Continued:
Romans 6:17-18
But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin,
you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18
and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
He
assumes that all of them are now obedient to God’s commandments and that they are no longer slaves to sin. But, in order to make sure that they actually do inherit eternal life when they die, he commands them to “now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.” Romans 6:19
Romans 6:22
But now having been set free from sin (through Baptism), and having become slaves of God (slaves of righteousness), you have
your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
Matthew 7:19-23
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you evildoers!
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we sin, then we are no longer
“in” Christ Jesus. If we sin mortal sins (sins which cause death of spiritual life in the soul), then He no longer
abides in us and so we no longer abide
in Him. If we no longer abide
in Him at the end of our lives because we sinned and did not repent, then we are gathered and thrown into the fire.
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
1 John 3:24
Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
If we do not keep His commandments, then we defile our temples/souls with sins and the Holy Spirit will destroy us if we do not repent before our deaths.
1 Corinthians 3:16-18
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17
If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 18 Let no one deceive himself.
We should not deceive ourselves by thinking that we can break God’s commandments and still inherit eternal life.
Christ is the
“author and finisher of our faith in Him” of only
those who obey Him to the end of their lives Hebrews 12:1-3,
Hebrews 5:9.
Matthew 13:40-42
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age.
41
The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.
Matthew 24:12-13
Because of the increase of wickedness,** the love of most will grow cold**, 13
but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Salvation is a life-long process. It is not a one-time event.