Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Is Jesus Sufficient to Save You?

Is what Jesus did on the cross all you need to enter the kingdom of heaven?

IFFFF you remain/abide "IN HIM" to get credit for it, then YES. This is where so many people miss "getting it." Entering into Christ and REMAINING there are two entirely different issues. There are TWO issues, not one to deal with when we speak of salvation. First, you must enter into Christ by grace.....that's the free gift part that you can do nothing to earn....but are you saved by grace alone? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The second part is where so many people will miss the mark and end up on the broad path that leads to destruction. We are told that it is THROUGH FAITH we are saved. No faith, no salvation, its that simple:

Ephesians 2:8 ... For by such grace you have been saved through faith.

The bible makes it very clear in a number of different places that belief with joy for a season is NOT ENOUGH...you must FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED. How hard is that to understand?

Luke 8:4While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
9His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.
11“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

How much more simply could the Lord put it? There are as a matter of FACT people who BELIEVE FOR AWHILE, then in the time of testing FALL AWAY. Is a person who has "fallen away" saved? Is it enough to "beleive for awhile?" You better figure out the right answers to those questions and fast because your eternal destiny depends on it.

More irrefutable proof is found here in John 15:

Read this very carefully. Notice the words "in me" used below. If you are "in Christ" then you are "saved" you are covered by the blood of Jesus and everything he did for you on the cross is credited to your account by the Father. But WHAT HAPPENS to the branches "in him" that bear no fruit? THEY ARE CUT OFF. So.. a person can be "in him" then "cutoff" from being "in him" if they bear no fruit....CASE CLOSED. If you are not "in him" you are not saved..period. Anticipating the apostate churchianity preachers who would tell you "yea, but cutoff just means you'll get less rewards in heaven" or some other rubbish, the Lord goes on to explain EXACTLY what being "cutoff" means: he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you think that someone who is 1. thrown away 2. withered 3. thrown into the fire and burned is "saved" then you are blind or ignorant or both:

John 15
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesa so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

Some hired hand "pastors" in the church today tell us that woe be it to anyone who puts a "stumbling block" (like telling the truth) in the way of any new "converts. Woe unto anyone who preaches the full counsel of God because if you do it might cause someone to really be saved. What they are really saying is that people cannot handle the truth, they need to be spoonfed from the sweetest of our God's promises and be kept from any of the pages and pages of warnings and punishments decreed by our God to those who do not remain "in Christ."

So woe unto me...woe unto me for reminding people that only a FEW will be saved-Matt 7:13-14, or that many who call Jesus "Lord" today will be called evildoers by Jesus and told to "go away" (Matt 7:21+). Woe unto any teacher, preacher, blogger, believer whatever that trembles in the FEAR of the Lord and teaches others to do so because its commanded clearly in the bible to do so:

Jeremiah 5:22 Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. "Should you not tremble in my presence?

Isaiah 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: "Your brothers who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!' Yet they will be put to shame.

Our brothers who hate us and exlude us because of his name? Don't worry about them, they will be put to shame.....

1 Peter 3:15 and the Lord God sanctify in your hearts. And be ready always for defence to every one who is asking of you an account concerning the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

The people who preach the candy coated gospel that is no gospel at all but a lie, they are the ones who should tremble..woe unto them for their faithless preaching of a false gospel. Why is their preaching faithless? They do not beleive that the full counsel of God can be preached. These men believe that if the whole truth was preached to people they would reject it. These men are right to fear the whole truth because many have and will continue to reject the truth as it is laid out in its entirety in the bible.

So back to the question: Is Jesus sufficient to saved you? Sure he is IFFFFFFFFFF you REMAIN IN HIM. If there was no need to "abide" "in Christ" then we would not have been told "remain in me" "Abide in me" over and over and over again. If you think that "Jesus did it all" means you have no need for faith, belief, obedience then you are likely one of many on the broad path that leads to destruction: 13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Again and again we are brought back to this scripture which when combined with the rest of the bible frames a complete picture for us. If it was so easy to be saved, why will only a few make it through the small gate? How can you be "in Christ" then cutoff thrown out and burned up (john 15) and still think you are "saved?" How can you be "in Christ" believing with joy for awhile until temptations show up, then you fall away and still believe you are saved?(luke 8:4)

The bottom line in the issue of salvation is being "in Christ" or not being "in Christ." That's it. Attempting to frame the issue in any other way leads to deception and distortion of the issue. We are told clearly that we must abide "in him." That means we don't go anywhere, we stay put.

Hebrews 3:14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Hebrews 3:6
... but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house-- whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end

Are you getting this ^^^? Let that sink in because that is it in a nutshell. IFFFFF we hold fast FIRM UNTIL THE END. What does "if" mean? What does "firm until the end mean?" Isn't it ridiculous to even be asking those questions? But people will tell you there is no need to hold fast till the end and you can still be "saved." I don't know which bible they are reading or if they are reading a bible at all, but you can read it straight from the bible in the verses above.

If you think you can start something with Jesus and not hold fast till the END and still be saved, then you have called God a liar... if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end...

Jesus is sufficient to save you, absolutely AND you must WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION unless you think you are somehow better than Paul the apostle: Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

Ooops! There's that "stumbling block" called the truth again! Gosh, "work out my salvation?" With "fear and trembling?" Whoa, woe unto Paul huh? He might give someone a "spirit of fear" or something so we better ignore that place in the bible! Or..........someone might figure out the truth of the real gospel and actually find the narrow gate that leads to life with the FEW others mentioned in Matt 7:13-28.

done for today, grace and peace