What is Christianity? What is the Gospel?

[Mantis]

For those who are seeking God:

In the garden of Eden, Adam(The first modern man) disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden fruit. His wife Eve was first deceived by the Devil to eat the fruit. The forbidden fruit is the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil".

This rebellion separated man from God and brought a curse upon the earth. Death was now part of life. The day that Adam ate of the fruit, death was born and sin was embedded in our DNA. All men are now subjected to this sin nature and every man now sins. All men sin and God is allergic to sin. You cannot sin and be with God.

The wages of sin is death according to the Bible. The only way sin can be covered is with death. So God decided to offer men a way out. Jesus Christ, the son of God came to us in human form to take all of the sins of men upon himself and die for us. From one man death and sin entered the world so through one man all men can now be saved. Jesus died for all men. He offered his earth born life up on a cross to take all of our sin upon himself.

He died upon that cross and God the father raised him from the dead three days later and he ascended up to heaven. If you believe this happened and believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, you will be saved. Repent, turn back to God and accept this gift Jesus has offered you. Choose this day who you will serve. In God We Trust.

 

[prism]

The only way sin can be covered is with death.

Actually, Christ's death more than just covered our sin, His blood actually purged our sin...

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, Revelation 1:5

The Greek word 'washed' is λούω

3068. λούω loúō; fut. loúsō. To bathe oneself, used of washing the whole body and not part of it as indicated by níptō (G3538). Both of these verbs refer to the washing of living persons. λούω also carries with it the idea to loose, to set free.

 

[tsr]

The word “gospel” means news. It is the news about who Jesus Christ is, what He has done, and how that changes everything for all of us. The gospel, or the good news about Jesus, is the best and most important news you will ever hear. It’s the most life-changing news you could ever share with someone else.

The essence of Christianity revolves around the life, death and Christian beliefs on the resurrection of Jesus. Christians believe God sent his son Jesus, the messiah, to save the world. They believe Jesus was crucified on a cross to offer the forgiveness of sins and was resurrected three days after his death before ascending to heaven

 

[Daniel Veler]

The difference between the two is this: as the one wrote in this post the word gospel means the good news, of Christ. Christianity set a group of people who are followers in Christ. But understand just because you associate with Christianity doesn’t make you right. Some people base their Christianity on doctrine that’s not based on the gospel. Some teach once saved always saved. Some teach saved today lost tomorrow. Some even teach that God is love and will saved the wicked as well as the righteous. They all associate theirselves with Christianity. Seek your answers from above. This reminds me of those priests in Christ’s day. They didn’t understand what kept them from the righteousness in Christ. But the Lord said he would teach us what that sin was. He went on to say that he would teach them of their condemnation because they have no trust in Christ. This is the sin that keeps the lost from God’s righteousness. The Father will give each of us understanding if we would only seek it from him. As James wrote you don’t need a man to teach you anything. The Lord will give you understanding if you’ll only ask him. So how would what I just said effect you? You will no longer be able to stand before God and plead ignorance. You won’t be able to blame others for giving you wrong information. Why? Because once you come to the Lord he gives us his HS to teach us if we only ask. So seek your answers from God and not from men.

 

[Brakelite]

I'm going to put something out there I hope you all will be open to. What I'm going to say doesn't change the gospel. It didn't twist it of give it a nuance that is foreign to good biblical understanding.
Can we all agree that the gospel isn't just a new testament thing. From the garden of Eden a savior was promised. That Savior was portrayed repeatedly throughout the scriptures... Jesus Himself explained to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus
KJV Luke 24:27
27 beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

The full gospel was foretold in the OT, and explained and revealed in the new. If therefore the gospel was portrayed in the old, we ought not to neglect our study of it in order to more fully appreciate what Christ has, and is still accomplishing for us. I say this because that most common phrase, the "finished work of Christ on Calvary", is not appropriate when taken into consideration with the gospel as revealed to Israel. In particular the service of the sanctuary. That service was the gospel portrayed in pictorial form. Jesus is portrayed from the start to the finish of the sanctuary.
The altar of sacrifice.
The laver.
The Tabernacle itself.
The door.
The bread.
The light.
The incense.
The ark.
The high priest.
The ceremonial sabbaths/ feast days
And many more.

If the gospel started and finished with the so called finished work of Christ on Calvary, then to what purpose was the sanctuary and everything associated with it? Jesus Himself explained through parable and direct teaching that He was the door, the bread of life, the light of the world, the mediator/ intercessor etc etc. These all had a new testament fulfillment... Including His ministry as High Priest in the sanctuary. But this ministry didn't begin until after He left the earth for heaven...
KJV Hebrews 8:4-5
4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

So Jesus could not, according to the law, act as Priest on earth. So He is now our priest in the heavenly sanctuary and until He finishes there, leaves the heavenly sanctuary and returns to the earth, He has not yet completed the work of the gospel.
The second coming and the resurrection of the saints, fulfilling His resurrection promises, followed by the feast of Tabernacles... Which Israel celebrated annually in memory and commemoration of their arrival in the "land of milk and honey".

There is much we can learn about the gospel from the OT. It isn't all about Calvary. Calvary was essential, but it was but the first step toward atonement.

 

[Heart2Soul]

This is likely as close to my quandary as it gets.
I started to think about what I was being asked to hope is true, hold faith, in.

And I realized that I didn't have to exercise much critical review of what we're told about needing salvation to realize we're asking to be saved from God.
Because the devil can't send us to hell.
It's all God all the time. And he tells us that.
God is the beginning and the end of all things. The Alpha and the Omega. He knows everything. Because everything that exists is God's creation. It all functions according to plan.
We in essence are God having a go at his own reflection.

Remember that line in the bible?
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Think about the state of the world right now.
As in heaven? His will being done?

We're all looking forward to going to heaven. Are we ever told heaven is a paradise? Or are we told it's a place where we'll openly worship God all the time for all time.
Why does God ask for worship? He's the only source of all things.

And if we believe heaven is paradise for non-sinners, who were only sinners because sin was created possible by the Creator, who created the fall, how did Satan sin while an angel in heaven?
God, source of all things, knows all things eternally, created Lucifer.
Then Lucifer, who shares the title Morning Star with Jesus, decided he could do God's job better than God?
Lead a war against God, then lost it. No surprise except for there being an angel who thought like that.

And God let him live. Him and 1/3rd of the other angels who joined in the fight. Against God!
Satan warred like an idiot against God. And then for his punishment God didn't destroy him. Instead God made him Lord of the world where humans dwelt.
Humans God didn't forgive for their first mistake. Not only that, he cursed the entire human race for the first mistake committed by the first two humans he created.

A curse that fell on them because God put a tree off limits in the center of their only home.
If it was not to be eaten of or else, why create it?
And its fruit being eaten made Adam and Eve like God. Knowing good and evil. How's that a bad thing?When they were already like God because they were created of and from all that he had made prior to creating them. And all that was from God.

Adam from the dust of the ground, and Eve from Adam's rib that was made from the dust of the ground.
Then God kicked them out of Eden because he didn't want them to have eternal life should they make their way to the fruit of the tree of life.
But all those things were created of and from God.
If death didn't enter the world till sin did, how did a tree of eternal life come to be created by God and put in his garden before the fall?

God didn't want Adam and Eve to have eternal life then. But he sent himself to earth later as Jesus to save us from the sin he created, when he is creator of all things, that, if we believe he was crucified to take away that sin from us, we'll have what he denied us in the garden in the beginning. Eternal life.

God is love and forgiveness? Why didn't he love us enough to not plant a tree that would condemn us to what is our fallen human history?
And after he drowned the whole world for being sinful, he repopulated it with sinners through Noah and his son's and their wives.
Did you ever notice that all God's chosen prophets and leaders turned out to not be wholly righteous people?
Noah was a drunk. Lot sexed his daughters. Solomon worked magic with dark forces. Abraham was a liar and manipulator. On and on.

Humans are what we are because God created us to be this.
Pro-Life Christians say God is with them because he is pro-life. But God killed more people in the Bible than did Satan.
And because they made him mad or were the sinners he predestined in the beginning.
If we aren't condemned until we're born with a sin nature, then that would make abortion clinics salvation centers. Because they help stop countless new lives from God being born condemned in sin according to God's design in the beginning. All according to God's plan.
Because when everything is created by God there is nothing that operates without his knowledge. Because everything that exists is made to exist as it does by its creator.

Pride, self absorption, egocentrism, we're told are sins for us. But those are characteristics of God. Who tells us in his own words, his will predetermined everything according to his plan due to his zeal for his own glory and worship.

And worse? He also predetermined whom he would save from the fallen state we exist in in the first place because of his planning our future that way in the beginning.

What are we doing?

Your post is blasphemy and will be deleted.

 

[Mantis]

It’s fun to see how fast the enemy tries to void the gospel when it’s shared. Happens every time.

 

[Enoch111]

If the gospel started and finished with the so called finished work of Christ on Calvary, then to what purpose was the sanctuary and everything associated with it?

The sanctuary pre-figured the finished work of Christ. Therefore the temple veil was torn from top to bottom on the day that Christ died. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins". So the Gospel must simply preach Christ, and Him crucified, dead, buried, resurrected, and ascended to Heaven. This is the entirety of Christ's finished work of redemption.

 

[marks]

The Gospel:

1 Corinthians 15:1-6 KJV
1) Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5) And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6) After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

Much love!

 

[Mantis]

By the way, it's obvious but not to Mantis. Your enemy Satan exists and acts out because God empowers him to do so. Job didn't teach us that?

Why would you say I am not aware of that? I am well aware of that. He allows Satan to grind that thorn in my flesh daily. So what? I’ve learned patience. God is heavy duty and his punishments are severe. I still love him. I deserved hell before I met him. I didn’t realize it until I was in the presence of holiness. I realized my sin was great and horrible. Think what you want about God. I am choosing to trust him over the devil that once ruled my life. All the devil gave me was pain, loss, stress and anger. No thanks.

 

[atpollard]

Looks like we need a "meshuggenah" emoji for our visiting "special snowflakes" (like @Amber).

 

[Curtis]

Why would you say I am not aware of that? I am well aware of that. He allows Satan to grind that thorn in my flesh daily. So what? I’ve learned patience. God is heavy duty and his punishments are severe. I still love him. I deserved hell before I met him. I didn’t realize it until I was in the presence of holiness. I realized my sin was great and horrible. Think what you want about God. I am choosing to trust him over the devil that once ruled my life. All the devil gave me was pain, loss, stress and anger. No thanks.

Satan is god of this world for now, and is the roaring lion who seeks to steal,kill, and destroy.

EXCEPT believers defeat spiritual wickedness by putting on the whole armoire of God:

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

We have power over the enemy:

Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Remember those Jesus sent out - not just 12 apostles, but 70 disciples.

Here’s the power over Satan they had:

Luk 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Luk 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Luk 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

 

[Enoch111]

Calvary was essential, but it was but the first step toward atonement.

Why would you call Calvary "the first step toward atonement" when God calls Christ the PROPITIATION not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world? The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was the full and final satisfaction for the sins of the world. Therefore Paul said "We preach Christ and Him crucified".

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2434: ἱλασμός (hilasmos)

ἱλασμός, ἱλασμοῦ, ὁ (ἱλάσκομαι);
1. an appeasing, propitiating, Vulg.propitiatio (Plutarch, de sera num. vind. c. 17; plural joined with καθαρμοι, Plutarch, Sol. 12; with the genitive of the object τῶν θεῶν, the Orphica Arg. 39; Plutarch, Fab. 18; θεῶν μῆνιν ἱλασμοῦ καί χαριστηριων δεομένην, vit. Camill. 7 at the end; ποιεῖσθαι ἱλασμόν, of a priest offering an expiatory sacrifice, 2 Macc. 3:33).

2. in Alex. usage the means of appeasing, a propitiation: Philo, alleg. leg. 3: § 61; προσοίσουσιν ἱλασμόν, for חַטָּאת, Ezekiel 44:27; περί τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, of Christ, 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10 (κριός τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, Numbers 5:8; (cf. ἡμέρα τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, Leviticus 25:9); also for סְלִיחָה, forgiveness, Psalm 129:4 (); Daniel 9:9, Theod.). (Cf. Trench, § lxxvii.)

 

[Brakelite]

Why would you call Calvary "the first step toward atonement" when God calls Christ the PROPITIATION not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world? The sacrifice of Christ on the cross was the full and final satisfaction for the sins of the world. Therefore Paul said "We preach Christ and Him crucified".

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2434: ἱλασμός (hilasmos)

ἱλασμός, ἱλασμοῦ, ὁ (ἱλάσκομαι);
1. an appeasing, propitiating, Vulg.propitiatio (Plutarch, de sera num. vind. c. 17; plural joined with καθαρμοι, Plutarch, Sol. 12; with the genitive of the object τῶν θεῶν, the Orphica Arg. 39; Plutarch, Fab. 18; θεῶν μῆνιν ἱλασμοῦ καί χαριστηριων δεομένην, vit. Camill. 7 at the end; ποιεῖσθαι ἱλασμόν, of a priest offering an expiatory sacrifice, 2 Macc. 3:33).

2. in Alex. usage the means of appeasing, a propitiation: Philo, alleg. leg. 3: § 61; προσοίσουσιν ἱλασμόν, for חַטָּאת, Ezekiel 44:27; περί τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, of Christ, 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10 (κριός τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, Numbers 5:8; (cf. ἡμέρα τοῦ ἱλασμοῦ, Leviticus 25:9); also for סְלִיחָה, forgiveness, Psalm 129:4 (); Daniel 9:9, Theod.). (Cf. Trench, § lxxvii.)

I explained myself in the post you partially quoted. Was it not clear enough? How can you be confused at to why I said the above when I explained it quite fully?
Example. The High Priest entered the Most holy place on the day of atonement. Until then, atonement was not complete. The records of the sins of Israel were still recorded in blood on the horns of the altar and before the curtain. The atonement was for a cleansing of that record.
Jesus could not act as our High Priest until He entered the Most Holy place if the heavenly sanctuary in fulfillment of the prophecy of
KJV Daniel 8:14
14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

See Leviticus 16.
In the typical [symbolic] system, which was a shadow of the sacrifice and priesthood of Christ, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the last service performed by the high priest in the yearly round of ministration. It was the closing work of the atonement --a removal or putting away of sin from Israel. It prefigured the closing work in the ministration of our High Priest in heaven, in the removal or blotting out of the sins of His people, which are registered in the heavenly records.

 

[Episkopos]

This rebellion separated man from God and brought a curse upon the earth. Death was now part of life. The day that Adam ate of the fruit, death was born and sin was embedded in our DNA. All men are now subjected to this sin nature and every man now sins. All men sin and God is allergic to sin. You cannot sin and be with God.

Amen

The wages of sin is death according to the Bible. The only way sin can be covered is with death.

Sin isn't just covered by death. A dead sinner doesn't continue to sin. Before a sinner can be married to a new nature, the old nature must be put to death. Like an operating system on a computer. The old system must be first uninstalled before a new one can be installed.

So God decided to offer men a way out. Jesus Christ, the son of God came to us in human form to take all of the sins of men upon himself and die for us. From one man death and sin entered the world so through one man all men can now be saved. Jesus died for all men. He offered his earth born life up on a cross to take all of our sin upon himself.

Yes. Jesus came to free all men from the power of darkness and bondage to sin. His work at the cross and His subsequent resurrection was for the whole world. But we can only partake of that victory by going ourselves to His cross so that we too can walk in His resurrection life.

He died upon that cross and God the father raised him from the dead three days later and he ascended up to heaven. If you believe this happened and believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, you will be saved. Repent, turn back to God and accept this gift Jesus has offered you. Choose this day who you will serve. In God We Trust.

Believing or not about a historical event can't save someone from their sins. That is too superficial and not meant to replace a faith that actually moves heaven and earth, and transforms our walk into one that is of Christ. If we abide in Christ then we ought also to walk in the very same way that Jesus did (1 John 2:6)

“He that saith he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

The only way to partake of the salvation that is in Christ is to embrace the power of the cross that puts our outer sin nature to death. Only then can we walk in newness of life. Walking in a new religious belief or opinion does not put sin to death. Unless we are disconnected from the sin factory of the outer man we will continue to walk in the power of men. The gospel is about power, not just a good sounding anecdote. If people were to be honest they would realize that the gospel is not about the power of a human religious belief. The gospel changed the world. But if we wish to be changed into a holy saint of God then we must also be transformed by His grace. God's grace is sufficient for us to overcome exactly as Jesus overcame. We enter into Christ in order to partake of His resurrection life. But before we can do that the cross must first put to death the outer barrier that is the power of the flesh that keeps us in spiritual bondage.

So we can't just add Christ onto our sinful nature. No, we must die in Him in order to be raised to abide in Him. That is the way of grace. We will never know the faith of Christ before we realize our own emptiness. That is true repentance.

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

 

[Brakelite]

Amen


Sin isn't just covered by death. A dead sinner doesn't continue to sin. Before a sinner can be married to a new nature, the old nature must be put to death. Like an operating system on a computer. The old system must be first uninstalled before a new one can be installed.


Yes. Jesus came to free all men from the power of darkness and bondage to sin. His work at the cross and His subsequent resurrection was for the whole world. But we can only partake of that victory by going ourselves to His cross so that we too can walk in His resurrection life.


Believing or not about a historical event can't save someone from their sins. That is too superficial and not meant to replace a faith that actually moves heaven and earth, and transforms our walk into one that is of Christ. If we abide in Christ then we ought also to walk in the very same way that Jesus did (1 John 2:6)

“He that saith he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

The only way to partake of the salvation that is in Christ is to embrace the power of the cross that puts our outer sin nature to death. Only then can we walk in newness of life. Walking in a new religious belief or opinion does not put sin to death. Unless we are disconnected from the sin factory of the outer man we will continue to walk in the power of men. The gospel is about power, not just a good sounding anecdote. If people were to be honest they would realize that the gospel is not about the power of a human religious belief. The gospel changed the world. But if we wish to be changed into a holy saint of God then we must also be transformed by His grace. God's grace is sufficient for us to overcome exactly as Jesus overcame. We enter into Christ in order to partake of His resurrection life. But before we can do that the cross must first put to death the outer barrier that is the power of the flesh that keeps us in spiritual bondage.

So we can't just add Christ onto our sinful nature. No, we must die in Him in order to be raised to abide in Him. That is the way of grace. We will never know the faith of Christ before we realize our own emptiness. That is true repentance.

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

All realized and experienced through the present ministry of Christ as our High Priest, pouring out His Spirit upon those who believe. Thus confirming that the cross was but the beginning of our journey to our ultimate salvation. Justification, the cross. Sanctification, Christ's ministry in heaven. Glorification, our new bodies at the resurrection/translation at the second coming. All components of the gospel. All essential.

 

[Mantis]

You guys are pretty smart. I’m a simple man. The way I read it is; if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah sent by God the Father, Gods only begotten son and you believe that he was crucified, buried and resurrected by God the father you will be saved.

 

[Episkopos]

You guys are pretty smart. I’m a simple man. The way I read it is; if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah sent by God the Father, Gods only begotten son and you believe that he was crucified, buried and resurrected by God the father you will be saved.

You are right. But that is not the full message of the gospel. There is the power of the message but also the message of the power. The truth has a polarity...a double edged polarity. Have you heard of the double-edged sword that proceeds as the word of truth from the Lord? There is a lower resolution..one that is universal for the meek of the earth. ...and a higher resolution that only a few will experience. Those are the saints.

At the wedding feast there will be the Bride of Christ...but also many guests. Many are called but few are chosen.

notice how Paul used the power of God to demonstrate the full measure of the grace of God.

"Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." (Rom. 15:19)

What people nowadays preach as the gospel is only the lowest form of it...that actually denies the power of it in so many cases.

ALL who believe in Jesus will be saved. But saved to what? The ways of God are a mystery to most people. For the sake of God saving the humble and unassuming in simplicity, many religious lawyer types have sought to justify the ungodliness of their flesh claiming to be presently saved in their fallen state. But we will reap as WE have sown. The imposters seek to reap where the Lord has sown. But only God decides who is justified and who isn't.

So if you remain humble and fear the Lord and continue till the end you will be saved (future tense). If you wish to experience the salvation of the Lord NOW and have a future reward in eternity then you need to surrender your life as a sacrifice to God. Only the Bride of Christ will do this. But the Lord also appeals to those who are "both bad and good" (Mat. 22:10)<<<< those who are still uncrucified in the flesh>>>>to come as humble guests to the marriage feast of the lamb. But the ones who puff themselves up and seek to take a higher place will be bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness to be with the hypocrites (Mat. 22:12). Many Westerners are so spoiled that they will never take a lower place...thus they will suffer an eternal condemnation. That is unless they come to the Lord either in a full surrender for holiness or at least in a humility that claims to be unworthy of eternal life...which is according to righteousness.

 

[Mantis]

Int

You are right. But that is not the full message of the gospel. There is the power of the message but also the message of the power. The truth has a polarity...a double edged polarity. Have you heard of the double-edged sword that proceeds as the word of truth from the Lord? There is a lower resolution..one that is universal for the meek of the earth. ...and a higher resolution that only a few will experience. Those are the saints.

At the wedding feast there will be the Bride of Christ...but also many guests. Many are called but few are chosen.

notice how Paul used the power of God to demonstrate the full measure of the grace of God.

"Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ." (Rom. 15:19)

What people nowadays preach as the gospel is only the lowest form of it...that actually denies the power of it in so many cases.

ALL who believe in Jesus will be saved. But saved to what? The ways of God are a mystery to most people. For the sake of God saving the humble and unassuming in simplicity, many religious lawyer types have sought to justify the ungodliness of their flesh claiming to be presently saved in their fallen state. But we will reap as WE have sown. The imposters seek to reap where the Lord has sown. But only God decides who is justified and who isn't.

So if you remain humble and fear the Lord and continue till the end you will be saved (future tense). If you wish to experience the salvation of the Lord NOW and have a future reward in eternity then you need to surrender your life as a sacrifice to God. Only the Bride of Christ will do this. But the Lord also appeals to those who are "both bad and good" (Mat. 22:10)<<<< those who are still uncrucified in the flesh>>>>to come as humble guests to the marriage feast of the lamb. But the ones who puff themselves up and seek to take a higher place will be bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness to be with the hypocrites (Mat. 22:12). Many Westerners are so spoiled that they will never take a lower place...thus they will suffer an eternal condemnation. That is unless they come to the Lord either in a full surrender for holiness or at least in a humility that claims to be unworthy of eternal life...which is according to righteousness.

I have always wondered what it meant by “many are called but few are chosen”. I wasn’t sure if it was talking about being chosen to go to heaven.

So how do I sacrifice my life for the Lord to become a saint?

 

[atpollard]

You guys are pretty smart. I’m a simple man. The way I read it is; if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the messiah sent by God the Father, Gods only begotten son and you believe that he was crucified, buried and resurrected by God the father you will be saved.

Romans 10:5-13 [NASB]

5 For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"--that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for "EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
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The Apostle Paul was a friggin' theological genius ... and he said the exact same thing that you did.
I agree with you and Paul.

(Of course it is not enough to just believe the facts are true ... Satan KNOWS those facts are true ... it is obvious that you are believing that Jesus is YOUR "Christ" and He "was crucified, buried and resurrected" for YOU. However I kinda thought that you already did "own it", so this is just clarification for anyone that might be reading along.)