The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom

[go_deep]

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

"Only the one who DOES the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus wants us to do the will of the Father. Here is another example of Jesus requiring us to do more than just believe. I know we can't earn salvation, but we are expected to do the best that we can. Should we quit our jobs and become missionaries? Those kinds of people are all in. I'm not even close. I hope God has mercy on us.

See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
James 2:24

 

[505Wapiti]

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

"Only the one who DOES the will of my Father who is in heaven." Jesus wants us to do the will of the Father. Here is another example of Jesus requiring us to do more than just believe. I know we can't earn salvation, but we are expected to do the best that we can. Should we quit our jobs and become missionaries? Those kinds of people are all in. I'm not even close. I hope God has mercy on us.

Here Jesus is exposing those who sound religious but truly have no personal relationship with him, those who sound religious but their lives indicate otherwise. He follows this by talking about those who build on sand instead of rock.

You don’t have to quit your job to be a missionary, you can bring others to Christ simply by modeling how those who proclaim Christ should actually live, how we treat others, loving unconditionally, living by the fruits of the Spirit. We’ve all seen the ones who claim to be a Christian but nothing outwardly visible would indicate that at all. We’ve also seen those you can just tell by the way they carry themselves, how they treat and speak to others that they are followers of Christ.

You are in the mission field inside your own home and every time you walk out the door to go to work, the store, etc. how we conduct ourselves and interact with others, and when the opportunity presents itself we can have those deeper more meaningful conversations with those that are open to hearing the word. The will of the Father is to have a repentant heart, and an ongoing relationship with Christ who gave His life for you and to share that with others by how we live. The hardest thing to do in this world is to live and lead by example. We all stumble at it. Thank God for grace and mercy for those who belive.

 

[rabbithuntr]

Not suggesting I can earn salvation
But I can earn hell

I’m a little confused what you are saying, but since the fall every person has been born spiritually dead deserving of hell.

 

[rabbithuntr]

I understand we can't earn salvation. I also know that we are supposed to try our best. Jesus never says believe in me and be saved. Even the demons believe in Jesus. We are supposed to pick up our cross and follow him. That is a daunting task. Jesus is pretty hard core in his teachings. I value his words over any in the Bible. The sermon on the mount is not rainbows and unicorns. He lays down the law and according to his words, many of us will not meet the standard. Church seems to gloss over this and goes straight to John 3:16. I know I believe in Jesus. I know he is the Messiah and our savior. I believe it all. I doubt myself. I doubt my attachment to the world. I'm the best version of myself but I am no Charlie Kirk. I have my vices, I know they are sin and still do them. I have way less than ever, but they are still there. I just always wonder what is enough. The Bible says everything is what's enough. How many of us put in everything? Few. That's what is always in the back of my mind.

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭
The Bible is all Gods word the rest of the Bible is not invalid because they’re not the words of Jesus. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness he used scripture, he valued the entirety of scripture.

 

[dylanvb]

There is a difference between salvation and sanctification. This is one of those issues.

If you believe in Jesus you will be saved. Just like the thief on the cross.
But if you claim to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ and do not actively pursue a life after Christ then you will be condemned for that. These are the Luke warm Christians, the fence sitters the people have gone to church their whole lives and have not spread the word of God. We do not have to all become preachers but we are all called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We are called to stand on truth and to spread truth to those around us. Not everyone is called to give up life and become a preacher or missionary or anything but we are all called to be disciples and if we do not answer that calling I believe we will be judged for it.

We know truth and don’t answer the calling? Thats just as bad as not believing in the first place. A change of heart will be obvious on the outside in our actions.

 

[dylanvb]

“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God has given all of us breath today. Thank you God for protecting me in my sleep.

 

[ethanbillingsley]

“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

God has given all of us breath today. Thank you God for protecting me in my sleep.

Man the Lord hit me hard once when I woke up to be thankful that not only did I wake up, but I could walk. I could be warm in a house with my family when it was freezing outside. Thankful I could make coffee and get in my truck and be warm. All the things!

17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

 

[Jmhunt_13]

Just stumbled upon this thread and man it's the best. Thank you everyone for sharing personal understandings for others to read/discuss. It's helping us all grow and learn.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Lots of good stuff of late. I have missed commenting on most of it, some really good points to be made but i will simply leave it as this:

Jesus’ words are some of the most important of the Bible, and i lean on what He says from Hos lips more so than other scripture, but the reality is ALL scripture is from His lips, right? Why shpuld we take any part of it higher than any other part? It is all part and parcel to the story of God’s redemption and claim to humankind.
The context of who Jesus was talking to is very important, as was mentioned. The other thing that was not really hit in that doscussion was Jesus knows our hearts, our intentions. If we are doing something like missionary work to “earn” favor or standing or clout or even salvation, the heart is telling and Jesus will reject that work from the person seeking to “earn whatever” but still use it for His good. Similarly, if we are using our position and our normal day to day as a mission field to spread the message about God/Jesus/HS, then He will see that and i believe He will honor it, and use it for His good.

Ultimately, He sees us for who we are, and to Him we are His children. For any parent out there, is there ANYThHING that could separate you from loving your child? Think about perfect love, and that is how we are viewed by God.

Broad is the path to destruction but narrow i the gate to salvation. We must remember that 2000 years ago, the path to salvation was very narrow, and no one could get there due to the law being so burdensome. Jesus fixed that for us. He made the burden light as He now carries the yoke for us. This does not mean there are not easier paths the world and its gods have laid out to try and trip us up that lead to destruction (very similar to 2000 years ago, although in some regards maybe a little less obvious to the mostly spiritually blind western world), so the words still ring true to a broad path to destruction. But the narrow road to salvation is apparent to those who know Jesus. It is a narrow road, but He has opened the door for us.

Praying for all you that today may gice you opportunities to show Gods love and spread some Jesus around the world.

 

[ethanbillingsley]

Considering some of the conversations we had recently this seemed timely.

 

[go_deep]

Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all. Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good.
Roman's 12:17,21

 

[Texasbuckeye]

Deitrich Bonhoeffer states in his book “the Cots of Discipleship” that every christian comes to a realization that it is simply grace that is the answer. But he differentiates between cheap grace and costly grace.
The immature and or unsaved look for cheap grace. The mature, seasoned, battle worn, lived life in this world for too ling and ready to go home christian looks for costly grace.

Costly grace is the saving grace Jesus offers. That is the price He paid for us. It wasnt cheap but costly for Him and for us.