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To: Forest Keeper
It appears you are zooming in on verse 10

Actually 10 and 11. The two go hand-in-hand. They are part of one sentence (remember that verse nuimbeirng is man-made and that it was done for ease of reference only). The sentence reads:

Clearly, he is associating the works with receiving a "rich welcome" into Christ's kimgdom. The conditional nature of his statement is clearly makred with the word is if.

If is not a guarantee. Yes, we have bene cleansed, but if

1,037 posted on 03/19/2007 8:51:42 AM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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To: Forest Keeper
The conditional nature of his statement is clearly makred with the word is if.

darn keyboard! the last paragraph reads:

Yes, we have bene cleansed, but if we do things that will make us forget about God, negflect our cleanliness, we should not expect "rich welcome."

1,038 posted on 03/19/2007 8:53:01 AM PDT by kosta50 (Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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To: kosta50; annalex; kawaii; Kolokotronis
"For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Clearly, he is associating the works with receiving a "rich welcome" into Christ's kingdom. The conditional nature of his statement is clearly marked with the word if. Yes, we have been cleansed, but if we do things that will make us forget about God, neglect our cleanliness, we should not expect "rich welcome."

But if we read it that way then only people who never fall (sin) go to Heaven, and we know that isn't right. I don't see this passage as a proffer of exchange, "if you do this then you get that", because no one can live up to it perfectly. I see it as telling us clearly what to shoot for, or better yet, where God intends to take His children. It is about perseverance, and God tells us elsewhere that He is in charge of that, not us. We just do not trade deeds for salvation. That's what it sounds like you are saying.

1,076 posted on 03/21/2007 4:36:21 AM PDT by Forest Keeper
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