Sunday, May 23, 2010

What is required of being a Christian ?


1st (Matthew 5:17-18): Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.Christians, doesn’t this verse say quite clearly that you still have to follow the laws of the Old Testament? I’ve never really heard an answer to this, so I’m interested in what people will say. Right here Jesus says he didn’t abolish the law. Even though we are under Grace does not give us permission to sin Just because your saved. Being saved means what to you ? Since we are saved by GRACE through FAITH -Does that mean that we are not obligated to obey God’s Commandments?
If WORKS cannot save us, do they serve NO PART in our salvation?
The first word of Jesus’ message was “REPENT!” To repent means to “change”, to “turn around”. Just what did Jesus want a person to turn from? Well, His common reply to those who received forgiveness from Him was -”Go and sin no more.” Obviously, it was sin that He wanted people to turn from. The Bible defines sin as “The transgression of the Law.” (1 John 3:4)
Now, a person could not receive forgiveness without being willing to repent of breaking God’s Commandments. As Jesus told them, they must go and sin no more. This means that they were to stop practicing sin as a way of life. So the question -Can a person be saved without repenting of their sins, and can a person stay in God’s Grace if they continue in sin?  Let’s go back to the Scripture we began with and examine it closely – “For by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as result of WORKS, so that no one may boast.” God is clearly telling us here that we cannot save ourselves and that no amount of works can save us. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus -”In Christ Jesus” means we are alive in Christ, and are spiritual members of His Body now that we are saved and under God’s grace. for GOOD WORKS, -Though we are not saved by our works, as Christians, we were created for the purpose of doing good works. which God PREPARED BEFOREHAND -Theworks we were created to do were prepared by God beforehand. What does it mean “prepared beforehand?” Before what? Surely these “good works” is God’s standard for living which He prepared before Grace was realized through the sacrifice of Christ. so that we would WALK IN THEM.” -Godwants us to “walk in them.” That is, to live according to a standard which was prepared even before Jesus brought us grace by giving His life. (Ephesians 2:8-10What is God’s Standard for living?
Once a young rich man came to Jesus and asked -”What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied -”Keep the Commandments.” The young man asked -”Which ones?” And Jesus began quoting some of the Ten Commandments which God wrote into tablets of stone with His own finger. (Matthew 19)
In Matthew 5 Jesus said, -”Never imagine that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. And until Heaven and Earth pass away not one comma shall pass from the Law til it is full in force. Anyone who relaxes a single one of the least of these Commandments and teaches others to will be ranked least in the Kingdom. But whoever keeps them and teaches others to will be ranked great in the Kingdom.”
In John 14, verse 21, Jesus said, -”He who has My Commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
In 1 Corinthians 7:19, Paul said, -”Circumcision is nothing, anduncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the Commandments of God.”
In Revelation 22:14, Jesus said, -”Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City.”
So in order to be a true Christian we must follow the law. Even though we are under Grace it does not give us permission to sin. How much more clearly do the scriptures make this. I see people argue over this point But this article says it all. YOU CANT PURPOSLY SIN AND BE SAVED. You are saved by Grace but also you are still to follow Bible principles. If you’re not obeying the commandments. Then truly you never repented in your heart and therefore you were never saved. A true Christian can been seen as quite different from the rest of the world. He is in the world but does not partake of its values. He seperates himself from the nations and its wickedness. A true Christian strives to be like Christ Himself. Are you a true Christian ?

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