Christians Obey God

Next Part Christ Explains Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

Hundreds of millions of “Christians” assume that they will be saved at death, simply because they have “accepted Jesus” as Savior. This is not what the Bible says! As James 2:20 states, “faith [belief] without works is dead.”

Many who teach that there are no conditions for salvation often quote Romans 10:1-21. Rom 10:9 states, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” Rom 10:13 appears to make it even easier: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” What could be simpler for would-be Christians? And how often have you heard that all you must do is “believe in your heart”?

But there is much more to these verses than meets the eye!

Notice: “Not every one that says unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven [“of,” not “in,” heaven]; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Paul wrote, “the doers of the law [God’s] shall be justified” (Rom. 2:13). Professing “the Lord Jesus” is not enough to be justified. Besides, professing is very different than confessing Him.

Jesus never taught that people should just “believe on Him” to receive salvation. When a young man asked Christ what he must do to have “eternal life”—receive salvation—Christ told him, “If you will enter into life, keep the commandments.” Hearing this, and knowing that the man was rich, the disciples were shocked. They did not understand how obedience was possible and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Christ answered, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:17, 25-26).

Christians are required to obey God’s laws. That is the truth from His Word!

The false teachers and deceivers of this world’s Christianity will tell you that you need not keep God’s Law. They will tell you that it cannot be done—that it is impossible—and that you should not even try. Matthew 19:26 plainly says otherwise!

These “ministers” are basically saying, “Go right on sinning. It’s okay! God does not care, because He knows His law is too harsh for you to keep. And besides, Christ kept it for you. You are already justified, sanctified and spiritually perfect—because of what Jesus did.”

This reasoning is ludicrous and mocks Christ’s sacrifice. It attempts to prove that salvation is complete upon merely “accepting Jesus.” Far more people should be concerned with whether Christ accepts them. (Read our free booklets What Do You Mean Water Baptism? and What Is True Conversion? to understand the calling, repentance, baptism and conversion process.)

The book of Acts speaks of “the Holy Spirit, [which] God has given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:32). God only gives His Spirit to those who practice His commands. Obedience to God is not only a qualifier for receiving eternal life, it is also absolutely essential to both receiving and continuing to receive the Spirit of God.

What sin is must also be established, for sin is the opposite of obedience. The apostle John wrote, “Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). But, on the other hand, Psalm 119:172 states, “...for all Your commandments are righteousness.”

We have seen that receiving God’s Spirit is preceded by repentance of having broken God’s Law, and baptism (Acts 2:38). At this point, a new spirit-begotten life begins. The newly-begotten child of God is now an “heir of God, and joint heir with Christ” (Rom. 8:17).

Fruit Must be Developed

Many New Testament verses speak of Christians having the “mind of Christ” within them. This happens through the in-dwelling of God’s Spirit. But God’s Spirit does not sit static, bottled up and unproductive, inside the Christian. It is active—not passive!

In this way, Christians are directly connected to Christ. You must realize this point. Christ told His disciples, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman” (John 15:1). While the Father is the actual owner of the vineyard, Christians are connected to the Father through the Vine, which is Christ.

Now notice Jn 15:2: “Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Yes, Christians must bear fruit. If they do not, the consequences are serious. They could be “taken away.” Christ explains further: “I am the vine, you are the branches [individual Christians]: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned” (Jn 15:5-6).

This passage introduces two important points that must be comprehended: (1) The amount of fruit that Christians develop must increase, and (2) God “takes away” those who do not bear fruit “and casts them into the fire, and they are burned.” Of course, that is serious. It means that there is a point past which God no longer works with a person.

This would certainly not happen right away, after one sin or even a series of sins, but it does happen after a certain point. This is what the scripture says.

Understand this! God’s Spirit is much like a river. It moves—it flows, and produces! Earlier in John, Christ said, “He that believes on Me...out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive” (Jn 7:38-39).

When Christians receive the Holy Spirit, it immediately becomes active—and productive—in their lives. Christ in them, as the Vine to which they are connected, produces “good works” of righteousness (Eph. 2:9-10). This means obeying God’s Law and bearing many kinds of fruit. Paul explained how the love of God is practiced in a Christian’s life: “And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:5). Galatians 5:22-23 lists eight more fruits of the Holy Spirit. All must be cultivated—developed!

The true Christian—the Spirit-led converted mind—must never become negligent and careless about practicing “every word of the Bible” (Luke 4:4). The Bible warns of those who become lukewarm and slothful—passive—in following Christ. To those who fall into this attitude, there are many admonitions to “wake up” to the fact that they are drifting, and no longer growing!

Christians Set Apart by Truth

Now let’s return to the question of what a Christian is. We must not accept a partial or incomplete answer to this vital question. Remember, only the true Spirit-led Christian will receive eternal life—salvation! Shortly before His crucifixion, Christ prayed, “I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:15-17).

It is the truth that sets the Christian apart (sanctifies him) from other people. He is not of the world and its ways, customs and traditions. It also means that he understands the truth about the unpardonable sin. How else could he know how to avoid it?

In Mark 7:7-8, Christ said, “Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men.”

Virtually every command (and doctrine) of God has been counterfeited through popular, but false, traditions. This includes popular notions of the unforgivable sin. Many have accepted them without examining what the Bible says. Since the world does not even understand that I John 3:4 defines basic sin, how could it possibly understand the unpardonable sin?