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by Hal Warren
NKJ Matthew 7:21 " Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
Judas Iscariot left everything to follow Jesus and was given authority and power to cast out demons and do wonders in the name of Jesus. However, the Bible says that he is in Hell.
NKJ John 17:12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
NKJ Matthew 26:24 "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."
Therefore, are we saved by grace (saying that Jesus is our Lord) or works (doing the will of our Heavenly Father)?
NKJ Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Salvation is a gift that can not be earned by works! Furthermore, if it cost something then it would not be a gift.
NKJ Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
Salvation is a gift that can not be earned and it comes only by faith.
NKJ James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
However, what kind of faith can alone save you?
NKJ James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
NKJ James 2:20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
Faith that is full of life is what alone saves; however, if your faith is not leading to good works then it is dead. Dead faith can not save you. Faith that is alive is full of good works.
NKJ Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,
If you are living just like the world and not being convicted by the Holy Spirit then you have dead faith and are lost. Those that are saved know that they can not get away with a thing!
NKJ Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
However, we must remember that we are in relationship not religion (legalism). For example:
NAS John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
This verse could be turned around to say that you must keep my commandments to prove that you love me. That would be the religious or legalistic (law) view that leads to bondage. Jesus was saying that if you truly love me then you will not have any trouble keeping my commandments. Think about when you first met your spouse. Did you have any trouble doing whatever they asked? How about ice cream in the middle of the night when they were pregnant? You so loved them that you would jump to do anything they wanted.
In the same way, if you have faith that is alive then you will not have any trouble doing good works. You will jump to do anything that Jesus asks of you. It will not be done out of duty but rather out of love for Him!
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