“If you were at the gate of heaven and the
angel asked you why he should open the gate and let you enter in what would you
answer him?”
Well,
I’ve done my best to keep God’s commandments and all those who do so get in
“Are you sure about that? The Bible says
otherwise. Gal 3:10(GNB) Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the
scripture says, "Whoever does not always obey everything that is written
in the book of the Law is under God's curse!" “
What does that mean?
“Have you always kept all of God’s
commandments? Since you have not been able to do so it means relying on trying
to keep the commandments to earn heaven cannot work. You do your best, but the
same commandment that says “You must not tell
lies about other people.” also says “You must not want to take anything that belongs to another
person." So where you do not kill or steal but covet what belongs to
another, you are cursed and won’t enter.”
Is there another
bible verse on this matter? it is not good to look in only one place.
“Ah yes there is: Gal 2:16(LSV) having also
known that a man is not declared righteous by works of law, but through faith
from Jesus Christ, we also believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be declared
righteous by faith from Christ, and not by works of law, because no flesh will
be declared righteous by works of law
There is a conclusion in this argument Rom 3:28(GNB) For we
conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by
doing what the Law commands.”
Are
you saying we should not obey God’s commands? What exactly do you mean?
“Not at all. The law is good and of God, but
has no power to save someone from sin. It tells us we are sinners but cannot
save. Gal 3:19, 21(GNB) What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to
show what wrongdoing is... Does this mean that the Law is against God's
promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could
bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it. Just like your thermometer tells you the patient has fever and is
powerless to cure the fever. Something else has to come in to cure the fever –
maybe an anti-malarial or antibiotic- so also the law cannot cure us from sin. Gal
2:21 (GNB)
I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God
through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!”
I
have been asking God for grace to obey the commands more...
“See, the fact you are asking for help to
obey the commands is saying you agree you have not been obeying it fully. Don’t
think when you rely on Jesus’ blood to save you, you begin to disobey God. On
the contrary calling Jesus Christ into your heart and relying on His sacrifice
of His lifeblood to save you actually results in power to obey God and do His
will. You do His will then not to be accepted by God but because you have
already been accepted by God. Rom 8:3, 4 (ESV)
For God has done what the law, weakened by
the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit.”
