This document will be added to from time to time.
Some SDA's are teaching that we obey because we are saved, rather than the concept that our Christ empowered obedience can contribute to salvation. We cannot boast of our works of obedience, because the only ones that count are Christ empowered. That is all Paul meant when he said that we are not saved by works lest any man should boast. But what about the personal, voluntary choice to surrender the will and yielding it the will of Christ? What about the command to repent and be baptized? What about the following verse:
Hbr 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
I have to disagree with those who teach that we obey solely because we are saved and that works have nothing to do with salvation--God enabled works that is! I will tell you why. The same gift of grace that justifies is given by Christ's gift of grace for man's obedience, Rom. 1:5. John and the disciples told the people: Repent and be baptized. Did he have the order all wrong?! Was he ENTIRELY WRONG?
True pioneer SDA's recognized a new dimension to salvation that the Reformationists did not see at first. That new dimension is depicted in Rom. 1:5. That new dimension is that God's grace includes empowerment for REPENTANCE AND OBEDIENCE, as well as PARDON. So John the Baptist and the disciples were ENTIRELY CORRECT in their instruction to the Jews--Repent and be baptized. Christ's death on the cross paid the debt for our sins (PARDON), but it also made empowerment for REPENTANCE possible. The teaching that repentance follows justification is error because the same power that pardons sin, also empowers victory over sin. Genuine repentance and justification accompany one another. They are two inseparable aspects to salvation. This is why at most evangelistic campaigns the congregation oft sings "All to Jesus I surrender--I surrender all." The same power that enables one to repent, enables one to be thereafter justified. So to teach that justification comes first as the basis for salvation is an erroneous half-gospel. Repentance must accompany any genuine justification. The true, FULL GOSPEL, is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is able to empower you to repent and to pardon all your sins. Being saved by faith is having faith that Christ is thus able to save us. This is the proper order as depicted in the Bible. Nowhere does it say to be justified, then repent.
"Christ actually bore the punishment of the sins of the world, that His righteousness might be imputed to sinners, and through repentance and faith they might become like Him in holiness of character. He says, 'I bear the guilt of that man's sins. Let Me take the punishment, and the repenting sinner stand before Thee innocent.' THE MOMENT THE SINNER BELIEVES IN CHRIST, HE STANDS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD UNCONDEMNED; FOR THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IS HIS; CHRIST'S PERFECT OBEDIENCE IS IMPUTED TO HIM. BUT HE MUST CO-OPERATE WITH DIVINE POWER, AND PUT FORTH HIS HUMAN EFFORT TO SUBDUE SIN, AND STAND COMPLETE IN CHRIST." Series A, No 7, page 25.
The key words in the above statement are "...BELIEVES IN CHRIST..." One must believe that Christ empowers the individual to truly repent and then pardons what the sinner repents of. Were this not the case, all would be justified who only believed nominally (in word only). There would be universal justification of at least all who say Lord, Lord, and we know that is not the case. But that is not the case because all do not repent. Provision has been made for all to be justified, but all do not repent in order to receive that justification, so being saved is BASED ON A BELIEF BY FAITH THAT GOD CAN ACCEPT OUR REPENTANCE AND JUSTIFY US. HE NEVER JUSTIFIES THOSE WHO DO NOT REPENT. The proper order of being saved is:
- True BELIEF (FAITH) that Christ can empower to repent and pardon all sin.
- Belief that one is a sinner.
- Repentance for sin.
- Justification.
Christ's death made repentance for sin possible. Christ's death on the cross made obedience possible (Rom. 1:5). Christ's death on the cross made pardon possible. All three are gifts of His grace. So to say that justification is the BASIS for salvation, is misleading and a partial gospel. This is a package scenario which occurs synonymously. Neither repentance or justification precede belief. Belief (faith) is the fundamental precursor to repentance and justification, but no one will be justified (pardoned) who does not repent. Repentance and justification occur at the same time. It is the same power that prompts repentance that justifies, and it is the same gift of grace, both made efficacious by the death of Christ.
"The atonement of Christ is not a mere skillful way to have our sins pardoned [justification]; it is a divine remedy for the cure of transgression and the restoration of spiritual health [sanctification]. It is the heaven-ordained means by which the righteousness of Christ may be not only upon us, but in our hearts and CHARACTERS.--Ellen White, Letter 406, 1906. SDA Bible Commentary, vol, 7a, p. 668.
"Obedience is the fruit of faith." Faith, of course, is what results in our receiving Justification. Therefore, obedience in the life , and sanctification, could never precede justification. We come to Jesus, in a surrendered, obedient HEART, in a willingness to obey. Steps to Christ, p. 62.
Obedience cannot precede justification, but a spirit of true repentance and genuine justification occur at the same time.
"If you give yourself to Him, and accept Him as your Savior, then, sinful as your life may have been, for His sake you are accounted righteous. Christ's character stands in place of your character, and you are accepted before God as if you had not sinned." Steps to Christ, p. 62.
"No one can believe with the heart unto righteousness, and obtain justification by faith, while continuing the practice of those things which the Word of God forbids, or while neglecting any known duty....As God works in the heart, and man surrenders his will to God, and co-operates with God, he works out in the life what God WORKS IN by the Holy Spirit, and there is harmony between the purpose of the heart and the practice of the life. Every sin must be renounced as the hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory....It is by continual surrender of the will, by continual obedience, that the blessing of justification is retained." E.G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 396-397.
The continual surrender of the will and continual obedience is maintained by continual BEHOLDING OF CHRIST. For by BEHOLDING, we are changed into His image. This is where our personal effort, striving and diligence comes in. If God says by beholding we are changed, it is true. Our cooperative part is BEHOLDING on a continuing basis.
Can we be justified without repentance? Can we decide to receive PARDON, but not POWER? No! It will not work, because both are gifts of Christ and are provisos of His death on the cross. Are all the following Biblical injunctions to repent out of proper order? Should they rather read--Be justified and be baptized?
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Here are the 37 remaining inexact matches: Page 2
Luk 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Act 8:22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
Act 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Hbr 7:21 (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou [art] a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev 2:16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Justification and the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans
There is a type of sanctification being taught that is not unlike the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. That type of sanctification teaches that after justification, no further effort, striving or diligence on our part is efficacious. It is said that Christ obeyed for us on the cross and that His righteousness is only imputed to us and not also imparted to us. It is taught that obedience is automatic and no effort, striving or diligence on our part is required.
The Doctrine of the Nicolaitans
The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by 'believing' we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned." E.G. White, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 957.
"The sanctification now gaining prominence in the religious world carries with it a spirit of self-exaltation and a disregard for the Law of God that mark it as foreign to the religion of the Bible. Its advocates teach that Sanctification is an instantaneous work, by which, through faith alone, they attain to perfect holiness. ‘ONLY BELIEVE,’ say they, ‘AND THE BLESSING IS YOURS.’ NO FURTHER EFFORT ON THE PART OF THE RECEIVER IS SUPPOSED TO BE REQUIRED...The desire for an easy religion that requires no striving, no self-denial, no divorce from the follies of the world, has made the doctrine of faith, and faith only, a popular doctrine....THE TESTIMONY OF THE WORD OF GOD IS AGAINST THIS ENSNARING DOCTRINE OF FAITH WITHOUT WORKS. Let none deceive themselves with the belief that they can become holy while willfully violating one of God's requirements. The commission of a known sin silences the witnessing voice of the Spirit and separates the soul from God." Great Controversy 471, 472.
Internet Discussions of This Topic
Karl,
You wrote: "Ron,
Justification is not a one time experience that only covers
the "past." It is an ongoing experience. We will be saved and live in eternity by the imputed righteousness of Christ only. The imparted righteousness which fits us is not the basis for our salvation, it is the evidence."
Karl
Ron's response: If righteousness is imparted without our surrender of the will--our cooperative part in the equation, then what evidence by way of proof is there that we love God. He says: If ye love me, keep my commandments, and "How do you know you love me? You will keep my commandments."
How is this a test of our love if righteousness is merely imputed and imparted? We may be empowered to surrender our will and obey, but the choice is ours to receive the gift of grace as it applies to power for obedience. We receive this gift of grace in the same way we receive the grace gift of justification and we cannot receive one without the other. Thus, we play a cooperative part in obedience and sanctification just as we play a part in choosing to surrender the will to Christ, repent, and be justified, and all this is why God says that He is the author of salvation unto those who obey.
Karl, uou wrote:
"Ron,
You miss the tension. We obey because we are already justified, not
in order to get judtified."
Karl
Ron's response: Karl, sorry, repentance must accompany justification and repentance implies obedience, so I will respectfully disagree with your faulty conclusion.
Ron Beaulieu
Karl,
I believe that justification and sanctification are both the fruit (results) of faith. Belief--(faith) comes first by the wooing of the Holy Spirit. Then repentance (sanctification) and justification. You are so correct in saying that justification is an on-going thing. It is ongoing just like sanctification is ongoing and cannot be retained without ongoing sanctification, which includes obedience by the gift of grace (Rom. 1:5), which is empowered by Christ, and which power must be accepted and received by grace and faith, just as justification is received by faith and grace. They go together and accompany one another of necessity. Nether precedes the other. Belief and faith does precede both justification and sanctification. Since imparted righteousness comes in the form of empowerment for obedience, which is a gift of grace, as much as justification is a gift of grace, and since salvation is dependent upon one's receptance of both these gifts, both gifts are equally the BASIS of salvation and the EVIDENCE of it. Both are provisos of the Cross sacrifice and one is not efficacious without the other. There is no tension between them except the living fact that they both are gifts that are equally necessary to be received by the believer for salvation. One does not experience salvation without both--justification and sanctification.
"Obedience is the fruit of faith." Faith, of course, is what results in our receiving Justification. Therefore, obedience in the life , and sanctification, could never precede justification. We come to Jesus, in a surrendered, obedient HEART, in a willingness to obey. Steps to Christ, p. 62.
"No one can believe with the heart unto righteousness, and obtain justification by faith, while continuing the practice of those things which the Word of God forbids, or while neglecting any known duty....As God works in the heart, and man surrenders his will to God, and co-operates with God, he works out in the life what God WORKS IN by the Holy Spirit, and there is harmony between the purpose of the heart and the practice of the life. Every sin must be renounced as the hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory....It is by continual surrender of the will, by continual obedience, that the blessing of justification is retained." E.G. White, Selected Messages, vol. 1, pp. 396-397.
It is also by continual surrender of the will that continual obedience is obtained and retained. The doctrine that sanctification is just an imparted gift without our cooperation by way of continual surrender of the will to Christ, is a variation of the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans. It is related to the teaching that Christ obeyed for us on the cross, and that we do nothing because we cannot do anything. We can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth us.
God's plan of salvation is very legal. It is based on continual surrender of the will to His legal requirements and is therefore very legal in nature. However, the legality is based on self-sacrificing love whereby those who love Christ and their brethren honor the legal rights the law provide for one another and for God, the first four being our DUTY to Him, and the last six being out LEGAL DUTY to one another. If we love God we will see wisdom in His legal law which is based on agape love, and which thereby protects every vital interest of every individual who abides by that law. It is all legalism based on love for God and one another. There is nothing wrong and there is everything right about legally honoring God and our brethren out of a motive of love for their legal rights. A legalist who follows God's plan of legalism based on agape love, is everything God intended when He first designed His law to protect the rights of individuals in a society wherein if two or more persons accrue, protection of rights is a vital necessity. God designed that this legal law would be based on love for Him and the brethren. If it is not so regarded, there are legal consequences--death, even eternal death. It is all very legal and even the death element is for the best interest of the universe and all individuals concerned. All this is the reason why David, Paul and James said:
Psa 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
Psa 119:97 MEM. O how love I thy law! it [is] my meditation all the day.
Psa 119:113 SAMECH. I hate [vain] thoughts: but thy law do I love.
Psa 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: [but] thy law do I love.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Jam 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Law is legal and law based on love and protection of the vital interests of all beings concerned is beautiful and absolutely necessary to a well run universe. If you choose to call me a legalist in this context I will be flattered and be most content.
Karl,
I agree with Ellen White that:
"No one can believe with the heart unto righteousness, and obtain justification by faith, while continuing the practice of those things which the Word of God forbids, or while neglecting any known duty....As God works in the heart, and man surrenders his will to God, and co-operates with God, he works out in the life what God WORKS IN by the Holy Spirit, and there is harmony between the purpose of the heart and the practice of the life. Every sin must be renounced as the hateful thing that crucified the Lord of life and glory....
I believe the same faith and belief that is required to be saved, is required to be justified, and if such faith and belief accrue, then repentance accompanies justification. Neither comes before the other. Leroy Moore seems to agree with this when he says:
"Nowhere does the Bible even compare, let alone contrast justification and sanctification. Nor does it treat justification as strictly legal, with no subjective element; or sanctification as subjective with no legal element." [snipped from context for reference]
Internet Exchanges on the Topic--September 15-16 2004
Note: Karl Wagner, the person I am dialoging, has admitted to A. Leroy Moore, who wrote The Theology Crisis, depicting the errors of Ford and Brinsmead, that he (Karl) agrees with Ford's gospel. Moore is in the process of proving Ford's gospel as errant.
Ron,
This and your last post are keepers Ron. I will share these with
people I know.
Karl
Karl,
I am adding all our exchanges on this subject to the document you have deemed as a "keeper." Be sure you "share" the latest update of that document. It can be found on my Website anytime.
Ron B.
Karl,
Repent and be baptized is not my instruction. It is God's instruction. I have clearly portrayed that repentance accompanies justification and then baptism, symbolic of the born again experiece. I have dug no hole for myself. I have thought all this out much deeper than you seem capable of comprehending and discerning.
Baptism is dying to sin and receiving the nature of Christ. If you do not believe this is essential to salvation, then you truly are a Nicolaitan.
Ron Beaulieu
----- Original Message -----
From: Karl
To: SDAIssues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 3:34 PM
Subject: [SDAIssues] Re: legalism
Ron,
Your digging you hole deeper. Baptism is an act of obedience, it is not the conveyance of salvation as those in the Church of Christ teach. One who has recieved justificaiton is then baptised.
Karl
----- Original Message -----
From: Karl
To: SDAIssues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 3:56 PM
Subject: [SDAIssues] Re: legalism
Ron,
Remember that I wrote that Paul makes no distinction between
justificaiton and sanctification. He moves righ into (from Rom 5 to 6) being dead in Christ and freed from sin.
Absolutly, if one is holding onto sin after "recieving"
justification, then it is doubted that one has been justified. But the coming into justification is outside of Law (Rom 3:20, Gal 3:9-11, Eph 2:8-10). Here we see that we have been saved by His grace alone, with nothing added to it, for when you add to grace, grace is no longer grace but works.
Karl
Karl,
I read your verses and I am going to print them here to prove that I read them. I am adding some choice verses that come right after the ones you mentioned and qualify the ones you stated. Then I am going to interpret them as I understand them:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20.
If the wages of sin (transgression of the Law) is death, how could man possibly be justified by the deeds of the law after that law had been broken when the Everlasting Covenant provides that if the law should be broken that only the death of the Testator could atone for sin and the breaking of the law? That is all Paul means. He could have said the same thing!!!!!!! How could knowledge of sin justify one in breaking the law, therefore sinning?
"So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith; but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." Galatians 3:9-13.
If the wages of sin, transgression of the law, is death, that is the curse. Only the Testator of the Law could atone for any transgression of the law if He so chose, and He did so choose. So now the just can only live by faith in the fact that the Testator did atone for their sins. But He did more than atone for their sins. He lived in such a way to prove that we all can obey as He did, by partaking of His Divine Nature, as He partook of His Father's Divine Nature. This is the born again experience, whereby one is supposed to die to sin and be raised a new being. The problem is that most are buried alive and do not choose the gift of grace that would permit them to die to sin.
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Living by true faith does not void the law, but gives us power to establish and keep the law.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God that before ordained that we should walk in them."
Grace saves us from transgression of the law. That grace is not our ourselves. It is the gift of God. It is not of works because we cannot undo (atone for) the transgression we have committed or will commit. Only the Testator can make such an atonement. But we were created in Christ Jesus unto good works and He ordained that we should walk in them. The same grace that pardons transgression, empowers for obedience. If there is no distinction between justification and sanctification, then there can be no distinction between grace for pardon and grace for obedience or sanctification.
What you have to say about justification is true when it is applied to sins past. In order to retain justification, one must be born again and this does involve the law because God says that one is not born again and does not know Him if he continues in sin and sin is transgression of the law. God has promised that He will permit no temptation that we might not overcome if we supplicate Him for strength to overcome. With such strength, we may overcome just as He overcame by receiving similar strength from His Father. Ellen White says that we can overcome by the same process Christ overcame.
Ron Beaulieu
David, (David responded that he believed that any difference between Karl and I was only semantical).
As Karl said, the track of truth lies so close to the track of error that some cannot discern the difference, but a huge clue that Karl is errant is the fact that when I quote Ellen White in saying that we are not saved by works, but neither can we be saved without them, Karl contests this truth as double speak. He is thus accusing the Holy Spirit vial Ellen White as double-speak. If you see no difference between Karl and I on this important distinction, please pray in your closet until you do. This is only one clue to one difference between Karl and I. He said that justification was the basis for salvation. If justification is the basis, then so is sanctification, because Karl finally admitted that Paul does not segregate the two. Faith in the Atonement is the basis of our salvation. That Atonement provided as much grace for obedience (Rom. 1:5) as it provided grace for pardon. Grace for obedience is not Christ obeying for us, lest He void His own test of our love by instructing us thusly:
"How do you know you love me? Ye will keep my commandments." How could this possibly constitute a test of our love if He kept the commandments for us on the cross, as Karl attests?
Further David, as long as about a year ago I said that we are not saved by works of commandment-keeping, but neither will we be saved without commandment-keeping. Karl said this was heresy. The other day he said it was double speak.
Because commandment-keeping is God's stated personal proof TEST that we love Him and the brethren and we will not be saved if we do not love Him and the brethren. Karl said this was heresy. Thus, according to Karl, Ellen White and I are double-speaking heretics.
One very important thing you should weigh heavily when concluding that there is no difference between Karl and I, rather than mere semantics, is the fact that Leroy Moore, who is a polished and distinguished theologian, has disagreed with Karl's Fordian theology. He has said that if Karl sticks with him, he will demonstrate the errors of Ford's salvific theology which Karl cannot seem to discern. I agree with Moore. I know where Leroy Moore is coming from. If you do not, stay closely attuned to Moore's dismantlement of Ford's theology which Karl agrees with.
Ron Beaulieu
----- Original Message -----
From: Karl
To: SDAIssues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 4:01 PM
Subject: [SDAIssues] Re: Obey to be Justified?
Ron,
You hit on a very interesting point. Yes, repentance is obedience. It is called first fruits and of course is the work of God, hence, God's gift to man. But this obedience is not the "faith walk" obedience that we exercise once we've entered into relationship with Christ. This initial repentance is simply God's enablings.
Karl
Karl,
I totally disagree that initial repentance and all ensuing repentance and obedience is not part of the "faith walk" obedience that we exercise once we've entered into relationship with Christ.
Faith without works is dead and any faith walk that does not include partaking of the Divine Nature of Christ which enables us to keep His law, is dead faith.
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Living by true faith does not void the law, but gives us power to establish and keep the law.
Ron B.
Karl,
If I have understood you correctly, in past discussions, you have made a distinction between justification and sanctification by saying that justification was the basis of salvation and sanctification was but a fruit of being justified or saved.
I maintain that if Paul makes no distinction between justification and sanctification they are both equally the fruit of the faith that is the basis of salvation:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved" But that "belief" is an all-encompassing word. It means:
Faith in the Atoning work of Jesus Christ.
Faith in His power to empower us to good works.
Faith that "belief" does not make void the law but establishes law-keeping as a requirement for being saved.
Faith that if God tests us by saying that law-keeping is a sign that we love Him and the brethren, that we will not be saved without passing this test.
Faith that all who say Lord, Lord, but work iniquity (sin and transgression of the law) will not be saved.
Faith that all who believe that empowered commandment-keeping is not a requirement for salvation teach the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which God especially hates.
Faith that if there is no differentiation between justification and sanctification, that both are empowered fruits of faith that are received by God's grace.
Faith that God's command to the rich young ruler to go and sell all was disobeyed and that all who so disobey and demonstrate such a degree of lack of faith in a direct command of God will not be saved.
Rom 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Living by true faith does not void the law, but gives us power to establish and keep the law.
Doctrine of the Nicolaitans.--The doctrine is now largely taught that the gospel of Christ has made the law of God of no effect; that by 'believing' we are released from the necessity of being doers of the Word. But this is the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which Christ so unsparingly condemned." E.G. White, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 957.
The key word is NECESSITY of being doers of the Word. By saying that keeping the commandments is not a NECESSITY but an automatic fruit, and that all who say such is a NECESSITY are legalists, betrays one as being a Nicolaitan. Karl has said this a myriad of times! Sanctification is just as much a NECESSITY as is justification and is just as much a requirement and a basis for salvation as being born again and the faith that it takes to be born again. Christ died just as much to regenerate us into the image of God as He did to justify or pardon our sins.
"(Jude 4).--The Sin of the Nicolaitans.--Is it [our sin] the sin of the Nicolaitans, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness." E.G. White, SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 957.
Ron B.
Forum,
One help to understanding obedience which is expected by God, is found in realizing that Abraham's obedience of God's command to him, was accounted unto him as righteousness. Abraham demonstrated his faith in God's command by obeying Him. We are saved by the same kind of faith that Abraham had. If we have true faith in Christ, which is a gift, then we will obey Him by faith. It is called righteousness by faith, and the kind of faith we are talking about here does not void the law of God, but rather establishes it. The kind of faith we are talking about here involves partaking of the Divine Nature of Christ and receiving all the gifts proffered by that nature.
If the law of God was ever abolished, then no person, including Satan can be judged by any standard, because there would be no standard by which to properly judge anyone.
Hbr 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
Hbr 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son]...",
Rom 4:16 Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all...",
The basic essential of salvation--the basis of salvation is faith--true belief.
Psa 106:31 And that was counted unto him (Phinehas) for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.
Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Ron B.
Sincerely,
Ron Beaulieu