My point was I was quoting exactly what the Bible says about those who believe in Jesus Christ. It is easy to say those who believe in Jesus Christ have eternal life, which is true. I posted several other Scriptures yesterday of other things the Bible also says about those who believe in Jesus Christ which most people posting here would never claim.
There are millions upon millions of people who claim to believe in Jesus who really don't. They claim to be righteous with His righteousness, but they aren't. Everyone sees it. The Kingdom of God is not the Magic Kingdom. "He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." "Everyone who sins is a slave of sin and a slave doesn't have a permanent place in the household." "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!"
You quote from 1 John where it says that if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We're all born miserable sinners, aren't we? John says he was writing these things to us so that we will not sin. 99.99999% of Christians say, "Impossible!!!!" You have to be able to accept everything in the book and not drop parts off or explain them away.
"He bore our sins in His body on the tree so that we would be dead to sins." Living in the Spirit we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Our hearts have to be circumcised under the New Covenant precisely as their male organs had to be under the Old. The removal of the sinful nature as it says in Col.2? Who can believe that? And there you have half the problem with the confessing church in this country, in this century. The other half? Well, I've touched on the death part of the Gospel (since you asked me yesterday.) The other part is the resurrection part. He took away the first, where we had to keep coming back to him for forgiveness b/c the sin problem was never finally taken care of in our hearts, to establish the 2nd: "I have come to do Thy will, O God."
Why do you have a body today? So you can put it on His altar, being conformed to the image of Christ, and that purchased body would do the will of God today, not the will of mailmandan. A disciple of Jesus Christ denies his soul. Says 'no' to it. No option. We can't be soulish anymore, we have to be spiritual. Romans 8. We don't live according to the sinful nature anymore, we live according to the Spirit. If we are God's sons, like Jesus, it is God's Spirit which leads us now. Very narrow gate! OSAS very wide, very easy! But it's not true. The Gospel I'm proclaiming, which is all through the Bible, is. This is why each Gospel states why Jesus came. And each Gospel does not state so that we would be forgiven, or that we would go to heaven.
"I baptize you with water but One stands among you, the thongs of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Each Gospel restates that Jesus came for the purpose of baptizing us with the Holy Spirit. Is that why Christians think he came? The Father and the Son are in Heaven right now. Genuine followers of Jesus Christ cannot follow Him, listen to His voice right now, without the Holy Spirit. They don't go their own way, do as they please, or speak their own words. Sounds like Jesus, doesn't it? And that's what "Christians" were supposed to be - little Christs. Historically, hasn't turned out that way. But, then again, Jesus didn't come to start Christianity.
Let's talk passing through the Red Sea and then receiving the pillar of fire and no one made a move for as long as that pillar of fire was stationary. There's a good Gospel lesson. How did that all start? The blood of the Lamb. Strict rules were imposed. The father did it. If anyone went out the door of the house, they died. No leaven was to be in the bread. During Passover, no leaven could be in their houses (bodies) or in their country (church) for 7 days, signifying that is how it was to be. How? By faith, they kept the Passover.
The Kingdom of God is a paradox. To really live, you have to die. If you hold on to your soul life, you will die. In this Sabbath Rest for the people of God, we quit. "Works salvationist?" Insane. We are crucified with Him. We no longer live. But the life we now live in the body we live by the faith of the Son of God. He did nothing on His own initiative. Abiding in Him we must walk as He walked. The Gospel of the Kingdom is simple. It is a change of government. Out from under Satan, Jesus become our King. We don't do as we see fit today because Jesus is our King. When the pillar of fire moves, we move. Being close to His rod and His staff, the wolves have to stay at bay. Seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness like this, we don't have to go after material things like the world. He provides. Righteousness results in peace. People feel it when they enter our home.
The righteous live by faith. Christ is all. "Whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." That's what faith does. It's simple. But its a difficult Way. We are heaven's ambassadors in a foreign land. Glory to God, Jesus Christ is Lord today.