Romans 3 Does Not Mean What You Think It Means (Part 2 of 2)

 

We left off last week promising more proofs that sanctification, and forming a day-to-day relationship with Jesus  is necessary to maintaining salvation. So let’s begin.

I must say one thing at the start.  Initial salvation can be easy; it does not require us straightening our lives out with works to become initially saved.  However, disagreeing with Calvin, our first “work” of salvation is when we figure out, from a free will that God gave us, that our sin deserves hell, but Christ died in our place, and we choose Him to “redeem” us, as the Greek suggests, out of the slave market. Yes, we were a slave—to sin. Now we are (or should be) owing our lives to Christ, who is offering the only path to heaven.  Now I will show you, clear as day, in Scripture, something no one talks about, yet necessary to avoid hell, to live in sanctification.  I mean that we must have a daily (not “foxhole”) relationship with Jesus.  Look at John 15:5-6:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

This clearly proves that, long-term, salvation requirement goes beyond belief in Jesus to forming a continual relationship (abiding) with Him.  If you do not have a relationship with the One who loves you, then you can’t truly say you love Him—and you are hell-bound.  Verse 6 says that.  Look also at I John 2:6 for some help on the word “abide”:

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

“Abiding” is not just belief.  It means action, or works, when we “walk as He walked.”  We talk with Him in prayer any time, and the Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit and guides us.  We learn more and more about what we do that is good, or become convicted of what is not so good—and repent of that.  We confess to Him our sin, we study His Word, we learn what He wants, learn His commands and God’s personality by reading Scripture (Old Testament too) daily.  We strive to be like Him.  On our relationship with Him, think of a person you love.  If we don’t talk to our “beloved” (say your spouse) except one day a week, or when we want something, or when we are in trouble--that’s not love. So you are not abiding: you are still hell-bound.

So, yes, sanctification, building Christ-likeness through a relationship with Him, is also a “work” necessary for continual salvation.  Keep remembering John 15:5-6; abiding is necessary, or we are on the wrong path.  Striving to become Christ-likeness is a courageous and honorable work, which we do for Him, who redeemed us. Not because it’s “just required.”

About “striving;” kind of a “works” word, isn’t it?  Consider Paul’s testimony in Acts 24:

…there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men

Strive” here means he was always trying, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to get closer to Christ-likeness. That striving is a work.

Now let’s take a deeper dive into Paul’s mind by a little word-study.  Two verses prove the same point, using the same key word in both. NKJ version:

I Corinthians 9:27:

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified

II Corinthians 13:5:

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you are disqualified.

So what’s the meaning of “disqualified?” Is Paul worried about being disqualified for “some of heaven’s rewards” (as some pastors say) by “coasting through life” instead of sanctification?  No. In the Greek, the word is adokimos, which means “reprobate, rejected, not passing the test.” If you have any doubts, it means, for anyone unfortunately attached to the name, he/she is hell-bound; he didn’t pass the test for heaven. Further, the verses are telling us that Paul is avoiding that dreaded judgment by staying close to the Lord (“Jesus..is within you?”) , both internally (by an honest self-inspection) and externally (disciplining his body). If Paul is concerned, being the mighty apostle that he is, shouldn’t we? Wake up! Think about it!

Just to add proof of that, the same Greek word “adokimos” is used in Romans 1:28 (underlined).  We’ll also include v. 29-32, so you can see that these people obviously did not “pass the test” for heaven. KJV:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, ³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, ³¹ Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: ³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Do you want your “relaxed, doing nothing different from everybody else” theology to be linked with them? Well, it is there. What happened to the “new creation” you are supposed to be, per II Corinthians 5:17?

Do those verses in Corinthians prove that Paul taught “once saved, always saved?” Do you see him blissfully confident that no matter what he does, his one-time past confession of Christ is good forever?  Or, do you see him concerned about making sure that his body is fit, disciplined, and his mind driven to love His Lord and wants every behavior (or work) to be a light to the world, giving glory to Christ?  And finally:  Did Paul believe that these efforts were required to make sure he would never fail the test, or be disqualified for heaven? These verses, with the definition of “adokimos,”  clearly show the answer to the last question is “yes.” The II Corinthians verse clearly says we should do the same internal examination to make sure that we are maintaining our salvation, that we did not become disqualified because we repeatedly failed to act, or failed to think, or failed to examine ourselves well enough to know how to strategize against a sin—if not, we slide back into some prevailing sin, which was too enjoyable to give up.  Or perhaps we have extra money but have done nothing to provide financial help for the distant innocents that are poor and that need help, that we have not cast Our Lord in a poor light because of our actions—or inactions. 

In Paul’s internal examination in II Corinthians above, this might be done at the Lord’s Supper. I Corinthians 11:27-28 suggests it, using the same words:

²⁷ Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

The problem is, few pastors provide sufficient quiet time in the service for that. We need alone time, to talk with Him. It is necessary to open our hearts to have the Holy Spirit speak to us of our failures and our successes every so often. He can tell us where we fall short--sometimes it’s a blind spot with us, we didn’t even know. This self-exam, this vulnerability, is necessary to stop the tendency to slide into a serious sin, and possibly lose salvation once obtained.  (There are other clear verses that support that, but we don’t have time. Seek other blogs—or read the Gospels).

I know what you’re thinking now: “ooh, that’s insecurity.  God wouldn’t want us to be insecure about being saved.  We can’t love Him then.”  Well, show me the Bible verse that requires God to keep us feeling secure!  Maybe you’d also like to see the number of sins that would disqualify you, so you could count (as if you think you catch them all), and know that a few more sins are OK since I haven’t reached the danger number yet?  God has to give you that number?  What does the Scripture say?  Philippians 2:12: we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Yes, we must confess our sins to God, and beg His help so we can defeat them, knowing the potential ultimate terror of evil habits.  We go to the Lord with our concerns, and we develop, from our fear, a hatred for the sins in our lives, how Satan is laughing when we do them, how it discredits our Lord, and how it ruins our testimony.  By doing all this, we are led to perceive how many sins we notice that we never noticed before, in our lives.  We begin to see our wicked nature, and lean ever more on Him to enable us to do anything for Him at all. And we become more amazed and thankful for His grace.

But it’s definitely not like every time we sin, we lose our salvation.  We form habits, over time, of godliness.  Long-held bad habits have to be overcome first.  They are hard to break, and God might not kill the desire you have for that sin right away.  It takes time, and God has patience (Luke 13:6-9)—as long as you, by praying for His help, are doing your part in killing the sin.  When we get more mature like that, we do not have fear of God. For the new converts in the Lord, there are mature Christians around who will caution them, comfort their fear, showing verses that God has patience, mentor them to learn to love Him and stay close. Otherwise, it’s easy to coast, to relax in the Lord.  (Ahh, it feels so spiritual to sit and just love Him.) Well, let Paul be your mentor—moss won’t grow on you.

Now let’s look at John 15:5 again. It says we must yield “much fruit.”  What are those?  Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

Developing those fruits takes work—they appear when we “crucify the flesh.” Turning our back on the world system of selfishness, greed, and deception.   We should take an honest look at each of those fruit terms—do you have each of those?  Can you ask of God to remind you of a time when you didn’t have one today?  God loves for us just to be honest; He won’t reject our honesty in confession (by the way, not speaking Catholic, but confession straight to the Lord several times a week strengthens us).  It’s good, at least, unless we tell Him, “Well, God, I can’t do those things well, so I gave up trying, if that’s all right with You.”  Well, I can guarantee you, God saves us to change us; it’s NOT all right to lay around thinking of your “ticket to heaven.” Here's proof, in Hebrews 12:

 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord,
Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
⁶ For whom the Lord loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives.”

⁷ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? ⁸ But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

Not being disciplined and feeling no urgency to change by the Spirit’s urging us, could mean our conscience is seared and we are illegitimate—not one of His.  I.e., hell-bound. Scripture also teaches us that God gets tired of chastening if we are not listening—so He leaves off for a while, until we start getting in deep trouble with our stupidity.  Story of many a man’s life. In the meantime, Satan loves you when you are relaxing in his camp, and you don’t even know it—or you don’t want to think about it. Perhaps we comforted ourselves thinking that our fabulous testimony when we were “saved” was enough.  But we could lose whatever we had, over the long haul of wrong choices, of refusal to be pruned the Lord’s way.  My point is, God saves us to have us show by our works that we are changed.  Think of Ephesians 2:10:…we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.  We must be a light, separated from the world and darkness.  We will evangelize, and win family for the Lord with our testimony that we are, indeed, a “new creation”—and can walk the talk.

Notice that in the list of fruits, going to church is not anywhere in that list.  So going to church does not get you to heaven. (But Hebrews 10:25 suggests that we do). No purgatory, or second chances, in the Bible either.  On the other hand, if you seriously lack mercy, you won’t go to heaven.  James 2:13:

For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. 

Yes, giving mercy to the unloved or to the enemy is a hard work. It is easier to extend mercy to a family member or friend. David is your classic case of mercy for his enemy. He would not even say a bad word about Saul, who was determined to kill him.  Not exercising mercy is bad news: If God judges us that we have no mercy, we should tremble at our destination.

How about another one? For those unwilling to forgive, God lacks forgiveness.  You should know Matthew 6:12: …forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. If that doesn’t convince you, read Matthew 18: 21-35. At the end, the servant who would not forgive was, for our purposes, consigned to hell.  Why? we are ALL forgiven our HUGE load of sin (debt). Whatever we are challenged with in others, it is a lesser total.  Let us forgive. Yes, a work. Because without our forgiveness of others, God cannot forgive us.

There are so many in Scripture. Other blogs deal with it.

Why were men declared “righteous” or “just” in Scripture?  Look at Noah in Genesis 6:9:

Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. 

He was just (justified, saved) because he “walked with God.”  The same as I John 2:6, mentioned earlier.   Walking is doing works.  Noah didn’t stop with “believing” in God.

Here’s another:  Jesus says “do,” not just “believe,” frequently, when He talks of getting to heaven. Take a look at Matthew 25: parts of 36-46. Jesus has people on His right and left for final Judgment:

³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand…³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?...  ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food…⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

There is an antichristian idea that says that since a Greek word in v.32 is frequently translated “nations,” not “people,” we, as “people,” can ignore it.  Not so! The Bible Study Tools of the Greek explains the word translated “nations”: “That is, all that have professed the Christian religion in all the nations of the world.”  That definition stresses people. Look at vv 41-46:  Those “nations,” do they actually talk?  No, nations do not talk.  PEOPLE talk.  People are individually consigned to heaven or hell.  Does a whole nation go to hell?  No!  So, these verses are for us. So let’s pay attention to what they say. Doing good for a needy neighbor (now, our neighbors are global) is connected to salvation. Note that. (PS: Since the “neighbor” could be several thousand miles away, you could help them through mission organizations. See Minstrywatch.com for help).

It’s like God has a test for Judgment Day, like a test upcoming in school.  Did you ever find someone who had the answer key?  Boy, most people latch onto him! They bother him unmercifully for the answers.  Well, here.is part of an answer key to heaven and Judgement. If I were reading Scripture for the first time, I would be holding my breath in v. 34:  Okay, God, Who makes heaven, who doesn’t make it?  Am I on the left, with goats?  Or on the right, with sheep?  Let me take notes here, of His answers.  What are the requirements to be a “sheep”? Well, there’s your answer, plain as day, in those verses!  But we say, “You’re telling me feeding the stranger, the poor, the oppressed; clothing them, even giving them shelter.” What are the chief Commandments?  Love God, and love your neighbor, right? But who is our neighbor (Luke 10:29)? Maybe our neighbors are the most despised people. Like the Samaritan in Luke.  What do most “Christians” think of people with no possessions, very poor? (I am speaking of the homeless, people who lack food and health care, anywhere  throughout the world, even including the innocents of Gaza).

I could say more, but as Clint Eastwood said in one movie, “A Man’s Got to Know His Limitations.”  This is too long already.