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  #1  
Old 02-21-2008, 11:47 AM
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Default How is a Man Saved?

Christianity today adopts a pluralism in which all views are allowed, encouraged, and respected. This addresses the problem of society in keeping the peace but what of salvation? How is a man saved according to God’s Word?

A MAN IS SAVED BY WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING DOCTRINE?

A. Be a nice person.
B. Turn from sin and make Jesus the Lord of his life.
C. Seek atonement by the divine lineage of Joseph Smith.
D. God has already predestined who will (and won’t) be saved.
E. God loves everybody so nothing is required of him.
F. Attain atonement by a blessing from the priest.
G. Rely entirely upon Jesus’ sacrifice and righteousness.
H. Assure his “good” deeds outnumber his “bad” deeds.
F. There is no trinity so he must appease “Jesus only.”
G. Keep the law of Moses.
H. Keep only some of the law of Moses. (water baptism, tithe and repent often)
I. Keep the law of Moses omitting all but the 10 Commandments.
J. Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit (he will begin speaking in an “unknown” language).
K. Pray to the saints to intercede for him to be accepted by God.
L. Ask for forgiveness, be water baptized and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
M. Ask for forgiveness, be water baptized and strive earnestly to live the “Christian Life” that he doesn’t fall from grace.
N. Ask for forgiveness, be water baptized and strive earnestly to live the “Christian Life” seeking that he might receive the “2nd Work of Grace to become perfect.
O. Pray the “Prayer of Faith” that whatsoever he asks in the name of Jesus be granted.
P. Follow his conscience and attend church regularly.
Q. Follow his conscience and express remorse for any transgressions.
R. Find a professional “holy man” to guide him into righteousness with God.
S. Come forward at a Billy Graham (or similar) crusade and receive prayer.
T. Express remorse and ask Jesus to come into his heart.
U. Work out his salvation with God by making a “deal” that is mutually acceptable.
V. Follow his conscience, do good deeds and hope that it was enough in the end.
W. Attend church on Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas and don’t kill anybody.
X. Attend “church” by placing hands on his TV and asking to be blessed.
Y. Ask at least 3 “Christians” to lay hands on him and ask God to receive him.
Z. (He can place his own salvation requirements here _______________)

Instructions: Pick one (or any combination) of the requirements listed above.

Now, just enjoy peace, knowing God is satisfied with your selection and will honor it. What could be simpler? Everybody accepts each other’s religious preferences and we all get along in unity.

The BIG issue that was overlooked is “What does God have to say about all of this?” Does anybody CARE what He says about it? God has proclaimed that salvation comes by GRACE alone, by FAITH alone in CHRIST alone.

“To employ soft words and honeyed phrases in discussing questions of everlasting importance; to deal with errors that strike at the foundations of all human hope as if they were harmless and venial mistakes; to bless where God disapproves, and to make apologies where He calls us to stand up like men and assert, though it may be the most apt method of securing popular applause in a sophistical age, is cruelty to man and treachery to heaven. Those who on such subjects attach more importance to the rules of courtesy than they do the measure of truth do not defend the citadel but betray it into the hands of its' enemies. Love for Christ, and for the souls for whom he died, will be the exact measure of our zeal in exposing the dangers by which men's souls are ensnared". (quoted in a sermon by George Sayles Bishop, author of The Doctrines of Grace and Kindred Themes, 1910).
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Old 02-21-2008, 07:59 PM
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Thanks for sharing MAC40, ya know, if everyone were to just pick ONE item off of that list, like 'A', it's, shall we say, 'non denominational', just for example, wouldn't the world be a beautiful place?
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Old 02-22-2008, 01:22 PM
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Default Harmony with the World is Not to Be

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Thanks for sharing MAC40, ya know, if everyone were to just pick ONE item off of that list, like 'A', it's, shall we say, 'non denominational', just for example, wouldn't the world be a beautiful place?
Well yes, it would certainly make things go much more smoothly in this world. The problem with it is when we go to the NEXT world. God is rather adamant about His criteria for salvation. If we look at the prophets in the Old Testament, they made no compromise in God’s program in order to appease the world. Actually, the people were so angered by God’s prophets that they killed them. Judaism was the only method by which a man could be saved in the O.T. and the only way to salvation was either by obedience to the Law of Moses as a Jew or by obedience to the Law of Moses as a Jewish Proselyte.

Acts 3:25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

Judaism was fully in effect all the way up through Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. It was a performance / reward based system. (IF you keep My commandments – THEN you will be My people and I will be your God – ELSE you will receive curses and condemnation)

Christ Jesus revealed a new salvation system to Saul on the road to Damascus that is fully in effect today (we call it Christianity). God tells us under the rules of Christianity that nobody can be saved by obedience. So choice “A. Be a nice person.” Doesn’t work for salvation. God says you’re NOT a nice person. He says I am NOT a nice person and even though I’d like to think of myself as such, God says NOBODY is a nice person.

On being nice, we’d probably give Hitler an “F” and we’d maybe give Billy Graham an “A-.” Under Christianity, God doesn’t grade on the curve however. Based on their performance and obedience they would both be destined for the BAD PLACE. They both would be lacking spiritual LIFE because they cannot create RIGHTEOUSNESS (a right standing before the eyes of God). Only by accepting Christ’s own righteousness can we be justified and receive eternal LIFE.

1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

So while a good many of the choices on that list may sound pretty good to us, we have to compare each one with God’s Word to see if it will buy us a ticket to heaven – (salvation) according to the criteria that He proclaims. By narrowing those options down to one, we will be making a lot of people angry and our path in this world will not be smooth. If you stand for God, you will receive much of what the prophets and the disciples received. (Rocks!) That is why religion is quick to accept all faiths and all denominations in the name of Unity. Do not be deceived for Christ is our righteousness unto life.

Last edited by MAC40 : 02-22-2008 at 01:24 PM.
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Old 02-22-2008, 03:27 PM
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Old 02-22-2008, 04:36 PM
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I have always been taught that to be saved by the lord Jesus Christ to simply pray and ask him to forgive you and you are born again.

You don't get to heaven by doing good deeds, but you do get to him through the Lord Jesus Christ, I wish I remembered the bible verse right now. Something in Romans I think...
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Old 02-22-2008, 08:52 PM
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I have always been taught that to be saved by the lord Jesus Christ to simply pray and ask him to forgive you and you are born again.

You don't get to heaven by doing good deeds, but you do get to him through the Lord Jesus Christ, I wish I remembered the bible verse right now. Something in Romans I think...
That is a very good point for you see, a typical Jewish man has always been taught that he must keep the Sabbath (don’t work or travel on Saturday) and obey the Law of Moses if he hopes to enter the Kingdom of God. (Salvation by The Law)

Tens of thousands of Baptists are being taught they must repent of their sins, be water baptized and to keep short accounts with the Lord for their salvation. If they backslide, their salvation is lost and they can never again be saved. (Conditional Salvation)

Other Baptist ordained ministers teach that you must repent of your sins, be water baptized and live the Christian life and your salvation is sealed until the day of redemption. A failure to display a Godly life revokes this salvation as being incomplete however. (Lordship Salvation)

The Catholic Church teaches that all the Protestants are going to their destruction because the Apostolic Lineage from Peter, down through the generations of popes to the present day exists only in the ‘true’ church. Having no Apostolic Lineage, all protestant churches lack the divine power to save anybody. (If this is true you might have a problem if you're not Catholic)

Huge numbers of teachers and ordained ministers are teaching that God decided if He loved you before you were born and that Jesus did NOT die for everyone. They teach that Jesus’ sacrifice was not provided as restitution for the sins of Pharaoh, for Saul or for Judas (and obviously not for YOU if you don’t attend their church). (Calvinism)

If you lived within 500 miles of Salt Lake City, you would probably be learning that the power of salvation was restored to earth by the modern-day prophet, Joseph Smith and only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have any access to salvation. (Mormonism)

Millions will perish because they were brought up to believe in this church or in that church or in no church. The big question here is “What does God say is necessary for salvation?” (The Law? Calvinism? Catholicism? Lordship Salvation? Mormonism? ) You cannot afford to be wrong. Let’s face it; all of us have been taught something or other. It is up to us to test it against scripture to see if it is true.

2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

So, as we can see. It is NOT what we have "BEEN TAUGHT", but "what saith the SCRIPTURES" that will determine the plumbline for TRUTH that all of us will be held to when we stand before God.

Last edited by MAC40 : 02-22-2008 at 09:48 PM.
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Old 02-22-2008, 09:50 PM
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Originally Posted by K0DXC View Post
I have always been taught that to be saved by the lord Jesus Christ to simply pray and ask him to forgive you and you are born again.

You don't get to heaven by doing good deeds, but you do get to him through the Lord Jesus Christ, I wish I remembered the bible verse right now. Something in Romans I think...
You know you never cease to amaze me, and so young. Appears you pay attention. I like that.

The only way to the Father, is through Jesus. He is the door. The Bible can teach you alot, if studied correctly. If so the scriptures then becomes pictures instead of words on paper. I used to tell my congragation, you have to get into the word, So the Word can get into you. I used to use a lot of things like this:
Basic
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Old 02-23-2008, 10:03 AM
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Very well said Buddy, (the only way to the father is through Jesus)

That is true, it even says so in the Bible.


I have no idea how Catholics and other religions get their teachings from the Bible. Last time I checked it didn't say anything about getting to Heaven by worshiping Mary, or simply doing good deeds.

In my opinion as I stated earlier(I will add on) is that the only way to get to heaven is to...

Repent of all your sins and admit it in a prayer to Jesus and ask him to forgive you and then ask him to come into your heart as you want to be a born again Christian.

I'm a Christian, I've always been one, and I always plan on being one.

Everyone has sinned sometime in their life. (Except Jesus) the only way to get to heaven by doing good deeds is to have been perfect and to have never sinned, which is none of us, we're all tainted by sin. So then when God saw this, he sent his son, Jesus, to come down to earth and to die on the cross for our sins so that we COULD get to heaven through him. This was also predicted in the Bible, John 3:16, "For God so loved the earth so that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

There it is...
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Old 02-23-2008, 03:31 PM
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John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Luke 10 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

These are powerful scriptures. They merit our study as sacred scripture; they inform us of our relationship with God. Notice first of all that these are found in the ‘gospel’ books. Next, look at the doctrine that Luke proclaims to procure ‘everlasting life.’ “What is written in the law?” No mention of believing on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus for payment of sins is here. This is still the LAW program- Judaism. People in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were being offered Judaism.

Now let’s skip ahead to Romans and see how things have progressed:

Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Most obviously, something major has happened to our salvation. Someplace between the gospel books and Romans, we have changed to a completely different plan of salvation. At this point, we are NOT under the LAW, but under GRACE! This is not Judaism. This is Christianity!

This is why it is of no small thing to determine where this change took place. We want our salvation to be based upon scripture that applies to us as the body of Christ.

Notice that Judaism did not offer salvation apart from the Law of Moses. .
The basic principle of Christianity was not even a consideration in the gospel books.

Luke 18 31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.

By these scriptures, we can see that the 12 disciples had no concept of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as a means of salvation. This was still 100% Judaism (salvation by faith PLUS works of the Law).

We need to look at the doctrine of our salvation very carefully, understanding it from top to bottom and inside out, because this is where we live or die. We don't want to miss it!

Last edited by MAC40 : 02-24-2008 at 09:47 PM.
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Old 03-27-2008, 07:45 AM
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Default Saved by JUDAISM or by CHRISTIANITY?

It is amazing that many sincere believers fail to see the distinctions of the different ministries that are recorded in the bible, and especially that portion of the bible most of us know and refer to as the “new testament.” For instance, John the Baptist had a ministry. So did the twelve Apostles. Saul of Tarsus, who became known as the Apostle Paul had one, and even the Lord Jesus Christ, in his time on earth, had a very specific ministry. Since he told us what that was, there could not possibly be reason for doubting or disputing it, although it seems that ministers and well meaning people by the thousands invariably do so.

Jesus himself said, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) The gospel of John reads, “He came unto his own and his own received him not.” (John 1:11) Paul wrote, “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” (Romans 15:8)

Now since we know that the “father’s” in the context obviously refer to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that “the circumcision” refers to those who were under the Law of Moses, given to the nation Israel when the Lord “called unto (Moses) out of the mountain saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:3), there should be no doubt that the ministry of Jesus Christ was to Israel and Israel alone. The same is also true of the ministry of the twelve Apostles. Read the instructions given to them by the Lord: “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6)

Moving forward to the book of Acts and the Day of Pentecost when the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven “shed forth this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33) who was doing the “seeing and hearing?” The answer is in the book: “And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.” (Acts 2:5) They had come there for the annual Day of Pentecost, a Jewish holy day - as in the book of Leviticus. Who did Peter address when he “standing up with the eleven (making a total of twelve), lifted up his voice?” Answer: “Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem (those Jews from every nation under Heaven) be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.” (Acts 2:14) :Ye men of Israel, hear these words;” (Acts 2:22) “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,” (Acts 2:36)

Who was Peter preaching to in the book of Acts? Jews, Jews, Jews! There was not a Gentile in the crowd. How can we know this? “And he (Peter) said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company with, or come unto one of another nation;” (Acts 10:28) This was long after the events recorded in Acts Chapter Two. No Gentiles were there at the Day of Pentecost, and if one by chance had been there the Jews would have baptized (washed) before they ate lunch for fear that they had brushed shoulders with one. (Mark 7:4-5) Gentiles were simply not in the picture on the Day of Pentecost. It was strictly a Jewish Messianic message. It is amazing how many religious systems try to hang their doctrine on passages of scripture that are not even about the body of Christ.

Now, it is obvious that the apostles were instructed by the Lord to “go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them,” as in the “so-called” great commission of Matthew 28 and Mark 16. But, it is also obvious that they had specific instructions as to how this was to be done. The Lord had said, “the children must first be fed,” and “it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to dogs.” In the context of Matthew 15:22-28, it is obvious that the “children” are the nation of Israel, the bread is the gospel of the kingdom, and the dogs are the Gentiles. So, the idea was that the “gospel of the kingdom” was to be preached first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then in Samaria, and then…and only then…to the rest of the world. Peter, at Pentecost was offering the “bread” to the “children” but they refused it. So, only the “little flock” received Christ as their Messiah and the rest “died in their sins” because of unbelief. So, it is clear now what the Lord meant in Luke 12:32, when he said: “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

In the “kingdom of heaven” parable you find in Matthew 21, the Lord clearly warns the leaders of the nation of Israel that the kingdom would be taken from them: (Matthew 21: 43) “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” So, in his earthly ministry, his ministry to the circumcision, the Lord was forming a church, which is also a nation, which is also a priesthood. This is plain from such passages as Isaiah 61:6: “But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” That prophecy, as yet, remains to be fulfilled. It will be when Christ comes again, Israel’s sins are blotted out and Jesus Christ, the King, is ruling in the Kingdom.

When the nation of Israel, as a whole rejected the Messiah and His Kingdom, the offer of national repentance to Israel was withdrawn, and the “restoring of the kingdom again to Israel,” as in Acts 1:6 was put on hold. It was a TIME PAST message. It is also a FUTURE message which will be preached in the Tribulation, after the Rapture of the Church. When Stephen was martyred and stoned to death in chapter seven of the book of Acts, the Gospel of the Kingdom began to wane, that is to say, it passed from view. In Acts Chapter Seven, Stephen, who once again preaches a murder indictment against Israel, as Peter had done earlier, is stoned to death, and the “little flock” is scattered. When Peter writes to them, notice what he says, in 1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;” What Peter said here is almost a carbon copy of what Moses said to the children of Israel in Exodus:

Exodus 19: 5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Exodus 19: 6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

So what you have here is a group of people, called the “little flock” who have been “begotten again” unto a lively hope. (1 Peter 1:3) Their hope was in the Second Coming of Christ and the restoring of the Kingdom to Israel. The message Peter preached was JEWISH and MESSIANIC and is not the gospel for today. Both Peter’s ministry and message faded away as Paul’s ministry and message came to the forefront, during the time period of the book of Acts. The completion of God’s prophetic timetable with the nation of Israel will follow the Rapture. There are HUGE differences between Peter’s doctrine and that of the Apostle Paul Peter says they are being “born again” in 1 Peter 1:23, by the word of God. Israel was “begotten of God” as in Exodus 4:22 and called the “son of God”: “And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:” Now Peter says in 1 Peter 1:3 they had been “begotten again” unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” So the “born again” nation of Israel, in the millennium, will be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests whose job is to show forth the praises of God, among the Gentiles as in 1 Peter 2:13. When Peter uses the term “born again” he is talking about something different than the Lord was in John chapter three.

When the Lord had told Nicodemus in John 3:7 that “ye”, the whole house of Israel, must be “born again” He rebuked Nicodemus for being a “master of Israel” and not knowing “these things?” In John, Jesus Christ is talking about literal resurrection from the dead, BORN AGAIN. Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the FIRSTBORN from the dead. He even quotes a prophecy by David in Psalms in reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, where God the Father said, “This day have I begotten thee.” The day was the day of the Lord’s resurrection.

The phrase “born again” in John 3:7 and in 1 Peter 1:23 refers to the “little flock”, the remnant, the “born again” nation of Israel and not the Church, the body of Christ. There was no Rapture for those in Peter’s ministry as there is for us. In the first place, in view of the Mystery of the Rapture of the Church, we don’t even have a guarantee that we will even die. Paul never uses the phrase “born again” anywhere in Romans through Philemon. The bodily “new birth” for the church is at the Rapture. The church is not “born again” but is a “new creation”, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:10) which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. God is forming a “new creation”, a new species, in the age in which we live. Not the “born again” nation of Israel but a new creation. The Body of Christ is something that was hid in God before the foundation of the world. Not announced in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and not told to Peter, James and John, but by an unscheduled appearance and by revelation to the Apostle Paul. The phrase “born again Christian” is something that just came into vogue in recent years. There is no indication anywhere in the bible that people thought of themselves as “born again Christians.”

One great fault with the world’s religious system today is that by “anticipating revelation” the result winds up being a “one pot meal” of scripture and you find one group believing this, another that, and still another practicing “the other.” We must clearly understand that while all of the bible was written for us: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (II Timothy 3:16-17) it does not follow that all of the bible is written UNTO US.

The apostle Paul plainly says that he, and he alone is the “apostle to the Gentiles.” Paul says, in Romans 11:13: “For I speak to you Gentiles. Since I am THE APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES, I magnify mine office.” Paul asks the question, in Romans 10:14, “How shall they hear without a preacher?” He answers his own question! He says he is both the preacher and the apostle to the Gentiles in I Timothy 2:7 and in II Timothy 1:10 he says, concerning the gospel, that, “I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles.”So we could say then that a “stewardship” of the gospel was given to Paul. Actually, Paul says that “A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” in I Corinthians 9:17. The word for stewardship and the word for dispensation is the same. Jesus Christ used the word three times, in Luke 16, verses two, three and four. In those verses we read the word “stewardship.” Paul uses the word four times in a King James Bible, and in Ephesians 3:2 he writes, “…if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given me, to you-ward.” If you heard a Greek say the word it would sound similar to the English word: ECONOMY, and that’s just the meaning you find when you look it up in the Strong’s Concordance. It says that dispensation means “an administration, or an economy.”

God changed the Administration, the Administrator and the message. Instead of the gospel of the kingdom, Paul preaches the gospel of the grace of God. Paul says, “I delivered to you first of all that which I also received.“ The message of Paul is that Christ died for our sins, all of them, “having forgiven you all trespasses.” (Collosians 2:13) Paul’s message is that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. The reason God will not hold sin to our account, those of us who trust Jesus Christ as our Saviour, is that God put our sins to the account of Christ and he paid the debt for them. The wages of sin is death, and Christ died for our sins. And since all our sins were on him when he died, the resurrection of Christ is proof that our sins are forgiven…all of them.

So here’s the deal:
Would you rather imagine yourself…I say imagine, because you can’t be in this age…would you rather imagine yourself as a water baptized, Pentecostal, kingdom believer, sell all that you own and lay it at the apostles feet, take no thought for what you will eat, or drink or wear, love not your life unto death, endure unto the end, go through the tribulation, resist the mark of the beast and the coming antichrist and die a martyrs death if necessary, and at the same time, be very careful to bless the remnant of Israel, furnish them food when they are hungry, clothes when they are naked, visit them when they are sick or in prison, while at the same time finding food for yourself…since you can’t buy and sell…so that you will be one of the sheep in Matthew 25:32 and be allowed to enter the kingdom for: “the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Or would you rather trust in the Lord and what he has done for you. Christ died for your sins so that you might have eternal life in heaven…be delivered from this world…to spend eternity with the Lord? You see, the gospel of the Kingdom, the so-called "great commission" of Matthew 28 and Mark 16 is about an earthly promise to God's earthly people. Peter preached the gospel of the kingdom and taught people to hope to the end for salvation at the second coming of Christ.....a tribulation message.

But for you, that's not your hope. God revealed a mystery to the apostle Paul, about God's heavenly purpose and his heavenly people, call the church, the body of Christ. Yours is a heavenly hope, not earthly. You are not supposed to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth...” because you are not looking for the kingdom to come at the second coming of Christ. Your hope is the Rapture of the church, the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the catching out of those who are living when Christ comes.

Your salvation is complete in Christ. Christ is our wisdom, and righteous and sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). We who trust in Christ are baptized, by the Spirit into the body of Christ, have already received the atonement, are already partakers of the heavenly calling, blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus and sealed until the time we leave this world. Jesus Christ did the work, he endured to the end, for us. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us,” (Titus 3:5)

Romans 4: 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. So we don’t work at all but trust completely in the Lord for salvation.

Romans 4: 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Paul said, “I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins.” So it was Paul who received the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, not Peter. Peter had a different message for a different group of people. Peter was a minister of the circumcision with the gospel of the circumcision, as in Galatians 2:7. That message is about the restoration of the kingdom again to the nation of Israel and about Israel being a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. Peter’s hope and calling and promise is earthly. He hopes to sit on one of twelve thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel...in the millennium. But that hope and that promise is not for us. We look for the Lord from Heaven, who will change our vile body and make it like his glorious body and take us out of this world.

Salvation for you today is not the same as it was back there...and will be during the tribulation. Salvation today is based on the finished work of Christ. Paul says, in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." If there is any boasting to be done today, it’s about what the Lord has done, not us. Depend on the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Rest in it. Trust in it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
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Old 03-27-2008, 11:39 PM
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Old 06-25-2008, 07:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by K0DXC View Post
I have always been taught that to be saved by the lord Jesus Christ to simply pray and ask him to forgive you and you are born again.

You don't get to heaven by doing good deeds, but you do get to him through the Lord Jesus Christ, I wish I remembered the bible verse right now. Something in Romans I think...
That would be Romans 10:9,10 Part of Romans Road.
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