PIC: Satan Falls. Paradise Lost. From CreationTodayOrg
Excerpt from the article: What saves you
Introduction
When it comes to our salvation, only God can save us. “Not we ourselves.” God saves us… or not. Are you saved?
2 Corinthians 3:4-5 “our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit….”
God Himself does the work of salvation when we draw near to Him with repentance. There is nothing you can do to earn it. Absolutely nothing.
But we must respond to His offer, as Paul put it – “obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10, Matthew 19:16).
He offers. We accept. He saves. He empowers. We follow.
Or…
He offers. We reject. He convicts. We reject, reject again, and again….
So then, once we have this salvation, once He is our Lord and Savior, the true believer is exhorted to:
“…continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].
13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] [a]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:11-13).
That is called sanctification. It is not doing “works” to save you, but rather “works to please Him“. It is not works to earn it, but rather works “for His good pleasure“. Once saved we begin a new life of working with God toward spiritual maturity – “as servants of a new covenant“ NASB… “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness.”
“…may the Lord cause you to increase and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the [e]coming of our Lord Jesus with all His [f]saints.” – 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13
- Salvation is when you give to God a yielded heart, accepting His free gift.
- Sanctification is where you purposely grow yourself into maturity by His Spirit.
How not to get saved
Here’s a bit of reverse psychology:
Hasan Almasi – Unsplash
What to do to not get saved
If you do not want to be saved (scary thought), then DO NOT follow Jesus. Go join hateful chat rooms, hateful groups. Share your rebellious mind. Keep your mind replete MirrWeb with hate.
In other words: Jesus the Savior absolutely requires sincerity, truth, and genuine commitment to the Savior. He requires that we follow Him. So don’t.
Don’t let your mind dwell on what Jesus has called His followers to! So then you will not get saved.
Following Him reveals we gave Him our all. So don’t do that. Then you got it! You DO NOT follow Jesus.
That’s all you need — to be God damned on earth. That is the requirement for Hell. Going to Hell?
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This does not save you:——–
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It is extremely important to know “what does not save you“. The Devil cannot easily deceive you if you know God’s parameters for saving faith. Don’t fall into these traps. See: Why God rejects anyone
This does not save you
* “Believing” without doing.
“Fool!
When will you ever learn
that “believing” is useless
without doing
what God wants you to?
Faith that does not
result in good deeds
is not real faith.
– James 2:20 TLB – Living Bible
A “no-faith faith”
If we have no actual fruit (as a result of salvation), which should be giving evidence of “our faith”, then our supposed faith in Christ is no faith in Christ at all. It’s a fake. It’s a “no-faith faith”. Worthless.
You, “foolish fellow“,
are insanely living a lie.
– Source: The Overcoming Faith of Christ Followers
This does not save you
* Believing in Jesus like Lucifer the Devil “believes”. (Lucifer is also called Satan.)
Satan “believes” in Jesus with a mental assent type believing. But Jesus requires we “believe” in the New Testament sense.
Saving Faith for Saving Grace
THIS believing unto salvation is found in Luke 9:23. This saving belief in Jesus is like taking on the dye of His colors (like a cloth in a dye). We are dyed into all the colors of Jesus – all that He is. A saving belief in Jesus is to:
- Accept all that He is.
- Accept all that He wants.
- Deny our self in order to fit into His Way.
“Satan type” believing in Jesus
The word “believe”, in the New Testament sense, differs drastically from a “Satan type” believing.
Satan believes (with a mental assent belief) that Jesus is who He says He is. He’s been with Jesus in Heaven! So Satan says, “Yah, He is God.” But…
- Satan does not accept all that Jesus is.
- Satan does not deny himself anything.
- Satan demands his own ways.
- Satan keeps his own ways: his own creed, his own set of standards.
- Satan does not love Jesus – at all!
- Satan does not obey Jesus as Lord.
- Satan does not follow Jesus.
- Satan does not commit to Jesus with any part of himself (body, heart, mind, soul, strength).
Do you believe like Satan believes? Think again. We “must” “believe” with a New Testament sense of the word.
The easy-believism of nowadays is not a saving belief at all. It leaves you with the same reward as Satan will get!
This does not save you
* Hating and not forgiving others. This is a surprising one! Jesus taught this.
“…He who does not love remains in [spiritual] death.” – 1 John 3:14
“…But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.” – Matthew 6:14-15
See: | 1 John 3:14, Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:35 | Hating is life changing – eternal life changing. Scary thought. |
Staying in hate is like refusing to repent of your sin. You MUST repent of all sin. You give it up, confess it, turn from it – to the love of Jesus. It’s not merely having warm fuzzy feelings toward someone. The love of Jesus in us is shown by choosing to act in “agape” love. Learning to love is livelong. It is part of “conforming to My example in living“. *See passages
This does not save you
* “Following another gospel”.
This does not save you
* Religious practices that God has condemned. (2 Peter 1:20-21)
A common NAR-type practice is Making God Speak. Are you pretending your words are God’s Words? Are you pretending to have dreams and visions from God, when they are not? God is against you for that.
See: | The Controversy of God Speaking To You Directly |
| This is God speaking (satire) |
You cannot make God move (2 Peter 1:20-21). You cannot work up a “word of the Lord”. No matter how intensely you want it, no act of your own will, an “act of human will”, can make God speak (2 Peter 1:20-21).
This does not save you
* Being an idolater. “An idolater is someone who somehow makes a substitute for God. Something other than God takes first place in the idolater’s heart. – Source: The one who is an idolater
You can get into idolatry by “…loving anything more than God, or, participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul…” – Verse 14 of 1 Corinthians 10:9-14.
“For this you know with certainty,
that no immoral or
impure person or
covetous man,
who is an idolater,
has an inheritance in
the kingdom of Christ and God.”
– Ephesians 5:5
This does not save you
* Practices of the flesh. See: | God’s Sin List | God’s List of Unacceptables | Bad Fruit | Claiming a sin as God’s will for you | Flesh and blood absolutely cannot inherit the Kingdom of God | Take a stance on homosexuality – like Jesus did
This does not save you
* The “cracked heart“: What many fail to see in themselves
- holding-back with something (reservation),
- halfhearted, flippant attitudes (the non-committal),
- ingenuine sorrow for sins (2 Corinthians 7:9-11) (the unrepentant),
- disobedience, rebelliousness, accepting what God rejects (the disobedient)
- dublicitousness MirWebster.
This does not save you
* Not being all “in” for Him.
If I’m not all “in” for Him, my faith is dead (James 2:20). You are “all in” or you are “all out” – lost still. It shows up when you love Jesus less than other things, when you love the world. Are you examining yourself deeply. What escapes your notice? You missing what is keeping your soul damned to Hell?
This does not save you
* Rejecting God’s offer of salvation. Well, this is an obvious one! “condemned and sentenced”
Reject Him once, you may get another chance. Reject Him till tomorrow… and tomorrow may never come. Reject Him more, and He may give you your freedom reins to ride as-you-will into the sunset, on your own, enslaved by sin.
This does not save you
* Keeping sin – playing with sin. See: | Keeping sin | Keeping sin AND getting God’s Holiness also | 1 John 1:8 |
You cannot expect Jesus to let you waltz into Heaven with your sin. Ain’t happen’n. He is holy.
If God has labeled something “sinful” on earth, then how in the Heavens are you going to argue Him into a corner till He gives-in to you, a mere puny human mudman? Give it up.
Acknowledge you are sinful, repent – turn from it, and turn to Him for His mercy and grace. God can forgive any and all sins you may be dealing with. Go to Him. Sincerely and truthfully throw yourself on His grace and mercy.
Conclusion
As Paul said: What we want is the word of Christ “permeating every aspect of your being.” That is the evidence showing our confession was real.
Sinlessness is not the evidence. All believers continue to sin.
The evidence is “Christ in you the hope of glory”, with the fruit of His Spirit flowing out from inside your insides. See: Galatians 5:22-23 and James 3:17.
But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…. – Galatians 5:22-23
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure [morally and spiritually undefiled], then peace-loving [courteous, considerate], gentle, reasonable [and willing to listen], full of compassion and good fruits. It is unwavering, without [self-righteous] hypocrisy [and self-serving guile]. – James 3:17
After salvation, the works inevitably come through by His Spirit within you… with what you become, what you really really are, maturing inside your insides. Un-becoming, and becoming. Those are the works that follow true salvation. 1
If my happiness depended on anything but Christ, I would always find something to wallow in, like a pig mired in mud and likin’ it. I probably would have gone stark raving mad a long time ago, if not for my faith in Christ, and His forgiving, His healing and His empowering grace pouring over me.
There is no dependable factor out there, no “this is it” moment – except through God Almighty.
– Source: My Happy
What I am is what I make of it.
How I act towards others,
what I reflect to others
with my demeanor,
my face, my voice and inflections,
my attitude, my actions…
are all the parts of what make me who I am.
– Source: This is it
“Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being]….”
– Colossians 3:16
FOR MORE:
What really truly is necessary for you to be saved? Jesus gave us His parameters. There are limits to His grace. Don’t get shut-out because of them. His mercy is huge, so today – all on earth still have a choice to make. The day of “it’s too late” is just around the corner!
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Keeping sin AND getting God’s Holiness also
Claiming a sin as God’s will for you
God and Man have free will with which to make a choice – by Dennis Swick
God eventually gives you a free rein
We don’t get into a Holy Kingdom by sinning
Your disappointment is scheduled…The day of “it’s too late” – entering the other side
What escapes your notice? Excerpt: Don’t get shut-out. In your opinions, harangues, commenting, social media personas — what escapes your notice? Well, you didn’t notice, did you?! Ha! (2 Peter 3)
Why God is against me if I claim my words are God’s own
About Satan… a series on our Enemy
The controversy of God speaking directly to you
Why God is against me if I claim my words are God’s own
False Prophets | by Diane S. Dew
Was your confession accepted by God?
Claiming a sin as God’s will for you
There is no other saving gospel
Being faithful, little by little
Acknowledge God and consider Him worth knowing
The Gift by His Precious, Undeserved Grace
God’s grace teaches us to reject sin
The Controversy of God Speaking To You Directly
God spoke through prophets and Jesus – the greatest of all
Getting born again …He loved us so much that He provided legal forgiveness for any who choose to follow Him.
God’s message to the world …giving all of you – for all of Him. Nothing less is good enough for our Holy Holy Holy God.
Staying Alive …If the core of your being rejects parts and pieces of what Christ taught, then you have no salvation.
Promises God makes about your salvation
Oh how marvelous …is His grace
Salvation in Christ is beyond HUGE
Is your life fruit Agape Love?…the fruit of His Spirit flowing out
Your spiritual journey to eternal life
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
Rely on the Spirit of God in you
Good Fruit…Galatians 5:22-23 The Good Fruit List
Christ secured our eternal home
What God secures – You cannot lose
The security of the true believer
Mark 12:28-31 “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;
30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (And also: Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27)
Rewards in Heaven… Matthew 19:28-30
28 Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [d]or children or farms for My name’s sake will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first [in this world] will be last [in the world to come]; and the last, first.
Footnotes
- From a biblical point of view of our spiritual life, when we turn to Jesus we are miraculously changed in an instant with new birth in Christ. We get “born again”, as Jesus explained it in John 3. We stop living between two opinions.
The truth is: We are not right with God – until we are born again. It is THEN, once we are legally forgiven in God’s Courts – a life-long process begins (called “sanctification”).
It is THEN, with the Holy Spirit inside us, that we begin to “work out” (Philippians 2:12) being more and more like Christ in our daily living. That’s the Christian’s journey. We will stumble. We will fail, sin. But we do not accept sin as okay before God. We repent… and move on renewed by His Spirit.
The good fight is the Spirit-filled “un-becoming” life (as per Paulo Coelho’s usage, not the common usage unbecoming!), where little by little we undo the ways of the enemies of our soul.
We become more and more faithful. We become more and more like Jesus – living righteous… what we are meant to be. – Source: Un-becoming.
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