who professed to be the children of God but lived in sin, that they were of their father the devil,21 for his works they would do. For every sin is the work of the devil, and (saith John) "He that commits sin is of the devil," and saith, "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested: to destroy the works of the devil."22 Whosoever can witness Christ manifested in them can witness sin destroyed; but if thou say thou canst witness Christ manifest in thee, and yet commit sin, thou art a liar: for the Scripture saith, "whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him, and whosoever saith he knows him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him."23 And saith the Holy Ghost, "whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not"; and saith again that "whosoever is born of God sinneth not, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God"; and saith plainly, "In this are the children of God manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."24 God in all ages hath known his by their obedience;25 but thou sayest thou mayest live in disobedience and yet be counted one of his too. But where is thy mark by which thou art known from the world? Those that are God's are marked and known from the world,26 but thou art in love with the world and canst conform with them in all their ways, words, works, and worships, and yet would be counted one of God's too.27 O thou deceiver, thou deceivest but thyself and men that are like thee; for thou canst not deceive the Lord. Take heed, repent, halt no longer between God and the world.28 If thou wouldst own God thou must disown the world, and the world will disown thee: thou canst not have both.
Always nice to hear from you. You state "Our obedience does not "save us"..
But I will say: Our obedience assures us that we are really saved.
It is through obedience, that we demonstrate our faith in Jesus, so we need to "overcome the world" and accomplish God's purpose.
What is the world? Secularism: As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns.
As we grow closer to God, we need to have a change of heart, and turn our backs on this world, which would mean releasing our attachment to the material world.
We have to bedoersand not hearers only
James 1:22
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
Hi Bro Dan. I agree with your statement that says that our obedience shows that we are saved. That is in line with what I posted, but in a different way. Thanks for your input. Have a great evening.
Wonderful message of scriptural truth, and thanks for sharing. Hopefully, it will reach "a few special ones" that are sincerely open and desiring to recieve God's Spirit in them, because almost all Christains today don't want to hear that they need to stop sinning. When you show them the scripture about this - they just ignore it, or find excuses why it doesn't pertain to them.
They well tell you; This life is short and they want to enjoy it along with all of their worldly pleasures. They've been told by their pastors and others that Jesus paid for their sins, and now they have basically a free ticket to heaven. They will tell you that they already have their salvation and nothing that "they do" can change it.
Today, it's really an uphill battle winning souls to the truth, and convincing christians that they need to Obey God! They will call that works, and say that they don't have to do anything, because it is all in God's hands. They have taken the bible and reintreperted it to allow themselves the ability to remain seduced into living a worldly/sinful lifestyle, and still believe they will recieve salvation.
Express the need to them to follow God's Commandments, and they look at you like you like you are crazy! The devil has certainly been hard at work winning christains over in these times. God continues to send many messages to try to wake folks up - but as the world continues to deteriorate around us - they ignore these signs.
This verse summarizes: Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
I pray people would truly weigh in on what is reveal by Holy Spirit in this article. It's so plainly written in Scriptural language, with sound reasoning, & the Witness bearing witness inside our hearts to the truth of this matter.
I believe they're many on this site that are sincere & truthful in their endeavors to know, love & serve the Lord in Spirit & in Truth. Yet are deceived by this false gospel being preached in so call Christianity today, as I myself once was for 27 years, in which I have serve in every position in the church from a maintenance man to a deacon. Searching, fasting & studying the Scriptures as I see many doing on this site, meaning through the art of natural science, book knowledge. A veil always stood between me & my Beloved, the intimacy & oneness that the Scriptures plainly state we can have with Him.
The knowledge I acquired could never set me free from my sins & I couldn't understand why? I felt that I was the most miserable sinner there was. Still I press on, not knowing there was something better, sure & solid.
Until God in His sovereign mercy in Jan 2020 while attending Ministry School, led me to quit the school & set my heart to seeking Him, leading me to the teaching of these Quakers of the 17th Century, in which I never read or heard the likes of before, that we can be actually set free from all sin, in reality & be conformed into the image of His Son in Spirit & in Truth.
In truth, it not me off my feet, turn my world upside down, yet God held me & did not forsake me Isa 42:16 for I then found out by experience how so rebellious in nature it was, it truly as it has be said, "I who was once His enemy in His own house, He was well able to changed & make me His friend.
Friends, this is Truth, & He did it all by His Spirit shining in the inward parts, making me to Know His Wisdom
I hear you, and thanks for continuing to share your testimony here with everyone.
There is nothing in this world, that can compare to being brought into submission in order to obey God and recieve His Love and His Holy Spirit! To fear God is to begin knowing Him, and when we really know Him it is a rude awaking.
We don't even begin this journey until we humble ourselves before Him and recieve His Holy Spirit. He spells this out to us throughout the scriptures. We recieve NOT until we believe, accept, and live our lives according to "all of the scripture".
Here is an example of how God tells us point blank - how we can recieve His Holy Spirit if we keep His Commandments:
John 14:15
"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
John 14:16
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
John 14:17
"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
We begin the long hard journey through this life by humbling ourselves before God, embracing God's Commandments, and listening to His holy Spirit guide us (the small still voice) even though we will have to suffer for Him.
I agree with Jema that we are not saved because we keep the commandments and live in obedience to God. Our works can never remit sin or pay the immense penalty for how we have rebelled and pursued our own will in life. Only the shed blood of Jesus can do that.
And in another sense, it is valid to say that we are bund by the Spirit of grace to walk in obedience since this is how we abide in Christ. One who lives an antinomian life that goes right ahead and sins at will is not abiding in Christ and needs to turn themselves around from the heart in repentance and seek to do what the Spirit desires (which is always what is lawful, right, and good). Our obedience does not bring us into right relationship with God, but our disobedience brings us away from this fellowship of abiding in Him.
Thanks and bless you for sharing your thoughts. Firstly, none of us could be saved without the work of Christ. In Him we can receive forgiveness if we believed, repent, get baptized, become Born Again. But some of the most important things we are required to do and are conveniently overlooked: we are asked to pick up our cross and follow Christ including all that Jesus detailed in the gospel and scriptures. We are commanded to do things that take an effort on our part.
This is Jesus speaking in the book of Revelations to apostle John about 65 years after his death on the cross, and about 18 years after apostle Pauls death.
Revelation 22:14
"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."
I have to believe here; that Jesus is telling us in addition to being born again, that we will need to follow God's Commandments if we want to have the right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates and everlasting life. Is this not Salvation?
Wouldn't you agree that following God's Commandments certainly takes effort on our part to comply?
Many Christians today feel they can receive salvation without following God's Commandments. This mindset completely ignores what Jesus said we need to do in this very important verse above. I believe we need to participate in our salvation, because God requires it in so much scripture.
I agree that obedience to God by following His commandments is what we are to do as believers and it does take work and will to do so. But this effort and will is not all of our own strength. We cooperate and submit ourselves to the work and power of the Holy Spirit in us. This is the only way that we are made holy and are made to be Christlike. The Spirit gives us the strength and power to say no to what is wrong and more so to say yes to what is right and good. I do not denigrate the importance of obedience to the commands of our Lord. I rejoice in them and it is a blessing for me to do what Jesus told us to do. What is good and right from the heart with gratitude will always make us more like Jesus and make us fit for the eternal life that we enter after this mortal life is over.
WAs actually just thinking of you today! Glad to hear from you.
I agree that obeying God is part of our Christian walk from beginning to end. when we set our hearts on what God's way is, we receive the blessing of becoming more like Jesus when we then obey God's will. The other blessing of obeying God's will is that of losing our appetite to sin in the ways we previously were beholden to. Now that we are in Christ, we die to these sinful desires daily, moment by moment, putting to death the works of the flesh, as Paul teaches in Galatians 5:24.
Anyone who teaches that we do not need to live a godly life are teaching wrongly. The Spirit always leads us to obedience, not into sin. So, those who love God and walk according to the Spirit will walk in obedience. Our obedience does not "save us", only the person and work of Christ does that. But one who claims to be Christ's ought not live in disobedience as we have an obligation to live in godliness for our own sake and for the sake of our witness. If we truly desire to become like Jesus, having the mind of Christ and to live for Him, we will do so in obedience. One who claims to be Christ's and does not imitate Him and access the power from the Spirit to refuse sinful desires is fooling themselves as Jesus said in the Scripture you quoted that not all who call Him Lord will enter the kingdom of God, rather those who do the works He calls us to do.
who professed to be the children of God but lived in sin, that they were of their father the devil,21 for his works they would do. For every sin is the work of the devil, and (saith John) "He that commits sin is of the devil," and saith, "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested: to destroy the works of the devil."22 Whosoever can witness Christ manifested in them can witness sin destroyed; but if thou say thou canst witness Christ manifest in thee, and yet commit sin, thou art a liar: for the Scripture saith, "whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him, and whosoever saith he knows him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him."23 And saith the Holy Ghost, "whosoever is born of God sinneth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not"; and saith again that "whosoever is born of God sinneth not, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God"; and saith plainly, "In this are the children of God manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."24 God in all ages hath known his by their obedience;25 but thou sayest thou mayest live in disobedience and yet be counted one of his too. But where is thy mark by which thou art known from the world? Those that are God's are marked and known from the world,26 but thou art in love with the world and canst conform with them in all their ways, words, works, and worships, and yet would be counted one of God's too.27 O thou deceiver, thou deceivest but thyself and men that are like thee; for thou canst not deceive the Lord. Take heed, repent, halt no longer between God and the world.28 If thou wouldst own God thou must disown the world, and the world will disown thee: thou canst not have both.
James Nayler
Always nice to hear from you. You state "Our obedience does not "save us"..
But I will say: Our obedience assures us that we are really saved.
It is through obedience, that we demonstrate our faith in Jesus, so we need to "overcome the world" and accomplish God's purpose.
What is the world? Secularism: As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns.
As we grow closer to God, we need to have a change of heart, and turn our backs on this world, which would mean releasing our attachment to the material world.
We have to bedoersand not hearers only
James 1:22
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
GBU
Wonderful message of scriptural truth, and thanks for sharing. Hopefully, it will reach "a few special ones" that are sincerely open and desiring to recieve God's Spirit in them, because almost all Christains today don't want to hear that they need to stop sinning. When you show them the scripture about this - they just ignore it, or find excuses why it doesn't pertain to them.
They well tell you; This life is short and they want to enjoy it along with all of their worldly pleasures. They've been told by their pastors and others that Jesus paid for their sins, and now they have basically a free ticket to heaven. They will tell you that they already have their salvation and nothing that "they do" can change it.
Today, it's really an uphill battle winning souls to the truth, and convincing christians that they need to Obey God! They will call that works, and say that they don't have to do anything, because it is all in God's hands. They have taken the bible and reintreperted it to allow themselves the ability to remain seduced into living a worldly/sinful lifestyle, and still believe they will recieve salvation.
Express the need to them to follow God's Commandments, and they look at you like you like you are crazy! The devil has certainly been hard at work winning christains over in these times. God continues to send many messages to try to wake folks up - but as the world continues to deteriorate around us - they ignore these signs.
This verse summarizes: Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
GBU
I pray people would truly weigh in on what is reveal by Holy Spirit in this article. It's so plainly written in Scriptural language, with sound reasoning, & the Witness bearing witness inside our hearts to the truth of this matter.
I believe they're many on this site that are sincere & truthful in their endeavors to know, love & serve the Lord in Spirit & in Truth. Yet are deceived by this false gospel being preached in so call Christianity today, as I myself once was for 27 years, in which I have serve in every position in the church from a maintenance man to a deacon. Searching, fasting & studying the Scriptures as I see many doing on this site, meaning through the art of natural science, book knowledge. A veil always stood between me & my Beloved, the intimacy & oneness that the Scriptures plainly state we can have with Him.
The knowledge I acquired could never set me free from my sins & I couldn't understand why? I felt that I was the most miserable sinner there was. Still I press on, not knowing there was something better, sure & solid.
Until God in His sovereign mercy in Jan 2020 while attending Ministry School, led me to quit the school & set my heart to seeking Him, leading me to the teaching of these Quakers of the 17th Century, in which I never read or heard the likes of before, that we can be actually set free from all sin, in reality & be conformed into the image of His Son in Spirit & in Truth.
In truth, it not me off my feet, turn my world upside down, yet God held me & did not forsake me Isa 42:16 for I then found out by experience how so rebellious in nature it was, it truly as it has be said, "I who was once His enemy in His own house, He was well able to changed & make me His friend.
Friends, this is Truth, & He did it all by His Spirit shining in the inward parts, making me to Know His Wisdom
Job 28:28 Titus 2:11
In love & truth
I hear you, and thanks for continuing to share your testimony here with everyone.
There is nothing in this world, that can compare to being brought into submission in order to obey God and recieve His Love and His Holy Spirit! To fear God is to begin knowing Him, and when we really know Him it is a rude awaking.
We don't even begin this journey until we humble ourselves before Him and recieve His Holy Spirit. He spells this out to us throughout the scriptures. We recieve NOT until we believe, accept, and live our lives according to "all of the scripture".
Here is an example of how God tells us point blank - how we can recieve His Holy Spirit if we keep His Commandments:
John 14:15
"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
John 14:16
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;"
John 14:17
"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
We begin the long hard journey through this life by humbling ourselves before God, embracing God's Commandments, and listening to His holy Spirit guide us (the small still voice) even though we will have to suffer for Him.
GBU
I agree with Jema that we are not saved because we keep the commandments and live in obedience to God. Our works can never remit sin or pay the immense penalty for how we have rebelled and pursued our own will in life. Only the shed blood of Jesus can do that.
And in another sense, it is valid to say that we are bund by the Spirit of grace to walk in obedience since this is how we abide in Christ. One who lives an antinomian life that goes right ahead and sins at will is not abiding in Christ and needs to turn themselves around from the heart in repentance and seek to do what the Spirit desires (which is always what is lawful, right, and good). Our obedience does not bring us into right relationship with God, but our disobedience brings us away from this fellowship of abiding in Him.
Thanks and bless you for sharing your thoughts. Firstly, none of us could be saved without the work of Christ. In Him we can receive forgiveness if we believed, repent, get baptized, become Born Again. But some of the most important things we are required to do and are conveniently overlooked: we are asked to pick up our cross and follow Christ including all that Jesus detailed in the gospel and scriptures. We are commanded to do things that take an effort on our part.
This is Jesus speaking in the book of Revelations to apostle John about 65 years after his death on the cross, and about 18 years after apostle Pauls death.
Revelation 22:14
"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."
I have to believe here; that Jesus is telling us in addition to being born again, that we will need to follow God's Commandments if we want to have the right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates and everlasting life. Is this not Salvation?
Wouldn't you agree that following God's Commandments certainly takes effort on our part to comply?
Many Christians today feel they can receive salvation without following God's Commandments. This mindset completely ignores what Jesus said we need to do in this very important verse above. I believe we need to participate in our salvation, because God requires it in so much scripture.
GBU
I agree that obedience to God by following His commandments is what we are to do as believers and it does take work and will to do so. But this effort and will is not all of our own strength. We cooperate and submit ourselves to the work and power of the Holy Spirit in us. This is the only way that we are made holy and are made to be Christlike. The Spirit gives us the strength and power to say no to what is wrong and more so to say yes to what is right and good. I do not denigrate the importance of obedience to the commands of our Lord. I rejoice in them and it is a blessing for me to do what Jesus told us to do. What is good and right from the heart with gratitude will always make us more like Jesus and make us fit for the eternal life that we enter after this mortal life is over.
Well said, and I'm in total agreement with your explanation here on how we evolve to become more Christlike!
Whenever I think about why, and how, we should be following Jesus this verse becomes so meaningful to me.
Luke 6:46
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
GBU
WAs actually just thinking of you today! Glad to hear from you.
I agree that obeying God is part of our Christian walk from beginning to end. when we set our hearts on what God's way is, we receive the blessing of becoming more like Jesus when we then obey God's will. The other blessing of obeying God's will is that of losing our appetite to sin in the ways we previously were beholden to. Now that we are in Christ, we die to these sinful desires daily, moment by moment, putting to death the works of the flesh, as Paul teaches in Galatians 5:24.
Anyone who teaches that we do not need to live a godly life are teaching wrongly. The Spirit always leads us to obedience, not into sin. So, those who love God and walk according to the Spirit will walk in obedience. Our obedience does not "save us", only the person and work of Christ does that. But one who claims to be Christ's ought not live in disobedience as we have an obligation to live in godliness for our own sake and for the sake of our witness. If we truly desire to become like Jesus, having the mind of Christ and to live for Him, we will do so in obedience. One who claims to be Christ's and does not imitate Him and access the power from the Spirit to refuse sinful desires is fooling themselves as Jesus said in the Scripture you quoted that not all who call Him Lord will enter the kingdom of God, rather those who do the works He calls us to do.
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