In this series the Lord has revealed that, concerning things spiritual, appearance and reality are not always the same.  In fact, they are sometimes the exact opposites.  For example, long after the fact I learned that my childhood Sunday School teacher and the church’s head deacon was, during those years, having an affair with a local woman.  I was once told that the largest church in the city where I was living was allowing five “known” affairs to flourish openly.  The previous posting informed us that of the Lord’s first 70 disciples, all of whom had the same ministry of preaching the Gospel, healing the sick, casting out devils, etc., only 11 were Christ’s disciples “indeed.”  In another instance (John chapter 8) Jesus was debating with some Pharisees in the Temple concerning Who He was and Who His Father was.  As He spoke “many of the Jews (in the Temple) believed in Him,” meaning that they believed that He was the Son of God and let it be known to Him that they wanted to be His disciples.  He spoke to them, saying: “IF YOU (BELIEVERS) OBEY MY WORD, THEN (AND ONLY THEN) YOU WILL BE MY DISCIPLES INDEED” (Jn. 8:30-32).  The Jews assured Him that they were Abraham’s descendants and that God was their Father.  This, they contended, made them God’s disciples “indeed.”  Jesus then told them that, though they were the seed of Abraham and therefore God’s chosen people, that did not make them His disciples “indeed” (in fact).  Hearing this, they turned on Him and accused Him of being a Samaritan (Gentile) and of having a devil.  Truly, they were God’s chosen people whose names were written in heaven (as were the 70 disciples).  However, that did not make them right with Him.  When those Jews in the Temple who “believed in Him” heard what they did not want to hear, they tried to stone Him.  Only by making Himself invisible to them was He able to pass through their midst and out of the Temple (vs 59).

These Jews embraced Him when they heard what they wanted to hear–God’s “headlines.”  But when He introduced them to His “fine print” they tried to kill Him.  Nothing has changed.  I get the same response when I tell church people, as the Apostle Paul said, “the whole counsel of God.”  Recently East Texas found itself in a dry spell that local weather people said would continue for many days.  Two days ago I found myself in a store where I was checking out when a storm hit and began watering the land.  I said that I would claim the credit for the unexpected rain because I had asked God to send it.  The clerk, a very religious woman, noted that faith was the key to answered prayer.  I gently corrected her, noting that faith, mixed with OBEDIENCE TO GOD was what had brought the rain.  You would have thought that I had blasphemed.  The look she gave me silently shouted: “Are you out of your mind?”  Some time ago I received a letter from a website reader who could not believe that God expected His followers to obey Him, and salvation DEPENDED ON DOING EXACTLY THAT.  It is obvious that neither the clerk nor the correspondent believe James 2:10,14,17.18,20,24,26.  According to God, these two pillars of the church are “disciples in name only” (DINO).

Perhaps THE passage of Scripture used deny that salvation requires anything more than faith is found in Acts 16:31 where Paul is speaking with a jailer who had just seen a God-sent miracle.  The terrified man asked him what he needed to do in order to be saved.  Paul answered: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you and your household shall be saved.”  There it is, I am told.  All one needs to do to be saved is to believe in Jesus.  Church consensus holds that in order to be instantly saved one need only believe that Jesus is God’s Son and take Him as one’s Savior.  My response is a question: does one need to only believe like the 59 preaching, healing, delivering disciples; and like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5); and like the adulterer in the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 5:1-7), and like Simon of Samaria (Acts 8:5-23)?  Notice that Paul told the jailer that if he believed in Jesus Christ he and his household “shall” (later) be saved.  Notice that Paul did not say that believing in Jesus saved him and his family, but that they would be saved later.  There was much to be done between the man’s believing and he and his family being saved.  Did the jailer’s faith automatically give his family members the personal faith necessary for their individual salvations?  Did his faith save Him?  No on both counts.  See James 2:14.  There was much “fine print” WORK to be done throughout the remainder of their lives before salvation would be awarded at the return of Jesus Christ.  The 59 disciples, Ananias, Sapphira, Simon and the adulterer all believed and all were baptized.  Did their faith save them?  No.  Though they believed the “headlines” (“Jesus loves you.”  “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, etc.), they must WORK (obey the Law) for the rest of their lives before eternal life would be awarded.

Another aspect of the Christian walk is persecution.  God’s true saints walk in His light.  The Institutional Church walks in Satan’s darkness.  Those in darkness hate the light because it illuminates their darkness.  As Jesus said in Matthew 10, not only must His people obey Him, they must be willing to be hated, despised and rejected for doing so.  Only those whose  endure ill treatment until the end of their lives will be saved (vs 22; 24:13/ Rev. 2:26,27).  Notice in the Revelation reference that the reward for enduring persecution from the light haters will make it all worth while.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.  Key word–Caretakers.  Recall in Matthew 10 that Jesus said He did not come to bring peace to the earth, but to set family members against each other.  Like oil and water, those who obey Him and those who pretend to obey Him do not mix spiritually.  Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1.  Only Christ’s friends (Jn. 15:13,14) and brethren (Mat. 12:46-50) will enter the Kingdom of God.  Note in John 7:5 that His biological brethren did not believe in Him.  Only those who prove their love for Him by obeying His Law are His true friends and brethren (Jn. 14:15,23; 15:10).  These, He said in Matthew 19:17, are those who will receive eternal life.  Before He can be our Savior He must be our Lord.  As Lord, He commands obedience to His Law.  We will all be judged by our obedience to the Word of God (Jn. 12:44-50).  L.J.