Q2. Forgiveness and Obedience

[kitty]

I believe that without forgiveness, there isn't obedience. We sin and make mistakes. We learn from our mistakes. When we obey, there is happiness.

We sometimes don't think we can't have one without the other and this is wrong.

When we are saved, it took grace to get to the cross. We can't do anything except to receive Jesus as our Savior. We obey God when we accept Jesus as Savior.

[linda bass]

It is not enough to be forgiven of one's sins. A person must also turn away from them. Too many people are under the false belief that because their sins have been forgiven they can go their merry way. Sadly, I believe the church is partly responsible. We tell someone to accept Jesus and they will have their sins forgiven and will escape eternal punishment in hell. So often we neglect to disciple new believers, turning them loose into the world to struggle on their own. It isn't enough to believe in Jesus. One must also be willing to listen to and follow His instructions.

extra credit- Someone who isn't save will try to do good works in order to try and please God. They hope their good works will out weigh their bad ones and hopefully God will allow them into heaven.

When a Christian does good works he is putting his faith into action. With his mouth he professes his salvation and with his actions he shows his salvation.

[Debora]

Q2. (1:2)Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other?

We cannot obey unless we are forgiven. Without forgiveness we are controlled by Satan and not Jesus. If would be deceptive to think you can have either forgiveness or obedience for how can one obey Jesus if one is controlled by the enemy, not well. The enemy would prevent the person from being victorious. For one cannot alone be victorious on their own without Christ. Our obedience would lie with the enemy not with Christ.

Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10)

The word tells us that we must believe in God's Son who died for us for the atonement of our sin and be forgiven; washed clean. We obey what is written and in faith believe what is written. The word is the truth.

When we believe by faith God's word and accept Christ Jesus we are forgiven, saved (John 3:16). It is by God's kindness he bestows on us, his grace expressed through Christ Jesus when we accept him into our lives as our Savior and Lord. Jesus now rules over us and not the enemy.

When his grace falls we are a "new man", "new creature", a "new creation", reborn, given spiritual birth and with that re-created in Christ Jesus to do good works. The Spirit within produces good fruits to do the works of Christ Jesus. We become like him over time.

What Jesus starts in us will come into completion with faith. So, it is grace not works that transform us into his image, holy, perfect by obedience. For when we obey we are blessed, provided for and matured.

With faith we believe in God who is unseen. So we are obedient to God who is Spirit. We are new creatures when we are reborn, saved and created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Those who are faithful and true who obey are blessed and given the gift of salvation by God as a promise we lay claim to by faith.

[HENRY WONG]

Without obedience , there can be no sanctification becos it's a continuous process. Obedience helps us to authenticate our faith. It's the lie of the evil one to lead us to believe that we need not be obedient to the Spirit's promptings. Forgiveness has to be claimed , if taken for granted, then we become insensitised to the HS.

[Sharon Darrow]

Forgiveness and Obedience come together because God forgives those who repent of their sin with the intention of obeying God thereafter. We need to be transformed daily by the renewing of our minds. In order to sin no more we must obey God and His Word. Justification by grace, but that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want. Because we have seen and experienced the Saving grace and blood atonement of Jesus on the Cross, we want to obey. No one can take our experience away after being born again. This is our honeymoon with Jesus. So, because we love God, we obey Him.

[gmjackson]

You can not have faith and continue to live your life outside of the Word. This is hypocrisy and will not produce any fruit. You will continue to feel an emptiness and loss until you begin to abide in the Word.

It is true that we are saved by grace, not works. But as believers, we must desire to please God and want to build that intimate relationship with Him. We can not continue to willingly live in sin and say that

[cooperfred]

When we are saved by the blood of Christ & recieve forgiveness for our sins, we are given , by the indwelling Holy Spirit, to live in obedience, and by that obedience are formed into Christ's image. God did not save us so that we could just go to Heaven, He saved us to be formed into Christ's image. If we say we are saved but there is no evidence of the redeeming work of Christ in our lives we are foolong ourselves. As James said 'faith without works is dead'. We are saved by Grace through faith. We are saved unto good works not by them.

[george]

Q2(1-2) Two facts are implied here. The first one is that the design of the gospel is to induce us to obey God, and secondly that the tendency of faith is to produce obedience. So there is no true faith which does not produce that. Promise and duty go hand in hand. All is a free gift and yet such is the gift, that the final issue depends on our future obedience. As you have stated Pastor Ralph, this is a package, they are intertwined. Salvation is easy to receive, but the commitment must be made on our part to walk that path, God would never force us to obedient to His will it is up to us to decide that. We are saved by grace, but when we accept this gift we should also want to do good works to bring honor and glory to God. As the prophet Isaiah said our works alone are as filthy rags to God.

[alicel]

We needed forgiveness because we were sinners and our sin was so great that we would have been eternally cut off from Father God were it not for Jesus dying on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

Having said that, though we have been forgiven once and for all,our sinful nature makes us prone to sin repeatedly. This is where obedience comes in. When we obey and work at obeying we minimise our falling into sin. Obedience helps us to walk in the leading of the Lord, and it is obedience which keeps us in right relationship with God.

With only forgiveness we may be restored in our relationship wtih God but we are still stumbling along blindly in our daily living. With only obedience it is still possible for us to fall into sin because of our inherent imperfections, requiring forgiveness. Hence we obedience and forgiveness are a package that we need.

We are saved by grace rather than works because God's standards are very high and all our works amount to nothing.(our righteousness is like filthy rags)We can never attain His standards no matter how hard we try and God knows this, yet in His infinite love for us He extends to us grace far beyond what we deserve so that we may know beyond a shadow of doubt that we are saved by HIS grace and not our good works. This is also to keep us humble, because if we were saved because of our works it wouldn't take us very long to get puffed up in pride. (God is so good!! He knows our propensity to pride,and therefore He will not give us reason to be proud)

[raul7]

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[POJC (Prisoner of Jesus Christ)]

Q2. (1:2)Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other?

Obedience is the Principal Evidence that we have been forgiven and have recieved Jesus Christ as Lord. Anyone can confess Jesus Christ as Savior, but that reality of Salvation has fruits worthy of repentance. That involves Obedience. Jesus said that if we wanted to be His disciples we needed to: 1- Deny Ourselves 2- Take Up our Cross and 3- Follow Him. Jesus is our best example of this with His entire life. He really had to deny Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He had to die to Himself and Obey His Father's Will. This is the place where the Purpose of the Cross was accomplished.

Sadly to say, however; if people sign on to Christianity to get forgiveness, but with no intentions of obedience, they will not last. Also, we cannot say we love Jesus if we live in disobedience as we were in the past. 2 John 1:6 says "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands."

Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10)

Salvation is the Gift of God, and it is received by Faith in the Grace of God. God gave us what we did not deserve by putting Jesus in our place to die on the Cross. His work on the Cross is Complete...I can not add any of my efforts to be saved. His sacrifice on the Cross is Sufficient to satisfy God's Justice. However, now my life has good works or fruits worthy of repentance, which are the evidence of my faith in the finished work of Jesus. The Good works did not earn me salvation but are a proof that I am saved.

[jeffmcl]

God knows our heart and discerns true sincerity in our obedience that springs from a pure motive of love and a contrite heart. Accordingly, He extends forgiveness, but our obedience is not the means by which we merit forgiveness. Rather, our obedience is the product of a forgiven sinner whos "works" are done as a result of the change in him thrhough an act of God's grace and out of gratitutde for the miracle of Salvation. As to the question of salvation by grace rather than works, it is apparent from Paul's words to the Ephesians that if our works were the basis for our Salvation, we would only boast about it, robbing God of His rightful glory!

[Carol Lynne]

Q2, (1:2) Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other?

You must be obedient to Jesus Christ in order to receive His forgiveness for you can't have one without the other. Many of us who seek forgiveness for our sins, but refuse to listen or follow him, don't have true faith. "Faith by itself, if it is not accompained by action is dead" (James 2:17)

Extra Credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works?

Because it is a gift of God. It is through God's grace that we are saved, not by any ability, effort, choice, or act of service on our part. It is because of this gift that we show our gratefullness through acts of love and kindness and service to Jesus Christ.

[PressThrough]

Q2. (1:2) Why do forgiveness (sprinkling) and obedience come together as a package? Why is it deceptive to think you can have one without the other? Extra credit: If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10

Forgiveness releases the debit of sin (it is a duty). Which is what Jesus did for us through the shedding of His Blood. We are forgiven by Grace and it is Free, but there is a condition to forgiveness and that

[PressThrough]

This is a repost because I went to fast the first time. I'm ontrack after this one, so won't need to repost after this one

Because everytime Jesus forgave someone, He also told them to sin no more. If "one" is truely repentent and they ask God to forgive them, then they will want and need God to show them the way through life, and we have to be obedient to Gods Word to receive that which He promised.

If someone is just sorry they got caught, and continue on the same path after asking for forgiveness, still think they can live like they want to, in the flesh. That is deceptive to self as well as those watching to make sure Gods' way really works.

True Faith believe's God and will sin no more, and that to sin no more is a commandment and will bring about obedience to do what God said.

I know we all fall short, and so does God, and that's why God said to repent and renew your mind daily and often daily.

[spclk22]

You need to ask him for forgiveness so, you can obey him purely. By being truely repent is the only way to find God and for him to forgive you all your sins.

Most people think all you need to do is believe in God and you will be saved. But if you are not truely sorry for your sins and ask him to forgive you you cannot obey him. The temptation to sin will be there and you will think it is okay because you believe in him but, think you are not sining agains him.

Because it is by the grace of God sending his son to pay for our sins on the cross that we are saved not by our own doing are we saved.

[peggysue]

I think it all started falling into place for me when I became born again and baptised in the Holy Spirit.There is a never ending urge inside to be close to Jesus live his will and be more like Him.

Of course there are times I sin and still need to turn to him through repentance and having his forgiveness,but it's so fantastic to know I have that,than before I was a christian

[prosenstein]

Why do obedience and forgiveness come together as a package? Because if we don't obey, we haven't truly repented.

It is deceptive to think we can have one without the other because if we don't want to obey Jesus, we don't really love Him. He said that if we love Him we will obey His commandments. True repentance includes obedience.

If true faith requires obedience, how can we say we are saved by grace rather than works? Our obedience comes from our faith which comes from God's grace. It is all a gift of God. God, however, expects us to co-operate with His grace. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we will become more obedient. But it is a work of God.

[mlewis]

They work hand and hand because forgiveness is a part of obedience and if you dont forgive you're disobeying what God said. You can' t do one without the other.

[mlewis]

I feel forgiveness and obedience work hand and hand becuase God said we are to forgive and that's apart of obedience. When we don't do that we get in trouble the God because our disobedience.

[heatherdills]

Forgiveness and obedience come together as a package because our forgiveness comes with a price-to be faithful and obey the Lord. It is deceptive to think you can have one without the other becuase if you do not obey you will not receive your full blessings and grace from God. We can say that we are saved by grace rather than works because our works come through our faith.

[dig4truth]

Forgiveness is a gift from the Creator God to the created human. It is offered on His terms and it is to be received on His terms. At any point that we as humans try to restrict or constrict God

[arizonasky77777]

If true faith requires obedience, how can we say that we are saved by grace rather than works? (Ephesians 2:8-10

We are saved by grace. Grace is God's power at work in us. It's by His power we are saved, it's by His power we do the works He has called us to do.

If you have true faith, you ARE obedient. Faith is believing the Word and DOING it as wisdom to Truth is given by the Holy Spirit, as empowered by the Holy Spirit.

If a person says he has faith but no actions to back it up, then he must not be in the Word...........Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man ovserving his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. (James 1:22-24)

[KristaAnn]

Jesus said, "He who has my commands and keeps them, he is the one who loves me..." When we ask God to forgive us for our sins we are acknowledging that the way we have been living is wrong and that our actions have hurt God and put Jesus up on that cross to atone for them. The Holy Spirit puts the same attitude that God has for sin in our hearts. If you truly are asking for forgiveness it will bring a desire to repent and not to do the same old things. We will want to do the things that will please God. We can't truly be sorry for our sins and then continue in them.

[seeking]

Forgiveness and obedience come together as a package to ensure that we do not take God's grace for granted and to become complacent in our lives. Sometimes we may feel as if we can sin because there is always forgiveness but we also need to realise that we need to obey God's word. Yes w eare forgiven but we must obey.

Focusing only on forgiveness may allow the believer to feel comfortable in his or her sin.

Yes we are saved by grace and being saved then instills in us the desire to do good works. Good works are a reflection of who we are. Its a tangible demonstration of who we are.