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NASB | Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
Subject: Can God save us the way HE WANTS TOO? |
Bible Note: You wrote: 'You bring up a good point here, when you said what God has done, (you the word "credited") and ("obedience") God will credit us before or after we obey him? This is exactly what Paul is teaching about faith!' Is it? We are getting to the crux of the matter here, so let's examine this part carefully. First of all, I cannot take "credit" for the word I used since the Spirit used it first (Romans 4:1-5 and James 2:23; the OT rendering is often "reckoned" as in Genesis 15:6). The second, most important issue is this question you raised: "God will credit us before or after we obey him?" Looking at Genesis 15:1-6, we see God reckoning righteousness to Abraham before he even lifts a finger. Paul agrees when addressing the Romans: "How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them" --Romans 4:10-11 Before Abraham was circumcised (which doesn't occur until Genesis 17), he was credited with righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Abraham's offering of Isaac (alluded to in James 2) was AFTER righteousness had been credited to him. Therefore, the order we see with Abraham (and us) is belief, leading to justification before God, leading to compliance with God's commandments. The righteousness that gets us into heaven is not something we achieve (because we all fall short -- Romans 3:23-24): "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the GIFT of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." --Romans 5:17 The righteousness that gets us into heaven is Christ's righteousness applied to us, not our own: "and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" --Philippians 3:9 "For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." --Romans 10:3 You wrote: "Yes you can say "Faith alone" as long as you understand that faith is active and not stagnant" The way I have heard it best put is that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that IS alone. We become justified before God through faith and nothing else, but true faith is accompanied by repentance and leads to obedience. And all of these are gifts of God. --Joe! |