Posted by
Patriot Pastor on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 2:08:00 PM
Let's just let the Bible speak for itself!
"... because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." Romans 3:28
"For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God." Romans 4:2
"... nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." Galatians 2:16
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9
World religious leaders keep their congregations enslaved by telling them that they have to work and earn enough points with God to get into heaven. Most leave the number to be attained blank as this assures them of free labor to build their egotistical monuments to themselves. Have you ever noticed that the leaders always claim to have the right number of points already, even though they teach that we cannot know when we have enough. The Jehovah's Witnesses limit the number going to heaven to 144,000. This is totally taken out of context: the 144,000 ARE JEWS, not JW's. These 144,000 are Jewish preachers in the last times and has nothing to do with who goes to heaven. Note that the leaders are in and you MIGHT be in if you knock on enough doors. Mormons teach a faith plus works M. O. for salvation. The woods are full of false theologies these days and there are more every day.
Christianity stands ALONE as the only religion that their God made the sacrifice for them when God the Son, Jesus Christ, offered His own body as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of ALL mankind. He did ALL the work Himself by being judged with the wrath of His own Father, in our place on the cross, so that man would have to do one thing: repent, turn away from sin, and put his trust in the finished work of Jesus. He cried out from the cross at the end of His ordeal, "Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." John 19:30
His work for mankind was finished with no further sacrifice to be had. Mankind, surrenders his heart and life to this wonderful Savior and because of our great love for God we serve Him all the days of our lives. We don't do it to earn points but because we passionately love Him. Like a husband, who is madly in love with his wife, never hesitates to do for her and lavish his love on her. So it is with Jesus, He paid the debt of sin that man had in his account so that man could have a clean slate. If you and I could not love someone who did this for us, then there is something wrong with us, it is called either ignorance or stubbornness. Freedom is found in Christ alone. You can take it to the bank!
PS: Those who try to use James to make the point of works salvation need to do some research on this. The rule of biblical translation is, "Translate the difficult passages in the light of the clear ones." James is trying to get those who have professed faith in Jesus to get off their seats and serve God. Note: Abraham was not justified by works since he found his faith in God simply by believing BEFORE circumcision or the event with Isaac. You see, if we try to force James 2 to say that we work our way to salvation, then we would have a problem. Genesis 15:6 tells of Abraham's trust in God before he did anything God asked him to do. It wasn't until Genesis 22 that he almost sacrificed his son Isaac. God stopped Abram since God never asked for a human sacrifice since He knew His plan included His own Son as man's sacrifice.
So his service to God came after his faith encounter. God took his account and paid for it in full on the cross of Christ as he has done for all people. Faith for the Old Testament saints meant looking forward to the cross of Christ/the Messiah. Today we look back to that event for our faith. This is why God allowed the Temple to be torn down. He made an end to animal sacrifices, since they could not take away man's sins. The Jews today who refuse to trust in their Messiah, have ABSOLUTELY NO MEANS OF ATONEMENT.
"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Hebrews 10:4
Hope this helps you to see just how simple salvation is. It is not just a prayer, it is being transformed and adopted into God's forever family. The fact of this is seen in whether or not we are willing to follow Him in loving obedience. God does not issue fire insurance policies to give a free pass out of hell. This is a serious issue and not to be taken lightly. Do the research for yourself. Read the Bible, especially the book of the Gospel of John and the book of Romans. Then you will understand. By the way, say a little prayer to God before you start reading, something like this. "Lord, if you are real and this is truth, open my eyes and heart to it." Amen
Ikester