Posted on 12/11/2010 8:23:13 AM PST by bibletruth
Many people profess that Jesus Christ is their savior - but always with a caveat (always with some ADDITIONAL factor - WHICH ALWAYS ADDS UP TO WORKS).
Many people today profess that Jesus Christ is their savior; but - if they are laboring under the delusion that they must DO something (some sort of WORKS) in order to KEEP their salvation they are TAKING AWAY from the FINISHED WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary and ADDING to the Gospel of the Grace of God!
When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke the words It Is FINISHED [John 19:30] - you can bet your soul that there is NOTHING that we can DO to ADD to that FINISHED WORK! The Lord Jesus Christ did NOT die and shed His blood just for the sins that I committed BEFORE I believed on Him and received Him as my Saviour! 1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. {ALL OF THEM! NO SIN has been excluded nor un-forgiven from the FINISHED WORK of Christ on the CROSS!}
Many people today profess that Jesus Christ is their savior; but - if they are laboring under the delusion that they must DO something (some sort of WORKS) in order to KEEP their salvation they are TAKING AWAY from the FINISHED WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary and ADDING to the Gospel of the Grace of God!
When the Lord Jesus Christ spoke the words It Is FINISHED [John 19:30] - you can bet your soul that there is NOTHING that we can DO to ADD to that FINISHED WORK! The Lord Jesus Christ did NOT die and shed His blood just for the sins that I committed BEFORE I believed on Him and received Him as my Saviour! 1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. {ALL OF THEM! NO SIN has been excluded nor un-forgiven from the FINISHED WORK of Christ on the CROSS!}
To understand the SCOPE and IMPACT of the FINISHED WORK of CHRIST, we must understand the word PROPITIATION:
PROPITIATION, n. propisia'shon.
1. The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious.
2. In theology, the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of men. John 2.
If Christ’s Sacrifice on Calvary is not sufficient for all of my sins (past, present, & future), WHO or WHAT is going to be the PROPITIATION for those sins that I have committed since I was saved back in college? It is FOLLY to think or believe that we can possibly appease God with our own WORKS [Ephesians 2:8-9; 2Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5 ]! It didn’t work for Cain and it will NOT work for anyone else who thinks or believes that God will be satisfied with something other than the Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice on Calvary!
Christ did not just die for our past sins - He died for ALL of our sins: And he is THE PROPITIATION for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. [1John 2:2] To think or believe otherwise is to ADD to the FINISHED WORK of Christ and to CHANGE the Gospel of the Grace of God! The Apostle Paul had NOTHING GOOD to say about those who CHANGE or PERVERT the Gospel OF Christ - and neither should we!
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) 2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
What’s the difference between someone thinking or believing that they can DO something to EARN God’s salvation, and someone thinking or believing that they must DO "something to KEEP it?
When someone (it matters not as to who) believes that they can DO something (works) in order to EARN their salvation they are pitting their righteousness against the righteousness of God [Romas 3:21-23; 1Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 3:9]. When someone (it matters not as to who) believes (as most Catholics do) that they must DO something (i.e. works) in order to help God out, in some way, to either EARN their salvation or KEEP it, they are casting doubt on the efficacy (i.e. effectiveness) of Christ’s FINISHED WORK on Calvary - whether they are aware of it or not! When someone (it matters not as to who) professes that Christ is their savior, but thinks or believes that they must still DO something (i.e. works) in order to KEEP their salvation they are calling into question - the capacity of God’s Grace to SAVE to the uttermost, and the power of God to KEEP His saints. They certainly are NOT TRUSTING in the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST for their salvation - whether they are aware of it or not!
Please think about this: Most Cults believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin; that He performed many miracles; that He is the Son of God; that He is the Second Member of the Trinity (i.e. the Godhead); that He died, and was buried, and rose again from the dead - so what’s the problem? The problem is: Most Cults do NOT believe or accept that that our salvation is solely a GIFT from God - without any of our WORKS attached to it [Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:15; 6:23]. They do NOT believe IN Christ’s FINISHED WORK on Calvary (i.e. they do NOT believe that Christ earned our salvation - all by Himself). They do NOT believe that God’s salvation is COMPLETE (in and of itself). They do NOT believe ON Christ’s ability to KEEP His sheep (In other words, they do NOT TRUST Him to KEEP His promises concerning ETERNAL LIFE - i.e. His GIFT to those who have believed ON Him). [John 10:27-28; Romans 5:21; 6:23; Titus 1:1-3; 3:4-7; 1John 2:25; 5:11-13]
They do NOT believe that once a person has believed in or upon the Lord Jesus Christ and has received Him as their Saviour, that they are born again of God [John 3:5-8]; and that they become the sons of God [John 1:12-13], and saints, and of the household of God [Ephesians 2:18-22]; and that once they are born again that they are in the Father’s & in the Son’s Hands [John 10:27-29] and are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise [Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30] - with absolutely no possibility of losing their ETERNAL LIFE (i.e. their SALVATION) or their sonship.
WHY would a person, who professes to believe in Christ as their Saviour, ever cast doubt on Almighty God’s ability to KEEP His saints? WHY would they ever think or believe that we could lose our salvation? Or be cast into outer darkness? Or be cast into Hell? WHAT would lead a Christian to think or believe such a fantastic LIE? I can think of only one thing that would lead any one, who professes to be a Christian, to think or believe such a thing, and it is called SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS! Only a self-righteous person would dare to think or believe that they can actually DO something to either EARN God’s Salvation or KEEP IT!
Imagine: A genuine born again child of God thinking or believing that their righteousness can measure up to God’s righteousness [Isaiah 64:6]! Or that there is something that they can DO that can ADD to the FINISHED WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary - i.e. some work that they can perform in order to KEEP their salvation: a salvation which the Lord Jesus Christ EARNED (all by Himself) and which is a FREE GIFT [Romans 5:15-16, 18] from God (but only to those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and have received Him as their personal Saviour).
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Imagine: A genuine born again child of God thinking or believing that there is something that they can DO to SECURE their salvation - when it is God’s Salvation to begin with!
Those Christians who think or believe that there is something they can ADD to the FINISHED WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, or who think or believe that there is something that they can DO to help God out - in order to KEEP their salvation are laboring under a Satanic delusion! It’s God’s Salvation - NOT ours! CHRIST EARNED IT! And there is NOTHING that any one can "DO" to RECEIVE God’s Salvation - other than to BELIEVE ON GOD’S SON (THE LORD JESUS CHRIST); and there is NOTHING anyone (who has received the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour) can "DO" (as born again sons of God) to KEEP God’s Salvation! And to think or believe otherwise is the height of personal pride and self-righteousness!
I can not get into an in depth exposition (at this time) on the issues of Biblical justification (how we are justified in God’s eyes); Biblical sanctification (how we are sanctified in God’s eyes); or Biblical righteousness (how we become righteous in God’s eyes); other than to say that the issue of God’s Salvation [Psalm 50:23; Acts 28:28] includes the study (and understanding) of these Scriptural precepts and much more. Getting saved is EASY - Understanding God’s Salvation takes personal study, meditation, prayer, and the Holy Spirit of God revealing the truth of God in these matters to the individual believer, as God Almighty sees fit.
If a Christian wants to know God’s mind on these issues I recommend spending several months in reading and studying the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, along with his Epistle to the Galatians as a companion Book. The Gospel of the Grace of God is fully explained in these two Books - far better than I could ever hope to explain it. It is impossible for me to give another person understanding in these matters!
BUT WHAT DOES the Bible say correctly about my SALVATION by the FINISHED WORK of CHRIST:
AS A BELIEVER, I AM:
I am justified freely by God’s Grace and by Christ’s FINISHED WORK on Calvary: Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
I am sanctified in Christ Jesus by Christ’s FINISHED WORK on Calvary: 1Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1Corinthians 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
I have been made "righteous" by (and through) Christ’s FINISHED WORK on Calvary: Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Propitiation resolves the problem of the demands of God’s righteousness and justice. He is always propitiated so that those demands are always met for all time and eternity, therefore our sins, even post-salvation sins, are no longer an issue.
(But we still need to confess them to stay in fellowship with God. 1 Jn 1:9)
Isn’t this what the Religious Forum is for?
Our sins do not jump off us when we confess them, for they were already paid for "once for all time". But Christ is justified, who has forgiven us , to cleanse us from all sin. This is the way I believe it, so I don't get tangled up by those who say you will go to Hell if you die having any unconfessed sin in your life (a form of legalism).
No, the key is Ephesian where Paul says God "In Love He Predestined us". He predestined us before the foundation of the world, before we were even born. Not because of any merit that we would ever have, but simply because He Loved us, because He Loved us, Because He Loved us.
This is why I always mention God's Love first. It is out Love that He went to the Cross, it is out of Love that He paid the full price to meet the Father's demands. It is out of Love that He Justifies us and out of Love that he Preserves us and is the Finisher of our Faith.
Best Regards,
SR
As Christ provided: we, the righteous, have the law fulfilled in us, who walk after the Spirit:
Romans 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Christ's Work on the Cross preserves us and is the Finisher of our Faith - not man's cult false doctrines, but God's Perfect PROPITIATION through the FINISHED WORK of Christ.
If they are doing this, they are simply following the words Paul wrote in Scripture.
Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: Galatians 1:4
Might deliver us is a far way from any certainty.
Paul told the Christians in Rome that “God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (Rom. 2:6–8).
Clearly, what you do and your persistence is rewarded by God.
Then again in Timothy: Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him,we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. (2 Tim. 2:11–12).
If we do not endure, we shall not reign with him.
There can be no absolute assurance of salvation. Paul said, "See, then, the kindness and severity of God: severity toward those who fell, but God’s kindness to you, provided you remain in his kindness, otherwise you too will be cut off" (Rom. 11:22–23
Note that Paul includes the important condition: "provided you remain in his kindness." He is saying that Christians can lose their salvation by doing something. He later warns, "Whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall" (1 Cor. 10:11–12).
So are we saved? Yes. I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, I trust in Him alone for my salvation, and, as the Bible teaches, I am ‘working out my salvation in fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12), knowing that it is God’s gift of Grace that is working in me.
The ONLY thing that Jesus BECAME was sin for us, who knew no sin.
Jesus didn't BECOME anything, he always was. It is us who are to become like Christ, taking his nature upon ourselves.
Jesus didn't BECOME a good man, he ALWAYS WAS a sinless man.
Jesus didn't BECOME a diety, he ALWAYS WAS.
He became man, and became a sin sacrifice for our sins. He always was perfect and without blemish.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Paul does not write about losing salvation: see in Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
2 Timothy 2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
AND WE ARE DEAD with HIM - through the CROSS!
2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
You do no understand Paul, when Paul writes to the saints, Paul knows that we have eternal salvation that cannot be taken away. When Paul writes to warn readers, he warns them that if some will deny Christ, then Paul warns that Christ will deny them: THAT is NOT directed to saints, as if Paul is saying that saints can lose their salvation. That kind of thinking is in direct conflict with all the doctrines which Paul writes in his episples. Read John 10:29 more carefully, read Paul more carefully; read all of Romans, Galatians, 1 & 2 Cor, and all Ephesians, Colossians, before you accuse saints that they can lose their salvation. I have often deflected this kind of faulty thinking about losing salvation: it is not the kind of doctrine that Paul is admonishing to saved believers!
Do read and ponder Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8-10, for starters.
Salvation is NOT ACCORDING to OUR WORKS!
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
This is a lie fabricated from the devil - it it is true, then the THE PROPITIATION for our sins and the FINISHED WORK of Christ on the CROSS is ALL IN VAIN !
Paul actually says God "might deliver us" , "according to what they have done.", "by persistence in doing good", "if we endure", while "working out my salvation in fear and trembling"
You cannot just ignore these and many other clear passages of Scripture that disagree with your beliefs. You need to understand the whole of Scripture, and not just those verses that agree with you. If even one verse of Scripture disagrees with what you believe, you need to find a new belief.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
GOD hath before the foundation of the world ordained [those works] that we should walk in them; this is NOT of ourselves to pick and choose - but GOD directly our good works - WHICH HAVE NOT BEARING on us losing SALVATION, whether we perform them goodly or poorly...
GOD does not ordain works that result in our losing SALVATION. That is a lie fabricated by the devil. It's the devil whom does not want you saved; follow him, and you will have never been called by God. Follow God and Jesus Christ, and you will never lose your salvation.
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