The Gospel Part 2: You Better Get It Right

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" - Matthew 7:21-23

Brothers and sisters, it is seriously time to drop the works-righteousness. Time is so short. When you stand before the Lord don't for one second think you can offer your works as the admittance fee. The deluded folks Jesus mentioned above did just that and were told that He never knew them.

Works-righteousness is something that I and almost every Christian I know falls into over and over again. It goes something like this: Jesus died for me, but I have to hold me (truth: Philippians 1:6, John 6:39). Jesus died for me, but I have to prove myself to Him. Oh man of dust, how great do you think you are that somehow you can ever measure up to the standard of the holy and living God? That arrogance is called self-righteousness, the very thing the Bible says will lead to death.

Understand that this issue is at the very heart of the Gospel and is the very heart of the Reformation. It is a Catholic doctrine that you must somehow balance faith and works, as if Paul and James were not in agreement (they were in complete agreement: see here, here, here, here, and here). Sadly many Evangelicals are taking the road paved by N.T. Wright right back to Rome. I see many watchers doing the same thing. You can't possibly balance faith and works. It is either all grace or all works. The only works you've ever done that have pleased God are the ones that came from your trust in the sufficiency of Christ's own work.

Good works will never come from your efforts to 1. prove yourself, 2. prove that you're saved, 3. atone for your sins, 4. save yourself. These are rubbish works, which the Pharisees do. Your job/your choice is simply to trust that Jesus died for your sins and rose gain and then not let go of this hope (see also here). Forgiveness is not a debit card. If you really believe that Jesus died for ALL of your sins and that you've been set free from sin and death and that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you unconditionally, you will:

1. Be saved.

2. Be extremely grateful.

3. Be extremely joyful.

4. Dance with all your might.

5. Love unconditionally because you know you were loved unconditionally.

If you still think that you are saved by grace + works, or mostly grace with a few works, or if you are just confused about what the Gospel is, I recommend you read Part One in this series.

Please use your words.

Then I'd have to defend them.

If highlight bugs you; copy and paste it in NOTEPAD.

It will strip all the junk away.

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem
1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 “‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’[b]—
18 things known from long ago.[c]

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Greetings.

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. [34] [d] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Those entering Heaven will be those who do God’s will.

I remember that Scripture!

The Book of Doing GOD's Will will be opened!!

Exodus 32:32-33
But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.

Daniel 12:1
“At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.

Philippians 4:3
And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Revelation 3:5
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Revelation 13:8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 17:8
The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Revelation 20:11-15
"Then I saw a great White Throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and THE BOOKS WERE OPENED. Another book was opened WHICH IS THE BOOK OF LIFE. The dead were judged according to their works as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to their works. Then death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written IN THE BOOK OF LIFE, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Revelation 21:27

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Do you believe that - if you were to commit murder and did not repent of it before death - you would still go to heaven because you are ‘saved’>

Take it to the level Christ did.....if you lust in your heart you've committed adultery....if you have such hatred toward someone and you wish they were dead....you've committed murder.

Jesus was emphasizing the mind/thoughts of a person beyond the physical act.

Can you lead that kind of a perfect life where you have no errant thoughts......ever....not one....not even a little one? In this passage there are no mortal or venial sins....it covers all sins.

This is why Paul writes in Ephesians 2:1 that "you were dead in your trespasses and sins." (NASB) Trespasses in the Greek means a lapse, slip, false step. The wrong doing can be non-deliberate.

Later in verse 4-5 he writes, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).

No, I’m not arguing against myself at all. Scripture must be read in light of Scripture. I’ll try again.

Paul often says that we are saved “through” faith (that is, as the instrumental cause), but never once does he say that we are saved “on account of” faith (that is, as the meritorious cause). And to the same effect we may say that the redeemed shall be rewarded in proportion to their good works, but not on account of them.

Our salvation is “not by works done in righteousness which we did ourselves. but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit,” Titus 3:5. We are encouraged to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who worketh in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. And just because God is working in us, we strive to develop and to work out our own salvation (Philippians 2:12, 13). The Psalmist tells us that the Lord’s people offer themselves willingly in the day of His power (110:3). Hence conversion is a peculiar and sovereign gift of God. The sinner has no power to turn himself unto God, but is turned or renewed by divine grace before he can do anything spiritually good. In accordance with this Paul teaches that love, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness. self-control, etc., are not the meritorious basis of salvation, but rather “the fruits of the Spirit,” Galatians 5:22, 23. Paul himself was chosen that he might know and do the will of God, not because it was foreseen that he would do it, Acts 22:14, 15. Augustine tells us that, “The grace of God does not find men fit to be elected, but makes them so”; and again, “The nature of the Divine goodness is not only to open to those that knock, but also to cause them to knock and ask.” Luther expressed the same truth when he said, “God alone by His Spirit works in us the merit and reward.” John tells us that, “We love because He first loved us,” 1 John 4:19. These passages unmistakably teach that faith and good works are the fruits of God’s work in us. We were not chosen because we were good, but in order that we might become good.

Here’s a helpful quote from John Piper:

“When Paul says “Faith is credited to us as righteousness,” he does not mean that our faith is our righteousness, or any part of our justifying righteousness. He means that faith is what unites us with Christ and all that God is for us in him. When God sees faith in Christ, he sees union with Christ. And when he sees union with Christ, he sees the righteousness of Christ as our righteousness. So faith connects us with Christ who is our righteousness and, in that sense, faith is counted as righteousness. Faith sees and savors all that God is for us in Christ, especially his righteousness. That’s what faith does.”

When God sees me, He sees Christ, but not because of my good works, because of HIS righteousness imputed to me. That’s a life-changing truth.

Matthew 25:35-40

Back up to Chapter 24 for the context of this.

Who is Christ talking to?

Why is He answering these questions?

Jesus has separated the sheep and the goats. Sheep is used to represent believers and goats unbelievers.

The sheep are the ones who believe Christ.

They are saved not because of what they are doing but because of their faith in Christ. The things they are doing in this passage are an outgrowth of following Christ.

It is the fruit Paul speaks of in Ephesians 5.

So we see the path to salvation....believe in Christ and follow Him, produce fruit for the Kingdom.

Some will produce a lot of fruit like Paul. Some will not get to produce any like the thief on the cross. Our salvation is not contingent on the fruit we produce. Our salvation is contingent on our faith in Christ.

Once a person is into a works based religion, all sorts of false dilemmas will be burbled up in their mind aimed at keeping them there, working. striving, failing, dying.

One of the most famous false dilemmas is the notion that a person would claim to be born from above, commit murder, yet believe they are still ging to Heaven. Works based religions think that is the clincher to disprove salvation by Grace alone in Christ alone. Here's why it is specious yet the perishing cannot see the falseness of the dilemma.

When someone reaches the point of realizing they are bankrupt in spirit, unable to not sin and in need of a Savior, it is the Holy Spirit Who has brought that soul to that point. It cannot be reached by intellectualizing good versus evil or freedom versus slavery, or any other dichotomy.

The unsaved (and we are all that way but for the Grace of God to convict us) who settle upon trying to work for eternal life do not comprehend with their heart that it is God who convicts the sinner, it is God Who then cleanses the sinner who cries out to God for His healing.

It is God Who then, right then with the cleansing of the inner dead spirit in a man then comes into that newly born spirit to dwell for the rest of that person's life on earth, thus that one born from above has eternal life in the here and now.

To top off the speciousness of the dilemma, try to imagine what sin a born from above person could ever commit thereafter that would take God by surprise. IF we can bring a perishing soul to see that Truth, as God has shown it in The Bible, there is a good chance that such an soul will call out to God for salvation. And guess what; they will be saved because God is the One Who makes that Promise.

So, if a murderer can be born from above after they have committed the act, then one so born from above cannot be lost even though they may commit such an heinous act out of anger, or something akin thereto, and we are assured of this truth because we have the witness of David, for whom God stated he is a man after God's own heart ... and went on to commit adultery and murder AFTER being made King! There is no sin pas, present, or future for which the Blood of Jesus is insufficient to cleanse. The Blood of Christ is upon the mercy Seat in Heaven, covering the laws of sin and death so that no sin separates us from the Love of God through Christ Jesus.

Too often, the works based thinker confuses the Great White Throne of Judgment at the end of times here on Earth, witht eh Bema Seat of Christ IN HEAVEN where rewards are given to those who have grown in Christ. For it is God in you, raising you up int he way that you should go once you are bron from above.

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