By Grace Through Faith

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Are you okay? How does one work for a prostitute?
Matthew 21:31
31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
 
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EmSw

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Matthew 21:31
31Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.

So, do you prostitute yourself also?
 
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def

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So if we are save "By Grace" and it is "Through Faith" then it is Grace (of God) that saves us and the means is Faith.. (Ephesians 2:8)

I posted this in a previous thread and I believe it bears repeating..

The question was why do some Christians struggle and fail while other seem to do well with effortless success..

I think the main problem would be one of perception. People tend to see God the way they see their natural father. If they had an abusive father they think God is mean or cruel. If their dad was absent a lot or ignored them all the time they think God is distant or uncaring.

They also tend to see themselves the way they feel others see them. If they feel that others see them as unworthy or worthless they will tend to act that out. As a man (or woman) believes in his (their) heart so is he (they). In other words their core beliefs about God and themselves are skewed by their life circumstances and their feelings. They feel unloved and they feel guilty because of their sins, and this keeps them away from the only one who can free them from their false perceptions. The point is that it doesn't matter how you feel if that feeling is opposed to God's truth. The battle is in your mind, and it is a battle for truth. That's why Jesus said the truth will set you free.
I think you just described Luther. Luther felt he was unworthy, and came out with the idea of the imputation of righteousness to free himself of the guilt. It was a good news based on psychology and not on Scripture.
The truth is that God loves you with an everlasting, unconditional and unrelenting love whether you feel it or not. He is for you and not against you. Let me say it again, He is for you and NOT against you. He always seeks what is good for you and you can trust Him even when it looks like you cannot. Your sin is as far from you as the east is from the west, and I'm not talking about this planet. I'm talking about from one side of eternity to the other. He has already walked your life with you from the beginning to end, so He who has started a good work with you He will bring it to completion. You are His adopted child, and bought with a price at the same time. A child of God. All of your sins, past, present and future were placed on Him at the cross and they were paid for forever. Jesus' perfect righteousness was placed upon you in Him at the cross as all believers are "in Him". You want to know the truth?

If God loves the world unconditionally, there would be no hell, and all will go to heaven.

Sin WILL NOT have dominion over you because your are under Grace and NOT under law.

Here's the key. You are completely off the hook. There are NO strings attached.

Paul said "Recon yourselves as those dead to sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus". Why because you're under grace and not law. Count yourself as one of those who are dead to sin and alive to God because you are, right now, under His Grace.

The jail door has been unlocked the whole time. The feeling of it being locked has always been so strong we have never even tried to push on it. There are no guards with guns around the corner, but it has always felt like they were there if they even heard the slightest noise. Notice I use the words feeling, because it is our feelings and perceptions that lead us into a self created prison.

Salvation is the free gift of God and it cannot be earned. It can only be received.

Paul said that he labored more then them (the apostles) all, but he said it was not him but the grace of God that was with Him. Even when Paul did good works he said it wasn't him but grace.

Paul said that his good works is because of grace, and Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:10 that God has works prepared for His people, and Paul's good works is the work that God has prepared for him.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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I think you just described Luther. Luther felt he was unworthy, and came out with the idea of the imputation of righteousness to free himself of the guilt. It was a good news based on psychology and not on Scripture.
Good news from Scripture - all that YHWH says ... including Righteousness.

No, not based on psychology at all. Psychology is a relatively new phenomena also, in society that is pernicious.
 
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yeshuaslavejeff

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If God loves the world unconditionally, there would be no hell, and all will go to heaven.
Now, there you have it - a statement based on pernicious psychology.

It is contrary to all Scripture, and untruthful. The origin is man, men, or demons - (not YHWH, not YHWH'S WORD, not Jesus)
 
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EmSw said in post #86:

So Paul severed Timothy from Christ?

The apostle Paul circumcised his assistant Timothy not because Paul thought the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law was still in effect for Jews, but simply so "the Jews which were in those quarters" (of what's today Turkey) would allow Timothy to enter synagogues with Paul during his journey (Acts 16:3).

Whether or not someone is physically circumcised doesn't matter to Christians (Colossians 3:11, Galatians 6:15, Galatians 5:6). Instead, the only circumcision that matters is the spiritual circumcision (Philippians 3:3) of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:11-13).

If Christians get physically circumcised thinking they have to (Acts 15:1,5) because it was commanded to Abraham (Genesis 17:10) and was part of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Leviticus 12:3), then Christ will profit them nothing (Galatians 5:2). They've fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4) and placed themselves under the curse of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Galatians 3:10, Deuteronomy 27:26).

Under the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, physical circumcision was required for a male, whether Jew or Gentile, whether infant or adult, to become part of Israel (Exodus 12:48). But under the New Covenant, physical circumcision isn't required for a Jew or Gentile to become part of Israel. All that's required is faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29). This is one of the ways the New Covenant isn't according to the Old Covenant (Jeremiah 31:32). The letter of the entire Old Covenant Mosaic law was abolished on the Cross (Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6).

Also, unlike the abolished physical circumcision of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, the spiritual circumcision of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:11-13, Philippians 3:3, Romans 2:29) makes no distinction between males and females (Galatians 3:28-29).

Also, under the New Covenant, a non-Christian, genetic Jew, even though he may be physically circumcised, is spiritually uncircumcised (Acts 7:51) and so spiritually isn't a Jew (Romans 2:28-29, Revelation 2:9b, Revelation 3:9). He has been broken off in spirit from the good olive tree of Israel, the genetic Jews' own tree (Romans 11:20,24). Yet he will be grafted in again when he comes into faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 11:23-32), who is Himself a Jew (John 4:9,22, Luke 2:21).
 
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EmSw said in post #87:

Also, would you go to a satanic ritual which is offering goats to satan, and eat of that meat?

Regarding going to the ritual, no.

Regarding eating the meat, are you thinking of Revelation 2:14b,20b?

If so, note it doesn't contradict that under the New Covenant all foods are in themselves okay for all Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, to eat (1 Timothy 4:4-5). Instead, Revelation 2:14b,20b refers to the same principle as 1 Corinthians 10:20-21, which refers to those who eat meat sacrificed to idols with the intent, or the idea, that in doing so they're actually "fellowshipping" with the idols, as opposed to having the true knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:10a) to eat the meat just as meat, without ascribing any evil spiritual significance to it whatsoever (1 Corinthians 8:4-8; 1 Corinthians 10:25-31).
 
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def said in post #106:

Paul said that his good works is because of grace, and Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:10 that God has works prepared for His people, and Paul's good works is the work that God has prepared for him.

That's right.

For Jesus Christ gives each Christian his or her own spiritual work to do (Mark 13:34, Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:28-30; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10). And He gives different Christians different amounts of spiritual talents (Matthew 25:15). So it's not possible for all Christians to do the same spiritual work for Jesus, or to accomplish the same amount for Him. And so any one Christian shouldn't (as sometimes happens) judge any other Christian for not doing the same spiritual work he or she's doing, or for not accomplishing as much as he or she's accomplishing (Romans 14:4). Nor should any Christian think the spiritual work which Jesus has given him or her is unnecessary and not a real part of the operation of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:14-30). But there's still no room for complacency, because for those Christians who've been given much spiritual talent by God, much will be required of them by God (Luke 12:48b). And for those Christians who haven't been given as much spiritual talent by God, they're still expected to accomplish something for Him (Galatians 6:4-5), and not just to sit back and do nothing at all for Him (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8).
 
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TheSeabass

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Ohh, then you believe in a salvation by works and not grace.. It's either works or grace, it cannot be both. The problem is that no one keeps His commands perfectly.. The old covenant of works was faulty (Hebrews 8:7) and God made a new covenant through the precious blood of Jesus to save His people. And how does one keep themselves in the love of God? (John 6:29) This is the work of God that you should believe on the one whom He has sent. To believe in His love and grace is the work that which is required. And the good works and resistance of sin follows from that.

The bible teaches salvation is by both God's grace and man's obedience to the will of God.

John 14:15 says nothing about requiring perfect obedience. God has allowed the Christian the avenue of repentance for when he sins. The fact remains the Christian must do his best in keeping God's commands to abide in His love.


Stevenbelievin said:
Wrong. According to Hebrews 10:11-14 "11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Those animal sacrifices under the OT had to be offered over and over for sins Yet one sacrifice of Christ His blood continues to wash away all sins IF the Christian continues to walk in the light 1 John 1:7 without Christ having to be sacrificed over and over.

Stevenbelievin said:
Let's not make a works based salvation out of the new covenant which is a grace by faith salvation. Paul was specific that anyone who preached a different gospel was anathema. Jesus said the sons are free (Matthew 17:26). If you try to earn your way then the grace of God is in vain.
No one can do any work to earn salvation and no one here that I have seen believes one can do meritorious works to earn salvation so this is not an argument here.
The bible teaches salvation is a free gift that comes with conditions and meeting the conditions must be done to receive the free gift and nothing is earned.
 
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Weakened is about right. Salvation is about entering rest and the law could not help here. But there are levels of salvation, and the law could protect, act as a guardian, when not distorted into traditions of men, as the parable of the publican and the Pharisee proves.

The law preserved the Old Testament saints until Christ came.

Galatians 3:19
Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

Galatians 3:24
Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith.

Bump
 
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