Where in scripture does it say to repent of your sins to get saved?

[BNR32FAN]

If they are His church then they were born of God.
Where does this passage mention they are going to hell?

1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: 2 I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; 3 and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name's sake, and hast not grown weary.

4 But I have [this] against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.

5 Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.

6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

I was merely answering this question

But I don't know why when Jesus says "repent" in scripture, people are thinking it means about sins?

 

[BNR32FAN]

Not only v2, but also v6 says they will be removed from the vine.

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

Everyone not in Christ is removed from the vine of life which is Christ.
God created all things through Christ, but if they are not then in the vine bearing good fruit, they are removed from life. meaning they are dead and dying.
You must bear good fruit or the AX is coming for you.
Only those who are born again abide in Christ and can remain in the vine of life which is Christ and bear good fruit, the rest are cut away from having any life at all.

And in other scriptures only the saved who are born of God actually bear good fruit to God. Key to understanding this is Christ created all things, even the lost and evil sinners, but they dont abide in Him. so they are cut off from life.

John 15 New King James Version (NKJV)
The True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

I disagree, this is dealing with loss of salvation friend. Please keep in mind who Jesus is speaking to here. This takes place right after the Last Supper, Judas has already left the group to go and betray Jesus. Jesus and His 11 faithful apostles have left the upper room and are walking to the olive grove in Gethsemane. So the only people who are present to hear this message are His 11 faithful apostles who are undoubtedly believers. Notice in verse 4 Jesus tells them to abide in Him. Why would He tell them to abide in Him if they were incapable of failing to abide? Jesus is warning them of the consequences of failing to abide in Him which will result in being cut off from the vine which is Christ and thrown away to wither then thrown into the fire to be burned which is the lake of fire.

 

[sdowney717]

I disagree, this is dealing with loss of salvation friend. Please keep in mind who Jesus is speaking to here. This takes place right after the Last Supper, Judas has already left the group to go and betray Jesus. Jesus and His 11 faithful apostles have left the upper room and are walking to the olive grove in Gethsemane. So the only people who are present to hear this message are His 11 faithful apostles who are undoubtedly believers. Notice in verse 4 Jesus tells them to abide in Him. Why would He tell them to abide in Him if they were incapable of failing to abide? Jesus is warning them of the consequences of failing to abide in Him which will result in being cut off from the vine which is Christ and thrown away to wither then thrown into the fire to be burned which is the lake of fire.

You can not include only the 11 apostles about what he is teaching.
When he uses the word 'you', this is directed to them and personal, but this other word, anyone, is referring much more generally to the world, and not specifically to them.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered;

In John 10, we have proof that when Christ gives eternal life, it is only given to His sheep and the sheep have certain characteristics which sets them apart.
Christs sheep will never perish. Do you agree with this?
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

If your not one of His sheep then you do not have eternal life, Christ is not abiding in you. You can not be His sheep one day and the next a goat or serpent or scorpion, then another day back to being His sheep dependent only upon your repenting of one sin or another. That is a very old testament kind of relationship, and the NT works very much differently than the old.

 

[CharismaticLady]

You can not include only the 11 apostles about what he is teaching.
When he uses the word 'you', this is directed to them and personal, but this other word, anyone, is referring much more generally to the world, and not specifically to them.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered;

In John 10, we have proof that when Christ gives eternal life, it is only given to His sheep and the sheep have certain characteristics which sets them apart.
Christs sheep will never perish. Do you agree with this?
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

If your not one of His sheep then you do not have eternal life, Christ is not abiding in you. You can not be His sheep one day and the next a goat or serpent or scorpion, then another day back to being His sheep dependent only upon your repenting of one sin or another. That is a very old testament kind of relationship, and the NT works very much differently than the old.

Yes, His sheep do have certain characteristics, but you must be born again of the Spirit to be one of His sheep with these characteristics. They hear His Voice, literally. (One of the gifts of the Spirit.) They follow Him by not sinning in the flesh, due to the power given them by the Spirit. And all their prayers are answered. 1 John 3:1-23

Do you have any of those characteristics?

What you have described you believe is actually Gnostic; in particular, the sin of the Nicolaitans, which God hates.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Even after a person is converted they must still do good works in order to receive salvation. John 15:1-14

That what the false apostles went and taught to the Galatian churches and whom he said were preaching another gospel and so were influencing the Galatians away from Christ.

 

[sdowney717]

There is a difference between good fruits and good works.
Good works benefit other people and is something you do for others.
Good fruit though is what you say about God and Christ, as in doctrine, praises and worship.

Notice How Christ links good fruit or bad fruit with what comes out of your mouth, so it is determined by what you say.
AND, critically, you can not bear both bad and good fruit, it is either one or the other, NEVER both. And each type can not bear the other type of fruit.
Which points out the truth of an eternal salvation, none of this iffy saved - unsaved type teaching depending on a state of existence and repentance

Matt 12
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

It is absolutely true 100% that you must bear good fruit to God, because if you dont, that demonstrates your a child of hell, by what you say about Christ.

Matthew 7 says to beware of false prophets, well a false prophet speaks out lies and may write them down too. But it is not a work they do, they are demonstrating bad fruit.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

ALL the TIME on this forum people talk about imaginary situations of persons who are bearing both good and bad fruit at the same time and relate that to their eternal salvation state, which is impossible as Christ said you will either bear bad fruit or good fruit and a good tree always bears good fruit, and the bad tree always bears bad fruit..

 

[BNR32FAN]

You can not include only the 11 apostles about what he is teaching.
When he uses the word 'you', this is directed to them and personal, but this other word, anyone, is referring much more generally to the world, and not specifically to them.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered;

In John 10, we have proof that when Christ gives eternal life, it is only given to His sheep and the sheep have certain characteristics which sets them apart.
Christs sheep will never perish. Do you agree with this?
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

If your not one of His sheep then you do not have eternal life, Christ is not abiding in you. You can not be His sheep one day and the next a goat or serpent or scorpion, then another day back to being His sheep dependent only upon your repenting of one sin or another. That is a very old testament kind of relationship, and the NT works very much differently than the old.

No one receives eternal life until they leave this world. We must abide in Christ and endure to the end to receive salvation friend. In John 10 Jesus says His sheep hear and follow both present tense. Everyone has free will including His sheep. If they should stop following they will cease to be His sheep for failing to abide in Him. There is evidence to support this. I’m sure you are familiar with Ephesians 2:8. In Ephesians Paul is writing to saved children of God and yet in Ephesians 5:1-5 he warns these children of God of turning to a sinful way of life that will result in them receiving the wrath of God on the sons of disobedience. Children of God can become sons of disobedience. Romans 6:15-16 also supports this, Paul says we are slaves to the one we obey whether it be to sin resulting in death or obedience resulting in righteousness. This means we can be servants of God but if we begin to serve satan we become servants of satan. This explains how branches who are in Christ, mentioned in John 15:2, can be cut off from the vine and how those who fail to abide in Christ mentioned in John 15:6 are capable of being cast into the fire. In order for someone to abide (remain or stay) in Christ they must first be in Christ to begin with. Someone cannot remain or stay somewhere they have never been.

 

[BNR32FAN]

There is a difference between good fruits and good works.
Good works benefit other people and is something you do for others.
Good fruit though is what you say about God and Christ, as in doctrine, praises and worship.

Notice How Christ links good fruit or bad fruit with what comes out of your mouth, so it is determined by what you say.
AND, critically, you can not bear both bad and good fruit, it is either one or the other, NEVER both. And each type can not bear the other type of fruit.
Which points out the truth of an eternal salvation, none of this iffy saved - unsaved type teaching depending on a state of existence and repentance

Matt 12
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

It is absolutely true 100% that you must bear good fruit to God, because if you dont, that demonstrates your a child of hell, by what you say about Christ.

Matthew 7 says to beware of false prophets, well a false prophet speaks out lies and may write them down too. But it is not a work they do, they are demonstrating bad fruit.

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

ALL the TIME on this forum people talk about imaginary situations of persons who are bearing both good and bad fruit at the same time and relate that to their eternal salvation state, which is impossible as Christ said you will either bear bad fruit or good fruit and a good tree always bears good fruit, and the bad tree always bears bad fruit..

Notice the examples of fruit Jesus gives in John 15 friend.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”
‭‭JOHN‬ ‭15:7-17‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Bearing fruit is the result of keeping Jesus’ two commandments, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love each other as Jesus loves us. If you keep these two commandments you will abide in His love and you will bear much fruit.

 

[sdowney717]

Notice the examples of fruit Jesus gives in John 15 friend.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”
‭‭JOHN‬ ‭15:7-17‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Bearing fruit is the result of keeping Jesus’ two commandments, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love each other as Jesus loves us. If you keep these two commandments you will abide in His love and you will bear much fruit.

Bearing the good fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life, and they are not good works.
That good fruit is the opposite to the works of the flesh.
Good fruits also must be allowed to grow, they must be nurtured and fertilized and protected to bear the good fruit, and that is what the Father does in your life, He creates the right conditions for you to bear the good fruit. He is the one who plants His word in the good soil, refer to Christ's parable of the sower of the seed.
Galatians 5
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.


Again the juxtaposition of these 2 elements, the works of the flesh versus the fruits of the Spirit, and it is said clearly that those who practice the works of the flesh will not be inheriting eternal life with Christ.

So again, no mixing of flesh and Spirit happens, you are either of the one or of the other.

 

[sdowney717]

No one receives eternal life until they leave this world. We must abide in Christ and endure to the end to receive salvation friend. In John 10 Jesus says His sheep hear and follow both present tense. Everyone has free will including His sheep. If they should stop following they will cease to be His sheep for failing to abide in Him. There is evidence to support this. I’m sure you are familiar with Ephesians 2:8. In Ephesians Paul is writing to saved children of God and yet in Ephesians 5:1-5 he warns these children of God of turning to a sinful way of life that will result in them receiving the wrath of God on the sons of disobedience. Children of God can become sons of disobedience. Romans 6:15-16 also supports this, Paul says we are slaves to the one we obey whether it be to sin resulting in death or obedience resulting in righteousness. This means we can be servants of God but if we begin to serve satan we become servants of satan. This explains how branches who are in Christ, mentioned in John 15:2, can be cut off from the vine and how those who fail to abide in Christ mentioned in John 15:6 are capable of being cast into the fire. In order for someone to abide (remain or stay) in Christ they must first be in Christ to begin with. Someone cannot remain or stay somewhere they have never been.

They receive eternal life from Christ in this life as Jesus tells us this in John 5
And He says this with emphasis!

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 2

6 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

Those who are dead who hear the voice of the Son are those who are 'Of God', as Jesus said in John 8
47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

They are of God because He has made them born of God as newborn babes, and this new creation in Christ can hear the voice of the Son , believe in the Christ of God and follow Him.

You must be born again FIRST in order to enter the kingdom of God, so being born of God comes before you confess Him as lord. First the heart believes, then the mouth speaks,

 

[CharismaticLady]

Notice the examples of fruit Jesus gives in John 15 friend.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.”
‭‭JOHN‬ ‭15:7-17‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Bearing fruit is the result of keeping Jesus’ two commandments, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love each other as Jesus loves us. If you keep these two commandments you will abide in His love and you will bear much fruit.

One of the assurance signs that you are abiding in Christ and are pleasing in His sight is miraculously answered prayer. John 15:7, also 1 John 3:18-23. Have you noticed that this is hardly mentioned in sermons or posts.

 

[Guojing]

One of the assurance signs that you are abiding in Christ and are pleasing in His sight is miraculously answered prayer. John 15:7, also 1 John 3:18-23. Have you noticed that this is hardly mentioned in sermons or posts.

It is common sense right?

You don't want to end up implying that God answers your prayers "if you do things that please him", or at least I hope you don't have that belief?

 

[CharismaticLady]

It is common sense right?

You don't want to end up implying that God answers your prayers "if you do things that please him", or at least I hope you don't have that belief?

Of course I have that belief! That is what scripture says. What do you do. Take a scripture and twist it to fit some false teaching?

22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

 

[Guojing]

Of course I have that belief! That is what scripture says. What do you do. Take a scripture and twist it to fit some false teaching?

22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

To me, it’s scary how you interpret all these passages but I know your mind is set so I won’t try to convince you otherwise.

But food for thought, if the greatest gift in the world, which is justification and salvation, is given by faith, how does anything lesser requires more than just faith? Does it make sense?

 

[BNR32FAN]

Bearing the good fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life, and they are not good works.
That good fruit is the opposite to the works of the flesh.
Good fruits also must be allowed to grow, they must be nurtured and fertilized and protected to bear the good fruit, and that is what the Father does in your life, He creates the right conditions for you to bear the good fruit. He is the one who plants His word in the good soil, refer to Christ's parable of the sower of the seed.
Galatians 5
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.


Again the juxtaposition of these 2 elements, the works of the flesh versus the fruits of the Spirit, and it is said clearly that those who practice the works of the flesh will not be inheriting eternal life with Christ.

So again, no mixing of flesh and Spirit happens, you are either of the one or of the other.

So what you are saying is that children of God are incapable of sin. That is not correct my friend because everyone still sins. Notice Paul includes himself as being capable of losing his salvation by including himself in the following statements.

“It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.”
‭‭2 TIMOTHY‬ ‭2:11-13‬ ‭NASB‬‬

 

[BNR32FAN]

They receive eternal life from Christ in this life as Jesus tells us this in John 5
And He says this with emphasis!

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 2

6 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

Those who are dead who hear the voice of the Son are those who are 'Of God', as Jesus said in John 8
47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

They are of God because He has made them born of God as newborn babes, and this new creation in Christ can hear the voice of the Son , believe in the Christ of God and follow Him.

You must be born again FIRST in order to enter the kingdom of God, so being born of God comes before you confess Him as lord. First the heart believes, then the mouth speaks,

None of this implies that a child of God cannot choose to turn away from God and back to a sinful way of life thus forfeiting their salvation. This is what the church has always taught from the beginning and is supported by early church writings dating all the way back to 180AD.

 

[BNR32FAN]

One of the assurance signs that you are abiding in Christ and are pleasing in His sight is miraculously answered prayer. John 15:7, also 1 John 3:18-23. Have you noticed that this is hardly mentioned in sermons or posts.

Amen if we deny Him, He will deny us before The Father.

 

[CharismaticLady]

To me, it’s scary how you interpret all these passages but I know your mind is set so I won’t try to convince you otherwise.

But food for thought, if the greatest gift in the world, which is justification and salvation, is given by faith, how does anything lesser requires more than just faith? Does it make sense?

Food for thought.

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

 

[Guojing]

Food for thought.

Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

I understand better why you like to use the 4 gospels, and especially the book of Matthew, as church doctrine for your own beliefs.

 

[CharismaticLady]

I understand better why you like to use the 4 gospels, and especially the book of Matthew, as church doctrine for your own beliefs.

Actually, John is my favorite writer. But you need to be acquainted with Semitic writing styles to not misinterpret him. For instance, do you believe 1 John 1:8 is about a born again Christian or not?