SALVATION- ETERNAL LIFE- BORN AGAIN

As I stated in a previous post, the words SALVATION, ETERNAL LIFE, and THE KINGDOM are used interchangably in modern Christianity. This causes the words to also be used erroneously. All three concepts are discussed in the Bible, but they are discussed as entirely separate and distinct from each other. This is the reason why modern Christianity teaches that eternal life is a free gift that comes from confessing Jesus even though Jesus himself taught that eternal life came through keeping the commandments.

SALVATION- Jesus came to give us a more abundant life. When Jesus spoke of salvation he was not speaking of the afterlife, but of the more abundant life that we can live right now.
Mark 16:16- states that if you believe and are baptized you will be saved. Salvation is a free gift, no strings attached, no works involved. It is simply a matter of believing and receiving. This is why Jesus could offer salvation to anyone who came to him wanting it and ready to receive it. Nicodemus was said to have received salvation in Luke 19:9. The woman with the alabaster box received salvation in Luke 7:50. To understand this, we must understand salvation is not for the afterlife; IT IS FOR HERE AND NOW.

Eternal Life- I already stated a lot about eternal life and how to gain it in my previous post. I'll just reiterate here that eternal life is gained by keeping the commandments of God.

BORN AGAIN/ THE KINGDOM- John 3:1 recounts a story where a man named Nicodemus inquired about the miracles Jesus did. Jesus attributed his works to the Kingdom and stated that no one could see this Kingdom unless they were "born again." It is important to note that this is the only time recorded in the Bible that Jesus mentions the concept of being born again. Jesus gave many examples describing the concept of the Kingdom, but He never actually defined what the Kingdom is. He did however tell us that the Kingdom was at hand (very close to us) Matt. 4:17 that it is within us, Luke 17:21; that there are keys to it, Matt. 16:19; its difficult for the rich to obtain, Mark 10:23.

Eternal Life

There are several instances in the Bible where Jesus was asked "What must I do to have eternal life?" The answer that Jesus gave is far removed from the answer modern Christianity gives. Jesus always gave the same answer "KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS." Recognizing that Christianity (through Paul's teachings) teaches that eternal life is a free gift gained by accepting Jesus as our Lord. It seems strange that such a strong contradiction should exist concerning such an important subject.

Jesus was given this question of eternal life in Matt. 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 10:25, Luke 18:18 and each time Jesus gave the answer "Keep the Commandments." So it is obvious for those of us who believe in Jesus and His Word that eternal life is gained not by grace but by works. Even when Jesus spoke about judgement day and some entering into eternal life and some everlasting punishment, he related their judgement to their WORKS while here on earth. (I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in) It had nothing to do with grace, or accepting him or their faith. In fact in Jesus' teachings the people who did these works seemed to be unaware that they had did anything worthy of eternal life. (Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?)

So if eternal life must be earned where did the church get the teachings of grace and faith and accepting Jesus? I believe that the teachings are a misunderstanding of terminology. Certain words used in the Bible; namely SALVATION - ETERNAL LIFE- ENTERING THE KINGDOM were three entirely different concepts. Modern Chrisitanity uses these words pretty much enterchangably but a closer look at the scriptures shows that they are not the same at all. But that's another blog.