Subject: need for a bible-anyone |
Bible Note: "We frequently hear that salvation is a free gift and there is nothing a person can do once he is saved to lose that salvation." I frequently read it, too, in the pages of Scripture. "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." --Romans 6:23 "But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 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 5:15-17 "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." --Colossians 1:12-14 [Did we qualify ourselves? No. We were also rescued (His work) from darkness and transferred to Christ's Kingdom (we are already there; done deal)] "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." --Romans 8:29-30 [I don't see "our part" listed here. God initiates and completes EVERYTHING in salvation] You wrote: "That once a person accepts this gift he is saved from hell; will receive the Holy Spirit and will be sealed for eternity. This sealing in the religious world’s mind is something akin to freeze-drying food; once it is complete, that food will last forever!" Cute analogy again. How do the "Churches of Christ" interpret: "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." --Ephesians 1:13-14 We are adopted as SONS. We are sons of God as a result of His regenerating work. We are given the Holy Spirit as a pledge (God's promise) of our inheritance, when we believed. We are God's own possession (cf. 1 Peter 2:9-10). What else does the Bible say about our sonship? 'Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.' --Galatians 4:6-7 Again, we are heirs with Christ. From the "Satan's delusions" paragraph, the only one withw hich I disagree is this one: 'Thirdly, no work, or even more mildly, any effort is needed to obtain or maintain a person’s salvation once they have believed that Jesus died for their sins. "It is a free gift!"' We have already seen how it is a free gift, as Scripture tells us. In previous posts I have also shown that good works are the fruit of true repentance (i.e. true, saving faith will ALWAYS result in God-honoring works), but that they could never form the basis of our salvation in any part. Paul writes: "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" --Romans 4:4-5 If our works even maintain our salvation, then in some part we DESERVE our salvation, a concept that is 180 degrees opposite to the view that Scripture gives us. And if we "earn the wages" of righteousness, then we have room for boasting, don't we? Again, that is the error of the Pharisees and the Judaizers. "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" --Galatians 3:3 You wrote: "If we do not remain Faithful until death we will not be given the crown of life. See all of Rev 2:10 and furthermore" Absolutely correct. However, who enables His children and keeps them faithful until death? As we saw in my previous post, it is God working in us to preserve us. It is God who works saving faith in the hearts of His children, and it is God who causes his children to remain faithful. Obedience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5), not a means of gaining it or maintaining it. --Joe! |