I was raised in man-made protestant church systems. Walking with their Christ was comfortable, and holiness was not important. They exposed a few choice sins; other NT commands seemed to be ignored and thrown in the trash. This is not surprising. Many churches’ foundation rests on understanding your need of a saviour and simply believing in the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection. Apparently, that’s all people need to do and know. They preach an Easy st gospel and stay on that road.
Scripture clears up any confusion and proves that’s incorrect. I have a great cloud of witnesses. James says ‘even the demons believe and tremble.’ John, the baptizer, also preached healthy fear of Gd and living a repentful life (Luke 3). Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, said the following to a non-Christian (Acts 26:28). He was trying to covert everyone there (Acts 26:29). What he said was preached to Gentile and Jew.
Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. Acts 26:19-20
When we preach the Good News, the message should include repentance and faith in the Messiah. The person also needs to know true faith produces fruit. We have to consume the whole Scripture, not pass over what we don’t like. Gd’s Word is in ‘as is’ condition. We have to take it as it is.
Remember, Yeshua said that the path to eternal life is narrow & difficult–not an easy “just believe” one (Matthew 7). He said that to an audience with people deciding to follow him or not. We also know most of those people walked away.
From the beginning, I understood that I’m saved by grace and faith, not works (Gal 2:16)(Ephesians 2:8-9)(Romans 3:28). I also understood that I had to put my trust in Jesus, which includes obedience and endurance–with the help of the Holy Spirit. We have free will to obey or not; we’re not puppets. If we don’t put our trust in Christ, we will be disqualified, like most before us (Romans 11). We can’t just live any way we want, reject truth, and expect the Lord is pleased with us because “we believe.”
click below to hear a theatrical audio.
Don’t cling to fruitless faith. The Easy st gospel leads to hell.
Is this message too much for you? Time to walk away = John 6:66