"For the entire Law is fulfilled in in this one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."—Gal 5:14

Filtering by Tag: obedience

Is your belief enough?

Added on by Lucas Necessary.

Is your belief enough?
BQ: I studied with a young lady who said, "Well I believe and I go to church sometimes and I love God, I'm going to heaven." 

Q: Is your belief enough? If you're devout and you pray, is that enough?
A: Acts 10:2; 11:14, Jms 2:19

Cornelius was called, "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually." Certainly that's better than many lukewarm Christians today, who go to church on occasion, but was it enough? It was not. We see that he was told, "and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household." 

You see, James says that "even the demons believe and shudder." Being devout, praying, believing, those are parts of the recipe for eternal life, but they don't grant eternal life by themselves. Do you know what does? Where is your eternity headed? Cornelius wasn't yet saved even with all his great traits--are you? How do you know? 
(PN94)
 

Is obedience necessary?

Added on by Lucas Necessary.

Is obedience necessary?
BQ: One online religious organization maintains that anyone who says obedience is important to Christianity is not to be trusted, as only Christ's obedience was necessary. "You only need to believe," seems to be the claim, "because Jesus did all the obeying." Is this Biblical?

A:  "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;  but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." (1 Jn 2:3-6) 

"Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith... Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ...has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith." (Rom 1:5; 16:26)

How do we know that we're in Christ? If we keep His commandments and walk as He walked. Faith, we see, is obedient. It's worth noting that love (Greek: agape) is coupled in with obedient faith, occurring again and again in 1 John. In this letter alone, it occurs 18 times, which is more than in any other New Testament book. Certainly we cannot be disobedient in practice, running about murdering people willy nilly, and expect to be in Christ. 
(PN199)