Colossians 2:8 - “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
The blessing (at FALC): “Believe all sins forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood.”
You can ask anyone in the FALC “Will you bless me?” and they will say these words while giving someone a hug or laying their hand on them. These words are also said in every sermon, and at communion (2x, once when you receive the bread and once when you receive the juice). The person giving communion puts his hand on your shoulder as you kneel on the communion rail. This is what is means in FALC to “bless” someone.
FALC does not have an official statement of beliefs, and the members of the church believe varying things about the blessing. So not everyone there believes all of these things. Here are some of the things people think the blessing is:
The words of the blessing is the gospel
The blessing is the “Keys to the Kingdom” (Matthew 16:19)
When you get a blessing, you are getting your sins washed away in Jesus name and blood, making you Heaven acceptable. It actually forgives your sins for God. (John 20:22-23)
When you give a blessing, you are forgiving their sin against you & vise versa
The blessing is the re-assurance of the forgiveness of sins
The first time you get a blessing, it is salvation. After that, it is just the re-assurance of the forgiveness of sins.
The blessing is Jesus forgiving your sins through the person blessing you.
As you can see, there is much confusion around this. God is not the author of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33)
History of the blessing:
The first blessing actually happened in the 1800’s, when a man named Juhani Raattamaa proclaimed these words to a dying woman. This was 6 years after the beginning of the revival when Laestadius was a part of the church in Finland. This document literally states, “After his ‘discovery’ of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, direct absolution began to be used by believers everywhere.” (So, what were they preaching and doing for the first six years? Were these true conversions if they didn’t receive a blessing?) The blessing was considered unconditional absolution. This story was also preached at the FALC St. Johns 2019 Sunday morning.
Here is the link to the document that describes where the blessing comes from (page 37): http://users.erols.com/ewheaton/background/background.pdf
From the doc: “There was once at services an awakened servant, whose time to return home had come. The hour of departure approached, and her sorrow grew because she had to leave with her load of sin. Raattamaa then asked her whether she believed they were the people of God. She said that she believed. He then asked whether she believed it to be the grace of God if they, on behalf of God, testify the forgiveness of sins to her in the name and blood of Jesus. She promised to believe that too. Then Raattamaa laid his hands on her and declared to this sorrowing soul the most precious testimony that can be uttered on earth, and the effect was immediately evident in the servant’s great joy and rejoicing. So she, praising God, left for home rejoicing in the manner of the royal chamberlain of Ethiopia [Acts 8:39]. From that time on, Raattamaa said, he was convinced that the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are to be kept in use in the congregation of God for the salvation of men and that repentance and forgiveness of sins are to be preached boldly among all the people.”
I think could have been a true conversion, this woman could have truly repented & put her faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. The problem is, that this turned into the “blessing” over the years. The reason why FALC believes they are the “one true church” (as do many of the splits from Laestadius), is because they are the only ones with the “forgiveness of sins” which is the “Keys to the Kingdom.” These are the verses FALC uses to support these beliefs.
Matthew 16:19 - “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Notice this does not say the actual words of the blessing. So what does this scripture mean? This has to be looked at with the lens of other scripture! It relates to Matthew 18:15-18.
Matthew 18:15-18 - “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” This is speaking of church discipline. If someone in the church is living in unrepentant sin, they are to be rebuked & if they still do not repent, they are to be removed from the church. It is clear that they have not been born again, and are therefore condemned if they do not repent. 1 Corinthians 5 explains this as well. True believers want to walk as Jesus walked and follow him. True believers hate their sin, will hear rebuke (Proverbs 9:8), & will turn from it by the power of the Holy Spirit. (1 John 2:3-6, Romans 6, 1 John 3:4-10)
Church discipline is explained more here: https://www.9marks.org/article/a-step-by-step-primer-for-church-discipline/
John 20:21-23 - “Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Some at FALC believe that Jesus “blessed” his disciples here & gave them the keys, the blessing (which the Laestadius movement believes is absolution). This has to be looked at with the rest of scripture to make sense of it. The belief that this is absolution does not line up with the rest of the Bible.
John MacArthur explains, “If a person declares himself to be an atheist, or to be anything other than a believer in and lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, Christians can say to that person with absolute certainty, “You are under God’s judgment and condemned to hell,” because that is what Scripture teaches. If, on the other hand, a person testifies that he has trusted Christ as his saving Lord, Christians can say to him with equal certainty, “If what you say is true, then your sins are forgiven, you are a child of God, and your eternal destiny is heaven” The authority of the church lies in the fact that it has heaven’s word on everything “pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3). When believers are in agreement with God’s Word, God is in agreement with them. Believers can declare a person’s spiritual state with divinely granted authority by comparing that person to the Word of God.”
Here is a detailed, biblical explanation of this: https://www.gty.org/library/bibleqnas-library/QA0031/binding-and-loosing-satan-sin-or-sinners
The Keys to the Kingdom is the gospel, not the blessing, and Christians have been given the great commission, to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). We have the responsibility to preach the gospel to the world (Mark 16:14-20, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
Many ministers say that the blessing actually happened in the Bible. This contradicts the story of the first blessing. Many ministers say that the blessing happened in Acts 9:17-18. If you read it, you will see that this did not happen, and it’s a huge assumption to say that it happened here.
The actual words of the blessing are NOWHERE in the Bible (the way it is said at FALC). Neither is the act of someone giving someone a blessing like it is done at FALC. Don’t you think that *the thing* you need to get to Heaven would be clearly laid out in the Bible? Saying the blessing happened in the Bible is adding to the word of God, and is a VERY dangerous thing. Revelation 20:18-19 says, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophesy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God will take away his share in the tree of the life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
As a Christian, I do believe all of my sins forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood. As does every other Christian. Every true Bible-preaching church preaches that one can believe their sins forgiven in the blood of Jesus. There is not one Christian out there who does not believe in the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ. This is the foundation of Christianity! It would be impossible to read the Bible and miss this!
What these other churches do NOT believe is that you have to get a blessing from someone to be forgiven. They do not believe that you have to get your sins forgiven from someone else. This is actually very close to the Catholic belief that you have to go to a priest in the Catholic church to get your sins forgiven. Biblical Christians also believe that ALL who are in Christ are apart of the body of Christ, and do not believe that their particular denomination is the “one true church.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
Saying the words of the blessing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To comfort someone, IF they had already been born again, by repenting and believing on the finished work of Christ, is not bad. But to think that this “blessing,” is making someone Heaven acceptable is wrong. This never happened in the Bible, so why would we think we should do that now? Plus, if have already been born again, what is the point of asking someone else to say these words to you? It’s not forgiving your sins, so what is it doing? Re-assuring you of the forgiveness of sins? Why not pray to Jesus himself? He is way better. You can have a direct relationship with Him. Jesus is awesome. He is the one who restores our souls & gives us peace (Psalm 23). He is alive & a friend to those who believe! “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins & griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.”
James 5:16 - “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” When we have sin weighing on our hearts, we should confess this to a brother or sister in the Lord & pray that we would be healed & turn from this sin! This is so much more freeing that ignoring the sin & just asking for a blessing. The sin stays in darkness, no-one knowing about it. This is not healthy! As followers of Christ, it is good to be open & honest with each other & confess sin & forgive each other & pray for each other!
Proverbs 28:13 - “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Hiding sin is not good. We should confess our sin & forsake it! Turn from it!
When I was first saved, I would ask for a blessing here & there because they were the words I had heard my whole life & they were comforting words. But I quickly realized that reading the Bible and praying is a lot more powerful, comforting, and convicting! Reading the Bible reminds me of who God is and what he has called me to as a follower of Christ. Why settle for less than the word of God? We have access to the living & active word, why try to improve on this and make this “blessing” to comfort each other rather than reading the living word? Just because it “feels good & right” to receive a blessing does not mean that it is right. If you are from this church, you have heard these words your whole life, and it brings great comfort. Does that mean that these are the keys and you need this to be saved? No. It is just a comfort thing because it is so familiar. Familiarity and comfort does not mean it is correct! Feelings do not save you.
Psalm 119:103 - “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Psalm 119:105-112 - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word! Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord, and teach me your rules. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.”
Hebrews 4:12 - “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
John 1:1 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:12 - “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The first blessing happened in the 1800’s, so what do you think the church did before this this? If the blessing is the “Keys to the Kingdom,” then according to this belief, every single person who died before the blessing was “discovered” will not be in Heaven, including all of the disciples and apostles in the Bible. Obviously, this is not true. We should not follow someone’s “discovery” about God outside of the Bible! Anyone can come up with anything, and claim, “I discovered the way to Heaven!” And if it’s not the gospel, the way the Bible explains it, it is wrong. (Galatians 1:6-9)
Most cults and false religions claim to have a special discovery outside of God’s word, and that is what makes them the “one true church.” Like Morman’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. This is exactly why reading the Bible for ourselves is so important, and why we should never put our faith in man, but in God, who reveals himself through scripture.
Martin Luther did not do the blessing. He was actually a very strong proponent of reading the Bible for oneself, and not trusting a religious system, such as the Catholic church. I have heard some people from FALC say that Martin Luther did receive a “blessing” upon conversion from a monk, and he passed it onto his followers. Think about it. If this were true, the Catholic church would have done the blessing. There is no documentation of this, and we know that the Catholic church today does not do this! If they did it before, they have left behind the “keys” to Heaven. Also, if Martin Luther did the blessing and believed you need this to go to Heaven, don’t you think all of the other Lutheran churches would do this? They do not. Only churches following in the footsteps of Levi Lars Laestadius do the blessing. It is clear that Luther did not do the blessing, and it wasn’t a thing in his ministry. Makes you wonder, what did he preach? How did he do communion without the blessing? The cornerstone of the FALC is the blessing, and unfortunately, this is sinking sand. It is not Jesus.
An article on Martin Luther’s testimony is here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/theologians/martin-luther.html
I have had heard many sermons saying that you can go ask a fellow believer to forgive your sins. IF the blessing actually forgave your sins, then you would need a blessing every single time you fell into sin, to be ready to go to Heaven. No sin is allowed in Heaven. It just makes no sense at all. This is not simple faith, it’s actually super confusing. God is not that author of confusion. The Bible says we are saved by grace, through faith, not by a blessing in the forgiveness of sins from someone in the FALC. The blessing is a type of “work.” We are not saved by works, lest no man should boast. (Ephesians 1:1-10)
1 Timothy 2:5 - “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This clearly says that we do not need a mediator to forgive our sins. We can have relationship to God through Jesus Christ himself. If you think you need a blessing from someone to be forgiven, you are putting a mediator between God and man that is not Jesus.
Basing our beliefs off of scripture, and not our feelings and tradition, is VITAL. And not bending scripture to fit what we want to believe, but changing our beliefs to line up with scripture. It may “feel right” to receive a blessing, but feelings are not our gauge for what is correct. If you have heard the same comforting words your entire life, of course it feels good to hear those words. We should not be clinging to this, but we should be clinging to Jesus! “Simply to the cross I cling!” from the song ‘Rock of Ages.’
What the Bible actually says about salvation:
Romans 10:9-13 - “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put too shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Growing up, I was taught that going to FALC is what made you a child of God, and it is the only church going to Heaven. The entire Bible says that all who repent & believe on the name of Jesus will be saved. Who am I going to believe? Man (who can be mistaken) or God’s word, that never, ever will be wrong?
Revelation 7:9 says, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes & peoples & languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” This says there will be people from every nation, tribe, peoples, and languages worshiping God in Heaven. There are Christians all around the world. God created every single human being, and everyone has sinned & fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Every person deserves hell for eternity because of sin. Every person also can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, if they repent and believe on His name. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Acts: 3:19 - “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing make come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus”
Acts 20:21 - “testifying to both Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” I read the Walter Torola books when I was first saved, while reading the Bible. He states that we cannot repent to God, but have to repent to someone in the “Kingdom of God”, aka the FALC. This is so wrong, and very misleading. It is tragically wrong. We should be running to Jesus, not another person to forgive our sins. We even sing this in the song 162, “Forgive my sins, I ask thee,” and most of the hymns point to Jesus for forgiveness, not someone in the “kingdom of God” (FALC). This is clear over & over again in scripture. I was so shocked at how different his books are from God’s word. The Bible is freeing, and only pointing to Jesus Christ for salvation, and Walter’s books point to the church and the blessing for salvation. These are very different, and this is very dangerous to point people to something other than the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. If you are turning to someone for a blessing & this is the center of your faith, this is an idol. The blessing is not Jesus. God is a jealous God and will not share his glory with anyone! We should really be humble before the Lord, and be willing to question our elders, and anyone who is teaching the word of God, to make sure they are accurate. Also, most of the hymns that are sung in church were written by people NOT apart of the FALC! I have read some of the stories behind the hymns and they are amazing. The photo below is from Walter Torala's book called "Fragments of Bread."
Acts 26:18 - "...so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins..." Notice that this says that you receive forgiveness of sins when you turn from the power of Satan (darkness) to God (light). It does not say that you receive forgiveness of sins from someone else. It is through repentance and faith in Christ alone.
Acts 26:20 "but declared first to those in Damascus ,then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance." The Apostle Paul is saying here that all should repent & turn to God, and perform deeds in keeping with repentance. This means that after you repent & believe in Christ, you walk in a new way. You do not continue in sinful ways, but now live to the glory of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit that now indwells in you.
Hebrews 10:26-27 - "For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries." This is one of the most frightening verses in the Bible, and we need to take it seriously. God does not wink at sin. He hates it. We should hate it too, not deliberately continue in it after receiving a knowledge of the truth. God's wrath and fury is a reality & we should fear & tremble before him, with reverent fear & awe. We should take our walk with the Lord very seriously. Christians still sin. We still have our sinful flesh that is prone to wander and be selfish & disobedient! But as Christians, we hate our sin and grieve over it! We deeply desire to be obedient to the Lord in all things.
Ephesians 4:32 - “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” God forgives us through faith in Christ.
Colossians 1:13-14 - “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” This is clear that we have forgiveness of sins in JESUS! Not through a church or a “blessing”. Jesus is alive and anyone who repents and turns to God and believes on Jesus Christ receives forgiveness of sins. It is not through someone else.
1 John 1:9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This again is very clear that Jesus is the one who forgives us and cleanses us!
Matthew 6:12 - “and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”
Matthew 6:14 - “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray here. He teaches us that we should ask God directly to forgive us. And teaches us that we MUST forgive others to be forgiven by God! Every true, biblical Christian church believes this. It does not say you have to bless each other, it says to forgive.
Matthew 18:21-35 (read whole parable…) verse 35 says: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” Forgiveness is a heart issue. You can give someone a blessing and still not forgive them from your heart. I know I have done this before! Some people think the FALC is the only church with the forgiveness of sins and this is simply not true at all. All Christians (meaning all followers of Jesus) believe in forgiveness.
John 1:12-13 - “But to all who did receive him, who believed on his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” God’s word says that all who receive Christ & believe on his name are the children of God, not only those in a certain denomination.
John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 20:31 - “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John 17:1-3 - “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,“Father, the hour has come ;glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” Here, Jesus is saying that eternal life is KNOWING God and Jesus! This means a relationship, directly with Him. Not just “believing your sins forgiven,” & living according to tradition or our own standards. But actually repenting to God, being reconciled to Him, and walking in right relationship with him, through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:18) Following Jesus & living for HIM and His great name. (Matthew 16:24-26 & 2 Corinthians 5:14-15)
Many in FALC think that the the gospel is the words of the blessing. They miss big parts of it. This is not the gospel. Sure, it’s a part of it, but huge parts are missed.
Who is God? (Isaiah 6:1-4, Daniel 7:9-10, Hebrews 12:29)
Why are we accountable to him? (Genesis 1:26-27, Exodus 34: 6-7, Romans 3:19)
What is his law? (Matthew 22:37-39, Exodus 20:1-21)
What is sin? (Romans 3:19-20, Romans 3:20)
What is the punishment for sin? (Romans 6:23)
Why do we need to be forgiven & redeemed? (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Who is Jesus? (John 1:14, John 1:29, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:3-4, Revelation 1:12-16, Revelation 22:13)
What did his death accomplish? (Romans 8:3-4, Colossians 2:13-15, Isaiah 53:4)
What does his resurrection mean to believers and unbelievers? (John 5:28-29, Revelation 20:4-6, 1 Corinthians 15:42-49, Hebrews 9:27)
What does it mean to repent? Who do you repent to? (Matthew 3:8, Acts 20:21)
What is the Holy Spirit & what is its purpose? (John 14:26, John 16:8)
How do you receive the Holy Spirit? (Ephesians 1:11-14, 1 Corinthians 12:13)
What does it mean to be a Christian and “walk in newness of life”? (Romans 6, Colossians 3)
What does it mean to abide in Christ? (John 15, Matthew 11:25-30)
One minister we met with told us that he got to talking to someone random about faith. He asked her if she has the forgiveness of sins at her church. She said no. He asked if she wanted the forgiveness of sins and she said yes. He gave her a blessing. That’s the end of it. No explanation of who God is, what his law is, explaining what sin is and what the consequences of that is, why we need redemption, who Jesus is and what he came to do, why he had to die, what the resurrection means, and what it means to be a Christian! This is so unbiblical & misleading, and I hope this woman truly has saving faith in Christ!
If the gospel was “believe all sins forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood,” do you think the apostles would have been persecuted and killed the way they were in Acts? And through all of the ages of Christianity? Just a message of “believe your sins forgiven in Jesus name and precious blood” is not offensive.
The apostles were killed & persecuted in the book of Acts for preaching repentance & the coming judgement of Jesus! They preached the gospel differently every time, depending on who the audience was & how much knowledge they had of God. They were hated for calling people out on their sin & preaching the good news that Jesus died for their sins & rose again. They called people to repent and believe on Jesus to have eternal life! That means to actually turn from the darkness you are living in & come to the light! (The light is Jesus - John 3:19-21) Stop living in sin! Follow Jesus. Change your ways. The reason why people hated this message is because they loved the darkness which was their sin (John 3:19). They did not want to change. They loved their traditions & life the way it was and these apostles came and disturbed it! They did not want to lose their life for Jesus. (Matthew 16:25) The issue is the same today. (Acts 3:19, Acts 20:21, Acts 5, Acts 26)
Our pastor just walked us through the book of Acts, and there is really great teaching in these sermons! The link is here, take a listen. https://howellbible.org/sermons/
Saying the blessing is the gospel is similar to the watered-down gospel message in many American churches today. Allowing people to continue living in sin & just preaching about God’s love & grace. Yes, God is SO gracious, loving, & rich in mercy! He is very patient. He saved a wretch like me and still is so patient with me to this day! But this does not mean that it is okay to continue in sin. Romans 6 talks about this. I remember the first time I read this chapter, I was blown away! Most of my life, I just “got my sins forgiven,” but literally went right back to my wicked ways right after. This is not true repentance. Crying at communion does not equal repentance! Emotions do not save you! It feels good to cry and hug people and “bless” each other and say I love you, but this does not save you. True godly grief over sin produces a repentance that leads to salvation. It results in a true change in heart, a change in ways, walking in newness of life. There will be fruit of true repentance. (Matthew 7:16)
2 Corinthians 7:10 - “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 - “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:5-8 - “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.”
God disciplines those he loves. He doesn’t allow us to continue down the road of sin that leads to destruction without discipline. He does not discipline those who are not his children, so if you are not disciplined by God, he is not your Father! He can be if you turn to him in repentance & ask for mercy.
We should be building our house on the rock of Jesus Christ, and his word. Not tradition. Matthew 7:24-27 - “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
The first time I read Matthew 7: 21-23 - “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart form me, you workers of lawlessness.’” I thought, how tragic would this be. You think you are a Christian your whole life, then hear, “depart from me, I never knew you,” and are cast into the lake of fire for eternity. I can’t think of anything more tragic and terrible. I know this would have been me if I died before 2018. This is why is it so very essential to know the truth in God’s word and not be deceived by false teaching! Jesus says, “I never knew you,” this means that Jesus actually has to intimately knows us! We have a relationship with him! And he says “those who do the will of my Father,” meaning that our faith can’t be just words, but to follow the Lord and his will. Faith without works is dead. We are saved by grace through faith, and after that we are to follow Jesus and live for him. If you do not follow him & seek to serve him & live for him, it is questionable whether you have been saved. We are not saved by works, but when we surrender our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the desire of our new heart is to obey. (Not saying we are perfect as Christians, but we repent when we fall into sin)
Lord means Master. The Bible speaks of being a servant to righteousness (Romans 6:13), and a servant to Jesus (Romans 1:1). We are to obey him as Lord. He calls us to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow him. (Matthew 16:24-25) We are to offer our lives as a living sacrifice to God. (Romans 12:12). Full surrender of our will to his.
If this is not clear how the Bible explains repentance & forgiveness of sins, please let me know. The blessing does not forgive your sins. Jesus does when you repent & put your faith in him alone. Today is the day of salvation! Turn to him, do not wait one more day!
Philippians 2:12, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” We do not know when the Lord will cease to put breath in our lungs, so we must always be ready to go and meet our Creator. The Bible commands us to work out our own salvation and to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith!
James 2:26 says, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” If we believe in Jesus, we will have works that are a result of our faith. Jesus explains in John 15 that we will bear much fruit when we abide in him.
Titus 1:16 - “They profess to know God, but the deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” This is what faith without works means. Claiming to be a believer but continuing to be a servant to sin. This faith is dead & does not save.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 - “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, not greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Romans 2:4-11 - “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.”
Luke 12:4-5 - “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
John 8:31 - “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus calls himself “the way, the truth, and the life” in John 14:6. When we abide in the word of God, we know the truth, who is Jesus Christ, and he sets us free.
The way to salvation in Christ is clearly laid out in scripture! If you do not know him, I recommend you seek him through prayer and his word. You can trust the Bible. It has never been wrong. Every past prophesy has come true and so will every future prophesy. Trust God.
I did a post laying out the gospel to the best of my ability... of course there is so much more depth & richness than this, but here is a short version of it. https://amandakoppana.wixsite.com/website/post/the-gospel
God bless!
I pray this gets published in the GOP 🙏🏻
Yes! The keys to the Kingdom of Heaven—— the gospel!!