Here are a few examples, there are several dozen others...
"Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, *goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off." Rom 11:20-23
"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." 1 Cor 9:24-27
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor 6:9-10
"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain." 1 Cor 15:1-2
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal 5:19-21
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." Heb 10:26-27
These are just SOME from Paul, many others from Jesus and other writers of the NT. And of course, the OT is rife with the wicked not inheriting the "Kingdom".
A person takes on the Work of Christ from his POV at the point of belief.
And is THAT "saving faith", that minute you "take on the work of Christ"? I look on this as more preparation for the Spirit's fuller entrance into our lives during Baptism - where we become children of God and partakers of the Divine Nature. One must be born anew by the Spirit. God calls for a response of faith - Baptism.
What is "Baptized by blood"?
a martyr is considered baptized when he dies for the faith willingly, even if he was merely prepared by the Spirit and not formally baptized. The Spirit enters into the martyr in a way that achieves the effect of baptism to the non-martyr.
I mean, I think that our sins are remitted by the blood of Christ, as it says in the Bible
They are! Baptism and the Cross are united together. What did Paul say to the Romans:
"Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." Romans 6:2-6
Through our baptism, we are buried with Christ, united with the Passion and its effects. As a result, we have "died" to sin and now can partake in the glory of God, even now, although incompletely.
Does the Bible speak of the two-step method as applied by the Church, or of these other methods you mention.
It is not a two step process. Christ's death is called Redemption. It is enough and efficacious for each and every man ever created. However, it is NOT APPLIED to each and every man. This is where faith and baptism come into play. When we respond to God's gracious gifts, we receive the effects that God has promised to those who turn to Him (I hope you realize that we are not turning by our own power!)
If it helps, think of Christ's Work as liquid soap stored in a great big vat. It is available for free to anyone who wants to wash themselves. All you have to do is go to the spigot and draw some out. If you don't draw some out, you won't get cleaned...
Regards
Thank you for the verses on disinheritance. I think I see a theme. To me, for the most part these are perseverance verses. We all need instruction in both THAT we need to persevere, and HOW we can persevere (or what to avoid). These kinds of verses are great for that. God still guarantees that it will happen for the elect, but these teachings absolutely help those of the elect to choose to sin less. The elect want to please God, and these verses tell them how to do that.
And is THAT [point of belief] "saving faith", that minute you "take on the work of Christ"? I look on this as more preparation for the Spirit's fuller entrance into our lives during Baptism - where we become children of God and partakers of the Divine Nature. One must be born anew by the Spirit. God calls for a response of faith - Baptism.
To answer your question, I would say 'Yes', saving faith is manifested when we ask Jesus into our lives and hearts, we reckon sin, and acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives. --- I am a little confused as to how you can see the point of belief as being in preparation for baptism, when I thought that 99% of Catholic baptisms are as infants, before belief. However, if you are speaking of adult baptism, then do you see baptism as really being more important than belief itself?
Christ's death is called Redemption. It is enough and efficacious for each and every man ever created. However, it is NOT APPLIED to each and every man. This is where faith and baptism come into play. When we respond to God's gracious gifts, we receive the effects that God has promised to those who turn to Him (I hope you realize that we are not turning by our own power!)
Concerning adults, I have been under the impression that what I think happens at belief, you think happens at baptism. But with the above, I am not as sure. For an adult who has never been baptized, what happens at belief vs. baptism? I would say that baptism is an obedience to God, and an observance of the "everything" that happened at belief.