There Are No Shortcuts.
The bottom line in all of this is, if we are going to spend eternity with Jesus, we must be born again, meek, love him, pure in heart, converted, baptized, born of the water and the spirit, do the will of our Father, do His commandments, be an overcomer, be obedient, endureth temptation, etc. There are no shortcuts to heaven... If there were, Jesus would not have had to come to this earth, and died for us. We can trace all of the misery and suffering in the world today back to one person's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. If God were to take one unrepentant sinner to heaven with Him, sin would rise up again.
Did you notice in Revelation 3:5 that unless you are an overcomer, Jesus will blot your name out of the book of life. The book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of God. Jesus bade His disciples, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful fellow workers, "Whose names are in the book of life." Phil. 4:3. So if we had only one verse in all of the Bible to show that a person can lose his salvation and that it is conditional, it would be this verse, Revelation 3:5.
Now lets look at the following verses from 1 John 3:2-15. These verses really go into depth regarding the born again person. Please look at the whole chapter from your Bible and read it.
1 John 3:2-15
2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
3 "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
5 "And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."
6 "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
7 "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous."
8 "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
10 "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."
15 "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
In conclusion, according to the above Bible verses, obedience most certainly does affect our salvation. It surely affected Adam and Eve. Is that not why we lost our first inheritance, due to their disobedience, back in the Garden of Eden. Yet thousands of years later people think they can do as they like and still be saved. I guess my point in all of this is this, if you are not having victory over sin in your life and you keep constantly committing the same sins, over and over again, then maybe you need to stop and ask yourself this most important question. Am I converted??? Am I on the pathway to heaven? Or am I just fooling myself...
All text from the King James Bible,
all emphasis supplied.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7,8
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