[SUP]9 [/SUP]And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (Hebrews 5:9)
"Obey" is a condition to being saved and it's also present tense. Cannot quit obeying and yet still be saved in disobedience.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (Hebrews 5:9)
Free gifts can and do come with conditions. The free gift of salvation comes with the condition of the work of faith, 1 Thess 1:3. Cannot keep the free gift if one quits doing the work of faith. The work does not earn salvation but is just meeting a condition God put on His free gift.
I never said I can keep my salvation by my own righteousness, that is a false straw man that continues to show up from time to time.
Rom 10:3 shows that one cannot be saved by doing is OWN righteousness but saved by doing GOD's righteousness. A major difference the faith only crowd refuses to acknowledge.
I never said there are not consequences for sin.
The bible clearly teaches that God will chastise those who sin, and He has chastised me many times.
But he will never take away the FREE gift of salvation.
I have know many who would not yield to God's chastising, and their life was fill with trouble and some had their life shortened.
If men continue to live in sin without chastisement then they are lost.
Why is it so difficult for some folks to understand this?
I never said there are not consequences for sin.
The bible clearly teaches that God will chastise those who sin, and He has chastised me many times.
But he will never take away the FREE gift of salvation.
I have know many who would not yield to God's chastising, and their life was fill with trouble and some had their life shortened.
If men continue to live in sin without chastisement then they are lost.
If salvation is free, it is free.
If I haave to work to keep it, it is not free.
If you think you can keep salvation by working, that you are trusting in your own stength and rightiousness.
I chose to trust Jesus to keep what I have commited to his care.
Why is it so difficult for some folks to understand this?
Because some people think they have salvation/eternal life coming to them even though they are not walking as the bible tells you to walk. They are lead into a false gospel teaching they can continue to live however they want, as nowhere in the bible does it say this.
All you do is spread a message of fear and damnation around here. You're obsessed with it. How about sharing God's love and grace; you'll be amazed at the softening of hearts, the joy and forgiveness that will pour forth from the people you currently condemn. Sugar, not vinegar.So you did not read the part in the Bible that says if you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven? Mind explaining that one?
Yeah, that is not a deterrent and you know it. Unbelievers face the same exact challenges in life as believers. Yes, the Lord does in fact chastise his people. But that is not enough of a deterrent to stop them from sinning with the thinking they will be saved. The only true deterrent is one's separation from God and destruction in the Lake of Fire.
All you do is spread a message of fear and damnation around here. You're obsessed with it. How about sharing God's love and grace; you'll be amazed at the softening of hearts, the joy and forgiveness that will pour forth from the people you currently condemn. Sugar, not vinegar.
What part of FREE do you not understand.So one can quit doing the work of faith and be saved anyway?
A Christian can quit walking in the light, 1 Jn 1:7, quit confessing his sins, 1 Jn 1:9 and be saved anyway?
Rev 2:5 Jesus told the church at Ephesus "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
The church at Ephesus was fallen for failing to continue to do the first works:
"What were those first works which the Ephesians had stopped doing? They were the commandments of the Lord. Oh, to be sure, they were carrying on an extensive program of works, but such things were not the work of faith. The interpretation that fills many of the commentaries with the view that the Ephesians had all the works they needed misses this point altogether. It was not a question of their having discharged their full obligation regarding works, but a case of their having failed in this very category. They were not, at the time of John's writing, doing the "work of faith"; they were doing their own thing religiously. Such things, no doubt, were indeed good works, else Christ would not have commended them; but the first obligation of every Christian and every church on earth is to do the works Christ commanded."
Coffman Commentary
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Lastly Rev 2:26 "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:"
So you are working so God will allow you to have eternal in heaven with Him.
Not doing evil is not a work.
What part of FREE do you not understand.
What you are saying is that you are WORKING for your salvation
Not doing evil is not a work. Not stealing is not a work. Not lying is not a work. Not murdering is not a work. Not hating is not a work. These are passive things. Doing those things would be considered a work. Not a work for good, but a work of evil. When a believer is born again, they are changed spiritually and God lives within them and God does the good work within their lives. That is why it is not salvation by works. Philippians 2:13 says that is God that works within us. In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul says that he labored more than all of his brethren, but it was not himself but the grace of God that was withn him. Paul did not take the credit. It's why the elders had cast their crowns down before Jesus. Once a person is saved by repenting of their sins and trustng in his finished work, then good works and holiness will follow. Holiness and fruitful works are not done so as to be saved but because one has been saved. It's like wind and water. Every time a strong wind comes upon the waters, you know there will be some waves. Just as with a true believer. If God lives within a person, then God's good works will flow thru them.
John 8 (ESV)
[SUP]32 [/SUP]and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [SUP]
33 [/SUP]They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
[SUP]34 [/SUP]Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
[SUP]35 [/SUP]The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
[SUP]36 [/SUP]So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [SUP]
37 [/SUP]I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
[SUP]38 [/SUP]I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”