Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’
Salvation And Obedience
Is Obedience Necessary For Salvation
For they who are being saved from paying the penalty for their sins, salvation comes only by the grace of God. We cannot earn salvation, we cannot be good enough to be deserving of forgiveness for our sins, and we cannot do anything to please God so that He will look upon us with the favor of giving us eternal life.
In Ephesians 2:8, 9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
This verse is very clear that there is “nothing” we can do to be saved. Salvation comes only by the grace of God.
So, what do we do with verses like Hebrews 5: 9
“And having been perfected, He (Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
This verse seems to say that only those who obey Jesus will be saved. Then when you add to this what we read in John 14:21
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
As well as John 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
These all indicate that only they who obey the commands of Jesus will be saved. Well, that is exactly what they are saying, but not in the way that you might think.
You see, being obedient to Jesus does not mean that you will be saved. No, what these verses indicate is that having been saved by Jesus means that you will come to have a great desire to be obedient to Him. In this desire to obedience shows that Jesus has become the author of your eternal salvation.
If we cannot be saved by obedience, and salvation only comes by way of grace then, obedience to Jesus is “evidence” of having already been saved. If you are saved by grace, from having to pay the penalty of your sins, you will come to have a desire to be obedient to the commands of Jesus.
As you grow in your walk with Jesus you will find yourself wanting more and more to be obedient to what Jesus wants you to do. You will have victories and you will have defeats. Having been saved, we still live in a body that is tainted with sin. We war and fight against it as it still has the same old lusts and desires that it had before being born again.
In my own case, on a daily basis I face desires and temptations that I had when I was not a Christian but, having been saved by the grace of God, I find that I now want to be obedient to what Jesus has for me. I constantly fight against the things that I no longer want to do yet, in moments of weakness I find that I have given in and have done or thought those things that I do not want to do.
At these times I come to God in shame and sorrow for having done so, and to ask Him to receive me back in to His arms to comfort me for my having lost a battle; for the sin that I have done. I have already been forgiven for my dis-obedience, but in confessing my sin, and acknowledging that I have given in to something that was wrong, I admit that I cannot be obedient on my own and I need to look more to Jesus for the strength to do so.
You see, when I look to myself for the strength to fight the good fight I will always fail. It is only when I cry out to the Father for strength to turn away from what is pulling at me will I ever have any chance of success in my being obedient to the will of Jesus.
Having been born again, we now have a new life within us and it is that life that will spend eternity with Christ in Heaven. That new life is what wants to be obedient to Jesus and it will be that life that will fight against the flesh for domination of our body.
In our Christian walk we will find ourselves wanting to do more for Him than for ourselves, and as we do so we will see that our obedience becomes easier than when we first began. Know this, obedience is evidence of our having been born again by the grace of God and of the new life that now lives within us.
If you say that you are a Christian, but there is no evidence of obedience in your Christian walk, especially if there is no desire of obedience, then there is a good expectation that you have not been born again in the first place. You may still be dead (spiritually) in you sins.
You will do well to make sure that you are saved. If you just “accepted” Jesus as a “personal” Savior but did not submit and bow the knee to Jesus as Lord, that is a good indication that you may not have been saved at all. Just because you “accepted” Jesus as a “personal” Savior does not mean that you are saved.
We are commanded to confess with our mouth that Jesus is “Lord”, and we are commanded to call upon the name of the “Lord”, and the only way we can call Jesus “Lord” is to put Him first and to acknowledge Jesus as the one who will control our life as we live in this world and in the world to come. We must bow before Him as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords and to dedicate our lives to serving Him no matter what the end result will be.
Have you done that? Have you declared Jesus to be Lord of your life? if not, why not do so now. For Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow the knee to Him as Lord.
As Jesus said in Luke 14:33
“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
Do this now, forsake all that you have, which is to forsake yourself, your wants, needs and desires, and to submit to Jesus as Lord of your life, and declare that from now on you want only to please Him.
If you can do that, you truly are a disciple of Christ because you have been born again into the family of God. You will know without a doubt that Jesus is the Author of your eternal salvation and your obedience will be the evidence that He has done so specifically for you.
Obedience is the evidence that salvation has been effectively applied to the one for whom Christ died. I pray that Jesus will reveal this to you now…
I AM
Is This Something In Which You Should Believe?
What if Jesus were God? Would it make a difference in what you believe? What you believe now, and in the future determines your eternal destiny. Here is what you should know.
In the Book of Exodus, chapter 3, we are reading the story of when Moses was talking with God in the Burning Bush. God has told Moses to go back to Egypt and lead His people out of the land of Egypt, and to take them to a new and more promising land.
Then beginning in verse 13 we read the following:
13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’
Here we read that God has given Himself the name of “I AM”. This is very important to know as we now jump forward to the time of Jesus.
It is early morning and we find Jesus in the temple. All the people has come to Him and He was teaching them; the scribes and the Pharisees were also there.
They begin to question Him and ridicule Him because he has told them that God was not their Father. The proof of that, He said, was that if God was their Father they would love Him, for He proceeded forth and came from God. Jesus tells them that He is telling the truth but they do not believe Him.
Then Jesus begins to lead the conversation to where He drops the bomb shell on them. He says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
Had you heard that, what would you have said? Well, here’s what they said in John 8 beginning with verse 52:
52 Then the Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon! Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.’
53 Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Who do You make Yourself out to be?”
The Jews are now forcing the issue. They are trying to trap Jesus into saying something that they could use against Him. So, knowing what they are after He responds with this:
54 Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.
55 Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.”
At this the Jews are dumbfounded. They think Jesus is Crazy and:
57 Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?”
Now, wait for it. Here it comes. This is the answer that Jesus gives:
58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”
At this the Jews get very angry and yell curses at Jesus for what He just said and:
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Did you see it? Most people now are wondering what was it that Jesus said that got the Jews to want to stone Him, and if you have read the Bible you know right away exactly what Jesus was saying. It is because of the name that God gave to Moses at the Burning Bush.
He said, “I AM”. You see, in plain language Jesus had just told the Jews, the scribes and the Pharisees, that He is God!
Imagine what you would have thought or felt at that point. Here they were questioning and ridiculing Jesus. They were calling Him names, saying He was lying and that He was demon possessed. Then all of a sudden He tells them that the person to whom they are speaking is God; the same God that spoke to Moses. To them that was blasphemous and that is why they were going to stone Him.
Jesus has now plainly said that He is God. He is the Creator and that is why He has been able to do all of the miracles that He has done up to this point.
He has calmed the seas and quieted the winds. He has given sight to those who had no eyes. He has opened tongues to speak where there had been no tongue. He has raised the dead, given the lame the ability to walk and restored a hand where there had been no hand. He has given hearing to the deaf, changed water to wine and He has known the thoughts and intents of people who were around Him. He has now plainly explained how He has been able to do all of these miracles, and more.
He is able to do all of this because He is God. Jesus is the One Who calls Himself, “I AM”.
At this point you, too, now have to make a decision. You either have to agree with the Jews and claim that Jesus is a liar, a charlatan and the biggest deceiver that ever lived, or you have to believe He is God. There is no middle ground.
And here’s the importance of why you should believe that Jesus is God. Earlier in His conversation with the scribes and Pharisees Jesus had made the same claim in a different way. He put it this way:
23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.”
Where Jesus says, “I AM”, in some translations you will see that the interpreters had put in the word “he”. However, in the original language the word he is not there. It is simply “I am”.
So you see that here, Jesus begins to let them know Who He is. He gives them a plain hint and it just does not register. I can just picture one of the Jews, having picked up on what Jesus has said, leaning in closer to Him, eyes squinting a little and just saying loud enough for Jesus to hear, “Who are You?”
He knows what Jesus just said and he wants to hear Him say it again, but Jesus doesn’t answer the way he expected and just says, “Just what I have been saying from the beginning.”
Now, you too, must ask Jesus, “Who are You?”
His answer is the same. He is the great and almighty “I AM”. Simply put – Jesus is God. You either believe and submit to Him as Lord of your life, be forgiven for your sins and live forever with Him in Heaven. Or, if you decide not to believe, you will die in your sins and spend eternity in Hell.
What is your choice? Will you believe and live, or will you die and suffer the consequences? My prayer is that you will believe and live. You have no other choice.
How To Have Peace In Your Life
You Can Have Peace In A Busy World
Would that not be nice? I mean, with all that is going on in the world and in your personal life, to have such peace so that you could be content in any situation would be such a wonderful state in which to be.
Most people never have such peace, in fact, most people are just the opposite. They worry so much that it affects their health, their work and their family. They never learn the secret of having peace.
I’ll give you a hint:
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. Psalm 4:8
Yes, true peace can only be found in God.
The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. Psalm 29:11
You want peace, then you must first make peace with God, and the only way that can happen is by way of Jesus. Wait, don’t turn away. This is your moment in time to learn what it means, not only to have peace, everlasting peace, but also to learn how to be forgiven for all the wrong you have done.
Here are some things about which you should think:
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things. Isaiah 45:7
Yes, God makes peace, but he also withholds it:
“ There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 48:22
They who do wrong and rebel against God will have constant worry and never be able to have true peace in their life:
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea,
When it cannot rest,
Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 “ There is no peace,”
Says my God, “for the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20, 21
If you choose to stay apart from God you will have chosen to remain in those fits of worry, frustration and anguish. Why do so when there is a way out of this?
Jesus, while here on the earth, said the following:
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
When you come to Jesus, to renounce your sinfulness and to bow your soul, your self-will, to Jesus as Lord not only will you receive forgiveness of sins, but you will also make peace with God.
Having received forgiveness for your sins, having submitted to Jesus as Lord and believing that He has been raised from the dead, you will stand “justified” before God, and with that justification you will have made the afore-mentioned peace with God:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
You want peace in your life? You can have it. Then, as Paul the Apostle said:
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
You can have peace, but it can only be found in Jesus. When you come to Jesus, and make peace through Him with God, you will have such peace as you have never known.
Won’t you do that now? Just come to Jesus and confess your sinfulness to Him. Cry out to Jesus for forgiveness and bow before Him, submit to His Lordship, and you will find out what it is like to have rest for your soul. You can then lean how to have true peace in a busy world.
Are You Good Enough To Go To Heaven?
How Good Is Good Enough?
Like most people, I always felt that I was basically a good person. Yeah, I know, I’m not perfect, but I just knew that when I died and stood before God that He would weigh my good points and then weigh my bad points and the good would outweigh the bad, and for that reason He would let me into Heaven.
Then it just came to me one day, what if I had too many bad points, you know how all of those little things can add up. So, I got to asking myself “how good is good enough”? I did some research from the Bible and boy was I surprised at what I found.
How about you, are you good enough to go to Heaven? Maybe you are like me and you are not. If it turns out that you are not, What then? Well, you should know this, straight from the Bible it is written.
From Isaiah 13:
Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand!
It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will be limp,
Every man’s heart will melt,
And they will be afraid.
Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;
They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;
They will be amazed at one another;
Their faces will be like flames.
Are you good enough?
Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,
To lay the land desolate;
And He will destroy its sinners from it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not give their light;
The sun will be darkened in its going forth,
And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
I will punish the world for its evil,
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will halt the arrogance of the proud,
And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
Are you sure?
Therefore I will shake the heavens,
And the earth will move out of her place,
In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger.
But won’t Jesus come with love to gather everyone together to be His own?
From 2 Thessalonians 1:
since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe…
So, how good are you?
Consider these verses:
- Psalm 14:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. - Psalm 14:3
They have all turned aside,They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Psalm 53:1
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none who does good. - Psalm 53:3
Every one of them has turned aside;They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. - Romans 3:12
They have all turned aside;They have together become unprofitable;There is none who does good, no, not one.”
Now, consider these words by Jesus:
- Matthew 19:17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Mark 10:18
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. - Luke 18:19
So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
After reading all of these passages that are written in the Word of God, do you still think that you are good, let alone being good enough?
If you answered “NO” then you have answered correctly. If you, then, are not good, would that not mean that you are not, and cannot, be good enough to go to Heaven. Think about that for a moment. If you are not good, how can you be good enough to go to Heaven? You can’t. That being the case, then how does one get to Heaven? Simple, read this and then do the same:
Romans 10: 9
If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved.
Can you do that? Will you do that? There is no other way. You cannot rely on your goodness, as you have seen, and you cannot do anything to be found worthy of being allowed into God’s Heaven. Your only alternative is Hell, and it is not a place where you want to be.
As we read in Titus 3: 5
“not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”
Salvation can only be obtained by repenting of your sins, that is by confessing to God that you are a sinful person, and by submission to Jesus as being Lord of your life, that you will follow Him and do His will as He gives direction, will you be saved. There is no other name, given among men, by which we can be saved.
Unless God forgives you of your sins and makes you alive in your spirit, that of being “born again”, to be a new creature in Christ and to be a child of God, you will not be allowed in Heaven and you will only find yourself spending eternity in Hell. There really is no other way.
Is that what you want? Will you now bow your knee to Jesus as Lord and call out to God for forgiveness of your sins and so receive God’s blessing of forgiveness and of a new life in Christ. By doing so God will give you a key to Heaven based on what Jesus has done and not on your goodness.
For you have no goodness in and of yourself, as we have seen, and your only hope is to be accepted on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead. Only then will you be able to spend eternity in Heaven.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2: 8-9
Two Years and Growing
What A Trip
Two years ago, today, I began this journal. It has been quite a trip, and what has been written has helped others to gain a better understanding of basic Christian theology. Moreover, the research before doing any writing has also caused this journalist to grow and gain a better, more solid understanding of biblical knowledge.
Every topic that I have written about can be backed up by scripture. That is the reason for this journal. I have written nothing that I did not first check out and backup by scripture. If the Bible did not support what I was saying then I did not use it. It had to be biblical or it was not written at all.
To much teaching that is being given out these days is not scriptural. Oh, sure, you can pick out any biblical verse and make it support almost anything that you want from salvation by works, women pastors to gay marriage. However, when you take “all” of the verses that pertain to a specific subject that is when you get at the true meaning, yeah the deep things of God.
So, in July we will begin year three with a post about “hiding a lamp under a basket”. May God bless the coming entries and may they be used for the glory, praise and honor of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… 🙂
Blessed Are The Peacemakers
Who Are They…
In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” This sounds really good and most people will read into this that this is talking about making peace in the world; peace between people, counties and nations. Is this really what Jesus is talking about?
Now we all know that it is a good thing to be peacemakers, and the more peace that is created the more we can all live in quiet, peaceful and safe surroundings. Wouldn’t that be nice? However, would everyone who would be involved in making peace be called “sons of God”?
There in lies the key. It would be hard to say that anyone who makes peace, between individuals or nations, would be called a son of God. So, who are the “peacemakers” that Jesus is talking about?
Well, interestingly enough we can find the answer in Scripture itself.
First, in Luke 20:35 – 36 we read, “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”
Second, in Romans 8:14 we read, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Third, in Galatians 3:26 we read, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
So, it would be fair and right to say the “sons of God“, mentioned in these verses, are those who have been Born Again by the Spirit of God. IOW’s, they are Christians.
If, then, that is the case, what is the “peace” that is Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:9?
Again, we can find the answer in Scriptures.
We need look no further than Romans 5:1 – 3 where we read, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
It is easy to see that the “peace” that Jesus is talking about is making “peace” with God. For of what lasting peace is there, with individuals or nations, without having “peace” with God? The answer is none.
Only they who are “sons of God” have been given the command and the ability to go out and show and tell others how to have “peace” with God. The children of God are the true “Peacemakers” because they are the ones who have the message of true and everlasting peace.
The children of God are the only ones who can be truly blessed by God because they are the true “Peacemakers” bringing the message of “peace” to the world, and because of that they are called “sons of God”.
How about you… are you one of those who are called “sons of God”?
What I Believe About Sin & Salvation
If one is to believe the Bible then one also has to believe that we are all dead (spiritually) in our sins. Being in this state one is also unable, in anyway, to not only save themselves, but to also do anything worthy of salvation. To carry this one step further, we are also unable to even admit our sinfulness and in need of salvation. There is none good, there is none who seek after God, no not one. Read Romans 3:10 – 18.
From what is it that we are in need of being saved? From facing the wrath of God. And let there be no mistake about it, there is a God and He is angry with the wicked everyday, and the day is coming when He will bring His wrath upon all mankind.
Basically all mankind is Totally Depraved and unable to do anything towards salvation.
Being that mankind is Totally Deparaved it further shows that if man is to be saved at all then it is only by the will of God that anyone is saved. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. John 5:21
No one has the ability to come to Jesus of their own will, because of their Total Depravity, so if one is to come to Jesus they must first be drawn by Him – “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” John 6:44b
In addition to being drawn, all those who are drawn will come and be saved – “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” John 6:37
All who are drawn by the Father will come to Jesus and be saved. There will be none who will say No, I will not be saved. “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”
Once one is drawn and have leaned by the Father, they will be saved and will remain saved for all eternity. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” John 6:47.
In other words, all mankind is dead in their trespasses and sins and are unable, of their own will, able to see their sinfulness, see a need for salvation, see the need to come to Jesus to be forgiven and given a new life, and be assured of living for all eternity with God in Heaven, or of seeing the need for repentance towards God and of having faith in Jesus that He did for them what they cannot do for themselves.
If man is left to his own will, when it comes to Jesus and salvation, he will never choose, of his own will, to come to Christ and so be saved. Remember, Jesus said that he can’t. John 6:44
In addition, Jesus said “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing” John 6:63, and He also said “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” John 6:65.
Now, you don’t have to believe what I’ve said, but if you do believe in the Bible you have to believe what Jesus has said. Read for yourselves John chapter six, the whole chapter. Then read Ephesians chapter one and then Romans chapter nine.
If God did not choose to save anyone as He wills there would be no one saved.
Now, having said all this, I must also warn you that you are responsible for your sins and you will pay for those sins; that penalty is being cast into the lake of fire and there you will spend eternity; from which there is no escape.
The only possible chance you have of salvation, from facing the coming wrath of God, is by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus and by faith receiving Him as you Savior.
You must admit your sinfullness, of your living in disobedience towards God, and that you are in need of forgiveness for those sins, and that you cannot do anything to save yourself. If you will but just fall before Christ and submit your will to Him, admit your guilt and ask for forgiveness, and by faith believe that He has paid the penalty for your sins you will be saved.
If you refuse the offer of salvation, you stand condemned already before God because you have called Him a liar and you have denied Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your eternal soul.
Sin is real and Salvation is real. Jesus said, “whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33
Can you do that? Can you forsake all for Christ? Will you submit your will to Jesus? Jesus will not be a Savior to anyone who will not bow in submission to Him as Lord.
You cannot save yourself. Your only hope is for Jesus to save you.
Riff's Christian Journal 