Hey Luke, are you sure you gonna make it to heaven?
Why or why not?
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...Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ...(Acts 20:21)
Hey Luke, are you sure you gonna make it to heaven?
Why or why not?
I have faith but no I don't know and neither does anyone else that is human. That is why it is called the judgment in which we are judged according to our works both good and bad. God is just and consistent. He will either say well done thou good and "faithful" servant or depart from me you worker of lawlessness I never knew you.
Eze 18:24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
I have faith but no I don't know and neither does anyone else that is human. That is why it is called the judgment in which we are judged according to our works both good and bad. God is just and consistent. He will either say well done thou good and "faithful" servant or depart from me you worker of lawlessness I never knew you.
Eze 18:24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
So considering 1 John 3:2, it says we are sons of God right now. In other words, we don't have to die to know that we are God's children. Do you think God would send his children who have born of Him to hell?
You also said "no human knows". How did Paul know that a crown was waiting for him if he couldn't even know whether he was perfect enough to make it to heaven?
2 Tim 4
7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Enlighten moi!
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...Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ...(Acts 20:21)
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
So considering 1 John 3:2, it says we are sons of God right now. In other words, we don't have to die to know that we are God's children. Do you think God would send his children who have born of Him to hell?
You also said "no human knows". How did Paul know that a crown was waiting for him if he couldn't even know whether he was perfect enough to make it to heaven?
2 Tim 4
7I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Enlighten moi!
He didn't know. He was speaking in faith. He found out if he was right, after he died. (Or he will, come judgment day. Depending.) He may be saying "Lord, Lord, didn't I write most of the New Testament?"
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
He didn't know. He was speaking in faith. He found out if he was right, after he died. (Or he will, come judgment day. Depending.) He may be saying "Lord, Lord, didn't I write most of the New Testament?"
Timmayyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!
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...Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ...(Acts 20:21)
So Timmy, what exactly don't you believe about Jesus Christ?
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...Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ...(Acts 20:21)
So Timmy, what exactly don't you believe about Jesus Christ?
Seems a little off topic, doesn't it?
Briefly, while I could say there are things I "don't believe" about Jesus (and a lot of other things), I prefer to say that I am skeptical. About what, specifically? Everything.
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
No… we are righteous because He is righteous. The moment you are born again, you are declared righteous in God’s sight. You’re not on probation until you get it right, nor are you expected to walk away and never sin again, not even knowing the Holy Scriptures. The Christian must come to realize, appropriate, own, and live the fact that he or she has a new nature, is a new creature, and has the abiding Christ within. They need to realize that the moment they received the Holy Ghost, their spirit was regenerated. Yes, the soul (the mind) has to be renewed through study of the Scriptures, prayer, and meditation. This will bring the mind into alignment with the new nature within. And yes, the body has its sinful tendencies and lusts. As one grows in grace the very POWER of Jesus flows as we put on the mind of Christ, bringing discipline. And through this we are brought into victory over the desires of the flesh.
It’s a life long process.
...
This fits with what I have been learning over the past few years. It is impossible to live for God based solely on works, just as it is impossible to live solely on a 'once saved always saved' Grace only basis. We have good works as the grace of God gives us strength. And we continue to receive the grace of God as we strive towards the mark. You must have both to be a follower of Christ. We do not sit down and take our ease after we receive the Holy Ghost, and let God push us down the straight and narrow in a wheelchair of grace. No, we run the race with perseverance. When we fall, we get up and ask God for forgiveness and put the sin behind us.
I agree completely with Aquila that this is a life-long process. It is impossible to become a perfect saint the moment you rise from the baptistry, speaking in tongues. You are a born again creature, but you are a creature in a human body. Many times new believers will be handed a list of sins and told that they are now free from the bondage of sin. Why, yes they are. God frees them from the addiction of pornography, smoking, and drunkenness, for instance, but sometimes they struggle with the habits. God broke the chains, the things that they could not control, but they may still have a habit of reaching for a cigarette just before bed. Until they realize this, they may slip a few times. Unfortunately, when they go to church smelling like cigarette smoke, they get bashed up and down and reminded IT'S A SIN! As if they don't already have that conviction in their heart! So now they are confused and they wonder 'hey, I thought I was delivered!'
What should happen instead is the body of Christ should lift them up and encourage them. God breaks our chains of sin, but it is up to us to move our feet away from that place in our life. Throw the cigarettes away and don't buy any more. Pray, fill your mind with things of Christ, and surround yourself with brothers and sisters who can strengthen you. Soon the believer will be free from that habit and he or she can move on with their walk with Christ. Next steps might be learning patience, or mercy, or how to guard the tongue. It's a process, people.
Learning to be like Christ is like building a house. You start with a foundation and begin building from there. But building a strong, beautiful edifice is not done overnight. Why are so many elders that we look up to, well... old? Because they've been learning these principles their whole life. They once struggled with the same things the new believers do, and all have stories of things that God is perfecting in them in their old age. I recently heard a great older preacher talk about how God was using other people with bad attitudes to get to character flaws he didn't even know he had, like a precision surgical instrument. God never stops perfecting this vessel, and personally I think we will continue to learn how to be more like Him even after we are caught up to meet him. We will be free from the temptations of the flesh in heaven, but I wonder if perhaps we will still be learning how to exercise the fruits of the spirit when dealing with other people.
For anybody here who is struggling with a sin or a weakness of character, realize that you simply need to ask God to deliver you and He will set you free. You will be free, but you need to realize that occasionally there may still habits that need to be broken. Sometimes people have stories of being completely delivered from both the addiction and the habit, but sometimes your struggle is not against the addiction, but against a habit. This is where works come into play, and this is where grace gives you the strength to do good works. Once you realize that, know that it's just a daily process of putting one foot in front of the other. And just because you might fall again doesn't mean there is no hope. You just have to get back on the path, start a fast, read your Bible, and pray. Living for God is not for the faint of heart, and there is no Easy button, especially in these last times. There is no way to walk with God easy, and trying to do it easy will only make it hard. But if your heart is truly for God, you can make it.
According to Paul, we must "Die Daily"
According to Peter, "Be Ye Holy, for I AM Holy"
If you live by the WHOLE BIBLE you will be perfected unto Christ.
The problem with Christian Society is that they like to pick and choose.
OSAS do not follow Peter or Paul or even Christs teachings.
Pure Legalists do not rely enough on "Faith in Christ"
It takes both, Works displaying your Faith.
Remember, Jesus did not come to destroy The Law (for he WAS the Law/Word) but to Fulfill The Law.
As a Christian you must
1) Believe that God Is
2) That he is a rewarder of those that seek him
3) That Jesus Christ is God
4) And follow all the teachings of Christ and his Apostles
Yes as you follow Christ, your ways, thoughts, and actions will change.
Biblically, the only thing you NEED to get to heaven is "Christ in you, the hope of glory" as this will lead you to be "the image of Christ". Remember, we are the "Clay on the Potters Wheel". We are being transformed into the Image of Christ.
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