Salvation Formula

[HankD]

Most of the fallen can hear and understand the gospel message. The Bible says only a "few" find the path to eternal life. Those of the first soil (Matthew 13) are unable, but some of the rest have their faith credited as righteousness.

Mat 7:14
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

This present tense statement was given at a time BEFORE the decree of the Great Commission to the apostles and disciples accompanied by the promise of the help and infilling of the Holy Spirit to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the inhabited earth in fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant of salvation to the Gentiles.

 

[Van]

Well the example of the soils points to significantly lesser fraction finding life. But I am with you, our job is to help make that fraction as large as possible to "hasten" the day...

 

[HankD]

Well the example of the soils points to significantly lesser fraction finding life. But I am with you, our job is to help make that fraction as large as possible to "hasten" the day...

Also in Matthew 13 the mysteries of the kingdom are "revealed" by Christ.

1.) The kingdom will start out tiny as a mustard seed but grow into a huge tree wherein birds will live in it.
World population is 6.9 inhabitants, Christendom is 2.2 billion - One third the world population.

2.) It is also likened to a wheat crop in which an enemy infiltrated wheat look-alike weeds (Tares) into the kingdom making it a mixed multitude of believers and phonies.

3.) The purging of the kingdom (presumably "Christendom") of the pretenders to be accomplished at the end of the Gentile age.

Matthew 13
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
...
47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Van]

The "kingdom" within believers is made of only of wheat, and does not include tares. But within the assembly of "professing believers" are tares, folks that should worry about Matthew 7. Folks that do not know or deny that it is God and God alone who credits our faith as righteousness, or determines we need more witness and more water.

"Good works" may not result in eternal rewards, and they can be the work product of misguided wheat, or tares. Lots of the items listed as reflective of good works has to do with our witness to the world, such as how we love one another, and be self reliant. But primarily our efforts to help others into the kingdom rest on the bedrock of Christ's ministry.

 

[37818]

Most of the fallen can hear and understand the gospel message.

No. They might know a story, but if they understood they would be saved, because ". . . But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: . . ." -- 2 Corinthians 4:3.

 

[37818]

It is still the words of a fool. In the Bible a fool is a lost person.
MB

So according to your argument all the unrighteous are fools. The Psalm 53:1-2, ". . . there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. . . ." ". . . There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. . . ." -- Romans 3:10-11.

 

[Van]

No. They might know a story, but if they understood they would be saved, because ". . . But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: . . ." -- 2 Corinthians 4:3.

When we present the gospel of Christ, some (the first soil of Matthew 13) cannot hear and understand, they are perishing. This verse does not say the power of the gospel into salvation is void to everyone who has not been regenerated. That view has been demonstrated to be mistaken. (Matthew 23:13)

 

[HankD]

The "kingdom" within believers is made of only of wheat, and does not include tares.
.

Matthew 13
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

 

[Dave G]

Most of the fallen can hear and understand the gospel message.

You may wish to look at Scripture again, Van:

" For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 ).
The preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness.
To us which are saved, it is the power of God.


" For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." ( 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 )
Paul preached Christ crucified, to 3 groups...the Jews, the Gentiles and to "them which are called", both Jews and Gentiles.


" But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned." ( 1 Corinthians 2:14 ).
Who is "the natural man" who cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned?


" But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." ( 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ).
The Gospel is hid to them that are lost.

The Bible says only a "few" find the path to eternal life.

I agree ( Matthew 7:14 ).

Those of the first soil (Matthew 13) are unable, but some of the rest have their faith credited as righteousness.

I see those of the first 3 "soils" being unable, because they are tares sown in the "field" by Satan, Christ's enemy ( Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43 ).

One has the word taken away almost immediately; No enduring faith.
One "believes" for awhile, but when their "faith" is tested, falls away; Again, no enduring faith.
One "believes" for awhile, but then becomes carried away with the world and its ways, and falls away ( 2 Peter 2:22 )...yet again, no enduring faith.

None of the first 3 bring forth fruit that is pleasing to God ( Galatians 5:22-23 ), and none of the first 3 have the kind of faith that endures to the end ( Matthew 24:13, 1 John 5:4 ).
These are the ones Christ will say, " I never knew you " ( Matthew 7:21-23 ).

The last "seed" brings forth fruit unto righteousness...some 30-fold, some 60-fold and some 100-fold ( Matthew 13:3-9, Matthew 13:18-23 ).
Real faith.
Tested, tried in a furnace of "fire" ( trials and tribulations, Psalms 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, 1 Peter 1:7 ) and finished by its Author ( Hebrews 12:2 ).




These are the ones Christ will say, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:" ( Matthew 25:31-34 ).

 

[Van]

Matthew 13
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

I am guessing you had a point in posting this passage, but what it was escapes me. Are you saying the kingdom within believers contains tares? If so, your view is mistaken. Luke 17:21 There are no tares in heaven, not now, not at the end of the age, not ever.

But more than that what is your point. The Salvation Formula presents the gospel. If you see any flaws, or can offer an improvement, please help the ministry.

 

[MB]

So according to your argument all the unrighteous are fools. The Psalm 53:1-2, ". . . there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. . . ." ". . . There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. . . ." -- Romans 3:10-11.

In Romans 3:9 Paul says;
Rom 3:9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
All of the lost are fools because they have not believed in Jesus Christ. They live this life by there own rules.
In the Bible all those who do not believe are fools. A fool said it and people build doctrine on it they believe his words are truth? The first thing he said was that there is no god.
Do you really believe there was none that did good?. There is none who understands. David wrote this about what the fool says in his heart. Says so in the first verse and though Paul quoted it to show that every lost man has similar thoughts about the righteous. How many times have you heard jokes made about Christians. How many times have heard hate speech about Christians. It cam't be that hard to put 2 and 2 together. This is what happens when people do not read carefully.
Paul was demonstrating that the lost all have these kinds of hateful thoughts.
After quoting David he says.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

The saved are not under the Law. just the lost
MB

 

[Van]

Hi Dave, I have carefully looked at all these scriptures. We certainly understand them differently.

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

This (those who are perishing) applies once more to the first soil.

1 Cor. 1:24 addresses who rejected the gospel, and those whose faith in Christ was credited as righteousness. There is no support for the mistaken view that those who rejected the gospel were unable to trust in it. Remember, Jesus spoke in parables because the time was not right to prevent people from believing.

1 Cor. 2:14 says the natural man is unable to receive "the things" of the Spirit of God. It does not say all things, and could be understood to mean some things, such as spiritual meat, solid food. 1 Cor. 3:1 teaches men of flesh can understand spiritual "milk" the fundamentals of the gospel.

Absolute nothing says the first 3 soils are tares. The gospel in view is being sown by God.

Sometimes people profess, then fall away, and then later "recommit" and then they bear fruit.

 

[Dave G]

Sometimes people profess, then fall away, and then later "recommit" and then they bear fruit.

Outwardly, I'd have to agree.
I've had my own problems and temptations with the flesh at times...some bring shame to me.

But...I don't see anywhere in the Bible that a person who has believed is ever told to "re-commit their lives to Christ".
I used to sit in church services where this was preached and practiced, but I don't see the Lord, Paul or Peter ever once using this language.

The Bible speaks of those who are in need of correction, but not "revival".
As I see it, "recommitting" and "revival" are constructs of man's philosophy and are not Biblical, in the strictest sense.

 

[Van]

Hi Dave, we are told to examine ourselves to see if we are "of the faith." Are we bearing fruit, or are we hypocrites. Did Peter recommit? John chapter 21.

 

[Dave G]

Peter was saved and didn't need to "re-commit".
He was one of Christ's sheep, bought with a price ( 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 7:23 ).
His standing was never in jeopardy ( John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:37-40, John 10:27-29 ) based on his own performance.

Paul told the Corinthians to examine themselves:

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" ( 2 Corinthians 13:5 ).

From my perspective, it is always healthy to examine one's self, spiritually, in order to assure ourselves before God that we are not reprobates, but are indeed His children.

Lastly, if you can find language in God's word that tells believers that they need to "surrender to Christ" or "re-commit their lives to Him", then please do so.

 

[HankD]

I am guessing you had a point in posting this passage, but what it was escapes me. Are you saying the kingdom within believers contains tares? If so, your view is mistaken. Luke 17:21 There are no tares in heaven, not now, not at the end of the age, not ever.

But more than that what is your point. The Salvation Formula presents the gospel. If you see any flaws, or can offer an improvement, please help the ministry.

The point is that there are both saved and unsaved in Christendom (so called),
Even in what we might consider "good churches".
Only God knows the heart.

No, I like your salvation formula even though I distilled it down to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, yours was a follow through.

 

[Dave G]

John 3:16 says everyone who believes into Christ shall not perish but have eternal life.

I'd like to address this if I may:

" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." ( John 3:16 ).

With respect, I don't see this saying that a person can believe themselves "into" Christ.
Rather, I see it as saying that those who believe, "in Him", shall have everlasting life.
In other words, those that are "in Him" ( put into the body of Christ, Acts of the Apostles 2:47 ) that believe, shall have everlasting life.

How one gets "in Him" is where we disagree, sir.

I see you stating that a person gets "in Him" by the act of belief.
I see Ephesians 1:4-5 telling me how a person is put "into Christ"...
They were chosen "in Him" before the foundation of the world.

Therefore, a believer believes, because they are one of Christ's sheep ( John 10:26 ), because it is given to them to believe ( Philippians 1:29 ) and because they were ordained to eternal life ( Acts of the Apostles 13:48 )...not because of anything they did in and of themselves, or were enabled to do.

This completely harmonizes with salvation being "of the Lord", and God choosing someone and causing them to approach Him ( Psalms 65:4 ).

How does God put us into Christ - the sanctifying work of the Spirit 1 Peter 1:1-2

I somewhat agree with this statement.
Moreover, I see a person being put "into Christ" by the will of God ( John 1:12-13, James 1:18 ), and His Spirit then does the work in regeneration and sanctification ( Titus 3:5-6 ).



Best wishes, sir.

 

[Van]

Hi Dave, did I say people can believe themselves into Christ? Nope. I do not like to waste time addressing strawman arguments.

How did I say someone enters into Christ spiritually? The sanctification by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit spiritually baptizes us into Christ. We are in Christ by God's doing. (1 Cor. 1:30)

Turning to your mistaken assertions, by the numbers:
1) Ephesians 1:4 refers to God choosing the Word to by His Redeemer, and therefore those redeemed by the Redeemer were chosen in Him. As I have shown time and time again, we are chosen individually out of the world, 1 Corinthians 1:26-30, we were chosen through faith in the truth meaning we had heard and understood the gospel, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, and we were chosen as poor to the world, rich in faith, and heirs to the kingdom promised to those who love God. Finally we lived as not a chosen people before we were chosen, thus we were not chosen before creation, 1 Peter 2:9-10.

2) Next "of My Sheep" refers to people open to the gospel message, such as the fields white for harvest.

3) To be "given" refers to Revealing Grace, for we are called through the gospel.

4)The people who took Paul's direction to eternal life believed, Acts 13:48

5) Scripture says "your faith" has saved you. A refinement would be your faith credited by God has saved you.

 

[37818]

When we present the gospel of Christ, some (the first soil of Matthew 13) cannot hear and understand, they are perishing. This verse does not say the power of the gospel into salvation is void to everyone who has not been regenerated. That view has been demonstrated to be mistaken. (Matthew 23:13)

You are not making sense. Or at least I am not understanding your argument. We have no control over the soil, the hearts of men.
There are at least three main reasons to know why men do not get saved.
1. Having a problem of hearing truth (John 18:37).
2. Not understanding God. Romans 3:11. Their not seeking God is the reason we need to preach the gospel.
3. The gospel not being correctly understood. 2 Corinthians 4:3. Part of this is false versions of the gospel or bad invitations. Where the gift of the gospel is not made understood. The simplicity in Christ is easy.

 

[37818]

In the Bible all those who do not believe are fools.

Please cite the reference(s) you are referring to.