Very Simple And Very Elementary!

[CJManzell]

Here is what they say....

If you are trying to make yourselves
right with God by keeping the law,
you have been cut off from Christ!
You have fallen away from God’s grace.

Love the legalistic, hate the legalism...

"Legalism kills more congregations and
stops more individual spiritual development
than sin does..."

THE TRUTH IS....
All Christians are under the commandments of Jesus Christ!
To be RIGHT with God...
you have to obey ALL the commandments of Jesus Christ!
To reject the commandments of Jesus Christ, is to reject Jesus.
The commandments of Jesus Christ...The Word made flesh...
the words of eternal life...is the only way to God.

To reject the commandments of Jesus Christ
is to reject Christ the Son of the Living God.

John 6:28-29
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this:
to believe in the one he has sent."

To believe Jesus(the one God sent) is to
obey His commandments. This is the work
of God. If you do not believe Jesus(the one God sent)...
you will disregard and not obey the
commandments of Jesus Christ.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied in thy name? and in
thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matt. 7:21-23

It's obvious these "many" people believed in the Lord,
it's also obvious they believed they were saved. So how
is it the Lord said, "depart from me?" The Lord has
condemned them to hell.

The Lord says "I never knew you." How is that possible?

This really is easy to understand. And elementary.

You have 2 people.

One is OBEYING the commandments of Jesus Christ.

One is DISOBEYING the commandments of Jesus Christ.

Which one is Jesus going to say depart from me,
ye that work iniquity?

I will give you 1 guess.

Now the devil is going to tell you....

why you do not or have to obey the
commandments of Jesus Christ
to be saved)

But the truth is....

the devil is going to tell you anything but the fact
that you have to obey the commandments of Jesus Christ
to be in Christ, which is what you have to
do to be right with God.

Simple as that!

very elementary!

There is GOOD works and there is EVIL works.
Does God reward you for doing GOOD works?
Yes or No

What does God reward you for doing GOOD works?
Blessings or Curses

Does God punish or reward you for doing evil works?
Yes or No

What does God reward you for doing evil works?
Blessings or Punishment(curses)

Does it please God for you to do GOOD works?
Yes or No

What does God reward you with
when you please Him by doing GOOD works?
Blessings or Curses

Does it please God for you to do evil works?
Yes or No

What does God reward you with
when you displease Him by doing Evil works?
Blessings or Punishment(curses)

Very Simple And Very Elementary!

[Michael The Disciple]

Very good!

[Aquila]

What are Christ's commandments specifically?

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by Aquila

What are Christ's commandments specifically?

I guess that's not so simple or elementary.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Timmy

I guess that's not so simple or elementary.

Exactly.

And the funny thing is... everyone who is so big on was "commanded" has a different list of commands, or a different interpretation of them. The notion leaves us awash on the sea of subjective human interpretation. Grace is the only sure foundation.

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Exactly.

And the funny thing is... everyone who is so big on was "commanded" has a different list of commands, or a different interpretation of them. The notion leaves us awash on the sea of subjective human interpretation. Grace is the only sure foundation.

Well, it's a foundation. How sure it is remains to be seen.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Timmy

Well, it's a foundation. How sure it is remains to be seen.

I think it can be seen. Ever notice how so many different churches have different "lists" of "standards" that supposedly "please God"? Ever fear losing your salvation over something like short sleeves? Ever been told you can't approach God unless you're in complete agreement with the pastor's (a man's) "standards"?

It's seen and experienced every day. Yet people either ignore it or make excuses for it. One church I attended condemned anyone who wore a wedding band to Hell. The next church I attended said it wasn't any big deal to God. Is GOD the author of confusion??? Absolutely not.

Let's face it... these "lists" of "standards" and interpretations leave the believer drifting on the sea of the highly subjective opinions of men. No one as any assurance of their salvation. We then judge one another and measure one another by one another. The body is divided. Christ takes a back seat to our performance with regards to the "list" we've been given. Jesus is seen as dying for us to get us in the door... and then seemingly abandons us to save ourselves through rigorous adherence to the given list in front of us. Soon our "Apostolic Identity" becomes far more important and precious in our eyes than our identity in Christ alone. This is a subtle form of idolatry. And none of these lists can provide us a better chance at attaining Heaven than an attempt at building a wooden ladder to Heaven. We think that God is "impressed" with our efforts and our standards. Many think God will judge each of us differently in accordance our respective "lists". However, God is no respecter of persons. Even worse yet... though we've designed our lists in the back rooms of our denominational headquarters... we fail to keep them perfectly ourselves! Thereby making ourselves the worst of hypocrites. Technically, even our own lists will stand to condemn us.

However, there is a single solid objective truth that we can stand upon. That truth is... God's grace towards His elect children. The truth that God chose an elect remnant from before the foundations of the world through which to demonstrate His love and grace. The truth that God has provided atonement, propitiation, and justification for His children's glorification. All through grace and grace alone. No performance is necessary. Just a continual life of surrender to God's leading. A surrender to... love. Loving God and loving others. An absolute surrender of the self, the soul, the ego to the very person of Jesus. The quest to be conformed into the image of the glorified Christ Himself. The surrender to being a branch of the True Vine. The surrender to being filled with all the fullness of God's own Spirit. The surrender to being "one spirit" with the Lord. This brings us to the point of truly knowing ourselves and being honest about our wretched fallen nature and the depravity of our filthy, rotten, sordid flesh. Accepting the reality that we are chosen treasures trapped in earthen vessels. The absolute and utter dependence upon God's grace to grow into the fullness of Christ's own likeness.

Grace is the only solid objective truth of Scripture. Grace requires nothing as it relates to performance. However, it demands everything with relation to the surrender of self and honesty about one's condition before God... leading to absolute dependence upon... Him and Him alone.

Grace.

[Aquila]

This is an excellent video. I thought that I'd share it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrLzYw6ULYw

[Timmy]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I think it can be seen. Ever notice how so many different churches have different "lists" of "standards" that supposedly "please God"? Ever fear losing your salvation over something like short sleeves? Ever been told you can't approach God unless you're in complete agreement with the pastor's (a man's) "standards"?

It's seen and experienced every day. Yet people either ignore it or make excuses for it. One church I attended condemned anyone who wore a wedding band to Hell. The next church I attended said it wasn't any big deal to God. Is GOD the author of confusion??? Absolutely not.

Let's face it... these "lists" of "standards" and interpretations leave the believer drifting on the sea of the highly subjective opinions of men. No one as any assurance of their salvation. We then judge one another and measure one another by one another. The body is divided. Christ takes a back seat to our performance with regards to the "list" we've been given. Jesus is seen as dying for us to get us in the door... and then seemingly abandons us to save ourselves through rigorous adherence to the given list in front of us. Soon our "Apostolic Identity" becomes far more important and precious in our eyes than our identity in Christ alone. This is a subtle form of idolatry. And none of these lists can provide us a better chance at attaining Heaven than an attempt at building a wooden ladder to Heaven. We think that God is "impressed" with our efforts and our standards. Many think God will judge each of us differently in accordance our respective "lists". However, God is no respecter of persons. Even worse yet... though we've designed our lists in the back rooms of our denominational headquarters... we fail to keep them perfectly ourselves! Thereby making ourselves the worst of hypocrites. Technically, even our own lists will stand to condemn us.

However, there is a single solid objective truth that we can stand upon. That truth is... God's grace towards His elect children. The truth that God chose an elect remnant from before the foundations of the world through which to demonstrate His love and grace. The truth that God has provided atonement, propitiation, and justification for His children's glorification. All through grace and grace alone. No performance is necessary. Just a continual life of surrender to God's leading. A surrender to... love. Loving God and loving others. An absolute surrender of the self, the soul, the ego to the very person of Jesus. The quest to be conformed into the image of the glorified Christ Himself. The surrender to being a branch of the True Vine. The surrender to being filled with all the fullness of God's own Spirit. The surrender to being "one spirit" with the Lord. This brings us to the point of truly knowing ourselves and being honest about our wretched fallen nature and the depravity of our filthy, rotten, sordid flesh. Accepting the reality that we are chosen treasures trapped in earthen vessels. The absolute and utter dependence upon God's grace to grow into the fullness of Christ's own likeness.

Grace is the only solid objective truth of Scripture. Grace requires nothing as it relates to performance. However, it demands everything with relation to the surrender of self and honesty about one's condition before God... leading to absolute dependence upon... Him and Him alone.

Grace.

Still. It does remain to be seen. When it's too late to do anything about it!

[Godsdrummer]

Originally Posted by Aquila

I think it can be seen. Ever notice how so many different churches have different "lists" of "standards" that supposedly "please God"? Ever fear losing your salvation over something like short sleeves? Ever been told you can't approach God unless you're in complete agreement with the pastor's (a man's) "standards"?

It's seen and experienced every day. Yet people either ignore it or make excuses for it. One church I attended condemned anyone who wore a wedding band to Hell. The next church I attended said it wasn't any big deal to God. Is GOD the author of confusion??? Absolutely not.

Let's face it... these "lists" of "standards" and interpretations leave the believer drifting on the sea of the highly subjective opinions of men. No one as any assurance of their salvation. We then judge one another and measure one another by one another. The body is divided. Christ takes a back seat to our performance with regards to the "list" we've been given. Jesus is seen as dying for us to get us in the door... and then seemingly abandons us to save ourselves through rigorous adherence to the given list in front of us. Soon our "Apostolic Identity" becomes far more important and precious in our eyes than our identity in Christ alone. This is a subtle form of idolatry. And none of these lists can provide us a better chance at attaining Heaven than an attempt at building a wooden ladder to Heaven. We think that God is "impressed" with our efforts and our standards. Many think God will judge each of us differently in accordance our respective "lists". However, God is no respecter of persons. Even worse yet... though we've designed our lists in the back rooms of our denominational headquarters... we fail to keep them perfectly ourselves! Thereby making ourselves the worst of hypocrites. Technically, even our own lists will stand to condemn us.

However, there is a single solid objective truth that we can stand upon. That truth is... God's grace towards His elect children. The truth that God chose an elect remnant from before the foundations of the world through which to demonstrate His love and grace. The truth that God has provided atonement, propitiation, and justification for His children's glorification. All through grace and grace alone. No performance is necessary. Just a continual life of surrender to God's leading. A surrender to... love. Loving God and loving others. An absolute surrender of the self, the soul, the ego to the very person of Jesus. The quest to be conformed into the image of the glorified Christ Himself. The surrender to being a branch of the True Vine. The surrender to being filled with all the fullness of God's own Spirit. The surrender to being "one spirit" with the Lord. This brings us to the point of truly knowing ourselves and being honest about our wretched fallen nature and the depravity of our filthy, rotten, sordid flesh. Accepting the reality that we are chosen treasures trapped in earthen vessels. The absolute and utter dependence upon God's grace to grow into the fullness of Christ's own likeness.

Grace is the only solid objective truth of Scripture. Grace requires nothing as it relates to performance. However, it demands everything with relation to the surrender of self and honesty about one's condition before God... leading to absolute dependence upon... Him and Him alone.

Grace.