Galatians 6:15 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
1 Corinthians 15:50 - Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God....
John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
John 3:5 - Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water (i.e. by the washing of the word of God - 1 Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5) and of the Spirit (John 1:12-13; 3:6) he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6-7 - 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.
The Bottom Line is... "A NEW CREATURE", one that is born of God, and born after God's own heart!!! This is what becoming a TRUE Christian (i.e. 'a follower or disciple of Christ') really means! (So, whatever you are, if you're not a New Creation In Christ made anew in order to follow after God's own heart, then neither are you a Christian!)
Our Hearing with faith is what cleanses our conscience in regeneration by the Word of God! Our Receiving by that same faith is what makes us new creatures in the power of His Spirit!
Make no mistake, without our having and laying hold of Christ - without our becoming a New Creature IN Christ, then we have nothing and we are nothing, and we will lose everything we think we have and are. For either Christ has risen from the dead, lives in us and is become our all in all, or else He will become as nothing to us. We can't have Him both ways!!!
What I am speaking about here is so important that, for your sake, I cannot over-emphasize it. There is no one that I know of that is Truly Saved (thus that are also Born Again) who disagrees in any way with me on the importance of having to have and know The Son of the Living God in a life-changing, personal way. He is Real and Alive, therefore He must become Real and Alive to us and in each of us (i.e. we must see Him as being resurrected from the dead - Matthew 16:16-17)! Until then; until He has risen to Life in our hearts (2 Peter 1:19), He remains Dead to us, and we to Him!
It is vital that we be absolutely clear that there is no salvation by the grace of God if it also includes the invented kind of grace that operates through works. "The Faith that saves us produces works"! "Works do not produce Faith!" Works stem from Faith, not the other way around. The two can never mix.
As concerning our salvation - IF we are saved then we will live by faith in the living Christ (Galatians 2:20-21). IF we say we believe that there is a God and yet remain unsaved then our life will be one of works; works of the flesh, as we [in unbelief] try and please God (Romans 4:4-5) in hopes of saving ourselves by seeking to ADD our love for others, our religious duty, our goodnesses, our life, etc., to God's Finished Work.
"It Is Finished!" The WORK required to save us is over! Therefore no matter what the method or religion that we may use in hopes of working our way to heaven (such methods and religions are all Man-Made and seek to serve Man anyway), if we won't believe the Gospel to the point where we come to God through Christ and receive His Free Gift (thus taking up the call of Galatians 2:20), then we are no better than atheists and agnostics. (At least they're not 'Hypocrites'.)
Concerning Salvation Paul says, "...if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work" (Romans 11:6).
Salvation cannot be partly of works and partly of grace. This MUST be understood! It is "either, or"! We must be 100 % clear that the works that "we" do (before or after) have nothing at all to do with faith and salvation - period.
We are clearly told, "for by grace have ye been 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).
Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Roman Catholics, for example, are taught to reject God's Free Gift of salvation by grace that operates through faith in Christ and insist that it must also be "earned" by one's good works in imitation of Christ. They accuse evangelicals of teaching that all we need to do is to to merely SAY we believe in Christ and then we can live as we please, even in the grossest of sins, yet be sure of heaven.
However, evangelicals teach no such thing, and never did. They teach that after one is saved (IF they are indeed saved) then they; being made free, will have repented of their sin, taken up their cross and let go of everything that ever held them here in order to follow Jesus, to be His witness and show forth the fruits of so great a salvation!
Salvation is not a thing that can be "Purchased"! It is a Free Gift! It has already been Purchased for us - by Christ - as it demands payment for the penalty for sin: "Christ's death on the cross", a payment we can't make, but one that Christ has already purchased with His shed blood for those who... "Believe on Him (and on Him alone)" thus come to Him and receive His Free Gift!
It is only by Faith that one can receive God's Free Gift of Grace!
Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
"Come unto me!" How does on "go to Him"? By works? No! By faith! Besides no one can come to the Son except the Father draw them (John 6:44, 65) God knows hearts! He knows who's ready to receive His Son by faith! He should. After all, it's by His Spirit that we are conviced and convicted (John 16:8-15).
John 6:63 It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1. The "Flesh" (and all connected to it) including our works profits us... ZIP in gaining God's Grace!
So if gaining God's FREE Gift - "His Only Begotten Son" - CANNOT be acquired or earned through our participation in 'sacraments', or in our own merits, or by our good deeds, then neither can it be lost through bad deeds, thereby proving that sacraments, or our works and our deeds play no part in our earning or in our keeping salvation. Either we are NEW creations IN Christ or we are not! If we have been changed and saved, then we will no longer PARTICIPATE in sin.
The entire purpose of having Faith in Christ to save us and make us whole is to change us into new creatures (Galatians 6:15-16; 2 Corinthians 5:17). "New Creatures IN Christ!" That's what being "Christian" is all about!!! The whole purpose of our becoming a Christian is to become "Born Again" (born into God's Family), receiving a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit, and a whole new life - one that thirsts and hungers after God and that earnestly seeks to know Him more, to want more of Him, and to please Him... forever? Yes - "Forever"!!!
The first ('Hearing' the Gospel) is what saves us and purges away all of our guilt - the second ('Receiving' the Life and Power of that same Gospel) is what causes us to be born again.
Both saved (justified) FROM our sins, as well as Saved (sanctified) TO God!
Salvation is a GIFT through Faith and not Works! True to such scriptures, evangelicals firmly declare that we cannot earn or merit salvation in any way. Eternal life must be received as a free gift of God's grace that comes by faith alone, or we cannot have it.
2. Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
May God bless you in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!
Biff
