What is Baptism?

Is baptism required for salvation?

 

Isn't the water in the photo to the left beautiful? As lovely as it is, it's just water my friend... it cannot save you.
In the Old Testament period, baptism was a ritual of conversion to Judaism. Pagans would become proselytes through this ritual by self-baptizing themselves to become part of the Jewish people. So it was an Identification with the people of God.
"In the name of Jesus" distinguishes the Christian baptism from all others at that time. This is not referring to the formula said over a person, but indicated a confession in Christ which was made publicly. To be baptized in Jesus' name was the command to the hearers of the gospel.
Does this contradict Matthew 28:19 of being baptized in the Trinitarian formula (i.e., in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost)? No, Jesus is the sole representative of the triune God in bodily form. The Godhead became incarnate in the flesh of the God-man, Christ Jesus (1st Timothy 3:16 - King James Bible). We are told there is no other name by which one is to be saved (Acts 4:10-12). He alone is the fullness of the Godhead (bodily) according to Colossians 2:9 (King James Bible).
His name was used to represent the Godhead to the hearers of the Gospel, distinguishing it from the other baptisms of their day. Church history and tradition shows the Trinitarian form, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, was the method of baptism (Matthew 28). There are two major ordinances in the New Testament, baptism and the Lord's supper. In the Old Testament, the major ordinances were circumcision and the Passover. The Passover was changed to the Lord's supper and points back to the death of Christ and His future return. It is a memorial which we take until He comes, identifying with His death and second coming. 
While the Old Testament circumcision was of the flesh, the New Testament circumcision is of the heart, an internal renewal by the Spirit, a cutting away of the sins of the flesh (Colossians 2:11,13 ; Philippians 3:3). Mistakes are made when one uses an ordinance which is a symbol and makes it an actual occurrence of grace. People misplace faith in the ordinances to get what they symbolize. Take, for example, the Catholic view of the Lord's supper as being able to impart grace; the same as with baptism.
In the third century, believers started to baptize their children before any confession of faith. They related this to the rite of circumcision, which was applied to sons at eight days old, so similarly, baptism was applied to children. Yet it is by faith and God's grace one is saved. No work of man or any kind of Biblical ritual can impart grace. Salvation is neither a creed, a doctrine, nor ordinance. It is found only in a person - Jesus Christ and His work on the cross, and that was done for us.
Almost every covenant had a sign or token along with it. For Noah, it was the rainbow; for Abraham, it was circumcision; for Moses, it was the Sabbath; and for the new covenant of grace, it is baptism by water. None of these were the covenant itself but a token of one's entry into a covenant with God. All were visible means for the participants in it. Baptism is to identify with a person, a group of people, or the message. As Christians this has been practiced as an ordinance. It is a symbol and witness of the change of ownership that has taken place for us.
We identify with the Lord Jesus, His message, and the body of believers. It is a symbol of my old life being dead (I was crucified and buried with Christ and raised up to newness of life). This new life takes place at the cross by His death and resurrection, not when I'm immersed in water. Those who heard John's and Jesus' message and believed, were obedient to be baptized in water as the visible sign of their repentance. It is a symbol, not the substance.
Some References of Baptism and Faith used in the New Testament Books:

Book of the Bible	Water Baptism	Faith Mentioned
Mark	6	19
John	1	95
Acts	9	53
Romans	1	35
1 Corinthians	1 (good), 5(negative)	17
Galatians	1	22
Ephesians	0	10
Philippians	0	6
Colossians	1	5
Hebrews	0	43
1 John	0	6

This is by no means an exhaustive comparison, yet, this shows the overall usage of both baptism and faith. The Bible teaches that by God's grace; through faith the means, salvation is given. Over 240 times, faith (belief) is the only required condition for salvation. The book of John which teaches who Jesus is and how one can be saved mentions salvation by belief (faith) 95 times. The basic Biblical principle of interpretation (hermeneutics) is that we don't ever interpret the major portion of Scripture by the lesser. 
A natural example: The branches of a tree never interpret the trunk. The trunk is what upholds the branches. It is the main strength that gives life to those that extend out from it. If we look at the book of Acts which shows the practices of early Christianity we find some very revealing facts...

Instances where baptism is mentioned in the book of Acts: Acts 2:37-41; 8:5-13; 8:37, 38; 9:1-18, 22; 10:43,48; 16:14, 30-34; 18:8; and 19:5 (a total of 9 times, which are always attached to faith)

Instances where baptism is not mentioned: Acts 2:47; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 9:35, 42; 11:21, 24; 12:24; l3:12, 43, 48; 14:1, 7,22,27; 16:5; 17:4, 12, 34; 19:17-20; 26:18 28:23, 24 (a total of 22 times there are conversions with faith and no hint of baptism)

This does not mean they disposed of the rite of baptism. What it does indicate is that salvation is found outside the practice of baptism. Nowhere does it say "to be baptized to be saved" by itself. However you will find faith separate from baptism for salvation. The greater context in scripture always teaches salvation occurs before baptism. No one followed Jesus to be saved, nor were they baptized to be saved. If they were pronounced saved by their faith before baptism then baptism is clearly not part of the gospel.
Christ offered himself as salvation to the people. Mary when found with the child said she rejoiced in "God my Saviour" (Luke 1:47). Simeon likewise in Luke 2:29-30 said as he held the baby Jesus, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation." Salvation is never referred to as a "rite" or an "ordinance" nor a "state" (as the "Salvation Army calls it); salvation is a supernatural miracle of God in response to our faith in Jesus Christ. This is what makes Christianity different from religion, it is not by self-righteous works.

You Need HIs Righteousness | Ye Must be Born Again

God's Gift for Teens

So what’s the first thing that comes to your mind when someone asks you one of these questions: “Do you know if you’re going to Heaven when you die?” or “Are you saved?” You’re probably thinking, “OMG get me out of here! I so don’t want to talk to this religious weirdo! I don’t need someone telling me I’m going to Hell” So you just say, “Yeah of course I’m going to Heaven when I die. I’m a good person.” And that right there is your biggest mistake. I know most people just want to brush the truth aside and live life their own way. But you NEED to read this! It’s a matter of life and death, literally. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just put aside Facebook or whatever aimless thing you’re doing right now and take a few minutes to read this and it will change your life forever.             So I’d just like to start off by telling you that you need to keep an open mind about this. Just keep reading and don’t be offended by anything I say. Sometimes the truth hurts. If you’re like most people, you’ve been lied to your whole life. This message is ingrained in all our minds: If you’re a good person you’ll go to Heaven and if you’re a bad person you’ll go to Hell. Right? We’ve been taught this our whole life. Well I’m here to tell you that message couldn’t be more wrong! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying go out and do every bad thing you can think of because there aren’t any repercussions, because that’s not the case. What I’m saying is there is absolutely NO way for you to get to Heaven on your own. You can’t be your own savior.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8,9)
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5)
            It’s not going happen. Sorry. The ONLY way to get to Heaven is if you’re perfect. And last I checked no one’s perfect.

“For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.” (Psalms 5:4) 
“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoeverworketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27) 
            When you die, God doesn’t put all your good and bad deeds on a scale to determine where to place you. Do you think if there’s more good you go to Heaven and if there’s more bad you go to Hell? All it takes is ONE sin to go to Hell, just one. That’s all it takes. And EVERYONE has sinned at least once. That means none of us can get to Heaven on our own, even though we think we can.
            So like I said before, you have to be PERFECT in order to get into Heaven. And none of us are perfect. One of the things people think they have to do in order to get to Heaven is to follow the Ten Commandments. Well even if you try as hard as you might, you’ll never be able to follow all of them forever. There is no possible way to follow them all and God knows that. That’s why he gave them to us; to show us that we were sinners and we need a savior.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23) 
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3:10) 
            He wanted us to realize that we were sinners and that we couldn’t get to Heaven on our own. He wanted us to turn to him for help. And he delivered. So how can we be saved?
            That’s the big question. How do we become perfect? Do we have to confess our sins to a priest? Nope. It doesn’t do a thing. It might temporarily make you feel better, but your sins are still there. Okay then, what about getting baptized when you’re a baby? Nope. You just got a mini bath.  You’re still going to sin. I’m sure there are tons of things you think you have to do to get to Heaven. There are a bunch of ceremonies you think you have to go through in order to get to heaven. What if you live alone on a deserted island for your entire life? Because you didn’t do any of those ceremonies, do you go to Hell? Of course not. There is only ONE way and ONE way only! Get that through your head! No ifs, ands, or buts. And if you don’t trust that one way, you WILL go to Hell.
“For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) 
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” (Ezekiel 18:20) 
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (2 Thessalonians 1:8)
            Alright alright already! How do you do it? How do you become perfect? How do you get to heaven?
Admit that you’re a sinner and trust that Jesus Christ, died on cross for YOUR sins, that’s the only way you will get to heaven. 
"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) 
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47)
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Romans 5:1)
            That’s it. Done.
            Hold up! Wait! That’s it? No way. It can’t be that simple. No ceremony, no confessing your sins, no priest blessing you?
            Yes! That’s exactly what I’m saying. And this all takes place in your mind. You don’t have to confess this to anyone. You don’t have to do anything special. You just have to make this decision in your head. It’s just between you and God. You can say it all you want but until you truly believe it in your mind, you’ll be on the path to Hell. But you have to trust it 100%.  You can’t be 50% Jesus and 50% good works. You can’t even be 99% Jesus and 1% good works. Think of Jesus like a chair. When you sit in a chair, you trust it completely. You don’t imagine it’s going to just fall apart beneath you. You’re probably sitting in your chair right now, not thinking twice about it. You’re not hovering over the chair, pretending like you’re sitting on it but not really sitting on it. Half your butt isn’t on it and the other half is standing. No! You’re just sitting there not even thinking about. So why would you do that with Jesus? Why would you say you trust him to save you, but then you go and try to do a bunch of good works just in case. That’s not the trust that saves, is it?
            Here’s another way to think of it. Imagine that everyone has a spiritual bank account for their sins. And the only way to get to Heaven is by having your sin bank account completely empty. How do we do that? Well there is no way we can empty the account by ourselves. That’s why Jesus came down from Heaven to pay for our sins. Did you get that? Pay for our sins! When we die, someone has to pay for our sin debt. And sinners go to Hell. And since we’re all sinners, we’d all go to Hell. So Jesus said, if you trust that I died on the cross to pay for YOUR sins and trust that I’m the only way, I will pay for your sins with MY LIFE BLOOD so you can go to Heaven when you die. So when you make that switch in your head and trust in Jesus alone, ALL those sins (past, present, and future) that were in your bank account instantly get stamped "PAID IN FULL" and put onto Jesus. Now you have a clear bank account, God now considers you righteous and Holy now. You’re looked upon as perfect in God’s eyes, like you have never sinned a day in your life. All of your future sins are also paid in full before you even commit them. You are saved in an instant and for ever and ever... ETERNAL LIFE GIVEN FREELY FROM GOD TO ANYONE WHO BELIEVES in JESUS!
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteous of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) 
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9) 
“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10: 10,14)
            I don’t know about you but I think that’s awesome!
            Yeah yeah. Okay. That’s awesome. But that’s only temporary, right? Tomorrow when I lie to my parents about my grades my bank account is going to start filling up again. So now what? Do I need to do this mind switch multiple times, like a spring cleaning?
             NO! This is the BEST PART! This deal is forever, eternal, everlasting, permanent! Once your bank account is cleared, it will never fill up again because all your sins were paid for when Jesus died on the cross. Past, present, and future sins are all paid for! That’s a pretty sweet deal, right? So now no matter what happens, you know 100% that you’re going to Heaven! You don’t have to think oh well yesterday I had about a 60% chance of going to heaven, but today I was better so now it’s up to 75%. That’s totally not necessary. The deal is sealed. There’s no changing it. ONCE YOUR SAVED YOUR ALWAYS SAVED because God Gift is ETERNAL LIFE, not temporary life or probationary life.
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28) 
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) 
“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:13)
            Alright smarty pants. So now you’ve got me thinking. No matter what I do I’m not going to hell? No matter what sins I commit, I’m still going to heaven?
            Yes.
            So what's the point of being a good person and following the rules? I can do whatever I want and have no consequences. I can sin all I want. And since doing good works wont get me to heaven, why should I even do them?
            Getting saved isn’t like getting a free pass. It’s true, you can sin all you want and still go to heaven. But let me WARN YOU, you’ll get to heaven sooner than you thought, in fact ALOT quicker if you sin continually, than if you had followed the rules and been good. You’re considered God’s child now. And if you do wrong, you WILL be punished by God Himself. you are His child now and He WILL discipline you in His perfect way! Not always to the point of being killed, but you will be punished in some way and it will be painful. When you do good things God will bless and reward you here on earth and in heaven and when you do bad things God will take away rewards that he had planned on giving you here now and in heaven. I personally want lots of blessings and rewards here on earth AND later when I go home to heaven.
            You were put on this earth for 2 reasons:

1. To make the most important decision of your life; will you trust Jesus to be your savior or will you ignore God and His Son Jesus Christ. Some people choose to ignore or reject God plan of salvation while others accept it and thats called FREE WILL.
2. Once saved, your greatest mission while on earth is to try and save others. Once you have found the key to salvation you need to show it others. If you don’t do that, why should God keep you on earth? God doesn’t want us to go to Hell. He really doesn’t. But He gave us free will, which means we have to make the decision ourselves. So when we’re saved, it’s our duty as God’s children to save others. And why wouldn’t you? I really dislike certain people, but I would never wish Hell upon them. 

            And here’s a bonus! When you save people and do good works, you’ll get rewards in heaven. When we’re saved, we get a home in heaven. And the things we do here on earth either fill up our home with great rewards or take away our rewards in Heaven. So there are major ETERNAL benefits to saving others and doing good works. You’re going to be in Heaven for an eternity. We might as well make it an enjoyable eternity!
            Okay so this is all sounding pretty good. I don’t see any downsides. But why should I believe you? You’re just some person, just like me. 
            I get all my facts from the Bible. And the Bible has all the answers you’ll ever need. The Bible is 100% true.
            Well the Bible was just written by men. There’s nothing special about it.
            You’re right and wrong. The Bible was written by men but God told them EXACTLY WHAT to write! Every single word of the Bible is God’s word, not man’s. And God can’t lie, which means you can believe everything he says. Secondly the Bible is a very SPECIAL BOOK, it's GODS WORD, don't you want to know what your Creator has to say about things?
            Well prove it. Give me proof that the Bible’s true.
            Keep in mind that the Bible was written thousands of years ago. Here are just some of the things that we now know to be true that were written in the Bible long before they were ever proven to be fact:

• Empty place in the North (Job 26:7)
• Earth hung upon nothing (Job 26:7)
• The Earth is round (Isaiah 40:22)
• The waters are round (Proverbs 8:27)
• Einstein’s theory, E=MC² (Jeremiah 10:12)
• Describes airplanes and jets (Joel 2:5, Ezekiel 38:9, Jeremiah 4:13)
• Effects of radiation (Zechariah 14:12)
• The stars “sing,” have a vocal quality (Job 38:7)
• The heavens are black (Isaiah 50:3)
• Air has weight (Job 28:25)
• The moon doesn’t have its own light (Job 25:5)
• The stars cannot be numbered (Jeremiah 33:22)
• The wind travels in circuits (Ecclesiastes 1:6)
• The ocean doesn’t overflow (Jeremiah 5:22)
• The earth has fire inside (Job 28:5)
• The earth has sides; not flat like a plate (Jeremiah 6:22)
• Earth rotates around the axle star (Job 38:31)
• Life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11) 

            Okay but I still have one more question. Why should I trust Jesus? He’s not God. He’s just God’s son.           
            But that’s the thing. He IS God. Jesus is every bit as powerful as God because He is God. God has three forms: God the Father would be like our soul, God the Son Jesus would be like our physical body, and God the Holy Spirit would be like our Spirit. And just like God, we also have three forms. We have our body, our soul, and our spirit. So you can see that we are created in His image. (3 in 1) It's kind of like water which can take three forms but is always H2O water. Water can be ICE, Liquid water, or Steam Vapor. These are three very different forms but still the same H2O water!!! Three is a very important number with God and He has left His mark on the world. (Past, Present and Future --- Length, Breadth and Height --- Thought, Word and Deed -- 3 notes are needed to make a musical cord --- 3 primary colors, Jesus raised three people from the dead --- the inscription above Jesus on the cross was written in 3 languages --- Jesus ministry on earth was 3 years --- Jesus rose from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights --- Earth is the 3rd planet from the Sun --- the number of petals on a flower is always a multiple of 3 --- the atom is made up of 3 parts the proton, neutron and electron etc... I could go on and on and on but I think you got my point, God has put his stamp of the trinity on our earth!
            This is a gift from God. It’s free! And who doesn’t like free stuff? And there’s no catch. We don’t have to sign our name in blood or go through a series of ceremonies that we might not complete. All you have to do is accept it. And because it’s a gift it can’t be taken away. It’s yours to keep forever. It’s that simple. Remember, you are saved and given Eternal Life by God the MOMENT you TRUST JESUS as your Savior and stop trying to be saved by your good works. You are TRUSTING to be saved, not trying to be saved... it's a big difference! Now I’m going to give you a little sinner’s prayer. You don’t need to say it in order to get saved, but it’s just a nice way to wrap it all up.
            Lord, I admit that I’m a sinner and I don’t understand the Bible very well, but I do believe that Jesus Christ died and paid for my sins in full by his death and shed blood on the cross. I trust right now that He died for me, was buried and rose again from the dead, and will live forever more. I trust Jesus Christ right now to save me, to be my Savior, to forgive my sins, and to give me the gift of eternal life. 
            So how are you feeling right now? Pretty good? Relieved? I really hope so. I hope I cleared everything up for you. If you’re still confused and have more questions or you have a few comments please use the contact form below. I’ll be sure to answer any of your questions! Thanks for reading and God bless!
Thanks for visiting Jesuswarsheep.blogspot.com

You Need HIS Righteousness  | Ye Must be Born Again

Faith Without Works

By Prosper Noah

No passage in all of Scripture has been so misunderstood as James 2:14-26. "Faith without works is dead" is used again and again by those who would add works to salvation as their proof text. Most Christians don't know how to explain James 2:14-26; therefore, when those who teach falsely use James to prove their point, seldom does anyone ever refute them. Christians need to know the answer.
Do you know how to explain James 2:14-26? Not being able to explain this passage will hinder your effectiveness as a Christian witness. So often the lost will object to the true gospel message by saying, "Faith without works is dead." If you cannot explain this phrase, then you will make no further progress with the one to whom you are witnessing.
A new twist, also false, is to say that if you do not have works that you have no faith and, therefore, you are not saved. Many Christians have been confused and robbed of their assurance of their salvation by this presentation. Works are subtly added to the plan of salvation by this misteaching on the book of James.
First of all, James was written to the saved. James was written to the believers. Notice the phrase "my brethren" in James 1:2, James 1:16; James 1:19; James 2:1, James 2:5; James 2:14; James 3:1, etc. James writes to persons who are already saved and the subject is not how to be saved but the Christian life and how to receive rewards in heaven. James is writing to those who are "born again." "Of his own will beget he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures (James 1:18)." The question is not loss of salvation (which is impossible: see John 6:37,39), but the loss of reward. Blessing, not salvation, is what is promised to the doer of God's work in James 1:25.
Salvation is also without exception "the gift of God." "For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)." Look at Ephesians 2:8, 9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Read Romans chapter Five where salvation is called God's gift six times.
James 2:14 talks about "profit". Profit is something earned-something deserved. Salvation cannot be earned and is not deserved. Paul uses the same word "profit" in I Timothy 4:8 where again the topic is reward. "For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."
James is speaking of the Judgment Seat of Christ (II Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10; I Corinthians 3:11-15) where reward, gain, profit, treasure or the loss of it is determined. James is saying to a believer that has faith but no works that his faith will not save him the embarrassment, regret, loss of reward that he will experience at the judgment seat of Christ (the judgment of a believer's works for reward or loss of reward).
How do we know that James is speaking of the Judgment Seat of Christ? The context of James demands that interpretation. Notice James 2:12. "So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." This could only be referring to the judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ. In James 2:14 we find no believer will be saved (exempted) from the believer's judgment of works. No works will bring about no reward (profit). See II Corinthians 5:10.
Death in the Bible always is used to mean "separation". Physical death is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body (See II Corinthians 5:8). The "second death" is the separation of the spirit and soul from God, in hell forever (See Revelation 20:14). Knowing this definition of death, let us examine the phrase "faith without works is dead."
Knowing death speaks of separation and not cession of existence, let us look at James 2:26, "For as the body with the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." If I were to die physically, my body would drop to the ground but my spirit would go to be with the Lord. "Absent from the body, present with the Lord (II Corinthians 5:8)." Would I still be alive? Yes, I have eternal life. But my body would not have any vital signs and would not display any life at all, yet I would be present with the Lord and very much alive.
In the same way, James says, "faith without works is dead." What does he mean? Works are to faith what the body is to the spirit. The body displays the life of the spirit. Work displays faith. The only way I can display that I am alive is with my body (movement, pulse, etc.). The only way that I can display that I have faith is by my works.
If I have no works, does that mean that I have no faith? NO! NO! NO! That would be like saying that if I die physically, I would no longer exist.The truth is that I have eternal life, so though I may lose my body, I am still very much alive. If you have faith but no works, you simply cannot demonstrate to another that you have faith. That is the point James is making when he says, "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:18)."
To be effective, to be able to demonstrate our faith, and to earn rewards, we must have works.
James speaks of justification by works before men. Paul speaks of justification by faith before God. Dr. C. I. Scofield makes the following observation in the Scofield Bible: "(These are two aspects of one truth). Paul speaks of that which justifies man before God, via: faith alone, wholly apart from works: James of the proof before men, that he who possesses to have justifying faith really has it. Paul speaks of what God sees-faith; James of what men see-works, as the visible evidence of faith. Paul draws his illustration from Genesis 15:6, James from Genesis 22:1-19. James's key-phrase is 'ye see' (James 2:24), for men cannot see faith except as manifested through works."
James teaches salvation by faith without works in James 2:23, "...Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness..." This is a quote from Genesis 15:6 where Abraham gets saved. James 2:21,22 is an illustration from Abraham's life forty years after he was saved. It illustrates, or proves Abraham's faith to others. "Seest thou" James 2:22. In plain English this is saying that you can see by Abraham's willingness to slay Isaac that he had faith.
Salvation is "not of works" according to Ephesians 2:9. "Not of works" means "Not of works." Works have no part in our salvation. Jesus Christ finished the work of salvation on the cross. We can be saved only by trusting His finished work on the cross. We can be saved only by trusting His finished work on the Cross. Why not trust Christ as your only hope of heaven? Then choose to serve Him and receive blessings, rewards, treasures in heaven, profit for eternity.
* Written by Dr. Hank Lindstrom
The moment you put your trust in Jesus Christ, God who can read your mind knows, saves YOU and gives you the Gift of God, eternal Life.
You do not need anyone to pray over you, or pray for you, because this is between you and God in heaven. Because of your new trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ you are now a child of God. Before you trusted in Jesus, God was your creator but now and forevermore he will be your father.
You are saved in a moment of time, because you are trusting in the true Savior now, not working your way to heaven day by day which is not even possible.
Once saved you can never be lost, for any reason. This is because you were born spiritually the moment you put your trust in Him. Just like your physical birth which brought you into this human world, your spiritual birth gave you a new spiritual life that is permanent. You were born-again, made righteous and holy in Gods eyes. In fact you have the righteousness of God himself, your are sinless and perfect in God's eyes now and that's why you can enter into a perfect heaven.
My favorite saying is:
God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.
You MUST put ALL your trust in Jesus to be saved, trust in the blood that He shed on the cross, trust that He is God in the flesh, trust that He made the complete payment for your sins, not just part; He paid for ALL of your sins (past, present, and future)! Trust that He rose again from the dead after 3 days and 3 nights, and in return for this trust, He gives YOU Eternal Life. All false Christians put part of their trust in Jesus and part of their trust the Church and part of their trust in themselves. If you put 99.99% trust in Jesus and 00.01% in something else, you will go to hell. It must be 100% trust in Jesus and what He did and 0% in you or your church!This information in critical... (grace always cancels works!) You are going to hell if it's by your works or you are going to heaven by Gods grace. It's as simple as that.
So I guess the question comes down to who are you trusting. Are you trusting yourself to get to heaven by being a good person and giving lots of money to your church or are you trusting Jesus, the lamb of God, that was slain for the sins of the world to get you to heaven? You receive the Gift of God (Eternal Life) as soon as you stop trusting in yourself, your church, your synagogue, your mosque, your money, or any other works and put your trust in Him and Him ALONE, Jesus Christ, Yeshua, The King of Kings, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Alpha and Omega, the Mighty God.
False religions are everywhere and they will find you, the one true God and His plan of salvation must be found.
If all this makes sense to you and you would like to trust Jesus as your personal Savior right nowthen tell the Mighty God in Heaven of your decision to trust Jesus Christ as your only hope of heaven. Tell Him that you are no longer putting your trust in your actions, or your church, or your church membership, or in your money, or in your Rabbi, or in your synagogue or your Mosque but that you are putting all of your trust in Him and the shed blood of the cross to pay your sin debt. Thank Him for doing it for you! Thank Him for giving you the Gift of Eternal Life that He paid for with His life. There is no greater deed than that of laying down your life for another.
Will you trust Jesus as your Savior right now, the one who shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary to pay for all your sins?
Sinners Prayer
Lord, I admit that I'm a sinner & I don't understand a whole lot about the bible, but I do believe that Jesus Christ died & paid for my sins in full, by His death & shed blood on the cross. I trust right now the He died for me, was buried & rose again from the dead and will live forever more. I trust Jesus Christ right now to save me, to be my savior, to forgive my sins & to give me the GIFT OF GOD Eternal Life. Amen
By reading this sinners prayer aloud, you are putting your trust in God and His plan of salvation. You are not saved by saying this prayer, you are saved the moment your mind made the switch from trusting in yourself to putting your COMPLETE TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST. That moment may have been five paragraphs up on this page or that moment may have been on another one of our pages. You will not feel any different, but you will be changed and changed for the better forever. Once you have trusted Jesus as your savior and received his gift of eternal life, this gift can NEVER be lost. You can NEVER go to hell for ANY reason. Your past, present and future sins were paid in full the moment you put your trust in Him. You are blameless and Holy in God's eyes now and FOREVER. If you have eternal life today what kind of life will you have in five years? ETERNAL! What kind of life will you have in ten years? ETERNAL!! What kind of life will you have in 50 years? ETERNAL!!! God does not give probationary life or temporary life, His gift is ETERNAL LIFE! Thanks be to GOD!
Why be good, now that I am assured of going to heaven? Because God's law of sowing and reaping still applies to you and me. You will reap what you sow. You will reap more than you sow and you will reap later than you sow. If you drink alcohol like a fish, you will reap a diseased liver. If you smoke like a chimney everyday, you will reap lung cancer. If you rob, murder, and steal you will reap a life in prison. You will reap what you sow. I guarantee it! Now that you are saved, when you do good things you WILL be rewarded here on earth and in Heaven. And when you do bad things you WILL lose rewards that God had planned on giving you here on earth and in Heaven.But you willNEVERlose your guarantee of going to heaven. That can never be lost for any reason!! You have God's word that your salvation can never be lost for any reason. You did not earn salvation and you do not work to keep salvation! Eternal Life, salvation, being born again, becoming a child of God, was, is, and always will be the GIFT OF GOD.
Remember: If your not saved forever... you are not saved!
Why is this true you might ask? Because if a person is not sure that they are saved TODAY / RIGHT NOW it means that they are still trying to be the savior! They can't be sure they are going to heaven because they don't know what sin's they may commit next week, next month or next year. We who have trusted in Jesus alone, can have comfort knowing that all our sins have been paid in full on the Cross of Calvary (past, present, and future sins). Jesus has already died for my sins so I don't need to pay for any sin I have or will commit in the future because Jesus already paid the price in full with His blood. So called Christians who say that you can lose your salvation because of suicide or murder or falling away from the church don't have a clue what the Bible says and clearly have not trusted Jesus ALONE!
Biblical Salvation is forsaking any other means of salvation but Christ and casting ourselves fully upon Him for eternal life.
The Gift of God, Eternal Life can never be lost once possessed for any reason. John 6:39 " And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should LOSE NOTHING, but should raise it up again at the last day." You have God's promise that once you put your trust in Jesus you can never be lost for ANY reason whatsoever.
"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” Romans 11:29 Again, God is telling you that this Gift of God that you have just received is without repentance. He can never take His gift back for any reason, no matter how bad you get, or how bad your sins are it is not possible. God would have to cease to exist for that to happen because He cannot lie.
*** If you have put your trust in Jesus today, please send us a quick email and let us know. The email's we receive from those led to the Lord by our website is what keeps us going thru the difficult times. ***
Thanks for visiting Jesuswarsheep.Blogspot.Com 

You Need HIS Rigteousness  | Ye Must be Born Again

Good Works Or Bad Works, Both Are Dead Works!

By Prosper Noah | March 2016

Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation ofrepentance from DEAD WORKS, and of faith toward God.”

There are three types of works: evil (or bad) works, good works and dead works, but they are all works! Works all involve human effort! You can corrupt the Gospel easily by requiring any type of works to be saved. It is a false plan of salvation to require doing good works to be saved. It is also a false plan of salvation to require ceasing from sinful bad habits (works) to be saved. The Bible calls these all DEAD WORKS!
Here are several ways that the Gospel is being corrupted in churches today:
1.Requiregood worksto be saved (Roman Catholics, Mormons and Seventh-Day Adventists teach this)
2.Teach that salvation is by grace through faith, butgood worksare also necessary (Jehovah's Witness teach this)
3.Require a commitment to cease frombad worksprior to faith to be saved (Jack Chick teaches this)
4.Require a commitment prior to faith, to cease frombad worksafter saved (David Cloud teaches this)
5.Teach that a person's faith in Christ is not valid untilgood worksare performed (Chip Ingram and William Lane Craig teach this)
6.Require a person to stopbad worksto be saved (Billy Graham, Ray Comfort, Aiden Tozer and John MacArthur teach this)
There is some overlap in my preceding chart. For example: Seventh-day Adventists also teach Lordship Salvation, so they would fall under both categories 1 and 6 above. The point is that they all reject“the simplicity that is in Christ”taught in 2nd Corinthians 11:3-4. The “simplicity that is in Christ” is that you simplyBELIEVEthe Gospel to be saved. The “Gospel” is three things: ChristDIEDon the cross for our sins, He wasBURIED, and HeRESURRECTEDthree days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). That's the “Good News,” which is what “Gospel” means.
You must realize that you are a guilty sinner in God's holy eyes (Romans 3:19). We all deserve to burn in Hell for our own sins (Romans 6:23 - the wages of our sin is death; including eternal death in the Lake of Fire - Revelation 20:6). A man must see himself as a guilty sinner in the eyes of God to be saved, otherwise why would you need a Savior? If you admit your sinnership in God's eyes and believe the Gospel, you are immediately and forever saved!!! God wants to save you, if you'll come to Him to be saved.John 6:37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; andhim that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”John 20:31, “But these are written,that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
There are NO works required for salvation. When asked by the curious Jews what “works” were necessary to merit Heaven, Jesus finally put the important matter to rest once and for all inJohn 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him,What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them,This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”There you have it friend, the WORK OF GOD to be saved, is to BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ Whom the Father hath sent, Whodiedon the cross for our sins, wasburied, ands thenbodily raised-upthree days later. This is not a work of self-righteousness; but rather, of the imputed righteousness of God (Romans 4:5-6; Philippian 3:9; Hebrews 4:10-11). These three are the Gospel; namely, 1). JesusDIEDon the cross for our sins according to the Scriptures, 2). He wasBURIED, 3). and then Jesus bodilyRESURRECTEDthree days later from the dead (1st Corinthians 15:21-4). Believe and the work is done!
Do you see my friend how all of these “formulas” (as heretic C.S. Lewiscalled them) hinge upon or involve human effort? These are all the “dead works” spoken of in Hebrews 6:1. You don't repent from your sins to be saved; but rather, from DEAD WORKS. Repentance is changing your mind about what you want to do to get to Heaven, to what God says you must do to get to Heaven. You must cease trusting in your church to be saved. You must cease trusting in your sacraments, good works, confessional booth, and manmade methods of trying to merit Heaven. None of these can save a person from Hell. These are all DEAD WORKS!
Religion wants to fit us with glasses, so we'll perceive things through their perspective; but the Lord Jesus Christ wants to open our eyes so well see the truth. Eternal life is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. Salvation will cost you NOTHING; but Discipleship will cost you EVERYTHING(excellent comparison quotes differentiating between the gift of God verses Christian consecration). God will save the vilest sinner who desires to be saved, and comes by faith, believing the Gospel. God will save a man who is struggling with sexual immorality, drunkenness, hot temper or whatever.God doesn't require that a man make a commitment to stop doing those evil works as a prerequisite to being saved. If God did, eternal life wouldn't be a free gift. This does not mean that Christians have God's permission to sin, God forbid. The first thing that God requires of every new believer is to desire the sincere milk of the Word thereby we may grow (1st Peter 2:2).Job 36:11, “If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”

church of Christ Cult

How to Go to Heaven!  

Do i have to give up my sins to be saved?

You Need HIS Righteousness | Ye Must be born Again

You Need HIS Righteousness!

You Need HIS Righteousness!

By Prosper Noah | March 2016

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; and all these things shall be added unto you.” —Matthew 6:33

       Please notice carefully that Matthew 6:33 does NOT say, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and OUR righteousness...” Rather, the Bible says ... seek HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. We are to seek Jesus' righteousness. 2nd Corinthians 5:21 states, “For He (God the Father) hath made Him (God the Son) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Amen!

2nd Corinthians 5:21 Scripture speaks of Christ's imputed righteousness (i.e., our sins were placed upon Christ on the cross, and His righteousness is placed upon our record at the moment we trust Christ for salvation). You see my friend, we have no righteousness of our own to offer God. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” No amount of good works on our part can undo, nor make-up for, the sins you've committed throughout our life.

Even one sin can send a person to Hell forever (James 2:10). That's why we all need GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, i.e., the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all. Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” I love that... THE RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS OF GOD BY FAITH. You need God's righteousness because you have no self-righteousness to offer God.

We read in Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Amen. We need HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, that is, God's righteousness which is by faith in Jesus Christ. If you grasp this fundamental Biblical truth, then you will clearly see what is wrong with every false plan of salvation which includes human effort. Religion is man trying to reach God through human effort, whereas Christianity is God trying to reach man by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.

We are JUSTIFIED in the eyes of God by faith, just-if-I'd never sinned. The precious literal blood of Jesus washes our sins away forever (1st Peter 1:18,19; Revelation 1:5; Hebrews 9:12,24). This is true righteousness, and it is found ONLY in Christ Jesus! We are commanded to seek HIS righteousness if we want to obtain the Kingdom of God. “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and sanctification, and redemption” (1st Corinthians 1:30). Christ is our righteousness, because He has the nail-scared hands, side, brow and feet.

There is no other sacrifice for man's sins than the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the Bible means in Hebrews 10:26, “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” If you've heard the Gospel (good news) truth of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen; but rejected it, then there is no other way for you to be saved...

Acts 4:10-12, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

The Bible proclaims that Jesus died, was buried and rose again. This is the good news (the gospel)...

1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and resurrected three days later. Blessed be the Lord! A cross-less gospel is a false gospel. Any generic gospel which leads a sinner to “trust in Jesus” or “start a relationship with Jesus” is a false gospel if it leaves out the cross that Jesus bled and died upon for our sins. You must accept the Biblical truth that Jesus died for YOUR SINS. Jesus was buried in a tomb, which officiated His death. And then, hallelujah, Jesus Christ arose from the dead triumphant three days later!!! That is the gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. There are many gospels being taught today which leave out the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such a false gospel (another gospel) is “cursed” according to Galatians 1:7-9.

When asked to give her testimony, I heard a popular religious singer on the radio say, “I was saved as a child when I prayed the Jesus prayer.” Kindly, that woman is as lost as the Devil, still hellbound in her sins. You don't get saved by praying. You get saved by receiving the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for your sins, believing that He resurrected from the dead three days later for your justification.

But you say, “Don't I have to repent?” Yes, certainly. But repentance is not what most people have been misled to think it is. Most people errantly think repentance means to turn away from sins, surrender one's life to Christ, and to reforming one's self. That's not correct. Biblical repentance means, “a change of mind.” Author Michael Patrick Bowen states in his excellent book titled, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” on page 114, “Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.”

Pastor Bob Gray Sr. at the Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly preaches . . .

“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church

Many Will Seek to Enter Heaven, But Few Will Be Able

Biblical repentance is the recognition of my sinnership—the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word. Repentance is a change of mind, not a change of life. God will forgive anybody who looks to Jesus to be saved, no matter how deep in sin you may be. The Word of God plainly teaches that eternal life is a FREE GIFT (Romans 5:15), paid for by Jesus' precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). Amen! Salvation is receiving, not giving. It is not what we do that saves us; but rather, what Christ has done for us in His work of redemption.

You need Christ's righteousness my friend. We all need Christ's righteousness to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 wonderfully teaches that we are saved by Jesus' IMPUTED righteousness and not by any self-righteousness of our own (for we have none to offer God). The word “impute” means “to pass to one’s account, to count over” It means that Christ's righteousness is placed upon our record when we trust upon Him...

Romans 4:4-5, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.”

Romans 4:5 declares that God only saves bad people... THE UNGODLY! All men have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). If it were possible for a man to redeem himself, then Christ would not have had to enter the world and die on the cross. Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay.

Salvation is of the Lord, not man. A person does not have to stop living in sin to be saved, for that would make salvation a reward instead of a free gift. A changed life is the result of genuine repentance, and not a part of saving-faith (2nd Corinthians 5:17). We don't give up our sins to get saved, we give up our sins because WE ARE SAVED. God makes the change. Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ sacrifice on the cross for our sins (Ephesians 2:8,9). We are saved by grace through faith in the cross of Christ, PLUS OR MINUS NOTHING!
Evangelist Lester Roloff beautifully put it this way... “Real repentance is putting your trust in Jesus Christ so you will not live like that anymore.” Departing from a sinful lifestyle is a matter of appreciation for what the Lord has done for us, of obeying God as His child, and not as a condition of saving-faith. Eternal life is a free gift. Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.
Many religions today falsely teach that a person must be water baptized in order to go to Heaven. Other false prophets teach that a person is required to turn over a new leaf, amend their sinful ways, make a full surrender to Christ or give up the world in order to go to Heaven. That's not what the Bible teaches. We don't have to give up anything to be saved; God gave up His only begotten Son to pay our sin debt... 

John 3:16-18, “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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

If you have “just enough”... just enough faith to call (rely) upon the name of the Lord to be saved, because of what He did on Calvary, then God promises to save you.

Romans 10:13,“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Some religions errantly require a person to observe the Sabbath, tithe, partake of Sacraments, do good works or join a certain religious denomination to go to Heaven. These are all lies of the Devil who is the father of all liars (John 8:44). Eternal life is a free gift (Romans 5:15; 6:23)... freely given, freely offered and freely received.
The truth of God's Word is that we need Jesus' righteousness in order to be saved and go to Heaven one day. This is because we have no righteousness of our own to offer God (Romans 3:10; James 2:10). All we can offer God is our own self-righteousness, which is not acceptable to God (Isaiah 64:6).
We need Jesus' righteousness, which is by faith in Him alone for salvation...

“For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Jesus became as sin for us, Who knew no sin...

1st Peter 1:21-22, “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”

It is tragic that so many people today openly reject Jesus as the Christ. They are choosing their own eternal doom (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9). The Lord paid for their sins and eternal life is freely available to them; yet they reject Christ. Jesus said, “ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). Jesus didn't say 'ye cannot,' but rather, 'YE WILL NOT!' ...

John 1:10, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.”

Jesus paid for our sins with His precious, literal, physical, blood...

1st Peter 1:18-19,“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Salvation is found ONLY in Jesus Christ! Would you like to be saved?
Admit that you are a GUILTY sinner, under the condemnation of God's Law, deserving of Hellfire.
You can believe in Christ all you want and still go to Hell. You must receive what Jesus Christ has done for you upon the cross as payment for YOUR SINS. THE GOSPEL (good news) teaches that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He was buried and He bodily resurrected three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). There can be no salvation without the cross.
Believe on the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to have your sins forgiven...

Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

The Devil is a masterful deceiver, who comes with only intent to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). There is a false concept which has crept into many churches today, which combines human effort with the Gospel, thus corrupting the simplicity that is in Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3). It is common to hear religious leaders refer to the gift of eternal life, but then also teach that God will not save a person unless that forsake sinful bad habits and commit their life to follow Christ. That is highly contradictory, and a false plan of salvation. If I offer you a birthday gift, but then require that you give up the bad habit of smoking to receive it, it would not truly be a gift.

Christ died, that's history; Christ died for me, that's salvation!

Ye Must Be Born Again 

Salvation Cannot Be Lost

By Prosper Noah

“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.”

This verse speaks of the person who has heard the Gospel and rejected it. If, as those who teach you can lose salvation claim, Hebrews 10:26 applies to Christians, then we’re all in serious trouble. If there “remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” for the believer, then we’re all going to Hell. There’s no such thing as a believer who doesn’t sin. In fact, the Bible defines a “just man” as one who sins repeatedly; but keeps getting back up to live for God…

“For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again” (Proverb 26:16).
Wicked people don’t even try to live for God, because they have not the Holy Spirit of God (Romans 8:9). Christians, at best, are horrible sinners trying to live right, falling and getting up, falling and getting up, ‘til the Lord returns or takes us home to glory (Romans 7:15-24). All Christians sin every day. This is the great folly of those who claim that salvation can be lost. If living in sin causes a person to lose salvation, then we're all going to Hell, because we are all dirty, rotten, lousy sinners.

Hebrews 6:4-6…
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

These Scriptures are speaking about unbelievers, who have heard the Gospel, have experienced the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, and have had the opportunity to get saved; but have deliberately rejected Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
It is ridiculous to claim that these Scriptures apply to believers, because the Bible uses the word "impossible" in Hebrews 6:4. Is it impossible for believers to repent of their sins and get right with God? Did not Peter repent after denying and cursing the name of Jesus? Yes, he did. Did not king David repent after impregnating Bathsheba in an adulterous affair and murdering her husband, Uriah? Yes, he did. 1st John 1:9 promises that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
So, clearly, Hebrews 6:4-6 is speaking about the unsaved. A person who rejects the Savior is hellbound, and there is no other hope for them apart from Christ.
James 5:19-20

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

James 1:1 reveals that the Apostle was writing to his Jewish brethren...
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."
As is the case today, there were many unsaved people amongst the saved. Most of the Scriptures that the proponents of losing salvation claim are Scriptures speaking about unsaved religious people in the church. It is a grave mistake to interpret any Scripture without taking into consideration the truth that eternal life is a free gift.
Ephesians 2:8,9 state...

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Ironically, proponents of losing salvation profess to believe in the gift of God; yet they contradict themselves horribly when they simultaneously teach that salvation can be lost through sin. By every definition of the term "gift,"" it is something freely given, requiring nothing in return.
To say that salvation can be lost is to call God a liar. Repeatedly, in hundreds of Scriptures, the Word of God tells us that one who believes on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins SHALL BE SAVED (Romans 10:13; John 3:16).

John 15:2,6
"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit... If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
I've heard some preachers say this Scripture refers to premature death; however, I know plenty of believers who don't go soulwinning, and don't seem to care, and are living selfish lives. They should all be dead if that's what John 15:2 and 6 mean; but they're not. Clearly, the Scriptures mean something different, otherwise Christians would be nearly extinctThis Scripture says "save thyself." Consider Paul's words in Philippians 2:12...
"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,work out your own salvationwith fear and trembling."
Carefully notice that the Bible doesn't say to work out God's salvation; but rather, "your own salvation." This simply means that we are responsible for the life we live, whether we yield to the Holy Spirit or choose to follow our own selfish will. God has given mankind a freewill to decide for himself whether to live for God, or to live for the Devil and self.