Expert: Marco - 10/7/2008

Question
QUESTION: im going to give you a couple questions to anser for me. but this is the only thing..i dont want your anser unless it matches up with scripture you can give me. Gods word is above man's word right? biblical reference on praying to mary? works getting you to heaven instead of his grace alone???rosary bead reference??? confessing sins to men in a cubical next to you and saying hail marry's to be forgivin along with other little made up frases???? keep it in the bible...remember no mansers<<man ansers)) i want bible ansers..lets seperate the false teachers from Gods annointed teachers... :)

ANSWER: Dear Connor,

I am here to give my personal answers; I am not here only to quote the Bible. Since you write that you do not want my answers, I cannot answers your questions.
I will give you only some verses from the Bible about your question:
" works getting you to heaven instead of his grace alone?"

1 Peter 1:17 And if you address as Father the one who without partiality judges according to every man's work, then pass the time of your stay on earth in reverent fear:

Here Peter says that God judges us according to our works ;
in fact our works reveal whether our faith is true or false ; true christians cannot be incoherent and hypocrital.  True christians love Christ and consequently keep His Commandments.

Mt 19:16 And, behold, one came and said to him, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
19:17 And he said to him, Why do you ask me what is good? there is no one good but One: but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.
19:18 He said to him, Which ones? Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,
19:19 Honour your father and your mother: and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.

Jesus says explicitly that if we wish to enter into life we must keep His commandments.

Mt 7:21 Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

If a man does not do the will of God, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

7:22 Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name cast out devils? and in your name done many miracles?
7:23 And then I will declare to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you who work iniquity.

Observe that Jesus does NOT say “depart from me you unbelievers”, but He says “depart from me you who WORK iniquity”

1Corinth

6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexual offenders,
6:10 Nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesins

5:3 But sexual immorality, and all impurity, or covetousness, must not even be named among you, as is befitting saints;
5:4 Nor let there be filthiness, or foolish talk, or coarse jesting, which are not proper: but rather giving of thanks.
5:5 For this you know: that no sexually immoral or impure person, or covetous man, (for such a man is an idolater,) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
5:6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Galatians

5:19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious; they are; sexual immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, strife, jealousy, fits of rage, selfishness, dissensions, factions,
5:21 Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like: of which I forewarn you, as I have also warned you in the past, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Your brother in Christ,

Marco



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: if we after being saved are Gods children, and "fall" years after into the worldliness again and die without the relationship we once had with Him does his grace save us from the punishment of hell? i recall Jesus saying we would remain faithful when we are faithless. and i thought Jesus died for sin once and for all. by saying we need works to obtain a constant state of grace are we saying that His grace has an expiration date? and isn't their somthing about God no longer seeing our sin....thank you for your time,you've been great. :)

ANSWER: Dear Connor,

God loves us infinitely and He desires to lead each of us to the eternal life  and to the true happiness. But God is perfectly Holy and Good; God cannot tolerate evil because evil is uncompatible with His good and holy nature.
So, we cannot go to heaven as long as we are not completely purified from our sins and sanctified.
Our sanctifcation is necessary for us to go to heaven.
God desires to sanctify us, but He has given us a free-will, so God needs our consent in order to purify and sanctify us. God respects our choices and therefore God cannot santify those who do not want to be sanctified and purified, those who do not want to stop sinning, those who do not want to live a holy life.
These are those who go to hell.
We need God's grace to live a holy life.
However, God does not take away from us our free will, so also those you consider "saved" can choose to sin.
When we sin, we use our free will to choose to abandon God, and so we are in danger of Hell. Of course, if we truly repent, God forgives us, because God loves us and desires to saves us.

In conclusion, the point is not the expiration day for God's grace, but it is our free will, which is not destroyed by God. God always respects our free will. His grace helps us to live a holy life, but we must cooperate with His grace. If we choose to sin, we have refused to cooperate with His grace, and therefore we are not saved.

God does not see the sins for which we have repented,but He still sees the sins we are committing without repentance. True repentance implies a deep change in our life; a person who goes on committing the same kind of sin is certainly not truly repented, even if he proclaims to be repented. He is only an hypocrite.

I hope this may help,

your brother in Christ,

Marco





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ok for example... i give my life to christ, heart and soul im going back and forth to africa spreading the gospel. but years later i start fading away because of life and it's hardships, i talk less and less with God but still ask him to give me the intense desire i once had for Him. i miss the feeling of his spirit leading me. ive tried praying constantly, fasting days at a time with prayer, reading the bible daily. i feel as though this is just a time in my life He is trying my faith as He did with Job. my question is if i die, not having that relationship with Him i once had will He send me to hell? though He knows my hearts desire was to be with him as i once was...

Answer
Dear Connor,

only God knows who will be saved and who will go to Hell.
So, I cannot answer your question.
What I know is that our works are a manifestation of our faith (see my quotation from James); a person who considers himself a believer but goes on sinning, is deluting himself.


Your brother in Christ,

Marco