Ezek 18:19-32: Can a son bear the sins of the father or vice versa? No, every man for himself.
What of a wicked person, how is he saved? If he turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all God’s commandments and does what is lawful and right, none of his sins will be remembered against him. 🙌🏾
What of the righteous person who later sins? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of his unfaithfulness.
But aren’t we now under the new covenant, no longer under the “law”? Aren’t we now saved by grace through faith in God alone?! All these works…🙄 So can’t we expect to make it to heaven by just believing in Jesus even if we aren’t 100% in obedience to His commandments? 🤷🏾♂️😒
Romans 3:31 – “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law!” Jesus said in Matt 5:20 that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the pharisees, we will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Wow!!!
The apostle Paul who spoke about salvation by grace through faith expounds in Romans 2:12-16 about how God’s judgement works:
“When people who have never been exposed to the laws of Moses commit sin, they will still perish for what they do. And those who are under the law of Moses and fail to obey it are condemned by the law. For it’s not merely knowing the law that makes you right with God, but doing ALL that the law says that will cause God to pronounce you innocent. For example, whenever people who don’t possess the law as their birthright commit sin, it still confirms that a “law” is present in their conscience. For when they instinctively do what the law requires, that becomes a “law” to govern them, even though they don’t have Mosaic law. It demonstrates that the requirements of the law are woven into their hearts. They know what is right and wrong, for their conscience validates this “law” in their heart. Their thoughts correct them in one instance and commend them in another. So this judgment will be revealed on the day when God, through Jesus the Messiah, judges the hidden secrets of people’s hearts. And their response to the gospel I preach will be the standard of judgment used in that day.” TPT
Romans 2:12-16
Judgement begins at the house of God. We who claim to be His children will be judged first and held to a higher standard. Indeed, because of our fallen nature, we risk falling into sin now and then again; but we cannot afford to remain in sin. We need to repent, quickly, like David, and change our ways. This is what God expects so that we can also be called men after His heart. Romans 6:1-2: “shall we then continue in sin so that grace may abound? Certainly not!”
Conclusion: Only keeping the commandments doesn’t save anyone if you don’t have faith in Jesus. But if you say you have faith in Jesus and aren’t keeping His commandments then you’re a liar. (1 John 2:3-4) 🗣
Herein lies the whole matter:
- We know sin through the commandments of God and will be judged based on obedience to the letter and spirit of them (Matt 5:17-48). It’s possible to keep the letter of the law without keeping the spirit but impossible to say you’re keeping the spirit while breaking the letter!
- Trying to gain salvation by only keeping the commandments is futile as we can only truly do them with the help of the Holy Spirit which we gain through faith in Jesus Christ and study of the word of God! 💡🙌🏾
The Langford Files 