No one understands they were slaves to sin until God saves them and enlightens them. They are dead.
I've patiently answered your questions. I have one for you. On what basis do you relate to God...the law or grace?
Keep in mind, I have not withheld anything from you or answered deceitfully in any way.
Gods Grace is like a burning ember. By itself, it will remain just an ember. But should you put kindling on the ember, it will bursts into a flame from which we receive a warm comfortable glow. This is how we
Where do we get the kindling to make the ember burn?
Jesus gives us that answer in (John 14:21-24), which is the very foundation of Pauls teachings on Grace, which I will explain in a few paragraphs.
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.
According to Jesus, does God love everyone, as many are taught,...or is it the folks who love Jesus?
According to Jesus, How does God know we love Jesus?
Jesus died, because he loves us, but to gain the Love of God the Father...well he needs a reason to love us....And Jesus gives us the reason in these verses.
Paul taught,
"Not by Works, but by Grace...for if it's by Works it's not Grace.
That's very true!!
But what does Paul mean?
How do we reconcile that teaching with what he Paul taught in (Romans 2:5-7) and what Jesus taught in (John 14:21-23)?
It's all about the motivation. Do you keep the Lords commandments because you Love him,
or do you keep the Lords commandments expecting salvation as your payment?
We've all had jobs...working 40-70 hours a week. Did we work because we loved the company, or are we there for the paycheck? Obviously...our motivation is the Paycheck.
For many Christians they are taught...
if you believe,
if you say the sinners prayer,
if you have faith,
if you get baptized...etc, you will be saved. So, what is the motivation? Now if you're honest...They do these Works as required
by men....expecting a payment of Salvation.
What is the motivation, at say....a revival meeting?
They are told...If you do not come forward...you will "Burn in Hells Fire!!"
Their motivation is fear, and because of that fear, they do these works because they are told if they do, they will be saved. So again...they do not do these works because they Love Jesus, its because they except to be saved for doing what these false teachers tell them to do. Salvation is therefore, a payment for their Works.
This is why people need to be brought to repentance...because this is when they keep the Lords commandments...because they Love him. And that's when Grace grows into a burning flame..No false teachings can put out.
This took me a long time to write, so I'm not going to preview it...so please forgive me for any mistakes.
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