@Behold
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Behold....you're not teaching what the NT states plainly.
This is what Jesus said:
John 15:14You are My friends, IF you do what I command you.
John 15:10IF you keep My commandments you will abide in My love.
John 14:15IF you love Me you will keep My commandments.
Sounds like we need to keep the commandments.
Jesus's Commandments are not the 10 Commandments.
The 10 Commandments came from Moses.
So, we are in agreenent that we are to live for The Lord, but we are not to do this in fear of losing salvation.
As that is broken faith.
That is, "i have faith that as long as i do this and keep that, then God will keep me".
That is : Legalism.
But James,
He's telling them they must be DOERS of the word and not only HEARERS of the word.
James says to believers that they have dead faith.
So, if that means they have lost their salvation then he would not have then told them what to do.
Salvation is not a Y0-YO that goes up when you are good, and down when you have lost your salvation.
Its a cold heart toward the things of God.
You can also have an indifferent heart, and Jesus calls that "Lukewarm".
I teach that the Blood of Jesus (The Cross of Christ) forgives your sin.
Episkopos teaches that it does not.....so, He's your "pelagain".
Also.. a true Gnostic is a type of "pelagain", and im also not one of those.
I teach that "by one man's sin", we all became sinners, and by One Lord Jesus and His Cross, "all who call on the name of Jesus, shall be saved".
"Pauline Theology".
It's never by our own self effort.
We can do nothing without the help of the Holy Spirit.
Sure you can.
You can give to the poor, tithe to your church, for example.
Many do that every sunday and HATE IT... but they feel that "well, i have to do it"..
And that behavior is carnal, and has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said it was good that He went away so the helper could come.
Helper to do what?
Empower the believer to be a good disciple.
But you can't be a perfect one, unless you have the Knowledge of God.
Paul teaches that when you have this.. then you are in the right mind, and you are this..>>"as many as be perfect".
Jesus said without Him, we can do nothing.
John 15:4
Abide in Me and I in you.
Jesus is always in the Believer as "Christ in you , the Hope of Glory".. (Glory is heaven)
Jesus never leaves us, and we are always "in Christ".
They way you stop "abiding" is when a person tries to DO Christianity, vs, understanding God's Grace correctly.
Which fruit is Jesus speaking of?
I am the True Vine and you are the Branches.
So, there is a flow from the Holy Spirit, that is our power that produces God's goodness through us, in many different ways..
That is our "Fruit".
Yes. We must be baptized too.
Jesus said this.
Paul said this.
Mark said this.
I was water baptized 11 yrs after i was born again.
I was called into the Ministry before i was water baptized.
The Semi-Mod "Pearl" who is here a lot.......she was also born again quite a while before she was Water Baptized.
Some are born again and die before they are water baptized.
Some are born again in a prison somewhere, and there is no water baptism for them..... at that time.
Some are born again in countries that dont allow Bibles or Christianity.. so, no water for them... .at that time.
Some people tomorrow morning at 3am.. in a Cancer ward in an Italian Hospital... are by themselves, in the dark, in their room, and they are about to die.... and they "call on the name of Jesus" and God saves them... .and they die.
No water baptism for them.....not ever.
Paul actually said.>>"Christ sent me not to water baptize".
He said this to prevent believers from putting to much emphasis on the city water supply.
Did you ever read John 20:22?
Jesus gave 11 Apostles the Holy Spirit........ and none of them were water baptized at that time...
Did you ever read Acts 2:37-40?
The Holy Spirit had been given, and Peter preached to 3000, and "tongues" showed up, ...and none of the 100 in the upper room were water baptized, nor was Peter at that time, water baptized.
Jesus keeps us saved IF we stay close to Him.
We are saved, is why we stay saved.
Its not a part time thing., as Salvation is Eternal life and Eternal life is not temporary.
Our Salvation didnt happen because we were good.. it happened when we were "yet sinners"... So, if we are saved as "yet sinners" then later if we are not perfect, it does not affect our Salvation.
1.) See, there is Salvation... that is God forgiving the SINNER and giving the Believer the New Birth.
So, that's finished.= born again.
2.) And then, we start our Discipleship.. and that is not our Salvation......its our Discipleship that we do, our daily lifestyle, our constant behavior.... that is to reflect that we are a Christian..... because we ARE SAVED.. not to try to be saved or stay saved.
So, when a Christian, is horrible, then that is their Discipleship that is horrible..(behavior)... Whereas, their Salvation is Christ on The Cross who has joined them to God, by sacrificing Himself for us... when we were "yet sinners".
Salvation is what God provides through the Cross of Christ...and its Eternal.
Discipleship is what we do after we are saved..... , because we have already received what God has provided through Christ on the Cross.
They are not the same thing.
Salvation.. is not Discipleship..........Discipleship is not Salvation.
If Paul was afraid of being disqualified...
Being disqualified is not related to going to hell.
its regarding becoming unfruitful, having dead faith, and losing all heavenly REWARDS.
Its like.......... if you are running a race in the Olympics, and you are at the start line, and there is the GUN that starts the race, and you "jump" before the Gun....... you are "disqualified"....
Yet you are still in the Olympics.. you are only disqualified from the race.
So, Paul is saying........i am not going to be one of those who does not END WELL.....>im going to KEEP THE FAITH.. all the way to the end.
And He did.
And so, he was not disqualified from receiving a "Crown" in Heaven... that is given to all who do that.. as He explains.
But some DO lose their salvation...
No one can lose their salvation..... as Salvation is Jesus on The Cross, reconciling you to God for Eternity, through His Blood, Death, And Resurrection.
You can't do that, so you can't lose that.
That is not something that you can "lose".....because once it's happened, then its finished.
We can't cause Salvation, nor can we lose it.. .. all we can do is RECEIVE IT and then we become.. "The righteousness of God in Christ"
Let me show you this...
God and Christ and the Holy Spirit, are IN the Believer.. so, if the Born Again Believer went to Hell......so would they.
= Not going to happen.