justbyfaith said in post #258:
. . . you do not preach sound biblical doctrine but depart from it in that you hold to salvation by works . . .
Note that Biblical doctrine teaches ultimate salvation by works (Romans 2:6-8).
justbyfaith said in post #258:
I certainly believe that the 144,000 are Jewish people . . .
Note that the 144,000 will be Christians (Revelation 14:1,4), and so they will be part of the Church (cf. Ephesians 4:4-6). They will be the firstfruits of the Church (Revelation 14:4), in the sense of its best part (cf. Numbers 18:12). They will be male virgins (Revelation 14:4), who could have been born in the 20th or 21st century, and who could already be part of the Church. For they will all be alive on the earth, and will all already be God's servants (Revelation 7:3; cf. Romans 6:22, Philippians 1:1), by the time of Revelation 7:3-8, during the first stage of the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. They will have entered the Tribulation along with the rest of the Church alive at that time, for there will be no pre-tribulation rapture (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6).
Also, the 144,000, who are of the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 7:4-8), can include both Jews and Gentiles in the Church. For just as the Gentile Ruth (a genetic forbear of Israel's Messiah: Matthew 1:5-16, Luke 3:23-32) could say to the Israelite Naomi: "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:16), so Gentiles in the Church have been grafted into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29).
That is, all Jews in the Church remain members of whichever tribe of Israel they were born into (Romans 11:1, Acts 4:36). And all Gentiles in the Church have been grafted by God into Israel (Romans 11:17,24, Ephesians 2:12,19, Galatians 3:29), and so have been grafted by God into its various tribes (cf. Ezekiel 47:21-23). So the entire Church is the twelve tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:9,12; 1 Peter 2:9-10). This is necessary, for all those in the Church are saved only by the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6, Hebrews 9:15), which God has made only with Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34, John 4:22b). John 10:16 refers to the "other sheep" of Gentile Christians being brought into "this fold" of Israel, which is the "one fold" of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:4-6, Revelation 21:9,12). A Gentile Christian can pray and ask which tribe of Israel he has been grafted into by God, and he will receive an answer, if he asks in faith (cf. Matthew 21:22), without any wavering (cf. James 1:6-7).
Also, all those in the Church, whether Jews (Acts 22:3) or Gentiles (Romans 16:4b), have been made spiritually-circumcised Jews if they have undergone the spiritual circumcision of water-immersion (burial) baptism into Jesus Christ (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13).
The tribe of Dan is missing from the list of the 144,000's twelve tribes (Revelation 7:4-8; there, "Joseph" stands for Ephraim: Numbers 1:32, Psalms 78:67, Ezekiel 37:16b,19), because the Israel that they are from is not genetic Israel, with its twelve genetic tribes which include Dan (Genesis 49:28,17), but rather spiritual Israel (Romans 9:6-8), which consists of all elect people (Romans 9:11-13), whether Jews or Gentiles (Romans 9:24).
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justbyfaith said in post #259:
Romans 2:6-8 does not show that works are salvational.
It does. For it shows that ultimate salvation will be given based on perseverance in good works.
justbyfaith said in post #259:
For in scripture, those who are saved will stand before the bema seat of Christ, where they will be rewarded for righteous deeds; while those who are not saved will stand before the Great White Throne, where they will be condemned for their evil deeds.
Some Christians, at the judgment of the Church by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 2:6-8, Luke 12:45-48, Matthew 25:19-30), at His future, Second Coming (Psalms 50:3-5, cf. Mark 13:27), will lose their salvation because of such things as unrepentant sin (Luke 12:45-46, Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27), or unrepentant laziness (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8), or apostasy (Mark 8:35-38, Hebrews 6:4-8; 2 Timothy 2:12b). That is why Christians know the "terror" of the coming judgment of the Church by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:10-11), why they must remain in fear of being cut off the same as non-Christians if they do not continue in God's goodness (Romans 11:20-22, Luke 12:45-46), why they must be careful to work out their own ultimate salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12b; 1 Peter 1:17, Romans 2:6-8).
justbyfaith said in post #259:
Those who are redeemed are forgiven of their evil deeds and nothing can be added to their salvation as concerning what saves them . . .
But they can ultimately lose their salvation due to, for example, unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29).
justbyfaith said in post #259:
. . . grace and works are mutually exclusive (Romans 11:5-6 (kjv)).
Romans 11:5-6 refers to the "election" of grace, which is not based on works. For elect people are chosen by God (to be shown grace, at some point during their lifetime) before they have done anything at all (Romans 9:11-24), even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).
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justbyfaith said in post #260:
Yet the will of someone who is born again is to do good works, even according to your own words.
But not necessarily for the rest of his life, because of free will (Matthew 25:26,30).
That's why Christians must be careful to maintain good works (Titus 3:8).
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justbyfaith said in post #261:
If a man puts his trust in his works to save him to any degree, he is not putting his trust in Christ for salvation (Galatians 3:11-12).
That reference is about the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which Christians are not under (Hebrews 7:18-19).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
The works do not save (Ephesians 2:9 and context).
That reference is about initial salvation, not ultimate salvation (Hebrews 5:9).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
Works that are done in order to earn ultimate salvation are not done out of a thankfulness for being saved by God, and are dead works.
No, only works done apart from faith are dead.
justbyfaith said in post #261:
Because they are done in order to earn or keep salvation, they are not done from the perspective of one who knows he is saved (see 1 John 5:13).
That reference is about initial salvation, not ultimate salvation (Matthew 7:21).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
And if I fail to do a work that is ordained for me to do, I would lose my salvation ultimately.
No, for there is provision for repented sins (1 John 1:9).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
The God that I serve has assured me salvation absolutely (1 Thessalonians 1:5 (kjv), John 5:24, John 6:47, John 10:27-30, Hebrews 13:5).
Regarding John 5:24, it refers to salvation in the sense of Christians' present, spiritual salvation, instead of the still-future, ultimate redemption of their physical bodies (Romans 8:23-25). John 5:24 means that a Christian will not ultimately come into condemnation, as in an ultimate loss of salvation, so long as he continues to the end to believe (Hebrews 3:6,12,14, Colossians 1:23, John 15:6), to perform good works (Romans 2:6-8, James 2:24, John 15:2a), and to repent from every sin that he commits (Hebrews 10:26-29, Luke 12:45-46; 1 Corinthians 9:27). All Christians will be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
The God that I serve has assured me salvation absolutely (1 Thessalonians 1:5 (kjv), John 5:24, John 6:47, John 10:27-30, Hebrews 13:5).
Regarding John 6:47, compare the similar John 3:16.
There, the translation "whoever believes in him shall not perish" is a mistranslation of the original Greek, in which the verb is in the subjunctive mood. This means that it is referring to a conditional action. So it should be translated as: "may not perish". Other, related verses show that Christians ultimately retaining their salvation is conditional on their continued belief to the end (Hebrews 3:6,12,14, Hebrews 6:4-8, Colossians 1:23), their continued good works to the end (Romans 2:6-8, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 25:26,30), and their continued repentance to the end from every sin that they commit (Hebrews 10:26-29, Luke 12:45-46; 1 Corinthians 9:27). And none of these things are assured, because of free will.
The way to do Christian theology is not to base it on what an unqualified (in the sense of an unconditioned) verse says to Christians, but on what the entire Bible says to Christians (2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 4:4). A verse applicable to Christians in one place in the Bible must be compared with (qualified by, conditioned by) other, related verses (also applicable to Christians) elsewhere in the Bible (Isaiah 28:9-10; 1 Corinthians 2:13).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
The God that I serve has assured me salvation absolutely (1 Thessalonians 1:5 (kjv), John 5:24, John 6:47, John 10:27-30, Hebrews 13:5).
Regarding John 10:27-30, verses 28-29 mean that Christians will never spiritually perish so long as they remain in God's hand, and that no one outside of a Christian can ever take him or her out of God's hand. But John 10:28-29 does not mean that Christians are imprisoned in God's hand, that they cannot wrongly employ their free will to jump out of God's hand themselves, such as by committing apostasy, to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12). Also, John 10:28-29 is not contradicting that God Himself can in the end cast Christians out of His hand, that they can in the end lose their salvation, if they do not continue in His goodness (Romans 11:20-22), such as by wrongly employing their free will to commit a sin without repentance (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46), or by becoming utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8).
Also, John 10:28-29 does not mean that a Christian's will is kept in God's hand in the sense that a Christian cannot wrongly employ his will to the ultimate loss of his salvation. For any such "kept" will would be nothing but a destroyed will. It would make Christians like someone who has been lobotomized, strait-jacketed, drugged, and locked up in a cell. Thank God that He does not do that to Christians, but leaves them as free people with free will. And because He does, they themselves have to choose each and every day for the rest of their lives to deny themselves, to take up their crosses themselves, and to continue to follow Jesus Christ (Luke 9:23) to the end. And the Bible gives no assurance that every Christian will choose to do that (Hebrews 10:26-29, Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:2a).
justbyfaith said in post #261:
The God that I serve has assured me salvation absolutely (1 Thessalonians 1:5 (kjv), John 5:24, John 6:47, John 10:27-30, Hebrews 13:5).
Regarding Hebrews 13:5, its latter part applies to Christians only if they remain faithful to Jesus Christ. For "if we deny him, he also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12b).