The churches are in dire need of understanding this!

BCsenior

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Now, as we are entering into the end times, the time is short indeed for believers
to become true believers … by starting to obey Jesus’ commandments!
Please also see my first thread, “Here’s the most critical question for you”

The Holy Spirit, God’s angels, and Satan’s angels (demons) can all speak to us (spiritually), i.e. they can place thoughts into our minds (but demons cannot read our thoughts!) The Holy Spirit will dwell INSIDE the true (obedient) believer!
This thread is not really about this point, so I will only list some references:
John 14:15-24, John 15:1-10, Acts 5:32, 2 Cor 13:5, 1 John 3:24, 1 John 4:12-16
Now, on to the purpose of the thread ...
Obedience results in the believer remaining “in Christ”.

John 14 (NLT, 2007)
15 If you love me, obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
17 He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth ... you know him,
because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
20 … you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.
23 All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them,
and we will come and make our home with each of them.
24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.

Jesus says believers who love Him and obey His commandments – are “in me” (v.20).
This is what being “in Christ” is all about.

1 John 2:3-5 (NLT, 2007)
3 And we can be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.
4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.

John says believers who know and love Jesus and obey His commandments – are “in him
(v.5). This is what being “in Christ” is all about.

I have summarized Jesus’ warnings in John 15 …
John 15 (NLT, 2007)
1 I (Jesus) am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He (Father God) cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit …
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
9 Remain in my love.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

Please note that “every branch of mine” (v.2), and “you” (v.5), refer to believers in Jesus. Jesus says those who obey His commandments “remain in my love” (v.10).
This is what being “in Christ” is all about.
And He says those who “do not remain in me” are thrown away and burned (v.6).
So, remaining in Jesus (through loving and obeying Him) is mandatory for salvation!

“To remain in Christ means to love him, to obey him, to pray to him, to worship him. In other words, to remain in Christ means to be joined to him spiritually, just as a branch is joined to a vine. If we remain joined to Christ in this way, we will be like living branches. And just as the sap of the vine flows into the branches and gives them life, so will Christ’s Spirit flow into us and give us spiritual life. In order to bear fruit, we must remain in Christ. If we do not remain in Christ, we shall not bear fruit. Not only that, we shall wither and die (v.6). … There is only one thing that can separate us from Christ: sin. Sin is like a disease that eats at the base of the branch. We will surely lose our union with Christ, if any known sin remains in our lives for which we have not repented. … We can say that in our Christian lives two main things are necessary: first, Christ through the Holy Spirit, must remain in us; and second, Christ’s words, that is the words of the Bible, must remain in our hearts. … In the Christian life, we always find two things appearing together: promises and conditions. If we fulfill the condition, God will fulfill His promise. God has never given a promise without also stating a condition along with the promise … To remain in Christ’s love (v.9,10) is the same as to remain in Christ. … To remain in Christ’s love, we must love him. To love him, we must obey him (see John 14:15). As long as we continue to obey Christ, we shall remain in his love, and he and the Father will abide in us (see John 14:21).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale, medical missionary (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

All through the Epistles, people in the churches are condemned …
if they are involved in habitual sin (they have not remained “in Christ”).
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has made me free from
the law of sin and death.”
(Romans 8:1-2, NKJV)

Those who have remained “in Christ” are free from the law of sin and death …
because they are continually having their sins washed away through repentance!
“But remember, even though we believers have escaped condemnation, sin still remains in our lives. Therefore, we are still guilty of sin and deserving of punishment. But if we repent of our sins, God will not count our sins against us; He will not judge us guilty
(see 1 John 1:9).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

(the uncondemned) no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit. … So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to (eternal) death. But, letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.”
(Romans 8:4-6, NLT)

“We cannot live according to the sinful nature and according to the Spirit at the same time; we must live according to either one or the other (see Galatians 5, etc.).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

“For if you live by its (the flesh’s) dictates, you will die (eternally). But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live (eternally). For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
(Romans 8:13-14, NLT)
 
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God is good

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Now, as we are entering into the end times, the time is short indeed for believers
to become true believers … by starting to obey Jesus’ commandments!
Please also see my first thread, “Here’s the most critical question for you”

The Holy Spirit, God’s angels, and Satan’s angels (demons) can all speak to us (spiritually), i.e. they can place thoughts into our minds (but demons cannot read our thoughts!) The Holy Spirit will dwell INSIDE the true (obedient) believer!
This thread is not really about this point, so I will only list some references:
John 14:15-24, John 15:1-10, Acts 5:32, 2 Cor 13:5, 1 John 3:24, 1 John 4:12-16
Now, on to the purpose of the thread ...
Obedience results in the believer remaining “in Christ”.

John 14 (NLT, 2007)
15 If you love me, obey my commandments.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.
17 He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth ... you know him,
because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
20 … you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them.
And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.
23 All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them,
and we will come and make our home with each of them.
24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me.

Jesus says believers who love Him and obey His commandments – are “in me” (v.20).
This is what being “in Christ” is all about.

1 John 2:3-5 (NLT, 2007)
3 And we can be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments.
4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.

John says believers who know and love Jesus and obey His commandments –
are “in him” (v.5). This is what being “in Christ” is all about.

I have summarized Jesus’ warnings in John 15 …
John 15 (NLT, 2007)
1 I (Jesus) am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.
2 He (Father God) cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit …
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
5 Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.
6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.
8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.
9 Remain in my love.
10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love,
just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

Please note that “every branch of mine” (v.2), and “you” (v.5), refer to believers in Jesus. Jesus says those who obey His commandments “remain in my love” (v.10). This is what being “in Christ” is all about.
And He says those who “do not remain in me” are thrown away and burned (v.6).
So, remaining in Jesus (through loving and obeying Him) is mandatory for salvation!

“To remain in Christ means to love him, to obey him, to pray to him, to worship him. In other words, to remain in Christ means to be joined to him spiritually, just as a branch is joined to a vine. If we remain joined to Christ in this way, we will be like living branches. And just as the sap of the vine flows into the branches and gives them life, so will Christ’s Spirit flow into us and give us spiritual life. In order to bear fruit, we must remain in Christ. If we do not remain in Christ, we shall not bear fruit. Not only that, we shall wither and die (v.6). … There is only one thing that can separate us from Christ: sin. Sin is like a disease that eats at the base of the branch. We will surely lose our union with Christ, if any known sin remains in our lives for which we have not repented. … We can say that in our Christian lives two main things are necessary: first, Christ through the Holy Spirit, must remain in us; and second, Christ’s words, that is the words of the Bible, must remain in our hearts. … In the Christian life, we always find two things appearing together: promises and conditions.
If we fulfill the condition, God will fulfill His promise. God has never given a promise without also stating a condition along with the promise … To remain in Christ’s love (v.9,10) is the same as to remain in Christ. … To remain in Christ’s love, we must love him. To love him, we must obey him (see John 14:15). As long as we continue to obey Christ, we shall remain in his love, and he and the Father will abide in us (see John 14:21).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale, medical missionary (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

All through the Epistles, people in the churches are condemned …
if they are involved in habitual sin (they have not remained “in Christ”).
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has made me free from
the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2, NKJV)

Those who have remained “in Christ” are free from the law of sin and death …
because they are continually having their sins washed away through repentance!
“But remember, even though we believers have escaped condemnation, sin still remains in our lives. Therefore, we are still guilty of sin and deserving of punishment. But if we repent of our sins, God will not count our sins against us; He will not judge us guilty (see 1 John 1:9).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

(the uncondemned) no longer follow our sinful nature, but instead follow the Spirit. … So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to (eternal) death. But, letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” (Romans 8:4-6, NLT)
“We cannot live according to the sinful nature and according to the Spirit at the same time; we must live according to either one or the other (see Galatians 5, etc.).”
… Dr. Thomas Hale (The Applied New Testament Commentary,1996)

“For if you live by its (the flesh’s) dictates, you will die (eternally). But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live (eternally). For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Romans 8:13-14, NLT)
Great post, thank you very much for writing this, I am happy to have read it. God bless you and Jesus Christ is Lord
 
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~Anastasia~

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Hello @BCsenior , and welcome to CF!

I imagine you might well get a little backlash charging "works salvation" but the truth is .... Yes, Christ actually DOES expect us to follow His commandments, be transformed to be more like Him, put sin from ourselves, and abide in Him.

Sometimes there's a bit of a "language barrier" between denominations though.

God be with you, and again, welcome to CF!
 
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BCsenior

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Thank you both for your encouragement.

"Curing people [involves] man’s co-operation in order to share in the purifying, illuminating and deifying energy of God. This is the key to the therapeutic experience
of those within the Church." ... Anastasia


Many are taught today that Jesus will do everything,
and all we need do is to believe in Him and His gospel.

NO! ... Believers must co-operate with the precious Holy Spirit
in His attempts to fully sanctify us ... which is a process, as is salvation.
 
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~Anastasia~

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Thank you both for your encouragement.

"Curing people [involves] man’s co-operation in order to share in the purifying, illuminating and deifying energy of God. This is the key to the therapeutic experience
of those within the Church." ... Anastasia


Many are taught today that Jesus will do everything,
and all we need do is to believe in Him and His gospel.

NO! ... Believers must co-operate with the precious Holy Spirit
in His attempts to fully sanctify us ... which is a process, as is salvation.

Believers absolutely must cooperate with him. We believe this is precisely what salvation IS. Very well-said.

(The only thing is, that yes, I abridged that quote somewhat to fit within the allotted space for signatures, but I don't deserve credit for it. It was either Met. Kallistos Ware or Hierotheos Vlachos ... or part of the conversation between them. But those are not my words. I had no space left to attribute, and couldn't cut it further to make the space.)
 
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Cowwy

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From my own walk I can say that is true.

Anyone who is in Christ naturally follow Christ's words and the commands. If we don't the spirit felt like it is convicting us.

A verse worth noting is John14:21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."

Blessed and praise those who have seen this.
 
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Ron Gurley

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John 14:15...Jesus' BIG "IF's"
IF you love Me, you will keep My commandments.(PRECEPTS: LOVE COMMANDED!)

Such as: "FOLLOW" + "OBEY" + "TRUST" + be in the WILL OF GOD + "LOVE "one another" + ETC

John 13:35
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, IF you have love for "one another".”(believers)

John 14:23...Jesus answered and said to him,
IF anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
and My Father will love him,
and We will come to him and make Our abode (DWELLING) with him.

John 15:10
IF you keep My commandments, you will abide (DWELL) in My love;
just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

IF a believer does not allow the permanent indwelling God the Holy Spirit to guide and comfort him into the will of God, he cannot RETURN the love shown by Jesus the Divine Messiah who died FOR you.
 
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BCsenior

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I hope this thread is NOT:
If believers do NOT keep Jesus/God's commandments,
they lose their salvation.
.
There are some NT verses which IMO clearly warn about LOSING salvation.
And only those who have it at some point are able to LOSE it.
 
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