Loss of Rewards

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Well, I looked at about 10 Bible Translations and all of them use the word “know”, even the Catholic Translations. None of them use the phrasing “have confidence” that we have eternal life. That seems to indicate that the word “know” means exactly what a casual reading of it would be. We can Know, (understand, perceive) that we have eternal life.
 
lanman87 said:
Well, I looked at about 10 Bible Translations and all of them use the word “know”, even the Catholic Translations. None of them use the phrasing “have confidence” that we have eternal life
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Notice how John doesn’t say you can know that you will remain in Christ.

And what is eternal life? To know God and Jesus whom He sent. Not that heaven is guarenteed.
 
lanman87 said:
I can know that if I die today that I am in Christ and have eternal life.
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But you can’t know that you will remain in eternal life the next day, or the next day.

“Judge nothing before the appointed time.”
 
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lanman87 said:
That is why we are encouraged to constantly examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith
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No. We are encouraged to let God do the examining.

The Psalmist says, “Moreover by them is thy servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord , my rock and my redeemer.”
Psalms 19:11‭-‬14
 
lanman87 said:
The New Covenant is about Christ meeting that obligation for us and then giving us the Righteousness of God (not our own personal righteousness) that is received through faith (Romans 3:25). We have been justified by faith apart from the law. The law is what tells us what sin is and isn’t and is what shows us that we are sinners, be it the Mosaic law of the Jews or the natural law of the gentiles. Neither the Mosaic Law or the Natural Law have the power to save us. All they can do is show us how messed up we really are. (Romans 3:20) If the law had the power to save us then we wouldn’t need a Savior. We wouldn’t need Jesus, we would just have to keep the law and we would be righteous. (Gal 3:21)
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I’m not sure you quite understand this matter. The law cannot give life, the law cannot justify, because it’s only the written letter. I’d only have my own capabilities to serve to attempt to fulfill it-which is to be “under the law”. But I don’t have any; all righteousness comes from God, which is why we must enter relationship with Him, a union which, itself, constitutes the right first and just order of things for man. This is to be “under grace”. Man was made for communion with God, and man was made for -and made to possess -the righteousness of God. Adam broke that vital relationship, and Jesus came to restore it.

The essence of Original Sin is separation from God, and that same separation opened the door for and sustains all other sins as well. We can’t do it alone-we weren’t made to- and we’re here to learn something about how bad we fail, and just how much we lack, and how lost we are, apart from the God whom Adam dismissed and rejected for all practical purposes. We should even develop a hunger and thirst for Him, for Something missing- as we develop a hunger and thirst for the righteousness and truth that is so lacking and so often spit upon in this world. Anyway, this is real righteousness given to His new creations, not merely imputed. Christ meets the obligation in us, not simply for us:

“…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ” Phil 3:7-9

“… just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom 5:21

And so He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Rom 8:4

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Rom 8:12-13

continued:
 
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continued:

And this is why the following verses all make perfect sense and relate to each other:

“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:20

“If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Matt 19:17

To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. Rom 2:7

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Rom 2:13

The law is still right, the law must still be fulfilled, but under grace now, by the Spirit, where we don’t even need to know the law in order to fulfill it, and where knowing it does no good anyway to the extent that we fulfill it internally now, by having been changed, by having been swept clean and filled with the Spirit and His love.

Faith, by itself, doesn’t make us righteous, or replace righteousness, or excuse us from its obligation. Rather faith unites us with the Source of righteousness and as long as we remain in Him we will “absorb” it ourselves. But we’re not righteous simply because we believe which is why Augustine could say,

“Without love faith may indeed exist but avails nothing.”

We’re saved by faith, via faith, through faith, on the basis of faith-because faith is the connection between ourselves and God; it means that we’ve come to know God-whereupon He places his law in our minds and writes it on our hearts. Knowing God personally and directly is spoken of in the new covenant prophecy of Jer 31, vs 34. God’s making us righteous, justifying us, is spoken of in vs 33. This knowledge has the power to change us IOW:

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

And this righteousness or justice has an identity which is described most fully and exhaustively by the term “love”.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” Rom 5:5
 
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fhansen said:
all righteousness comes from God,
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There is a lot of truth in what you have written. Especially the part about God writing His law on our hearts.

We both used Phil 3:7-9. How do you define “the righteousness that come from God”? How do we receive that righteousness?
 
lanman87 said:
We both used Phil 3:7-9. How do you define “the righteousness that come from God”? How do we receive that righteousness?
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On the basis of faith. But receive and act on it we must. And the will is never forced to do either, to act rightly even as its enabled to. God wants us involved in the process, daily, ongoingly, because our very justice or righteousness is inauthentic to the extent that we don’t participate in and own it, even if only weakly at first, increasing more as we continue our walk, and our participation.
 
But what exactly is the “Righteousness that comes from God?” Is it a forensic righteousness that is not our own but is given to us by an act of God? Is it righteousness that we have access to by faith but we don’t really have until we, as you say, participate in and own it?
 
lanman87 said:
Is it a forensic righteousness that is not our own but is given to us by an act of God?
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When God spared the Israelites from the death of the.firstborn, did He not tell them to eat the Lamb they sacrificed?
 
Julius_Caesar said:
When God spared the Israelites from the death of the.firstborn, did He not tell them to eat the Lamb they sacrificed?
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Yes, He did. Although I’m not sure what that has to do with Spirit Filled Believers in the New Covenant???
 
lanman87 said:
But what exactly is the “Righteousness that comes from God?” Is it a forensic righteousness that is not our own but is given to us by an act of God? Is it righteousness that we have access to by faith but we don’t really have until we, as you say, participate in and own it?
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Man wasn’t created to be a sinner, but on his own, left fully in the hands of his own counsel he will sin if he’s departed from God. Adam was given that choice-to obey or not-and off he went. So man’s ultimate justice or righteousness is intrinsically connected to and dependent on his relationship with God. He falls from the noble being he was created as to a much lesser being to one degree or another when he’s not in union with Him. So God’s righteousness is a foreign righteousness only because God became foreign to man-while man thought he was fine with his own “righteousness”, determining morality for himself, being his own god effectively. But while man has the freedom to make such a determination, he doesn’t have the right to do so-only God does. Man’s righteousness is nothing, nothing but moral relativism really, doing what’s right in his own eyes as it were.

God’s righteousness is a free gift, of Himself, of His own righteousness, primarily love. We receive it in seedling form at justification but it’s meant to be grown, with more expected back from those given more in terms of whatever: time, opportunity, intelligence, maturity, experience, revelation/knowledge, grace. We love because He first loved us-and that love is the most valuable and powerful and beneficial thing in the universe. But we prefer ourselves, we prefer pride to love; we trample all over love, over God. Man prefers darkness to light. Getting tired now. Long day. Old man.
 
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Plz flag for deletion. I accidentally double posted.
 
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I shouldn’t have faith in what people say, I should have faith in good decisions. And you’re here so you have faith in people. I say people because I have faith in women too, and not just men. Read the book of Judith. Plus my mom is the best.
 
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