What is the Gospel?

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Wordkeeper said in post #438:

The Covenant of Works means the judgment is strict.

Note that the New Covenant is also a covenant of works (Romans 2:6-8).

And its judgment is also strict (Matthew 12:36).

Indeed, even some Christians, at the judgment of the Church by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:6-8, Luke 12:45-48, Matthew 25:19-30), at His future, Second Coming (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27), will lose their salvation because of such things as unrepentant sin (Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27), unrepentant laziness (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8), or apostasy (Mark 8:35-38, Hebrews 6:4-8; 2 Timothy 2:12b). That is why Christians know the "terror" of the coming judgment of the Church by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:10-11), why they must remain in fear of being cut off the same as non-Christians if they do not continue in God's goodness (Romans 11:20-22, Luke 12:45-46), why they must be careful to work out their own ultimate salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12b; 1 Peter 1:17, Romans 2:6-8).

Wordkeeper said in post #438:

You need to perform everything perfectly.

Even under the New Covenant (Matthew 5:48).

For it is possible for Christians to be perfect (2 Timothy 3:17; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Corinthians 13:11, Luke 6:40, John 17:23; 1 Corinthians 2:6, Philippians 3:15, Colossians 4:12, James 1:4).

For if we love God, we will obey Him (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24). And if we obey Him, He will continue to love us (John 15:10).

And it is not difficult for Christians to obey everything that God requires of them (1 John 5:3b, Matthew 11:28-30, John 14:15,21, Matthew 5:48, Revelation 3:2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Colossians 1:28, Philippians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 2:6; 2 Corinthians 13:11).

Wordkeeper said in post #438:

The Covenant of Grace means judgment will be lenient.

So long as there is repentance if a sin is committed (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 10:26-29).
 
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justbyfaith said in post #439:

People need to understand the proper motivation for serving Christ.

Christians obey Christ out of both their love for Him (John 14:21-24; 1 John 5:3), and their fear of Him (Romans 11:20-22; 1 Peter 1:17, Philippians 2:12), their fear of ultimately losing their salvation from hell if they wrongly employ their free will to do something like committing unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46), or if they become utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8).

In John 14:21,23, when Jesus Christ talks about Christians needing to obey Him if they want God to love them (see also what John 15:10 says), He is referring to how Christians must keep themselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21), and continue in His goodness (Romans 11:22), by continuing in faithful obedience to him, if they want to be saved from hell in the end (Romans 2:6-8, Hebrews 5:9).

justbyfaith said in post #439:

If we serve Him from the former ["have to"] motivation, then we are like slaves serving under a taskmaster.

Christians must become Christ's willing servants/slaves (doulos: G1401) (Revelation 1:1).

But He is not a taskmaster (Matthew 11:28-30).

justbyfaith said in post #439:

But to be compared to that scripture is Galatians 4:7.

Galatians 4:7 means that Christians are not only God's servants, but are His children. For Christians are God's servants (Romans 6:22, Philippians 1:1; 2 Timothy 2:24). People can be both someone's child and his servant at the same time (Malachi 3:17, Exodus 4:23). The book of Revelation is given to the Church (Revelation 22:16), God's servants (Revelation 22:6, Revelation 1:1), who will forever serve God (Revelation 22:3), with His name written on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4, Revelation 3:12-13).
 
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justbyfaith said in post #445:

It is only immature Christians who obey out of fear. Those who have been apprehended by perfect love obey solely out of love (1 John 4:18).

We must never outgrow the fear of God (Romans 11:20-22).

For all Christians are commanded to fear God (1 Peter 2:17, Luke 12:5, Hebrews 12:28-29; 2 Corinthians 7:1, Ephesians 5:21, Acts 9:31). They must remain in fear of being cut off the same as non-Christians if they do not continue in God's goodness (Romans 11:20-22, Luke 12:45-46). They must work out their own ultimate salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12b; 1 Peter 1:17, Romans 2:6-8), knowing the terror of the future judgment of Christians by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10-11), at His Second Coming, when some Christians will end up losing their salvation because of unrepentant sin (Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 10:26-29), or unrepentant laziness (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a), or apostasy (Mark 8:35-38, Hebrews 6:4-8).

Satan would love to deceive Christians into not having this fear of God. For Satan knows that it is the lack of a fear of God which keeps people in unrepentant sin (Psalms 36:1, Psalms 10:13), and it is by the fear of God that people depart from sin (Proverbs 16:6b, Proverbs 14:27, Proverbs 3:7). And Satan can make his deceptions appear as if they are on the side of good (2 Corinthians 11:14), when in fact his deceptions reject the sound doctrine of God's Word the Bible (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3-4), when the whole Bible is taken into consideration, instead of just taking a verse by itself and trying to misapply it (e.g. Matthew 4:6-7).

justbyfaith said in post #445:

It is only immature Christians who obey out of fear. Those who have been apprehended by perfect love obey solely out of love (1 John 4:18).

It is only if Christians perfectly love God that they will not misbehave (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24), and so they will not have any fear of any impending punishment from God for any misbehavior (1 John 4:18). But if they become so wicked that they lose their fear of God (Psalms 36:1, Psalms 10:13), and so continue to misbehave without repentance, then they do need to fear impending punishment from God in the form of temporal chastening (Hebrews 12:6). And if they refuse to repent even after receiving temporal chastening (Revelation 3:19, Revelation 2:21), then they need to fear God's ability to cast them into hell (Luke 12:5) for their unrepentant misbehavior (Hebrews 10:26-29, Luke 12:45-46).
 
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LightLoveHope

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Christians obey Christ out of both their love for Him (John 14:21-24; 1 John 5:3), and their fear of Him (Romans 11:20-22; 1 Peter 1:17, Philippians 2:12), their fear of ultimately losing their salvation from hell if they wrongly employ their free will to do something like committing unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46), or if they become utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8).

In John 14:21,23, when Jesus Christ talks about Christians needing to obey Him if they want God to love them (see also what John 15:10 says), He is referring to how Christians must keep themselves in the love of God (Jude 1:21), and continue in His goodness (Romans 11:22), by continuing in faithful obedience to him, if they want to be saved from hell in the end (Romans 2:6-8, Hebrews 5:9).



Christians must become Christ's willing servants/slaves (doulos: G1401) (Revelation 1:1).

But He is not a taskmaster (Matthew 11:28-30).



Galatians 4:7 means that Christians are not only God's servants, but are His children. For Christians are God's servants (Romans 6:22, Philippians 1:1; 2 Timothy 2:24). People can be both someone's child and his servant at the same time (Malachi 3:17, Exodus 4:23). The book of Revelation is given to the Church (Revelation 22:16), God's servants (Revelation 22:6, Revelation 1:1), who will forever serve God (Revelation 22:3), with His name written on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4, Revelation 3:12-13).

I have to be honest. After walking in faith for over 40 years, fear does not drive me but fruitful behaviour and finding what is the best use of my time.

Over the last few days I have had a struggle of direction. This is partly because I do not know quite the next steps and also spiritual, doing things I must do and things I would like to do in the Lord.

If one gets the I was blind but now I see moments, I go wow.
In the Lord I know it is the next steps that matter and trust in Him.
He is a glorious King, and His blessing never ceases to amaze me.
 
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justbyfaith

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If there is perfect love as a motivation for obedience, there is no need for fear as a motivation.

It is only when a Christian ceases to have perfect love that fear is even needed.

In those instances, fear is an excellent motivation according to scripture.

However, when a person perfectly loves the Lord, they are motivated to obey Him out of that love and do not need to have fear as a motivating factor.
 
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justbyfaith said in post #448:

If there is perfect love as a motivation for obedience, there is no need for fear as a motivation.

If we have "perfect" love for God, then we will have perfect obedience to God (1 John 5:3), which casts out any fear of any impending punishment from God (1 John 4:18).

But we must still have the conditional fear that if we do not continue in God's goodness, then He will cut us off (Romans 11:22).

Otherwise, we have wrongly become "highminded" (Romans 11:20-22).

This would also include those who think that they have "perfect" love for God, when in fact they do not (e.g. Luke 22:33-34).

For example, read Mark 13:9-13 as possibly applicable to you if you are a Biblical Christian. For in our future, "political correctness" could make even Biblical Christianity "hate speech", because the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin (Romans 1:26-27), and that Christianity is the only way to be saved from hell (John 14:6, John 3:36, Acts 4:12), and that all other religions are cursed, doubly cursed (Galatians 1:8-9).

Be prepared to be arrested and tried before courts of law for the violation of "hate speech" laws which could be instituted in our future (by the Supreme Court, without any approval from the People in Congress). If you are brought to trial, remember Mark 13:9-13, and testify as God's Holy Spirit gives you at that time. But do not expect to be set free after your testimony. You (just as I) must be willing to face imprisonment and even execution for the truths of Jesus Christ and His Word the Holy Bible (Matthew 24:9-13, Mark 8:34-38, John 8:31b).
 
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