What difference will one more sin make?

Many Christians let their past failures accumulate to the point where they have a hard time resisting temptation. They think, "What difference would one more sin make?"

There's a way to beat that. 2 Cor 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."  That's a beautiful statement, but God alsosays, "you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Rom 6:11)

We ARE new creations. We ARE dead to sin. But we have to actually believe it—we have to consider it, buy into it, and act in faith on that. Do you really consider yourself as dead to sin? If not, start today. 

Secret Sin: Can You Keep It Hidden?

Food for thought and the stout of stomach:

I have personal reasons to address this heavy topic today, but it is my hope to prick your hearts and dampen the power of evil that has so strong a hold on too many souls in this world. And so I ask:

What dark secrets are you hiding?

How long do you think you have before they will be discovered?

It really doesn't matter how clever you are, how carefully you cover your tracks or how masterfully you might be able to manipulate those around you. No matter how hard we try, we cannot conceal our sin from God, and He has the power to reveal it to anyone, at any time.

"Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops." Luke 12:2-3

Are you ready for that?!?

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption..." Gal 6:7-8a

Sin reaps corruption! That's a harsh saying and a hard truth, isn't it? Some sin is easy to confess and some sin is so shameful, so utterly vile that we might rather die than to speak it aloud, but even that sin is forgiveable.

What do we do?? For one, we could repent and confess of our sins (which means STOP IT! and FIX IT!) letting Christ wash it away OR continue in our delusion that we are in control and will never be found out.

Choosing the first, we can continue in Galatians to see that:
"...the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." 8a-9

Trade the physical for the Spiritual! Do GOOD, have patience, and be determined never to give up! The reward is beyond any fading lust or pleasure we experience here-- it is eternal life in paradise!

Still don't think you're touchable? Still think what you're doing isn't hurting anyone? What they don't know won't hurt them, isn't that the saying? If you've got the idea you are just fine, consider the warning of Titus:

"To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work." Titus 1:15-16

If you aren't obeying God, if you refuse to fight your sin, beware, lest you go so far down the path of destruction that you develop a defiled conscience that cannot guide you back the right way. If you are unfit for any good work, what are you fit for?

No pity parties! No excuses! Your sin hurts those you love and it is your choice to change that path. . . . 

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER your Savior waits for you with love and open arms, He will forgive you. He's pretty awesome like that. 

Obedience, too.

Obedience, too.
BQ: Does accepting Jesus as your Savior preclude obedience?

A:Romans 6:16-18, 1 John 3:18, John 14:15; 15:10;14, Rom 1:5, James 2:17

To be defined in God's terms, true faith demands obedience.
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Do you strive?

Do you strive?
BQ: Spiritual apathy is present in most of Christianity. "Why go to church every week? Why read the Bible? My pastor/reverend/etc. is smart and takes care of me. I believe in God and I'm a good person..."  What would happen if we took the same approach to eating? If we said, "I think I'm good enough, I'll eat once a week...once a year."

Q: What do we do to enter the narrow gate? What did Jesus Himself say we keep us spiritually alive? 
A: Lk 13:24; Mt 4:4

Just wanting heaven isn't enough. We have to STRIVE to get in. We need to know ALL of the words, not just what a pastor or church leader says.  Being a "best-behavior-Sunday-only" Christian is the wide road to destruction. Jms 1:21 says, " Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls." Read that again. It's a salvation issue. Let's put aside perversion and start getting to know God's word.
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Works of God.

Works and faith. 
BQ: “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9, emp. added).  

Q: Are we saved without works? 
A: James 2:14-24, John 6:27-29

The NT mentions at least 3 kinds of works: (1) works of the Law of Moses (Galatians 2:16;  Romans 3:20); (2) works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21); and (3) works resulting from obedience of faith (James 2:14-24). This last category is often referred to as “works of God.” 

"Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may WORK the  WORKS of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the WORK of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent” (Jn 6)

Belief is a work. Are we saved without belief? The works of God include belief, baptism, etc. Baptism, for example, is something done TO a person in submission to God, not BY a person.  

(PN34)

Tumblers in the lock—salvation.

Requirements of Salvation
BQ:What's the process of salvation according to the Bible?

A: 1-Romans 10:14-17 (We must HEAR.)

2-John 8:24, Romans 5:1-2, Acts 16:31 (We must BELIEVE.)

3-Acts 2:38, Luke 13:5, Acts 3:19, 2 Cor 7:10-11 (We must REPENT of
our worldly ways.)

4-Mt 10:32-33, Romans 10:8-10, Acts 10:36-37 (We must CONFESS before
men that Jesus is the Son of God.)

5-Acts 2:38, Acts 22;16, 1 Pet 3:21, Romans 6:4, Gal 3:27, Mk 16:16
(We must be IMMERSED in water to wash away our sins and to get the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit)

6-Rev 2:10, Rev 3:11, Mt 10:22 (We must remain FAITHFUL until death.)
(PN11)
 

Faith alone?

Justification—by faith alone?
BQ: I was talking to a friend who mentioned that we're saved by "faith alone." James 2:24 says, "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." When I brought it up, the counter-argument was, "but we are JUSTIFIED by faith alone, then." 

Q: Does the Bible say we are justified by anything other than faith?
A: Mt 12:37, Rom 3:2; 5:9; 16, 8:33, Lk 18:14, 1 Cor 6:11, Titus 3:7, Jms 2:21-26, etc.

The Bible says we're not saved by faith alone and records the same for justification. The sum of His word is truth. Attempting to throw out any of the items listed as justifying or saving us and still getting the only true salvation is impossible. 
(PN48)
 

Faith Alone
BQ: Controversy time! Truth doesn't fear examination, so let's examine the book of Truth and see what we find!

Q:Are we saved by faith ALONE?

Let's start off with Romans 5:1, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Faith is obviously necessary, but is that the whole picture?

A: James 2:17; 21; 24. Mt. 12:37. Rom 2:13. Rom 5:9, 1 Pet 3:21.

There are yet more things required. This is just a snippet, but the most salient point is this: "faith without works is dead."
(PN10)

What SHOULD come from belief?

If you believe…
BQ: I like John 3:16 which says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." 

Let me ask you a question. You're in a theater. An usher comes in and says, "There's a fire." You believe him. Yep, smells like smoke. Do you exit the building? Do you listen to the rest of what he says, instructing you to exit the building? Do you obey those instructions? Or do you nod happily and think, "Glad I'm not in danger now," and then go back to watching the movie? 

Q: What does belief lead to?
A: "Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith.  According to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith." (Rom 1:5; 16:25-26) 

"Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?" (Rom 6:16)

Sin is missing the mark God sets forth. If we truly believe that usher, we're going to obey and hit the mark he sets forth, which results in life. Look at John 3:16 again. The proper translation is "should not." It's conditional; it's qualified negation. If you believe that usher, you shouldn't perish, but you still can if you choose to do nothing. 
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Saved from what? Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the immersion.

Saved from what, and how?
BQ: People often say, "I'm saved," but from what?

A: "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." (Mt 1:21) We see that we need to be saved from our sins, because, as Is 59:2 says, "your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." 

Being saved=no separation from God due to no sin. So we need to be saved from sin that we're covered in. In Isaiah 1, God says, "“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean...Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow."  We need to wash ourselves, to be clean from sin, to have a new exterior. How do we accomplish this in order to be saved from sin? What does God see afterward?

"Now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." (Acts 22:16) “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls....And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” 

People were being saved from sin—which results in separation from God—in baptism, with God doing the operation.  Why does He see as as being white as snow afterward? Galatians 3:27 has the answer:  "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. " Truly we come up as white as snow! 

(PN142)

How do we call upon His name?

How do we call upon His name?
BQ: Acts 22:16 says, "Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name." We see that washing away sins is associated with being immersed/baptized and "calling on His name." (Tomorrow: saved?) 

Q: How does one "call on His name," and what does it mean? 
A: First, Acts 2:21 records, "And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." This is not something audibly done with the mouth, as in Romans 10:9, which isreferred to as "confession with the mouth," which leads "to salvation." So what is it?

In Acts 25:11, Paul "appealed" to Caesar: "I appeal to Caesar." This word is the exact same as in Acts 2:21 and 22:16. It is from "epiklaeo," to appeal, to call upon. We appeal to Him because of what we recognize Him to be: the One before Whom justice would be served, just as Caesar was on earth to Paul.  

So this is an "inquiry" (eperotema; closely related), which is ALSO the same as "an appeal," and we see it in 1 Pet 3:21, which says, "Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

We can see from above that calling upon His name takes place with immersion. It's an appeal for a good conscience, and it washes away our sins. What a great thing to be able to make an eternal appeal to God! 
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Baptism as a "work."

Let’s define a “work” from Eph 2:8-9.
BQ: I've been told that repentance, baptism, etc., have no part in salvation or forgiveness because they're "works and, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

Q: Are "works" defined? Is everything I do meaningless? Do I just believe?
A: "Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." (Rom 3:27-28) 

 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." (Gal 2:15-16)

Look at that. We're not justified by works of the Law, keeping the commands of the Old Testament. We can see that in Gal 3:10 :"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Do you see that? You get one strike and you're toast! If you want to be justified by works, you'll have to keep every single one perfectly. Only one man has ever managed absolute perfection. 

Tomorrow: we'll explore deeper. 
(PN137)

Does your congregation teach that baptism (immersion) saves, or that it’s an unnecessary work?
BQ: Following yesterday, many say, "faith alone saves," and thus discount baptism/immersion as being at all necessary. Partially, this stems from an arbitrary and erroneously applied definition of "faith" and "works" to Ephesians 2:8-9. Being dunked in water is a "work," right? That's something "you have to do," so it can't be required, lest you should boast, right?

Q: Is there anything else that a person must physically do that God says is necessary for salvation?
A: Pay attention to this one. :) "that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Rom 10: 8-10)

So consider this: if we say that the arbitrary definition of a work is "something a man must physically do (eg, baptism)," does confessing with your mouth fit in with that? It does. And just like baptism, this is also required for salvation. Have you done both of those, too? 
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Is baptism a work of man and thus unneeded?

Is baptism a work of man and thus unneeded? 
Ephesians 2:8-9 is great: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." Without studying, people can take this too far. I've even heard it said that repentance can't be necessary, as it would invalidate the free gift of God. (So would a serial murderer be fine as long as he had faith alone?")

Q: From Eph 2:8-9, is baptism unnecessary because it is a work of man? 
A: "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead." (Col 2:12) 

Some like to say that anything that is a work cannot be a requirement for salvation. Baptism, along with other factors such as belief, "now saves you." (1 Pet 3:21) Is there something about being wet that does it? Something about our righteousness that we can brag about? Read Col 2:12 again, and the answer is "Nope!" Baptism is the working of God, not man. It's His designated operating table. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (Jn 3:16) "Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."" (Jn 6:29) 

These are great works, and they're absolutely necessary. 
(PN135)

What about the thief on the cross?

What about the thief on the cross?
BQ: A common objection to what the Bible says about being immersed/baptized is, "What about the thief on the cross? He wasn't baptized, but Jesus said he was saved." How can this be?

A: Before Jesus died, the Old Testament/Covenant/Will was still in effect. Hebrews 9:15-17 explains "For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood."

Jesus hadn't yet died, but he had full power over his last will and covenant.  “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Mt 28:18) 

Imagine that you you're planning out your will. You have $500. While you're still alive, being the owner of the will, you can still give away money (salvation) as you see fit to anyone you think deserves it. After you're dead, as the Bible points out, the will is then in effect, and the money (salvation) is only given out as stipulated. For these reasons, the thief on the cross is not a valid example of New Testament salvation. 
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A simple addition.

A simple addition is a deadly thing.
BQ: I talk to  many people who say, "The Bible says that 'faith alone through grace saves you.' They believe it is so, and it's hard for them to imagine why my eyebrow arches up like it does. :P

Q: 1.) How many times does the Bible say that faith alone through grace saves you? 2.) How many times is the phrase "faith alone" used? 3.) Why is saying, "we are saved by grace through faith alone" bad?

A: 1.) Zero (0) times. It says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." (Eph 2:8-9) Notice how that is worded. God specifically left out the word "alone." It absolutely never says that.

2.) One (1) time. "You see that a man is justified by works and NOT by faith alone." (Jms 2:24)  Now observe the similarity in sentence construction between Eph 2:8-9 and Jms 2:24: they both say, "X saves you," but neither of them say that "X alone saves you." In fact, we can see that both of these save us, and that James implies both are necessary. Otherwise he would have had to say, "You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith." By saying "justified by works and not by faith alone," James makes the implicit assertion that both are necessary. 

3.) God never approved of people adding even a single word—in this case, "alone"—to His teachings. "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (Deut 4:2) "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book." (Rev 22:18)

Saying that "faith alone saves" is just as bad as saying "works alone saves" a person. There is just as much evidence in the Bible for both of these doctrines: absolutely none.
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Sons of God

Sons of God.
BQ: Often I hear that we need to become sons of God by just believing in Jesus. The Bible addresses this. What do you think it says? We'll look at a verse and pay careful attention to the wording. 

A: "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:11-12)

Notice that believing and receiving do not make one a child of God. They open up that option, however, and that's why it says that we have the RIGHT to become children of God. There are still conditions to be met, or everyone would make it to heaven by default. 

Credit for the idea for this BQ goes to Brian Howard. 
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Various aspects of salvation for those being saved.

Requirements of Salvation
BQ: The Bible lists those things which God has created to ensure our salvation. What are they? 

A: 1-Romans 10:14-17 (We must HEAR.)

2-John 8:24, Romans 5:1-2, Acts 16:31 (We must BELIEVE.)

3-Acts 2:38, Luke 13:5, Acts 3:19, 2 Cor 7:10-11 (We must REPENT of
our worldly ways.)

4-Mt 10:32-33, Romans 10:8-10, Acts 10:36-37 (We must CONFESS before
men that Jesus is the Son of God.)

5-Acts 2:38, Acts 22;16, 1 Pet 3:21, Romans 6:4, Gal 3:27, Mk 16:16
(We must be IMMERSED in water to wash away our sins and to get the
gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit)

6-Rev 2:10, Rev 3:11, Mt 10:22 (We must remain FAITHFUL until death.)
(PN11)