John Zain
Member
Level 1 -- Only Believe … example:
--------- “… whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3;15)
Level 2 -- Deeper Details … example:
--------- “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
--------- And I give them eternal life“ (John 10:27-28)
Level 3 -- Warnings & Threats … example:
--------- “… if you want to enter into (eternal) life, keep the commandments.” (Matt 19:17)
Incredible … the progression of difficulty in gaining eternal life as seen in the 3 levels!
Here are my current favorite baker’s dozen of Level 3 passages …
and ALL of these warnings & threats, of course, apply to everyone!
Matt 19:16-17 (Mark 10:17, Luke 10:25) • “… what good thing shall I do that I may
have eternal life? … if you want to enter into (eternal) life, keep the commandments.”
Mark 9:43-48 (Matt 5:29-30, Matt 18:8-9) • “… And if your eye causes you to sin,
pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye,
rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire”
So is entering the kingdom of God the opposite of being cast into hell fire?
Mark 11:25-26 (Matt 6:14-15, Matt 18:21-35) • “… if you have anything against anyone,
forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
John 12:25 • “He who loves his life (of sin) will lose it (eternal life),
and he who hates his life (of sin) in this world will keep it (his life) for eternal life.”
Much longer versions of this teaching are in Mark 8:34-36, Matt 16:24-26, Luke 9:23-25.
Rom 5:21 • “grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ”
Grace continues to reign in the one who practices righteousness …
see 1 John 2:29, 1 John 3:7, Acts 10:35, and the next verse below.
Rom 6:16-23 • “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether (slaves) of sin leading to (eternal) death,
OR (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness? … so now present your members
as slaves of righteousness for holiness … For the wages of sin is (eternal) death …”
Rom 8:13-14 • “For if you live according to the flesh you will die (spiritually);
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (spiritually).
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”
Gal 6:7-8 • “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will
also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption (eternal death),
but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow
weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”
One reaps eternal death or everlasting life, depending on how he sows.
Col 1:22-23 • “… to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight
— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away
from the hope of the gospel which you heard”
Many passages say -- he who endures (with his faith) to the end (of his life) will be saved:
Matt 10:22, Matt 24:13, Mark 13:13, Col 1:22-23, 1 Tim 4:16, Heb 3:6-15,10:35-39, Rev 2:10.
Heb 12:14-17 • “Pursue … holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God”
James 1:12-15 • “Blessed is the man who endures temptation;
for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has
promised to those who love Him … But each one is tempted when he is drawn away
by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth (eternal) death.”
So, receiving eternal death is opposite to receiving the crown of life (eternal life).
1 John 1:7-9 • “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light … the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanses us from all sin. … If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
We are unrighteous because we sin … but this can be cleansed by the blood of Jesus!
Rev 21:7-8 • “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God
and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers,
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the
lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Part of overcoming is to not have any habitual sins.
“NO murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15) … and ditto for all sins!
If one wishes to make sense of the entire NT, one has to realize that “believe” means:
to have faith, to trust, to follow, and to obey … and to continue with this until death!
How you start a game is not nearly important as how you finish.
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)
THE KEY … Those who follow the Spirit will heed God’s warnings and threats!
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