True Scriptural headlines: “Only Believe.”  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

By using only a few of the Words of the Lord Jesus Himself, the Scriptures prove that faith is only the first of many steps leading to eternal life. One will notice that the word “IF” is included in many of the quotes. When “IF’ is not written it is implied. Following faith, there are hundreds of commandments that must be obeyhed in order to receive salvation at the return of Jesus Christ.

The following are true Scriptural statements that, along with many others, make the headlines come to fruition:

(1) John 14:15:23– “If you love Me, keep My commandments (15)= His words (23).”  (2) John 8:31– “If you continue in (to obey) My word (commandments/Law), then (and only then) you are My disciples indeed.” (3) John 15:10– “If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, even as I have kept My Father’s commandments and (therefore) abide in His love.” (4) Matthew 4:4– “… man must live … by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (5) John 15:13,14– “Greater love has no man than that He lay down His life for His friends. You (disciples) are My friends if you do whatsoever I command you.” (6) Matthew 12:46-50– “For whosoever will do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister and mother”–His brethren. (7) Matthew 19:17– “If you would have (eternal) life, keep the commandments.”

Jesus had much more to say about faith and works both being necessary in order to qualify for salvation. Salvation is not an event, but rather a process. The “race” of life is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. See The Salvation Process. Speaking to us through the Apostle James, God tells us that faith without works is dead faith. Faith is a spiritual entity that originates in God’s word (Rom. 10:19). In that we live by our faith, if our faith is dead, then we are (spiritually) dead. The above quotes from the Messiah assure us that works–obedience to the commandments/word/Law of God–are necessary in order to receive eternal life. Now let us STUDY each of Jesus’ statements in detail as we are commanded to do in 2 Tim. 2:15. First, let us understand that all Scripture originated in the mind of God the Father Who delivered it to His prophets, apostles and Jesus by way of His Holy Spirit. Therefore, their words are in fact the words of Almighty God. The Bible is God in written form. Jesus was the Bible in human form. God’s Very Elect are His word in human form as we “walk as He (Jesus) walked” while on earth (1 Jn. 2:6). We will now address each of the Lord’s statements by number.

(1) Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that His (God’s) words/commandments/Law from Genesis to Revelation must be obeyed. (2) If we are to rule and reign with Him in the future we must be His true disciples in the present, meaning that we must CONTINUE to believe and obey His words until the end (Mat. 10:22). (3) Jesus makes it clear that, as a man like all other men, He had to believe and obey God’s commandments in order to remain in His love. See Jesus of Nazareth: God, Man or Godman? (4) Every word of the Bible must be believed and obeyed–with one exception. As Jesus announced at the Last Supper and as the Apostle Paul proclaimed in the Book of Romans, the sacrificial law is no longer applicable in that it was “nailed to the cross.” As Jesus and His apostles make clear throughout the New Testament, the Ten Commandments were not done away with. The Ten Commandments are a condensation of the entire Law–the Holy Bible–and must be obeyed. By doing so one obeys the entire Bible. See The Two Laws of God which prove that the sacrificial law and the Ten Commandments are two separate laws. (5,6) The hand-picked disciples who had been preaching, healing, casting out devils, etc. for over three years had no guarantee of salvation. Like all other men, including Jesus Himself, they had to obey God’s word/commandments/Law until the end of their lives in order to be His true “friends”/”brethren.” Only His “friends”/”brethren” will spend eternity with the Lord Jesus and God the Father. (7) Without obedience to the word/commandments/Law of God no man can be saved. L.J.