God Has Done His Part
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Romans 5:8 – “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ Has Done His Part
Colossians 1:13-14 – “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins;”
Acts 20:28 – “…the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”
The Gospel Is the Power To Save
Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
James 1:21 – “…receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Man Is Invited
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Revelation 22:17 – “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Some Things Man Must Do
Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Matthew 7:24-25 – “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rains descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.”
Believe the Gospel – Faith in God and Christ
Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
John 20:30-31 – “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Repent of Your Sins
Luke 13:3 – “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Acts 17:30 – “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”
Acts 3:19 – “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
Confess Christ as the Son of God
Matthew 10:32-33 – “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.”
Romans 10:9-10 – “That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Acts 8:37 – “…If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God.”
Be Baptized for the Remission of Past Sins
Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Mark 16:16 – “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Acts 22:16 – “And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
1 Peter 3:21 – “…baptism doth also now save us…”
At Baptism, the Lord Adds One to the Church
Acts 2:47 – “…the Lord added to the church daily…”
As a Christian, We Must Live Faithful
Revelation 2:10 – “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
Matthew 10:22 – “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 – “…be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Salvation Involves More Than…
Being Religious
Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Being Honest/Sincere
Acts 23:1 – “And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
Proverbs 16:25 – “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
Being Good (Morally, Neighbor, Citizen, etc.)
Acts 10:1-6 – “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always…Peter…shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”
Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven”.
Hebrews 5:8-9 – “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”
Acts 4:12 – “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
If You Refuse to Obey God, You Will Be Lost
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power”
Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
To Be Saved, You MUST Obey God
False gospel.
You do not have to repent of your sins or obey God to receive eternal life. It is a free gift paid for by Jesus Christ. Not of works lest any man should boast.
THE FREE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE:
https://youtu.be/WWR_ceSGPmE
Dude, we do not earn the gift of salvation. It is given. But once you receive it, you must live righteously. Read the Bible— Romans 6. James. All of John’s books. You don’t keep on sinning so that grace may abound.
What happens if you don't live righteously? Does salvation go away?
Christ is our new creditor. Keep your end of the bargain and His salvation applies. Don’t - and the full weight of the law applies.
Correct.
Eternal life is a free gift.
Once you receive that free gift, you can never lose it no matter how much you sin.
However, if you continue in sin once receiving eternal life, God will chasten and disipline you on earth, but you can never lose your eternal life.
Hebrews 12:6-8
6 - For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 - If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8 - But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Salvation is not bought but we must do our best and Christ will make up the difference.
James 2:14-17
James 2 is not talking about being saved from hell. It is talking about being saved from punishment of God on this earth. If you do not have mercy on others, God will not have mercy on you, and having "faith" will not save you from his judgement.
James 2 KJV
12 - So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 - For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
14 - What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
Hebrews 18 KJV
30 - Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 - It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Proof James 2 is not talking about justifcation by works for eternal life...
James 2 KJV
20 - But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 - Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Romans 4 KJV
2 - For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 - For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 - Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 - But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
The context of “works” in that scripture is referring to the old covenant. Even Jesus said we will know true believers by their fruit (Matt 7:15-20).
To say you don’t have to do anything to have eternal life is not true.
100% TRUTH right there!
Fruits in Matthew 7 is not talking about works. It is talking about words. You know a false prophet by his false gospel.
Matthew 12:33-35 KJV
33 - Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 - O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 - A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
How exactly did you determine the “fruits” referenced in Matthew 7 is only referring to words?
That contradicts a lot of other scripture that speaks of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Paul telling churches to act like him, etc.
“Fruits” in Matthew 7 is NOT referring to words only.. Anyone can speak the words they are a follower of Christ, but the true followers pray for God’s grace and strive to live a life like Christ lived.
All false prophets do good deeds.
This is why they cannot be identified by their works.
Matthew 7 says "ye shall know them by their fruits". If this was talking about works, then it would be impossible to identify false prophets from true prophets since all false prophets act holy in front of men.
The only way to identify a false prophet is their false gospel.
Wise enough to commit the sin but not courageous enough to admit it?
You must recognize you are a sinner, and need a saviour, but you don't receive eternal life by quitting your sin because no man has ever quit his sin!
That's why we need Jesus to save us.
I am not going to heaven because I promised God I would "stop sinning". I am going to heaven because Christ died for my sins and I accepted his free gift of eternal life!
Jesus told the adulterous woman, "Go and sin no more." The reason we are compelled to live holy lives is because of the life we've received from Christ. Our salvation comes from Him, so we choose to honour Him with our actions. Anybody who disagrees with this is still waiting for or learning about salvation.
When I was saved, I was adopted into GOD's family. Jesus, the Son of GOD, is my big Brother. I want to be like my big Brother, whom I adore. I listen and follow His advice and do what He asks because I love Him and I know He Loves me. And because of the Love that He has for all of us, I want to have that same love for all of you. The Father sent His Holy Spirit to teach us and to give us the strength to overcome evil and to do what we are asked. GOD loves us so much, He wants us to be victorious. It's really quite simple.
Btw, as a former alcoholic, pot head, and meth addict, saved 26 years 5 months ago by the Grace of GOD, I know what I am talking about.
All Power and Honor and Glory to GOD.
The adulterous woman called Jesus LORD and was most likely already saved.
There is a distinct difference between what is required to be saved, and how you should behave after you are saved. Once you are saved you SHOULD try to stop sinning, but don't think for one moment that's your ticket into heaven.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." - Galatians 2:16 KJV
true!
We must do our best and Christ makes up the difference. He became our ‘creditor’ with new terms. Those terms include doing our best to live the way He did.
I appreciate your posts fren.
Good retort!
This makes people upset because they want salvation to be something they do not God. Repent of sins and "Lord of your life" is just another flavor of works salvation.
Good point.
We do not follow a 'feeling' we follow the Scriptures:
Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, (((Repent))) and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Repentance is not repentance of sin.
The repentance required for eternal life is a "change of mind" to Trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life. It has nothing to do with promising to quit your sin.
What is the baptism of repentance?
"John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." - Acts 19:4 KJV
I agree it’s about changing one’s mind. It’s about changing your heart. No man will become sin-free, but our job is to work at it and try to live what He taught.
Yes. How can I repent of my sins which are innumerable. All I can do is to repent of my sinful nature.
Read any of Jesus' parables and tell me where he suggests salvation is free and requires no repentance whatsoever.
Got some real Christians on here, with the right answers ??????
Repentance is not the same thing as repentance of sin. The bible never says you must repent of your sins, only repent.
https://youtu.be/grki9KE1N7w
Can you tell me how someone achieves salvation today?
Simple.
First, we needs to recognize that we have a sinful nature and that we do not have the power to change that. Our sins are a debt we can never pay and every day that debt grows.
Second, we needs to recognize that Jesus is the Lamb of GOD Who's death as one without sin, payed the price for all of our sins. We need to accept this gift to receive it.
Third, we needs to recognize that Jesus is the Son of GOD, who was raised from the dead and has eternal Life and that by this, we to can have eternal life. We need to allow Jesus into our hearts.
Fourth, we need to say with our lips and believe in our hearts the Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.