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NASB | John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 6:37 "All that My Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, never reject anyone who follows Me]. |
Subject: Is 'once saved always saved correct? |
Bible Note: Dear Tim, 1) Men will NEVER agree concerning WORKS until they understand fully that Paul in Eph. 2:9 is speaking of the "works" of the old law of Moses (Gal. 2:16; 3:10-12; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5) by which "no man could be justified" (Gal. 2:16; 3:10-12). 2) James also talks about "WORKS" but not "works of merit" (where man "works" to hold God accountable or deserving of salvation) as 2 Tim. 1:9 declares. Note that James even declares in James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." No man could "keep perfectly" the law of Moses because Rom. 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 3) GOD'S PART IN MAN'S SALVATION PROCESS - Therefore, in order to save man, God had to design a faith "system" by which man could be reconciled back to God. He accomplished this "by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 3:24). The shedding of Christ's blood "satisfied" God's requirement for man's sin (Rom. 3:24-31; 5:8-10). God provided the means through which man might be "forgiven" of his sins and be "reconciled" back to God (Rom. 5:10). Grace, then, is "God's part" in the reconcilation process (Eph. 2:8). 4) MAN'S PART IN GOD'S SALVATION PROCESS - Paul states in Romans 3:25-26 that God sent Jesus to be a "propitiation," which involves two ideas (1) satisfying the demands of the law, and (2) placating the wrath of God. No other sacrifice could accomplish "both" of these demands. Jesus died in our place (2 Cor. 5:21; John 1:29; 1 Thess. 5:9-10; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2; 4:10. This propitiation is "through faith in his blood." We must believe (faith) that the blood of Jesus has the power to "wash away our sins" (Acts 22:16) when we "obey" the Gospel. When a person is scripturally baptized (immersed in water), he is "baptized into" the death of Christ. Since Jesus shed His blood in His death (Rom. 6:3-4), that blood is applied when one obeys the Gospel, when he is "born again" of water and the Spirit, and his sins are "washed away" by His blood. The power is NOT in the water, but in the BLOOD! That blood "continues" to wash away the sins of the children of God as they "continue" to "walk in the light" and "confess" their sins before God ( 1 John 1:7-9). Romans 3:27 - Here Paul is showing that all boasting or glorying is "excluded" by the nature of God's plan to redeem man through the sacrifice of Jesus. The apostle here points out that there are "two" kinds of laws that could justify. By a "law of works" a man could be justified, but only if he kept every part of the law PERFECTLY (James 2:10). This, of course, no man could do. Thus "the law of faith" is the ONLY MEANS by which anyone can be spared the punishment of sin, and this "law of faith" excludes ANY boasting on man's part. The "law of faith" is the Gospel or the "law of liberty" as James declares (James 1:25; 2:12). This "law of faith or liberty" is the Gospel or New Testament (Heb. 9:15-16) which teaches us that we MUST OBEY God's will (or testament in order to be saved - Matt. 7:21). This is "man's part" in his salvation ("saved through faith" - Eph. 2:8). Romans 3:28 - Law-keeping alone, which the Jews believed was all they needed, will not save anyone. We must have faith IN CHRIST and trust Him to save us, however, OBEDIENCE to the Gospel IS NOT EXCLUDED, as we have already observed. Martin Luther added the word "only" to this text, but the Holy Spirit did not inspire Paul to write "faith only" here nor "grace only" in Eph. 2:8. 5) James is talking about the same "kind" of works as Paul talks about in Eph. 2:10. The "works" that Paul talks about are "works of obedience" that "God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them." This is the same "kind" of "faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6). This "love principle" motivates us as Christians to please God in the doing of His will. In order to demonstrate our love for God, we (his workmanship) have been "created in Christ Jesus unto GOOD WORKS (Emphasis mine), which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should WALK IN THEM (Emphasis mine). Some of those "good works" are listed in James 1:27; 2:14-26). 6) I pray that you (and others who read this posts) can understand that Christians who are "in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26-28) and who love Him should be engaging in "good works" that God has "ordained" (prepared) that Christians should do. NOT OUR WORKS - but GOD'S PREPARED WORKS - works of obedience - His commandments being part of those "good works" and "his commandments are not grievous." (hard to bear - 1 John 5:1-3). Paul even tells us in the letter to Titus that we as a "purchased people", should be "zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). Mike |