Mixed messages on sin

[Doubting Brutus]

Excuse my lack of response, I'm doing a lot of thinking and I'm happy to just hear what you all have to say.

 

[Dan1988]

He meant that He is the entrance, way to Heaven....And you must enter through Him.

Behold I Stand at the Door and Knock.....

Through Christ, you can enter heaven.......Now! If you believe, that is.

Your absolutely right, I know Christ can never lie. I was trying to give the other guy an example of how metaphoric language can be taken in the wrong context.
He was saying that Christ commanded us to "be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect". I'm sure Christ knows that it's impossible for us to be perfect in this life.

I don't know how anyone can claim to be "sinless", if we're honest we have admit that we still struggle with the old nature. And sometimes we unwittingly stubble into sin, as apposed to unbelievers who sin unrestrained.

 

[Dan1988]

Your pastor is right - to a point. That point being initial salvation.

but beyond that point - how to walk as a born again believer - he is not correct. We must walk in obedience.

Christ said, "anyone who believes in Me shall be saved". He never added, "and you have to do x y & z".
So all we need to do is believe in Him, and we a guaranteed eternal paradise.

I can appreciate this doesn't sit well with the Pharisaical religious people, as it robs them of any glory. But Christ won't share His glory with anyone.

Christ said "it is finished", but the religious crowd said no you must do x y & z.

 

[Dave-W]

Christ said, "anyone who believes in Me shall be saved". He never added, "and you have to do x y & z".
So all we need to do is believe in Him, and we a guaranteed eternal paradise.

Absolutely correct. But this was written to us AFTER we are saved:

But that does NOT tell us how we are to act AFTER we get saved.

Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

1 Timothy 5:20
Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

 

[Dan1988]

Absolutely correct. But this was written to us AFTER we are saved:

But that does NOT tell us how we are to act AFTER we get saved.

Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

1 Timothy 5:20
Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning.

God works in mysterious ways, I can't count the number of times I went back into the world after my conversion.
It was a deliberate act of surrendering to a very powerful force of lust. The temptation was so overwhelming, that I didn't even pray for deliverance from it. I gave myself over to it, in the hope that I would repent later and God would receive me back.

This dangerous cycle of back sliding went on for many years, and many of my friends fell away to the point where they don't even believe anymore. They don't even want to hear about God at all.

I don't know why some repent and find forgiveness and restoration, while others die in their sins and trespasses. Some atheists live very clean and respectable lives, but never find faith in God. While others like my self lived like the devil and are saved.

It's amazing to see what God has done in the lives of some who you'd never think would be saved, while other really nice people end up in hell.

The Bible says that salvation is of the Lord, and that we're all born dead in our sins and trespasses. So there's nothing we can do to effect our salvation, God has to do it all for us and if He didn't nobody would ever be saved.