Romans
King James Version (KJV)
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Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (verse 7 Jesus said)- Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye MUST be born again.
Romans 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.(Not because he is a Jew)
Galations 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
James 2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
FAITH IS NOT WHO YOU ARE BLACK, WHITE, NATIONALITY HAS NO EFFECT ON BEING A HEIR WITH CHRIST BUT BY GRACE WE ARE SAVED BY/THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST
"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."
Here we see the Apostle Paul's teaching on those who have sinned "in the Law" (i.e. the Jews who were given God's Law to abide by & to judge themselves as those who failed in keeping the Law perfectly), and those who 'perish' (note: not 'sinned', since sin is effected, accountable & punishable by God by the giving of a Law, Romans 3:20) without having received the Law.
So to the Jew who remains under the burden of the Law & not in receipt of God's Grace in Christ, they will be judged by the Law, & they will fail, for none could ever keep the Law perfectly ( Galatians 2:21b:"for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.").To the Gentile (non-Jew) who in days past never received or even heard of God's Laws & therefore never subject to its conditions, Paul says that these may not have the written Law in stone/parchment, but by nature perform the Law as written upon their hearts; it's now their conscience that accuses them of doing wrong or excuses their sins, that God sees & thus judges. Certainly not like getting God's Commands directly, but when both Jew & Gentile have to stand before God, the judgement meted to them will be based on the Law whether given directly or written in their hearts/consciences.
And that's why the Gospel is so important: it is salvation to all.
f. Jesus' time of suffering & death came, but also His glorious resurrection, that through this Divine Act of God to redeem ALL men to Himself, both Jew & Gentile would now be acceptable to Him through faith in the efficacy of the shed Blood. Was the Sabbath & the Law still current for the Jew? As long as they lived according to the requirements of the Law, they had to abide by it & were judged by it; if they failed in one part of the given Law, they had failed in all ( Galatians 5:3, Romans 2:13, James 2:10). When the Jew put aside the Law as necessary for salvation, then the application of the Cross became real: that which was based on faith & promise, & not on the letter that only served to reveal him his sin & to draw him to Christ ( Galatians 3:24).
g. So why then is the keeping of the Sabbath still necessary? For the Jew without Christ, it remains a day of rest, as an act of obedience to God, & using that occasion for religious exercises. For the Jew & Gentile who is now "in Christ", the Sabbath, as all other Laws, have no binding, other than the importance of setting a Rest Day aside from our labours, & the Laws that reveal God's Mind & Purpose for both religious & social responsibility. If one, whether Jew, Gentile or Christian, chose to keep any of the Laws, including Sabbath, then they were bound to keep it & the whole Law - there's no option to pick & choose. And by keeping the Law to justify ourselves before God, even one Law, then precludes us from the Grace of God through Christ, because that is diametrically opposed to the meaning of the Law ( Galatians 5:4).
And then in the New Testament economy, post Cross, where salvation is granted to the sinner because of God's Grace through our faith in Christ's Work ( Ephesians 2:8-10), we're reminded that no "works" can enter into this Divine arrangement as that would negate "grace". And 'works' was primarily the obedience & dependence on the given Law of God, which could only show man's failure before God & inability to justify himself. But 'works' would include those other things that those outside the purview of the Cross, could try to use to establish his favour with God.
And then we come to the Epistle of James, which the RCs use to justify their belief & position: James 2:14-18. They maintain that both 'faith & works' are necessary for salvation, rather "for further justification". This was the point that Martin Luther, at the Reformation, opposed the RC Church on: he maintained that the believer is fully saved & justified at the moment of salvation & it's not a progressive justification, to which the RC Church stated: that justification cannot be a once only immediate act of God, but that through the Christian's walk (i.e. in a life of producing works worthy of his salvation), the believer is increasingly justified by God. If this were so, then justification comes by faith & works.
Rather, James tells us that 'works' naturally follow a true salvation, without which it proves a defective salvation. James does not hint at all that there is an on-going work of justification by 'works', rather that justification is a declaration by God of the sinner as being no longer guilty before Him.
All people can ONLY be saved by FAITH: faith being the implicit trust & looking to God to save them though not having seen Him. For the Jew, they received the Law from God & though none could fully obey its demands, it served to show them there sin, the need for sacrifice & of course, a faith that looked only to God & looked forward to God to provide a better Sacrifice. Most Jews didn't do this, though some did ( Hebrews 11) but God is the Judge of their hearts. For those without the Law (Gentiles), the laws written within us condemned us ( Romans 2:12-16) & we have to stand before God on that basis &/or the rejection of God's Sacrifice. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" ( John 1:12). And of course, we receive Him only by faith, not by works or sacrifice.
I can't answer your last question; it must be something wired in us to know what & where 'our shame' (our less honourable) body parts are.
Their faith which looked ahead & our faith also had to ultimately rest on a better Sacrifice bringing in a better Covenant ( Hebrews 7:19,22). Their faith had to find its hope in Jesus, God's Sacrifice, as ours also, post-Cross, does. Their justification & ours also rest in the Holy One from God. There has been no other way for anyone to be cleansed, forgiven & accepted. To the Gentile unreached with the Gospel, Romans 2:12-16 speaks of these who are also subject to the law written within them & by this law they are judged & will perish, as the law accuses them or they find excuse to sin. But why should they be condemned if Christ is not preached to them? Again, are there any readied by God to go to them so they might hear & believe? We have heard of accounts of tribes so grateful for the Gospel to come, as their hearts have been prepared to look for & receive it. Then there have been those who have been violent to the message, bringing death to the messenger. Those such as Jim Elliot & his four companions reaching out to the Huaorani tribe in Ecuador; or John Chau missionary to the Sentinelese people in the Andaman Islands (off the E. Indian coast) were all martyred for Jesus.
Or, to the good, decent people we know of, yet never moved to hear or respond to the Gospel. Will their decency & goodness be sufficient to save them in spite of sin? Romans 6:23 and Titus 3:5,6, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour". Even 'all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags' in God's Sight, so as much as we would long & hope for the ultimate saving of even those still without Christ even in death, I believe the Scripture is clear that a person's response to the Cross in this life determines his fate & sadly that fate is both horrible & eternal.
At the judgement seat, you need mercy. And mercy is at the discretion of the Lord.
2. The issue of two men on the same bed is not in support of homosexuality. Rather, it is an assumption by those who conclude on the perversion. Being in the same bed together is not to mean they were sexually cordial. It is a family thing. And it does not mean they are both men; the word "men" could be used as unisex to mean a species. Thank you again
A few things here: Paul was speaking to all there (both Jew & Gentile converts) yet some stumbled on this matter, particularly from Jewry who were once under the Law & were circumcised, which marked them as God's chosen. To those still applying the Law to their lives & putting themselves under it, are obliged to keep all the Law ( Galatians 5:3). And "whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." ( James 2:10). But the Law was given to Israel, not only as God's Standard of living for them, but to show them that they couldn't keep the Law, rather they fell far short of it. Hence, each year animal sacrifice was made to cover those sins. But after Jesus' death & resurrection, those who come by faith to Him are no longer bound to the Law, as God's Gift to us was the only One to have fully kept (& fulfilled) its Holy demands.
So Paul makes a clear distinction: either you keep the whole Law & by it you will be judged: "as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law" ( Romans 2:12), or you take hold of God's Righteousness which comes by faith in Christ. There's no possibility of fusing the two together for they oppose each other. "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace" ( Galatians 5:4). So the observance of the Sabbath day was a hallmark of Israel & they faithfully observed it. To make the Sabbath observance mandatory now means that we are no longer in the liberty of Christ but in bondage ( Galatians 5:1).
Matthew 18:3. Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
1 Peter 2:2. As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
Matthew 7:13,14. Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the road, that leadeth to destruction (e.g. wildfires, pandemic, hurricanes, etc.) and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
In case you are wondering what Satan's strongholds are in his kingdom ( 2 Cor. 10:4).
- Religion. Consider the history of the Mystery Babylon and the Mother of Harlots ( Rev. 17:5). Do not forget the hundreds of years of the Inquisition during which time the Vatican ordered millions killed under their direction in the most cruel way anyone can imagine ( worse than the methods used by Al-Qaeda).
- Political Authorities.
- The Medical Profession.
- The Media Industry.
- The Legal Profession and Business Community.
- Sports and Entertainment.
Please remember: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith ( 1 John 5:4).
Seek, and ye shall find ( Matthew 7:7).
In His Service.
Andy & Dianne van den Berg - Nova Scotia, Canada
The little children you referred to are the 'believers' that start their journey of repentance as babies ( Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21; Romans 2:20; 1 Cor. 3:1; 1 Peter 2:2).
The word of God is spiritually discerned and not understood by the natural man ( 1 Cor. 2:14).
On the contrary: He that is spiritual judgeth all things ( 1 Cor. 2:15).
Concerning the Law;
The everlasting Law God established with those that desire to be called His children still stands.
The 10 Commandments still stand.
Any time we sin we are under the Law.
Everyone sins: Everyday!
Blood ordinances were fulfilled by the death of Christ ( Matthew 26:28, Romans 2:29, Colossians 1:14)
Priestly duties connected to the sons of Aaron were fulfilled in Christ. ( Hebrews 8:1)
The Temple was destroyed; as promised: ( Matthew 24:2)
Deuteronomy 29:29
"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children FOR EVER, that we may do all the words of this law."
1 Chronicles 16:17
"And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an EVERLASTING covenant,"
Ephesians 2:15
"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;"
Hebrews 7:12
"For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law."
Matthew 27:51
"And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;"
All has not been fulfilled.
All will not be fulfilled until the return of Christ.
Believe the words of Jesus.
Mathew 5:18
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Concerning works;
Why would Jesus care to evaluate the WORKS of the churches that are on earth at the end times when He comes back if they don't matter? ( Revelation 2:2, 9, 13, 19. 3:1, 3:8, 3:15)
Also look at:
James 2:14-26 - "Faith without works is dead"
Revelation 14:13
Revelation 20:12
A born again believer cannot claim to have a sinless life (1 John chapter 1). By faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross and his resurrection from the dead , we are imputed the righteousness of Christ ( Romans 4 & 5).
And yes, God was and is a perfect Creator.
so why did he choose to be born a jew?
then later become a christian?
this seems a controversial issue!
for the bible also says...
i change not!
can one begin to trust anyone who calls himself
god, who changes not,
then,do a complete flip? to keep what has always
been his!
and after what he so firmly says! i change not!
even satan would have something to say about this!
and as we also know, he is immortal
he is perfect,
so there is
no change from perfection to being a mortal creator
which would, put him in the same bracket as satan, who is
a created being, thus here he lowers himself
(when there is no need to), in not only satan's eyes,
but all mankind, being born again to prove
his ownership! he turns human like us!
no...
he is the owner to all his creation!
never has he lost anything to a created being - satan!
who can never stand up to his maker, owing every
minute to him for his own life, and would surely be
consumed by the creator's presence!
for the wages of sin is death,
satan is living only
through his makers gratis, or he should have long
been dead by now!
i believe my creator is perfect in everyway.
never has he lost anything he is owner of,
not incompetent, untruthful to his word,
lacking a sure foundation, and the ability
to hold on to what is rightfully his!
unaware of the helplessness of man's
suffering, that he took so long to come to
his aid!
had to leave a place called heaven to show
who he rightfully is!
then to prove to man he had to lower his
status in order to win back the ownership
of this sad world! and his people!
and then be told by satan...
to bow down to him, and he (our creator)
would be given this whole!
i also believe my creator knew what he did
back then, even before he created anything
for surely he is an immortal being, knows his
own, and how to manage it all, even satan.
he need never to prove to anyone or answer.
You said something before worth analyzing: "FAITH or WORKS??? It CAN'T BE BOTH!"
Why not? Who said it can't be both? It is both. The Bible already says it's both and even already predicted this exact believe and refused it. James 2:17 says faith without works is dead- do you believe that? If not, what is your explanation for not believing this part of the Bible?
Since you believe Paul, do you believe what he wrote in Romans 7? He talked about his deep struggle in trying to avoid sin and do good. Why would he struggle if doing good isn't necessary one bit? He called himself captive (prisoner) of sin. He was in deep torment to try to do good. If no good works was necessary why didn't he instead just party and live a life of sin and not worry about spreading the gospel, if he was already 'saved'? The Bible makes the answer clear.
James 2:19 - even demons believe in God and Jesus, including satan. So, if all that's needed to be saved and go to heaven is to believe does that mean satan will go to heaven? If not, why? Hitler attended church and might have been a Christian in his early years, so will we see him in heaven too, despite Romans 2:6?
Is it 'wrong' to do good works? If so, why does the Bible say in multiple places to do good? Matthew 7:16-23. Jesus says most people will go to hell and you'll know his followers by their fruit. If good isn't needed, then why would Jesus say this. Was he lying? It would be a very hard argument to make that living a fruitful life of good works is 'bad', because that's exactly what the Bible says to do and how you can recognize genuine Christians. Christians aren't saved by good works, though. That's a logical fallacy to assume that. Grace alone saves. If someone wants to follow Jesus, however, it requires action, doing things.
Reading the entire chapter context of the Bible clears up such misunderstandings. God bless you in your journey for the truth.
Beware of dogs ( Gal. 5:15), beware of evil workers, beware of the concision ( Romans 2:28)
Revelation 22:14-15.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates Into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
You have to stop and ponder on what real dogs do. Their noses are always where they shouldn't be, etc.
It's stunning to ponder. I've worked with people like that. Run in packs; respect nothing; have to be the king of the pack.
I said it was brutal.
A spirit is a demon; dog spirit.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10, it says For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; That is what is called the Bema seat. This is not the Great White Throne Judgment. We are told in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, as well as Romans 14:10 "Why do you judge your brother, or why do you set at nought your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat, the Bema seat of Christ."
The Bema seat was the platform that some of the Roman officials would sit on as they were meting out judgment. But it's more known for the stand in which you come to at the Olympic games after you run your race to get your prize.
We see in the Olympics, the first, second, and third-place athletes, they get up on this stand and they give them a medal. And they stand up there and play the anthem of the person that came in first place.
That is the Bema seat. It's not the judgment of heaven and hell. We are already assured of heaven in Christ. But we will be judged and that judgment is described for us in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3.
There will be a type of fire that we will pass through and that which is not of Christ will burn, and whatever is left is the reward. Only the things of Christ will last!
So he says I do things here that will be well-pleasing to the Lord because someday I'm going to stand before Him just like we (All true believers) will. And as he says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9, he runs the race to win the prize. He says run to receive the prize because one day you're going to stand before Christ.
Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Matthew 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: (29) But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men BY JESUS CHRIST according to my gospel."
John 5:22
"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed ALL JUDGEMENT UNTO THE SON:"