"Sugar-coated Gospel" can only produce "Cheap Grace"

[Alithis]

Many Churchgoers are not born-again Christians because of sugar-coated Gospel.
There are 2 parts in the true Gospel :
1. crucified and buried in Christ , died to old self , repent and turn away from old life ( inconvenient part of Gospel)
2. Regeneration by Holy spirit to a born-again life .

However preachers want to increase the success rate of "conversion " , watering down the importance of crucified and buried the old self as the first step to salvation.

Only mention you believe Jesus is the Saviour , then you will be saved and go to Heaven.

But what defines believe !
Not just "know" a historical person came to this world with a mission .
I believe aspirin is a good drug but I fear of the side effects of the drug and dare not to take it. Then the drug can't help you.

To believe.. To listen, to adhere to , take heed ,obey....

 

[Alithis]

The gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again from the dead. That's what Paul the Apostle defines the gospel as.

Is that all.. Does he stop there.. Did peter stop thier?
Do any of the apistles stop there?
Absolutley not.. That is indeed the befinning if the Good news..
But good news alone does not avail the hearer anything.

If you recieve good news ( to the carnal mind of flesh) that you have inherited a million dollars..
You can jump around your kitchen excited.
And tell your friends etc ...
But i guarantee you .muntill you take the action of appropriate steps .you will check your bank account and find there is no million dollars there...
The news of it alone gets you nothing.

You MUST follow the given instructions in order to avail yourself of that good news.
Ie.in that scenario you would need to go see the laywers and do as they say... Etc.no amount of saying i believe i believe iv inherited a million will get the money credited to ypur account.

It is no different with the good news of JESUS.

 

[Alithis]

Grace is not simply cheap, it's free.

Rom 4:21-24 But now the righteousness of God apart from law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

What does Paul say a person must to do be saved? "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" Acts 16:30,31 "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Rom 10:9 To be saved a person must abandon relying upon works to save him. "To the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness." Rom 4:5

Upon coming to faith a person's fate is finalized. "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

This as opposed to the gospel of works salvation-by-works Christians advocate or that of their forerunners of the Christian sect of the Circumcision, in which salvation is contingent upon one's performance.

That's an amazingly shameful collection of extracted sentances.
Much like using selective statistics in politics.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

If it did, then there would be no point in anyone repenting on their death beds.
If it did, then anyone who was born again, became a Christian but died soon afterwards would meet God and be told "you did not do enough/didn't live long enough to show you were saved; too bad.
If it did, then Jesus achieved only partial salvation for us; the rest being dependent on our good works.

Jesus is enough - always.
Jesus is all we need, John 14:6; Acts of the apostles 4:12.
Jesus achieved reconciliation between man and God, and we will be reconciled through him, if we accept him, Romans 5:11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, John 1:29.

As far as I can see, it is human pride which says "my works need to play some part in my salvation".

There is not a one size fits all salvation package. Certainly a person can be saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus on their death beds. Babies who die at birth can be saved by Christ's sacrifice without professing a belief in Jesus. But that does not mean that others who live out their faith are held to the same standard. After a person is saved by God's grace by faith in Christ (the Justification Process), Sanctification also plays a part in the Salvation Process (See: 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Romans 8:13, and Titus 1:16).

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

Here is the passage:

Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, 2 by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to the [child] untimely born, he appeared to me also.

There is clearly a condition to being saved in that passage, holding fast the word (the entire word) which he had preached to them which includes the resurrection. Otherwise they will have believed in vain. That is, they did not hold fast the words taught to them and so in the end believed in vain. Christians, mind you. Christians who in the end believed in vain. The believing in vain is attached to NOT HOLDING FAST THE TEACHING, not that one doesnt believe in the resurrection and that is it.

You know, the believers who will come to Jesus and to whom Jesus will say "depart from me" believed in the resurrection and had full confidence in their salvation. They believed in vain though.

You should try not to personally insult those with whom you disagree. You reveal deep character flaws.

There is this same topic in another thread. I keep asking for clarification on how this works. We talk about living in sin and when Jesus said go and sin more.... what does that actually mean. If it means go and sin no more and you sin even once you failed. If we get to make up our own definition of living in sin then everybody would have different definitions. Jesus taught not to sin so if we do sin we have failed. Doesn’t matter if it was once or 1000 times. We are simply law breakers who can only be saved by Jesus. So if it is true that it’s performance based unless a person has become perfection in their daily living then they don’t meet the criteria to be saved. That means nobody makes it

 

[bcbsr]

That's an amazingly shameful collection of extracted sentances.
Much like using selective statistics in politics.

What you call "amazingly shameful collection of extracted sentances" is what the scripture says on the matter. In contrast Salvation-by-Works Christians misread scripture so as to read salvation by works into scripture, as the gospel of salvation by faith apart from works is simply not palatable to them.

 

[Alithis]

There is not a one size fits all salvation package. Certainly a person can be saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus on their death beds. Babies who die at birth can be saved by Christ's sacrifice without professing a belief in Jesus. But that does not mean that others who live out their faith are held to the same standard. After a person is saved by God's grace by faith in Christ (the Justification Process), Sanctification also plays a part in the Salvation Process (See: 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Romans 8:13, and Titus 1:16).

Those who repent on a so called deathbed are extremly rare..and often they have not heard the full gospel before and are responding to it in that moment.
Those who have heard the gospel all thier life and rejected obeying the Gospel who think they can repent in the last moment will find that sin has so hardend them in thier profain lifestyle that they will not be able to find repentance.

 

[Alithis]

What you call "amazingly shameful collection of extracted sentances" is what the scripture says on the matter. In contrast Salvation-by-Works Christians misread scripture so as to read salvation by works into scripture, as the gospel of salvation by faith apart from works is simply not palatable to them.

Read it all... Not only your selected sentances.
I didnt provide any selected sentances..
Cf readers would not appreciate me posting entire books and epistles of the bible

 

[Grip Docility]

There is this same topic in another thread. I keep asking for clarification on how this works. We talk about living in sin and when Jesus said go and sin more.... what does that actually mean. If it means go and sin no more and you sin even once you failed. If we get to make up our own definition of living in sin then everybody would have different definitions. Jesus taught not to sin so if we do sin we have failed. Doesn’t matter if it was once or 1000 times. We are simply law breakers who can only be saved by Jesus. So if it is true that it’s performance based unless a person has become perfection in their daily living then they don’t meet the criteria to be saved. That means nobody makes it

Go and unbelieve, no more.

John 16:9

This passage literally translates to “The sin of the world is Unbelief.”

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

There is not a one size fits all salvation package. Certainly a person can be saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus on their death beds. Babies who die at birth can be saved by Christ's sacrifice without professing a belief in Jesus. But that does not mean that others who live out their faith are held to the same standard. After a person is saved by God's grace by faith in Christ (the Justification Process), Sanctification also plays a part in the Salvation Process (See: 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Romans 8:13, and Titus 1:16).

So it’s different for everybody?

 

[bcbsr]

Read it all... Not only your selected sentances.
I didnt provide any selected sentances..
Cf readers would not appreciate me posting entire books and epistles of the bible

Not only am I familiar with the context of those verses by I've written commentaries on most of the New Testament. See my site

 

[Alithis]

Not only am I familiar with the context of those verses by I've written commentaries on most of the New Testament. See my site

And you still didnt figure out that the good news is to be obeyed ?
Thats not works to save..
That is obedience to avail oneself of the salvation God has already made available in Christ...

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

And you still didnt figure out that the good news is to be obeyed ?
Thats not works to save..
That is obedience to avail oneself of the salvation God has already made available in Christ...

So in your eyes it’s either perfection in your behavior or your not saved? The Bible also says anything we knowingly do wrong is considered sin. So are you also saying that it’s possible to never do wrong and live a sinless life? Not living a completely sinless life means a person is in disobedience. You can do everything right and struggle in one area and that’s disobedience. No better then the person who struggles daily with 100 different sins. Both just disobedient. Both law breakers. And in your eyes it seems correct me if I’m wrong, both not saved....

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Those who repent on a so called deathbed are extremly rare..and often they have not heard the full gospel before and are responding to it in that moment.
Those who have heard the gospel all thier life and rejected obeying the Gospel who think they can repent in the last moment will find that sin has so hardend them in thier profain lifestyle that they will not be able to find repentance.

I agree.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

So it’s different for everybody?

If not, then babies could not be saved, and men on their death bed could not be saved. Surely not even the Belief Alone Proponent can say that a baby needs to have faith in order to be saved. This is an exception to the rule (obviously). Granted, there are some Calvinists (I have encountered) who believe that not all babies are saved. This kind of thinking is scary to me.

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

I agree.

I don’t like to make it personal but I have some questions. What is obeying the gospel to you? I don’t really see how anyone is obeying the Gospel in the behavior unless they are perfect every second of every day. Part time obedience isn’t obedience. So we either obey or we disobey there isn’t a in between. I disobey because I am far from perfect. How foolish would it be if I said I know I’m not perfect every second of every day but that’s not disobedience. That makes no sense.

 

[Loversofjesus_2018]

If not, then babies could not be saved, and men on their death bed could not be saved. Surely not even the Belief Alone Proponent can say that a baby needs to have faith in order to be saved. This is an exception to the rule (obviously). Granted, there are some Calvinists (I have encountered) who believe that not all babies are saved. This kind of thinking is scary to me.

So if it’s different for everybody why is there such a problem when people clearly have disagreements. People obviously don’t understand the way you do so maybe you guys just understand differently. But what a person can’t do is take an approach that puts themself and their understanding of scripture above someone else with the same desire as them to understand. I mean I guess they can but it’s pretty arrogant. And to be honest it’s probably one of the reasons people have an issue with Christians and religion as a whole. A lot of the times the arrogance is on such a level that it’s disgusting.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

So in your eyes it’s either perfection in your behavior or your not saved? The Bible also says anything we knowingly do wrong is considered sin. So are you also saying that it’s possible to never do wrong and live a sinless life? Not living a completely sinless life means a person is in disobedience. You can do everything right and struggle in one area and that’s disobedience. No better then the person who struggles daily with 100 different sins. Both just disobedient. Both law breakers. And in your eyes it seems correct me if I’m wrong, both not saved....

The Bible teaches that not all sin is the same, and that there are minor transgressions or faults of character.

Minor infractions or faults of character is another name for a "sin not unto death" (i.e. not unto death = not unto spiritual death or the second death) (Note: While the "sin not unto death" mentioned in 1 John 5:16 is in context to confessed sin in John's epistle (See: 1 John 1:9), it can be extended loosely to refer to the kind of sins that do not lead to spiritual death by it's very name).

"Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults."
(Psalms 19:12).​

Examples of Sins That Do Not Lead Unto Spiritual Death:

#1. 1 John 5:16-17 mentions the "sin not unto death."
In context to 1 John 5: This would be talking about confessed grievous sin that one is striving to overcome with the Lord's help (1 John 2:1) (1 John 1:9) (Romans 13:14). In 1 John 5, the brethren are praying for this believer to have victory (life) over their sin as this believer confesses their sin.

#2. Psalms 19:12 says, "Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults." I believe these would be faults of character or minor errors that a person might make with people. Example: A person may not be a great listener, and they do not allow others to speak like they should. By not listening to others may come off a little like they do not care (even though they care in their own way or a different way). Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem. The Spirit warned Paul not to go. He was still determined to go because he loved His fellow Jews and wanted them to know the love of Jesus. The Spirit told the brethren that Paul will be imprisoned by his going to Jerusalem. The brethren warned Paul not to go. They were in tears and loved him and begged him not to go. But Paul did not listen. He would not hear them. He did not want to hear it. Fault of character. Hidden fault. Minor error of his character. It is not something that condemned him (See Acts of the Apostles 21, and read this article here by Ray Stedman; Note: There is even a better write up than this one by Bible commentator James Boice here; Please keep in mind I do not share their views on Soteriology, though; I merely agree with their view on what happened with Paul in Acts of the Apostles 21).

#3. The Command to Be Baptized.
Paul says Christ sent him not to baptize but to preach the gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17). If it was essential to salvation, then why would Paul say something like this? In 1 Peter 3:21: Peter says baptism is not for the putting away of the filth of the flesh. If you were to turn to 2 Corinthians 7:1, you would see that it uses similar wording ("filthiness of the flesh") that is clearly in reference to sin. So Peter is saying that baptism is not for the putting away of "sin" [i.e. filth of the flesh]. In other words, baptism is not a command that if disobeyed, leads to spiritual death.

#4. Other Commands in the New Testament that do not seem like a major violation of loving God and loving your neighbor that have no death penalties attached to them. One example would be the command to Rejoice when men persecute you or falsely accuse you of evil in Matthew 5:11-12.

Real world examples: Going 5 miles per hour over the speed limit in area that is not life threatening to others. Not taking out the trash yesterday when it was a little stinky. These minor transgressions would obviously not send a Christian to hell.

But we as Christians strive to obey and do good in all things in the Lord. We strive to keep His commandments. For it is written,

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.' (1 John 5:3).​

Side Note:

Please understand that it is not possible for a person to obey God's commands without them first being saved by Jesus Christ and His grace (i.e. by seeking forgiveness of their sin with Him, and believing in His death, and resurrection on their behalf). For Christians are initially and ultimately saved by Jesus Christ.

 

[bcbsr]

And you still didnt figure out that the good news is to be obeyed ?
Thats not works to save..
That is obedience to avail oneself of the salvation God has already made available in Christ...

Well that's the thing. You obey it by believing it. Salvation-by-Works Christians refuse to obey the gospel. So they discard it in favor of their salvation by works soteriology.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

So if it’s different for everybody why is there such a problem when people clearly have disagreements. People obviously don’t understand the way you do so maybe you guys just understand differently. But what a person can’t do is take an approach that puts themself and their understanding of scripture above someone else with the same desire as them to understand. I mean I guess they can but it’s pretty arrogant. And to be honest it’s probably one of the reasons people have an issue with Christians and religion as a whole. A lot of the times the arrogance is on such a level that it’s disgusting.

Most disagree because there is something selfishly motivated that is in it for them. They can have the best of both worlds. They get to think they can commit major grievous sin or at least minimize the consequences of grievous sin (like lying, lusting, hating, etc.) and still be saved (When in reality the Bible actually teaches that these kinds of sins can condemn a person - See Matthew 5:28-30, Matthew 6:15, Matthew 12:37, Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-28, 1 John 3:15, Galatians 5:19-21, Revelation 21:8, etc.). They end up having to change these many verses in order to fit their belief that gives them a safety net to commit grievous sin on occasion. So if they lust, or lie, etc., no big deal, Jesus is got them and they are saved by their belief in Jesus. There is no need to worry about putting away serious sin out of one's life completely and neither is there any need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.