Partial credit?

[B-A-C]

There are verses in the Bible that say certain things we do are "credited" as righteousness.

Rom 4:23; Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him,
Rom 4:24; but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
Rom 4:25; He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

This is often taken two ways. Full credit or partial credit. In other words, either it's a done deal and nothing else is required....
or it's "credited" to our account, but it's only a partial credit.

For example.

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.

Everyone gets divided into two groups.... everyone is either a sheep... or a goat. This includes you and I.
So what makes you a sheep or a goat? Is it what you believe... or is it how you live and what you do?

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.'

Apparently there are some things we are required to do in order to be a sheep.

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.'

It seems we don't have do anything but be selfish in order to be a goat. So where do the sheep and the goats end up?

Matt 25:46; "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

One group gets eternal punishment... and the other group gets eternal life.

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

Mat 6:14; "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mat 6:15; "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

It seems some of our forgiveness is conditional also. Everything isn't automatically forgiven just by virtue of being a believer.

Matt 18:34; "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
Matt 18:35; "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."

so maybe it's no big deal... do we even have to be forgiven?

... to be continued.

 

[B-A-C]

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.

The disciples are gone. Jesus has ascended back up to heaven. He is coming back, but in the meantime He has entrusted His kingdom to us.
But He left us some things to help us.

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.

The master gave three different servants some "talents". These talents can represent many different things (time, money, prayer, giving, etc...)
Two of the servants invested their talents, but one...

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.

Much like the goats above, he didn't use it to help anyone or further the kingdom of God. Remember all of us... you and I are servants that have been
"entrusted" with the kingdom. God has given us gifts and talents to invest. What are we doing with them?

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.'

He is the vine, and we are the branches. We can do nothing without Him. We have no riches or talents on our own. We only have them if He gives them to us.
Two of the servants used what He gave them wisely. He told them "well done". He tells them "enter into the joy of your master".
However the third servants wasn't quite so wise.

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.

The master calls His 3rd servant here.. "wicked and lazy". Why lazy? The answer is obvious. The point here is, the servant was required to do "something".

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.

Just like the sheep end up in a different place than the goats, so the good servants end up in a different place than the bad servants.

Matt 25:30; "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Would Jesus really call us "wicked and lazy". Would He really say "throw that worthless servant out"? The Bible says He will.

... to be continued .

 

[B-A-C]

James has his own version of "the sheep and the goats". It's very similar to Jesus's parable in many ways.

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?

There are people who think that believing in God/Jesus is enough, that's all you have to do. But James says even the demons believe.

Jas 2:21; Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
Jas 2:22; You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
Jas 2:23; and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God.

Now of course Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac in the old testament, but why is James repeating this story in the new testament? Did the fact that we are required to "do something"
in addition to simply believing change?

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

Even though Abraham got "partial" credit for believing in God, he also got credit for being willing to obey God. One credit alone wasn't enough.
You might think this verse is in direct opposition to Ephesians 2:9; But I notice Eph 2:9; doesn't say ....works.. "alone". Yet James 2:24; says ... not by ...faith "alone".

Jas 2:25; In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
Jas 2:26; For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

... to be continued ..

 

[B-A-C]

There are several passages in the Bible that support this concept of "we have to do something".

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.'"

Again.. Jesus is the water of life. He is the vine and we are the branches. We can do nothing without Him.
This isn't just any fig tree in any garden, this is the Master's fig tree in the Master's garden.

If we can't do anything on our own... why would He come expecting to find fruit on this tree? In fact.. He has been expecting fruit on it for the last three years.
If Jesus is the water of life and the true vine, why would He be expecting to find fruit on this tree? The tree couldn't even survive without water.

He says cut it down... why does it even take up space. Wow... I wonder how many "worthless servants" are just taking up space in the garden?
But there is grace here. Give it another year. Water it and fertilize it and if it bears fruit then,,, great!!!

... but if it doesn't... chop it down.

Some trees, even when they are watered and fertilized by the master refused to bear fruit.
What kind of tree are you? What kind of servant are you? Are you a sheep or a goat?

.. to be continued ..

 

[Dave M]

Great post @B-A-C , I really hope @JesusIs4Me reads this, in light of a recent discussion we had about people who can enter the kingdom of God. I believe he might find this useful and enlightening, as he led me to believe he thinks the below verse is about rewards and not loosing salvation, correct me if I am wrong @JesusIs4Me

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

 

[B-A-C]

The Great Commission

Mark 16:14; Afterward He appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen.
Mark 16:15; And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Mark 16:16; "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Mark 16:17; "These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
Mark 16:18; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Mark 16:19; So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
Mark 16:20; And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.] [And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]

Was the great commission only for the apostles, or for us also?

Matt 28:16; But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.
Matt 28:17; When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.
Matt 28:18; And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Matt 28:19; "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Matt 28:20; teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Now of course the apostles are gone... so who is doing this now? If not us... then who?
Jesus gave the great commission after His resurrection, ... and yet He says.... "teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; ".

Did this change somewhere along the way? Are we not supposed to do the things Jesus commanded us to do? Are we not supposed to teach others to do the things
Jesus commanded?

1 Jn 2:4; The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

... and yet right here on TalkJesus, there are (more than a few) who say they know Him, but say they don't keep the commandments.
It says here... these people are liars. Straight up, no punches pulled. They are not only lying to us, they are lying to themselves.

I'm not talking about being 100% perfect here. I'm talking about people who are making no attempt at all to be godly.

 

[Quantrill]

1 Jn 2:4; The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

... and yet right here on TalkJesus, there are (more than a few) who say they know Him, but say they don't keep the commandments.
It says here... these people are liars. Straight up, no punches pulled. They are not only lying to us, they are lying to themselves.

I'm not talking about being 100% perfect here. I'm talking about people who are making no attempt at all to be godly.

That is the thing about obedience to law and commandments, they do not acknowledge your 'attempts' or 'trying'. They acknowledge obedience or disobedience. So, if you are just trying, then the Law says, sorry, you didn't make it. But if you recognize you are under grace, and don't always do right, are not always obedient, you still know God has not thrown you out because of your failures.

In other words, your last statement says you know we can't keep the law. But you want people under the law anyway.

Quantrill

 

[B-A-C]

That is the thing about obedience to law and commandments, they do not acknowledge your 'attempts' or 'trying'. They acknowledge obedience or disobedience. So, if you are just trying, then the Law says, sorry, you didn't make it. But if you recognize you are under grace, and don't always do right, are not always obedient, you still know God has not thrown you out because of your failures.

In other words, your last statement says you know we can't keep the law. But you want people under the law anyway.

No, that's the difference between the law and grace. Under one you had to be perfect. But even if you weren't you could always go sacrifice an animal.
Under the other you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to try.

If you're not trying, you're under the law anyway.

1 Tim 1:9; realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers

 

[B-A-C]

Pacticing - the word that separates legalism from grace.

Often it is used in the context of learning.... as in we practice something over and over again until we get it right. You see it used this way in athletic sports frequently... most teams have "practice".
Another way it is used is in the context of doing what you know how to do... there are lawyers who practice law, and doctors who practice medicine. Although these fields are constantly changing, typically the word practice doesn't mean learning here, it means doing what you already know.

In both definitions... practice is something you do repetitively. You can't do something only once and practice it.

In Romans 1:21-31; we see list of sinful things that some people do...
Rom 1:32; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

This verse doesn't say those who have ever done these things are worthy of death. It says those who "practice" these things are worthy of death. It goes on to mention those who approve of others
who "practice" these things.

in Galatians 5:19-21; we have the well known passage about the fruit of the flesh.

Gal 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Much like Romans 1, there is a list of things we shouldn't do. But also like Romans 1:32; it doesn't
say those who have ever done these things will not inherit the kingdom of God... it says, those who
continue to "practice" such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

In Hebrews 5 it mentions milk for infants and meat for the mature... this isn't talking about age,
it's talking about spiritual maturity...

Heb 5:13; For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
Heb 5:14; But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

There are certain people... it doesn't matter what their physical age is... in fact it doesn't even really matter how long they have been a believer... but for various reasons, they only accept the basic principles of the Bible and never move on to the deeper principles. It says the mature "because of their practice" have been trained to discern good and evil... not only in others, but in themselves.

So far we have been talking about practicing bad things... but we are also told to practice good things.

1 Jn 3:9; No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
1 Jn 3:10; By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

Verse 9 above doesn't say those who ever sinned isn't born of God. It says those who "practice" sin.
Verse 10, talks about practicing righteousness... it isn't enough to know righteousness, we have to practice it. If we don't, we aren't from God.

Finally we see in Revelation 22...
Rev 22:11; "Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy."

It says let those who are righteous "practice" righteousness. There are a number of ways to do this, but non of them involve doing "nothing". Practice is doing something over and over until we get it right, or doing what we know how to do.

 

[Dave M]

who say they know Him, but say they don't keep the commandments.

As in the 10 commandments?

 

[Quantrill]

No, that's the difference between the law and grace. Under one you had to be perfect. But even if you weren't you could always go sacrifice an animal.
Under the other you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to try.

If you're not trying, you're under the law anyway.

1 Tim 1:9; realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers

Yes, under the Law, perfection is required. The Law does not recognize 'trying'.

Trying to keep the Law is no better than being under the Law.

(1 Tim. 1:9) doesn't say anything about believers now being under the Law. It says what the Law is for. And it does it very well. It finds everyone guilty.


Quantrill

 

[Wired 4 Fishen]

... and yet right here on TalkJesus, there are (more than a few) who say they know Him, but say they don't keep the commandments.
It says here... these people are liars. Straight up, no punches pulled. They are not only lying to us, they are lying to themselves.

Perhaps you might enlighten us on what you mean that some say they don't follow or keep the commandments.

Blessings

 

[Dave M]

Perhaps you might enlighten us on what you mean that some say they don't follow or keep the commandments.

Blessings

I got a idea but am very curios what he says also

 

[JesusIs4Me]

Great post @B-A-C , I really hope @JesusIs4Me reads this, in light of a recent discussion we had about people who can enter the kingdom of God. I believe he might find this useful and enlightening, as he led me to believe he thinks the below verse is about rewards and not loosing salvation, correct me if I am wrong @JesusIs4Me

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Again, discipleship as in running that race by laying aside every weight & sin by looking to the author & finisher of our faith as our Good Shepherd to help us is to obtain that eternal glory that comes with our salvation and that is to be that vessel unto honor in His House. That IS the eternal glory that comes with our salvation in Christ Jesus that we, as His disciples, seek others to obtain ( 2 Timothy 2:10-13 KJV ) for why the call is given even to former believers to repent ( 2 Timothy 2:18-21 KJV ) or else risk being left behind to be resurrected by the King of kings when He has returned to earth after defeating the world's armies marching against Jerusalem and putting Satan in the pit for a thousand years.

Romans 12:1I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you ever wonder how there can be vessels unto dishonor in His House as identified as being in unrepentant iniquity, then that is why Jesus has been warning believers and His disciples to be found abiding in Him or else become castaways and thus damned forever as a vessel unto dishonor in His House. Once that door to the Marriage Supper is shut, that eternal glory that comes with our salvation to be that vessel unto ho nor in His House can never be obtained afterwards for why there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth for why God has to perform a miracle in wiping the tears from their eyes in coming out of the great tribulation to get passed that loss of being of the first fruits of the resurrection at the pre great trib rapture event .