From Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship
When the Bible speaks of following Jesus, it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. If they follow Jesus, men must escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus Christ.
Does this mean that we ignore the seriousness of his commands? Far from it. We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when his command, his call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety.
Only the one who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets his yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way.
OBEDIENCE NOT REQUIRED? -----HUH? BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteThe Calvinist answer to the question, "WHAT MUST I DO DO BE SAVED," is, absolutely nothing, God does it all. Calvinists' assert obedience has nothing to do with the salvation of mankind. What do the Scriptures say?
OBEDIENCE
Hebrews 5:8-9 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.
Jesus became the source of salvation for those who obey Him.
Calvinists' proclaim that God elects a few to be saved; therefore man's obedience is not required.
TO OBEY JESUS YOU MUST!
A. BELIEVE: John 6:28-29 Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God , that you believe in Him whom He sent."
Obedience is required, the work of believing that God sent His only Son so that men might be saved.
B. BE BAPTIZED: Mark 16:16 ....and has been baptized shall be saved....
Jesus said immersion in water was a prerequisite to salvation. Obedience is required.
C. CONFESSION: Romans 10:9-10 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; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Salvation follows the obedience of confession. Yes, men have to do something in order to be saved.
D. REPENTANCE: Act 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Repentance is essential to have sins forgiven.(Repentance means to make the commitment to turn from sin and turn toward God) Obedience is imperative. God does not force anyone to repent. God does not select a few men for salvation and then compel them to have a change of heart.
It takes a highly trained professional and a willing student for anyone to believe that FAITH, REPENTANCE, CONFESSION, AND WATER BAPTISM are not acts of obedience that are required for salvation.
You cannot reject faith, repentance, confession or water baptism as being essential for salvation and honestly claim you learned that from prayerfully searching the Scriptures. YOU NEED EXTRA-BIBLICAL TEACHERS AND OR EXTRA-BIBLICAL SOURCES TO REACH THOSE CONCLUSIONS.
OBEDIENCE IS REQUIRED!
Acts 5:32 And we are witness of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."
The Holy Spirit was given to those who obeyed.
They obeyed by believing.
They obeyed by confessing.
They obeyed by repenting.
They obeyed by being baptized in water.
AFTER THAT OBEDIENCE THEY RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!
OBEDIENCE IS REQUIRED!
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
OBEDIENCE IS REQUIRED!
SALVATION WITHOUT OBEDIENCE IS AN UNCLAIMED GIFT!
YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com