Any obedience to any command of God is a WORK that we do and does not initiate nor maintain our salvation. If we have become saved, it is 100% the work of God and not because of any work that we do. When God saves us he gives us a New Heart, a Resurrected Soul in which we will have an ongoing earnest desire to keep God's commandments. But we still have a body that lusts after sin so we will never keep God's law perfectly until we receive our Resurrected Spiritual Body on the Last Day. Our obediance to the Law of God is a RESULT of our salvation; not the CAUSE nor the MEANS.
In our unsaved condition we are SPIRITUALLY DEAD. There is none righteous, no not one, there is none that seeketh after God. God raising Lazerus from the dead is a picture of salvation. Lazerus contributed nothing. Christ did all the work. And God does all the work to save His Elect. He paid for our sins. He draws us to Himself. He gives us a New Heart. Eze 36:24-32
How many people become deceived to think that they are born again and saved and nothing will take away their salvation that they were told that they now had by reciting the "sinners prayer", that continued to sin because nothing could take away their salvation; because they are told that they are born again? These will perish in the judgment because they didn't turn from their sin to obey God. Matthew "each man shall be judged according to his works. & "By every idle word you speak, ye shall be judged."
How can we be born again if we have not died?
Isn't the resurrection being born again of spirit in heaven, where all of those who are there are spirit?
The world believes that the millions of Christians will be saved. That's a lot of people. But the Messiah said "For narrow is THE WAY that leads to life and *FEW* BE THERE THAT FIND IT.
Are these words of jahshua no longer the truth, replaced by a new ideological doctrine of faith that makes these words of his become void?
Psalm 119 Lamed "*Forever* Jahwey thy word is settled in Heaven."
We are saved the instant we have been judged in heaven and hear the words: "Well done my faithful servant." Then you can rest assured, without a doubt that you are saved.
We have been instructed to follow Jahshua and be like him. Jahshua proved himself worthy unto the very Last second of his life doing the will of his Father. "It is finished." And he died.
Yes I hope and pray in the name of Jahshua that I survive the last hour of temptation in my life to be saved.
Jahshua said: "....to him that ENDURETH UNTIL THE END..."
To this I would agree U4YAH, that some, maybe many, are led to Christ, reciting the "sinners prayer", told that their salvation is secure & then left to their own devices. Maybe nothing of the Spirit's regeneration Work, of holy living, of Satan's wily ways, of staying in the Word & prayer & of Christian fellowship, would be shared. It is: "you are saved brother/sister - press on in the joy of the Lord". What change, if any, took place in that confessing sinner? What teaching, including water baptism, was given in follow up & nurturing? We are accountable to not only how we treat God's Word, but also how we apply it & share it, even to sinners seeking salvation.
Which leads me to an important matter that we differ on. I believe that the regeneration work (or, re-birth) done in the believer is a present Work of the Holy Spirit. It can't be a re-birth if we haven't died first (Nicodemus was thinking this way that he had to die & be born again from the womb), nor can it be a re-birth at the time of the body's resurrection or entrance into Glory; it's too late, the decision for Christ & being sealed by the Holy Spirit ( Ephesians 1:13,14) has to be made while breath is still in the body - no repentance nor re-birth after death - only a heavenly reception or certain judgement ( Hebrews 9:27).
If a person is truly saved & regenerated by the Holy Spirit, he will know it. And I'm not talking about the grass looking greener or the birds singing more sweetly, it is the new life, new power, new hope, new confidence, & most of all, an absolute pure devotion to the Lord Who did it all & paid it all for him. Can such a person then desire to fool around with sin, doubt his salvation, or even entertain other gods of this world in his life? Even if he is tempted to do so, wouldn't the Spirit within check him immediately that he should go no further - & if he disobeys, then a stronger measure taken? See Page 2.
A very telling verse is Romans 10:9: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In this chapter the apostle writes about the weakness & finality of the Old Law & the righteousness of the Law that becomes us by the working of the Spirit ( Romans 10:4). If re-birth occurs at the resurrection or later, then there is no Holy Spirit given to indwell believers - it can't be as we're still unregenerate. If no Holy Spirit, we are then subject to the Law or laws we wish to obey, to obtain our righteousness. The Jews tried to obey the Commandments - they failed - the Law was given to show them their sin & need of a Savior ( Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:19).
Every other religion of the world teaches that man has to do his best to please his god, & even after all that, there's no certainty of a 'happy future'. I know this more certainly of Islam, where a Muslim can never know if God has been pleased with his life. He might have all the boxes ticked in accepting & applying the six Articles of his faith & five Pillars of Islam, even going on Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), but that dreaded angel overlooking his left shoulder weighing up his bad deeds, being more than the good ones weighed over the other shoulder. The concerned Muslim must dread the day of his death because he doesn't know which way his path to eternity will go. Now is that any different from the Christian who says that only at death can there be any certainty? We might have the worth of Jesus' Sacrifice & the true justice of God in our minds, but have we done enough, obeyed enough, to know an abundant entrance. The message of the Cross is one that's wholly based on God's Grace through Faith in Christ's Work & nothing of our efforts. For if we applied our works, even obedience to the Laws, to guarantee acceptability, then it is no more of Grace, but of our efforts ( Romans 11:6). See Page 3.
I was sad to read your last statement: "Yes I hope and pray in the name of Jahshua that I survive the last hour of temptation in my life to be saved." Your faith in Christ Jesus is a living & active faith (or, should be) - the Spirit in you will continue to abide in you, dealing with all sin, & securing you till the day of completed redemption. Even John assures his readers in 1 John 5:13: "that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life". This is a present knowledge & not a fearful hope of the future. The Spirit will guarantee that you will endure to the end. I earnestly hope you can reconcile these things in your heart & life.
The Bible declaresthe wages of sin is death. Every time we sin we are judged by the law of God and sentenced to the penalty / wages which is eternal destruction.
If we have become save by God's mercy, it is because God chose us before the foundation of the world and has paid that penalty, those wages, for us as our substitute for every dirty rotten sin that we have ever committed or ever will commit, as our savior. Therefore we no longer stand guilty before God in any way whatsoever.
For those whom God saves, He at some point in our life applies that salvation to us by giving us our Resurrected Soul, the first Resurrection, becoming Born Again. So if we die physically before Christ returns, we go to be with Christ in heaven in our soul existence.
When Christ returns on the Last Day with all His saints that have gone before, our bodies will be resurrected a glorified spiritual body. If we are still alive physically, we will be changed into our glorified spiritual body, in the twinkling of an eye. We are then a complete personality, body and soul, and will live and reign with Christ eternally in the New Heaven and New Earth where sin will never again raise its ugly head. This is the inheritance that we receive because Christ died for us and we were named in that will before this earth was ever created by Him.
So what must we do to be saved? There is nothing that we can do. Just like there was nothing that Lazarus could do to raise himself from the dead. Christ must do 100% of the work.
But we can, and are in fact commanded, to crybto God for his mercy in the hope that He might save us. Just like the Ninevites of Jonah, chapter 3. And God promises that a broken and a contrite heart He will not despise.
You ask: How can we be born again if we haven't died?
You died on the cross with Christ: this is the first death, you were raised with Christ; this is the first resurrection, you are being JUDGED NOW, by the words of God.
There are 2 deaths, 2 resurrections and 2 judgements: one death, resurrection and judgement for the firstfruits, one death, resurrection and judgement for the other fruits, the last harvest.
Romans 6, Paul challenges the Christians in Rome to NOT continue in sin, that they should be dead to sin. This chapter and book is talking to Christians. No where does it say that everyone who hates or rejects Jesus are saved. So, if someone hasn't chosen to follow Christ then by definition they haven't died to their old self or sin. This supports the point the previous person made.
Jesus said narrow is the way that leads to heaven - most won't find it.
Any obedience to any command of God is a WORK that we do and does not initiate nor maintain our salvation. If we have become saved, it is 100% the work of God and not because of any work that we do. When God saves us he gives us a New Heart, a Resurrected Soul in which we will have an ongoing earnest desire to keep God's commandments. But we still have a body that lusts after sin so we will never keep God's law perfectly until we receive our Resurrected Spiritual Body on the Last Day. Our obediance to the Law of God is a RESULT of our salvation; not the CAUSE nor the MEANS.
In our unsaved condition we are SPIRITUALLY DEAD. There is none righteous, no not one, there is none that seeketh after God. God raising Lazerus from the dead is a picture of salvation. Lazerus contributed nothing. Christ did all the work. And God does all the work to save His Elect. He paid for our sins. He draws us to Himself. He gives us a New Heart. Eze 36:24-32
How can we be born again if we have not died?
Isn't the resurrection being born again of spirit in heaven, where all of those who are there are spirit?
The world believes that the millions of Christians will be saved. That's a lot of people. But the Messiah said "For narrow is THE WAY that leads to life and *FEW* BE THERE THAT FIND IT.
Are these words of jahshua no longer the truth, replaced by a new ideological doctrine of faith that makes these words of his become void?
Psalm 119 Lamed "*Forever* Jahwey thy word is settled in Heaven."
We are saved the instant we have been judged in heaven and hear the words: "Well done my faithful servant." Then you can rest assured, without a doubt that you are saved.
We have been instructed to follow Jahshua and be like him. Jahshua proved himself worthy unto the very Last second of his life doing the will of his Father. "It is finished." And he died.
Yes I hope and pray in the name of Jahshua that I survive the last hour of temptation in my life to be saved.
Jahshua said: "....to him that ENDURETH UNTIL THE END..."
To this I would agree U4YAH, that some, maybe many, are led to Christ, reciting the "sinners prayer", told that their salvation is secure & then left to their own devices. Maybe nothing of the Spirit's regeneration Work, of holy living, of Satan's wily ways, of staying in the Word & prayer & of Christian fellowship, would be shared. It is: "you are saved brother/sister - press on in the joy of the Lord". What change, if any, took place in that confessing sinner? What teaching, including water baptism, was given in follow up & nurturing? We are accountable to not only how we treat God's Word, but also how we apply it & share it, even to sinners seeking salvation.
Which leads me to an important matter that we differ on. I believe that the regeneration work (or, re-birth) done in the believer is a present Work of the Holy Spirit. It can't be a re-birth if we haven't died first (Nicodemus was thinking this way that he had to die & be born again from the womb), nor can it be a re-birth at the time of the body's resurrection or entrance into Glory; it's too late, the decision for Christ & being sealed by the Holy Spirit ( Ephesians 1:13,14) has to be made while breath is still in the body - no repentance nor re-birth after death - only a heavenly reception or certain judgement ( Hebrews 9:27).
If a person is truly saved & regenerated by the Holy Spirit, he will know it. And I'm not talking about the grass looking greener or the birds singing more sweetly, it is the new life, new power, new hope, new confidence, & most of all, an absolute pure devotion to the Lord Who did it all & paid it all for him. Can such a person then desire to fool around with sin, doubt his salvation, or even entertain other gods of this world in his life? Even if he is tempted to do so, wouldn't the Spirit within check him immediately that he should go no further - & if he disobeys, then a stronger measure taken? See Page 2.
A very telling verse is Romans 10:9: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." In this chapter the apostle writes about the weakness & finality of the Old Law & the righteousness of the Law that becomes us by the working of the Spirit ( Romans 10:4). If re-birth occurs at the resurrection or later, then there is no Holy Spirit given to indwell believers - it can't be as we're still unregenerate. If no Holy Spirit, we are then subject to the Law or laws we wish to obey, to obtain our righteousness. The Jews tried to obey the Commandments - they failed - the Law was given to show them their sin & need of a Savior ( Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:19).
Every other religion of the world teaches that man has to do his best to please his god, & even after all that, there's no certainty of a 'happy future'. I know this more certainly of Islam, where a Muslim can never know if God has been pleased with his life. He might have all the boxes ticked in accepting & applying the six Articles of his faith & five Pillars of Islam, even going on Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca), but that dreaded angel overlooking his left shoulder weighing up his bad deeds, being more than the good ones weighed over the other shoulder. The concerned Muslim must dread the day of his death because he doesn't know which way his path to eternity will go. Now is that any different from the Christian who says that only at death can there be any certainty? We might have the worth of Jesus' Sacrifice & the true justice of God in our minds, but have we done enough, obeyed enough, to know an abundant entrance. The message of the Cross is one that's wholly based on God's Grace through Faith in Christ's Work & nothing of our efforts. For if we applied our works, even obedience to the Laws, to guarantee acceptability, then it is no more of Grace, but of our efforts ( Romans 11:6). See Page 3.
I was sad to read your last statement: "Yes I hope and pray in the name of Jahshua that I survive the last hour of temptation in my life to be saved." Your faith in Christ Jesus is a living & active faith (or, should be) - the Spirit in you will continue to abide in you, dealing with all sin, & securing you till the day of completed redemption. Even John assures his readers in 1 John 5:13: "that ye may KNOW that ye HAVE eternal life". This is a present knowledge & not a fearful hope of the future. The Spirit will guarantee that you will endure to the end. I earnestly hope you can reconcile these things in your heart & life.
If we have become save by God's mercy, it is because God chose us before the foundation of the world and has paid that penalty, those wages, for us as our substitute for every dirty rotten sin that we have ever committed or ever will commit, as our savior. Therefore we no longer stand guilty before God in any way whatsoever.
For those whom God saves, He at some point in our life applies that salvation to us by giving us our Resurrected Soul, the first Resurrection, becoming Born Again. So if we die physically before Christ returns, we go to be with Christ in heaven in our soul existence.
When Christ returns on the Last Day with all His saints that have gone before, our bodies will be resurrected a glorified spiritual body. If we are still alive physically, we will be changed into our glorified spiritual body, in the twinkling of an eye. We are then a complete personality, body and soul, and will live and reign with Christ eternally in the New Heaven and New Earth where sin will never again raise its ugly head. This is the inheritance that we receive because Christ died for us and we were named in that will before this earth was ever created by Him.
So what must we do to be saved? There is nothing that we can do. Just like there was nothing that Lazarus could do to raise himself from the dead. Christ must do 100% of the work.
But we can, and are in fact commanded, to crybto God for his mercy in the hope that He might save us. Just like the Ninevites of Jonah, chapter 3. And God promises that a broken and a contrite heart He will not despise.
Praise God for so great salvation!
You ask: How can we be born again if we haven't died?
You died on the cross with Christ: this is the first death, you were raised with Christ; this is the first resurrection, you are being JUDGED NOW, by the words of God.
There are 2 deaths, 2 resurrections and 2 judgements: one death, resurrection and judgement for the firstfruits, one death, resurrection and judgement for the other fruits, the last harvest.
God Bless you as he reveals HIS TRUTH.
Jesus said narrow is the way that leads to heaven - most won't find it.
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