think is a span of time (it could be instantaneous to a lengthy period of time), I presume, as a person continues to trust Him:
Romans 4:9-12 - Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Galatians 3:7 - Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Galatians 3:9 - So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (ESV)
Romans 8:19 - For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. (ESV)
Galatians 3:3-6 - Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness?
56.6. Inheriting the promises made to Abraham and to Christ
The promises were made to Abraham and to Christ:
Galatians 3:16 - Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, And to offsprings, referring to many, but referring to one, And to your offspring, who is Christ.
But through the faith of Abraham in Jesus Christ, we inherit the promises because we have faith in Jesus Christ:
Galatians 3:22 - But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Christ is formed in us, after all:
Galatians 4:18-19 - It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
In Christ Jesus, through faith, we are sons:
Galatians 3:25-26 - But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Acts 4:12 - And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
We put on Christ when we are baptized into Christ:
Galatians 3:27 - For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
If you are Christ's (in Christ) then you are Abraham's offspring:
Galatians 3:29 - And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Galatians 4:4-9 - But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
The ones who love God, even demonstrated by repenting from sin and away from the course of this world, God gives to Jesus:
John 17:6 - I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
John 17:9 - I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
With the light of truth, people may go from darkness to light:
John 12:36 - While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
Acts 26:18 - to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
*Galatians 3:13-14 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The world (the remaining people, who have not repented) may know that Father God has sent Jesus and loved Jesus' disciples:
John 17:23 - I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
57. Sun's light failing as the curtain was torn and Jesus died
Mark 15:37-39 - And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God! (ESV)
Matthew 27:51 - And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (ESV)
Mark 15:38 - And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (ESV)
Luke 23:43-46 - And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last. (ESV)
Hebrews 6:19-20 - We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)
Hebrews 9:11-15 - But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:12-14 - But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (ESV)
Hebrews 10:19-20 - Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, (ESV)
58. Jesus rose from the dead and ascended
Luke 24:1-7 - But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” (ESV)
Luke 24:25-26 - And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? (ESV)
Luke 24:38-49 - And he said to them, Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. (ESV)
58.1. Ascension
Luke 24:50-53 - And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God. (ESV)
Acts 1:1-12 - The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. (ESV)
59. Armour of God
Ephesians 6:11-13 - Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (ESV)
- Belt of Truth and Faithfulness
- Breastplate of Righteousness
- Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
- Shield of Faith
- Helmet of Salvation
- Sword of the Spirit
- Prayer
- Lamp
59.1. Belt of Truth and Faithfulness
Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (ESV)
Isaiah 11:5 - Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. (ESV)
Ephesians 5:9 - (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), (ESV)
59.2. Breastplate of Righteousness
- Imputed righteousness
- righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ
Philippians 3:9 - and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— (ESV)
Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (ESV)
Isaiah 59:17-18 - He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. (ESV)
I Corinthians 1:30 - He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (ESV)
59.3. Shoes of the Gospel of Peace
The readiness to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people, and also live out the Gospel.
Ephesians 6:15 - and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (ESV)
Isaiah 52:7 - How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns. (ESV)
Romans 10:15 - And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! (ESV)
II Corinthians 5:18-21 - All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)
59.4. Shield of Faith
Maintaining faithfulness to God, and our trust in God, God fights for us and is our shield.
Ephesians 6:16 - In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; (ESV)
I Peter 5:8-9 - Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. (ESV)
I John 5:4-5 - For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (ESV)
Psalms 56:3-4 - When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? (ESV)
Having faith in God, we have our shield:
Genesis 15:1 - After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. (ESV)
59.5. Helmet of Salvation
Our hope of salvation which we have in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:17 - and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (ESV)
Isaiah 59:17 - He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. (ESV)
I Thessalonians 5:8 - But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (ESV)
59.6. Sword of the Spirit
59.6.1. Apply the word of God to combat lies
Ephesians 6:17 - and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, (ESV)
59.6.2. Believe the truth
Matthew 4:4 - But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (ESV)
59.6.3. Keep a clean heart with God
Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (ESV)
59.6.4. Repent
Revelation of John 19:15 - From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (ESV)
Revelation of John 2:16 - Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. (ESV)
Hosea 6:5 - Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. (ESV)
59.7. Prayer
Ephesians 6:18 - praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (ESV)
I Thessalonians 5:17 - pray without ceasing, (ESV)
Colossians 4:2 - Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. (ESV)
I Timothy 2:1 - First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, (ESV)
Philippians 4:6 - do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (ESV)
Jude 1:20 - But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit; (ESV)
Romans 8:26-27 - Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (ESV)
59.8. Lamp
Awaiting the revelation of Jesus Christ, prepare our hearts, waiting for Jesus to knock, ready for action.
Keep shining your light, maintaining a heart of service, and do good works of faith to glorify God, as we put our hope fully on the mercy and grace from Jesus Christ.
I Peter 1:13 - Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Luke 12:33-37 - Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. (ESV)
60. Solae
I believe in all of theses:
sola fida
(by faith alone) AMEN!!.- The justifying faith may include 'acts of faith', which is just visible faith.
- Works done outside of faith do not qualify for justification.
sola gratia
(by grace alone) AMEN!!sola scriptura
(by Scripture alone) AMEN!!Solus Christus
AMEN!!Soli Deo gloria
(glory to God alone) AMEN!! But the glory God gives us glorifies God.
John 7:18 - The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
I'm honestly just trying to combat falsehood by reading and applying the Scriptures in a way where I'm responding to promptings from the Holy Spirit and taking every thought captive to obey Christ, and I want to honour Jesus and honour God, and not bury my talent. So I hope my Bible study has been helpful. And all glory to God.
II Corinthians 10:5 - We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Matthew 25:22-23 - And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more. His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.
60.1. Regarding glory to God alone
When it comes to forgiving offenses of others, my understanding is that it is about forgiving others' offenses against 'you', thereby ultimately still going through Christ for forgiveness, since:
John 20:22-23 - And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. (ESV)
Proverbs 19:11 - Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. (ESV)
Matthew 6:12 - and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 18:35 - So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
Mark 11:25 - And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Matthew 10:8 - Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (ESV)
61. Then, glorification
Jesus sent us. We seek to glorify Jesus. We seek to glorify our Master. We seek to glorify God. We seek to be found in Jesus. We seek the glorification that comes from being found in our Master, Jesus Christ.
John 7:18 - The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory, but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
The glory comes from God:
John 5:44 - How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Psalms 73:24 - You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
God glorifies Jesus:
John 5:41 - I do not receive glory from people.
John 8:54 - Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God.
God glorifies Himself through glorifying Jesus through working through Jesus. The power comes from God:
John 11:4 - But when Jesus heard it he said, This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.
John 13:32 - If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
Jesus glorifies us by working through us to do God's work which also glorifies Jesus and glorifies God:
John 14:13 - Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 15:8 - By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
The Spirit whom those who have faith in Jesus receive works through us:
John 7:39 - Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus glorified God by accomplishing the work that God gave Him - Jesus obeyed God.
John 17:4 - I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
Likewise, we must obey God, and obey God by obeying Jesus, and being sanctified in the Truth. By having faith in Jesus and trusting in the Truth, and obeying, we are cleaned, transformed and made to glorify God:
John 17:8-26 - For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.
II Thessalonians 1:10 - when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
61.0.1. Glorification is Christ-likeness
Glorification is the good works including forgiving others, relieving others' burdens, etc. suffering for the sake of righteousness and obedience to God.
Imitating Jesus, forgiving others, walking righteously, and doing good works (bearing one-another's burdens) glorifies Jesus and glorifies God.
This should never replace Jesus, but glorifies Jesus because it's being a disciple of Jesus.
Hebrews 2:10 - For it was fitting for Him, for whom (G3739 hos) are all (G3956 pas) things (G3956 pas), and through whom (G3739 hos) are all (G3956 pas) things (G3956 pas), in bringing many sons to glory (G1391 doxa), to perfect (G5048 teleioo) the author of their salvation (G4991 soteria) through sufferings.
If someone's lord is money and not Jesus and then they try to do good works such as setting up businesses, I feel like this glorifies money, not Jesus.
Here, Zacchaeus, renounces money and makes Jesus his Lord. This must happen first.
Luke 19:8 - And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. (ESV)
Abram did this too. It's a necessary act of faith.
Genesis 14:20-24 - and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.
Genesis 15:1 - After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.
61.0.2. True obedience leads to glory/holiness/Christ-likeness
For example, to truly obey God and love / do no harm to one's neighbour involves relieving other's burdens as they ask more from you.
Philippians 2:8 - And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Jesus endured the weight of His cross to lighten our burden.
Hebrews 12:3 - Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
We are called to do the same, lightening the burdens of others. We are forgiven and given grace, then we can choose to forgive others and lighten their burdens - grace propagates.
Hebrews 12:4-6 - In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
Hebrews 12:10 - For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
61.0.3. Forgive others' offenses towards you is glory
Proverbs 19:11 - Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. (ESV)
Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (ESV)
You are required to:
- forgive others for your sake
- forgive others for their sake
- forgive others as a response of love to Jesus for your sins being forgiven
- to be able to forgive others is a gift to you and part of glorification
This is simultaneously required and is part of glorification/holiness.
I think there's something very important about forgiving others especially for things which happen after being born-again of the Spirit and receiving the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 3:13 - bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
John 20:21-23 - Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.
Especially immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit, Jesus forgives those who you forgive - this is partaking in the process of forgiveness.
Jesus is the one who forgives sin, but we actually participate in propagating that forgiveness.
Forgiving others entirely is also required
Jesus can forgive others even if you do not, but Father God cannot forgive you unless you forgive.
Matthew 6:12 - and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Matthew 6:14-15 - For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
Matthew 18:35 - So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.
61.0.4. Be extremely generous - give without limits to relieve the burdens of others
Matthew 10:8 - Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (ESV)
1 Peter 4:8 - Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (ESV)
Luke 6:35-36 - But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. (ESV)
Mark 12:41-44 - And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but s he out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on. (ESV)
Dominating others in your flock is like witchcraft, and will forfeit glorification.
1 Peter 5:1-4 - So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (ESV)
One is supposed to suffer with Christ for glory and be an example to the flock.
61.0.5. Do the good works which have been gifted to you
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
61.0.6. Walk in righteousness
Daniel 12:3 - And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (ESV)
61.0.7. The deeds of glory - Christlikeness
Hebrews 3:14 - For we share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. (ESV)
All the times a person has acted in Christlike obedience:
- forgiving others in knowledge they have been forgiven themselves
- giving mercy to others in knowledge they have themselves received mercy
- encouraging one-another
- serve others
- suffering as a Christian
- etc.
God glorifies Jesus (His Son) so Jesus may glorify Him (God). Jesus glorifies us (His disciples) so we may glorify Him (Jesus) and glorify God by glorifying Jesus.
This is obedience.
John 17:1 - When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,
John 17:4 - I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
God glorifies Jesus. Jesus obeyed God and accomplished the work God gave Him. Jesus showed God's truthfulness through His obedience. Jesus showed God to be true and glorified God:
- Romans 15:8-9 - For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.
Jesus glorifies us: We must obey Jesus and accomplish the work God gives us.
John 8:54 - Jesus answered, If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, He is our God.
Jesus is glorified in us - our glory is His glory because we obey Him and show Jesus's truthfulness as Jesus has shown God's truthfulness:
John 17:22-23 - The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.
Jesus is glorified in us.
John 17:10 - All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. (ESV)
Jesus accomplished His work. we must accomplish our work.
John 17:4 - I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
Christlikeness:
I Peter 2:12 - Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Romans 12:1 - I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Revelation of John 19:8 - it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Suffering for Christian obedience, as Christ suffered for His obedience:
John 21:18-19 - Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go. (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. ) And after saying this he said to him, Follow me.
I Peter 4:16 - Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
Please your neighbour for their good:
Romans 15:2-3 - Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.
Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you. Live in harmony with one-another, encouraging and serving one another [as Christ did]:
Romans 15:5-7 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Be merciful and serving to others, show God's truthfulness. glorify God by your conduct. Others then praise God:
Romans 15:8-9 - For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.
Supply the needs of the saints:
II Corinthians 9:12 - For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
Be thankful to God:
II Corinthians 9:13 - By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,
61.0.8. Seeing Jesus, appearing in glory
1 John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 1:4-8 - I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Colossians 3:4 - When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (ESV)
Philippians 1:6 - And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (ESV)
Philippians 1:10 - so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, (ESV)
Philippians 2:16 - holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (ESV)
John 6:39 - And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. (ESV)
61.0.9. The putting off of the body
II Peter 1:13-21 - I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
61.0.10. I think to relax commandments is throw away glorification
Matthew 5:19 - Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)
However, I'm not placing myself under the Mosaic law. My job is to do God's will, and I believe I have to maintain faithfulness to God with regards to His will for my life, being led by the Holy Spirit, not making Mosaic law compliance my objective, but making God's will my objective. So, for example, that means making disciples of Jesus. Also, that means deepening my relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 24:35 - Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
62. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human
Jesus Christ is the Word of God who became flesh - this is what I believe - not just God in the flesh but God who became flesh, then He was put to death on a tree (a cross) for our trespasses and Father God raised Him from the dead for our justification:
John 1:14 - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)
Romans 4:20-25 - No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was counted to him as righteousness. But the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (ESV)
AMEN!!
I trust the ESV and NASB translations that say the word became flesh.
Also, I've been born of God, so I have Christ in me:
John 1:12-13 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (ESV)
I have the Spirit of God in me:
Romans 8:9 - You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (ESV)
63. Praising and thanking God in Heaven:
We should start now.
Revelation 7:9-12 - After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. (ESV)
64. I don't want to think too hard about theology, but it is important - writing this was worthwhile in arriving at a sound understanding
By God's grace I've been set free from sin, and brought into a relationship with God, and have hope for the future now.
Ephesians 2:12-13 - remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (ESV)
Deuteronomy 29:29 - The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (ESV)
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (ESV)
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
65. Resources
66. The close of the age
Matthew 13:45-52 - Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to him, Yes. And he said to them, Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.
67. Jesus Christ is Lord! :)
The Only True God is the God and Father of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ who He Sent.
John 17:3 - And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (ESV)
Jude 1:25 - to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (ESV)
Ephesians 3:20-21 - Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
I Chronicles 29:11 - Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. (ESV)
Revelation of John 19:1 - After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, (ESV)
I Timothy 6:15-16 - which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (ESV)
Revelation of John 17:14 - They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. (ESV)
I Timothy 1:17 - To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
68. AMEN!!
Therea??s Only One Acceptable Motive To Serve God - YouTube
The motivation for everything must be to glorify God.
68.1. Do the will of the Father - obey Jesus - AMEN!!
The most terrifying passage in the Bible | Matthew 7:21-23 - YouTube
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (ESV)
It's obedience which leads to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith.
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (ESV)
Romans 4:12-13 - and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
68.1.1. A heart of obedience is the start of faith
John 7:17 - If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. (ESV)
68.2. For one's work to stand the test of fire
- For God's Glory
- Obedience to the Word of God
- Working in the power of the Holy Spirit
God's telephone number |
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Jeremiah 33:3 - Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. (ESV) |
The password |
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Psalms 100:4 - Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! (ESV) |
Praise {feat. Brandon Lake, Chris Brown & Chandler Moore} | Elevation Worship - YouTube
68.3. Prayer of thanks
1: Dear Heavenly Father, Almighty Jehovah God! 2: Your will be done. 3: We praise Your name! We praise You God! And, Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You also. 4: And Holy Spirit, we praise You also! 5: Thank You God for Your mercy! 6: Thank You Father God for making a way for us to be reconciled with You through Your Son Jesus Christ! 7: Thank You Jesus for dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins. 8: Thank You Father God for raising Jesus from the dead! 9: I believe that You've raised Jesus from dead. 10: Please help us to continue carrying out Your great commission. 11: And I'm going to do my best to prepare myself to be holy and blameless for the day of Christ Jesus and to honor You with my life. 12: All glory to You, God. 13: In Jesus Christ's name I pray, 14: AMEN!!
1: Dear Heavenly Father, Jehovah God, 2: Please forgive, me, LORD. 3: I want to serve You, God. 4: I don't deserve any of Your grace, LORD. 5: Thank You, God, for not condemning me, because Jesus has paid the price for my sin. 6: I believe that. I know it's already paid for. 7: Nevertheless, I live to serve You, God, and to be conformed into the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ. 8: In Jesus Christ's name I pray, 9: AMEN!!
- Romans 3:25 - whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (ESV)
- Colossians 2:14 - by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
- Philippians 1:9-11 - And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.