[American Constitutionalist]

Remember ?
Most of your cults are inherently " WORKS BASED " man made religion to keep people under their control.

The only reason why they preach and harp about " WORKS " to get saved or stay saved is to keep you inline, under their thumb, to keep you in bondage under their authority, not God's authority.

You see ?
Those who are in Christ have already meet all God's holy requirements for salvation in the person of Jesus Christ.... we have a higher standard.

Paul said, had it not been for the law, he would have not known about sin, but, Jesus Christ has already delivered us from the bondage of sin and death... we live in the newness of life.

Paul also says that the law is the ministry of death, the letter of the law is the ministry of death that shows us our sins and condemns us.

But, Jesus Christ has come to save us, to set us free from the bondage of sin and death and give us a hope, a faith in him that we will live for ever with him.

The law was weak through the flesh, but, Jesus Christ came to keep the law perfectly, for he was the only one who could have kept it perfectly.

What the law pushers, works based salvation pushers tend to forget, or deliberately want people to forget ?

Yes, God gave the law, but, still set up a system for a blood atonement.... people were still in their sins.... year after year.

The law pushers ? works based salvation pushers ?

Since you put your trust more in your works and efforts, keeping the law than the once and for ALL blood atonement of Jesus Christ ?

Then ?

Were is your system of the sacrificial blood atonement of bulls and goats since you reject what Jesus Christ has done on the cross for your salvation ?

The blood sacrificial system of atonement was done away with 2000 years ago when the Romans sacked and burned Jerusalem.

SO ? how are your sins atoned for ?


YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS !
In trusting in yourselves, your works, your own righteousness, and still claim Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice... sorry, it does not work what way... either , or.

You can keep the law all you want, but still go to hell.
There was still a need for a blood atonement.


However ?
Jesus Christ himself said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 20.

That ?

That unless your righteousness exceeds even that of the Scribes and Phantasies, in no wise, or in no case can you enter into heaven.

Jesus was saying that humanly speaking ?
It was impossible for any man to make it into heaven on their own accord.

There had to be another way, the anointed one i.e. JESUS CHRIST to make a way for us.

Paul said that no man was ever made justified in the sight of God by the law.


Those who want to push " SALVATION BY WORKS " only want it so to keep people in bondage and under their control, and when people talk about Salvation by Grace alone through faith, they are afraid to lose their power over the people.


Those in power didn't want the bible to be read by the unwashed masses, they wanted to keep the unwashed masses in ignorance.... i.e. in darkness.

That's what John talks about in 1 John 1:

You see ?
The law pushers, the salvation by works pushers want you to believe that John is talking about sin, sin , sin, sin, sin, sin, sin.

Now ?
If you look at the verse carefully and read the letter of John carefully in it's proper context, John is writing to weak Christians in their faith.

There were Gnostics going around telling people that Jesus Christ did not come in actual flesh, but, he was just a spirit.
John was saying here:



6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:


Yes, some will still try to convince you that John is talking about, sin, sin, sin, sin ....

That's strange ?

Isn't Jesus Christ the very one who came to save us from sin, sin, sin, sin ?

Besides ?

IF John is writing about sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin, sin ?
Then ?
This verse would not make any sense, since ? John goes on and says :

In the 8th verse : 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.


So ?

The law pushers, the salvation by works pushers say, it means, sin, sin, sin, sin, but John goes on in the same chapter,: " IF ? we say we have no sin ? we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. "

WOW ! such a contradiction of the Law pushers and Salvation by works pushers... isn't it ?

So ? what is John talking about here ?

Turn off the light in your room right now and you will see what John is talking about, if you turn off the light ? what do you see ? OHH YES !! DARKNESS !!

John is talking about being ignorant, unbelief, rejection of the truth.
Grace and TRUTH came by Jesus Christ.

Can't be in the light, and reject Jesus Christ at the same time.
What John is talking about is being ignorant of the truth, ignorance of the Gospel, unbelief of Jesus Christ.
So ? if you reject Jesus Christ and follow your own way to GOD ? the truth is not in you... your still walking in darkness since Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

[boatbums]

Those who want to push " SALVATION BY WORKS " only want it so to keep people in bondage and under their control, and when people talk about Salvation by Grace alone through faith, they are afraid to lose their power over the people.

I think that IS a big part of it. When some people hear that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, one of the first things they say is, "Then you can just go out and live as you please and you can still be saved? Go rob banks and murder and rape and you will still go to heaven?". When I hear that, I realize that it is coming from someone who does not understand the concept of grace and who is mired STILL in the idea that we have to be good to go to heaven. They do not get it that NO ONE can be good enough to go to heaven, and that is exactly why Christ died for us. They also do not understand how the Holy Spirit works within the heart of a child of God.

You said, "Most of your cults...are works based.", and it is true really about EVERY religion that has ever been created. It doesn't matter if the end goal is heaven, or nirvana or happy hunting grounds, it is ALL based on what you must do to bind back to God. That's what the word "religion" actually means - to bind back. But it is Jesus Christ and Christianity that is opposite of every other religion, because it is NOT what we must do for God, but what He has done for us. Because of His amazing grace, we who were at one time enemies of God, estranged from Him by our sins and our depravity, have been bought and redeemed from the eternal death we all really deserve into the eternal presence of Almighty God to live with Him in glory. All He asks of us is FAITH. Believe in what He has done for us. Receive the free gift of everlasting life. When we do this, we are reborn - born again, born from above - and are His children for eternity.

You spoke about that passage in I John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. That is a very good point! It is ONLY when we walk in God's light that we can have fellowship with him. The "light" is not of our own doing. There is this wonderful passage in Isaiah 50:10-11

Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of his servant?

Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on their God.

But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.

So, God is saying if we walk in our "own" light, we will fail, we will lie down in torment, in sorrow, because it is NOT our own light that shows us the way, it is GOD'S!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible says this:

The phrase, 'that kindle a fire,' refers to all the plans which people form with reference to their own salvation; all which they rely upon to guide them through the darkness of this world. It may include, therefore, all the schemes of human philosophy, of false religion, of paganism, of infidelity, deism, and self-righteousness; all dependence on our good works, our charities ties, and our prayers. All these are false lights which people enkindle, in order to guide themselves when they resolve to cast off God, to renounce his revelation, and to resist his spirit. It may have had a primary reference to the Jews, who so often rejected the divine guidance, and who relied so much on themselves; but it also includes all the plans which people devise to conduct themselves to heaven. The confidence of the pious (Isaiah 50:10) is in the light of God; that of the wicked is in the light of people.

The idea probably is, that all human devices for salvation bear the same resemblance to the true plan proposed by God, which a momentary spark in the dark does to the clear shining of a bright light like that of the sun. If this is the sense, it is a most graphic and striking description of the nature of all the schemes by which the sinner hopes to save himself.

Thank you for your comments!

[American Constitutionalist]

I want to add more to that.

Not only is John saying the truth is not in you when you walk in ignorance, in darkness in:

1 John 1: 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:


John is also saying ?
How can you claim you have fellowship with the father, and the son, i.e. Jesus Christ, and walk in darkness of unbelief in the truth of Gospel of Jesus Christ ?

How can you claim you know the father and that you have fellowship with God and reject the only way you can be saved ?
If someone rejects Jesus Christ they are walking in darkness of rejecting the light of the world, i.e Jesus Christ.
If they are rejecting Jesus Christ, the truth is not in them.

How can the law pushers and the work's based salvation people reconcile both verse 6 and 8 ?

How can they claim that verse 6 is talking about sin ? in their understanding of the word Darkness ?

The word darkness has more meaning and understanding than the meaning of sin, transgressions.

Walking in darkness means also walking in ignorance, having not a understanding, non-enlighten.

Why do you think they called the " DARK AGES " the Dark Ages ? because the people were ignorant of the truth.
Those in power, in rule wanted to keep the people ignorant of what the word of God actually said.

Religious leaders were afraid that the masses would get the truth and they would be out of power.... no wonder the official church were afraid and fought had to keep the word of GOD from being mass produced so the people could learn the word of GOD for them selves.

Yes people, the law pushers, the works based salvation people want to keep you under THEIR control because they are afraid to lose their power over you.

God came to set us free.

The only Priest I need, is my one and only HIGH PRIEST , and that is Jesus Christ our Lord.
I don't need some human priest to tell me if I am right with GOD or not, because my one and only high priest has already made me right in God's sight.