Salvation vs. Eternal Life | Romans 2:7

Romans 2:6-7 ₆He will render to each one according to his works: ₇to those who by continuance in good works seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life

Salvation versus Eternal Life… what did the apostle Paul teach?

What does it mean to be ‘saved’?

What have we been ‘saved’ from?

How is ‘salvation’ defined by the Holy Scriptures?

What does the Greek text actually say, and how does it compare with the way today’s mainstream denominations interpret it?

We’ll be addressing all of these questions and more, but first, let’s start with some basics.

Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin… | Romans 5:12

The living being that sins shall die | Ezekiel 18:4, 20

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. | John 8:34

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. | Romans 6:12

Obedience to sin leads to death | Romans 6:16, James 1:14-15

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? | Romans 7:24

Through our own ‘willful-obedience-to-sin’, we are held captive to sin; condemned to continue in that bondage, slaves to our sin, and sin leads to death.

Who will deliver us from that slavery of sin? Who will save us from that bondage to death? Who will pay our ransom?

But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol | Psalm 49:15

I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. | Hosea 13:14

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” | Mark 10:45

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. | Matthew 1:21

What does the text say that He will ‘save’ them from? It says, ‘from their sins’.

Jesus’s blood was the ransom price required to “deliver/save” humanity from the slavery of sin; He did this of His own free-will.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” | Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 10:18, Psalm 49:15, Jeremiah 31:11, 1 Timothy 2:6, Revelation 5:9

Jesus saved/delivered/freed us from that ‘bondage-of-sin’ by paying the ransom fee; He gave His life so that we would no longer be obedient slaves to our sin.

What does the text say?

Romans 6:6 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin…

Romans 6:18 and, having been set free from sin…

Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin…

Revelation 1:5 Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.

Sin is the bondage. Sin had dominion over us, and Jesus saved/delivered/freed us from that dominion; He saved us from our “slavery” of sin.

Ephesians 2:8 Therefore, by grace are you saved (from the slavery of sin) through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is ‘the gift’ of God

God manifested His Word in the flesh, and in His mercy and compassion, gave Himself to pay the ransom for all. His ‘payment-in-blood’ is ‘the free gift of God’, the gift is not of our doing, He gave it freely because He loves us.

The opportunity was offered before you were even born.

In Ephesians 2:8 the word “gift” in the Greek is G1435 δῶρον/dōron, and what is never taught by mainstream theology is how this word was used throughout the Scriptures. This is the same word used in Mark 7:11…

“But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God)” | Mark 7:11

Dōron, in the Septuagint is almost exclusively translated from the Hebrew word קָרְבָּן/qorban/corban, H7133, hence Jesus’s usage of the Hebrew word ‘Corban‘ in Mark 7:11. Brown-Driver-Briggs states this to mean: an offering, an oblation. In the Septuagint it’s used everywhere as δῶρον/dōron, a term which encompasses all kinds of sacrifices, the bloody as well as the bloodless. The noun Corban/Qorban is derived from the root verb קָרַב/qarab, H7126, which means ‘to draw near to, approach‘.

The “gift of God” is not a wrapped present tied with a bow. It’s not a prize or a golden ticket, it’s not a keepsake or trinket as we commonly think a “gift” would be. The “gift of God”, the blood of Messiah, is ‘Qorban’, an offering; by using the word dōron Paul is calling it “the offering of God“. God-in-the-flesh offered Himself as the price to pay our ransom and deliver us from the prison-of-sin, so that all mankind might have the opportunity to ‘draw near to God’.

In the original Greek, “God” is in the Genitive Case, therefore the gift /offering belongs to Him; Ephesians 2:8 more accurately reads ~

Ephesians 2:8 Therefore, by grace are you delivered through faith. And this is not your own doing; ‘the offering’ is God’s.

He delivered us from the dominion-of-sin in our lives; He saved us from the prison-of-sin by offering himself as the ransom price in order to give everyone the opportunity to escape sin and ‘draw near to God’. Why? So that we could serve Him instead of our sin. [Please click the follow link to read the study, ‘Ephesians 2, Part 1: By Grace You Are Saved… Why?‘].

Paul elaborated on this just a few of chapters later ~

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God

God’s “gift“, the blood of Messiah, “IS” a fragrant offering “TO” God!

The “gift/offering” is NOT ours; it was offered by the Word-of-God-made-flesh “TO” God-the-Father. It is His gift, it was given “TO” Him.

Yes, yes, I know we can reap the benefits of it, but the verses are clear, the gift was a fragrant offering TO God. That gift/offering “TO” God “IS” the deliverance/saving/ransom price that Jesus paid for us to be rescued from our bondage/prison of sin.

When we walk in ‘obedience-to-our-sin’, we’re alienated and separated from Messiah, without God in the world | Ephesians 2. When we are in that ‘prison-of-sin’, we are trapped, with only death in our future. When we’re in bondage to that ‘slavery-of-walking-in-sin’, we have no chance, no opportunity to be reconciled to the Father, no opportunity to ‘draw near to God’.

That ‘prison‘ of ‘sins-dominion-in-our-life’ is what we are saved from; “that” is what “Salvation” is. Nothing more, nothing less.

That “Salvation”, that “Deliverance” from sins bondage, is through the redeeming blood of the Messiah, and that opportunity is available to everyone. However, we can only reap the benefits of that opportunity IF we have admitted/confessed our sins AND “repented“ ~

Luke 24:47 and that repentance for the remission of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins“

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, “and” turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance “that leads to” salvation without regret

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to release us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Repentance on our part leads to salvation/deliverance, and the remission of our past sins; that’s what the text says.

IF you have repented, THEN you can have reconciliation with the Almighty, and the opportunity of serving Him without the condemnation of, or even the remembrance of those past sins | Romans 8. We’ll come back to what it really means to ‘repent’ in a minute…

Jesus (the Word-of-God-made-flesh) paid the ransom price, so that everyone could have the opportunity of deliverance from that slavery-of-sin. He paid “everything” that He had for us, so now we owe Him “everything” that we have. He did not spill His blood dying on the cross, so that we could walk out of that slavery and into our own self-sovereignty; He bought us, He paid for us, we are not our own any longer | 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

So, now that the opportunity for deliverance from that slavery-of-sin has been made available, what are our choices?

What does the text say?

Romans 6:16-19 ₁₆Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, EITHER of sin, which leads to death, OR of obedience, which leads to righteousness. ₁₇But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ₁₈and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ₁₉I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, SO NOW present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

According to Paul, everyone has only one of two choices to make:

1. Either ignore the opportunity of being saved/delivered from that dead-end prison of ‘obedience-to-sin’, which he said is ‘lawlessness’, and leads to death, OR
2. Choose to be obedient servants of God which leads to righteousness and being set-apart/sanctified.

Those are the ONLY two choices the apostle Paul gave us!

Again, the “offering to God” gave everyone the opportunity of deliverance/salvation, that is, being delivered from or set free from sins dominion over us; ‘THAT’ is what we’ve been “saved” from.

Now that the opportunity of being ‘saved from the dominion sin/lawlessness’ has been made available, are we going to throw that opportunity away, and go back to sinning/lawlessness’? Can we continue disobeying God (i.e., sinning) and still expect to reap the benefits of the “gift/offering to God” that Jesus gave on our behalf?

Are we really allowed to continue doing those acts of disobedience/sin/lawlessness that required the death of Jesus in the first place?

What does the text say?

₁What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ₂By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? | Romans 6:1-2

After you “believe” in the Messiah, and His free offering/gift of salvation/deliverance from the prison-of-sins-dominion, are you still allowed to sin? Are you now allowed to live a self-sovereign lifestyle, doing whatever is ‘right’ in your own eyes?

Now that ‘deliverance/salvation’ from the slavery-of-sin has been “accepted”, now that you “believe” in the Messiah’s resurrection and redemption, are you seriously expecting God Almighty to reward you if you continue to walk in disobedience/sin???

God is not mocked ~

Galatians 6:7-8 ₇Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ₈For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit from the Spirit reap everlasting life.

Hebrews 10:26-28 ₂₆For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ₂₇but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. ₂₈Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses [Verses 26-28 are Present Tense in the Greek.]

2 Peter 2:20-21 ₂₀For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. ₂₁For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

If you have come into a knowing relationship with Messiah, believing, trusting and obeying the Holy Commandments, but then leave that relationship, turning back away from the Commandments, and become entangled in the world, the end is worse; meaning that, you can choose to leave, but your fate is to lose your opportunity of deliverance offered by ‘The Almighty’.

The offer of ‘salvation/deliverance’ from the dominion-of-sin has been made available to all, but it is a well-known fact that not everyone will inherit Eternal Life.

There will be many who “believe” in Jesus, that he is Lord and Messiah, but will not enter the Eternal Kingdom ~

What does the text say?

Matthew 7:21-23 ₂₁“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who ‘does’ the will of my Father who is in heaven. ₂₂On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ₂₃And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

• the “many” believed in Jesus; they weren’t Muslims, they weren’t Buddhists, they weren’t Atheists. They ‘believed’ that he is the Lord, and they ‘believed’ they were serving Him all along, but they did not get into the Kingdom of Heaven because they were “lawless“; they did NOT keep the Law of God. Please click this link and read, ‘The Law: Fulfilled or Abolished?‘.

In Matthew 7 above, Jesus proclaims that those who ‘do the will of the Father’ will get to enter the Kingdom. He also contrasts those who ‘do the will of the Father’ against those who ‘work lawlessness’…  >>>The Son-of-God proclaims that it’s those who ‘work lawlessness’ that do not get to enter the Kingdom, ‘EVEN if they believe in Him‘…<<< Doing the will of the Father is the opposite of working lawlessness, therefore, doing the will of the Father is equal to working ‘lawfully’. According to Jesus, “that fact” is the path that leads to entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

“That” is what the text says!

◊♦◊♦◊ The opportunity of ‘Salvation-from-sin’ made possible by the blood, death and resurrection of Jesus (gift/offering to God) is not ‘Eternal Life’ in the Kingdom; ‘Salvation’ makes ‘Eternal Life’ possible. ◊♦◊♦◊

Without being ransomed/redeemed from that slavery-to-sin, it is impossible for us to escape. Now that we have been given the ‘opportunity‘ of being ‘saved/delivered’ from our ‘prison-of-sin’, we can now choose to either stay in that prison of serving sin, or we can choose to serve righteousness. Remember, those were the ONLY options given to us by the apostle Paul in Romans 6:16 above.

Serving righteousness is ‘doing the will of the Father’ (Matthew 7 above), and that is what gains us ‘Eternal Life’ in the Kingdom (Please read the study by clicking this link, ‘Justification vs. Righteousness‘ to understand the difference between the two).

What does the text say?

Romans 2:6-7 ₆He will render to each one according to his works: ₇to those who by continuance in good works seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life

Paul was only quoting the Master ~

Matthew 19:16-17 ₁₆And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ₁₇And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Here is a Jewish man asking Jesus how to attain ‘eternal life’; this would have been the perfect time for Jesus to say, ‘just believe in me and you’ll have eternal life’.

But Jesus did NOT say that did he?

Jesus said, “if you would enter into life, keep the commandments”.

Now, mainstream Christianity will inevitably make the “claim”, ‘well, we only have to keep the commandments that are in red letters in the gospel’s’.

But the fact is, when Jesus spoke these words the “red-letter-gospels” not only hadn’t been written yet, but the man Jesus is talking to will be long dead by the time they finally do get written down! Jesus was NOT referring to a ‘red-letter-commandment’ of any New Testament gospel; that mainstream dogma is false doctrine!

So, when Jesus said to this man, “keep the commandments”, what was the only canonized list of commandments available to him? What were the only documented commandments this Jewish man could refer to when he went home that day after visiting with Jesus, a Jewish rabbi, from the tribe of Judah?

Think about that logically for a moment, and not emotionally…

The only documented list of commandments available to that Jewish man at the time that Jesus spoke those words was the Law of God given through Moses. The Law of Moses is “the commandments” that Jesus is referring to in this verse; keeping the Law of Moses is required to “enter into life”, at least according to the Son of God…

It has nothing to do with ‘salvation/deliverance from sin’, they were talking about how to attain eternal life.

According to the Scriptures, some of which you have already read above, and more are quoted below, “Salvation” and “Eternal Life” are not the same thing. “Salvation from Sin” or “Deliverance from Sin” is not the same thing as “Eternal Life in the Kingdom”.

99% of today’s mainstream denominations teach that they are one and the same. We are being lied to, whether it is on purpose or in ignorance, it’s still deception.

The free offering/opportunity of ‘Salvation-from-the-prison-of-sin‘ now makes ‘Eternal Life’ possible. By obedience to righteousness, by ‘doing the will of the Father’ we will enter into Eternal Life and the Kingdom. Without the free offering/opportunity though, we can do nothing! Without the free offering/opportunity of being ‘saved/delivered’ from the prison-of-sin, we are condemned, without God, without hope.

The free offering/opportunity is not free entrance into the Kingdom; the free offering/opportunity is a reprieve, a pardon from prison-of-sin, and the remission of past sins IF you ‘repent’.

‘Repenting‘ is the KEY to both ‘Salvation’ and ‘Eternal Life’!

“True” repentance is not what we are being taught by mainstream theology. It is ‘not‘ just feeling sorry for the past was sin. True repentance is ‘not’ just thinking about, grieving or lamenting with sorrow over your sin, that is called “regret”. It is ‘not’ just the conscious pain and anguish of self-guilt; that is called “remorse”.

“True” repentance is also ‘not’ an altar-call, nor saying the sinners’ prayer.

What does the text say?

Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins

Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, “and“ turn back, that your sins may be blotted out

True repenting according to the precepts of Scripture is actually twofold:

1. Owning/Confessing/Despising your past sin
2. Turning away from the past sin and turning back to the obedience of God’s Instructions!

Mental acknowledgement and regret of sin is not enough and is completely useless if you continue in disobedience/sin/lawlessness. Obedience to God’s Instructions/Laws is doing what is “right” in the eyes of God, i.e., ‘Righteousness’.

What does the text say?

Romans 2:13 for not the hearers of the law [are] righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be declared righteous 

Today’s mainstream definition of ‘repentance’ is solely an emotional, esoteric feeling of sorrow or guilt. It has become the simplistic event of confession alone without the deliberate action of stopping the sin. “Repentance” has been redefined as ‘a feeling‘, rather than a “change-of-mind and conduct worthy of a changed-heart, and the abhorrence of sin“.

The vast majority of mainstream Christianity believes repentance is saying, ‘I’m sorry I sinned‘ and the ‘regret’ is enough because, “well, I’m saved because I believe in Jesus, so he forgives me even if I keep sinning”… this is complete nonsense, and totally unscriptural!

Matthew 3:1-2,8 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand… ₈Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Luke 5:32 Jesus said… “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 13:2-9 ²And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? ³ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” ⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

• ◊♦◊♦◊ if you have ever wondered why Jesus told this parable of the fig tree, it was to show that true repentance means you will bear fruit, i.e., to turn away from the sin and then to work righteousness, or you will perish ◊♦◊♦◊

Luke 24:46-47 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷ and that repentance “for the remission of sins“ should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Acts 3:19,26 Repent therefore, and turn back, “that your sins may be blotted out“… ₂₆having raised up His child Jesus, did send him, blessing you, in the turning away of each one from your evil ways.’ ◊♦◊♦◊

Romans 2:4-11 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? ⁵ But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ⁶ He will render to each one according to his works: ⁷ to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ⁸ but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. ⁹ There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, ¹⁰ but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. ¹¹ For God shows no partiality.

◊♦◊♦ 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation ♦◊♦◊

Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment

You MUST REPENT; acknowledge/confess the sin & “TURN AWAY” from sinning (lawlessness) & work righteousness (lawfulness), or you will perish and NOT enter the Eternal Kingdom.

The understanding alone, the remorse alone, the mental regret alone of the act of sinning is not enough! If you admit you sinned and feel bad about it but continue in that sin, your confession is useless. ‘I’m sorry I stole the money, and I understand that it is sin, but if I take it again tomorrow or the next chance I get, it’s okay because I will have regret about it‘; that is NOT repentance; it’s called lying to yourself…

If you ‘truly-change-your-mind’ and repent, then your actions will “bear the fruit” to prove it. Let’s use some common sense and NOT lie to ourselves.

God is NOT mocked, and He will NOT be fooled by lame excuses to sin, or by false regret/remorse. He requires that His covenanted people obey Him. If we are ‘truly repentant‘ in our mind because of our sinning/disobedience, then we will STOP disobeying/sinning and turn-back to obeying Him. If you don’t stop the sin which you “claim” to have repented from, then you have NOT repented.

You MUST turn away from sinning and you MUST turn back to obeying the Creator’s Instructions, or there is no covering of your sin, but only fearful judgement (Hebrews 10 above). You will have forfeited your opportunity of deliverance/salvation from sin if you turn back to sin.

“Saved” is NOT a rank NOR a status, it’s NOT a designation NOR a title of any “believer”.

The word ‘Saved’, in my humble opinion, should not be used because in today’s mainstream culture, it has lost its true meaning; ‘Delivered’ is far more accurate anyway. In the mainstream vernacular, “Saved” has the connotation of ‘a completed objective‘. It implies that we’ve ‘reached our destination’, it has come to mean “I have arrived safe and sound” with nothing further to do. That could not be further from the truth. The ‘truth’ is, in our sin we are in captivity, we are in slavery and bondage to the desires-of-our-flesh/sin. But, by the Atoning Blood of the Messiah we have been given the opportunity to be “rescued from”, “freed from”, “delivered from” that dominion of our sin.

According to Webster, Deliverance means: release from captivity, slavery, oppression, or any restraint; rescue from danger or any evil; ‘He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives.’ Luke 4:18; Romans 6:18, 22; Revelation 1:5.

The Greek word ‘sṓzō’, which is translated into English as saved or delivered, is defined by Thayer’s Lexicon as follows: G4982 sṓzō (from sōs, “safe, rescued”) – properly, deliver out of danger.

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament), sṓzō is almost exclusively translated from the Hebrew word יָשַׁע / yasha. Strong’s definition for ‘Yasha’ is: H3467 יָשַׁע (yasha) – to deliver; to be liberated or saved or placed in freedom from external evils. Brown-Driver-Briggs defines Yasha as – Deliver; properly to be open, wide or free, that is, (by implication) to be safe; causatively to free or succor.  Be liberated, saved; deliver, save (properly give width and breadth to, liberate).

The Messiah paid the ‘ransom’ price for us, allowing us to be liberated from the captivity-of-sin, that slavery. Jesus ‘redeemed’ us; He liberated us from that prison-of-sin. He ‘delivered’ us, so that we can now be set free from our slavery-to-sin.

What? We’ve been given the opportunity of freedom from our slavery-to-sin, so now WE can do what WE want, live how WE want?

No… He ‘bought’ our freedom from sin ‘in order to serve Him‘, the One who purchased us; “for you were bought with a price” | 1 Corinthians 6:20.

If you don’t serve Him on His terms, then you serve sin.

What does the text say?

Romans 6:16-22 ₁₆Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. ₁₇But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, ₁₈and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ₁₉I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. ₂₀For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ₂₁But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ₂₂But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

It’s critical that we go over those verses again, where the apostle Paul proclaimed that there are only two types of slaves on earth. One is the person who serves the Creator, God Almighty, and is a ‘slave of obedience’ which leads to righteousness and eternal life. The other is the person who is a slave to sin, which leads to death (v.16). These are the only two options available to us in our lifetime, at least according to the apostle Paul (please click this lick to read the study, ‘Free from the law of Sin and Death‘).

Paul is very precise, ‘the servants of God who do righteousness gain eternal life’ ~

for not the hearers of the law [are] righteous before God, but the doers of the law shall be declared righteous. | Romans 2:13

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. |Romans 6:22

Choose this day whom you will serve.

We must walk in obedience to the Master that purchased/ransomed us. You are the servant of whom you serve, either of sin which leads to death, OR of obedience which leads to righteousness [Rom. 6:16] which leads to sanctification [Rom. 6:19] which leads to eternal life [Rom. 6:22].

The reason I’m driving this home so hard is because this is “NEVER” taught in the mainstream churches.

What does the text say?

Romans 2:5-9 ₅God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ₆He will render to each one according to his works: ₇to those who, in patient continuance of good works, seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ₈but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

It doesn’t get any clearer than that; obedience and righteous good works are required of us in order to attain eternal life. This is the exact opposite of what is being taught from the mainstream pulpit; the majority of mainstream denominations teach the opposite of what the Word of God proclaims.

If we deliberately/willingly return to any sin (transgression of the Law), then the FREE offering/opportunity/pardon (by the blood of Jesus offered for that sin) is forfeit!

But, IF we repent from our heart AND mind, stop sinning and walk as Jesus walked, obedient to the will of the Father, THEN we will hear the words “well done, good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Master”! | Matthew 25

The-Word-of-God-in-the-flesh proclaimed, just like Paul did in Romans 2:6-7, that our deeds/actions in righteousness (as defined by God’s Word, not by man-made denominations) will reap us the worthiness needed to enter into the Kingdom and Eternal Life. Lawlessness and doing what’s right in our own eyes will only lead to wrath, fury and our destruction; that is what the text says.

Matthew 7:13-14 ₁₃Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ₁₄For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

• • The ‘many’ believed in Jesus, that he was the Messiah and they called him “Lord”. But that ‘belief‘ did not get them into the Kingdom because they were workers of “lawlessness”; i.e., breaking the Law of God. Belief alone is not enough to gain Kingdom access…

Matthew 19:16-17 ₁₆And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ₁₇And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

• • Jesus didn’t say, ‘just believe in me and you can have eternal life.’ That would have been a great time to claim that if it were the case, but he didn’t say that did he? He said, ‘keep the commandments if you want to enter into life‘. That is what God-in-the-flesh said is required for eternal life. Period.

Matthew 19:28 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

Luke 13:24-28 ₂₄Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. ₂₅When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, I do not know where you come from.’ ₂₆Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ₂₇But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ ₂₈In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

• • Again, the “many” in verse 24 ‘believed’ in Jesus, that he was the Messiah and they called him “Lord” but did not get into the Kingdom. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Prophets get into the Kingdom, and they never even heard of Jesus; but the workers of evil did not get into the Kingdom even though they ‘believed’ in Jesus…

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

• • Once again, just mental acknowledgement/belief that Jesus exists or that belief in who He claims to be is not enough… Belief alone is NOT enough; even the demons believe | James 2:19. Obedience is the requirement needed to attain eternal life.

John 5:28-29 ₂₈Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice ₂₉and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done bad to the resurrection of judgment.

• • Those “doing good” resurrect to the eternal life. Who decides what those “good” things are? Is it up to you or me? Do the 41,000 denominational doctrines get to decide what is good? Of course not! The one granting the Life decides what is good, and He mercifully had His prophets write down for us what are the good things that meet His requirements. 

Romans 2:6-9 ₆He will render to each one according to his works: ₇to those who by patience in good work seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; ₈but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, ₉there will be wrath and fury.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ₉Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ₁₀nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

• • Who is Paul speaking to here? He’s not writing to unbelieving pagans, he is warning ‘believers’ in Jesus.

Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

2 Peter 1:5-11 ₅make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ₆and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ₇and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ₈For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ₉For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ₁₀Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for IF you practice these qualities you will never fall. ₁₁For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

• • In what way will the entrance to the Eternal Kingdom be provided? Peter said by “practicing” certain qualities of behavior! And, he said it will take “effort“, verse 5!

Revelation 2:10-11 ₁₀Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. ₁₁He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 3:4-6 ₄Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. ₅The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ₆He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Salvation/deliverance, ‘being saved from slavery to sin’, is not Eternal Life, but without being delivered and pardoned, we have no opportunity to be counted worthy of Eternal Life.

Salvation is an opportunity, one offered by the Father through the blood, death and resurrection of the Messiah; the offer of remission and acquittal of the past sins that we were enslaved to, which was the death of us. Eternal Life is the reward we merit through Repentance, Faithfulness and Obedience to our new Master, all possible now that we have trusted/believed in the Deliverance offered by the Almighty, through the resurrection of the Messiah from the dead.

The mainstream denominational dogma that “a new religion has taken the place of the old religion”, or that “the Law has been completed and a new dispensation of grace is upon us to take its place” is pure blasphemy! ‘Nothing’ has been done away with, and Jesus the Anointed did not come to start anything new; He came to defeat death so that what we do actually matters!! Without his conquering of death nothing anyone has done or will ever do matters; we all would be dead in our trespasses and sins. Now, with the deliverance from bondage to sin and death made available for all who have faith in the testimony of Jesus, we can walk according to the God-Ordained statutes and commands, that He requires of His covenanted people, without the condemnation of our past sins. We can now be worthy of the inheritance of eternal life that He promised from of old. The only thing Jesus did away with is ‘death’, but only for those that have faith in Him and keep the commandments of God!!!

The FREE offer/opportunity of ‘Salvation-from-our-bondage-to-sin’ makes ‘Eternal Life’ now possible through our own obedience to righteous good works, which are defined by God!

FINAL THOUGHT:

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints | Revelation 19:7-8

People who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life | Revelation 3:4-5

Worthiness is something you deserve by your own merit; that’s what the word ‘worthy‘ means. The Bride of Messiah will make herself ready, and her bright, pure linen IS the “righteous deeds” of the saints; again, please click this link to read the study, ‘Justification vs. Righteousness‘.

The worthy will wear white and receive ‘LIFE’, and the only thing that makes you worthy is your righteous deeds, BUT only if you don’t soil your white linen garments; so says the Word of God.

The reward of “Eternal Life” is something you deserve by becoming worthy by your own merit. The ‘Salvation/Deliverance’, which was made available to all by God, now makes ‘Eternal Life’ possible.

Mainstream Christianity has twisted the Scriptural definitions of ‘salvation’ and ‘eternal life’ into a convoluted doctrine. They’ve tried to blend them together so that they mean the same thing. This is nonsense and completely unscriptural. The modern mainstream denominations teach a false doctrine when they tell you that the salvation offered by God ‘guarantees‘ you eternal life. The free gift to God, the blood of Jesus, is not a golden ticket that says eternal life is now assured. The gift of the Messiah’s redeeming blood gives everyone the opportunity to repent, after which we can then receive remission of our sin, ‘then’ through our merit we can enter Eternal Life in the Kingdom, which was not possible otherwise.

Remember, repentance is the KEY; you get neither Salvation/Deliverance from the bondage to sin nor Eternal Life, unless you ‘stop sinning‘ and obey the Instructions of the Almighty.

What is sin?

1 John 3:4-7 ⁴ Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. ⁷ Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Righteousness is something you do, and it is required of us in order to inherit Eternal Life!

Choose this day whom you will serve.

• For further study of Paul’s teachings, as well as the original Greek, see the ‘Links’ at the top of this page or blog posts at the bottom. Be like the Bereans, and test Paul’s doctrines to the “Scriptures”; look up for yourself more than 60 of the “forever verses” listed directly below. Please ‘share’ this study. Thank you for your time!