THE STANDARDS OF SALVATION


Saul of Tarsus wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.“ Saul says that we are saved by faith in God, and not because of anything that we do. He arrives at this conclusion from reading a story about the thief on the cross who is dying, and he applies the story to all. Saul wants to set this story, a rare exception, as the standard of salvation, saved by faith. This kind of reasoning is an error in reasoning, a flawed concept, that renders an argument invalid. Why?
Because we are not thieves on the cross who are dying. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21,“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.“ Matthew 7:21 is the standard of salvation.
Luke 23:39-43 applies only to the thief on the cross. They do not apply to 99.99% of Christians.
Matthew 7:21, however, apply to everybody or 100% of Christians. Moreover, God’s grace must be earned! 
If the thief on the cross was silent and did not say a word, I don't believe Jesus would do much of anything to save him.
“Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:39-43. We must work to earn God's grace. Adam and Eve have not earned God’s grace. Look what happened to them. They were evicted from their home. And they lost eternal life that they already have. We too have to earn God’s grace. Faith alone and no work is what Satan wants us to do. Faith alone and no work is nonsense. The disciple James wrote that faith without work is dead. James 2:14-26.
What the thief on the cross says supports his faith. If he didn’t say a word to Jesus, I doubt if Jesus would save him. How do I know that? Because Jesus did not save the other thief.
The Ten Commandments is filled with work. We have work obligations that we must do to God, to our parents, to our neighbors, to other human beings, and even to our animals. If we say we have faith in Jesus, we must do what Jesus and His Father tell us to do. 
Jesus said in John 14:15 if we love Him keep His commandments. Saul of Tarsus said in Romans 7:12 "So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good". Why then does Saul encourage us to abolish the law? Because of our sinful flesh? We have a solution for that. God will forgive us an infinite number of times. Ask God to forgive us, and repent. Should we fail again, ask God to forgive us again and repent. But how do we know where we have failed if there is no law? How do we know where we have failed when we have abolished the law? Satan knows that God will never forgive Satan. And Satan makes sure that God will not forgive your sins either. How did he do it? By sending to us false teacher, apostle and prophet.
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is [the] Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison. and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number [is] as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet [are]. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is [the Book] of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” Revelation 20:1,2,3,7,8,9,10,12.
We will be judged by our works, not by our faith. WHY?
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. “ Matthew 7:21. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has no effect on the will of God the Father.
HKHOE2023@GMAIL.COM

 



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