Basics of Salvation
(these aspects of Godliness are given to a person by God and do not originate with any individual's natural inclinations)
Numbers given to words are from the Strong's Concordance
(O.T.) - Old Testament, (O.S.C.) - only saved can, (N.T.) ~ New Testament
(S.R.W.) ~ same root word, (T.) - translated as
BELIEF- (S.R.W. as faith) (NT) I Pete 1:21
BORN OF THE LIGHT - Jn 1:4 & 12 & 13
CHOSEN- (T. choose) Jn 15:16
FAITH - I Sam. 26:23, Rom 12:3, Ga1 2:16 & 20, 3:2 & 5 & 22, Eph 3:12, Phil 3:9, Col 2:12, Jude 3, 1 Thess 1:3 (faith is a work) II Thess 1:11
FEAR OF GOD- Ps 130: 4, 34:11, Mal 3:5, 2:5, Jer 32: 40, (O.S.C.) Jer 44:10, Rom 3:10-18
FORGIVENESS - 2 Cor 2:7-10, Mk 2:7, Lk 5:21
FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT - Prov 8:19
GENEROSITY- (T. caring) 2 Cor 8:16
GENTLENESS - 2 Cor 10:1, Ps 18:35
GODLY - 2 Pete 1:3
HEALING -Ps 147:3, Mal 4: 2, Ex 15:26, Is 61:1 (spiritual)
HONESTY- Matt 7: 17, Lk 8:19, (not in O.T.) (S.R.W. as goodness)
HUMILITY - Deut 8:2 & 3 & 16, 2 Chron 2: 21, Is 2:7+, 5:13
JOY - Rom 15:13, Ps 16:11, 126:5, Eccl 2: 26, Ezek 6:22
LONG-SUFFERING- (S.R.W. Patients) Gal 5:22
MEEKNESS- Zep 2:3, 2 Cor 10:1
NOT WALKING AFTER THE FLESH- Eph 2:5
OBEDIENCE- I Jn 5: 1-3, Rom 5:19,6:16, Eph 2:10
PATIENTS- Rom 15:4 & 5, Col:10-12, Rev 1:9
PEACE- Phil 7 & 9, 2 Thess 3: 16, Jn 14:26, 16:3
PRAISE - Is 38: 17+, 61:11 & 13, (O.S.C.) Prov 28: 4, Ps 145:10, 115:17
PRAYER -Rom 8:15 & 26 & 27 & 34, Heb 7:5
QUICKENED- Eph 2:1 & 5, Ps 80:18, Jn 5:21, 6:63
REPENTANCE- Rom 2:4, Acts 5:31, Jer 31:17-19
RIGHTEOUSNESS -2 Pete 1:1, 2 Cor 9:9 &10
SALVATION- Rom 6:23
TEMPERANCE- Gal 5:22 (def. - 1 Cor 7: 9)
THANKSGIVING - Heb 13:5, I Cor 14:16, 2 Cor 9:9-11, (O.S.C.) Jer 30:18 &19, Is 51:3
TRUST - Ps 22:9
TRUTH - Jn1:17
TURNING - Ps 85:4, Jer 31:18
WILL - Matt 8:2 & 3, I Cor 1:1, 11:27, Lk 10: 22, Jn 5:21, 6:37, Rom 9:16 &18, Phil 2:13, I Cor 1:1, Jer 30:21&22
WISDOM - Prov 2:6, 8: 14, 14: 6, (def - 8:14), 9:10
WORKS- Eph 2:10, 2 Tim 4:18, Heb 13:21, 4: 10, Rev 15: 3, (def.- Rom 9:15), Jn 1:12&13, Titus 3:5
WORSHIP - Rev 3:9, Acts 17: 24-26, (O.S.C.) Jn 4:23 &24
HELL - (being defined here as the condition of being under the wrath of God)
ETERNAL - Mk 9:43, Rev 14:10&11, 20:10, Ps 9:5 & 6:2.
JESUS ENDURED WRATH - Acts 2:27-31, Ps 16:10
"lowest hell" - Ps 86:13
"lowest pit" - Ps 88:6 &7 &14 &15
"pit" = wrath of God - Rev 20:10
"cup" = wrath of God - Ps 75:8, Rev 14:8 &108:11
Jesus had - Matt 26:39
"counted as a transgressor" - Ps 88:4, Mk 15:28, Is 53:12
"wine press" = wrath of God Jesus tread it alone - Is 53:3, Rev 19:15
"Low I come in the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, 0God"
Ps 40: 68, Heb 10:7
GOD IS SOVEREIGN IN SALVATION
Ezek 36 & 36, Jn 11, Rom 9:14+, Jer 18, Jonah, Numbers 23 (Balaam), Acts 9
JESUS DIED FOR ONLY THE ELECT
"for he shall save his people from their sin" Mt 1:21
"For many are called, but few are chosen." (elect 1588) Mt 22: 14, 20: 16
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, ... " Mt. 24:31
(it's not national Israel) - Rev 7:4 -15 (144 thou.)
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." Ps 33: 12
"Blessed is the man whom thou chooses, and causest to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy courts:" Ps 65:4
"For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham his servant, and he brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness." Ps 105:42 + (Rom 9: 6)
"For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure" Ps 135:4
"But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham" Is 41:8
"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." Is 48:10
"In whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will," Eph 1:11
"And except that the Lord had shortened these days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days. " (elect 1586) Mk 13:20
"I know whom I have chosen ... " (elect 1586) Jn 13:17
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, .. " (elect 1586) Jn 15:16
AMBIGUOUS VERSES CONCERNING ELECTION?!
"But as many as received him (Greek word "lam-ban'o" [2983] - to get hold of), to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to them which believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, (earthly heritage such as national Israel) nor of the will of the flesh, (the components of humanity involving thought, feeling and action) nor of the will of man, (an action or decree by a human authority) but of God." Jn 1:12 &13
Notice the context of this verse is "He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as (had) received him..." meaning those who were physically present when he came unto his own; (even if they weren't nationally "his own") - to them he gave the power to become the sons of God.
This is a different context than those who become redeemed after Pentecost, since the acting agent of salvation after Pentecost is the Holy Spirit. This is why it says "which were born not of blood" since all the witnesses to Christ in the flesh and the recipients of his miracles were not all Jews.
And "Nor of the will of the flesh"; i.e. - their own human desire; since they came to see the miracles and not out of any human understanding that they needed redemption.
"Nor the will of man (or a man)". Their coming was not decreed by any human authority, including Jesus; (who was the only one who had the right to make that decree). This is why even Jesus was some times surprised and perplexed by some of the people who came to him. Being without sin, Jesus had the right to pass judgement as to who he thought was worthy of redemption. He refrained himself from that right, leaving it only to the Father; who being Spirit could see of spiritual things that Jesus could not perceive in the flesh because they had been veiled from him by his humanity.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " Jn 3:16
People use this as a verse to justify universal atonement by pointing to the phrase "For God so loved the word"; but even in this translation it's easy to see that the "should not perish, but have everlasting life" is predicated upon the whosoever that believes. If there's no "belief" there's no "eternal life".
Now to more accurately translate this verse we must look at the tenses of the Greek phrases themselves. In doing so, we have "For God so loved (Greek word ag-ap-ah'-o [25] - love based in a moral righteousness for the intrinsic value of the object of that love) the world (Greek word "Kosmos" [2889] from which we get our English word "cosmos" or universe; meaning the entire created order of what God had made) that he gave (aorist indicative active - an act that takes place once and is not relative to the time of speaking) his only begotten son (only or sole born son), that (for the reason of) whosoever (all, or the whole of) believes in him (to put trust in - present active participle - denoting a continuos action that is contemporary to the leading verb; i.e. in this case, the giving of the only begotten son: - meaning all who believe at the time of the giving of the only begotten son) should not perish, but have (present subjective active - a repeated action that is subject to some condition being met) eternal life."
"For God so loved His creation that (at a certain point) He gave His only begotten son for the reason that the whole of who believed upon him (at the time of his giving) should not die but (continue in) eternal life (until their atonement is completed)."
This language is pointing to the fact that those who faced Christ in the flesh were in a more precarious situation than those who'd come to believe through the action of the Holy Spirit. The promise here is that those who trusted Jesus would not die before the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost and their souls were sealed to the eternal life they would inherit. This is why the phrase "have eternal life" is in the present subjective active voice. Their not perishing and inheriting of eternal life was subject to the atonement being completed: (which hadn't yet been accomplished in the duration of earthly time John was describing i.e. - the appearance of the messiah at the beginning of his preaching).
Taking all this into consideration, the rest of the verses fit right into that context. The son was not sent for the condemnation of the word, but for it's salvation. This is how those who don't believe are condemned already, because the light has come into the word, (God appearing in the flesh) exposing the fact that their deeds are evil.
Their deeds were known to be evil because of their obvious rejection of Christ. They knew and could see by the presence of his miracles that he was "the real deal". He had genuine authority, not just granted to him of his Father (as was with the prophets who came before) but inherent in who he was. The miracles were given as a witness to what he was saying about himself and his role as God incarnate Redeemer. This is why Jesus said "If you don't believe me... than believe the works (miracles) I've performed. John 10:37+.
" there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world (Greek word oy-kou-men'-ay {those that dwell in the earth} [3625]) should be taxed." Lk 2:I
Notice this is a totally different word than the word world (Kosmos) used in John. We can denote a few things from this phrase in Luke. First of all, we know Caesar Augustus did not tax the Chinese or the American Indians. Of course those peoples and nations were out of his jurisdiction. So just because a word is translated "world" does not give us the liberty to assume it's speaking of everyone on planet earth.
This is the same with John 3:16 "For God so loved the word". We are not at liberty to assume this means all the inhabitants of the earth; for if it had, John could have very easily used this here word "ov-kou-men'-ay" in his description of the love of God for the world. He didn't use this word (inhabitants of the earth); he used the word cosmos (or all the created order). Why did John use the word cosmos instead of inhabitants of the earth? The simple answer to that is that this created order is also part of the redemption plan. Rom 8:19
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, ... but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Pete 3:9
Notice who Peter is writing to in this passage. These people are professing a belief in Christ. Now Peter being one who is truly counted as an elect individual includes himself in those who God is long-suffering toward and not willing that any should perish. This is why the passage says "long-suffering to us-ward"; it doesn't say "long-suffering to all, not willing that any should perish.."
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you shall serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Armories, in whose land ye dwell but as for me and my house we shall serve the Lord."
Notice the choice is not weather to serve God or not serve God. It simply says that if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, than there are a million other god's out there you can choose from. The choice is not between the truth and a lie, the choice is between two lies.
" .. he is the propitiation (make reconciliation for [2433, 2434] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" 1 Jn 2:2
Jesus makes reconciliation for our sins and also for the sin of anyone in this whole world who's sin has been covered. The verse is not saying he's covering the sin of the whole world; if it meant that it would be phrased "...he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" It is simply saying he is the one who makes reconciliation for all in this world who are to be reconciled. Again, notice the context of the verse, these people were confused about whether or not they could be reconciled by the Old Testament law.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Act 4:12
GOD REVEALS HIS MERCY TO ONLY THE ELECT
"neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." Mt. 11:27
"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." Mt. 13:11
" ... no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father" Jn 6:65 "This is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" Jn 6:29
"For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom he will" Jn 5:21
".and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow for they know not the voice of strangers" Jn 10:4
JESUS IS GOD
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Gen. I.' I
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: ... " Gen. 1:26
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, (being elevated to equal status with) the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace " Is. 9:6
Here is a verse were people are easily confused. They either argue that Jesus and the Father are one in the same, or they use it as a proof text that there is no trinity because of the confusion it causes. A simple investigation of the Hebrew it's-self answers the question. Jesus in his human state has been elevated to equal status in an eternal standing with the Father. This statement does not say he's become the Father. They are equal desire, character and authority, as well as "substance" (what ever "substance" you would define God as) but they are not one another. Our best earthly example is water. It comes in three forms (liquid, vapor and ice), performs different roles in this world, but still remains and never ceases to be two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.
"I the Lord (Jehovah) am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." Is. 60:16
"Yet I am the Lord (Jehovah) thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no other gods but me: for there is no savior beside me." Hos 13:4
These passages are pointing out the fact that the "Lord" in the Old Testament (the word translated Lord is the Hebrew word "Yeh-ho-vaw'" which is where we get our English word Jehovah) is the savior and the redeemer. People often confuse this and say it's the Father in heaven who's making these statements when in fact it is Jesus "pre-incarnated".
He starts all the way back in Genesis and runs all the way through to Revelation as the Creator of this world. He is the word that speaks to the prophets and the word which is eventually made flesh. Adam was created in the image of God (that image being Christ) and in return God was incarnated in the form of Adam to achieve what Adam never could. This is how and why this world was created by him and for him. (Col 1:16) Jesus was the only proper redeemer because he'd created this world in the expression of his image for the purpose of redeeming it. This is why the redemption of this created order isn't possible unless he who created it becomes a part of it and partakes in it as the image of God that he'd created; i.e. the second Adam.
It's interesting to realize that the god of people who claim God could never take on human form because he is God; miss the fact that because he is God, is the very reason he can take on human form. An all powerful being who does not have the ability to become part of his own creation is not all powerful now is he?
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Mat. 1:23 (from Is 7:14)
"And Tomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." Jn 20:29
Notice Jesus never corrected Thomas. He never said "No Thomas, I'm not God."
"who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, ... " Col 1:15
Now, many also confuse this verse. They assert that "first born of every creature.." means that Jesus was created before anything else was. Three verses down though, defines what he's "firstborn of". He's firstborn from the dead. Now why is Jesus firstborn from the dead of all creatures? That's simple; without Jesus's resurrection - nothing else could be raised. What of the people in Hebrew Scripture who'd been raised from the dead? The atonement that Christ procured took place in Earthly time; but it also took place in eternity and eternity it's-self is not confined by Earth's timetable. Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundations of the world. Rev 13:8
"For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" Col 2:9
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles ... " 1 Tim 3:16
"without descendant, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually" Heb. 7:3
"to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." Jude 25
"I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what you see, write in a book. Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that lives, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen." Rev 1:8 &11&17
Of course we must tackle some of the most difficult and perplexing questions as to how Jesus could be God and still be praying to the Father? What was the Father's role in all of this and how is it that Jesus could be so human with a mind and will of his own and still be God?
I agree, it is not enough to simply say the trinity is unknowable and to leave out any further investigation on the manner. Now, yes it is true that we are not going to know every thing about God and how He operates, but that doesn't mean we can't gain a great deal of understanding; and dare I say enough understanding to grasp the trinity?
What seems like contradictions in the scripture concerning Jesus praying and his exercise of and / or mentioning of his own will are easily explained by the status he agreed to take on. When Jesus made the decision to become a human being, he agreed to abide under all the same rules that govern creation and live as any other human being does. This was necessary to redeem this world, for if he'd had any advantage over any other man; he wouldn't have been the proper sacrifice.
All the proponents of being a male Homo Saipan Jesus abided in. He passed through all the stages of human development any child does and labored as a young adult in a carpentry shop to provide for his mother and siblings. He contended the same way any of us do with the laws of physics and the natural running of the created order. This is why he got hungry, tired, injured and probably even sick.
Taking a closer look at biology, we see It is impossible for a human brain to learn something it's never been exposed to. This is due to the temporal nature of the physical world. Jesus had a dimension of his person that was eternal, but the body he resided in had a beginning; this is why he learned things (including obedience - Heb 5:8) in the same manner we all do.
Jesus's earthly mind was not all knowing and neither did he have some special power to physically see or hear things that we can't. We know this to be true because if he had some "special powers" inherent in the make up of his physical body, he would have not been the proper sacrifice because he would have had an advantage over the first Adam.
Being incarnated to be exactly like the first Adam, Jesus had an advantage his fellow human beings had lost via the first Adam; Jesus had a will that was not encumbered by sin. The state of being independent of sin made his will in every sense of the word - totally free. He as the Creator of this world had the choice to do with it as he pleased. His intention was redemption and so because that was what he wanted, it was also what the Father wanted.
Jesus's struggle in Gethsemane had to do with how willing he was to be severed from the God-head in order to express his love for the world he intended to redeem. He struggled in his humanity with the pain of that decision and wanted it to end. Jesus was not some sado-masochistic individual who loved to suffer and this is why he said "not my will but thine be done."
Other aspects of being human Jesus "dwelt" in, comprised issues of the heart and soul; discovering his purpose and place in this world, dealing with stress, loss, frustration, feeling emotions and the different drives of biology. If we look carefully at the recorded things Jesus said and did, we see he gave considerable thought to issues of power, economy, self preservation and the expression of sexuality. He was in-touch with these issues because he had a body that was fashioned to be so. All of these aspects of being human were the reasons Jesus prayed!
GOD HATES EVIL MEN
"These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaks lies, and he that sows discord among brethren." Prov 6: 16
Notice the context of the things it states that God is hating. These are stated first as aspects of behavior, than parts of the body and than whole individuals. I know it is a common belief today to say "God hates the sin and loves the sinner!"; but if we look at this passage we see that is not what it's saying.
Take a moment to consider the contradiction of that idea in the context of salvation. If God loves all sinners, how effectual is that love if some of those sinners end up under His wrath? That is like a negligent parent telling their 4 year old "We love you honey; now you can go play in the traffic!" Just as the love of a parent is manifest by protecting a child from their own childishness; so the love of God is manifest by protecting the believer, not only from God's wrath; but death it's-self befalling the individual before redemption has taken place.
"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogance, and the evil way and the froward mouth do I hate." Prov 8: 13
"The foolish shall not stand in your sight: you hate all workers of iniquity" Ps 5:6
"I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them my enemies" Ps 139:22
"And I shall set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you ...And I
will destroy you high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you ... And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God" Lev 26:11&30&44
"As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Rom 9:13
Now all these statements of God hating sinners may seem strange to us in the context of the purpose of Jesus's incarnation. Jesus came to seek and to save sinners, so how can he hate them too? This doesn't seem to make much sense until we consider the notion of substitutionary atonement it's-self.
First of all, we must realize that these statements in the Hebrew Scriptures are in deed in the conscious thoughts of incarnated God. There were people Jesus hated with a perfect hatred and counted as his enemies. Looking at the gospels we see that more often than not, many of the Scribes and Pharisees were on the receiving end of Jesus's human anger. He called them hypocrites and said they were of their father the devil. (John 8:44 - Thus by deductive reasoning we can conclude that they are not children of God.) Now if all sinners are in the same predicament; how could he hate some and not others?
The second consideration we must take into account is that Jesus's "love" (as opposed to his hate) for an individual was predicated upon weather or not their sin would be redeemed. Those whom he would redeem were (probably in most cases) revealed to Jesus by the Father, through the Spirit. Without this redemption taking place he'd have no basis to love any of us, because his holiness would prevent it.
Now of course we see that there were people who would ultimately perish that Jesus displayed human pity for. The most obvious example was Judas. So, what was the basis of his pity if it wasn't out of love? That answer comes in God's righteousness and moral character. He doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked, (Ezek 33:11) even despite the fact that His righteousness still demands a payment.
I'm not sure I can explain this "theologically"; as much as maybe I have a certain personal understanding of it. I'm a veteran who did clean up after Desert Storm. I suffered physically, mentally and emotionally because of the war and I always figured I'd be overjoyed on that one day when I finally heard Saddam Hussein was dead. When that day did come; I had a reaction I'd never expected. I cried. I cried a lot; but not because he was dead, nor because I felt his death vindicated the suffering myself and others had endured. Yes, I was relieved that he was no longer a threat to his own people; but I also bore a certain dread for what I knew he would face on the other side of eternity. Couple this with the understanding that I too should suffer wrath for my own sin; made me (too) not take pleasure in the death of Saddam Hussein.
MAN IS BORN IN A SINFUL STATE
"For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God" Eccl. 9:1
Notice that the righteous and the wise along with their works are in the hand of God. This is because he is the one who has made them righteous and wise.
"Behold I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me" Ps 51:5
This is not saying that the act of his mother conceiving him was sin, only that he acknowledges the state of his sinfulness existed long before he made any choices about acting upon what was already inherent in his heart.
"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies" Ps 58:3
Now, how does a baby "speak lies" when developmentally they don't even have the patterning in the brain to assemble thought. In order to assemble thoughts; one needs to have acquired some language. Linguistic acquisition is only partially formed at two years old. Even when a person is well into puberty, there are some reasoning abilities they still lack. This is function of the development of the nervous system and God is not unjust to hold someone accountable for something they don't understand. So, what does this passage mean?
The wicked are turning aside (away - from God) at the point which they are related to the matrix (reference to conception); they waver (vacillate) as soon as they be separated from their mother's body - both setting in organization lies.
The first portion of this verse makes sense when we consider that all of Adam's decedents exist in a corrupted world from the point of their conception. They are corrupted at conception because the Earthly contributors to their physical existence are both corrupted. The breath of life that God grants to every living being is not corrupted in and of it's-self; only the entity that it animates with life is corrupted. The two portions of that entity that God's breath of life makes alive (soul and body) spring forth corrupted because they spring forth into a fallen world.
"There is none righteous, no not one: there is none that understand there is none that seek after God:... for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Rom 3:9+&23
"But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." Gal 3:22
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom 5:12
JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not (is disobedient) the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." Jn 3:36
"For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath sent him." Jn 5:22
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" Acts 4:12
ALL THE BIBLE (AND ONLY THE BIBLE) IS THE WORD OF GOD
"Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book it is written of me," Ps 40:7, Heb 10:7
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:" 1 Cor 15:3
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" 2 Tim 3:16
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: hut holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" 2 Pet 1:21
"For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plaques that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life," Rev 22:18 &19
There are those who would contend that this warning is speaking only about the book of Revelation; although if we look closely at the language we see that isn't so. The literal Greek rendering is "the words of the prophecy of this scroll" The New Testament (including the book of Revelation) was written in letter form, so we know this isn't talking about the book of Revelation. The "prophecy of the scroll" I believe was the Old Testament. The Hebrew Scriptures testified to the reality of the Messiah. "God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book" This I believe is a reference to the book of Revelation and "Every man who hears the words of the prophecy of the scroll" I believe is a reference to the New Testament. One doesn't come without the other. They work in tandem.
THE NATURAL MAN HATES GOD
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:" Mat. 10:22
"For every one that does evil hates the light, either cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Jon 3:20
"The world cannot hate you; but me it hates, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil" Jon 7:7
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." Jon 15:18
"I have given them thy word: and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as 1 am not of the world." Jon 1 7:14
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endures to the end shall be saved" Matt 10:22, Mk 13:13, Lk 21:17
"Than shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake" Matt 24:9