Saving faith results in obedience!
Matthew 19:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him,
“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’
‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Mark 10:
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him,
“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’
‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
Luke 18:
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying,
“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’
‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
There are many more NT verses which say obedience is required to obtain eternal life.
Saving faith results in works!
The Parable of the Talents -- Matthew 25:14-30
5 talents produced 5 more -- “good and faithful servant”
2 talents produced 2 more -- “good and faithful servant”
1 talent produced 0 more -- “wicked and lazy servant”, “unprofitable servant” …
“cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Somehow, this just doesn’t sound like heaven to me!
“Christ gives different gifts to different people according to their ability … But whatever gifts He gives,
He wants us to use them … Christ does not expect everyone to return the same amount to Him (Mk 4:20).
But He does expect that we return to Him all that we can. Especially, He expects from us our love,
our faith, our obedience … The wicked and lazy servant in the end did not preserve his talent; he lost it.
If we do not use our spiritual and material blessings in God’s service, they will be taken away from us.
If we grieve the Holy Spirit, He will depart from us … The punishment for a servant who misuses a gift
of God is very severe. When we do not use God’s gift in His service, we cheat God, we oppose God.
Therefore, He will oppose us.”
(Dr. Thomas Holt (a Spirit-filled missionary), The Applied New Testament Commentary, 1996)
The Parable of the Minas -- Luke 19:12-27
10 minas produced 10 more -- “good servant”
10 minas produced 5 more -- “good servant”
1 mina produced 0 more -- “wicked servant” …
“bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them,
and slay them before me.”
Somehow, this just doesn’t sound like heaven to me!
“The parable of the ten minas (Lk 19:12-27) is very similar to this parable of the talents … the meaning of
(the 2 parables) is the same … we all must use the gifts of God as diligently as we can, and that God will
reward each of us according to our work and faithfulness … Then at the end of the parable, the king had
those enemies put to death (Lk 19:27) … Let us not be among those who oppose the true King, Christ,
the King of Kings. If we reject His gifts, if we refuse to serve Him, we shall bring upon ourselves
eternal condemnation.”
(Dr. Thomas Holt (a Spirit-filled missionary), The Applied New Testament Commentary, 1996)
Believers today who have been following false teachers …
are like the Hebrews of Jesus’ time who were following the Pharisees!
IMO, it is a case of not only the blind following the blind, but also
often the deliberate and selfish choice to place themselves over their sheep.
Matthew 19:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him,
“Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’
‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Mark 10:
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him,
“Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’
‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
Luke 18:
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying,
“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’
‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”
There are many more NT verses which say obedience is required to obtain eternal life.
Saving faith results in works!
The Parable of the Talents -- Matthew 25:14-30
5 talents produced 5 more -- “good and faithful servant”
2 talents produced 2 more -- “good and faithful servant”
1 talent produced 0 more -- “wicked and lazy servant”, “unprofitable servant” …
“cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Somehow, this just doesn’t sound like heaven to me!
“Christ gives different gifts to different people according to their ability … But whatever gifts He gives,
He wants us to use them … Christ does not expect everyone to return the same amount to Him (Mk 4:20).
But He does expect that we return to Him all that we can. Especially, He expects from us our love,
our faith, our obedience … The wicked and lazy servant in the end did not preserve his talent; he lost it.
If we do not use our spiritual and material blessings in God’s service, they will be taken away from us.
If we grieve the Holy Spirit, He will depart from us … The punishment for a servant who misuses a gift
of God is very severe. When we do not use God’s gift in His service, we cheat God, we oppose God.
Therefore, He will oppose us.”
(Dr. Thomas Holt (a Spirit-filled missionary), The Applied New Testament Commentary, 1996)
The Parable of the Minas -- Luke 19:12-27
10 minas produced 10 more -- “good servant”
10 minas produced 5 more -- “good servant”
1 mina produced 0 more -- “wicked servant” …
“bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them,
and slay them before me.”
Somehow, this just doesn’t sound like heaven to me!
“The parable of the ten minas (Lk 19:12-27) is very similar to this parable of the talents … the meaning of
(the 2 parables) is the same … we all must use the gifts of God as diligently as we can, and that God will
reward each of us according to our work and faithfulness … Then at the end of the parable, the king had
those enemies put to death (Lk 19:27) … Let us not be among those who oppose the true King, Christ,
the King of Kings. If we reject His gifts, if we refuse to serve Him, we shall bring upon ourselves
eternal condemnation.”
(Dr. Thomas Holt (a Spirit-filled missionary), The Applied New Testament Commentary, 1996)
Believers today who have been following false teachers …
are like the Hebrews of Jesus’ time who were following the Pharisees!
IMO, it is a case of not only the blind following the blind, but also
often the deliberate and selfish choice to place themselves over their sheep.
