The Gospel Under Siege

Christsfreeservant said:

Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”​

A False Gospel Being Taught

I don’t know how many of you, my readers, are paying attention to the demise of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has taken place here in America, but the gospel has been, not just diluted, but nearly obliterated. I am not saying the message has changed, but that people have changed the message to suit their flesh. And the lies are what are being spread.

The vast majority are teaching a gospel which requires no repentance, no obedience to Christ/God, and no submission to Christ as Lord. And, they have diluted the word “believe” to mean nothing, really, for it is a mere formality in order to get what they believe is their ticket into heaven while they ignore the God of heaven while they are on the earth.

But it isn’t just that they have bought into a cheapened version of the gospel of salvation from sin, but that they are being taught to attack the true gospel and to call it “works-based salvation” and “legalism” and “trying to earn your own salvation.” So, they are calling good evil and evil good. And the purpose is to discourage people from believing the true gospel.

So, since so many are teaching a cheap grace gospel, and they are leading people straight to hell while promising them heaven, for the cheap grace delivers no one from their sin, it is critical that we know what the true gospel teaches and that we who believe in Jesus are teaching the true gospel so that we are not also sending people to hell while promising them heaven.

The True Gospel Message

In Ephesians 4 we read that we, as believers in Jesus, are not supposed to live like unbelievers. We are not supposed to live like we did before we believed in Jesus. A transformation of our hearts and minds should have taken place whereby we forsook our lives of sin to be made new in Jesus so that we now are being conformed to the likeness of Christ in true righteousness and holiness. This is the truth in Jesus (Eph 4:17-24).

For, Jesus said that if any of us would come after him, we must deny self, and take up our cross daily (daily die to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we don’t, and if we choose to hold on to our old lives of sin, then we are going to forfeit our lives for eternity. But if we lose our lives, for his sake, we will be saved, and we will have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26).

And, in Romans 8 we have a similar message. Paul said that God, by sending Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:3-4).

Notice with me that it doesn’t say, “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who believe in Jesus.” And I am not contrasting belief here with walking according to the Spirit, for they are one and the same. But believing in Jesus means walking according to the Spirit, so if we are not doing that, we are not believing in Jesus.

For, it goes on to say that if we live (walk) according to the flesh we will die (in our sins), but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the misdeeds of the body, we will live (Rom 8:12-14).

But that is not the only Scripture which talks about our walks. In John 8:12 we read that those who follow (obey) Jesus will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. And we read in Galatians 5 that if we walk by the Spirit that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16).

And then in 1 John 1 we read that if we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in the darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (whose fellowship is also with Christ), and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:5-9).

We read in John 10:27-30 that Jesus’ sheep listen to him and they follow (obey) him, and Jesus gives them eternal life and they can’t be snatched out of his hands. And we read in 2 Co 5:15 that Jesus died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

We also read in Romans 6:16 that we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. And we read in 1 Jn 2:3-6 that if we say that we know God, but we are not keeping (obeying) his commandments, that we are liars.

And then we have several passages of Scripture which let us know that if we walk (live in, practice) sin (of many kinds) that we will not inherit the kingdom of God. We will not have eternal life with God if we live (walk) in sin (Gal 5:16-24; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Col 3:5-11; Heb 10:26-31).

Then we have multiple passages of Scripture which describe our salvation, not as a one-time event in our lives, but as something that is ongoing and that won’t be complete until Jesus returns for us. Thus, these Scriptures also teach that we must continue in that faith until the very end if we want to have eternal life with God (Col 1:21-23; Jn 8:31-32; 1 Co 15:2, etc.).

We also have the passage of Scripture which instructs us that the grace of God which brings salvation is training us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

Grace is Not Freedom to Sin

So, God’s grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin, only now without guilt. We must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness if we want to have eternal life with God. We must follow Jesus in obedience if we don’t want to be snatched out of his hands, too.

We are not saved from our sins so that we can go on living in sin. Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin and to empower us to live holy and godly lives, pleasing to him. We are to be for His praise and glory, to live for him and not for ourselves. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24).

Whatever we sow, we are going to also reap. So, if we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. We are all going to be judged by what we do (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

So, if we want to have the hope of eternal life with God, we need to repent, obey, and submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives, and follow his leading.

Jesus, Lead Me

An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

Click to expand...

Well said again. We need to pray for this younger generation who are being bombarded by so much darkness in these days. It will become easy for them to simply follow the cheap version of grace vs. the true version of God's grace that teaches us to deny ungodliness and that we should live righteously and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11-12).

Let's pray that some will see the truth in these last days.

Christsfreeservant said:

Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”​

A False Gospel Being Taught

I don’t know how many of you, my readers, are paying attention to the demise of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has taken place here in America, but the gospel has been, not just diluted, but nearly obliterated. I am not saying the message has changed, but that people have changed the message to suit their flesh. And the lies are what are being spread.

The vast majority are teaching a gospel which requires no repentance, no obedience to Christ/God, and no submission to Christ as Lord. And, they have diluted the word “believe” to mean nothing, really, for it is a mere formality in order to get what they believe is their ticket into heaven while they ignore the God of heaven while they are on the earth.

But it isn’t just that they have bought into a cheapened version of the gospel of salvation from sin, but that they are being taught to attack the true gospel and to call it “works-based salvation” and “legalism” and “trying to earn your own salvation.” So, they are calling good evil and evil good. And the purpose is to discourage people from believing the true gospel.

So, since so many are teaching a cheap grace gospel, and they are leading people straight to hell while promising them heaven, for the cheap grace delivers no one from their sin, it is critical that we know what the true gospel teaches and that we who believe in Jesus are teaching the true gospel so that we are not also sending people to hell while promising them heaven.

The True Gospel Message

In Ephesians 4 we read that we, as believers in Jesus, are not supposed to live like unbelievers. We are not supposed to live like we did before we believed in Jesus. A transformation of our hearts and minds should have taken place whereby we forsook our lives of sin to be made new in Jesus so that we now are being conformed to the likeness of Christ in true righteousness and holiness. This is the truth in Jesus (Eph 4:17-24).

For, Jesus said that if any of us would come after him, we must deny self, and take up our cross daily (daily die to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we don’t, and if we choose to hold on to our old lives of sin, then we are going to forfeit our lives for eternity. But if we lose our lives, for his sake, we will be saved, and we will have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26).

And, in Romans 8 we have a similar message. Paul said that God, by sending Jesus in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Rom 8:3-4).

Notice with me that it doesn’t say, “in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who believe in Jesus.” And I am not contrasting belief here with walking according to the Spirit, for they are one and the same. But believing in Jesus means walking according to the Spirit, so if we are not doing that, we are not believing in Jesus.

For, it goes on to say that if we live (walk) according to the flesh we will die (in our sins), but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the misdeeds of the body, we will live (Rom 8:12-14).

But that is not the only Scripture which talks about our walks. In John 8:12 we read that those who follow (obey) Jesus will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. And we read in Galatians 5 that if we walk by the Spirit that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:16).

And then in 1 John 1 we read that if we say we have fellowship with God while we walk in the darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (whose fellowship is also with Christ), and the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:5-9).

We read in John 10:27-30 that Jesus’ sheep listen to him and they follow (obey) him, and Jesus gives them eternal life and they can’t be snatched out of his hands. And we read in 2 Co 5:15 that Jesus died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

We also read in Romans 6:16 that we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. And we read in 1 Jn 2:3-6 that if we say that we know God, but we are not keeping (obeying) his commandments, that we are liars.

And then we have several passages of Scripture which let us know that if we walk (live in, practice) sin (of many kinds) that we will not inherit the kingdom of God. We will not have eternal life with God if we live (walk) in sin (Gal 5:16-24; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Col 3:5-11; Heb 10:26-31).

Then we have multiple passages of Scripture which describe our salvation, not as a one-time event in our lives, but as something that is ongoing and that won’t be complete until Jesus returns for us. Thus, these Scriptures also teach that we must continue in that faith until the very end if we want to have eternal life with God (Col 1:21-23; Jn 8:31-32; 1 Co 15:2, etc.).

We also have the passage of Scripture which instructs us that the grace of God which brings salvation is training us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

Grace is Not Freedom to Sin

So, God’s grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin, only now without guilt. We must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness if we want to have eternal life with God. We must follow Jesus in obedience if we don’t want to be snatched out of his hands, too.

We are not saved from our sins so that we can go on living in sin. Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin and to empower us to live holy and godly lives, pleasing to him. We are to be for His praise and glory, to live for him and not for ourselves. And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24).

Whatever we sow, we are going to also reap. So, if we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. We are all going to be judged by what we do (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

So, if we want to have the hope of eternal life with God, we need to repent, obey, and submit to Jesus as Lord of our lives, and follow his leading.

Jesus, Lead Me

An Original Work / July 22, 2011

Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.

Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.

Click to expand...

While I may not agree with Pastor Alan Ballou on everything, I do like his videos on how Christians must live holy lives as a part of God's saving grace. Based on what you had written (with God's Word), I think you would like this video by him.

The evidence of the new heart is a changed life with the Holy Spirit working in it. No man can create this, the Spirit does it.

Are you a King James only believer Sue ?

Dave G. said:

The evidence of the new heart is a changed life with the Holy Spirit working in it. No man can create this, the Spirit does it.

Are you a King James only believer Sue ?

Click to expand...

It's not a walk in the park, and while we are changed spiritually, God does not force us to be a certain way. We have to fight the good fight of faith. We have to run the race. We have to keep the faith.

We are told:



We are told to:

1. Continue in the grace of God (Acts of the Apostles 13:43).
   
   
2. Continue in the faith (Acts of the Apostles 14:22) (Colossians 1:23).
   
   
3. Continue in his goodness, otherwise we can be cut off (just like the Jews were cut off) (Romans 11:21-22).

Side Note:

As for KJB Onlyism: I know a lot of people have a hate on for that. I believe it comes down to authority. Does one have it? Not all Bibles say the same thing, and we are not all perfect in understanding dead languages like Hebrew and Greek.

Here are 30 reasons why the KJB is the divine and pure Word of God for today.

Please do not argue this topic here in this thread. Start another thread if you want to debate the KJB as being the pure Word of God. Just know I already had that kind of discussion before countless times and it never leads to a pretty ending. So if you want to debate it, talk with KJB proponents elsewhere who are willing to explain it to you. But I think my defense is pretty convincing if you are doubtful. If you don't believe after reading, then only God can open your eyes to see such a truth.

Ephesians 1
"13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

If you believe you can lose the gift of grace, then you dont have faith in his words of promise. Be careful not to be like Abraham when a son was promise. He had two childs, one inherit his land, the other was cast away. If you want the law to justify yourself then an imposible yolk you have put in your shoulders.

Danigt22 said:

Ephesians 1
"13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

If you believe you can lose the gift of grace, then your are not faith in his words of promise. Be careful not to like Abraham when a son was promise. He had two sons, one inherit his land and other was cast away. If you want the law to justify yourself then a having yolk and imposible yolk you have put in your shoulders.

Click to expand...

Here are several lists of verses that makes it absolutely clear that believers can fall away from the faith:

Here is a General List of Verses on How Believers Can Fall Away:


Now, do not misunderstand me, believers cannot lose their salvation (like they would a pair of car keys), but they can forfeit their salvation (i.e. they can willingly throw it away by rebelling against God). In fact,

Here is a list of believers who have forfeited their salvation:


And here is a list of potential fallen believers:


In fact, Paul is against Eternal Security or a sin and still be saved type belief. For Paul says,

1. We can fall from grace (Galatians 5:4).
   
   
2. We can be moved away from the hope (Colossians 1:23).
   
   
3. We can be a castaway (1 Corinthians 9:27).
   
   
4. We can be cut off just like the Jews if we do not continue in God’s goodness (Romans 11:20-22).
   
   
5. We can sow to the flesh and reap corruption instead of sowing to the Spirit which reaps everlasting life. (Galatians 6:8).
   
   
6. We can deny God by a lack of good works (Titus 1:16).
   
   
7. We can shipwreck our faith (1 Timothy 1:19).
   
   
8. We can deny the faith and be worse than an infidel if we do not provide for our own household (1 Timothy 5:8).
   
   
9. We can err from the faith and pierce ourselves thru with many sorrows if we love and covet after money (1 Timothy 6:10).
   
   
10. Hymnenaeus and Philetus have overthrown the faith of some (2 Timothy 2:18).

These things would not exist in Scripture if things are as you say.

1. Continue in the grace of God (Acts of the Apostles 13:43).
   
   
2. Continue in the faith (Acts of the Apostles 14:22) (Colossians 1:23).
   
   
3. Continue in his goodness, otherwise we can be cut off (just like the Jews were cut off) (Romans 11:21-22).

Side Note:

As for KJB Onlyism: I know a lot of people have a hate on for that. I believe it comes down to authority. Does one have it? Not all Bibles say the same thing, and we are not all perfect in understanding dead languages like Hebrew and Greek.

Here are 30 reasons why the KJB is the divine and pure Word of God for today.

Please do not argue this topic here in this thread. Start another thread if you want to debate the KJB as being the pure Word of God. Just know I already had that kind of discussion before countless times and it never leads to a pretty ending. So if you want to debate it, talk with KJB proponents elsewhere who are willing to explain it to you. But I think my defense is pretty convincing if you are doubtful. If you don't believe after reading, then only God can open your eyes to see such a truth.[/QUOTE]
You're way overthinking my reply and motives but thank you for the concern !

Danigt22 said:

Ephesians 1
"13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

If you believe you can lose the gift of grace, then your are not faith in his words of promise. Be careful not to like Abraham when a son was promise. He had two sons, one inherit his land and other was cast away. If you want the law to justify yourself then a having yolk and imposible yolk you have put in your shoulders.

Click to expand...

In addition, here is....

The Bible’s teaching that serious sin is separation from GOD:

[God said to Adam,]
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17).

[Eve said to the serpent,]
"But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3:3).

And the serpent said unto the woman,
"Ye shall not surely die." (Genesis 3:4).

"...she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked..." (Genesis 3:6-7).

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." (Romans 5:12).

"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23).

"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2).

“...whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” (Matthew 5:22).

28 “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:28-30).

"But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul." (Proverbs 6:32).

“But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:15).

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

Important Note: If you were to look at 1 Thessalonians 4:3 you would learn that the will of God (i.e. the Father) is to be holy or it is our sanctification; And Hebrews 12:14 says, without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

“22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:22-23 ESV).

“26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
(Matthew 7:26-27).

“15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:15-20).

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." (Hebrews 10:26).

"he that commits sin is of the devil." (1 John 3:8).

"everyone who does evil hates the light." (John 3:20).

"Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee." (Acts of the Apostles 8:22).

6 "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7).

"He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 John 2:4).

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15).

"He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now." (1 John 2:9).

"In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother." (1 John 3:10).

41 "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers,
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:41-43 ESV).

“For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37).

"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16).

3 "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing,..." (1 Timothy 6:3-4).

"...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
(James 4:6).

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." (Romans 11:21-22).

16 "There is a sin unto death..."
17 "...and there is a sin not unto death." (1 John 5:16-17).

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8).

19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21).

5 "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affe
ction, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them." (Colossians 3:5-7).

5 “...God;
6 ...will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law” (Romans 2:5-12).

“But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.” (Ezekiel 18:24).

9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. “ (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” (James 2:17).

"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:30).

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Romans 8:13).

Dave G. said:

You're way overthinking my reply and motives but thank you for the concern !

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Most today believe in Eternal Security or Belief Alone-ism (Which is basically a message that says that a person can sin and still be saved on some level). In certain circles of these kinds of unbiblical beliefs, they will say that a believer will live holy by being born again and they will not justify sin otherwise they were never born again or saved to begin with. The verses I have shown disprove that idea. If you don't believe that way, then my apologies. But I got that impression by what little information that you gave.

Side Note:

The problem with Belief Alone Proponents who believe that one must live holy or one was never born again to begin with is that they will also say that a believer can die before confessing their sins to Jesus and still be saved. Meaning, if a believer lusted after a woman, and then they got hit by a bus (without getting a chance to confess of such a sin), they would be saved. Now, yes, they may teach that a believer must live a holy life, but that sure does not sound like they are living holy at the end of their life. This is why I reject Belief Alone-ism and Eternal Security in all its forms. It still sets up in turning God's grace into a license for immorality in some way. God is not into our thinking that we can justify sin. God is holy and good, and He cannot agree that we can sin and still be in His good graces. Salvation does not work like that.

Side Note 2:

Even these kinds of Belief Alone Proponents will say that king David was saved while he was committing his sins of adultery and murder. Others in this camp will say that the OT saint did not have salvation like we do. In either case, if we teach David was saved while he committed his sins of adultery and murder, then we are teaching others that they can do the same and still be saved. That is the problem with Belief Alone-ism and or Eternal Security (a.k.a. OSAS).

Danigt22 said:

Ephesians 1
"13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

If you believe you can lose the gift of grace, then your are not faith in his words of promise. Be careful not to like Abraham when a son was promise. He had two sons, one inherit his land and other was cast away. If you want the law to justify yourself then a having yolk and imposible yolk you have put in your shoulders.

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What is the condition of having the seal of God?

Scripture says, God the Father has set his seal upon those who labor for the meat that endures unto everlasting life.


The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him (Acts of the Apostles 5:32).

In fact, what is a guarantee?

Guarantee receipts normally have conditions which you can normally read in the ”fine print”. If you get a guarantee receipt for a certain product and you would like to make a claim, the store might request that you bring both the product and the receipt with you before they are willing to look at your claim. They might also request that you do this within a certain time frame and that you state what’s wrong with the product. Another example could be if someone buys you a bus ticket which guarantees you to get to a certain city PROVIDED that 1) you don’t throw away your ticket, 2) that you embark the right bus on the right time, and 3) that you STAY ON the bus until it arrives at the city. The BUS will arrive at the city as promised, but the question is if YOU will choose to be among the bus passengers.


Again, circumcision was a ”seal” for those under the old covenant.


This seal WAS broken and guaranteed nothing when those who were circumcised broke the covenant and were cut off from the people of God.


As you can see, this seal was conditioned on continued faith and obedience. The Holy Spirit marks us as God’s children of the new covenant but if we abandon the faith, and/or live in disobedience then the Spirit of God no longer remains in us and we are no longer sealed. Circumcised (sealed) jews were broken off through unbelief.



God speaks of the Israelites who ”grieved” His Holy Spirit in their rebellion. These Jews were cut off from the promise of entering God’s rest and they became God’s enemies.


In the NT the ”rest” is the eternal rest that all believers will attain. The book of Hebrews continually speak of the promise of eternal rest, in combination with WARNINGS to believers not to miss out on this promised rest through hardening their hearts in unbelief, just as the Israelites did who rebelled against God during the Exodus (Read Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 10).


Source:
Sealed UNTO the day of redemption, but a seal can be broken Eph. 4:30

Christsfreeservant said:

Bible Highlighter, thank you. I will have to check this out later. I appreciate you thinking of me and sharing this with me.

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I think you will really like the video.

Christsfreeservant said:

Agree with you, Dave. No, I am not a KJV person. I rarely ever quote from the KJV. The quote at the beginning of this devotion is from the ESV, which is what I primarily use. I am not opposed to the KJV, it is just not written in my language. I speak 20th century American English, so I tend to read the NIV (NIV'84, my favorite), the ESV or the NASB.

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Yes Sue I saw the ESV that you obviously quoted from after I posted. Thanks for getting back, I should have clarified that and saved you some typing .

You mentioned Roman's 8 out around the verses 3-4 as I recall. I like to read 1-10 where we find what Paul is talking about is the believers positional truth. This is not about single sin but for those who have Christ and the Spirit. The sinful flesh is dead. Note he doesn't say there is no sin, in fact calls the flesh sin and dead. It's an amazing portion. We can't walk according to the spirit unless we have The Spirit. Paul is saying out around verse 8-10 that this is these folks position. God doesn't judge us by the flesh but the spirit. But here it is in the ESV, take extra note of verses 9 and 10:
8 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.a]">[a] 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set youb]">[b] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,c]">[c] he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.