Originally posted by Turbo
Of course!
Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
This is true, Turbo, for all people, regardless of their position in relation to the Law. If those under the Law believed in Christ received "eternal life." It wasn't due to works but rather belief.
You said it yourself... they were "under the Law." One of the things "Jesus declared" was that they were to keep the commandments.
- "If you love Me, keep My commandments." John 14:15
- Keeping commandments brought eternal life, Turbo? Did it bring adoption into the family of God?
Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--
"He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." John 14:21
What was His commandments, Turbo? To love Him. This is the essence of salvation---to take upon His life. This wasn't a work. It was a trust matter---exchanging your life for His.
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." John 15:10
What did Jesus tell those under the Law...
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.
You, on the other hand, teach that we should forgive everyone regardless of whether they repent.
Yes, we should forgive those who wrong us. We ought not to harbor anger, unforgiveness towards others....this in light of what Scripture teaches...
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.
This passage doesn't teach we ought to wait until someone comes to us to forgive but that we should forgive regardless if they come to us in repentance.
Moving on...
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Clearly, our life is ought to be about forgiving one another regardless if one repents.
Then Jesus taught His Followers to forgive freely:
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.' "
(I predict that you cannot, but that you will quote a different verse out of context which you believe somehow "trumps" Luke 17:3-4 and Matthew 18:15-17.)
That's what the Mormons tell me when they visit, "Jay, you can't trump our verses without of course quoting different verses out of context." Those is error usually resort to these kinds of arguments to rid themselves the responsibility of dealing with the clarity of God's Word.
