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Romans 6:15-18 (NIV)  
    What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! [16] Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. [18] You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Everyone likes to talk about their freedom in Christ. But just as important as our freedom is our call to be righteous. We must obey God and be disciples. A disciple obeys God from faith and love, whereas a legalist obeys by human effort. It is wrong to try to earn salvation, but that is no excuse to not obey as many churches do. They say, “well, you can’t earn you salvation, so I am not going to try to do all of these good works.” They end up being led by their feelings and not God.

Romans 9:30 (NIV)  
    What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;

The Bible says that the righteous will live by faith. So-called Christians show who they really are by their actions. Righteousness comes from faith; those that have no faith will have no righteousness. The human effort they live by is short lived, they never really repent.

James 2:26 (NIV)  
    As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Being a disciple is about obedience, but it is about obedience and faith working together. If someone sees a passage in the Bible and thinks that they do not need to follow it, they are deceived and they use their freedom as a license to sin and will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Also, those that read the Bible and see something to obey and set out to obey it are also wrong, because they set up rules and guidelines and try to make everyone fit into the same box. Our obedience needs to come from faith. This is difference but the difference is life. Legalistic Christianity leads to burnout and away from God and sad to say ultimately to hell.

James 2:21-24 (NIV)  
    Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? [22] You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. [23] And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. [24] You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Look at Abraham, he was obedient to God. Abraham had a part in this and he did obey. Some might accuse him of being legalistic, but he was just following God. If we look at the Bible and set out to obey it we are destined for destruction. Because God will ultimately have to tell us that we did not follow the law completely. But is we go to God through faith and with the Holy Spirit then we can obey God how he intended, and he has grace for us.  If I approach God with faith and humble ourselves before Him, God will give us the power we need to live as true disciples. We don’t obey God because he said to do this and we did it. We come to God because he has forgiven us and given us His Holy Spirit and when He says to do something and we do it because of our relationship and we live our life like this. From one step to another we are obeying God as He directs us, not picking out a scripture and obeying on our own effort. It is a subtle difference but an eternity of difference. We need to obey by faith. People either go to church and are taught to not obey (if you can believe that), or they are taught to obey via rules and guidelines, in the form of direction from church leaders. I’m not saying God does not use leaders but people rely to much on people and plans and not enough on God. We need to have an obedience that comes from faith.

Genesis 15:6 (NIV)  
    Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
 ;)

NIV IS NOT THE WORD OF GOD.


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God's Word says that salvation is "the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9). He is not going to have boasters in heaven there are enough of them on earth and nobody likes them. Now thats the bottom line


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FROM THE KJV



Hebrews 12:2. Says. 'Looking unto Jesus the originator and perfecter of our faith--and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.' Jesus said on the cross . ' It is finished.' John.19:30. When we accept the salvation that God freely offers us, we are accepting a work that God has been completely satisfied with. Gods holy righteous demands have been fully met by Christ's one offering for sin. Hebrews 10:14 says ' For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.  


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FROM THE KJV:



Righteousness is given as a free gift and not something that we earn.

"...Even so by the righteousness of one THE FREE GIFT came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" (Rom. 5:18-19).


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FROM THE KJV:




It's a day bye day responsibility to Christians to be
in total dependence to God! If you are not enjoying your Christianity more than you did when you were saved something is wrong! Are you trying to live under a yoke of bondage? Let us keep in mind what Paul was trying to teach the Galatians in chapter three! For he said in chapter two verse sixteen Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by faith of Christ and not by the works of the law: for bye the works of the law shall no flesh be justified



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FROM THE KJV:


"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's WORK shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's WORK of what sort it is. If any man's WORK abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's WORK shall be BURNED, he shall suffer loss: BUT HE HIMSELF SHALL BE SAVED: yet so as by fire"2 (I Cor. 3:11-15).


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The Bible says we are not capable of doing enough good to save ourselves. Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come SHORT of the glory of God;

The Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ paid for all our sins. He did not miss any of them, now or in the future.

Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you ALL trespasses;

The Bible says he paid enough. Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.

I believe the KJV Bible  

Brother Love  :)



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FROM THE KJV:




The work of Christ is the only work required for our salvation. Nothing needs to be added to what He has done. We are "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10).  


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RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD

"There is none righteous, no not one."
"How should man be just with God?"
(Romans 3:10 and Job 9:2)


Since man is a sinner and God is holy, how can they meet? Job asked this question thousands of years ago, and man is still asking how he may become righteous in the eyes of God, or how God might excuse him for his sin. Job's three friends each had a solution to the problem; each one had a different idea, but the foundation of all three was a salvation based on human works. So, today, men are still offering the same answers as did the three friends of Job.
First - Bring God down to man's level. That is Demonism.
Second - Evolve man to God's level. That is modernism.
Third - Put on a nice, outward appearance. That is ritualism.

There is always a way "that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12).

To Job's three friends, God said. "Ye have not spoken unto Me things which are right, like My servent Job." Therefore we conclude that Job knew the right answer and that his three friends were wrong. Job's answer was:
"For He is not a man as I am, that I should answer Him and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any DAYSMAN betwixt us that might lay His hand upon us both" (Job 9:32-33). In otherwords, Job said that there must be a MEDIATOR, or a go-between, if he was to be accepted by God. What kind of a mediator did Job need? What kind of a mediator does man need today?

First of all, that mediator must be both God and man, and not only that, He must also be a REDEEMER, in order to redeem man from sin. And Job could say: "I know that my REDEEMER liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" (Job 19:25). In I Timothy 2:5 we read: "There is ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." That One who was in the form of God, but made Himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servent, came in the likeness of men, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8). By His death on the cross He became the Redeemer of mankind.

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich" (II Corinthians 8:9).

How then, can man receive the blessings of this matchless work of grace? First let us see how it is not obtained:

NOT BY WORKS


"Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5)
"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God...Abraham believed God, and it (his faith) was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:2-3).

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5).


NOT BY THE LAW
(The ten Commandments)


"A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,....for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16).

"If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Galatians 2:21).

The purpose of the law is to stop all mouths; and it is the instrument by which the whole world is proven guilty before God. See Romans 3:19-20.

The law curses. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continnot in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10).

The law is called the ministration of death, "written and engraven in stones," in II Corinthians 3:7.

"The law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ" (Galatians 3:24). "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth" (Romans 10:4), and He "took it out of the way, nailing it to His (Colossians 2:14). And now - "Ye are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14).


"THEREFORE" -


"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:28).

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

"By Him (Christ) all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:39).

"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" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

John Bunyan wrote the following lines: "The righteousness of God, that is a righteousness of God's completing, a righteousness of God's bestowing, a righteousness that God gives unto and puts upon all them that believe, a righteousness that stands in the work of Christ, and that is imputed both by the grace and justice of God, the righteousness by which we stand just before God from the curse, was performed long ago by the Person of Jesus Christ."

By grace we are saved - Eph. 2:8-9.
By grace we are redeemed - Gal. 3:13.
By grace we are brought near - Eph. 2:13.
By grace we are justified - I Tim. 1:15.




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