I mean that the Promises and Blessings established in Abraham need to be expressed in any legitimate Gospel that is purposed to bring a person to Christ for Eternal Life.
Why?
The promises given to Abraham - that he, a childless man, would have many descendants - were specifically for him. I am not a 90 year old childless man.
These Promises and Blessings are the Spiritual Works performed upon him to cause him to walk blamelessly and Righteously before the Lord. This is what the physical circumcision represents.
No one walks blamelessly before the Lord - ALL are sinners, Romans 3:23.
Christ died for sinners, Romans 5:8; Jesus came to seek and save the lost, Luke 19:10. If you are walking blamelessly before God and are not lost, you don't need saving; Christ didn't die for you.
If a person wants to be confident that they know the Gospel, they're going to have to drop their "shame" and begin discussing the Holy Word Circumcision.
You can if you like. I'm not Jewish, nor am I male.
Shame and Circumcision takes us all the way back to early Genesis when Adam looked down and upon the second time the Bible speaks of this, he is now ashamed.
?? Adam wasn't circumcised.
He was ashamed because he had disobeyed God.
Shame and uncircumcision is the core problem from which humans suffer.
Sin and disobedience to God is the main problem from which people suffer.
Christ then has Work to do . . . the Redeeming Work necessary for Eternal Life to be gained.
Which he did. He said "believe in me" and then went to the cross to reconcile us to God.
Any legitimate "Gospel" is one that speaks of the Purpose of Christ, the Work of Christ, and the Effect of Christ.
Jesus came to give his life as a ransom for many, Mark 10:45. He later asked "should I say, 'Father save me from this hour'? No, it was for this reason I came", John 12:27.
He showed us, by his teachings and miracles, what life would be like in God's kingdom if he were allowed to reign as king, died for our sins and to reconcile us with God.
The effect of all this is that we now have peace with God and are justified by faith, Romans 5:1.
If a person does not agree with terms of the Effect of Christ's Work, then Salvation will not be granted. This is what we were supposed to learn from the below Scripture:
Mark 10:17-22 NKJV - "Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one [is] good but One, [that is], God. "You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' " And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me." But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."
Do you see it? Jesus answered his question "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" The young man didn't approve of Jesus's terms and conditions, so he went away sad.
Like I said, the man claimed he was keeping the commands, but was in fact only keeping half of them.
He had great wealth, his money was an idol and Jesus told him to give it up and put God first. The man went away feeling sad because he didn't want to do that. He wanted to come to Jesus, but on his terms.
That exact example is not going to apply to everyone, but Jesus still tells his followers to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. But it is not that saved, or having eternal life, will only be granted on condition that we do those things. That makes God's love conditional - and also makes Jesus out to be a liar because he said that we are not to just love those who will love us back, but be perfect as God is, Matthew 5:46-48.
Now me, I cannot comprehend why anyone who was excited about Eternal Life would be upset that Jesus would tell them to give it all away only to turn and follow Him, Jesus, instead. That would be perfect! I would love to abandon all things and be with Jesus everywhere He went. I would have no need for anything. Perfect! Let's go!
Have you done it then?
This isn't about money as such - it's about giving up
anything in our lives that comes before God.
The man said he wanted eternal life and claimed to have kept the commandments, but had only kept half of them.
Why would I be willing? Because I agree with the terms of the Covenant, which is that God will cause Rigtheousness, Purity, Holiness, and the desires that cause us to obey.
Jesus' blood sealed the NEW Covenant that was about the forgiveness of sin.
I would have thought that God's grace, mercy, acceptance, forgiveness and unconditional love would cause most people to want to obey - it did with me. We love because he first loved us 1 John 4:19.
What are the terms and conditions? We need to be ready to answer that question, for if a Transformation is to be expected, a person needs to be aware of it.
No.
Jesus promises forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe in him. His Spirit causes us to come to Jesus and be born again, John 3:3, and anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.
Sanctification is the ongoing process of becoming like Christ, which is, again, a work of the Holy Spirit, 2 Corinthians 3:18. Once a person is saved and is his child, God may well say "do you love me more than these?" and if our answer is 'no', may challenge us to give them up. They will be idols, standing between us and God.
But Jesus doesn't bargain with us and say "the contract I am about to make with you says that you have to give up ....... in order to benefit from my death. IF you can do that, I will save you and give you eternal life. It's all down to you."
The Good News is that it all started with God - HE showed mercy, grace and love to us. It's not that we do the right things and God says, "ok, you've done your bit; you've kept the terms and conditions; now I will give you eternal life."
That statement would not produce love, joy and peace, but fear, unease and worry that we had not done enough to receive a reward. That statement would cause people to say "I did it MY way" instead of "I owe it all to him."
