The Word came from heaven to free people from sin!

[BCsenior]

This is NOT about Jesus dying on the cross …
and presto, all of our sins are forgiven!
No, this is all about …
● Jesus FREEING us from the bondage of sin
(and from the bondage of Satan)
● The fact that we no longer HAVE to sin
● The fact that we are now FREE to NOT sin
●●● If we do sin, it is because we have CHOSEN to sin (with our God-given free will)
All from the book of Romans ...

THE FACTS
6:6a - our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives
6:6b - we are no longer slaves to sin
6:7 - we were set free from the power of sin
6:10 - he died once to break the power of sin
6:11 - consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin
6:14 - sin is no longer your master
6:17 - once you were slaves of sin
6:18 - now you are free from your slavery to sin
6:20 - when you were slaves to sin …
6:22 - but now you are free from the power of sin
7:6 - you are no longer captive to its power
(the law of sin and death)
8:2 - the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death
8:3 - God declared an end to sin’s control over us
8:9 - you are not controlled by your sinful nature
8:12 - you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do

THE INSTRUCTIONS
6:12-13 - Do not let sin control the way you live;
do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.
6:19 - Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.
6:22 - do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

THE WARNINGS
6:16 - Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you CHOOSE to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to (eternal) death, or …
6:23 - For the wages of sin is (eternal) death …
7:13 - So we can see how terrible sin really is.
8:6 - So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to (eternal) death.
8:13a - For if you live by its (the sinful nature’s) dictates, you will die (eternally).

THE SOLUTION
8:13b - But IF through the power of the Spirit
you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature,
you will live (eternally).

Yes, through the power of the precious Holy Spirit,
you are able to overcome sin and receive eternal life.

Jesus’ definition of an overcomer …
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)
What did Jesus overcome? …
Sin, the world, the devil, eternal death, etc.

 

[bcbsr]

This is NOT about Jesus dying on the cross … and presto, all of our sins are forgiven!
No, this is all about …
● Jesus FREEING us from the bondage of sin (and from the bondage of Satan)
● The fact that we no longer HAVE to sin
● The fact that we are now FREE to NOT sin
●●● If we do sin, it is because we have CHOSEN to sin (with our God-given free will)



THE FACTS

Romans 6:6a - our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives

6:6b - we are no longer slaves to sin

6:7 - we were set free from the power of sin

6:10 - he died once to break the power of sin

6:11 - consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin

6:14 - sin is no longer your master

6:17 - once you were slaves of sin

6:18 - now you are free from your slavery to sin

6:20 - when you were slaves to sin …

6:22 - but now you are free from the power of sin

7:6 - you are no longer captive to its power (the law of sin and death)

8:2 - the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death

8:3 - God declared an end to sin’s control over us

8:9 - you are not controlled by your sinful nature

8:12 - you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do


THE INSTRUCTIONS

6:12-13 - Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.

6:19 - Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

6:22 - do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.


THE WARNINGS

6:16 - Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you CHOOSE to obey?

You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death …

6:23 - For the wages of sin is death …

7:13 - So we can see how terrible sin really is.

8:6 - So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.

8:13a - For if you live by its (the sinful nature’s) dictates, you will die.



THE SOLUTION

8:13b - But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.


Yes, through the power of the precious Holy Spirit, you are able to overcome sin and receive eternal life.

Jesus’ definition of an overcomer …

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne,

as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

What did Jesus overcome? … Sin, the world, the devil, eternal death, etc.

In addition we have freedom from condemnation. Sin no longer impacts our destiny. Or at least the destiny of those who have come to trust in Christ and have forsaken trusting in their own performance to save them.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." Rom 5:1,2

Of course for those who have come to faith in Christ and subsequently born of God, it's inevitable that they will persevere in the faith and in a lifestyle consistent with that faith due to the nature of regeneration, having lost the ability to live in sin. "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1John 3:9 so "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin" 1John 5:18 and "his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world." 1John 5:3,4

Thus verses that speak of a correlation between a person's behavior and their salvation status are to be taken as diagnostic rather than speaking of how to get saved. That is while behavior identifies the saved, behavior doesn't cause a person to be saved. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Eph 2:8,9

 

[BCsenior]

Of course for those who have come to faith in Christ and subsequently born of God, it's inevitable that they will persevere in the faith and in a lifestyle consistent with that faith due to the nature of regeneration, having lost the ability to live in sin.

It is NOT inevitable at all.
So, the churches today are filled with people
who have NOT been regenerated?
No, there are many BACs sitting in those churches!
That's what all of the NT warnings are about.
And that is what all of God's recent warnings to His prophets and watchmen are about.
Recent because Jesus is coming soon, in the twinkling
of an eye, and many BACs will be lost forever!
Read it, and weep.

 

[bcbsr]

It is NOT inevitable at all.

So you say - absent of any scriptural references.

So, the churches today are filled with people
who have NOT been regenerated?

Maybe that explains why some fall away. If they belonged to Christ, they wouldn't have.
"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1John 2:19

No, there are many BACs sitting in those churches!

How do you know? Simply because they say so? Or because you say so?

Recent because Jesus is coming soon, in the twinkling
of an eye, and many BACs will be lost forever!
Read it, and weep.

For those advocating a salvation by works soteriology rather than trusting in Jesus, maybe they should be concerned for themselves in that regard.

 

[BCsenior]

Maybe that explains why some fall away. If they belonged to Christ, they wouldn't have.
"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." 1John 2:19

How do you know? Simply because they say so? Or because you say so?

For those advocating a salvation by works soteriology rather than trusting in Jesus, maybe they should be concerned for themselves in that regard.

This was a one-time event.

This has been reported by many travelling evangelists.

It's "a salvation by co-operation" covenant.

 

[bcbsr]

This was a one-time event.

So why does he say, "if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us" if it's merely a "one time event", seeing as he bases his judgment on a general timeless principle, consistent with the theme of 1John of distinguishing children of God from children of the devil among those who identify themselves as "Christian". (1John 3:10)

It's "a salvation by co-operation" covenant.

By which you mean "salvation by works" covenant. Nope, it's not. That's the covenant of the law.

Rom 10
4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them."
6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’" (that is, to bring Christ down)
7 "or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

As I see it what you advocate is non-compliance to God's covenant of grace by insisting that people not put their trust in Jesus to be saved but rather put their trust in their own performance to save them.

Heb 8:
10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Mentions no conditions on our part except implying one believes it. Many simply don't believe it. And not only don't believe it, but actively oppose the grace of God.

Rom 4:
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about— but not before God.
3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him."

 

[BCsenior]

As I see it what you advocate is non-compliance to God's covenant of grace by insisting that people not put their trust in Jesus to be saved but rather put their trust in their own performance to save them.

You haven't been paying attention to what I have been saying on all of these threads!
OBVIOUSLY, BACs put their trust in Jesus to be saved! ... but this must be accompanied by their co-operation with the efforts of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Just for example ...
4 times in John 14, Jesus said (paraphrasing):
"IF you love Me, you will obey My commandments."
Who gets into heaven who doesn't love Jesus?
Can you guess the 2nd "Who gets into heaven" part?

 

[bcbsr]

You haven't been paying attention to what I have been saying on all of these threads!
OBVIOUSLY, BACs put their trust in Jesus to be saved! ... but this must be accompanied by their co-operation with the efforts of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Just for example ...
4 times in John 14, Jesus said (paraphrasing):
"IF you love Me, you will obey My commandments."
Who gets into heaven who doesn't love Jesus?
Can you guess the 2nd "Who gets into heaven" part?

As I've said in the past salvation by works Christians typically append "in order to be saved" to just about every verse which is meant to be descriptive of those who have been born of God.

1John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Loving God and those born of God comes naturally to those born of God, as also obeying God's commands come naturally - because of the regenerate nature.

1John 5:
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Thus doing such things is not the cause of a person's salvation, but rather the effect and identifying mark of the saved.

This in contrast to the salvation by works "covenant" which Moses describes. Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." Rom 10:5 And that's the hope of salvation by works Christians, gaining eternal life by doing these things. It's a rejection of the free gift of eternal life promised in the gospel of grace which is by faith apart from works.

 

[BCsenior]

bcbsr,
Please just comment on the verses in the OP.
Ditto for all of the threads I've posted.
Or, would you prefer to ignore or reject them?
Thanks.

 

[BCsenior]

bcbsr,
Please just comment on the verses in the OP. Ditto for all of the threads I've posted. Or, would you prefer to ignore or reject them? Thanks.

If you refuse to deal with the verses in my threads,
then try explaining how your verses can be
RECONCILED with my verses.

One really should try hard to understand
how 2 sets of seemingly contradicting verses
can be joined together to make sense.
Instead of ignoring or rejecting one of the sets.

BTW, I have ... how about you?