Paul Washer: “There is a practical daily lived out righteousness without which nobody gets into heaven.”  link

Jesus Christ: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24

The Apostle Peter: “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” Acts 10:43

The Apostle Paul: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…” Romans 3:21-22

I spent some time yesterday talking on twitter with some friends about “repentance” and the gospel.  One of the biggest false teachings in most churches today is that salvation is by faith in Christ, plus “repenting of sins.”  Anytime I point out the fact that the bible does not, in fact, contain the phrase “repent of sin,” I am usually given a laundry list of verses that contain the word “repent.”  Repent means, literally, to have a change of mind about something.  It could mean to have a change of mind about some sin that we’re committing, but as it relates to the gospel, it doesn’t.  We are saved by faith in Christ alone and not by living a righteous life on our own merit.  John 3:18; Romans 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9.  For the next few weeks I’m going to break down these references and encourage people to read what the bible actually says rather than relying on the traditions and religion of men.

It’s very important to review the surrounding passage as well for context, so here is the Acts account of Paul in Athens, which contains his admonition to the Athenians to “repent”:

Acts 17:15-33:

¹⁵And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

¹⁶Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

¹⁷Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

¹⁸Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

¹⁹And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

²⁰For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

²¹(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

²²Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

²³For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

²⁴God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

²⁵Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

²⁶And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

²⁷That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

²⁸For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

²⁹Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

³⁰And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

³¹Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

³²And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter.

³³So Paul departed from among them.

This is one of my favorite dialogues recounted in the book of Acts.  Paul visits Athens, a city of great cultural significance, and when he arrives he can’t help but notice all the shrines and memorials to the many gods followed by the Athenians.  It’s known generally that the Greek mythology involves many gods, and Paul comments on the superstitiousness of the Athenians.  vs. 22.  Now, the Athenians loved philosophy and would generally listen to anyone with a new take on life or philosopy.  vs. 21.  So Paul had an audience eager to listen to what he had to say.

What did Paul say?  Paul addressed the Athenians about the ignorance in worshiping false gods.  While they were devout, they weren’t worshiping the true God.  So Paul tells the Athenians about the true God, who “made the world and all things therein.”  He tells them that, unlike their false gods, the “Lord of heaven and earth… dwelleth not in temples made with hands.”  He tells them that they are ignorant in thinking that  God is “like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”  Then he tells them to “repent”:

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

What was Paul telling the Athenians they needed to have a change of mind about?  Their ignorance in thinking God was an idol made by men!  Nothing whatsoever in Paul’s address suggests that he was telling them to stop fornicating, stop getting drunk, stop coveting, stop using profane language, stop committing adultery, or stop telling lies.  What did the Athenians need to do to be declared righteous when God judges the world?  Paul tells us in Romans 4:5:  “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”  If the Athenians did not want to be condemned, they needed to repent, to be sure, but the repentance they needed had nothing to do with how they lived their lives, but everything to do with who they believed to be God.

Yet people regularly claim that this passage says that faith in Christ alone is not enough to save us, that we must also “repent of our sins.”  It could be because of false “translations” that add to God’s word.  Check out the same verse in the New Living Translation:  “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”  Notice anything different?

The plan of salvation is clear from Genesis to Revelation.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  If we want to save others, we need to show them who Christ is.  We need to preach his life, death, burial and resurrection.  Do we need to explain man’s fallen nature and that hell awaits those who die in their sins?  Absolutely.  But that is a very different thing from telling people to “repent of their sins” in order to be saved.  Jesus paid everything required for salvation.

The bible talks a lot about living a godly life, to be sure.  As believers, we should follow God’s commandments and serve him.  Pastors should teach the whole bible and preach against sin.  But we must be very careful with the gospel and make clear that those will never saved us, and even worse, will condemn those who try to do them in an effort at obtaining their own righteousness, instead of receiving the grace of God as a free gift.

So here’s my response to the unbiblical suggestion that salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is “hard”:

We aren’t saved because we’re “worthy of Jesus.”  We’re saved by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ which is given as a gift to all who believe, not just to those who are worthy to follow Christ.  Your fundamental misunderstanding is the confusion between life as a disciple which is very hard, requires OUR sacrifice and OUR work, and salvation which is a gift purchased by the work of Christ.

It’s not an “odd assumption” that saving faith may not be accompanied by works.  It’s  a biblical fact.  Romans 4:5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”  A man who does NO works whatsoever will be saved if his faith in in Christ.  This is because those who are born again understand that our salvation is secured, not  by what we do, but by what Christ has done.

If the plan of salvation required us to live a particular way observe some particular religious exercise, then our faith in that “plan of salvation” would require works.  If we believe circumcision saves, then proof of that faith would be our circumcision.  If we believe that church attendance is what saves, then proof of that faith would be our church attendance.  If we REALLY believed that, we’d do it, right?

But the gospel is Christ’s imputed righteousness to all who believe, not because we deserve it but because we’ve received it as a free gift.  If we believe Christ has done everything necessary to save us…that nothing we do makes us worthy to receive it, then the proof of that faith is that we stop trying to earn our salvation.  Jewish believers in the New Testament stop following the ceremonial law.  If Muslim claims to be born again by faith in Christ alone, the proof of that faith would be the forsaking of Islam.

It doesn’t, however, follow that someone who puts his trust in Christ for salvation will necessarily become a regular church attender, or get baptized, or stop getting drunk, or read the bible, or share the gospel.  These are all good things, things which the bible commands of us.   But each of these things requires our own will, our own effort, our own decision to do.  God doesn’t turn us into little robots that automatically do what He tells us when we are born again.  We STILL have to make a DAILY decision to die to ourselves to follow Christ.  We must decide that we will get up and go to church on Sunday morning instead of sleeping in.  We must decide to abstain from sexual sin, and drunkenness, and lying.  We must decide to be cheerful givers who don’t live our lives for money.  We must decide to share the gospel with the lost, and to read the bible, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The bible says plainly, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  John 1:12-13. Salvation—being born again—doesn’t require our willingness to serve God, to live right or to do works.  The only thing we must be willing to do is turn to God in faith and trust Him to save us.

Contrary to your strawman argument that “easy-believists” can’t define what it means to believe, once again, I turn, not to some theologian or man-made “systematic theology,” but to the bible.  What did Jesus say it means to believe for salvation?  In John 3:14-15, Jesus says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  So Jesus says eternal salvation is accomplished in the same manner that temporal rescue from the serpents of fire in Numbers 21.  That passage is thus:

⁵And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

⁶And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

⁷Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

⁸And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

⁹And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

What did the people bitten by the serpents have to do to be saved?  Believe God and look to the fiery serpent on the pole.  What was the evidence that they believed God?  They looked at the fiery serpent on the pole.

What deeds accompanied their belief?  They started loving their neighbors, following the law or giving up sin?  No, the ONLY “deed” that was required of them was to stop trusting in themselves and look to God for salvation.

You wrongly suggest that those who believe the bible when it says salvation is a free gift requiring no sacrifice on our part think that works don’t matter. Once again, another strawman.  The bible teaches that God has prepared works for us to do (Eph. 2:10), but that we will be rewarded for all of our works of eternal value.  (1 Cor. 3:10-14).  We cannot repay God for our salvation and to pretend to do demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the gospel, but God, who is just, will reward us for our work for His kingdom.  But, contrary to your claim that every believer has works, 1 Corinthians 3:15 says that even a man who has no works of eternal consequence will STILL be saved.

It’s true that James says that faith without works is dead, but you misunderstand what dead faith is.  If faith without works is the equivalent of “no saving faith,” then what is the status of our eternal destiny when we have no works.  Have you ever gone an hour without works?  Your faith was dead.  How about a day?  A week?  A month?

James is not suggesting that our salvation is secured only when we prove our faith by our works.  James says, “ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?  Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.  Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”  James 2:20-24

So is James saying Abraham was saved when he offered up Isaac?  Absolutely not.  According to Romans 4:10 says that Abraham’s faith had saved him, even before he was circumsized.  Abraham was 99 when he was circumsized, according to Genesis 17 and Isaac had not even been born yet.  So Paul says Abraham was made righteous by faith in Genesis 15:6, before he was circumsized and before Isaac had even been promised, yet you think James is saying that Abraham was saved when he added works to his faith?  Good thing Abraham didn’t die between Genesis 15:6 and Genesis 22, else his “dead faith” would have condemned him to hell, I suppose.

The addition of works to the gospel is necessary to your “hard-believism” because you claim, falsely, that Jesus said salvation is “hard.”  Yesterday, you accused me of  “proof-texting,” yet as proof for your assertion that salvation by grace through faith is “hard” for us, you cite no verses but rely on man’s “theology.”  But Jesus said no such thing.  Jesus compares salvation to looking at a snake on a pole, to eating a piece of bread, to drinking water, and to walking through a gate.  Jesus did all that is necessary for us to be saved.  We must only believe and trust him, and him alone, to save us.  That is “easy-believism” and it is taught in the bible from Genesis 4:26 to Revelation 22:17.

No one disputes that some people might claim to believe but they really don’t.  But “easy-believism” doesn’t posit that everyone who claims to believe really does.  It says that everyone that does believe will be saved.  Period.  Stop drawing unbiblical distinctions between “believing” and “believing.”  Stop encouraging people to trust in their works as “proof” of their salvation, and tell them to trust in the promise of God made before the world was even created that He would saved ALL those who put their trust in Him.  If someone isn’t sure if he’s saved, the answer isn’t to hope that he’s met some vague, undefined standard of life change or submission to Christ’s “Lordship,” the answer is the believe the gospel trust in Christ’s work to save him.

If I’m wrong, it should be easy to answer this:  what is the “life change” evident in all “true” believers that isn’t also found in unbelievers?  I’ve known lots of “good” Mormons and plenty of “moral” atheists.  What, specifically, is the “life change” you’re talking about?  Giving up some sin in our lives?  Many people give up vices without believing the gospel.  Is it being kind and generous to others?  Does Ted Turner’s generosity prove his “faith”?  Even better, what kind of “life change” might we expect from a seven year old who believes the gospel?  To stop sneaking candy and to do his homework diligently?  Where  was the “life change” in Samson or Lot, men the bible says were saved, but the accounts of their lives are far from complimentary.  What of the multitudes of people baptized by John and Jesus’ disciples?  If they had this “life change,” why were there only 120 believers together in Acts 1:15?  Were all but 120 people who believed the gospel during John and Jesus’ ministry just “easy-believers” who weren’t really saved?  Or were they saved people who were more concerned with living their own lives than serving God?  Your false “life change” requirement produces false positives from both sides—unbelievers who appear to live decent lives, and believers who are not yet living godly ones.

Finally, if life-change is necessary for faith to save us, why does the bible teach that baptism should happen immediately after a profession of faith?  Did Philip require a show of works from the Ethiopian eunich before baptism him in Acts 8?  Did Paul wait to see what kind of life change the jailer and his family had before baptizing them in Acts 16?

The only person who truly believes that salvation is by faith alone is the one that will admit that the way we live our lives has NOTHING to do with salvation.  We aren’t required to give up some sin or to commit to live a certain way.  We aren’t required to go to church, study the bible, or put money in the offering plate.  We are required to put our hope for eternal life in the hands of Jesus Christ.  Easy for Christ?  Absolutely not.  Easy for us?  Yes, if we can get over our pride in our works and become as children.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  Deut. 6:4-9 (ESV)

It’s easy to read this passage, which anyone who grew up in church has heard hundreds of time, and think, “Yes, yes, God’s Word is important”, but then carry on with life as usual.  But a few weeks ago when I was considering this passage I began to think about what it would be like if I took it more literally.  For example, verse six says the Word “shall be on [my] heart” which pretty clearly is referring to memorization.  When I was a child I would memorize verses for vacation bible school or Sunday School or the afterschool Bible club I went to in elementary school.  Guess what?  I still remember some of those verses 30 years later.

There is something unique about memorizing scripture.  It’s nice to be able to flip open my bible and find a passage I’m thinking about, but when I can recall a verse or passage by memory it’s much more useful.  I’m not always in a place where I can open my bible, but I can remember a memorized verse anywhere and anytime.  But more importantly, when we have committed a verse to memory, it is in our heart.  I’m convinced that we don’t even have to consciously recall the verse for it to affect our decisions and actions during the day.  When we internalized God’s Word, we will begin living out God’s Word.

My next thought is about verse 7, which tells us to teach God’s Word to our children and to talk about it in our home, on the road, when we get up, when we lie down…pretty much all the time.  I don’t think this means, “Teach children biblical ‘principles.’”  Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, not by “Christian principles.”  I think as a parent I need to make sure my children and hearing and reading and memorizing God’s Word.  Reading the bible, not bible story books.  Hearing the bible, not just listening to a sermon in the car.  Memorizing bible, not just learning praise songs.  There is nothing wrong (and lots right) with praise songs, sermons and teaching Christian principles.  But these things aren’t an adequate substitute for God’s Word.

Verse 9 talks about writing God’s Word on the posts of my house and on the gates.  Again, why not take this literally?  Instead of putting up art, why not have God’s Word around for to read?  Why not post a verse on the doorway to the garage so the last thing seen before leaving the house is God’s Word?  Think that might be a reminder to talk about God’s Word “on the way” as verse 7 directed?

So here are my efforts to be a doer and not a hearer only of the Word:

1.  I’m going to start memorizing one verse a week.  Given my lack of discipline in many things, this is going to be difficult.  If anyone wants to start doing the same thing and try to keep each other accountable, let me know.  This type of thing works better with a “workout partner” so to speak.

Incidentally, when I memorize verses, I always memorize the KJV for three reasons.  First, though I’m not a KJV-only person, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that it’s one of, if not the most, reliable translation around.  There is an internal consistency to the KJV that I don’t see in other versions.  Second, the verses I memorized as a child were in the KJV, so I can build on those in the same version.  Third, when discussing scripture with others online or in person, I tend to use the KJV because pretty much everyone agrees it’s a good translation, and the discussion doesn’t get derailed if someone thinks the KJV is the “only” accurate translation.  I’ve never met an ESV-only or NIV-only person, so the KJV is essentially a common language for English speaking people.

2.  I’m making a deliberate effort to teach the bible to my children.  My son is 7 and we have begun reading one chapter in the bible every day.  On school days, I’ve had him read aloud in the car to me and my daughter (3) on his way to school.  I’ll stop him at various times to explain a passage or to ask questions to make sure he understands.   We’re halfway through the Gospel of Mark and I can see a positive difference in his behavior and attitude.  Violet, my daughter, has started bringing her bible story book in the car and asking where she’s supposed to “read,” lol.  On Saturday we were leaving the house and Micah said, “Dad, don’t forget your bible.”  Listening to him read the bible in the morning is one of the highlights of my day now.

Micah has also been asking to start receiving an allowance.  I want him to “earn” the allowance, but I don’t feel he should be “rewarded” for simply following the minimal rules we give him around the house.  So I have let him start earning money by memorizing verses and by hand copying passages of the bible.  He earned $3 last weekend copying Psalm 20 and Psalm 25, and he’s memorized a couple of verses for $1 each.  He’s learning the bible and improving his reading/handwriting skills at the same time.  Really great!

3.  I’ve started posting scripture around the house and in my office and car.  I put this up in my office last week:

When I get to my office in the morning, I read it.  During the day, I see it.  Soon I’ll have it committed to memory and I’ll change it.

Anyone else have any ideas for keeping God’s Word with us during the day?

I may change the direction of the blog a bit.  I generally have three types of posts:  1. General non-sense, like the posts of about the Gulf Oil Spill (which I was right about, by the way:) );  2. Posts mocking false prosperity preachers; and, 3. Posts about the plan of salvation vs. false works salvation.  I’ll probably still post on those same three topics, but I think my day to day post will be an analysis of a passage of scripture that I’m thinking about on a given day.  I’ll give my thoughts and anyone else should feel free to chime in.

For kicks and giggles today, I decided to work the numbers another direction.  Since I don’t have a 1/1,428,527 teaspoon measuring spoon, and since I thought it might be difficult to fill at 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon only .4% full, I was curious how big the four-foot backyard pool would need to be to require an entire teaspoon of oil to equal the Gulf oil:water ratio.

Here’s my math:

The volume (in gallons) of a round swimming pool is calculated with this formula: Depth x Diameter squared x 5.9.

I found that formula here.  5.9 is a multiplier that converts the volume measure into gallons.

My calculation yesterday told me that the 11,895 gallon pool would require .000539 teaspoon of oil to reach the Gulf ratio.

.000539 tsp. /11,895 gal.  =  1 tsp. / X gallons,

My math skills are rusty, but since fractions can be cross-multiplied, we know that:

.000539 x X  =  1 x 11,895, which allows us to solve for X by dividing 11,895 by .000539

X = 11,895/.000539  =  22, 068, 645

This means that it would require a 22,068,645 gallon pool to mix the one teaspoon of oil at the Gulf ratio.

Going back to our volume calculation, we can now solve for the diameter of this hypothetical four-foot pool.

depth * diameter squared * 5.9 = volume in gallons

4 * D squared * 5.9  = 22,068,645

D squared = 22,068,645/4*5.9

D squared = 935,112

D = 967

Thus, if you wanted to add a teaspoon of oil to your round, four-foot backyard pool at the same ratio as the oil spilled into the Gulf, you’d need a pool 967 feet across.  The area of this pool is calculated at pi * r * r, where r = the radius (which is 1/2 of 967).  The area of this pool would be 734, 435.  There are 43,560 feet in an acre.  The hypothetical pool with one teaspoon of oil added would cover 16.86 acres.

I need a bigger yard.

I chose a swimming pool because most people can easily visualize the amount of water in a swimming pool.  At first I was going to use a “standard sized pool,” but soon realized there isn’t a standard sized pool.  Then I was going to use an “Olympic sized pool,” which is pretty rigorously defined at least as to a minimum size, but then realized  that I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen an Olympic sized pool.  Finally, I decided to go with a typical backyard, above-ground pool since everyone has seen one of those.  The pool I’m calculating for will be 24 feet wide and 48 inches deep.  The number of gallons in that sized pool is 11,895.  (I got that figure here.)

Estimates for the amount of oil spilled as of today (May 27) vary wildly.  I decided to use the highest estimate I could find.  This article says, “[u]nder the highest estimate, nearly 39 million gallons may have spilled.”

According to the source of all accurate knowledge, Wikipedia, the Gulf of Mexico contains approximately 660 quadrillion gallons of water.  That is 660, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 gallons.

Thus, the ratio of gallons of water in our hypothetical pool to gallons of water in the Gulf  is 11,895 : 660,000,000,000,000,000.  To figure out how much oil we need to add to our hypothetical pool, we can divide 11,895 by 660 quadrillion to obtain a multiplier that can be multiplied with 39 million (the high estimate of the amount of oil in the Gulf.)  Doing so yields this rounded multiplier:  o.000000000000018.

Multiplying that number against 39,000,000 gallons equals:  0.0000007 gallons.

There are 768 teaspoons in a gallon.  So multiplying 768 against 0.0000007 equals:  0.000539.

The smallest measuring spoon in my kitchen pantry is 1/4 of a teaspoon.  Multiplying 0.000539 by four equals 0.00216

Thus, if you wanted to take some crude oil and add it to the 24 foot swimming pool at the same rate that oil was added to the Gulf since the leak began, you’d need to get a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon and fill it up .2% full.

If your measuring spoon collection is a bit larger than mine–which has only a 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon–you might have the right one to use.  Do you have a 1/1,428,571 teaspoon measuring spoon, by chance?  I so, go ahead and fill it to the top.

The point isn’t that the oil spill isn’t bad, it’s just that there is an awful lot of water in the Gulf of Mexico. When we hear numbers like 39 million gallons spilled, we have a hard time putting it into perspective.  Hopefully the swimming pool analogy helps.

My comments are in italics, his are in plain text:

You can’t be saved if you continue to lie, lust, steal, hate, etc.

Just to be clear then, since you were saved, you have never lied, lusted, stolen or hated?

I have sinned since I’ve been saved. But I don’t sin and not worry about it like this guy seems to. I am deeply concerned when I sin as a Christian because, in essence, I am making light of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. No one can be saved and live a sinful life, it is impossible to do so.

Pretty confusing. You said “You can’t be saved if you continue to lie, lust, steal, hate, etc.”  Then you say you still do these things, but you are “deeply concerned” when you do. Unlike those other sinners you sin, but you don’t live a “sinful life.”

I guess it’s a pretty good thing you’re not like those “other sinners.” Might wanna browse Luke 18:9-14 when you get a chance.

There is a difference between committing a sin and living a life of sin. If I live a faithful life to Christ but slip up, I can still come to Christ and ask for forgiveness because I am genuinely sorry for my sins.

But if I ask for forgiveness of my sins in the morning and go out and lie and steal during the day and just repeat this process everyday, I will not be forgiven because my repentance is not genuine. The man in the passage you pointed to was genuinely sorry for his sins.

Where does the bible teach this distinction between “committing a sin” and “living a life of sin”? You believe that your salvation is dependent on your success in giving up some of your sin? Show me that in the bible.

Since you are so genuinely sorry about your sin, have you followed Mat. 5:29-30 to keep from sinning in the future? If you have kept all your members and keep sinning, are you REALLY committed to giving up all your sin?

Stop trusting in your own righteousness.

I am not trusting in my righteousness, I am trusting in God with faith. The way I live my life is evidence of my faith.

You just said you believe salvation requires faith plus not “living a life of sin.” Do you believe that or not?

Any luck finding where the bible makes the distinction between sinning and “living a life of sin”?

1) Living a life of sin and being saved are mutually exclusive.

2) People like David committed sins, but he did not live a life of sin. After committing adultery and murder, David repented. People who live a life of sin are those like the adulterers, tax collectors, and other sinners that Jesus met in his ministry. After meeting Jesus, they repented and turned away from their life of sin.

Where does the bible teach that sinning and “living a life of sin” are different things?

How many times can you commit adultery and murder, like David, before you are living a life of sin?

BTW, who is the one that is responsible for living this life that isn’t a life of sin? Is it your effort, or does it happen automatically? In other words, is it easy or hard for you to avoid sin in your life?
That was the end of our discussion.  As with other “I-turned-from-my-sins” pharisees, he was unable to show from the bible where we are required to give up some of our sin in order to be saved.  Just like Ray Comfort, he has an artificial distinction between himself and those other sinners that has everything to do with how he lives his life, and nothing to do with what Jesus did.  He truly believes that he holds his own salvation in the palm of his own hand as he strives to live a good enough life that isn’t a “sinful life.”  He won’t say sinless perfection is required (since he knows he won’t meet that standard), so he’ll always have some vague, unbiblical standard of good enough that he’ll always meet himself.

I’m kidding, of course, about that being a great debate tool, but many people love to prove their point by appealing to the errors of the pharisees.  The pharisees were Jesus’ biggest critics and Jesus did speak against them regularly, so it’s not a bad idea to avoid being like the pharisees.  At the same time, it might be wise to figure out why the pharisees were in  error.

Since no one identifies himself as a pharisee these days, most people assume that the pharisees’ error was something they don’t also err in.  The most common belief is that pharisees were nit-pickers about the law, so much so that they didn’t love people.  There is certainly some truth to the second part of this as Jesus said in Matthew 23:

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. ²⁴You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

So it’s obviously true that Jesus did condemn the pharisees for ignoring the parts of the law about justice and mercy and faithfulness.  Jesus said that on the outside they appeared to be clean, but God, who knows their heart, knew them to be full of all kinds of wickedness.  (Hey, sounds like they need to be saved by faith!)   But Jesus wasn’t condemning them for their obedience to the external parts of the law.  In verse 23, He tells them that they should be following those strict rules.  Their error was not following the rest of the law and in not realizing that they could never be justified by their attempts at keeping the law.

Jesus’ point to the pharisees is the same as His point to everyone else:  if you think you can be justified by keeping God’s laws you are wrong.  The sermon on the mount wasn’t just to give advice for how to live a good life; it was to make people understand that they can’t be justified by keeping God’s laws.  You haven’t murdered?  That’s great, but if you hate your brother you have committed murder in your heart.  Not an adulterer?  Fantastic, but you do realize if you lust after a woman who isn’t your wife you’ve committed adultery in your heart, right?  Still think you’re doing a pretty good job of keeping God’s law?

Jesus’ condemnation of the pharisees wasn’t just that they weren’t keeping the whole law, it was that they thought they were righteous in their own efforts.  Galations 3:11 says, “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”  Salvation is by faith in Christ alone and anyone who believes he is somehow earning his salvation by his own “good life” is foolishly dancing away the night on the deck of the Titanic.

So who are the modern day pharisees?  Jesus talks about them here:

⁹He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 18:9-14 (ESV)

I’ve heard people preach on this passage and completely miss the point.  I’ve heard many people teach that the reason the pharisee wasn’t forgiven was that he was looking down on the tax collector.  His greatest sin was not loving the sinful tax collector.  I’ve also heard people teach that the error of the pharisee was that he wasn’t really sorry for his sin, whereas the tax collector was.  But neither of those are what Jesus is talking about here.  This is a contrast between the self-righteousness of the pharisee and the humility of the tax collector, and the parable is as much about the tax collector as it is about the pharisee.

What was the point of the parable?  The parable was addressed to people “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.”  Now, these weren’t people who thought they had never sinned or who didn’t believe in God.  The pharisee did believe in God and his works showed it.  He was in the temple praying; he was a tither; he was fasting.  I’d wager that he was living a pretty clean life, externally, too.  Not many people would publicly boast about their marital fidelity if someone could show them to be a hypocrite.  As Jesus pointed out in Matthew 23, on the outside this man would have appeared to others as a very godly man.

On the other hand, Jesus didn’t tell us much about the tax collector.  Did he tithe?  Did he fast?  Had he cheated on his wife?  Was he stealing money from others and tax collectors typically did in those days?  But notice this, also:  Jesus doesn’t tell us how the tax collector felt about other people.  Was he someone who ignored the nitpicky “rules” of the law, but paid attention to “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness”?  If he was like other tax collectors of that day, it’s pretty doubtful, because if you cared about justice, mercy and faithfulness, you probably wouldn’t be stealing from the poor and helpless.  If this man was somehow justified because, unlike the pharisee, he cared about other people, the passage doesn’t give us much to go by.  (Of course, we know he wasn’t justified by his works, because no one is justified by his works.)

Also, note that neither the tax collector nor the pharisee made a pledge to “turn from their sin.”  The tax collector simply asked for mercy, but he didn’t offer to “pay for it” by living a good life from then on or by “following Jesus.”  he didn’t come to the altar and promise to do better or turn over a new leaf.  Jesus tells us that his sins were forgiven, but Jesus doesn’t tell us that the tax collector was honest and fair from that point on.

Jesus’ point isn’t that the tax collector was justified because he “repented of his sins” while the pharisee didn’t.  His point is that the pharisee was self-justified by his own good life, while the tax collector understood that there was nothing he could do to be self-justified.  The tax collector understood that he didn’t deserve forgiveness, but he believed that if he humbled himself and asked for it, God would give it.  That is the crucial distinction.  Did the tax collector live a good moral life from then on?  Hopefully, but whether he did or didn’t, his sins were forgiven, not because of what he had done himself, but because of what Jesus was preparing to do on the cross.  The pharisee was trusting in his own work while the tax collector was trusting entirely on forgiveness by faith in the promise of God.

So what’s the modern application?  No one these days stands up in church and brags about how much better they are than others, right?  I guess this parable was intended only for the people in Jesus’ day.  Though the terminology has changed a bit, the self-righteousness of the pharisees is alive and well in modern day Christianity.  Instead of saying “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get,” they say things like:

“Obviously Christians refrain from lawlessness.  They don’t lie, steal, commit adultery, etc.  If they fall into sin (as opposed to diving into sin), they confess and forsake it, because they know that “without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14, NIV).” Ray Comfort

and,

“It is not enough to say that you accepted Jesus as your Savior, and then go on with life as if nothing has happened. Many people think of believing in Jesus as “Fire Insurance”. They think that believing in Jesus will just stop them from going to Hell, and that is all there is to it. No commitment to God, no turning away from sin, not even the slightest intention of even trying to follow God. But that they can just go on living their life as always, as if God doesn’t even exist.” http://www.kingdomsoftware.com/Pages/ChristianGospel.htm

and,

A true believer’s life will not be characterized by sin on a daily basis, or any other regular basis. http://www.behindthebadge.net/articles/a125.html

The bible says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”   John 3:18.  And, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.  And Acts 10:43 echos the same:  “To him  all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

So the bible says all who believe on Christ shall be saved.  There is no instance in the bible where someone is said to have believed the gospel but was not saved.  But the modern day pharisees aren’t justified by Christ, they are self-justified by, they say, believing in Jesus and by living some vague, undefined good life.  They may fall into sin, but praise God, they don’t dive into it like those other sinners.  They may sin, but fortunately, unlike those other sinners, their life is not “characterized by sin.”  “Thank you, God, that I’m not like those other sinners who thought they could just believe that Jesus paid it all and be saved, but they didn’t commit to God, turn away from sins, and follow Jesus the way I do.”  Their faith isn’t on Christ at all; its on their own good life.

I praise God that I am born again because of what Jesus did, not for what I do.  If you are trusting in your own righteousness and you believe that your efforts to live a good life are necessary and partly responsible for your righteousness, you should repent and humble yourself like the tax collector.  Your own efforts will never be good enough.  Put all your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin, not just most of it.