2 Peter 2:21, NIV: "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."
1 John 5:3, NIV: "In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,"
Revelation 14:12, NIV: "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus."
Revelation 12:17, NIV: "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring--those who keep God's commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus."
1 Chronicles 28:8, NIV: "So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the LORD your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever."
Deuteronomy 11:1, NIV: "Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always."
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, NIV: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.“
Alright! Let's see what a quick look reveals...
2 Peter 2:21 - This whole chapter appears to be talking about the false prophets introduced in the first verse. For supporting the idea that we have to earn our salvation (or that we risk losing it due to bad/certain behavior), that might have been a better reference since it mentions "denying the Master who bought them." There are MANY serious details about these people in 2 Peter chapter 2, but one contrast is drawn in verse 9: "... then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgement,,,"
These people are the unrighteous. Surely your perspective would require that this be interpreted as anyone who does everything in [those 7 references in your previous post] is godly; everyone else is unrighteous. But that's just circular. Why didn't Peter say in 1:8 that "these things would keep you from hell/judgement?" We have great promises, and they don't depend on our behavior.
1 John 5:3 - definitely. The whole gospel of John (where we find more statements about love --> obey) uses BELIEF as the criteria for being born again. "Your faith has saved you." Love is great, and I hope everyone would love and obey God more and more, but "the work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:29)
Rev 14:12 - inconclusive. This verse is in context of refusing (or accepting) the mark of the beast. It's not salvific.
Rev 12:17 - inconclusive. Not salvific.
(the rest) - It is good to be ordered/exhorted/commanded/directed to follow God's ways! When he brings every one of my deeds into judgement, they will be covered by the blood of Jesus, who paid for ALL of my sin before I was born.
I appreciate you taking the time to send a bunch of verses my way, but you are not going to convince me to be subject to the law again. Jesus fulfilled it. He made one sacrifice for all time. The more you push, the more I'm going to just read Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. I hope you will trust in Him alone for your salvation, which is "not of ourselves."
You’re not under the law anymore. That would be a curse. The commandments of God are from the covenant, which is separate from the book of the law. If you’ve been saved by the atoning blood of Jesus our Messiah, then keeping the commandments of God is no burden, it’s how one strives to live. With men alone it is not possible, but with the Holy Spirit indwelling, it is possible. With God all things are possible.
Matthew 15:4-9 NIV: “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
I would never advocate for anyone to break his commandments. Only now the motivation isn't to earn anything, but as a response to the gift of God.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:11-13)
We should live in that way, we should want it and do it. We are commanded all over the place. We see it as an external metric of our sanctification process, our love for God, etc. But it is never the standard by which we receive salvation or glory.
(post is archived)