₦airaland Forum

solite3:
To be born of water means the sanctification that takes place through regeneration


Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;


Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,


this water means the sanctifying effect of the word of God.

also see,



Ezekiel 16:9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.


John 13:10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.


1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.



so you see these verses are not talking of baptism at all but the washing of regeneration.

Beautiful explanation my bro!! We think alike!! I am so happy for you bro.... Keep waxing strong in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Water baptism is not a requirement for salvation... I agree 100% to the answer provided in the OP... It's only faith in the finished work of Christ that saves... But a Christian can be baptised after being saved.

Believers, there is a teaching that is prevalent in many places of worship today that says that a believer in Christ can perish in hell or lose his salvation if he does not do certain things by human effort. Paul says in Philippians 3, "...beware of dogs..." that teach this horrid mixture of law and grace. Christ says in John 3:16-17:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Also see our Saviour's words in John 10:25-28: "Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,"

Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Then you are His sheep. You hear His voice. He knows you. You follow Him. You have eternal life. You will never perish and no one will snatch you out of His hand. His sheep are all who believe Him.

Imagine an oncologist dad refusing to treat or care for his own beloved child who has terminal cancer...because his child has cancer; even punishing his child for having and being unable to stop having cancer. But this is how many see our loving God Who sent His own Son to save us from the cancer that is sin. Matthew 1:21 says: "And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world for its sins but to save the world from those very sins and shortcomings that many are trying so hard to make atonement or restitution for by their own effort. Bear in mind Romans 3:20- "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands..." so trying to be good with God by obeying the law is an effort in futility.

If we could save ourselves from our sins and obey the law in order to be righteous and thus saved, then Jesus would not have needed to die for our sins.

Again, we see what it takes to be saved (Believe Jesus) in Acts 16:30-31: "And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”"

It is no coincidence that this verse 31 is also very popular. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" is all it takes to be saved. But what does "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" mean?

The issue of "losing your salvation" stems from not understanding what it means to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." Many in the church think that all it entails is knowing that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross, attaching His name to prayers, determining to live a holy life by obeying the Ten Commandments, paying tithes religiously and doing good things in order to "please God, enjoy His blessings and make heaven." THIS IS NOT CHRISTIANITY. This is not what it means to believe Jesus.

Notice that Jesus does no saving from sins in this equation? Those here feel that their salvation is a reward for their own obedience and not a gift that comes through the obedience of Christ. This belief contradicts Romans 5:19 (which says it is by Christ's obedience that we are made righteous) and Ephesians 2:8-9 which says: "8 God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."

Romans 10:9-10 sheds light on what it means to be saved by believing Jesus- "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

Many of us have no problem with saying that Jesus is Lord (Jehovah.) We acknowledge and confess Him as "Jehovah Rapha-The Lord Who Heals," "Jehovah Nissi -the LORD is my Banner," "Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will Provide" and so on. We rely on Him to help us when we are lacking and have shortcomings in these areas - healing, assurance of victory, lack, etc- as His Names mean for us. We believe and confess His provision in these areas that we are yet to see physically. But somehow, we hesitate when it comes to the most crucial One for us today: Jehovah Tsidkenu- The Lord our Righteousness.

When it comes to attaining righteousness, of which we have none ("As it has been written: "There is none righteous, not even one;" instead of depending on the Lord for Righteousness as we do every other thing, we turn to the arm of flesh that will fail and try to be righteous on our own by attempting to obey the Ten Commandments and doing good things to earn God's favour, aka self-righteousness!
Believers, we are living the reality of Jeremiah's prophecy where the Lord Himself said in Jeremiah 23:6-

"Now this is His name by which He will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."

See Romans 10:10 above; only when we acknowledge and confess Christ as "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" do we have salvation; including salvation from hell, acts of sin, sickness, curse, oppression, depression and every ill that is as a result of Adam's disobedience.

Romans 5:19 says "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous."

2 Corinthians 5:21 says: "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

In Christ, the Lord is our Righteousness. This is the whole essence of the gospel of Christ- justification (righteousness) by faith. We can never be made righteous in God's sight through our works. Isaiah 64:6 calls our own righteousnesses "menstrual rags." Romans 3:20 says "For no on can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Yet many of us in the church still try. Trying to get right with God by human effort at obeying the law or doing things like paying tithes to ginger God to protect and bless is to reject Christ as one's Righteousness and thus reject salvation in Christ. The result of doing this can be seen in Galatians 5:4-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

Believers, let's not be found here. Trying to obey the law in order to make heaven is to reject God's abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that Christ died that we might have. This is unbelief. "Christians" here were never saved to begin with because they do not believe that the Lord is their righteousness. Their righteousness depends on their ability to keep the law. No wonder such feel that they can lose their salvation. It is not of Christ. It is of the flesh (human effort) and the arm of flesh will fail. They were never saved since they still rely on their own "filthy rags" righteousnesses for salvation. Believers. let's not be found here.

Do you still have sins and shortcomings that you have been trying to overcome by your own effort, even fear and worry which are also sins? By God's grace, stop trying to stop sinning by your own puny arm of flesh that will fail and start believing that the Lord is your Righteousness, much like how a sick person believes that to her, He is Jehovah Rapha. Ask Him to help you believe right. He will save you, FREELY, and not because you sowed seed, paid tithe or obeyed the law. (Romans 8:32.)
We are not made righteous and thus saved by our own obedience. We are made righteous by Christ's obedience according to Romans 5:19: "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

To believe Jesus is to believe that God's acceptance of us and our acquittal from judgment here on earth and throughout eternity is not based on our works but on the finished work of Christ, as it is written in Romans 3:

"26...and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

http://rightbelieving101..com/2017/12/what-does-it-mean-to-believe-lord-jesus.html?m=1

Morning

Evening

I've heard the question asked "Do Christians have to go to church?" As believers in Christ, we don't HAVE TO go to church; rather, we DESIRE TO GO WITH ALL OUR HEART and GET TO go to places where we can hear truths about our wonderful Jesus. The reason why going to some of these designated places of worship is such a big chore for many Christians, especially young people, is because something else, not the gospel, is being preached at many of such gatherings.

Think about it: You have a friend who can tell you so much about a certain Someone who is so in love with you and wants to bless you with all that He has, even when everyone else has rejected you and all look upon you with condemnation and disgust because of your many sins and addictions; Someone who took all the bad that you deserve so that you can keep on getting all the good that He deserves. Someone who died for you and will never condemn you, judge you or wonder why you just don't want to stop sinning. Unlike the world that thinks you love to wallow in your sins, He knows that you really want to stop but cannot. He knows that you can't save yourself from your many sins that you struggle to give up everyday so He came to save you from those sins. You'll want to know more about this Someone. This is the gospel and that Someone is Jesus. Matthew 1:21 says of Him:

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

But in many “churches," Christ isn't portrayed as Saviour from sins, if He is given any prominence at all. Rather, God is wrongly portrayed as a hard Taskmaster who is eager to punish the sinner when he sins and let the devil have a go at him at the slightest opportunity.

People who are already doing their best to be obedient but can't (because the arm of flesh will fail) go to church looking for Salvation, including salvation from their sins. But there they are told that God will punish them if they don't obey the law and stop sinning by themselves, as if they had not been doing their best to obey. They are not pointed to Christ as the One who saves from sins. The Lord is presented as Punisher of sins and not Saviour from sins. This situation is akin to an oncologist father refusing to take care of his beloved child who has terminal cancer…. because the child has cancer. He even tells his beloved child “heal yourself of your cancer or else I will punish you.”

More law is given to these beloved of God in church, but the very law that they are given makes them go and sin more, “For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14. Under law, sin has dominion.

Remember Romans 5:19– “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

Committing acts of sin isn't what makes people sinners. Adam's disobedience did, long before anyone had the chance to do an act of sin. Acts of sin, lack, oppression, sickness and every bad thing that plagues the world today exist as a result of having this inherited sin/old nature. When the law is introduced as a means of putting oneself in the right with God, acts of sin proliferate; we see this in Romans 7:5-

“When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.”

The law that people are being told to obey so that they can get in God's good books arouses evil desires that cause one to sin profusely.

1 Corinthians 15:56 says: “For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.”

Without the law, sin is powerless over us. When we believe that we are made righteous by the obedience of Christ (Romans 5:19) and not our own obedience, we are free from the power of sin. We get to produce a harvest of good deeds for God according to Romans 7:4-

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.”

This is the crux of the gospel: Righteousness by faith. No matter how vile your sins are, Christ will never condemn you, judge you or tell you to go and get your act together before He graces you with His audience and saves you from your sins and their consequences. We see this in His way with sinners throughout the gospels. He never asked the woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus the thieving tax collector or Peter who denied Him three times to first go and obey the Ten Commandments, fast, or be a particular way first before He showed them His salvation.

But in many churches, Christ isn’t portrayed as the One who saves from sins. People are told to go and stop sinning, obey the Ten Commandments and save themselves from sin before Christ will look their way, and no one can. Following this cosmetic recommendation to get right with God when Christ died for this same purpose (to give us right-standing with God) is akin to a person with HIV rejecting a freely given cure for the virus and thinking that he can be made whole by putting plaster on a festering wound that is as a result of an illness from the virus. See Romans 8:3-4 (MSG)

"...The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us."

Unless the virus itself (sin nature) is removed, the diseases will recur and eventually kill the carrier. Christ came to save us from the power of the virus of sin.

Our hearts and minds are naturally averse to sitting under such teachings that tell us what we already know about ourselves but are powerless to change; teachings that condemn us and then increase the burden (of the law) that we are unable to bear. It is against man and contrary to man; see Colossians 2:14– “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.” The letter kills. Christ has fulfilled its requirements for us.

The people yearn for the truth that makes free but what is being served in many places of worship is a horrid mixture of part-law and part-grace aka "Stop sinning, obey the Ten Commandments to make yourself right with God and come to Christ or else you will burn in hell." This is the "neither hot nor cold" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3.

Christ never condemns or judges, no matter how vile our sins are. He saves us from our sins and transforms us to life (see 2 Cor. 3:18.) 1 John 4:19 says “We love because He first loved us.” As He opens our eyes to His love for us more and more, not only do we desire to hear more about His saving Grace, hence our desire to be in places where the true gospel is preached, we get to love to talk about Him too. In Him, we get to live in triumph over sin and death (Romans 5:17.)

When and where the true gospel of righteousness by faith and not works of the law is being preached, the exhortation to us in Hebrews 10:25- "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" becomes our default mode. We desire to be in the assembly of fellow believers.

Remember Revelation 21:8 King James Version (KJV)- "8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."


Christ came to save us from our sins that lead to hell, as it is written in Matthew 1:21- "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
We see our salvation in the word of Christ Himself in John 3:16- “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Christ came to save us from our sins so that we will not perish in hell. Only believe. But the message that we hear in many places of worship is "deal with those sins that you have been trying so hard to give up and obey the law or die and perish in hell." But Romans 3:20 tells us that all the law-keeping in the world cannot make anyone righteous in the sight of God. Christ did it all. We are made righteous by His obedience, not ours. Through Him, we get to live in triumph over sin and death. We get to stop living in sin. (Romans 5:17.)

Believers will swim oceans just to get to places where the true gospel is being preached. Christ does it all.


http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/02/why-many-people-dont-like-going-to.html?m=1

Evening ...

danduj:
Just heard that tommy killed Angela Valdes in the last episode of power

yes i heard it too... Leaked episode..

Arondizuogu:
if you are into legal-political thrillers, you will love it. i am enjoying it!!
other legal tv series i have seen and loved are

The good wife
Drop dead diva
Suits
Damages
Goliath
For the people
The night of
the practice(old though but i still enjoyed it)
The Grindr(one season show)
JAG(super old too but its military theme made me love it).

Thank you.. Nice list... Yes i love legal/political thrillers.... Suits is amazing!! I love it...

Evening

Yes Lord

Alright

Evening

Thank you!!

Lord Jesus you are awesome!!

Thank you Lord Jesus!!

Thank you Lord

Yes

Jesus

Illuminatus:
It is awesome. The second season is even better than the first.

Alright...that's very good..

Thank you Lord Jesus!!

Evening

Illuminatus:
Scandal
Killing Eve
Kidnapped
The Good Fight

The Good Fight is a Spin-off of the Good Wife... Heard it's amazing too!!

solite3:
I wish many will understand this.
the reason there is the law is to point men to the saviour and not to tie them with those laws.

exactly my brother...

fhranchez:
pls i need recommendation on series with good strategy moves like power,prison break, breaking bad or any good series with great quotes like suits,dynasty,the wire

Blacklist is very good... It's crime / drama / thriller... Orphan Black is very good too.. Its Thriller / Mystery.... Sense8 is very good too... Its Sci-Fi / Thriller... The Good Wife is very good too... Its a political drama, forget the name, it's all about the nuances of American politics.. I haven't seen the Good Wife though but it has one of the highest top-rank reviews on IMBD..So I plan to buy all the seasons and binge watch. I have seen all the others... Very good...

Believer, Romans 5:9 tells us how God sees us who have Christ as our righteousness and strength:

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Because of Christ's sacrifice, God sees all who believe in Jesus Christ as righteous through and through and not because we obeyed the law or did anything at all to deserve it. This is Grace- undeserved, unmerited favour. You don't qualify for it if you still think that there is some good in you. This is why the Pharisees remained blind and could not receive from our Lord Jesus Christ when He walked the earth as Man.

Believer, one cannot have one leg on Mount Sinai and the other on Mount Zion. One cannot put new wine in old wineskins. Both will be lost. Jesus Christ the Son will not share the house with Moses the servant. Trying to obey the law in order to be righteous in the sight of God is rejecting Christ's sacrifice and its result that we see in Romans 5:9-

"...For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.”..."

Trying to get right with God by keeping the law has this effect: "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace." Galatians 5:4.

Believers in Christ, having Him as our righteousness and not trying to re-accomplish His finished work of saving us with our silly efforts at saving ourselves (aka professing Christ but trying to be righteous by doing works of the Law,) we are God's beloved children in whom He is well pleased. We are accepted in the Beloved. Nothing to do with what we do or do not do. He loves us so! In Christ, we are not under the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses but under the New Covenant of Grace and Truth in Christ, where, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our sins and lawless deeds are no longer remembered by our Heavenly Father. (Hebrews 10:1-17.)

But does this mean that we can now go on sinning sprees? Certainly not! Only because of Christ's finished work of our salvation do we get to live in triumph over sin and death:

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17.

Sin has dominion over those who are trying to obey the law in order to be godly, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Try to keep the law in order to get right with God and sin will strengthen its grip. But this verse is taught in reverse in many places of worship today. The flock are being told to depend on their own obedience to the law in order to be godly and so, sin has dominion.

Those who think they can obey the law or not sin by human effort have no idea that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. No matter how hard a weightlifter trains, he cannot carry a weight that is designed to crush him 10 times over, and life does not consider weight, resources or level of preparedness before throwing weights at anybody. Don't forget that we are not all of the same 'size' so a weight that is crushing for one might be nothing to another. Because many have not encountered dire situations that will make them do the unthinkable, many boast that "I can never do that." Peter too boasted that He would never deny Jesus....

Proverbs 16:18 counsels us:

"Your boast becomes a prophecy of a future failure.
The higher you lift up yourself in pride,
the harder you’ll fall in disgrace."

The potential to commit heinous crimes is everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people think that some sins are beneath them, that they can obey the law and even boast that: "I can never do that kind of thing." Peter thought so too...until his circumstances became unfavourable....

Satan is lying in wait to test those who boast in the flesh (human effort at obeying the law and not sinning.) Same thing happened when Peter boasted that he would not deny Jesus. Peter knew 100% that he would not, just as many of us today "know 100%" that there are some sins that we just cannot commit But Christ told him after his boasting:

31And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”"

We all know how the story ended. Telling ourselves or others that some sins are beneath us because we are "better than that" or relying on our ability to obey the law just a tiny bit is the way to invite Satan to test that willpower and determination to not sin that many boast in.

Be sure that the one whose confidence is in the arm of flesh (human effort at obeying the law and stifling sin) will fail, even though it looks like he might be making some progress at first. Remember Peter too seemed to be making good progress on his resolve to die with Jesus when he slashed off the ear of one of those who came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane, ready to fight for Christ. But confidence in human effort at obeying the law, overcoming temptation/sins and living right only leads to failure; this is the doctrine that is being taught in many places of worship today. Believers, let's not be found here.

For we who are in Christ, this is how we overcome trials and temptations: 1 Corinthians 10:13-

"We all experience times of testing, which is normal for every human being. But God will be faithful to you. He will screen and filter the severity, nature, and timing of every test or trial you face so that you can bear it. And each test is an opportunity to trust Him more, for along with every trial God has provided for you a way of escape that will bring you out of it victoriously."

Someone needs to bring you out of every trial, test and temptation. His name is Jesus Christ. In Him, God screens and filters every test or trial that comes our way.... and provides the way of escape. This is how we stand. In Christ. But many of us think we did good all by ourselves. No friend. Suppressing sinful urges by human effort at obeying the law can only take one so far. The arm of flesh (human effort) will fail and when it does, when a person gets tempted beyond what he can bear, the suppressed sinful urges will explode in a volcanic eruption of sinful deeds that lead to death. See Romans 7:5.

The only reason why we are not committing vile sins is because God does not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. When our eyes are opened to His revelation of how we overcome trials and temptations, it becomes difficult for us to condemn those who are still held captive by their sins, many of whom are trying hard to overcome but are failing because they are being told to double their effort at obeying the law in order to be godly. This has the opposite of the desired effect, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Try to obey the law in order to be righteous and sin strengthens its grip.

Instead of pointing these beloved of God and ourselves to more laws to keep and things to do in order to be free from sins and their consequences, we point them and ourselves to the One of whom it is said in Matthew 1:21-

She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

And Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Notice "every kind of sin"? No sin is too big for Him to save the sinner who believes from. Even the vilest offender who believes receives perfect forgiveness and everlasting righteousness; and in Him, we never remain the same. All who receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ GET TO live in triumph over sin and death through Jesus Christ: Romans 5:17-

""For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

There is no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus. And it is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more." Let's take our blessed brains to church: the gift of no condemnation can only be received by those who have sins that they should be condemned for!

Believe Right and you will Live Right!


http://rightbelieving101..com/2018/08/why-we-are-not-committing-particular.html?m=1

Great