Tag Archives: Soul

Relationship, Spiritual

Do Unto the Lord

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Introduction

The statement, do unto the Lord, often encourages believers who cannot see the purpose in certain activities found in their life circumstances. This verse is taken from Col3:23-24.

“And whatsoever ye do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”

These verses define the scope (whatsoever) and the quality (heartily) of the actions. When these conditions are observed, the Lord Yahusha (Jesus) offers the incentive of reward, which is the inheritance. Note that the inheritance, usually associated with the firstborn’s inheritance, is a reward based and NOT a gift.

If one reads Col3:25, it speaks of punishment for those who do wrong shall receive wrong, which is the “stick” approach vs. the “carrot” approach of the previous two verses.

Despite knowing all the above, there is still a gap between practice and how these truths of future-eternal reward-inheritance matter to me here on earth. This gap is a missing link that deprives the needed focus and ability to gauge one’s performance in this goal to do unto the Lord.

 

This post seeks to fill this gap by drawing from the tabernacle of Moses, Jhn4:16’s description of the Lord Yahusha as the way, truth, and life, and the three-fold salvation of man in their spirit, soul, and body. The post will focus on the soul as the key ingredient to fill this gap.

 

 

Tabernacle of Moses and Jhn4:16

The Lord Yahusha said He is the way, the truth, and the life in Jhn4:16. This author has an excellent article to support the connection between this verse to the Tabernacle of Moses. See this link for the article – https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/02/08/the-way-the-truth-and-the-life-tabernacle-series-part-4/.

 

This article explains that the Yahusha is the way that leads to the outer court, that Yahusha is the truth that leads to the Holy Place, and Yahusha is the life that leads to the holy of holies. The threefold salvation of man, which corresponds to spirit, soul, and body, also connects to the tabernacle of Moses/Jhn4:16.  Where the spirit corresponds to the holy of holies, the soul corresponds to the holy place. The body corresponds to the outer court.

 

 Do Unto the Lord 

The Soul Surrounded by Enemies All Round

Typically, the saved spirit is often too remote (the soul is not sensitive) from the soul’s sensing and awareness to make a reliable difference. This challenge is no fault of the Holy Spirit or the born-again spirit. The carnal flesh and spiritual forces are at work.

Conversely, the carnal flesh has a strong hold on the soul, constantly bombarding the soul with temptations of the world. These soul attacks come from the outer court thru the pathway of attacking the truths of obedience and the atoning work of the Lord Yahusha. The body also is attacked thru the path of detracting from following Lord Yahusha, for He is the way. Instead, the body is lured to follow after the carnal flesh.

There are also spiritual attacks from the dark realm that works in concert with the carnal flesh. They may operate thru rejection, abandonment, lust, and the like.

The above frames the challenges of the soul and body that are doing unto the Lord.

Also, read the section, Man’s salvation, for more context on soul salvation.

Based on the above, one can imagine the soul as the holy place as partly holy and partly unholy. For this reason, the soul needs saving. Remember, the soul is under siege from the outer court or body thru the doorway of the Way. The ungodly part of the soul erects and preserves barriers along the doorway of Life that leads to the holy of holies where the Holy Spirit and born-again spirit dwell. These barriers impede direct communication between the born-again spirit with the circumcised soul.

The soul is besieged by external enemies of the flesh-world, internal enemies of the unsaved soul, and spiritual forces that cohabit with the saved soul. The soul is in a desperate and precarious situation. How can the soul do unto the Lord and win the spiritual war of Eph6?

 

Home Ground Advantage – Where does the saved soul come from?

The saved soul is the part of the heart that is circumcised mentioned in Rom2:29. The soul, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB), comprises the will, the mind, the seat of emotions (the heart), and the conscience. See the link for the BLB description for the human soul – https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g5590/kjv/tr/0-1/.

The heart or soul circumcision occurs in the same event as the born-again experience. While the Word does not clarify, soul circumcision likely takes place after the dead spirit is born again by the Holy Spirit.

Circumcision is God marking a tiny sliver of the soul as belonging to Yah. I can imagine that the seal of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Eph1:13 is placed on the born-again spirit and the circumcised soul. The Holy Spirit sealed and circumcised soul is the home ground advantage of the believer in Yahusha.

 

 Do Unto the Lord – Closing the Gap

The circumcised heart of the soul communicates to the unsaved mind, will, the rest of the heart, and conscience via the language of the pure heart and pure conscience. Because it is the circumcised heart communicating, the language comes across as sensing light emotions (tugging), leading impressions, or flashing images.

Mat 5:8 says that the pure in heart shall see God. 2 Tim 2:22 says a pure heart will pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. By these pursuit measures, one can gauge the purity of one’s soul and ability to listen to the circumcised heart accurately. Knowing and applying this helps one gauge their performance, stay on course, and correct the course when necessary.

But this realization alone does answer the question, how does doing unto the Lord help offer a focus to obey Him and continue to obey Him?

The possible answer has two parts. Firstly, there is a focus on doing the action itself. This action has the implied meaning of employing the members of the body for Yah’s service.

Rom12:1 says this –

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

When the body is used for God’s service, as led by the Holy Spirit that speaks to the unsaved soul thru the circumcised heart of the soul, the body becomes an instrument of righteousness (Rom6:13). And the body and its members are consecrated, made holy to God.

 

The second focus has a builder metaphor. The 1st focus of the external doing initiates an internal building of the soul. The sons of Yah are made in His image. They emulate their Abba Yahuah. According to 1Co3:10, the triune God is a wise master builder. Therefore His sons’ building their unsaved souls is emulating Him.

The saving of the soul is the partnership between the believer and the Holy Spirit to rebuild the ruined or unsaved soul. Man’s part in this rebuilding effort is obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Thus when one is doing unto the Lord, e.g., cooking for an unappreciative spouse or loving the unlovable, the unsaved soul is being reconstructed. The Lord Yahusha offered the imagery of the soul as a house ready for occupation in Luke 11. It is not unreasonable to imagine that this house of the soul has many rooms or areas with different functions. Even the 4 components of the soul allude to the existence of these rooms-areas.

The saving-reconstruction of the soul is a slow and gradual process rebuilding these rooms-areas. For this reason, soul-saving is a slow and gradual process; patience for things outside control and perseverance for things within control is essential. These themes of patience and perseverance are repeated in the New Testament.

 

The above realizations support one to shift their focus from their external issues, knowing that every time one does according to the leading of the Holy Spirit as unto the Lord outwardly, their soul is being saved by this reconstruction process.

Given that this process is also described as warfare in Eph6, it is reasonable to describe this reconstruction process as evicting the squatters (evil spirit, carnal elements) out of that part of the unsaved soul, removing some of the siege barriers between the soul-body and the soul-spirit, reclaiming that part of that once unsaved soul as belonging to the Holy Spirit and then purify it by the truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23. It should become more apparent at this juncture, why patience and perseverance is essential. 

For how these truths of 1Jhn1:9 and Heb10:22-23 work, see the posts about spiritual warfare.

 

 

Conclusion

One can find the motivation to endure life challenges by adopting the attitude that they are suffering by doing unto the Lord. The practice of this approach needs the focus on knowing that the unsaved soul is being rebuilt by simply doing what the Holy Spirit has led one to do. Also, one can gauge their spiritual performance by the measures of righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

 

 

Man’s Salvation

This section is for readers unfamiliar with the salvation of the three parts of man’s spirit, soul, and body.

The threefold salvation of man is a deep and broad topic. This section offers a brief narrative.

 

  1. Born again spirit saves the spirit. Jhn3 offers the basis for this statement. Man’s dead spirit is born again when the person repents to the salvation terms of Rom10:9-10. Thus every believer, child of Yah, has (past tense) a born-again spirit.

 

The born-again spirit birthed by the Holy Spirit (Jhn3:6) resides in the Holy of Holies, accessed by the doorway of the life of the Spirit. This doorway is the life of Yahusha (Jesus) mentioned in Jhn4:16.

 

 

  1. The saving of the soul via the sanctification process that is described as chastisement in Heb 12. Unlike the salvation of the born-again spirit, which is completed, the soul’s sanctification is ongoing (present tense) for the entire earthly life.

 

1Pet1:2, 1Pet1:9, 1Pet2:11, 1Jam1:21-22, Heb10:2, Mat16:26-27  and 2The2:13 have this to say about sanctification.

 

1Pet1:2 – “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

 

1Pet1:9 – “Receiving the end (goal) of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

 

1Pet 2:11 – “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;”

 

Jam1:21-22 – “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

 

Heb10:29-“But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”

 

Mat16:26-27 – “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

 

2The2:13 – “But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

 

One can draw from the above verses to synthesize the following to support soul sanctification. Soul salvation is by the work of the Spirit and belief in the truth. The soul salvation process, which is ongoing for the entire earthy life of the believer, is the goal of the Christian faith.

The soul is saved in a warfare process with the carnal flesh and from the love of the world. Instead of submitting to these, the saved soul submits to the Spirit of Yah. The evidence of a soul that is being saved is submission to the will of God the Father (Yahuah), to His word and works of faith.

The notion that the soul needs saving also means one can risk losing their soul by submitting to their carnal flesh and love for the world and rejecting the Holy Spirit’s leading.

The saved soul resides in the holy place and is accessed by the doorway of truth. This doorway of truth is the truth of Yahusha mentioned in Jhn4:16. The focus of truth resonates with the belief of the truth that sanctifies the soul mentioned in 2The2:13.

One may also connect this belief of the truth to 1Pet1:2 to ascertain what this truth is, for the Christian’s soul is sanctified when they believe. 1Pet 1:2 reveals them as obedience to Yahuah’s will and forgiveness of the atoning blood of Yahusha.

The will of Yah represents God’s justice and righteousness. Abba-Yah desires His children to be holy, even as He is holy (1Pet1:17).

The atoning blood of His Son, Yahusha, represents Yahuah’s love for man (Jhn3:16). Justice-righteousness and love are the primary twin nature and priorities of the whole counsel of God.

 

  1. The salvation of the immortal and glorified body is a future event on the Day of the Lord (Christ’s return to earth). Rev20 describes it as the 1st resurrection, which apostle Paul in Phil3:10-11 pursued this resurrection as a reward by sharing Christ’s suffering and conforming to His death. There is also the 2nd resurrection, presumably (not clearly stated in Rev20) at the great white throne. This 2nd resurrection is not a reward.

 

For a more precise explanation of the difference between the two resurrections, one can go to Youtube for Brenda Weltner’s resources. This link from Brenda talks about the ungodly believer – https://youtu.be/wlxuyLuzTjo.

Spiritual

Sanctification – Gift or Work?

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Introduction

https://utmost.org/is-god%e2%80%99s-will-my-will/

Oswald Chamber’s 20th Oct devotion, titled “Is God’s Will My Will?”, has this to share, which leaves the impression that sanctification is a gift (completed and an effect) of salvation thru Christ. Is sanctification a gift or work?-

“Receive Jesus Christ to become sanctification for you by absolute, unquestioning faith, and the great miracle of the atonement of Jesus will become real in you.

And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness).

He completed everything for my salvation and sanctification.

Sanctification makes me one with Jesus Christ, and in Him one with God, and it is accomplished only through the magnificent atonement of Christ.

The effect in me is obedience, service, and prayer, and is the outcome of inexpressible thanks and adoration for the miraculous sanctification that has been brought about in me because of the atonement through the Cross of Christ.”

This post explores the view that obedience and sanctification are gifts per Oswald’s devotion and also a work of obedience as evidence of soul sanctification.

Promotion of one over the other will not benefit the believer. Both truths are needed to operate in the believer to do God’s will.

 

Obedience and Sanctification as a Gift-Effect 

I support Oswald’s view that Yahusha, His crucifixion, death, and resurrection are the foundations that made the believer’s sanctification possible.

Without the finished work of the cross and hope of the resurrection, talk of man’s soul sanctification is meaningless.

In this way, sanctification found in the person of Yahusha renders obedience as an effect or a gift. But this effect of obedience is not wholly a product of sanctification. 

If it were entirely a product of soul sanctification, it would rob man of their free will and thereby their rewards or punishment. 

Without an impartial evaluation of the believer’s work, whether good leading to rewards or evil leading to loss-discipline, will also threaten God’s nature as a fair, righteous judge over man (both believer and none believers), which is emphasized in 1Pet1:17 (believers) and 2The1:5 (non-believers).

Yahusha said this in Mat16:27 and the Rev22:12.

Mat16:27 – “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward (whether good or evil) every man according to his works.”

Rev22:12 – “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward (good or evil) is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

Rendering each believer according to their works is not about losing one’s salvation. For the finished work of Yahusha is a free gift enshrined in Eph2:8-9. This salvation ensures freedom from the lake of fire of Rev21.

 

Limits of Eph2:8-9, Salvation Apart from Works

But it does not protect the believer from the apparently eternal punishment to remain outside heaven, remaining outside its gates as recorded in Rev22:15.

Rev22:15 – “For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.”

 

The “without” means outside the gates of the new heaven mentioned in Rev22:14.

The salvation of Eph2:8-9 also will not protect from the works of wood, hay, and straw from being burned up, as explained in 1Co3.

The salvation of Eph2:8-9 also will not protect from the 2nd death of Rev20:6 before the Judgement Seat of Christ. 

This 2nd death of Rev20:6 for the believer must be distinguished from the 2nd death of unbelievers before the Great White Throne in Rev21, which refers to the lake of fire. 

I speculate that this 2nd death leads to discipline in the outer darkness for 1000 years instead of ruling with Christ or ministering in the old heaven of Rev7:15.

There is much contention about this matter, and my view remains what it is, a view that all are entitled to have their view.

What does it mean that obedience is not wholly a product of soul sanctification?

 

Sanctification is Gift and Work

Oswald’s emphasis that obedience is an effect or a complete product of sanctification implies the deeper belief that soul sanctification is entirely a gift of God.

I support this view to the degree that this gift offers the means, the person of Yahusha, to qualify the believer for the sanctification of the soul. 

It is similar to the two Greek words in Rom8 used to refer to believers.

Rom8:16 – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God:”

The Greek word “children” is teknon to describe a child. It is the basic description or basic denominator that describes all believers before Yahuah. It is a free gift of Eph2:8-9; it is conferred to all believers, apart from works.

 

But in Rom8:14 – “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

The Greek word son in Rom8: 14 is Huois, which means mature sons. Eph2:8-9 guaranteed the status and identity as a child of God. This status-identity qualifies all believers to be mature sons.

But what follows after this qualification, it is NOT a gift anymore. To be mature sons, the child believer must be (make the choice) led by the Spirit. This obedience to walk after the Spirit is a work- waging the spiritual war of Eph6 against temptations. To choose not to walk after the carnal desires (Rom8:4) that love the world thru their lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and pride of life (1Jhn2:16). 

This work led by the Spirit after righteousness, not following the carnal flesh, is the soul’s sanctification.

 

Conclusion

Obedience to believe the truths of salvation by grace apart from works of Eph2:8-9 is the foundation and narrow gate to the soul’s sanctification.

But the outcomes of soul sanctification itself are not a gift. But the works to walk after the Spirit to be obedient is to choose to do good and avoid evil. The child of God dines on meat truths to grow into mature sons of God.

Heb4:15 says this – “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age (mature sons), even those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

 

Therefore it benefits the believer to know when and where the gift of God operates unto salvation and when and where the works of obedience are the believer’s responsibility.

The person of Christ (His crucifixion and His resurrection) that is the basis of the believer’s salvation does NOT and CAN NOT complete the believer’s sanctification; it cannot force a child of God to be a mature son of God.  The believer must desire to be a mature son, dine on meat truths, and live a life led by the Spirit.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

Discipleship – The Cost of Discipleship (Part3 of 3)

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Introduction

This post is partially extracted from the video link – https://youtu.be/lpiQdRd9DSc and blended with personal insights. The video is about Getting into Word to produce disciples of Christ, Part 1. This post, The Cost of Discipleship, is part 3 of 3. The other two parts defined and described what is spiritual maturity and what is spiritual apathy.

Spiritual maturity is the goal, but the poison of spiritual apathy runs deep. What is the antidote for the heart poisoned by deception, discouragement, and distraction? Without this antidote, the goal of being a disciple of the Lord Jesus is jeopardized. Unfortunately, the video does not offer solutions; these “solutions” are my thoughts.

The following antidotes to the 3 heart conditions foster spiritual maturity. It paves the way and is part of the cost of discipleship, which involves the carrying of their cross (Luke14:27), forsaking self (Mat16:24), forsaking earthly relationships for the Lord (Luke14:26), and submitting to God’s will (Mat10:24).

 

The Cost of Discipleship

 

Antidote for the Deceived Heart

The deceived heart does not subject Himself to God. It is closely related to the distracted heart. The deceived heart is poisoned by pride that rebels against God. This pride is their heart’s treasure. It is a form of self-idolatry. Mat10:24 says, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.” But the deceived heart desires to be above its master.

Solving the challenge of the deceived heart requires one to reduce, manage and eliminate their pride in themselves and towards life (1Jhn2:16).

Scripture offers the following guidance to reduce pride

  1. To love the unlovable and the undesirable, even one’s enemies. (Luke6:32-35)
  2. To esteem others better than oneself (Phil2:3)
  3. This love and esteem are not mere words or state of mind but to look after the interest of others ahead of oneself (Phil2:4) and to serve (Jhn12:26, Mat20:26-27).

In this way, the prideful, deceived heart is subjugated by the cleansing experience of meekness and sincere love towards God and man. The flesh will resist with all its might against this cleansing.

Be mindful that this spiritual war of Eph6 with the deceived heart takes place in the minds of man as explained in Rom12:2, 2Co10:3-5, and Phil4:7. It is a war with two dimensions – internal with one’s carnal flesh and external with the evil spirit. This post focuses on the internal battle.

See the posts about Spiritual Warfare against the external spirit –  https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/23/spiritual-warfare/

Watch and pray to draw divine strength that fortifies the willing spirit to guard against human weakness in the flesh. By watching and praying, the soul has the resources to win the battle in the mind. Watching and praying is Lord Jesus’, the Lord Yahusha’s advice to His sleeping disciples in the garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and subsequent crucifixion.

 

Antidote for the Discouraged Heart

The discouraged heart is poisoned by brokenness and grief (Mat5:3-4). Often life circumstances are the source of brokenness and grief. One’s allotted lot in life is designed by God’s purpose and will. The 4-part post-series about the Will of God helps one make sense of suffering and pain. See part 1, The Will of God – Nature of God’s Will, via this link – https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/09/15/gods-will-nature-part-1-of-4/

 

The antidote to the discouraged heart is God’s comfort, as mentioned in Mat5:4. What does it mean to be comforted by God?

 

God, Abba Yahuah, comfort the discouraged heart in the following ways.

  1. The comfort comes from the inestimable value of the resurrection hope of 1Pet1:3 that Paul said one might earn, by inference as a disciple by suffering and death, in Phil3:10-11 and to earn the eternal rewards of good works mentioned in 1Co3.

 

  1. The comfort is derived from the significance of being broken-hearted and mourning, which is the eternal value of emulating the Lord Jesus as the salt of the earth and the light of the world that pleases Father God (Mat5:3-16). This value is grounded in an intimate and empathetic relationship with God.

Earthly temporal suffering is also meaningful as payment for the significant eternal rewards. Therefore, it imbues senseless earthly suffering with eternal purpose. With eternal meaning, significance, and purpose, one can endure with patience for things outside control and preserve in areas within control.

There is a fierce struggle to let go of the familiar brokenness and grief. While they are poison, familiarity can be more comforting than submitting to an uncertain future-hope rooted in faith in the Faithfulness of God. The soul’s and body’s cries for swift earthly justice can be overwhelming for some.

In such cases, the heart is poisoned by both discouragement and deception. The deception is the pride of being a victim. Having lost so much, the heart hangs on to the dignity and identity of victimhood. The pride of victimhood, dignity, and identity poison the heart.

 

The antidote must draw from points raised for the deceived heart and, simultaneously, from the points raised for the discouraged heart. There is one significant factor that needs addressing. It is the issue of forgiveness.

The thorns and briars of unforgiveness growing from the fertile grounds of bitterness-hate are the strong men to the heart poisoned by deception and discouragement.

The topic of unforgiveness is a deep and broad topic that deserves its posts. Due to the need to limit the scope of this post and prayer, which I have not done, I will leave this elephant in the room as a reminder that to win the battle is not a simple wave of a wand.

 

Antidote for the Distracted Heart

The world’s distractions draw their power from the treasures in the heart that is not God. The Lord Jesus said in Mat6:21 –“ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” This describes the issue of struggling to serve two or more masters.

The distracted heart is poisoned by the reign of another master that is not God.

 

I would go on a limb to say that all humans suffer from the poison of the distracted heart. By the time one becomes aware of God, the call of spiritual maturity, and the dangers of spiritual apathy, the contamination of the world would have taken place to vary degrees.

This awareness and admission are critical to the journey of a pure heart towards God and man. See this link about the pure heart toward God – https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/31/sincere-love-and-sincere-faith/.

If this awareness is dim and admission a struggle, the heart is also poisoned by deception. But the guardians of this deception are not the simple matter of one’s sense of pride that plagues the deceived heart. These pride guardians are empowered by their masters (evil spirits) of the heart’s treasures and co-conspirators of the carnal flesh that loves the world (lust of the eye, lusts of the flesh, and the pride of life of 1Jhn2:16).

 

Dethrone the False kings

Therefore, it should be apparent to dethrone these false sovereigns of the heart is no easy matter. I would claim that this war against these faux sovereigns is waged till one draws their last breath.

To wage this war, one needs awareness of which category these pretender sovereigns fall into-

  1. The lust of the flesh.
  2. The lust of the eye.
  3. The pride of life.

 

After identifying their realms (categories- there are usually many of them existing in all the 3 categories), one needs to wage a spiritual war of attrition with them (the evil spirits). For thoughts about this, see the post about Spiritual Warfare. Perseverance in watching and praying is key to winning this spiritual war.

Then one needs to examine the areas these evil spirits continue to take advantage of to perpetuate their reign. The soul and flesh are tempted to sin in these areas. The obvious solution is to avoid these areas; flee youthful lust, as advised in 2Tim2:22. This fleeing may involve quitting one’s career, moving homes, and surrendering some free will to others with their interests at heart. These areas qualify for the act of perseverance, to make that crucial life-changing decision to remove themselves from the dangers of these temptations.

But where life circumstances compel one to remain tempted, e.g., in a marriage, in a family setting, immobilized, then, on-top of perseverance, one needs to be patient, looking away from these temptations and focusing on the points raised in the discouraged heart.

Because of proximity to the temptations, the person naturally will struggle with their sins. But do not give up hope. Repentance for most is a long process, and some are short. There is no meaning to comparing; let each season present itself as another opportunity to pass the test of discipleship. Celebrate the failures in the confession-forgiveness of 1Jhn1:9 and restoration of the full assurance of faith of Heb10:22 and confession-empowerment of Jam5:16.

See the link for the benefits and power of confession to God and man to support the challenges of being close to temptations – https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/09/12/benefits-of-confessing-to-god-and-confessing-to-man/.

Gradually, over time, these harmful desires will lose their stranglehold on the soul; by the willing spirit and cooperative soul, and going thru the cycles of forgiveness-restoration-confession, the new man’s divine immunity will mature, being led more consistently by the Holy Spirit of Yah.

Celebrate success in meekness and sober-mindedness. Whether in failure or success, offer both with thanksgiving and praise to the whole counsel of God; Abba Yahuah, His Son, Yahusha, and His Holy Spirit.

 

Enthrone the King of Kings

The cost of discipleship concerning the distractions of the heart requires the sincere believer to remove any treasure from the heart that is not God Himself, which is the personal relationship with Him.

In this way, the distractions that stem from the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of richness will not sway the heart. Practicing this solution requires one to honor God’s will with your wealth and submit to His will with a Submissive heart to melt the cares of the world and the lure of riches. It is not easy to overcome this struggle, the rich man of Mat19 failed to pay the cost of discipleship.

Honoring God with one’s wealth has been controversial, mainly due to the prosperity gospel, which I am not in favor of. In my observation and experience, the prosperity gospel magnifies the distractions of the heart.

The wealth stewardship I favor is based on a personal relationship vs. an impersonal institutional relationship, one that is based on mutual trust and respect for each other vs. an unequal relationship between patron and recipient. Wealth stewardship is a means to support the eternal goals of soul salvation vs. pursuing the earthly pursuit of social justice to alleviate suffering.

The topic is too broad for this post—a ten post-series, Christian and the Money Series, attempt to describe this topic. The first post of this 10-part series can be found at this link – https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/11/11/christians-and-money-reality/.

 

Conclusion

The perspective of the 3 heart conditions helps to identify the aliment, but in practice, the heart is plagued by all the 3 aliments of deception, discouragement, and distraction. It will be challenging to anybody as it presents the imagery of being besieged by surrounding enemies.

Wisdom from the leading of the Holy Spirit of Yah is indispensable to navigating the treacherous terrain poisoned by deception, discouragement, and distraction. At this point, it may seem that the battle, much less the war, is impossible to win. These thoughts are flawed. It is God that wins the battle, for it belongs to Him.

The person needs a willing spirit that sincerely seeks God in their troubles. Posts such as these are meaningless without this desire to seek God. Even it is God that supplies the specifics of the navigating. Having knowledge of the heart conditions that draw from His word and revelations that puts them into practice, it is hubris to call the proposals written here antidotes. God, Himself is the true antidote. Abba God Yahuah was the one that has paid the greatest cost of man’s right to discipleship by the crucifixion of His Son, Yahusha.

Life's Journey, Purpose and Meaning, Relationship, Spiritual

A Pure Heart – Sincere Love and Sincere Faith

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Introduction (Pure Heart Towards Man)

This post about the pure heart shares a video by Zac Poen on the same topic and is closely related to the previous posts, “The Life not in Want and The Life not in Want – King David’s Life.” A life not in want would necessarily have a pure heart at its core.

 
The link for The life of not in Want – King David’ Life : https://sincerelawrence.com/2022/08/30/the-life-of-not-in-want-king-davids-life/
 
This video by Zac Pooen has the theme of a pure heart – of love and a good conscience in sincere faith.
 
This reflection will describe this love from a pure heart as sincere love. It is also helpful to look at the good conscience of sincere faith concerning matters of justice, fairness, and righteousness.
 
This sincere love and the sincere faith themes are from 1Tim1:5 –
 
“Now the end (GOAL) of the commandment is charity (love)  out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned (sincere without hypocrisy)”
 
1Tim1:5 carries great significance as it presents the goal of God’s commandments for the believer. These goals are found in the pure heart that manifests two traits 
 
1. sincere love.
 
2. good conscience of sincere faith
 
Zac draws from Mat6 forgiveness as a prerequisite for a good conscience (sincere faith). This forgiveness is sought from others and to forgive others. This forgiveness concerns a good conscience among man.
 
Zac then draws attention to the fact that a person with a pure heart will see God (Mat5:8) in all situations who works all for good (Rom8:28).
 
Zac’s conviction is that a pure heart will spring forth sincere love and the good conscience of sincere faith.
 
 

Pure Heart Towards God

This post complements Zac’s video by offering how scriptures guide the believer’s purity of heart toward God in sincere love and sincere faith.
 
These scriptures are-  1Jhn:9, Heb10:22, and 1Pet3:21.
 
1Jhn1:9 is about humbling before God, in fear and trembling of 1Pet1:17, confession of sins seeking forgiveness from God is the believer’s ongoing (daily) initiative of sincere love and sincere faith to reconcile with God. It is a replay of Rom10:9; confession Jesus is Lord.
 
Heb10:22 is a rich verse – 
 
 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
 
The true heart of Heb10:22, according to Blue Letter Bible (BLB) Greek Lexicon, means a sincere heart.
 
The “full assurance of faith” in Heb10:22 is God saying, He welcomes the believer to experience the truths of Heb10:22.
 
The evil conscience of Heb10:22 is the opposite of the good conscience of 1Tim1:5. 
 
Heb10:22 is God’s solution to possess a good conscience towards Him by sprinkling the polluted heart with pure water so the soul and body may be washed clean to meet God’s standard of purity and holiness.
 
This pure water can be synonymous with the Word of God. 1Pet3:21 offers clues that clarify God’s specific word that leads to a good conscience towards God. 
 
The Word is the belief-hope of Christ’s resurrection and, by extension, the hope of the believers’ resurrection mentioned in 1Pet1:3-5. 
 
This resurrection focus is a replay of Rom10:9’s belief of Jesus’ resurrection on the 3rd day.
 
1Pet3:21 –
 
“The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:”
 
It is noteworthy that Heb10:22 evil conscience, according to BLB, can mean wicked conscience of the carnal love of the world of 1Jhn2:16. But it also can mean the resentment the believer bears towards God and man for the perceived injustices experienced according to God’s will. 
 
Therefore, the focus of the resurrection of Christ will cleanse the soul and body from the stains of both moral wickedness and resentful thoughts and emotions.
 
 

Conclusion

To live a life of pure heart, one needs to –
 
1. Submit to God to confess their sins daily to seek forgiveness. A forgiven person is free to love and receive love.
 
2. Draw near to God daily, in full assurance of the faith in the resurrection to clean their conscience and body of moral wickedness of resentment towards God and man. This daily cleansing restores the believers’ souls as mature sons of God (Rom8:14).
 
Such a person will praise and give thanks to God in all circumstances, enduring in sincere love and sincere faith, for they see God in all things.
Purpose and Meaning, Wealth

Christians and Money Series- God’s Appeal to the World: Part 4

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Introduction

This post is part 4 of the Christian and Money Series. Cultural, racial, religious, and social factors create a bias that stereotype people to explain their wealth or poverty statuses.

 

Editorial credit: StockPhotosArt / Shutterstock.com

 

In Jesus’ times (Scott, 1990), two such biases stem from cultural, social, and religious factors. Poverty was viewed as “divine chastisement“ due to sin, while the “ambiguity of wealth” was a sign of divine blessings. When Jesus shared the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, it offended the rich of His day. The conclusion of the parable ran counter to the two biases. The poor beggar, Lazarus, had a reversal of eternal fortunes after his death while the rich man suffered in Hades.

These biases have held captive Man’s heart till today. I have heard accusations on specific groups of people that they deserved their poverty because of their cultural, racial, religious, and social disposition. They are poor for these reasons and deserve their lot.

Most people do not publically promote these private thoughts that dwell in their hearts. However, telltale signs betray these secrets found in Man’s social behavior. Post 5 will elaborate on the details of this social behavior. Suffice to mention, and for now, they are underpinned by hypocrisy’s coping mechanism in condescension forms, making light of the suffering poor. Conversely, the poor reciprocates by the coping mechanism of self-victimization mentality.

This 4th post in the series has two objectives. The first objective is to build the narrative to clarify man’s position and beliefs, using wealth as the context. This narrative is expansionary and inclusive of non- Christian’s beliefs and values. The second objective is to glean the new testament scriptures identifying God’s appeal to man concerning wealth.

 

Man and Money

Man has a conscience that is part of the soul. This conscience is man’s innate sense of right and wrong without formal instruction. Man’s conscience spans across the world’s belief systems. See link – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience

Environmental factors such as cultural, social, and religious factors contribute to determining its unique expression forms, but the underlying elements are common. For example, man values loyalty, community spirit, self-sacrifice. Likewise, Man condemns betrayal, discord, and self-seeking behaviors.

 

Wealth Gap

 

See the following link for the above illustration – https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/#:~:text=The%20wealth%20gap%20between%20upper,has%20grown%20wider%20this%20century.&text=From%201983%20to%202016%2C%20the,from%2032%25%20to%2017%25.

Why then does man’s treatment of wealth or money seem to violate the conscience’s rules to accept such objectionable outcomes? One may ask, where is the evidence of this claim in this question? Part 2 of the post shared proof of the glaring wealth gap between the rich and poor. This wealth gap is only growing wider. The above illustration takes the USA data are emblematic of the rest of the world. In Jan 2020, the Guardian reports that 70% of the world’s population experiences this growing wealth gap. See link – https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/jan/22/wealth-gap-widening-for-more-than-70-per-cent-of-global-population-researchers-find

This post posits that other factors have overridden Man’s conscience in the area of wealth. These factors are

  1. Worry about the future, and the need to control that worry through wealth accumulation.
  2. The lure of wealth is innately addictive. Remember the hedonic race in part 2? Wealth brings pleasures, such as enhanced social status, power, influence, physical enjoyments, and control over others.

 

Both the Poor and Rich are Terrified of the Future and Addicted to Wealth Alike

 

The irony is that both the rich and the poor have embraced these factors as shared aspirations. For this reason, the world does not descend into a brutal war between the poor and the rich, culminating into one global French revolution, or witnessing a global embrace of Marxism.

Both Christians and non-Christians, barring a minority in both groups, are mostly helpless to avoid violating their conscience to address this reality. The following posts will explore the application aspects of this minority group. For the majority, unless there is a shift of the motivating factors away from focusing on earthy goals to cope with fears of the uncertain future and to wean off the wealth addiction, money reigns as Master over Man in the constant battle against God’s supremacy.

The following section of this post shares the Christian God’s offer of these alternative motivating factors.

 

God’s Alternative Offer to Wealth

God has two main goals in mind when He offers solutions to Man’s slavery to money. God seeks to fulfill His two commandments: the source of His purpose and will (the Law and the Prophets, Mat22:40). Both commandments are concerning RELATIONSHIPS. This relationship focus is a clear indication that God values relationships above all else in His economy.

 

The Love Commandments

 

The first commandment is the relationship between God and Man. In comparison, the second commandment is a relationship between man and man (Mat22:37-40). The commandments bear the following intentions.

  1. God is appealing and demanding from Man their believing loyalty towards Him. (1st commandment)
  2. God expects Man to show love to their neighbor as oneself in contrast to indifference to their neighbors’ plight. (2nd commandment).

Believing loyalty is also known as loving-kindness, “checed” in Hebrew, which also renders faithfulness a more familiar term in the new testament vernacular. See the link for the word meaning of checed- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H2617&t=NASB

The scriptures relating to wealth, especially the parables, are shared to support Man’s understanding of God’s salvation offered as a means to realize the 1st commandment. E.g., is the Good Samaritan (Luke15:11-32), the treasure hidden in the field, the pearl of great price (Mat13:44-45), the prodigal son (Luke15:11-32).

The scriptures also reveal God’s expectation to love one’s neighbor, the 2nd commandment, in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke10:30-37 and the unforgiving servant’s story in Mat18:21-35.

God does not leave man without resources and guidelines to motivate Man to choose the love relationship as their new focus and abandon their old focus of worry and addiction to money. God’s motivating factors address both the worry of the future and the issue of the lure of money.

 

God Supplies His Motivating Factors

 

1st Motivating Factor – Solution for Worry

 

The Worry of Needs and Wants

 

Both Christians and non-Christians worry about the future. God recognized valid worries, categorized as needs. In this day and age, the needs of Man has grown to include wants. The final post will address this aspect. Nevertheless, God recognized man’s worry to meet his needs when Jesus identified this as the reason for Man’s shifting loyalties between serving God and Mammon in Mat6:24.

God promises that He will supply all Man’s future needs when he focuses on His will for Him and his identity in Him (Mat6:32). God designs His will into the life circumstances presented to that person. It includes the opportunities, the challenges, the waiting, the people in your life, the victories, the setbacks, the miracles, and the tragedies. God promises to supply what Man needs, even as he experiences His will. Man is to reciprocate in an active faith relationship with Him.

The other less recognized reason and solution offered by God in Mat6:34 is that the present has sufficient troubles on their own that demands attention. God wants to partner Man to address present challenges and appeals to him not to be distracted by worrying about the future. The experience of partnering with God in this active faith in the present is not straightforward and exceeds this post’s scope to explain.

At this juncture, the imagination of what God supplies can run pretty wild. The Bible does offer some guidelines to understand what God supplies. The following post or posts will cover this in more detail. Suffice to say. God supplies wisdom, “time and chance” that relieve the pressure that would have exceeded the breaking point, His divine power, and circumstances to support His will for Man.

 

Personal Testimony

The Fool Who Became King

 

Mind-blindness (autism) handicapped my social and emotional perception until age 49. God had shown and proven His loyal faithfulness as Father over my life since my dad passed away when I was 11 years old.

These handicaps lead to situational unawareness. I grossly underestimated the environment’s harshness and overestimated my capacity and capabilities. I recklessly resigned from full-time employment and was self-employed twice, at age 29-30 and 32-50. Due to personal reasons and adequate resources,  undeservingly, I have decided to retire at age 50, 2020. God has protected me from the hostile business environment and my foolish unawareness for the past 25 years as a working adult.

My lack of awareness blinded me to future worries. Given a temperament that is resilient and determined, I do not complain and worry about my future.  The “success” did not come by fervent prayers, never fasted, and was never diligent in reading the Bible (this only started in 2019). In-fact until 2019, I have never read a complete book in the Bible.

God’s mercies have protected me from an unreasonable environment and marauding competitors. The material success came because I blindly did whatever was presented to me and did the best of my abilities every time without worrying and complaining. Unknowingly just by attending faithfully to my lot in life, I did God’s will.

 

2nd Motivating Factor – Shift in Values

In today’s materialistic culture, the motivating factors offered by God has lost much of its luster. It is not the fault of God, for Man has chosen to deify themselves by proxy. Elements that supported man’s deification are mainly due to their sense of mastery over their destiny. The following fostered Man’s sense of mastery over their future and shifted Man’s values away from God’s values.-

  1. Man has more than doubled the life expectancy from the late 30s in the late 1800s to beyond 70s by the early 2000s. Singapore’s life expectancy is in the 80s. See link – https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/SGP/singapore/life-expectancy#:~:text=The%20current%20life%20expectancy%20for,a%200.26%25%20increase%20from%202017.
  2. Man has mastered their physical environment (notwithstanding the irreparable damage done to nature) and a pseudo mastery over their biology. Genetic engineering is one of the new frontiers for humanity.
  3. Man’s sense of personal agency has shot through the roof, bolstered by the relentless rise of individual liberties.
God’s Appeal to the Alternative, Reimar/Shutterstock.com

 

Tragically, This pandemic of self-deification affects both Christians and non-Christians alike.

God beckons Man with seven appeals to support Man’s shift from the additive lure of money-wealth to fulfill the two commandments, to restore the RELATIONSHIPS-

  1. God is appealing to Man’s senses to value His Fatherly love, offered to save humanity in the form of the death and resurrection of His only Son, the Lord Jesus. (John3:16, Rom10:9). The Father’s heart is appealing for His children to return to His bosom, the prodigal son narrative offered on an epic scale.

 

  1. God appeals to Man’s senses to value the true incorruptible treasures more than the temporal earthly pleasures, relationships, and possessions. The true treasures are the relationship with Him, His eternal rewards, the gloried incorruptible body, the eternal glory, and reunion with Him and all the loved ones that have embraced the family of God. Valuing the true treasures is the crucial battleground of the soul. For where the treasures are, there, the soul will take residence (Mat6:21).

 

  1. God appeals to Man’s senses to recognize that their body is temporal, suffer aging, physical death, and eternal death. What will it profit to Man to accumulate and hold tightly to things that lose all value in the afterlife? (Mark8:36)

 

  1. God is appealing to Man’s senses to recognize an afterlife where judgment and sentence await (Mat25:46). This appeal to many seems like a threat. God’s hands are bound in this regard and helpless to circumvent His sense of justice. God’s justice demand this outcome (Rom2:12-16,1Pet1:17).

 

  1. God is appealing to Man’s sense to choose forgiveness apart from the works pathway in Christ (Eph2:8-9), where the favored judgment is merciful, and the verdict at worst is forfeting the eternal rewards and the soul’s eternal glory (1Co5:5, 1Co3:15, 2Co4:16-18).

 

  1. God appeals to Man’s sense to avoid the impartial judgment pathway, where the sentence is likely an eternal staycation in Hell.

 

  1. God appeals to Man to choose His Son. By doing so, He frees Man of worry of the future on earth, as Man finds rest for their soul on earth in the work of His Son (Mat11:28-30, Heb4:11).

 

Conclusion

The world operates by the power paradigm. The powerful determines the Laws of the land and wields the power of life and death over others. Humanity recognizes this Law and obeys the rules set by the powerful. Democracy veils the ordinary senses to this Law, enchanting the human sense of agency with an illusion that the power lies with the individual because they vote the powerful into power.

Such naïve notions are put to naught when the next crisis hits. The covid19 pandemic is but an appetizer of the Law in operation. War seems a distant memory since the last World War in 1942. It seems to escape notice, but the elements that catalyzed such atrocities are the same; humanity is the source of these atrocities.

 

Daring and Taunting God Does Not Seem to be a Sound Strategy

 

It seems inconceivable while Man can recognize and subject themselves to human authorities, Man dares to taunt God by spurning His appeal and invitation.

Christians deem the Christian God as the most powerful entity across all time and space. But this God is dismissed as the King of charlatans by other religious beliefs and non-existent by an atheist or a choice, among other valid alternatives.

It may turn out that these reasons to ignore God are correct. Still, the stakes appear unacceptably high for a reasonable person to place a wager against God, who has offered such favorable terms to achieve divinity. The only cost on Man’s part is the belief in Jesus and after that best effort at obedience until death. This free lunch for Man exacted an unspeakable price from God the Father who paid dearly for this offer.

This post ends on this note. The next post will explore further how Man’s attempts to solve this wealth gap have failed, why it has failed, and the root cause behind these failures. Post 5 will also examine God’s alternative to address this failure.

 

References

  1. Scott, B. (1990). Hear then the parable (1st ed.). Fortress Press.
Relationship, Spiritual

Once Saved Always Saved: Proof

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Introduction

 

This post is an extension of an earlier post titled “Faith and Work in Harmony” that explored the controversy of Jam2:17, where James indicted the believers that lacked works as having faith that is dead. See the following link for this post-.

Faith and Work in Harmony (4min read)

 

The purpose of this reflection is to offer evidence to support the claim, “Once Saved Always Saved.”

 

Once Saved Always Saved

 

Three approaches are adopted to support this claim.

The first approach enhances the clarity between works mentioned in Jam2:17 and the works that lead to soul salvation in 1Pet.

The second approach explores the implications of 1Co5 concerning the Corinthian believer, who is foolishly brave to commit adultery with his stepmother openly.

The third and final approach is to examine Col2:13 and John10:27-29, which offer direct scriptural evidence to support the claim, “Once Saved Always Saved.”

 

Apostle Peter with a key before St. Peter’s Cathedral, Vatican

 

First Approach – The Connection between 1Pet and Jam2:17

 

A more explicit connection between these two verses provides a better foundation to support the conclusion that Jam2:17 was speaking of the faith that saves the soul and does not relate to the salvation of the born again spirit.

1Pet9 states, “obtaining as the outcome (telos – final destination, purpose, goal) of your faith the salvation of your souls.” This faith spoken of here is the means to produce the goal, which is soul salvation.

This faith is the loving faith in the unseen Christ (1Pet1:8) and the living hope of the resurrection (1Pet1:3-5). In the context of 1Pet1, this faith was tested in fiery trials (1Pet1:7) of persecution to validate their faith genuineness as to whether their faith is sufficiently genuine to produce soul salvation, which has nothing to do with spiritual salvation.

Later in 1Pet1:22, Peter reveals this faith’s manifestation that purifies (saves) the soul taking the form of sincere brotherly affection-love with a pure heart. 1Pet2:1 defines this sincerity in negative examples of “laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.”

It is notable that the word “sincere (anypokritos)” is used 6 times in the New Testament and was ascribed to faith (2 times), love (3 times), and good fruit (1 time). See link- https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G505&t=NASB.

 

The rest of 1Pet has a repeated theme that supports the scope of this sincere love. This theme shows believers committing their souls to the will of God the Father (1Pet4:19), enduring temporal suffering (1Pet1:6, 1Pet5:10), as they pour out their lives in sincere love for righteousness sake (1Pet4:14). By doing so, they partake (1Pet4:13) in Christ’s suffering where His suffering is set as an example (2Pet2:21) for believers to emulate in action (1Pet4:2) and attitude (1Pet4:1).

When one can appreciate the arduous journey to produce soul salvation, it makes sense when 1Pet18 says,” If the righteous one is scarcely saved” (NKJV). This “saving” refers to the soul salvation and not the salvation of the born again spirit. Soul salvation is difficult!

For the born again spirit is perfectly saved by God’s the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (John3:6 and John3:16). The only part played by a man is to believe by confessing (Rom10:9) Christ’s saving work apart from works (Eph2:8-9). The spiritual salvation is secure apart from the man’s works!

1Peter’s works that save the soul and Jam2:17 works share the common elements of suffering and submission to God’s will.

The two examples of works mentioned by James 2 is about Abraham and Rahab. Abraham suffered the loss of Isaac when he offered Isaac to God. However, Abraham submitted to God’s power to resurrect Isaac from the dead (Heb11:19). Rahab suffered the threat of execution for betraying Jericho when she sheltered the two Israelite spies and submitted to God’s manifested power (Joshua 2:9-11).

It stands to reason to assert at this point with greater confidence that the walk of sincere love that suffers while doing good, as the believer’s work is to emulates Christ’s suffering, is the mentioned in Jam2:17.

 

Aerial drone photo of the iconic archaeological site of Ancient Corinth built in the slopes of Acrocorinth, Peloponnese, Greece

 

Second Approach – Believer in a Sinful Lifestyle

 

1Co5:1 is about a man who openly indulged in a sexual relationship with his stepmother. Paul’s solution to this thorny issue of 1Co5:5 – “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

It is notable for drawing attention.

  1. The scripture deems the spirit saved despite his brazen behavior to openly promote his sexually immoral relationship with his stepmother and threatening to corrupt the Corinthian Church with this sin(1Co5:6).
  2. The scripture is silent about soul salvation. Since good works (1Pet) and natural decay of the body (2Co4:16-18) produces soul salvation, such practice of sin against the body deserves the bodily death of 1Co3:17

1Co3:17- “If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”, where the body is destroyed.

  1. Paul did not attempt to cast doubt concerning the believer’s salvation (born again spirit) status. Apostle Paul is faithful to his revelation that such judgment belongs to God (1Co4:4-5).

The above implications support the understanding that sin does not deprive the believer of their place in heaven.

 

Colossae ancient city in Denizli, Turkey

 

Third Approach- Col2:13 and John10:27-29

The Bible has three God personas, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The whole person also has three personas, the Spirit, Soul, and body (1The5:23)

It is an often committed error in the reading of scripture.

  1. The failure to identify the various God personas speaking or spoken.
  2. The failure to identify which part of the man that particular God persona is speaking to.

When the one reads the scripture bearing the above in mind above, scripture becomes relevant and alive. A careful examination of Col2:13 will reveal this benefit.

 

KJV

Col2:13- “And you, being (G5607) dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

The Greek Interlinear Bible clarifies that the tense of this being (G5607- ōn) is a present participle that indicates the ongoing action in the present.

The next step is to identify where the born again spirit, unsaved soul, decaying body, God the Father, and God the Son fit within the scripture.

 And you ( born again spirit), your soul being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh that is in your decaying body, hath he, God the Father, quickened the born again spirit together with him, Jesus, having forgiven you ( born again spirit) all trespasses;

Interpretation

The above holds the perspective of a believer’s walk after the spirit is born again. The born again spirit is immune to the unsaved soul that experiences death when it sins due to the sinful flesh.

God the Father confers immunity by the quickened (syzōopoieō- to make alive with Christ) of born again spirit. For the born again spirit HAS received forgiveness from sins once and for ALL. God has thereby immunized the born again spirit against harmful effects of the soul and body that sins—thus securing the “Once Saved Always Saved” salvation.

 

John10:27-29 truths echo and resonate with Col2:13. Jesus refers to believers as sheep that are given eternal life in John10:27-29. The sheep secure eternal life by the protection offered by His hands and the hands of His Father, who is greater than Him. The power of God secures the sheep’s salvation once and forever.

 

Conclusion

While I have attempted to offer systematic reasoning of evidence to support the belief of unshakable eternal salvation, there are always outlier scenarios that reside in the domain of God to determine the authenticity of the believer’s salvation status in the very first place.

Two outlier scenarios come to mind.

  1. The unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirt seems to the sword hanging over the believer’s secure salvation. (Mat12:31-32)
  2. The sins of apostasy.

Another post or posts is required to cover the unpardonable sin in detail. For this post, the fact that no other scriptures further warn of this sin suggests that this sin’s applicability does not extend beyond the specific circumstances required for the sin to be relevant. The circumstances were such that Jesus had to be physically present, and Man blasphemes the Holy Spirit operating through Him. Christ’s physical presence with the Holy Spirit in Him are realities not available to Man.

Apostasy in Greek, apostasia, is mentioned twice in the new testament. In 2Th2:3, Paul used apostasia in the anti-christ context, and in Act21:21, Paul’s accusers used apostasia to voice their concerns of forsaking the old covenant traditions. Hence the apostasy is used in a specific context. Scripture DOES NOT support the casualness among Christians to lay this charge against their brethren.

In-summary, It makes little sense to construct barriers to salvation based on these outliers, given the great price paid by our Lord Jesus for humanity’s salvation. Let’s set aside these needless arguments that seek to divide the unity of the faith in the love of Christ.

Those that are adamant about doing so are usurping God’s sovereignty to judge His flock by discriminating their born again spirit genuineness in-place of God the Father.

Relationship

Faith and Work in Harmony (4min read)

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Introduction

 

Faith without works is a dead faith, according to James (Jam2:14-17). This verse is contentious because it challenges the salvation by grace made possible by the death by crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Rom10:9). The inference of a dead faith threatens to negate the faith of the gift of salvation apart from works (Eph2:8-9).

This reflection is to reconcile by harmonizing Jam2:14-17 and Eph2:8-9 to support the view that the faith mentioned in Jam2:17 is different from the faith mentioned in Eph2:8-9.

Often Jam2:17 is interpreted in extreme positions.

 

The Hyper-Grace or Liberal View

One extreme is occupied by the hyper-grace camp that takes the position to negate this verse due to the perceived threat to spiritual salvation. The proponents support this position by reframing the notion of works (dismissing the obviousness of the practical deeds found in James’s examples in the story of Abraham and Rahab) into belief in the goodness of God. I.e., this work is the work of belief and not action.

 

The Conservative View

The other extreme is occupied by the conservative camp that believes that the secured salvation by grace is not secure. The absence of faith works that are not dead is evidence of this insecure salvation in one’s life, thereby threatening Christ’s unconditional salvation.

 

The Harmonized View

 

Genuine Faith and Sincere Works to Save the Soul

 

It is needful to expand Jam2:17 (NASB) by drawing from insights from 1st Peter, which aligns with the two examples cited by James as examples of faith works that save. 1st Peter is selected because Peter connected between acts of sincere love and salvation of the soul.

Jam2:17- “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”

Expanding Jam2:17 by defining

  1. 1Pet defines the nature of these faith works that save, which aligns with the two examples cited in Jam2.
  2. 1Pet defines the object that needs saving.

Items in bold are expanded content.

“Even so Faith, if this faith has no works of sincere love that purifies the soul (1Pet1:22), is dead, being by itself for the goal of this faith is the salvation of the soul (1Pet1:9).”

Christ’s salvation work of the cross offered man spiritual salvation because the only part of man that was “saved” is the dead spirit that becomes the born again spirit when one accepts Christ. The body that remains entrapped in sinful flesh will decay, leading to death (2Co4:16). The resurrected body preserved in heaven (1Pet1:5) will replace the decaying body. The soul still sins till the day of death of the body. Paul artfully described this sin challenge of the soul and body in Romans 7.

The spiritual salvation of the born again spirit is secured and immune to the effects of the sinful flesh and unsaved soul (Col2:13). Refer to the following post that explores Col2:13 in greater depth.

https://sincerelawrence.com/2020/10/27/once-saved-always-saved-10min-read/

 

Conclusion

In summary, Jam2:17 speaks of faith that saves the soul, and Eph2:8-9 speaks of a faith that saves the spirit. The saving of the soul affects the rewards of 1Co3 and the eternal glory of 2Co4:16-18. The saving of the spirit affects the destination of heaven or hell.