Adding to what Jesus did.

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I know this could dissolve into discussions about synergism, Arminianism, and OSAS. I'm hoping to stay away from those in this thread.

I have heard Christians say things like "There is nothing you can do to add to what Jesus did for you". I have even heard preachers in some churches say this.
But is is true? What could we possibly add to what Jesus did? Did Jesus Himself expect us to add anything? The answers might surprise some people.

Jesus of course said "It is finished". But is that the end of the story? Or is more required?

Matt 25:14; "For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.
Matt 25:15; "To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
Matt 25:16; "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.
Matt 25:17; "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
Matt 25:18; "But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
Matt 25:19; "Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them.
Matt 25:20; "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'
Matt 25:21; "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
Matt 25:22; "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.'
Matt 25:23; "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
Matt 25:24; "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
Matt 25:25; 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
Matt 25:26; "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.
Matt 25:27; 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
Matt 25:28; 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'
Matt 25:29; "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
Matt 25:30; "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

A well known parable. Although some churches don't teach it. We all know the story... three servants in the master's house. (In the kingdom)
The master gives all three of them something. Hurray, end of the story!!! No, that's not the end of the story... it's the beginning of the story.
Now we know He gave them all differing amounts... but He expected them to do something with what He gave them. He expected them to "increase" (add to)
what He gave them. Of course two of the servants did this... He told them well done. The third servants didn't add any increased value... He was called wicked and lazy.
Some say this story isn't about salvation, but I disagree, the two faithful servants were told to "enter in". The lazy servant was thrown out into the outer darkness were
there is gnashing of teeth and weeping.

There are several more passages in the Bible similar to this... I will be discussing them as I go along here.

.. but wait a minute.. didn't Jesus say "It is finished"? (John 19:30; ) Well He did His part, but we still have to do our part.

Heb 4:3; For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Heb 4:4; For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS";
Heb 4:5; and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST."
Heb 4:6; Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,

So even though Jesus's works are finished, some will fail to enter into His rest (heaven/kingdom... etc..) because of disobedience. So it seems obedience is something that needs to be added to also.

... to be continued ...

 

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Matt 25:1; "Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Matt 25:2; "Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent.
Matt 25:3; "For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
Matt 25:4; but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
Matt 25:5; "Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep.
Matt 25:6; "But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
Matt 25:7; "Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
Matt 25:8; "The foolish said to the prudent, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
Matt 25:9; "But the prudent answered, 'No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.'
Matt 25:10; "And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.
Matt 25:11; "Later the other virgins also came, saying, 'Lord, lord, open up for us.'
Matt 25:12; "But he answered, 'Truly I say to you, I do not know you.'
Matt 25:13; "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Another story about "the kingdom". It says there are 10 virgins here... it starts off all 10 of them have oil... they got from "somewhere".
There is a lot of discussion about what the oil is, and where they got it... but the point is... all 10 started off with oil. 5 of them brought "extra" oil with them.
Now could it be, that like the talents.. the Master simply gave them more to start with? Or could it be, that somehow... they "added to" the oil they
already had. Five of the virgins ran out of oil... but that isn't the end of the story. They were told they could go get some more. They even knew where to get it.
In fact it even seems they find some, purchased it.. and came back later with more oil. Somehow they "added" more oil.. but of course it was too late.
But again.. it seems the Master expected them to have oil. It seems He expected that if they started to run out of oil... that they would go get "more".

... to be continued ...

 

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Matt 25:31; "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.
Matt 25:32; "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
Matt 25:33; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Matt 25:34; "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Matt 25:35; 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
Matt 25:36; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
Matt 25:37; "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
Matt 25:38; 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
Matt 25:39; 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
Matt 25:40; "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
Matt 25:41; "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Matt 25:42; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
Matt 25:43; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'
Matt 25:44; "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
Matt 25:45; "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
Matt 25:46; "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Another well known story... with two groups of people... (faithful servants and lazy servants.. wise virgins and foolish virgins.. ) also known as sheep and goats.
Now what you say you believe doesn't make you a sheep or a goat... it's what you "DO" that makes you a sheep or a goat.
You can stay home and say I don't need to do anything... I don't need to "add to" what Jesus already did for me. Or you can go out and contribute, give, and "add to"
the flock. Again... the ones who refuse to do this "go away into eternal punishment".

.. to be continued ...

 

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Luke 13:6; And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any.
Luke 13:7; "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?'
Luke 13:8; "And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer;
Luke 13:9; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"

Jesus tells another story. About a tree that isn't bearing fruit. Now of course we can't bear fruit without Jesus. It seems the Master in this story knows this.
But still He comes "expecting" the tree to have fruit. He has been checking it for the last three years. Why would He be expecting it to have fruit?
It seems once again... the master is expecting an "increase". He is expecting the tree (us) to "add to" the value of the harvest. In fact the master even tells the
gardener, fertilize it, water it, aerate the soil around it.... do what you can to help this tree bear fruit. Jesus helps us bear fruit (in fact we can't do it without Him).
But despite all this.. the tree hasn't born fruit for the last three years. The Master is gracious enough to wait another year and see if it bears fruit next year.
... "but if not, cut it down".

... to be continued ...

 

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Now this particular passage is slightly different...

Heb 11:35; Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;
Heb 11:36; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.
Heb 11:37; They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
Heb 11:38; (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

Now this particular passage isn't about being saved or not... but it is about increasing your reward. Obtaining "a better resurrection". It seems the more we suffer, the more we will be rewarded.
In this case, they didn't do anything that saved them... but the fact remains, they were able to "add to" their rewards.

... to be continued ...

 

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Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 are called "The Sermon on the Mount". It is Jesus's longest sermon by far. Three whole chapters.
It ends with this passage.

Matt 7:24; "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matt 7:25; "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
Matt 7:26; "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Matt 7:27; "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall."

Like the parable of the talents, and the story of the sheep and goats... we have two groups of people here.
Those who "act" and those who do "not act" on what Jesus says. We can sit around and do nothing for the kingdom, or we can try to "increase" (add to)
our value. The rock (foundation) in this story is Jesus of course. You have to build your house upon Jesus. But the two house builders in the story
were the the "wise man" and the "foolish man". (Much like the 5 foolish and 5 wise virgins). It isn't Jesus who builds the house. It the man who builds his own house.

... to be continued....

 

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Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph 2:9; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Doesn't this passage say I don't have to do anything? I just get saved and that's it. End of story.
That passage about how to "get" saved. But it's about what to do once you "are" saved. In fact the very next verse says...

Eph 2:10; For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Some Christians like sitting on the couch.. it's comfortable there. I got popcorn, I got the remote... what else could I need?
But we were created "for good works"... God already prepared what we are supposed to do... now we need to get off the couch and "walk in them".

Jas 2:14; What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
Jas 2:15; If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
Jas 2:16; and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
Jas 2:17; Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18; But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
Jas 2:19; You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Jas 2:20; But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?

Jas 2:24; You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

... to be continued ...

 

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I've heard some people say "It's a gift" (Eph 2:8-9 You can't add to it, and you can't take away from it. This is a flawed theology.

I could give you a car. I could buy you insurance, gasoline, and make sure it doesn't cost you anything to drive it. It was a free gift.
At some point you will have to change the oil, get new tires, and replace the brake pads, so it still costs you.
But even if there was no cost at all.... you could go out and speed, drive recklessly, cause an accident where people died.
You could lose your privilege to drive. You could even wreck your car. ( 1 Tim 1:19; ) So even though the car was a gift given to you freely,
you can lose it. You can abuse it. The gift would be wasted on you.

I could give you tickets to the Worldseries, or the Superbowl. I could even buy plane tickets for you to go to the event. I might even pay for your hotel.
It didn't cost you a penny to get to this event. It was a free gift.
But you could act obnoxiously, take your clothes off, start harassing the cheerleaders, pour your beer on the people next to you...
and you would be asked to leave. In fact if you didn't leave, you would be "escorted" to the exit. The gift would be wasted on you.

We have the ability to lose gifts. I don't have every single gift I was ever given in my life. Most of them have gotten lost of broken over the years.
Some have been "given away" to other people.

Getting saved doesn't cost us anything. It's a free gift. But staying saved... costs everything. ( Luke 14:27-29; )

Everytime you witness to someone you are "adding value".. you are investing what God gave you. You are adding to the kingdom.
Everytime you share Jesus with someone you are adding to the kingdom.
Everytime you read the Bible, you are adding to the knowledge of the kingdom.
Everytime you pray, you are adding to the health, welfare, and relationship of others (even if it's just you and God).
Why even pray for others if there is no purpose, no reason, no value in it.

... to be continued ...

 

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"Unless" is a conditional word. It means this won't apply 'unless' that happens. Unless means there is a dependency on something, in order for something else to happen.

Many times the Bible uses the word "unless". Here is a small sampling of some of the "unless"'s Jesus mentioned.

Matt 5:20; "For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matt 18:3; and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 13:3; "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:5; "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

John 3:3; Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:5; Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

John 6:44; "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:53; So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

John 15:4; "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

Rev 2:5; 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

Rev 2:22; 'Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds.

There are more verses... some the Apostles letters have "unless" in them as well. But the point here is... unless we...

repent, are born again, born of the Spirit, are drawn by the Father, eat of Jesus's flesh, abide in Jesus, bear fruit, etc....

...we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, enter the kingdom of God, abide in Jesus, be raised up on the last day, have no life, etc...

The Bible seems to have a lot of rules and conditions.