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Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Whole Story
The problem is not with the scriptures most are quoting. The problem is with the story they are building around those scriptures,
which deny the entirety of what Jesus taught.
Jesus did say we are to believe on him to be saved. This is true. But
that is not all that Jesus taught concerning our salvation. He also taught that we were to repent and obey. We are to walk
in love and faith. We are to take up our cross to follow him. We are to endure faithfully unto death. We are to be witnesses
of his gospel and endure the persecution that comes with being witnesses. We are to be a kind, compassionate and merciful
people. We are to be humble.
All these things pertain to our salvation, in addition to the knowledge of Jesus shedding
his blood for our redemption, and the necessity of being born again.
Many are focusing on one specific part of the gospel
message and throwing the rest of it into the trash can.
You need to distinguish the difference between what Jesus did
and what Jesus commanded. Jesus surrendered himself to be crucified, shedding his blood for the remission of sin, being buried
and rising again the third day. This is what Jesus did, but it's not what Jesus commanded. Jesus commanded us to repent and
obey. Jesus commanded us to take up our cross and to walk in love towards the Father, himself and our neighbor. He did these
things, giving us an example of how we were to walk, and commanded us to go and do likewise.
What many are claiming,
is that all we have to do is believe what Jesus did, but without obeying what he commanded. That is not faith.
The
three main divisions of the gospel are as follows:
1. Who Jesus is.
2. What Jesus did.
3. What Jesus commanded
us to do.
Revelation 17:14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords,
and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The issue today is that same issue
that was from the beginning in the garden of Eden; will you love the Lord and obey his commandments? Will you be faithful?
Many are called but few are chosen. Who are the chosen? They are the faithful!
1 John 2:17And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Matthew 7:21Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy
name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
24Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not:
for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto
a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Galatians 5:6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. 7Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should
not obey the truth? 8This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9:15 pm est
Friday, December 18, 2009
Works Based Salvation
No such a thing exists as a works based salvation. All that will be saved are saved by the grace of God, given to those who
follow after the obedience of love and faith. Three primary tenets were given to us by Jesus; Love, Faith and obedience. All
three tenets are found within the hearts of men.
There are many who are confused about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They don’t understand how that salvation is by grace through faith, and yet you must also obey the Lord. For some reason they
equate obedience with a works based salvation.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is about change. Change that originates
in the hearts of men and is manifested outwardly in their behavior. This is called repentance. Jesus began his ministry proclaiming
that men were to repent or perish. We must change to be saved. To be born again is to be changed. We are to be transformed
by the renewing of our mind in Christ Jesus. This is change. I don’t understand people who teach “just come as you are” and
“you don’t have to do anything to be saved”. Then they tell you all you have to do is believe and say the sinners prayer.
If you have to believe, that is doing something. If you have to call on the name of the Lord to be saved, that is
doing something. If you have to repent, that is doing something. So how is it that you have to do these things, while at the
same time you don’t have to do anything? Do you see the built in contradiction to modern day theology? If having to do anything
to be saved lays the foundation of a works based salvation, then it’s unavoidable.
So tell me where it is stated or
implied, in the scriptures, that you don’t have to do anything to be saved. Where is it stated that doing something forms
a works based plan of salvation? It is clearly taught that we are not saved by the “works of the law” or “doing good works”.
Doing good works is our duty and calling. But this is a product of being changed in heart, when a person repents and receives
the baptism of the Holy Ghost, therefore being born again.
Do you not understand that you can do all the goods works
that you can think of, and even attempt to keep the law of Moses, but that will not save you? Unless you are born again, you
cannot enter the kingdom of God. Unless you repent (change) you will not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost baptism. Unless
you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not repent. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. It is the goodness of
God that leads you to repentance. Being born again is the gift of God to all that repent. So where exactly are the works in
believing, repenting, being born again and obeying?
Believing, repenting and obeying are things you must do, and comes
from within the heart. The baptism of the Holy Ghost is something that God does for all those that believe and repent to obey.
There is no way possible to ignore what must be done, by us and God, for us to be saved. How do you believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and yet not believe what he said? How do you love the Lord and not obey him? What manner of faith continues
in the sins of disobedience? How are we to be transformed without changing (repenting)? How can we do what the Lord commanded
us without doing what the Lord commanded us? How does obedience to God become a matter of works, in lieu of love and faith?
We were warned that others would come in the name of the Lord Jesus, but they would bring to us another Jesus and
another gospel. Today’s theology by “free grace” teachers is that other Jesus and another gospel. Study to shew thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the world of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
11:21 am est
Love and Justice
What many people do not realize is that Love and Justice are two sides of the same coin. Take for example the analogy
of the wolf and sheep; the hunter and the prey. No one hates the wolf for being a wolf. The wolf has no choice in being what
it is. The wolf is a hunter by nature and it is a necessity for its survival. However, if you are a shepherd, the sheep are
a necessity for your survival. This is where survival of the fittest come in. The wolf is stronger than the sheep and must
kill it to survive. However, the shepherd is stronger than the wolf, and must kill the wolf before the wolf kill the sheep.
The shepherd loves his sheep because of the value they provide to him. Under this analogy the wolf is the enemy and the sheep
are friends to the shepherd. Under the justice system, there are also wolves and sheep among mankind. The difference
being is that man has a choice which one he chooses to be, the predator or the prey, the enemy or the friend. There is a common
term used today called “Enemy of the State”. An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the
state, such as treason. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example,
an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political dissidents as "enemies
of the state". In other cases, the individual in question may have legitimately endangered the country and/or its population.
For example, a double agent selling military or intelligence secrets could undermine a nation's security, and could therefore
be considered an enemy not of just a person or entity within a state, but the state itself and all entities therein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enemy_of_the_stateBased on the above introduction, we can conclude that love and justice are statements of value. Friends are an asset
whereas enemies are a liability. Therefore, “value” is the coin and “love and justice” are the two sides. Under the biblical
context, Jesus would be the State; King; or Shepherd. The State, Kingdom or flock is composed of Wolves and Sheep. As stated
before, the wolves (enemies) are liabilities and the sheep (friends) are the assets. In order for there to be peace, the populace
must be composed of law abiding sheep. Wolves bring in chaos and destruction to any peaceful society. One of two things must
take place concerning the wolves. They must either be transformed into sheep or be removed and destroyed to protect and preserve
the sheep and the peace of the society. Love dictates the necessity of Justice. Logic and Wisdom dictate the necessity
of Justice. Truth dictates the necessity of Justice. Many think of justice as being about fairness. It’s not. Justice is about
value and the protection of assets. Wars are just when engaged to protect and preserve the value of your assets from
the wolves. The death penalty is just when engaged to protect and preserve the value of your assets from wolves. The law is
just and fair when the sheep (faithful) are rewarded and wolves (unfaithful) are punished. The scriptures tell us that
God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Jesus came not into the world to condemn
the world but that through him the world might be saved. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked
turn from his ways and live. Jesus said that two paths were set before mankind. One path leads to life and the other path
leads to judgment. You are to choose which path that you will follow. Your eternal destination is determined by the path you
choose to follow. This is called “Free Will”. The issue here is not that God hates mankind and seeks to punish them.
Quite the opposite. God seeks to save the lost (wolves) by changing/converting them to sheep. To all the wolves that
are willing to change, God will give you a new heart and new spirit. To those wolves not willing to change, you will face
justice as enemies of the State. So the issue comes down to your hating God, His State, and Others. The commandments
of the New Covenant in Christ is that you will love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor
as yourself. The sheep follow the Shepherd. The wolves seek only to devour the sheep, and therefore must face the justice
of Gods wrath. It is very difficult for wolves to change because they are lovers of themselves and pleasures more than God.
But it’s not impossible, yet! The day is coming and fastly approaching where men shall seek God, but not be able to find him;
and shall call out to him but he will no longer answer. The time is short. Choose this day whom you will serve, before it’s
too late to change. Repent (change) for the kingdom of God is at hand.
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