This is where Teresa and I find ourselves today. We cannot lament on what could have been but must look at what can be.
With this in mind, we should stop going over the elementary truths about Christ and move on to topics for more mature people. We shouldn't repeat the basics about turning away from the useless things we did and the basics about faith in God.
We shouldn't repeat the basic teachings about such things as baptisms, setting people apart for holy tasks, dead people coming back to life, and eternal judgment.
And this we will do, if indeed God permits. Heb 6:1-3
We plan to be working inside the local church in the southeastern part of Bucuresti with the expressed objective of making fishers of men. The church is full of people who love the Lord and want to serve Him, but not so many fishermen. Teresa plans to begin Saturday with youth Bible study in the church Emanual. I am hopeful to begin tomorrow with a young man from the church named Alexandru. Both our goals is to teach these people that God wants us to confess Him before the world. This is not a one time event, but a way of life, just as is Christianity. .
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Mat 10:32-33
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:9
Christianity is not a religion but following Christ with your life. Jesus tells us that if we love Him we would obey Him also.
So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer: (your reasonable service). Rom 12:1
If ye love me, keep my commandments. Joh 14:15
A big contrast between American church and Romanian church is, Romanians understand the living the good moral life, but in most part do not understand the need to tell others that you are a Christians and they also can be saved too.
As I see the American church, they tell others they are Christians but their lives are so much like the world, the world says, “so what, you live worst then I do” leaving no witness at all.
Americans can tell you when they prayed a prayer asking God to save them but many have never been born again, a Romanian can not count the number of times they have said that prayer and still does not know if he is going to heaven.
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
1Jo 5:13 I've written this to those who believe in the Son of God so that they will know that they have eternal life.
Adrian Rogers put it this way:
“A Christian is not somebody who merely believes that Christ died for our sins. The devil believes that. A Christian is somebody who has repented of his sins and invited Christ into his heart to be his Savior and Lord. You can intellectually believe that an airplane can fly, but in order to fly you must try out its wings. In the same way, when you give your heart to Jesus Christ, He takes control of your life and begins to make you into the person He wants you to be.”
If this blog concerns you take time to read Galatians 5:19-25 and see if your life is one that will keep you out of Heaven or if you indeed have life eternal.
What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God. But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. The Spirit has given us life; He must also control our lives. Gal 5:19-25
2 comments:
Hello!
You quoted Romans 10:9 and I want to comment on the Christian view of salvation.
(le-havdil) How to live in order to enable the Creator in His loving kindness to provide His foregivness is outlined in Tan’’kh ( the Jewish Bible) ; and was also taught by the first century Ribi Yehoshua from Nazareth (the Mashiakh; the Messiah) (His teachings are found here: Netzarim.)
Tan’’kh – for example Yekhëzqeil (Hezekiel) 18 – promises foregiveness to those and only those who do their sincerest to keep the mitzwot (commandments) in Torah. The Creator cannot lie and He does not change (Malakhi 3:6)! According to Tehilim (“Psalms”) 103 the Creator gives His foregivness to those who do their sincerest to keep His berit (“covenant”; the pre-conditions to be included in the berit is according to the Jewish Bible to do ones sincerest to keep Torah).
No human can keep Torah perfectly. There is a provision. Ribi Yehoshua ha-Mashiakh lived and kept Torah with the sincerest of his heart, died innocently and became a sacrifice. Because of that the Creator can give His foregiveness for the short comings (in keeping Torah) to everyone doing his/her sincerest to keep His instructions found in Torah, and to everyone turning away from their Torah-breaches to instead starting to do their sincerest to keep the instructions in Torah.
Living in the above described way until one dies implies that the Creator will continue to give His forgiveness during one’s whole life, which will keep ones nephesh (psyche) in a connection with the Creator, which will lead to ha-olam haba (which Christians would call “heaven”). While not living in the above described way, according to Yekhezeqeil, won’t lead to ha-olam haba.
Thus the NT-view of getting salvation just by believing in Jesus contradicts Torah
Anders Branderud
Thank you for your comments. I am not familiar with the Jewish Bible so please forgive me as I only use the Bible references.
In Genesis 15:6 God declares Abram righteous because of his faith in God. This trust in God is the same way we believe we are saved as well. Living a good moral life is a indication of a change inside you. Trust in God is the route to heaven. I do not believe this is different from your belief, however I do believe that Jesus is the Christ who was promised in the Old Testament. Isaiah 43:25 says God blots out our sins, Psalm 51:17 wants a humble and repentant heart. Someone who will trust Him. The Lord God is our salvation, the Psalms repeat my Savor, my salvation is the Lord. I do not believe that any work we can do will get us to heaven or make us right with God, I believe only faith in God will save you and Jesus Christ being the sinless sacrifice that satisfies God wrath. Our good works are only a sign that God lives in us. The blog that your comment was attached to was only trying to point out that no matter what we think saves us, it is what God thinks that matters. In our New Testament we are indeed told that we need to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead to be saved. Please take time to compare my Jesus with the teachings in the Jewish Bible and see if this is the one the nation of Israel has been waiting for, you have nothing to loss by spending time in God's word and everlasting life to gain if you should find that this is indeed the Christ. Thank you again, Randy
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