What is the Gospel?

[justbyfaith]

For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Romans 4:1-8.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:5-6.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour: That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7.

 

[Wordkeeper]

For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Romans 4:1-8.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:5-6.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour: That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7.

No the Gospel is that the New Covenant which justifies, unlike the Old Covenant, has been given.

 

[Bible2+]

justbyfaith said in post #421:

For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. Romans 4:1-8.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 11:5-6.

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour: That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7.

Amen.

Initial salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ without any works at all on our part (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 4:1-5, Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9).

But note that other passages show that Christians must have both faith and continued works of faith (1 Thessalonians 1:3, Galatians 5:6b, Titus 3:8) (not works of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law), if they are to obtain ultimate salvation (Romans 2:6-8, James 2:24, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 25:26,30, Philippians 2:12b, Philippians 3:11-14; 2 Corinthians 5:9, Hebrews 5:9, Hebrews 6:10-12; 2 Peter 1:10-11, John 15:2a; 1 John 2:17b). For Christians must continue to do righteous deeds if they are to continue to be righteous (1 John 3:7, James 2:24,26). And there is no assurance that Christians will choose to do that, instead of wrongly employing their free will to become utterly lazy without repentance, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a).

 

[justbyfaith]

2 Corinthians 5:17 salvation is by grace through faith alone. No work that we can do is able to obtain that transformation for us.

Once a person is transformed from being a dog or a pig into being a sheep, there is no Omnipotent devil that can transform that person permanently back into a dog or sheep. Even if it were possible for a season, Jesus knows the ones who are His and will restore them to sheephood. Jesus is the Omnipotent One.

All of the works that we do as Christians have to be by faith in Him. We cannot do anything apart from Him. Since even our works are the result of faith, I contend that salvation is by faith alone, and that the works done by believers are only the result of being born again.

Because in all your doings, @Bible2+, it appears to me that you are attempting to contend for the opposite idea, shifting from "Christians are ultimately saved by works" into that area of "the way to salvation IS to do good works". It appears to me that this is what you are aiming for. Or, perhaps the principality or power that is behind your teaching.

 

[justbyfaith]

No the Gospel is that the New Covenant which justifies, unlike the Old Covenant, has been given.

Could you please clarify what you mean there as a response in light of what you were responding to? What was it about those scriptures that you were saying no to? What teaching in your mind is in contradiction to those scriptures?

I believe that the scriptures that I quoted are a hefty part of the New Covenant.

How is your statement above in contradiction to the verses that I quoted that you were responding to in it? Because the beginning of your statement was No.

 

[Wordkeeper]

Could you please clarify what you mean there as a response in light of what you were responding to? What was it about those scriptures that you were saying no to? What teaching in your mind is in contradiction to those scriptures?

I believe that the scriptures that I quoted are a hefty part of the New Covenant.

How is your statement above in contradiction to the verses that I quoted that you were responding to in it? Because the beginning of your statement was No.

For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Well for starters the Gospel wasn't good news for Israel.

The above text says that the Gentiles, a People who were not God's People have been chosen as God's People, usurping Israel. Not because they were more righteous than Israel, no one is as righteous is required, not one, all have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of God. It is by grace, lowering of standards, requirements, that the Gentiles were chosen and not by meeting standards, lest anyone should boast. Not of works, else grace would not be grace.

Why are you choosing this text to describe Gospel? Gospel is the son of the slave woman being driven away. Gospel is the son of the free woman being given, the Promised Gift arriving.

You need to extract the central theme.

 

[justbyfaith]

For by grace are ye saved by faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Well for starters the Gospel wasn't good news for Israel.

The above text says that the Gentiles, a People who were not God's People have been chosen as God's People, usurping Israel. Not because they were more righteous than Israel, no one is as righteous is required, not one, all have sinned, all have fallen short of the glory of God. It is by grace, lowering of standards, requirements, that the Gentiles were chosen and not by meeting standards, lest anyone should boast. Not of works, else grace would not be grace.

Why are you choosing this text to describe Gospel? Gospel is the son of the slave woman being driven away. Gospel is the son of the free woman being given, the Promised Gift arriving.

You need to extract the central theme.

Please clarify.

 

[Wordkeeper]

Please clarify.

Israel thought that Messiah would turn Jerusalem into the Kingdom of God, and the world would be blessed by converting to Judaism.

However, the promise was to a seed, not many seeds, Christ, not the Jews. Those who insisted on seeking a righteousness of Israel, Judaism, instead of the righteousness of God, Christianity, were cut off.

The good news, for Gentiles, was that because of Israel's disbelief, non Jews received the promise made to Abraham.

John 5:39"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;

Romans 10:20And Isaiah is very bold and says, "I WAS FOUND BY THOSE WHO DID NOT SEEK ME, I BECAME MANIFEST TO THOSE WHO DID NOT ASK FOR ME."

 

[Bible2+]

justbyfaith said in post #424:

2 Corinthians 5:17 salvation is by grace through faith alone.

Note that a Christian becoming a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17) does not take away his free will. It does not turn him into a robot. So it is possible for him to wrongly employ his free will to the ultimate loss of his salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29, Hebrews 6:4-8, Matthew 25:26,30).

For example, Hebrews 10:26-29 shows that Christians, who have been sanctified by Jesus Christ's sacrificial blood (Hebrews 10:29), which sanctification requires faith (Acts 26:18b, cf. Romans 3:25-26), can, after they get saved, wrongly employ their free will to commit sin without repentance (Hebrews 10:26). By doing this, these Christians are unwittingly trampling on Jesus and His sacrificial blood, and doing despite unto the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29), turning the grace of God into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4), so that their ultimate fate will be worse than if they had never been saved at all (2 Peter 2:20-22). Even though Jesus' sacrificial blood is sufficient to forgive all sins (1 John 2:2), it actually forgives only the sins of Christians which are past (Romans 3:25-26), as in sins which have been repented from and confessed to God (1 John 1:9,7). Jesus' sacrificial blood does not remit unrepentant sins (Hebrews 10:26-29). So a Christian can ultimately lose his salvation if he wrongly employs his free will to commit unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46).

Some Christians say that Hebrews 10:26-29 is not for Christians. But the immediate context of Hebrews 10:26-29 is Hebrews 10:25, which is addressing "we" Christians. Hebrews 10:25-29 is the same idea as Hebrews 3:13: Christians need to gather together and exhort each other so that no Christian will fall into any unrepentant sin. For any unrepentant sin will ultimately result in the loss of salvation (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46, Matthew 7:22-23, Galatians 5:19-21; 2 Peter 2:20-22, Romans 8:13; 1 John 5:16, James 5:19-20).

One way that a Christian could come to desire to commit a sin without repentance would be if he finds a particular sin to be very pleasurable, so pleasurable and so fulfilling (in the short term) that he continues in it over time until his heart becomes hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13), to where his love for God grows cold because of the abundance of iniquity (Matthew 24:12), to where he quenches the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), to where he sears his conscience as with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2), to where he becomes so infatuated with his sin that he can no longer endure the sound doctrine of the Bible (such as the doctrine of Hebrews 10:26-29), but instead latches onto a mistaken, man-made teaching which contradicts the Bible (2 Timothy 4:3-4), such as the mistaken teaching which assures Christians that there is no way that they can ever lose their salvation, even if they commit a sin without repentance.

justbyfaith said in post #424:

Since even our works are the result of faith, I contend that salvation is by faith alone, and that the works done by believers are only the result of being born again.

Note that ultimate salvation is not by faith alone (James 2:24).

For example, John 15:2a refers to Christians, who are branches in the vine of Jesus Christ, wrongly employing their free will in such a way that they fail to produce good fruit, so that ultimately they are taken away from Jesus (John 15:2a), cut off from Him for their unrepentant laziness, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Matthew 25:26,30).

Christians can also be ultimately cut off from Jesus Christ, cast away, and burned; they can ultimately lose their salvation, for not continuing to abide in Jesus (John 15:6), in the sense of committing apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:12b), or unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29, Luke 12:45-46; 1 Corinthians 9:27).

 

[Bible2+]

Wordkeeper said in post #426

[Re: Ephesians 2:8-9]:

The above text says that the Gentiles, a People who were not God's People have been chosen as God's People, usurping Israel.

No (Romans 11:1-5), for note that Jesus Christ's Gospel of salvation goes to Jews first (Romans 1:16, Matthew 10:5-6, Matthew 15:24, Acts 3:26), and salvation is of the Jews (John 4:22b), because salvation is of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which God has made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Christian Gentiles are grafted into Israel so that they can partake of the salvation offered by God to Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29, John 10:16). And all Christians, whether Jews (Acts 22:3) or Gentiles (Romans 16:4b), have become spiritually-circumcised Jews if they have undergone the spiritual circumcision of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13).

Wordkeeper said in post #426

It is by grace, lowering of standards, requirements, that the Gentiles were chosen and not by meeting standards, lest anyone should boast. Not of works, else grace would not be grace.

Note that the New Covenant in no way lowers God's standards, but even raises them. For Jesus Christ shows in the Sermon on the Mount how His New Covenant, Christian commandments are even stricter than the letter of the commandments of the Old Covenant Mosaic law. For the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law forbade murder (Matthew 5:21, Exodus 20:13), while Jesus' New Covenant law forbids even calling people names (Matthew 5:22). And the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law forbade adultery (Matthew 5:27, Exodus 20:14), while Jesus' New Covenant law forbids even looking at another woman with lust (Matthew 5:28). And the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law permitted divorce and remarriage (Matthew 5:31, Deuteronomy 24:1-2), while Jesus' New Covenant law forbids it (Matthew 5:32, Mark 10:11-12, Luke 16:18), except for a single exemption granted only to husbands who discover that their newlywed wife is not a virgin, but had committed fornication (Matthew 19:9).

Jesus Christ also shows in the Sermon on the Mount that while His New Covenant, Christian law is stricter than the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, at the same time it is also more merciful. For the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law required taking an eye for an eye (Matthew 5:38, Deuteronomy 19:21), while Jesus' New Covenant law requires turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). And the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law required hatred for one's enemies (Matthew 5:43, Deuteronomy 23:6), while Jesus' New Covenant law requires love for one's enemies (Matthew 5:44). And the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, the ministration of death (2 Corinthians 3:7), required, for example, that adulterers be put to death (Leviticus 20:10), while Jesus showed mercy to the woman caught in adultery (John 8:4-11). And, for another example, the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law required that anyone who does any work on the sabbath is to be put to death (Exodus 31:14, Numbers 15:32-36), while Jesus allowed His disciples to work on the sabbath, and said that they were guiltless (Matthew 12:1-8), just as Jesus Himself worked on the sabbath (John 5:17-18).

So in obeying Jesus Christ's New Covenant commandments (Matthew 5:19 to 7:29, John 14:15; 1 Corinthians 14:37), Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, are both more merciful and loving, and also exceed in righteousness, those who mistakenly try to keep the abolished letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Matthew 5:20-48, Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 3:6-18, Hebrews 7:18-19).

Wordkeeper said in post #426

It is by grace, lowering of standards, requirements, that the Gentiles were chosen and not by meeting standards, lest anyone should boast. Not of works, else grace would not be grace.

Note that whereas initial salvation is not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9), ultimate salvation requires obedience (Hebrews 5:9). But even this does not mean boasting. For just as it is impossible for people to believe, or to continue to believe, all of the right things, apart from God's miraculous gift of Christian faith (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65, Hebrews 12:2), and some measure of His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:16), so it is impossible for people to perform, or to continue to perform, all of the right actions as Christians, apart from God making it possible for Christians to do that (Philippians 2:12-13, John 15:4-5). Also, it is impossible for people to repent, if a sin is committed, apart from God making it possible to repent (2 Timothy 2:25, Acts 11:18, Romans 8:13). So even if Christians continue to believe, act, and repent as they ought to, they must stay so humble that they never give themselves any credit or glory (Luke 17:10, Galatians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 1:29,31). But when Jesus Christ judges the Church at His future, Second Coming, He will give obedient Christians some credit (Matthew 25:21). Also, God does glorify Christians (Romans 8:30).

Wordkeeper said in post #426

Gospel is the son of the slave woman being driven away. Gospel is the son of the free woman being given, the Promised Gift arriving.

The Gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13) is that we can be initially saved from hell by believing that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ and the human/divine Son of God (John 20:31, John 3:36; 1 John 2:23), and that He suffered and died on the Cross for our sins and rose physically from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Luke 24:39,46-47, Matthew 20:19, Matthew 26:28).

And the Gospel is that we can be ultimately saved from hell if we continue to believe this to the end (Hebrews 3:6,12,14, Colossians 1:23), and continue to perform good works of faith to the end (Romans 2:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 1:3), and repent from every sin that we commit (Hebrews 10:26-29), and get water-immersion (burial) baptized into Jesus Christ (Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-11), and partake of Jesus' divine flesh and blood in the bread and wine of Communion (John 6:53; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30), and forgive everyone for everything (Matthew 6:14-15), and do all that we can (Romans 12:18) to make reparations to, and peace with, everyone whom we have ever wronged (Matthew 5:23-26), and help Christians in need (Matthew 25:34-46), and provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and do not blaspheme God's Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), and do not remove words from the book of Revelation (Revelation 22:19), and do not worship the future Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast"), or worship his image, or willingly receive his mark (Revelation 14:9-12), but continue in God's goodness to the end (Romans 11:22), and overcome to the end (Revelation 3:5, Revelation 2:26).

 

[justbyfaith]

@Bible2+

Loopholes to Ephesains 2:8-9 you have found.

So I conclude from your teaching that salvation is not by grace through faith; and is of ourselves: it is of works, so that every man can boast.

I look forward to boasting with you on the day of judgment of all the good things I did.

 

[LightLoveHope]

You guys love Jesus, glory to God.

Jesus is the word of God to mankind. He brings the promise that God can walk beside us, understands us and just wants us to take the next step.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matt 11:28-30

My kids say of me is they cannot imagine how I came out of a family that was as it is.
What they mean is I am loving, emotional, open, balanced, disciplined, caring yet my family is closed down, non-communicative, isolated, random, sometimes angry, sometimes sad.

It is Jesus who brought me through, Jesus who established my path and taught me everything. But it has always been, just the next step.

Jesus said it like this, count the cost.
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
Luke 14:28-30

Many think they know the whole path before they have begun, except you are changed along the path, so what was impossible before becomes possible now. It is therefore impossible to say what can be done, except just the next step and to walk in love and faith.

 

[justbyfaith]

Grace and works are not mutually exclusive when it comes to salvation. Romans 11:5-6 doesn't say that. Surely it teaches us that grace = works. That because it is of grace, it is of works; and grace is grace because of it. And because it is of works, it is of grace; and work is work because of it.

So we are initially saved by grace and ultimately saved by works. That means that we are saved by both grace and works.

Now if you take a careful look at Romans 11:5-6, is this what that scripture bears out?

Few noble are called; but the few called that are noble are the Bereans of Acts 17:11. I say to you, seek nobility!

 

[LightLoveHope]

Grace and works. When I go sledging in winter, I need a sledge. If I have a sledge
but do not use it, it is worthless.

I am given the sledge, but it only has significance when put into effect.

Those who do not sledge, whether they have the sledge or not, they are not
sledging.

The whole argument seems to arise from people born into the church who
never actually came to faith, but accepted the form of religion without its internal
reality. Their compromise is they are saved though bound in sin, because they
have never actually addressed they are sinners without God under judgement.

So the gospel for them becomes words that excuse their state and provide them
with a place in heaven. And if anyone suggests they are still sinners sinning, one
must be satanic........ Talk about inverting spiritual reality.

 

[justbyfaith]

The only way to be forgiven from being in a sinful state is to put your faith in Jesus Christ.

You cannot obtain this transformation by doing something (other than by simply putting your faith in Jesus Christ).

We do something because we have obtained this transformation!

 

[Bible2+]

justbyfaith said in post #431:

Loopholes to Ephesians 2:8-9 you have found.

No, there is no loophole. It just refers to initial salvation, while Romans 2:6-8, for example, refers to ultimate salvation.

justbyfaith said in post #431:

So I conclude from your teaching that salvation is not by grace through faith; and is of ourselves: it is of works, so that every man can boast.

2 Corinthians 5:9, 1 Corinthians 3:9, Colossians 1:29, Philippians 2:12b, Titus 3:8, and Romans 2:6-8 show that Christians themselves must actually labor, together with God. Ultimate salvation is synergistic, because Christians can end up losing their salvation if they wrongly employ their free will to stop their laboring, to become utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a).

justbyfaith said in post #431:

I look forward to boasting with you on the day of judgment of all the good things I did.

Don't (Luke 17:10).

 

[Bible2+]

LightLoveHope said in post #432:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matt 11:28-30

Amen.

Matthew 11:28-30 refers to the spiritual rest which Christians enter (Hebrews 4:3) when they cease every day of the week from their own works (Hebrews 4:10, Luke 9:23), as in works done while not abiding in Jesus Christ (John 15:5, Philippians 2:13); and when they take upon themselves the easy/restful yoke/cross/work of Jesus every day of the week (Luke 9:23, Matthew 11:29-30, Titus 3:8).

Jesus Christ is not a hard taskmaster. He will not give Christians more work to do for Him than they can easily bear (Matthew 11:28-30). But at the same time, He warns Christians that their ultimate salvation will depend on their patient continuance in well doing (Matthew 7:21, Romans 2:6-8, James 2:24), and their not becoming utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a).

 

[Wordkeeper]

Grace and works are not mutually exclusive when it comes to salvation. Romans 11:5-6 doesn't say that. Surely it teaches us that grace = works. That because it is of grace, it is of works; and grace is grace because of it. And because it is of works, it is of grace; and work is work because of it.

So we are initially saved by grace and ultimately saved by works. That means that we are saved by both grace and works.

Now if you take a careful look at Romans 11:5-6, is this what that scripture bears out?

Few noble are called; but the few called that are noble are the Bereans of Acts 17:11. I say to you, seek nobility!

The Covenant of Works means the judgment is strict. You need to perform everything perfectly. The Covenant of Grace means judgment will be lenient. You are saved because you are in Christ, the cleft of the Rock. But you have to be loyal, respond correctly in every situation to be in Christ, because He will judge if your acts are loyal enough. Sometimes words are enough, saying something good about Christ. Sometimes you have to act sacrificially. To the brother who is in need, you know what the right act is.

Mark 9:38John said to Him,“Teacher, we saw someone else driving outdemons in Your name, and we tried to stop him,because he does not accompany us.” 39But Jesus replied, “Do not stop him. No one who performs a miracle in My name can turn around and speak evil of Me.

Luke 23:
39One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on Him. “Are You not the Christ?” he said. “Save Yourself and us!”

40But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? 41We are punished justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our actions. But this man has done nothing wrong.”42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43And Jesus saidto him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Mein Paradise.”

 

[justbyfaith]

People need to understand the proper motivation for serving Christ.

Some think that they have to serve Christ because they will not be ultimately saved unless they do so. This is an improper motivation.

The right motivation is that we serve Christ because we love Him for that He has forgiven us of much sin (Luke 7:36-50, 1 John 4:19, Romans 5:5).

We serve as a response of love to Him over what He has done for us.

It is not a have to but a get to.

If we serve Him from the former motivation, then we are like slaves serving under a taskmaster.

This would be fine for the beginning of your walk, before you come to the real understanding of His grace (see Romans 6:19).

But to be compared to that scripture is Galatians 4:7. Paul speaks after the manner of men because of the infirmity of the flesh in the first passage, identifying us as slaves. But when he gives the real deal that tells of the only faithful motivation for serving Christ, he tells us that we are not slaves anymore but sons. The first passage is to the immature. The second passage tells of our real motivation as mature believers.

We serve Christ because we are sons, not because we are slaves. We are motivated by love as Christians rather than fear.

 

[LightLoveHope]

People need to understand the proper motivation for serving Christ.

Some think that they have to serve Christ because they will not be ultimately saved unless they do so. This is an improper motivation.

The right motivation is that we serve Christ because we love Him for that He has forgiven us of much sin (Luke 7:36-50, 1 John 4:19, Romans 5:5).

We serve as a response of love to Him over what He has done for us.

It is not a have to but a get to.

If we serve Him from the former motivation, then we are like slaves serving under a taskmaster.

This would be fine for the beginning of your walk, before you come to the real understanding of His grace (see Romans 6:19).

But to be compared to that scripture is Galatians 4:7. Paul speaks after the manner of men because of the infirmity of the flesh in the first passage, identifying us as slaves. But when he gives the real deal that tells of the only faithful motivation for serving Christ, he tells us that we are not slaves anymore but sons. The first passage is to the immature. The second passage tells of our real motivation as mature believers.

We serve Christ because we are sons, not because we are slaves. We are motivated by love as Christians rather than fear.

Encountering Christ

People who encounter Christ and know they are sinners without hope, lost
and alone, become very aware of privilege and honour to serve.

Those who have grown up in the church and never come to see themselves
or the issues involved, it can easily become an earning a place rather than
a privilege and a way to express love. I do not know how we help others
see this in themselves other than testify about it, so in time the Lord can
prompt them to see in the mirror clearly.

This is one reason I think openness, testimony, sharing is so important.