BELIEVE OR OBEY

Over the years I have quite often heard the discussion about whether we receive salvation by obedience or by faith. Let’s look at these clear bible verses in Romans and see what they say! 

OBEY

Rom 3:20 EasyEnglish  Nobody can become completely right with God because they have obeyed Moses’ rules. Those rules only cause people to know clearly how sinful they themselves are.

Rom 3:28 20cNT For we conclude that a man is pronounced righteous on the ground of faith, quite apart from obedience to Law.

Rom 7:6 EasyEnglish But now we have become free from the rules that God gave to Moses. We have died to those rules, which were making us like people in prison. So now we are not still trying to obey rules that someone has written down. We are not trying to be God’s servants in the old way like that. Instead, we are God’s servants in a new way, because we obey his Spirit.

BELIEVE

Rom 1:16 20cNT For I am not ashamed of the Good News; it is the power of God which brings Salvation to every one who believes in Christ…..

Rom 3:22 EasyEnglish God accepts people as right with himself because they believe Jesus Christ. God does this for every person who believes Christ. There is no difference between people.

Rom 3:28 EasyEnglish So, this is what we are saying. A person becomes right with God if that person believes Christ. God does not accept anyone because they obey Moses’ rules.

Rom 4:25 EasyEnglish God sent Jesus to die because of the wrong things that we have done. And God raised Jesus so that we could become right with God.

Rom 5:1 EasyEnglish So now God has accepted us as right because we believe him. And, as a result, we are friends with God because of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 5:10a EasyEnglish While we were still God’s enemies, God’s Son died. He died so that we could become God’s friends. 

Rom 8:1 Easy English So, even more certainly, now that we are God’s friends, his Son will save us. Christ will save us because he is alive.

Rom 10:4 EasyEnglish God gave his rules to Israel’s people for a purpose. But Christ has finished that purpose. He has caused those rules to come to an end. So now, every person who believes Christ becomes right with God.

Rom 10:9-10 20cNT 9 For, if with your lips you acknowledge the truth of the Message that JESUS IS LORD, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. 10 For with their hearts men believe and so attain to righteousness, while with their lips they make their Profession of Faith and so find Salvation.

These verses clearly show that we receive salvation because We believe in Jesus, not because we obey the Law! Please click here for a more inclusive list of verses from Romans regarding belief or obedience.

#4 Post on 7 Teachings of Jesus about the Father

6. Jesus Pointed to the Goodness of the Father.

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. Mark 10:18 (NKJV) Jesus lived a sinless life, so to me, it would seem worthy to call the perfect Lamb of God, “good.” Yet in this context, Jesus redirects the focus of people off of Himself and to the goodness of the Father. That’s a stunning example left for us to walk in.

In this day and age, no subject is more controversial in the world than the subject of the goodness of God. An absolute spiritual war wages over the subject, “Is God really good?” Jesus left us the model of how to combat this. Let every good work that flows through you direct people to Jesus and the heart of the Father. For in Him, all goodness dwells.

7. Jesus Taught the Importance of Going to the Father.

And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23-24 (NKJV) In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you . . . John 16:26-27a (NKJV) 

I spend a lot of my work helping people to get comfortable with the Father. So many have deep father wounds that they do not know how to relate to a perfect and loving heavenly Father. All the teachings of Jesus points us to go to the Father. Jesus even says, “You will ask me nothing.” That’s a strong statement. He’s teaching us the importance of going to the Father, in His name.

He said, “that your joy may be full.” Are we missing out on joy because we have not learned to connect to the Father? Let me just ask you a simple question. In your prayer life, when you talk to God, who are you asking to work in your life? A lot of Christians, when I listen to them pray and talk, they say, “Jesus, I come before You” or “Lord I pray today . . .” It’s great and ok to talk to Jesus. That is perfectly normal. But the Bible speaks of a deeper level. We need to go to the Father. The Name of Jesus is the access. Relationship with Jesus is access to the Father.

How many people are praying to Jesus while avoiding the Father? The depth of prayer is speaking and interacting and listening to the Father in Jesus’ Name. Many are hoping Jesus will go to the Father for them, when our Lord is saying, “You go to your Father. Go to Dad yourself. You can go freely in My name. Go with boldness.” Transformation accelerated the moment I realized that I needed to know my Father in a deeper way. I pray that you receive His love for you, that your joy may be full as well.

Published January 29, 2018 by Mark DeJesus Father’s Love  

To see the full article please go to my website; clearbibleverses.com. Then click on the Misc tab

#3 Post on 7 Teachings of Jesus about the Father

4. Jesus Lived out of Intimacy with the Father. Then Jesus answered and said to them, “ Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. John 5:19-20 (NKJV)

Jesus demonstrated what ongoing intimacy and connection with the Father is like.  He didn’t act unless He connected to what He “saw” the Father doing. This cannot be understood if we still approach God as a taskmaster. It only comes out of getting God’s fathering heart for humanity. When you see mankind with a lens of a Father, it leads you into the blueprint and timing of His workings.

Jesus recognized the Father’s love for Him and showed us that God is love. Many people want the deep ongoing intimacy with the Father, but they are still trying to find it through performance and religious perfectionism. We interact with God as an office administrator, rather than a Dad who first wants to connect with His children. Even as a young man, Jesus was aware of the heart and agenda of the Father that was needed to manifest on the earth: . . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49 (NKJV) If you are going to understand intimacy with the Father like Jesus did, you must get comfortable with what a perfect and loving Father is like. You will have to get more used to receiving His love, rather than spending your days trying to earn His love.

5. Jesus Always Sought to Glorify the Father. I am going to the Father, for My Father is greater than I. John 14:28 (NKJV) Jesus sought in all things to glorify the Father. Although glory belongs to Jesus, He directs it up to the Father. Jesus is the cornerstone, the model. He is the epitome of the Godhead. You can see all things in His nature. You can understand the Godhead through Him. Yet in all things, He directs the end glory to the Father. Even at the moment where every knee bows to the name of Jesus, He gives glory to the Father: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:10-11 (NKJV)

At the end of days, when Jesus establishes His rule and reign, He delivers it to the Father: Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 1 Corinthians 15:24 (NKJV)

Published January 29, 2018 by Mark DeJesus Father’s Love  

To see the full article please go to my website; clearbibleverses.com. Then click on the Misc tab

PART #2. 7 TEACHINGS of JESUS ABOUT the FATHER

2. Jesus is the Way to the Father.

Jesus said to him, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus is the way, the only way, but to who? Many times, believers accept Christ, but never make the step into connection with Father God. Jesus is creating an invitation here. He’s saying, I’m the way to the Father. I’m the way. If you want to know Father God, you have to go through the pathway of Me. Jesus is not only the way to the Father, His life of demonstration shows us how to live in the ways of the Father.

Jesus is the truth. This truth points you to a healthy relationship with the Father. The truth keeps you from listening to the father of lies and it keeps you resting in Father God’s love for you. 

Jesus is the truth that will gird you so that what you think about, your perception in interacting with Father God is going to be based on what is true. Many people avoid the Father because of lies they have believed. Their father lens is broken. Jesus as the truth, seeks to invade those lies so that you can interact without hindrance to the Father.

3. Jesus Demonstrated the Father’s Heart.

He who has seen Me has seen the Father . . . John 14:9 (NKJV) You cannot live the Christian life without connecting to God’s heart in matters. Otherwise, cynicism, legalism and Pharisaical arrogance will penetrate the heart. Many believers are seeking to follow the ways of God without understanding the Father’s heart towards us.

When you get the heart of the Father towards this world–everything changes. When you see Jesus, you see the Father’s heart. You witness how the Father actually sees people and situations. Watching Jesus tells you what the Father is like, because He operated in oneness with the Father’s heart. All of our theology and spiritual perspectives need to run through the lens of who Jesus Christ is. And everything He is points back to the heart of the Father. When you watch Him, you can say, “That’s what our Father is like.”

Published January 29, 2018 by Mark DeJesus Father’s Love  

To see the full article please go to my website; clearbibleverses.com. Then click on the Misc tab

7 TEACHINGS of JESUS ABOUT the FATHER

7 Teachings of Jesus About the Father

If you want to learn what intimacy with Father God can be like, observing the life and message of Jesus is the best place to start. His life demonstrates what a powerful connection with Father God can be.In fact, the work that Christ brought, paved the way for us to have an ongoing relationship with the Father that satisfies our need to be loved and our longing for identity. But are we connecting to that which is available for us? The best place to start is to look to Jesus. He’s the model, example and message that we ought to be drawn into so that we can experience the connection available to Father God.Here are seven key truths about relationship with Father God can help you and I grow more:

1. Jesus Taught to Pray to the Father

In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father . . . Matthew 6:9 (NKJV)One of the habits that astounded the disciples was the prayer life of Jesus. Watching Him pray elicited a response where they exclaimed, “teach us how to do that!” To this request, Jesus taught them to begin their dialogue with God by saying, “Our Father.” (Matthew 6:9) This brought a whole new revolution to what a relationship with God is like. Jesus brought in the revelation that the Kingdom of God involves a family. God is our Father and we are His children. Cultivating intimacy with Father God starts with the simplest things. Addressing Him as your Father and becoming acquainted with who He is as a Father is what Jesus wants to lead you into.

Talking to the Father as His Child. Connecting to God as Your Father will help you learn to cultivate the simplicity of relationship. You are His loved child and He is your Father. I find one of the key things that keep many Christians from being able to go to the deeper level is really understanding the depth and intimacy, not just of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of God the Father. I believe we have missed one of the key foundational precepts Jesus came to lead us into–a personal connection with the Father.

When you accept Christ, He wants to lead you to intimacy with the Father. Jesus Christ gives you the ability to be able to access your Father, your heavenly Father, without hindrance or interference. And yet this is the place where Christians often struggle the most. They’re struggling with having a sense of intimacy with the Father. They believe in Jesus, they’ve received Him, they’ve accepted Him but they are struggling with going to what Jesus wanted to bridge the gap to. When the disciples were amazed at Jesus prayer connection to God, the first line of communication laid the foundation of relationship . . . our Father. How often can you find yourself in prayer moving away from addressing the Father? Yet this can be a critical shift, especially if you want to grow in what love means. 

As a believer, God gave us the right to be children of God. You are His son. You are His daughter. When you receive that work of Christ you are now a child who can talk to your Father in the name of Jesus with full access to all that He has. You can speak and share with Him. You can interact with Him. Jesus showed us that this is normal Christianity–to have a comfortable prayer life with Father.

Published January 29, 2018 by Mark DeJesus Father’s Love  

To see the full article please go to my website; clearbibleverses.com. Then click on the Misc tab

DON’T WORRY- BE HAPPY !

TODAY WILL BE A GOOD DAY!

1 God has raised you from death, so that you are alive with Christ. So, you should continue to look up. You should want more and more the things that are in heaven, with Christ. Christ is sitting next to God, at his right side. 2 Continue to think about things that are above. Do not think about things that are on the earth. Col 3:1-2 EasyEnglish

We have the very mind of Christ. 1Co 2:16b 20cNT

 4  Always be happy because you live united to the *Lord. I will say it again, ‘Be happy!’ 

 5  Always be kind and patient. So everyone will see that you are very kind and good. Remember that the *Lord is near. 

 6  Do not be afraid about anything. Do not let anything cause you trouble inside yourselves. Instead, tell everything to God. Pray to him. Ask him for everything that you need. And when you pray, always thank him. 

 7  If you do that, God will rule you. He will rule your minds by Christ Jesus. He will rule what you feel like. He will cause you to be without trouble inside yourselves. God is so great that he can do that for us. But we cannot understand how he does it. 
 8 Phi 4:8 EasyEnglish Now friends, I want to say this to you. Think about the things that are true and honest. Think about the things that are right and good and lovely. Everyone can see that some things are completely good. Think about these things.

DON’T WORRY- BE HAPPY !

TODAY WILL BE A GOOD DAY!

1 God has raised you from death, so that you are alive with Christ. So, you should continue to look up. You should want more and more the things that are in heaven, with Christ. Christ is sitting next to God, at his right side. 2 Continue to think about things that are above. Do not think about things that are on the earth. Col 3:1-2 EasyEnglish

We have the very mind of Christ. 1Co 2:16b 20cNT

 4  Always be happy because you live united to the *Lord. I will say it again, ‘Be happy!’ 

 5  Always be kind and patient. So everyone will see that you are very kind and good. Remember that the *Lord is near. 

 6  Do not be afraid about anything. Do not let anything cause you trouble inside yourselves. Instead, tell everything to God. Pray to him. Ask him for everything that you need. And when you pray, always thank him. 

 7  If you do that, God will rule you. He will rule your minds by Christ Jesus. He will rule what you feel like. He will cause you to be without trouble inside yourselves. God is so great that he can do that for us. But we cannot understand how he does it. 
 8 Phi 4:8 EasyEnglish Now friends, I want to say this to you. Think about the things that are true and honest. Think about the things that are right and good and lovely. Everyone can see that some things are completely good. Think about these things.

RENEWING OUR MINDS

RENEWING OF OUR MIND 

The focus of these Clear Bible Verses is about renewing our minds as Christians. In the process we will also look at some verses which talk of our new birth as well as our life in Christ as a new person.I have always struggled to not be conformed or overly entangled with this world. The demands as well as the desires of this world seem to come faster and be more hectic and demanding than in the past. This world seems to demand all of our time and even more! 

I have come to understand that to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, requires that I be continually renewing. Renewing is not done once and for all like salvation but is an ongoing daily need as the world, the flesh, is always pulling at us. These verses will help on a daily basis to remind us of Who we are (our new Birth), How we are (in Christ), and How we are to be ( as we renew our mind). 

Being Born Again – the New Birth – the New Person 

We will start by looking at verses about our new birth. 

Titus_3:5b in the measure of his mercy, he gave us salvation, through the washing of the new birth and the giving of new life in the Holy Spirit, 

Gal 3:27 For all those of you who were given baptism into Christ did put on Christ. 

Col 3:10 (WE) have put on the new (person)man, which has become new in knowledge after the image of his maker; 

OUR POWER, PURPOSE AND BENEFITS IN CHRIST! 

Rom_8:17a And if we are children, we have a right to a part in the heritage; a part in the things of God, together with Christ; 

Gal_3:26 …. you are all sons( children) of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Eph_2:10 ….. we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them. Col_3:1 If then you have a new life with Christ, give your attention to the things of heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 

RENEWING OUR MINDS 

Psa 51:10 create in me a clean heart, O God. And renew a right spirit within me. 

Rom 12:2a says …. do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind… (MKJV) 

1Co_2:16b …. we have the mind of Christ. 

Eph 4:23-24 20cNT …the very spirit of your minds must be constantly renewed; and that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth.

Eph 4:31,32 Let all bitter, sharp and angry feeling, and noise, and evil words, be put away from you, with all unkind acts; And be kind to one another, full of pity, having forgiveness for one another, even as God in Christ had forgiveness for you. 

COL 3:9-10 Never lie to one another. Get rid of your old self and its habits, and clothe yourselves with the new self, which, as it gains in knowledge, is being constantly renewed “in resemblance to him who made it.” 

Luk 10:27 ………, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.'” 

At the end of this study we should not be surprised to see that the renewing of our mind comes about as we seek to draw close to God, read the Word, and live in the Spirit. As Col 3:10 says, “the new self, which, as it gains in knowledge, is being constantly renewed “in resemblance to him who made it.” Reviewing this a couple of times a day is like taking a shower and washing off the World – renewing our mind! For the longer version of renew your mind with more scriptural references please go to my web site, clearbibleverses.com and click on the Misc Tab.

HAVE A RENEWED DAY!!

750 YEARS – MAKING OF THE TRINITY PART #2

750 YEARS IN THE MAKING OF THE TRINITY

I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There are many clear bible verses that teach about them. I do not believe they are all three God and there aren’t any clear bible verses that teach they are.

Following are some verses that are used to try to prove the trinity and why they don’t. If you didn’t see Part #1 you really should give it some thought. You can also see it on my blog page at http://www.clearbibleverses.com.

  1. Genesis 1:26, And God said, Let US make man in our image – Does ‘us’ mean a Trinity or a precise indicator that there are three in number in this passage? NO! No indication of a trinity. Could easily be 2 – 100 Angel’s or a million. 
  1. Joh 10:29-30 ISV 29 What my Father has given me is more important than anything, and no one can snatch it from the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

This means they are one in purpose and plan to save and keep people. Jesus and God want us to be one as they are one as stated in this verse, Joh 17:22 I have given them the honour which thou has given me, that they may be one as we are one . This scripture also means we are to be one in purpose and plan as Jesus and God are one. That doesn’t make us Gods![

  1. 1 John 5:7-8 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. (KJV)

The first line of this passage is not present in any manuscripts produced before the 16th century. All Bible scholars now recognize that this passage was inserted to improve the case for the doctrine of the Trinity, which is not clearly stated in the Bible outside of this added passage. Most translations of the Bible now omit the added passage or relegate it to a footnote. The King James version includes this passage because it was translated from late and unreliable Greek manuscripts.

  1. John 1 1-5

In the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts there was no punctuation and every letter was in CAPS. Over the Centuries churches/translators had to decide what letters would be lower case. Early Bible translations such as Bishops (see translation below), Coverdale, Matthew and the Tyndale translations did not capitalize “word” in John 1 1-5 and they referred to the spirit as “it.” Meaning the word is the word of God not another person.

Translations after those started capitalizing Word and calling it He instead of it to support the idea that the word was God.

Joh 1:1-5 Bishops 1 In the begynnyng was the worde, & the worde was with God: and that worde was God. 2 The same was in the begynnyng with God. 3 All thynges were made by it: and without it, was made nothyng that was made. 4 In it was lyfe, and the lyfe was the lyght of men, 5 And the lyght shyneth in darkenesse: and the darknesse comprehended it not.

750 YEARS – MAKING OF THE TRINITY PART #1

750 YEARS IN THE MAKING OF THE TRINITY

I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There are many clear bible verses that teach about them. I do not believe they are all three God and there aren’t any clear bible verses that teach they are.

Encyclopedia Britannica states:

“Neither the word Trinity nor the explicit doctrine appears in the New Testament. . The doctrine developed gradually over several centuries”

The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, vol. 14, p. 299 states:

“The formulation ‘one God in three Persons’ was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century…Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality of perspective.”

I urge you to reflect on this information. The following Church councils were all called by Roman Emperors (why), not church leaders. Consider the year they were called to understand something about Christ who died in approximately 33 AD. For 750 years after Christ’s death Roman Emperors were trying to get church leaders to get together and determine issues about Christ that were not plainly written in the Bible! It was in this time frame that the trinity was pushed into existence.

First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, called by Emperor Constantine. 

     Topic- the nature of Christ           

First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, called by Emperor Theodosius 1.

     Topic- Holy Spirit

 Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, called by Emperor Marcian.

     Topic- The relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ.

Second Council of Nicaea in 787 AD. Called by Emperor Constantine IV.

      Topic- The human and divine wills of Christ.

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