Subject: Accountable for every commandment? |
Bible Note: Dear inmyheart, Greetings in the name of Jesus! My friend, I have read and reread your post, and can't help feeling that you want to say something, but aren't saying it. (?) Perhaps I am just reading too deeply, but it seems to me that you consider our salvation to be decided upon the sum of our walk with Christ. For instance, the Bible speaks of repentance in ways. The initial repentance is turning away from our sinful nature and turning toward God. This repentance is part of saving faith, and is also concurrent with calling upon the name of the Lord (for the first time). From this starting point we are saved. (Actually, God knew us from before our birth, so from His standpoint, we are saved even before we are 'apprehended' by God and respond to His calling!) After this 'meeting' with the Lord, we continue to call upon his name, to exercise the gift of faith, and repent from our sinful ways. But these subsequent actions are not for 'continued' salvation, but to serve the Lord, to perfect our lives, to please our Savior. I believe that water baptism is part of the latter sanctification, not the former justification. If we say that we must be baptized, repent daily, call upon His name daily, and read the Bible daily in order to 'preserve' our salvation, then we indeed begin to have a 'performance' based salvation. As I have said before, we are saved by grace (alone) through faith (alone). Nothing further is required to 'preserve,' 'validate,' or 'update' this salvation. However, obedience to the commandmants of the Lord Jesus pleases our God, and produces fruit and reward. This reward does not produce 'more-saved' saints. :-) It just pleases God. This, to me, is good enough. Well, it's late. Good night. In Christ Jesus, charis |