The Kerygma - God's Requirement for Salvation
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Paul's opus magnus regarding the Gospel of salvation/election (s/e) is Romans, so let us pause to review the first five chapters.
1. Romans 1:16 says the Gospel reveals that (s/e) is for “everyone who believes”, both Jew and Gentile.
2. Romans 1:17 describes s/e as “righteousness from God” that is by faith “from first to last” or from creation until the end.
3. Romans 2:4 teaches that God’s kindness or patience with sinners is meant to lead them toward repentance, which implies that sinners are able to repent because of God’s leading.
4. Romans 2:5 warns that those who do not repent but instead stubbornly resist God’s leading are storing up wrath against themselves for the day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed, which implies that God enables sinners to repent–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19).
5. Romans 2:6 affirms what is called karma by saying that “God will give to each person according to what he has done”, which (in Gal. 6:7-9) is called reaping what a person sows.
6. Romans 2:7 speaks of the need for “persistence in doing good” and seeking glory, honor and immortality in order to receive s/e or eternal life, which echoes what Jesus commanded (in Matt. 7:7) and connects with the doctrine of perseverance (cf. Heb. 10:36 & Jam. 1:3-4).
7. Romans 2:11 teaches that “God does not show favoritism” (cf. Eph. 6:9, Col. 3:25, 1Pet. 1:17), which is how God judges people justly, so the fact that some sinners ignore God’s Gospel indicates that His will or leading is resistible because of MFW.
8. Romans 2:15 teaches that sinful souls have a conscience or awareness of “the requirements of the law”, which may be combined with Romans 1:20 to teach that God’s power and moral nature or will may be perceived via creation and conscience (called natural revelation), thus those unfamiliar with God’s Word in Scripture have no good reason for resisting divine leading and choosing atheism/evil.
9. Romans 3:20-21 states the law makes souls conscious of sin and that “the Law and Prophets testify” or prepare the way for the new revelation of righteousness from God apart from the Law, which takes up where Romans 1:17 left off.
10. Romans 3:22a says that “righteousness from God” or s/e comes through faith “in Jesus Christ” (cf. Eph. 2:8), a phrase Paul used eleven times in Ephesians 1:3-14 to indicate s/e.
11. Romans 3:22b says that God’s righteousness is given “to all who believe—there is no difference”” signifying that all sinners may believe or be s/e (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, John 3:16, Tit. 2:11), because there is no favoritism (#7).
12. Romans 3:23 teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, meaning that no one can be good enough to earn salvation because of their own merit.
13. Romans 3:24 says sinners “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (via faith per v.22, cf. 3:27-28); s/e is free because Christ paid the price/cost.
14. Romans 3:25a explains redemption as being “a sacrifice of atonement” for those who have faith in Christ’s work of dying in their place.
15. Romans 3:25b further explains that God demonstrated his just patience (#3) or forbearance in leaving unpunished those sins committed before the revealing of the Gospel (foreshadowed in Gen. 22:8 & 13), implying that sinners had/have the opportunity to believe and be s/e thereby demonstrating God’s justice/not showing favoritism (#11).
16. Romans 3:26 continues to emphasize divine justice by declaring it three ways (“justice…, just…, justifies”), which justness is synonymous with righteousness (2Thes. 1:5-6, Heb. 6:10).
17. Romans 4:1-25 presents Abraham as a Gentile who became the physical father of the Jews and the spiritual father of all who choose to have faith in God/Christ.
18. Romans 5:1 echoes Eph. 2:8 by describing s/e as justification through faith, Eph. 1:5 & 7 by using the phrase “through Jesus Christ”, and Eph. 2:14 by describing s/e as having peace with God.
19. Romans 5:2 & 5 also echo Eph. 2:18 & 3:1 by describing s/e as having access to God’s grace via the Holy Spirit.
20. Romans 5:6-10 states that God’s love (cf. kindness in #3) for the ungodly, for sinners and for His enemies is demonstrated by Christ dying for their s/e or justification/reconciliation.
In the epistle most closely related to Romans, Galatians, Paul warned Christians to beware of Judaizers, who revert to teaching justification by observing the law (Gal. 4:8-5:12). In Phil. 3:1-9 Paul said, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!… Watch out for those… mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision [cf. Rom. 2:29]… If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:… in regard to the law, a Pharisee… as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ… I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–that comes from God and is by faith.” Other Judaizers those who think obeying the OT Sabbath law is still necessary and those who think WB and speaking in tongues (SIT) must be done.
Jesus taught that his righteousness (Matt. 5:10&20) surpassed and superseded that of those who obeyed and taught the law (cf. Matt. 12:5-12, 19:3-9, Heb. 7:18-10:1). The law is represented by John the Baptist in Matt. 3:11a, “I baptize you with water [WB] for repentance” [forgiveness of sins indicated in the Torah, cf. Rom. 7:4-8:17], and Spirit baptism (SB) is indicated in Matt. 3:11b, “but after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This is what Paul taught as being essential, and he never said WB or SIT were required, although WB can be viewed as a good way to portray saving faith in Christ's atonement, replacing physical circumcision.
1. Romans 1:16 says the Gospel reveals that (s/e) is for “everyone who believes”, both Jew and Gentile.
2. Romans 1:17 describes s/e as “righteousness from God” that is by faith “from first to last” or from creation until the end.
3. Romans 2:4 teaches that God’s kindness or patience with sinners is meant to lead them toward repentance, which implies that sinners are able to repent because of God’s leading.
4. Romans 2:5 warns that those who do not repent but instead stubbornly resist God’s leading are storing up wrath against themselves for the day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed, which implies that God enables sinners to repent–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19).
5. Romans 2:6 affirms what is called karma by saying that “God will give to each person according to what he has done”, which (in Gal. 6:7-9) is called reaping what a person sows.
6. Romans 2:7 speaks of the need for “persistence in doing good” and seeking glory, honor and immortality in order to receive s/e or eternal life, which echoes what Jesus commanded (in Matt. 7:7) and connects with the doctrine of perseverance (cf. Heb. 10:36 & Jam. 1:3-4).
7. Romans 2:11 teaches that “God does not show favoritism” (cf. Eph. 6:9, Col. 3:25, 1Pet. 1:17), which is how God judges people justly, so the fact that some sinners ignore God’s Gospel indicates that His will or leading is resistible because of MFW.
8. Romans 2:15 teaches that sinful souls have a conscience or awareness of “the requirements of the law”, which may be combined with Romans 1:20 to teach that God’s power and moral nature or will may be perceived via creation and conscience (called natural revelation), thus those unfamiliar with God’s Word in Scripture have no good reason for resisting divine leading and choosing atheism/evil.
9. Romans 3:20-21 states the law makes souls conscious of sin and that “the Law and Prophets testify” or prepare the way for the new revelation of righteousness from God apart from the Law, which takes up where Romans 1:17 left off.
10. Romans 3:22a says that “righteousness from God” or s/e comes through faith “in Jesus Christ” (cf. Eph. 2:8), a phrase Paul used eleven times in Ephesians 1:3-14 to indicate s/e.
11. Romans 3:22b says that God’s righteousness is given “to all who believe—there is no difference”” signifying that all sinners may believe or be s/e (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, John 3:16, Tit. 2:11), because there is no favoritism (#7).
12. Romans 3:23 teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, meaning that no one can be good enough to earn salvation because of their own merit.
13. Romans 3:24 says sinners “are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (via faith per v.22, cf. 3:27-28); s/e is free because Christ paid the price/cost.
14. Romans 3:25a explains redemption as being “a sacrifice of atonement” for those who have faith in Christ’s work of dying in their place.
15. Romans 3:25b further explains that God demonstrated his just patience (#3) or forbearance in leaving unpunished those sins committed before the revealing of the Gospel (foreshadowed in Gen. 22:8 & 13), implying that sinners had/have the opportunity to believe and be s/e thereby demonstrating God’s justice/not showing favoritism (#11).
16. Romans 3:26 continues to emphasize divine justice by declaring it three ways (“justice…, just…, justifies”), which justness is synonymous with righteousness (2Thes. 1:5-6, Heb. 6:10).
17. Romans 4:1-25 presents Abraham as a Gentile who became the physical father of the Jews and the spiritual father of all who choose to have faith in God/Christ.
18. Romans 5:1 echoes Eph. 2:8 by describing s/e as justification through faith, Eph. 1:5 & 7 by using the phrase “through Jesus Christ”, and Eph. 2:14 by describing s/e as having peace with God.
19. Romans 5:2 & 5 also echo Eph. 2:18 & 3:1 by describing s/e as having access to God’s grace via the Holy Spirit.
20. Romans 5:6-10 states that God’s love (cf. kindness in #3) for the ungodly, for sinners and for His enemies is demonstrated by Christ dying for their s/e or justification/reconciliation.
In the epistle most closely related to Romans, Galatians, Paul warned Christians to beware of Judaizers, who revert to teaching justification by observing the law (Gal. 4:8-5:12). In Phil. 3:1-9 Paul said, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!… Watch out for those… mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision [cf. Rom. 2:29]… If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:… in regard to the law, a Pharisee… as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ… I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–that comes from God and is by faith.” Other Judaizers those who think obeying the OT Sabbath law is still necessary and those who think WB and speaking in tongues (SIT) must be done.
Jesus taught that his righteousness (Matt. 5:10&20) surpassed and superseded that of those who obeyed and taught the law (cf. Matt. 12:5-12, 19:3-9, Heb. 7:18-10:1). The law is represented by John the Baptist in Matt. 3:11a, “I baptize you with water [WB] for repentance” [forgiveness of sins indicated in the Torah, cf. Rom. 7:4-8:17], and Spirit baptism (SB) is indicated in Matt. 3:11b, “but after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” This is what Paul taught as being essential, and he never said WB or SIT were required, although WB can be viewed as a good way to portray saving faith in Christ's atonement, replacing physical circumcision.
I have invited interested folks to critique our website for the purpose of seeing where it might need correction or additions.
For those who might want to discuss Lesson 2 on Salvation and the Christian Creed, here is how it begins in Part I on God's requirement for salvation:
Lesson 1 entitled “The Best Belief” explains why Christian theism is the most logical answer to truthseekers’ questions concerning ultimate reality, because the New Testament (NT) God provides the only credible hope for attaining heaven and justice, the “duo of desirables” (DOD).
The purpose of this lesson is to delve more deeply into GRFS or how to satisfy God’s condition for forgiveness of sins that is indicated in Scripture by the word “IF” (e.g., Rom. 10:9), which is the fulcrum of faith, implying the ability either to cooperate with God or not (e.g., Deut. 30:19, Matt. 23:37) or MFW. Note that the choice is binary: God’s Way to heaven or the highway to hell.
The OT indicates that God chose the Jewish culture for the purpose of providing Messiah, through whom the world would be blessed or saved (Gen. 22:18, Isa. 42:6, 49:6, Joel 2:28& 32, Mic. 4:2-3, Zeph. 3:8-9, Zech. 2:11, 14:9&16), and the NT proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah or Christ (Acts 2:36, Rom. 1:1-4, Heb. 1:1-4, 3:3-6). It is tragic that the person God has ordained to be the head of one worldwide body of believers (JN 17:20-23, Eph. 1:9-10 & 3:6, Col. 1:18-20, Phil. 2:9-11) is rejected by so many who claim to be theists. And it is ironic that this gemstone, which is the foundation and cornerstone of ultimate reality (Eph. 2:20), is the stumbling-stone (1Pet. 2:6-8) to faith in GRFS for many souls (1Cor. 1:22-25). Messiah/Christ is the key stone.
A crisis that threatened a Philippian jailer with death prompted him to ask Paul and Silas the most important question in life: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) This question is most important, because—as sinful and mortal souls—we need saving from corruption, both moral and physical. We need saving from physical death if we value or enjoy life, and we need saving from immorality or evil-doing if it results in unhappy existence, especially after this lifetime.
The reply of Paul and Silas was this: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:31) This is GRFS in a nutshell. Jesus Himself expressed GRFS even more succinctly using three, four and five letter words: “Ask… seek… knock…” (Matt. 7:7). This indicates that God graces every sinful soul with the ability or opportunity to seek salvation (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11), which might be called “seeking grace” (Tit. 2:11). As Hebrews 11:6 states: “he [God] rewards those who earnestly seek him” (cf. Isa. 45:19). Seeking God is the beginning of saving faith, and not seeking God or rejecting His salvation in Christ is the essence of evil atheism or faith in I-dolatry (Rom. 3:11, 1:18-23). All humans sin, but every sinner has the opportunity to repent/have saving faith (per Rom. 1:20, 2:7, 3:21-22, 4:16 & 5:8-19).
Thus, sinful humanity retains the image of God or moral free will, so every normal adult soul is able by faith to choose to seek salvation–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19). That is why Paul went “every Sabbath to the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4)! “He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.” (Acts 28:23b) “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.” (Acts 28:24) “They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul made this final statement: The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet, ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving, for this people’s heart has become calloused.'” (Acts 28:25-27a, cf. 2Tim. 3:7)
Regarding the human heart, we can see that it is “deceitful… and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9) when it becomes calloused (cf. Matt. 23:37), but the uncalloused heart is enabled to seek salvation and find God (per Matt. 7:7 & Heb. 11:6). God’s enabling of seeking is not irresistible, it does not pry open a hardened heart, and it does not continue forever (Rom. 10:10-13, Heb. 3:12-19).
GRFS may be denoted by the use of the Greek word kerygma, meaning proclamation or preaching, referring to the good news (Gospel) concerning salvation to heaven and from a just hell (the DOD, cf. Rom. 1:16, Gal. 1:6-12, Col. 1:21-23). This Gospel was preached by Peter (in Acts 2:22-24) and summarized by Paul (in 1Cor. 15:1-8). The salient points include: Jesus was a man, accredited by God (to be Messiah), who died on a cross, but who was raised or resurrected from the dead. Messiah is the Way to heaven.
Is there any feedback or constructive criticism so far?
For those who might want to discuss Lesson 2 on Salvation and the Christian Creed, here is how it begins in Part I on God's requirement for salvation:
Lesson 1 entitled “The Best Belief” explains why Christian theism is the most logical answer to truthseekers’ questions concerning ultimate reality, because the New Testament (NT) God provides the only credible hope for attaining heaven and justice, the “duo of desirables” (DOD).
The purpose of this lesson is to delve more deeply into GRFS or how to satisfy God’s condition for forgiveness of sins that is indicated in Scripture by the word “IF” (e.g., Rom. 10:9), which is the fulcrum of faith, implying the ability either to cooperate with God or not (e.g., Deut. 30:19, Matt. 23:37) or MFW. Note that the choice is binary: God’s Way to heaven or the highway to hell.
The OT indicates that God chose the Jewish culture for the purpose of providing Messiah, through whom the world would be blessed or saved (Gen. 22:18, Isa. 42:6, 49:6, Joel 2:28& 32, Mic. 4:2-3, Zeph. 3:8-9, Zech. 2:11, 14:9&16), and the NT proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah or Christ (Acts 2:36, Rom. 1:1-4, Heb. 1:1-4, 3:3-6). It is tragic that the person God has ordained to be the head of one worldwide body of believers (JN 17:20-23, Eph. 1:9-10 & 3:6, Col. 1:18-20, Phil. 2:9-11) is rejected by so many who claim to be theists. And it is ironic that this gemstone, which is the foundation and cornerstone of ultimate reality (Eph. 2:20), is the stumbling-stone (1Pet. 2:6-8) to faith in GRFS for many souls (1Cor. 1:22-25). Messiah/Christ is the key stone.
A crisis that threatened a Philippian jailer with death prompted him to ask Paul and Silas the most important question in life: “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) This question is most important, because—as sinful and mortal souls—we need saving from corruption, both moral and physical. We need saving from physical death if we value or enjoy life, and we need saving from immorality or evil-doing if it results in unhappy existence, especially after this lifetime.
The reply of Paul and Silas was this: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 16:31) This is GRFS in a nutshell. Jesus Himself expressed GRFS even more succinctly using three, four and five letter words: “Ask… seek… knock…” (Matt. 7:7). This indicates that God graces every sinful soul with the ability or opportunity to seek salvation (cf. 1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11), which might be called “seeking grace” (Tit. 2:11). As Hebrews 11:6 states: “he [God] rewards those who earnestly seek him” (cf. Isa. 45:19). Seeking God is the beginning of saving faith, and not seeking God or rejecting His salvation in Christ is the essence of evil atheism or faith in I-dolatry (Rom. 3:11, 1:18-23). All humans sin, but every sinner has the opportunity to repent/have saving faith (per Rom. 1:20, 2:7, 3:21-22, 4:16 & 5:8-19).
Thus, sinful humanity retains the image of God or moral free will, so every normal adult soul is able by faith to choose to seek salvation–or not (cf. Deut. 30:19). That is why Paul went “every Sabbath to the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4)! “He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.” (Acts 28:23b) “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.” (Acts 28:24) “They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul made this final statement: The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet, ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving, for this people’s heart has become calloused.'” (Acts 28:25-27a, cf. 2Tim. 3:7)
Regarding the human heart, we can see that it is “deceitful… and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9) when it becomes calloused (cf. Matt. 23:37), but the uncalloused heart is enabled to seek salvation and find God (per Matt. 7:7 & Heb. 11:6). God’s enabling of seeking is not irresistible, it does not pry open a hardened heart, and it does not continue forever (Rom. 10:10-13, Heb. 3:12-19).
GRFS may be denoted by the use of the Greek word kerygma, meaning proclamation or preaching, referring to the good news (Gospel) concerning salvation to heaven and from a just hell (the DOD, cf. Rom. 1:16, Gal. 1:6-12, Col. 1:21-23). This Gospel was preached by Peter (in Acts 2:22-24) and summarized by Paul (in 1Cor. 15:1-8). The salient points include: Jesus was a man, accredited by God (to be Messiah), who died on a cross, but who was raised or resurrected from the dead. Messiah is the Way to heaven.
Is there any feedback or constructive criticism so far?
It appears that this understanding God's plan of salvation is acceptable to y'all so far, perhaps because I have already
amended it due to discussions on CC, including the reference to "seeking grace" and the hardened heart. So I will continue:
An obvious question to ask at this point is, “What is GRFS for those who have never heard of Jesus?” (which includes everyone living B.C. and millions of people who have lived A.D.) If God loves the world (John 3:16) and wants everyone to be saved (2Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11), then He must provide an opportunity. God’s just judgment is illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-29), which indicates that God will judge souls on the basis of the truth (Word = Christ per John 1:1f.) they have received.
There are two main ways God/Christ is encountered:
1. General revelation, which includes meditating on the natural world or God’s supernatural work and moral conscience. Paul said men are without excuse, both because God’s eternal power and divine nature (love) are manifested by creation (Rom. 1:20), and because a proto-gospel has been proclaimed to everyone under heaven implicitly or in pre-NT foreshadowings (Col. 1:23, Rom. 10:13-18, Gal. 3:8). He also taught that all normal humans have an inner conscience or “common” sense (Rom. 2:14-16), which manifests morality or a moral Authority in every culture. Thus, sinners have no excuse for not seeking God’s salvation or being truthseekers (Matthew 7:7, Hebrews 11:6).
2. Special revelation (1Pet. 1:8-12), which refers mainly to divinely inspired NT teaching regarding God’s history of salvation. Again, the Parable of the Talents indicates that souls are saved via faith in God/ Christ as revealed (cf. 1Cor. 10:1-5). Truthseekers around the world in all times are pilgrims at various places along the road of life, and all true roads eventually lead to the Way to eternal life in heaven (John 14:6, Acts 24:14, Phil. 2:10-11). All truth leads to One Way.
Regarding the second mode of revelation (NT), the kerygma or GRFS can be stated in various ways, which may cause confusion. Some statements (e.g. Acts 16:31, quoted previously, & Eph. 2:8-9) are in terms of believing right, and others (e.g. Matt. 7:21, “only he who does the will of my Father will enter heaven”, cf. Gal. 6:7-9 & Eph. 2:10) are in terms of behaving right. This prompts the question: Is salvation obtained by believing God’s words or by doing God’s works? The answer is indicated by John 6:29: “The work of God is to believe in the one [Messiah/Christ] He has sent.” As Jesus stated (in John 14:6): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The mind of Jesus is truth incarnate (John 1:14), and all truth manifests the Spirit of Christ or God (1John 5:6). The work of God (GRFS) is to seek and believe the truth, and part of the truth is that no one comes to know God as Father except through faith in God’s truth embodied as God the Son. And the full Gospel is that salvation is followed by sanctification or spiritual growth toward moral perfection (Phil. 3:12-19) that reflects the love of Christ (Eph. 3:16-19).
Are there any comments or corrections regarding this section?
amended it due to discussions on CC, including the reference to "seeking grace" and the hardened heart. So I will continue:
An obvious question to ask at this point is, “What is GRFS for those who have never heard of Jesus?” (which includes everyone living B.C. and millions of people who have lived A.D.) If God loves the world (John 3:16) and wants everyone to be saved (2Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11), then He must provide an opportunity. God’s just judgment is illustrated by Jesus in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-29), which indicates that God will judge souls on the basis of the truth (Word = Christ per John 1:1f.) they have received.
There are two main ways God/Christ is encountered:
1. General revelation, which includes meditating on the natural world or God’s supernatural work and moral conscience. Paul said men are without excuse, both because God’s eternal power and divine nature (love) are manifested by creation (Rom. 1:20), and because a proto-gospel has been proclaimed to everyone under heaven implicitly or in pre-NT foreshadowings (Col. 1:23, Rom. 10:13-18, Gal. 3:8). He also taught that all normal humans have an inner conscience or “common” sense (Rom. 2:14-16), which manifests morality or a moral Authority in every culture. Thus, sinners have no excuse for not seeking God’s salvation or being truthseekers (Matthew 7:7, Hebrews 11:6).
2. Special revelation (1Pet. 1:8-12), which refers mainly to divinely inspired NT teaching regarding God’s history of salvation. Again, the Parable of the Talents indicates that souls are saved via faith in God/ Christ as revealed (cf. 1Cor. 10:1-5). Truthseekers around the world in all times are pilgrims at various places along the road of life, and all true roads eventually lead to the Way to eternal life in heaven (John 14:6, Acts 24:14, Phil. 2:10-11). All truth leads to One Way.
Regarding the second mode of revelation (NT), the kerygma or GRFS can be stated in various ways, which may cause confusion. Some statements (e.g. Acts 16:31, quoted previously, & Eph. 2:8-9) are in terms of believing right, and others (e.g. Matt. 7:21, “only he who does the will of my Father will enter heaven”, cf. Gal. 6:7-9 & Eph. 2:10) are in terms of behaving right. This prompts the question: Is salvation obtained by believing God’s words or by doing God’s works? The answer is indicated by John 6:29: “The work of God is to believe in the one [Messiah/Christ] He has sent.” As Jesus stated (in John 14:6): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The mind of Jesus is truth incarnate (John 1:14), and all truth manifests the Spirit of Christ or God (1John 5:6). The work of God (GRFS) is to seek and believe the truth, and part of the truth is that no one comes to know God as Father except through faith in God’s truth embodied as God the Son. And the full Gospel is that salvation is followed by sanctification or spiritual growth toward moral perfection (Phil. 3:12-19) that reflects the love of Christ (Eph. 3:16-19).
Are there any comments or corrections regarding this section?
As in the Apologetics thread, I hope that hearing crickets means you think this reasoning regarding revelation is sound because it accords with Scripture, so there is no good reason for anyone to judge/condemn it as uninspired by God--although of course speculation and even godly insights by truthseekers should not be viewed as on a par with the Bible but rather tested or vetted and harmonized with Scripture as Paul taught in 1Thessalonians 5:21.
An obvious truism that needs to be mentioned is that the happy ending has not happened yet! In between conversion and heaven, God allows our journey to go through various places we would rather not visit: the ghost town of job loss, the quarantined ghetto of disease, the burning village of divided families. History can be viewed as a long “King of the Hill” struggle (KOTH).
But let us take heart from the words of Paul (in Phil. 4:12-13: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” I think Paul’s secret is to treat every negative experience as an opportunity for learning some truth that will help us to become stronger persons and better witnesses for Christ. Financial problems teach us to value spiritual riches and to rely on God (1Tim. 5:6-10), physical ailments teach us to appreciate a healthy immortal life in heaven (2Cor. 12:7-10), and unhappy relationships motivate us to resist the devil, even though we feel as if God has forsaken us (Jam. 4:7-10, Matt. 27:46).
The paradoxical truth is that Believers experience joy despite KOTH or suffering (1Pet. 4:13). While not desiring to suffer or praying for problems, mature Christians have a Christ-like attitude so that tribulations only make them merely joyful rather than overjoyed! Christians are joyous because they realize that suffering is only for a season and for good reason:
3. Relying on God’s grace and truth in the midst of undeserved troubles glorifies Christ (2Cor. 4:7-11) and shows the value of learning God's Word (2Tim. 3:15-17),
4. Troubles serve to keep mature saints humble (2Cor. 12:7-12), and
5. God’s Holy Spirit comforts those who suffer and thereby demonstrates His love (Matt. 5:4, 2Cor. 1:3-4).
As Paul wrote (in Rom. 5:3-4), “We also rejoice in our sufferings (KOTH), because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Our hope is that we gain heaven (Phil. 1:21), which is worth any grief occasioned by Faith (1Pet. 1:6-9, 2Cor. 4:16-18, Heb. 12:2).
Yes, this life is not heaven yet, although our continual prayer is for God’s will to be done on earth in our lives (Matt. 6:10), but we are encouraged to keep on believing God and resisting evil (Jam. 4:7) until God’s kingdom comes. We should not be discouraged but rather relax and rest in God’s love as we remember what is really important in life, and so we have joy despite adversity because of hope!
But let us take heart from the words of Paul (in Phil. 4:12-13: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” I think Paul’s secret is to treat every negative experience as an opportunity for learning some truth that will help us to become stronger persons and better witnesses for Christ. Financial problems teach us to value spiritual riches and to rely on God (1Tim. 5:6-10), physical ailments teach us to appreciate a healthy immortal life in heaven (2Cor. 12:7-10), and unhappy relationships motivate us to resist the devil, even though we feel as if God has forsaken us (Jam. 4:7-10, Matt. 27:46).
The paradoxical truth is that Believers experience joy despite KOTH or suffering (1Pet. 4:13). While not desiring to suffer or praying for problems, mature Christians have a Christ-like attitude so that tribulations only make them merely joyful rather than overjoyed! Christians are joyous because they realize that suffering is only for a season and for good reason:
- Pain and sickness due to mortality teach us to center our lives on God and the hope of immortality (Rom. 8:22-25),
3. Relying on God’s grace and truth in the midst of undeserved troubles glorifies Christ (2Cor. 4:7-11) and shows the value of learning God's Word (2Tim. 3:15-17),
4. Troubles serve to keep mature saints humble (2Cor. 12:7-12), and
5. God’s Holy Spirit comforts those who suffer and thereby demonstrates His love (Matt. 5:4, 2Cor. 1:3-4).
As Paul wrote (in Rom. 5:3-4), “We also rejoice in our sufferings (KOTH), because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Our hope is that we gain heaven (Phil. 1:21), which is worth any grief occasioned by Faith (1Pet. 1:6-9, 2Cor. 4:16-18, Heb. 12:2).
Yes, this life is not heaven yet, although our continual prayer is for God’s will to be done on earth in our lives (Matt. 6:10), but we are encouraged to keep on believing God and resisting evil (Jam. 4:7) until God’s kingdom comes. We should not be discouraged but rather relax and rest in God’s love as we remember what is really important in life, and so we have joy despite adversity because of hope!
The Charlie Kirk assassination/martyrdom prompts the question whether our forgiveness of sinners
should be the same as God's conditional forgiveness (upon repentance), or should be unconditional
(whether the perp repents or not) and thereby abet the occurrence of crime.
IOW, does Luke 23:34 contradict Matthew 4:17?
How can these two verses be harmonized?
should be the same as God's conditional forgiveness (upon repentance), or should be unconditional
(whether the perp repents or not) and thereby abet the occurrence of crime.
IOW, does Luke 23:34 contradict Matthew 4:17?
How can these two verses be harmonized?
Believe in Jesus and we will be saved. But believing in Jesus is big news and big causes which requires everything from us.
This post is for NightTwister regarding the essential doctrine from Lesson 2 of our website <truthseekersfellowship.com>
A major reason many Christians throughout history have not manifested the love and unity of God’s Spirit (Eph. 4:3) as well as they should is because of failure to realize this truth. If they did, it would free them to speak honestly and fellowship without becoming unduly upset about relatively minor issues. They would receive God’s blessing as peacemakers, who draw inclusive circles around people based on the kerygma rather than denominational lines between them due to didachaic differences. Jesus prayed for spiritual unity (cf. John 17:20-23, “May they be one…”). Thus, unity regarding the Gospel is more important than accuracy regarding doctrinal details.
The normative way of stating the kerygma/GRFS in the NT is “Accept Christ Jesus as Lord” (as in 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6). The main points of Christian orthodoxy implicit in this statement can be explained or elaborated as follows:
A major reason many Christians throughout history have not manifested the love and unity of God’s Spirit (Eph. 4:3) as well as they should is because of failure to realize this truth. If they did, it would free them to speak honestly and fellowship without becoming unduly upset about relatively minor issues. They would receive God’s blessing as peacemakers, who draw inclusive circles around people based on the kerygma rather than denominational lines between them due to didachaic differences. Jesus prayed for spiritual unity (cf. John 17:20-23, “May they be one…”). Thus, unity regarding the Gospel is more important than accuracy regarding doctrinal details.
The normative way of stating the kerygma/GRFS in the NT is “Accept Christ Jesus as Lord” (as in 2Cor. 4:5 & Col. 2:6). The main points of Christian orthodoxy implicit in this statement can be explained or elaborated as follows:
- There is a/one all-loving and just Lord or Creator God (Deut. 6:4, John 3:16, 2Thes. 1:6), who is both able (2Tim. 1:12) and willing (1Tim. 2:3-4, Ezek. 33:11) to provide all morally accountable human beings salvation or heaven—a wonderful life full of love, joy and peace forever.
- Human beings are selfish or sinful (Rom. 3:23, 2Tim. 3:2-4, Col. 3:5), miserable (Gal. 5:19-21), and hopeless (Eph. 2:12) or hell-bound at the judgment (Matt. 23:33 & 25:46) when they reject God’s salvation (John 3:18, Rom. 2:5-11).
- Jesus is God’s Messiah/Christ and incarnate Son, the way that God has chosen (John 3:16, Acts 16:30-31, Phil. 2:9-11) of providing salvation by means of his atoning death on the cross for the payment of the penalty for the sins of humanity (Rom. 3:22-25 & 5:9-11), followed by his resurrection to reign in heaven (1Cor. 15:14-28).
- Thus, every person who hears the NT Gospel needs to repent and accept God’s grace or justification in Jesus as Christ/Messiah the Lord or Supreme Commander (Luke 2:11, John 14:6, Acts 16:31), at which moment God’s loving Holy Spirit of Christ indwells/baptizes the believer into the church (Rev. 3:20, Rom. 5:5, 1Cor. 12:13).
- Loving Christ Jesus as Lord (Luke 2:11), God the Son (Matt. 16:16) or God in the human dimension (Col. 2:9) means reflecting divine love as empowered by the Holy Spirit, thereby obeying His command to love one another (Matt. 7:21, 22:37-40, John 13:35, Rom. 13:9)—forever (Matt. 10:22, Psa. 113:2), which will eventually achieve spiritual maturity on earth and heaven after Christ returns at God’s resurrection (John 14:6, 17&26, Rom. 8:6-17, Gal. 6:7-9, Eph. 1:13-14, Phil. 3:12-16, Heb. 10:36, 12:1, Jam. 1:2-4).
I responded re #1 on your thread, so now it is your turn to respond to my #1 here, which has no acronyms or foreign languages.
Just so everyone knows, the essential doctrines are now being discussed on the thread started by NT,
and I intend to amend the Kerygma lesson on our website pending what we decide is essential doctrine there,
since he declined to discuss it here also.
and I intend to amend the Kerygma lesson on our website pending what we decide is essential doctrine there,
since he declined to discuss it here also.
Your question implies that something is required of us in order to be saved. Romans 9: 14-16 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. None of us are worthy to be saved. Out of all that are condemned, which is all of us, He saves a few to show His mercy, and condemns the rest to show His justice to all of the other heavenly beings. There is nothing that we can do to attain salvation, except recognize that you are a sinner and have a deep repentance for your sins. This deep repentance is a necessary ingredient for salvation. That is how the Father chooses, by granting this deep repentance. When you have this deep repentance, you turn to Him for forgiveness. Through preaching you are introduced to Jesus and the forgiveness of sins simply by believing. Jesus in turn baptizes you with the Holy Spirit, who acts as a portal through which both Father and Son can enter your being and change your motivation for living from love of self first, to love of God first and all others as you love yourself. Pray to Him to help you get rid of any anger or hate in you, and for Him to help you to do His will. When both Father and Son fill your being, you become One with the Father and Son. That is what Jesus prayed to the Father for concerning his disciples, that they would be One and that they would share the same love that they shared. You get baptized in the name of the Father when He chooses you by granting repentance. You get baptized in the name of the Son when you put your trust in his death for the forgiveness of sins. You get baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit when through the Holy Spirit, both Father and Son enter your being and fill you with Love. Salvation is a state of being.
I see that you are a tulipist, and I was raised as a Baptist but now identify as a MFWer.
I agree that salvation depends on God's mercy/grace, but I guess we disagree regarding to whom God chooses to offer heaven.
I also agree that obtaining salvation is conditional upon repentance, but I guess we disagree regarding who may repent.
I also agree that the normative way of being convicted of sin is through the preaching/teaching of the Gospel.
I also agree that when a sinner repents and accepts Jesus as Lord, he/she receives or is baptized with the Holy Spirit.
I also agree that the sign of saving faith is love for God and others and oneself.
I also agree that conversion begins the lifelong process of sanctification or becoming more loving.
I agree that those filled with God's loving power are the answer to the prayer of Jesus for oneness/unity.
Thus, salvation has three states of being: We were saved when we repented, we are being saved now, and we will be saved when translated to heaven.
Not sure whether you want to discuss the two points of disagreement I mentioned.
I agree with the Baptists and most Protestants that God offers heaven to all,
but many either ignore Him or intentionally reject Him. (John 3:16-18, etc.)