Typical misguided 'religious' response.
What if you miss a day of prayer? What happens then?
What's a 'true' relationship with Christ?
Seems subjective, rather than objective truth (to me).
The Lord said not to work for salvation, yet you tell us that we need to 'work' on our relationship with the Lord...
as much as is possible. (again, subjective)
Also, we need to 'repent' of our sins (the ones we know of)?
When Christ clearly forgave those sins at the cross, you keep dredging them up before Him ... even though He says that He has forgotten them.
Shouldn't you grow grass instead of pull weeds (sins)?
Makes more sense biblically to me.
Just more religious mumbo jumbo that unbelievers see as pure insanity.
Repentance is whole hog stuff.
You repent of your unbelief. The sin of unbelief.
Not 'I used to smoke, but now I repented.'
Because you could always start smoking again.
One can never go back and 'unbelieve', once faith has come.
What is there left for us to do then, you ask??
Here is your task, here is what you have to do:
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"
How did you receive Him? By Faith.
That is exactly how you walk in the Lord daily .. by Faith.
Not doing a bunch of nonsensical religious crap that is meaningless.
Grow up now.
The time is drawing short.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 78701318 Pray without ceasing.
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Quench not the Spirit.
Despise not prophesyings.
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-24
We are told to pray. Prayer is spending time with God. If you miss prayer, well, you miss time spent with Him. Prayer can move mountains and can heal people as well as yourself. Prayer can change other’s lives. Prayer can save souls. If you miss prayer, you miss time spent with your creator and a chance at helping others. Receiving in prayer builds your relationship with Christ.
What’s a true relationship with Christ?
Have you ever been in love with someone and wanted to spend every moment with them? This is the feeling I’d most liken a ‘true’ relationship with Christ.
Yes, you should work on your relationship with Christ and work on getting nearer to Him every single day. It’s a relationship. You’re conflating the term works in regards to salvation which was clearly not my point.
You have to be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. The point of repentance is of course to turn from unbelief but do not the demons believe and tremble? When one is born again,
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
1 John 3:7-10
The point of my response above is there will be some that consider themselves Christian who will be left behind because they aren’t truly walking the narrow path and don’t have a relationship with Christ but rather rely on their “good works” or simple belief in Him while they live in willful sin. Prayer, repentance, and a relationship with Christ and the Father—
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 14:23
is what separates the five wise virgins from the five foolish virgins which is the Holy Spirit ie the oil in the lamps of the wise virgins who enter in to the wedding celebration with the bridegroom who is Jesus.
Faith without works is dead. It’s through God’s will that we produce works, not on our own so that no man can boast. We all have freewill to sin and the repentance of willful sin is a fruit-bearing testament of someone who is born again of the Spirit and abiding in Christ. You will know them by their fruits.
Faith Without Works Is DeadWhat does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:14-26
