Love Never Fails

 Love Never Fails

1 Corinthians 13, often called the love chapter,  gives a foundation for understanding sacrificial love. This love is not limited to or equated with passionate feelings, but rather involves our inner sense of the intrinsic value of people. Sacrificial love was demonstrated in a unique way when Jesus the Messiah offered himself willingly as a sacrifice for the sins of all people who believe in him.

The essential character of God is centered in love. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV

God’s love, demonstrated by Jesus Christ, calls us to love God in return, and to come to him in faith and have life. Through that life in him, we are to show the love of God to others in the way that we live our lives. Paul says that love never fails, in comparing it to temporary gifts. That means that love endures, and has an eternal quality. God’s nature is equated with love by the apostle John, 1 John 4:8 and 16, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”------ “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” NIV

Therefore love for each other becomes the evidence that we are alive in Jesus Christ. As John explained it, love for one another is evidence that we belong to God, even when we doubt ourselves: 1 John 3:16-24, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” NIV

Obviously, from this context, our abiding in Christ is evidenced by how we treat each other. His Spirit living in us will encourage us to show concern for the helpless, remembering that Jesus said in Matt 25:37-40, "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'”

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'” NIV

So love of the helpless, having a heart that is concerned for their needs and that tries to help them, is evidence that we desire to please Jesus.

God’s love never fails. It is unending, providing hope to all who believe and trust in Jesus Christ. Christians are encouraged to put love to work in our lives, 1 Peter 1:22-23, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” NIV

Versova, Mumbai, India

Truth Makes Free

Truth Makes Us Free

Truth and freedom are things we desire. Even if we are champions of truthfulness, and ready to risk our lives for freedom, we fail in the end if we do not know Jesus. It is only Jesus who can give us true freedom, freedom from slavery to sin and selfishness.

John 8:31-32—“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." –“John 8:36--"So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” NASU

When Jesus said that the truth makes us free, He was referring to Himself. It is Jesus who makes us free. John 14:6—“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” NASU

As John wrote earlier, John 1:17-18—“For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” NASU

Yes, Jesus showed us truth by the life that He lived. We find truth in Jesus Christ, and are encouraged in truth by the Holy Spirit given to God’s children as a down payment on our inheritance, Eph 1:13-14—“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.” NASU

This knowing truth is not a process whereby we give right answers to the wrong questions. It is not complete knowledge that saves us. None of us knows much compared to God. If knowing truth completely is required in order for us to be saved, we are all lost. Each of us is ignorant of the righteousness of God in some ways.

Paul’s words are true, 1 Cor 8:1-3—“Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.” NASU

From this we can determine that knowing information is not the way to freedom. Knowing some information never made anyone free. But knowing Christ makes us free. The way to freedom is by a life transformed by being born again into the liberty that is in Jesus Christ, Eph 4:20-24—“But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” NASU

Therefore it is past time for us to quit thinking that salvation depends on having the right answers to things some might claim as necessary knowledge, but which may be matters of judgment and opinion. Truth is not a body of information determined by the human rational process of learning from examples and necessary inference. Such knowledge will not save us. Truth is Jesus Christ, and His words. It is Jesus who saves, and only by having the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ do we have hope of eternal life.

As Paul wrote, 1 Tim 2:3-6—“This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.” NASU

The truth is that Jesus died for sinners, and all who come to Him in sincere faith can have eternal life. Freedom is in Jesus Christ. The Truth, the eternal Word, Who was in the beginning, and through Whom all things were made, makes us free, if we know Him. And one must be born again of the water and the spirit in order to truly know Him.

The Death Penalty

He Paid the Death Penalty for Us

In the beginning, after God had finished creating the heavens and the earth, He looked at His creation on the sixth day and determined that it was very good, Gen 1:31. After God formed woman, He took Adam and Eve and put them in the garden of Eden, and gave it into their care. The tree of life was in the garden, so that they need never die. But they had one problem-- Adam and Eve had been created subject to temptation to sin, with free will.

God gave them one commandment, and warned that if they violated that commandment, they would die. They gave in to temptation, ate the forbidden fruit, gained the knowledge of good and evil, and were cast out of the garden, separated from life. The wages of sin is death.

Gen 2:15-17--Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."
Gen 3:13-19--Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." ----

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it'; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." NASU

The nature of mankind did not change after the sin of Adam and Eve, but because of their sin, they were removed from the presence of God in the garden.  They tried to hide from Him in their shame of nakedness, trying to cover themselves with clothes made out of leaves. But even though Adam and Eve had sinned, and were cast out of the garden, God still cared for them. He made for them some clothing from the skins of animals to cover their shame, Gen 3:21.

Paul, writing about the creation of mankind, says this: Rom 8:18-21—“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Yes, mankind was created subject to the futility of temptation leading to sin and death, so that God could show His love to people who do not deserve it, so that we can learn to depend on the Power and Goodness of God rather than trusting in ourselves. Through this process of sin and death, and God providing the covering for our shame with the precious blood of Jesus, the children of God are revealed by faith in Jesus.

We escape from the death penalty in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. All who come to Him and trust in Him will be delivered from death. 

It is the blood of Jesus, not our own righteousness, that purchases our salvation, 1 Peter 1:18-23—“knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

“Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."

Yes, we have all been under the death penalty because of our own personal sins. But Jesus provides the covering for our shame. Paul said it well, Gal 3:21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. (ESV)

Putting on the Righteousness of Jesus

Self Control

Self Control is the Fruit of the Spirit

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Gal 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (English Standard Version)

Self control for God's children is accomplished by our being in tune with God's Spirit within us. The Spirit has instructed us about what is good and true, and He reminds us of God's will. When we learn to listen to our conscience, which has been trained by study of God's word, we will be able to resist temptation to sin as we pray to God for strength.

Self control is not about being able to control ourselves by our own strength, but it is about learning to depend upon God's truth and strength to give us the power to make good decisions. Human desires and passions are very strong, and efforts to control ourselves without the strength that God gives His children are often futile. Paul speaks to this condition in Romans 7, and concludes that only Jesus Christ can set us free from slavery to our desires. 

Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. 15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.

Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Paul shows that we do not make ourselves righteous by always making the right choices, because we fail. We make mistakes because of our strong human desires. When we come to Christ for salvation, we lay ourselves down in repentance, and decide to trust Jesus for salvation. We must crucify self, so that Christ may live in us. 

Gal 2:19  For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. 

The law could not produce righteousness by keeping the law, because all violated the law, except Jesus, who kept the law for us. Thus all who sinned were condemned by the law. If we decide that we are strong enough to trust in our own ability to make good choices, we will fail. To be successful at self control, we must give up our self will and learn to trust in the righteousness that Jesus gives us by faith.

Die to Self

Dying to self is part of repentance. We recognize that we have been separated from God by sin, which is spiritual death. We bury a dead sinner in baptism with Jesus, and are raised by the power of God to new life, a life enabled by God's spirit which He gives to those who obey Him. 

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Rom 8:3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Rom 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

Rom 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Yes, those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. The sons of God practice self control. One fruit of God's Spirit in us is self control.  Thus we are taught to put off all sinful practices, by trusting God's truth and power in us. 

Eph 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Eph 4:20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Eph 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Self control is enabled by an inner man that desires to please God. When we focus on the most important things, to love God with all our being, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, we gain the power to live disciplined lives.

Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Col 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

And living a disciplined life means that we give up acting on the natural desires that are not pleasing to God. We no longer do things just because they make us feel good, but we learn to feel good about doing the things that are pleasing to God. 

Jesus said it well, "It is more blessed to give 

than to receive."

What about Hell?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5y2a16aF58

Falling Into Hell

Please leave the sophisticated arguments behind, all who enter here. Let us look at the stories and pictures, and imagine ourselves uneducated people listening to the stories from scripture, and forming our understanding from our basic human understandings of how things are. Please look with me at some pictures of punishment from the scriptures, and see what is to be learned there.  

Our first picture is Sodom and Gomorrah. Their wickedness demanded action, lest their corruption would  swallow up Lot and his family. 

Gen 19:24  Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. 25  And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. 

26  But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. 

27  And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28  And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. 

The Smoke of Sodom

Later, Israel was warned about what would happen to them if they turned away from God.  There is a limit to God's patience and forgiveness. 

Deu 29:20  The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. 21  And the LORD will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for calamity, in accordance with all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law. 22  And the next generation, your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, will say, when they see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the LORD has made it sick—23  the whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger and wrath—24  all the nations will say, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?' 

25  Then people will say, 'It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, 26  and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. 

27  Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, 28  and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and cast them into another land, as they are this day.'

Led Captive by Babylon

After seventy years in Babylonian captivity, the remnant returned to Jerusalem, rebuilt the temple and the city walls, and prepared for the coming of Messiah. Herod rebuilt the temple just in time for Yeshua, who entered Jerusalem through the East Gate, and was welcomed as Messiah, riding on the colt of a donkey. 

Triumphal Entry of Yeshua

Yeshua entered Jerusalem through the East gate on Sunday, the tenth day of the first month, the day that the Passover Lamb was selected for slaughter. Seeing the crowds welcoming Yeshua as Messiah, the rulers decided that He must be killed. 

On Thursday, as Jesus was led carrying His cross to be crucified, He warned of the impending doom on Jerusalem. 

Luk 23:20  Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21  but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" 

Luk 23:22  A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him." 

Luk 23:23  But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 

Luk 23:24  So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 

Luk 23:27  And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 

Luk 23:28  But turning to them Jesus said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

Luk 23:29  For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'

Luk 23:30  Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.'

Luk 23:31  For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

The destruction of Jerusalem in AD70 by the Roman General Titus pictures the sureness of God's promises of destruction upon the wicked. Jesus warned of the impending destruction, and gave advice about how to escape death. Those who listened to His warning escaped from Jerusalem as the Roman army began their siege, but those who stayed suffered starvation and death.

AD 70 Seige of Jerusalem

The principle of destruction of evil is clearly established in the scriptures, with the law of sin and death, the life that sins will surely die. But destruction of evil in a physical sense does not translate directly to destruction after the resurrection. Jesus has a lot to say about our avoiding punishment after the resurrection. The scriptures are clear that all will be raised and stand before Jesus for judgment. We can discuss what that means and implies, but step back from the clever arguments and ask, what does this mean to a simple man who is uneducated in rhetoric and analysis. What is the nature of man? Do we have a spirit that continues to exist after death, in the realm of spirits, either in Hades or in Heaven?  A good discussion of Sheol and Hades is found at this site: http://www.faithdefenders.com/articles/theology/sheol_hades_gehenna.html

The teaching of Jesus is filled with warnings about hell, what happens after our physical life is over. Please read the following without prejudice, and see what we learn.

Mat 10:28  And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Mat_18:9  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Mat_23:15  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Mat_23:33  You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

Mar_9:43  And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

Mar_9:45  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

Mar_9:47  And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,

Luk_12:5  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Yes, what Jesus teaches agrees with the understanding that punishment will take place after this life is over. The scriptures clearly teach that man has a spirit, the inner man, that exists after the physical body is dead. And this personal human spirit will be united with a resurrected body on judgment day. The resurrected body and personal spirit will be judged based upon what was done in the physical life. Those who have trusted in God will enter into everlasting life, and those who have rebelled against God's love will be sent to everlasting punishment. We have been given part of God's eternal nature, our spirit, to use for good or evil. How God carries out everlasting punishment is not our concern, but we know we are supposed to fear everlasting punishment. The teaching of annihilation, that the wicked will be burned up in an instant, does nothing to encourage righteousness, but does a lot to show how man always wants to explain God by our own understanding. Ceasing to exist is a situation sometimes desired by the wicked. It represents an escape from pain and hard times. It would be very dangerous to think that the wicked would be let off that easily. 

I am intrigued by how some believers are tempted to explain God by their own understanding. Some have even made the statement that they could not believe in a God who would punish the wicked forever. We are bound by time and space, and cannot understand God completely. But we know He wants us to fear and avoid everlasting punishment. 

In the scriptures we see that men continue to exist after death, with the Witch of Endor contacting Samuel at Saul's request. The appearance of Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, and the teaching that God, the God of Abraham, is the God of the living, should suffice to show that we have existence between death and the resurrection. And there is the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and Jesus telling the thief on the cross that they would be together in Paradise that day. 

The spirit of man is more than our breath of life. It is our inner man, the very center of our being. Our spirit is more expressive of who we are than our body, but the spirit separated from the body is not the desirable state of our existence. We hope for the resurrection, the union of our personal spirit with our resurrected and glorified bodies, so that we will truly be God's children.

Since God is eternal, always existing, we should be able to leave our human limitations out of the equation, and realize that God has given His eternal nature to the people created in His image. These will exist in a timeless dimension that cannot be examined by our human minds. Some will be blessed beyond imagination, and some will be punished beyond our imagination, based upon the choices made in our physical life. Teaching instantaneous annihilation, that the wicked somehow cease to exist, does not fit the eternal story, but fits man's concepts bound by time and space, and our understanding of justice and mercy. Many people see no value in punishment that continues, and it offends the human idea of love. But we are not God, and we cannot see the end from the beginning. And we cannot understand what it means for time to be no more.

We know that God wants us to fear Hell, whatever it is, and this is sufficient. God is God, and His ways are beyond our comprehension. 

Rev 20:10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

Rev 21:5  And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 
Rev 21:6  And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 
Rev 21:7  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 

Rev 21:8  But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." 

The Lake That Burns With Fire

Yes, the value of hell is that it makes us desire eternal life. There is power in negative example. We need to have enlightened self interest, with a profound desire to escape hell, and to enjoy life with Jesus. 

Natural impulses are powerful, and love and faith may not be enough to overcome harmful desires. We need the fear of destruction to guide us until love and faith can grow. Modern man's rejection of negativity is unfounded. Being burned by fire teaches us to avoid fire, and to live carefully. Fear of destruction is useful. It helps keep us alive.

Perhaps the concept of being continually burned by fire, to suffer unending pain, is just what is needed to motivate us to escape sin and destruction. Obviously the Scriptures warn us by that description, flames that do not cease. To be separated from God for eternity must feel like that. 

Heb 10:26  For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 

Heb 10:27  but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 

Heb 10:28  Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 

Heb 10:29  How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 

Heb 10:30  For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." 

Heb 10:31  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

2Pe 3:1  This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 

2Pe 3:2  that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 

2Pe 3:3  knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 

2Pe 3:4  They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." 

2Pe 3:5  For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 

2Pe 3:6  and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 

2Pe 3:7  But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 

2Pe 3:8  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 

2Pe 3:11  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 

2Pe 3:12  waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 

2Pe 3:13  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 

Yes, the world and the things that are in it will be burned up. This prompts those of us who believe to live holy lives, not just because we love God and trust in Him, but also because we want to escape eternal condemnation and separation from all that is good. 

All scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV)

Repentance

Saul of Tarsus Repents

Repentance is a change of direction, giving up our plans and dedicating ourselves to God's plans. Paul continued to Damascus, but for an entirely different reason than he had planned. Now he was going to Damascus to learn how he could be saved and learn to follow Jesus. He had turned away from persecuting believers, followers of Jesus, and had become a follower. So he did as Jesus commanded, though blind, he went to Damascus and waited for Ananias to come and tell him what he must do. No, Paul was not saved on the road to Damascus. He repented and prayed, and followed the instructions of Jesus. 

Act 9:1  But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2  and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 
Act 9:3  Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4  And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
Act 9:5  And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6  But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Act 9:7  The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 
Act 9:8  Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.  And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 
Act 9:10  Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 
Act 9:11  And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12  and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."
Act 9:13  But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14  And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." 
Act 9:15  But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16  For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
Act 9:17  So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 
Act 9:18  And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19  and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 
Act 9:20  And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God." 21  And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?" 
Act 9:22  But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.  New English Standard (all other scriptures following also NES)

Later Paul explained to the Jews at Jerusalem what had happened, at Damascus. 

Act 22:12  "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13  came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. 
Act 22:14  And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15  for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. 
Act 22:16  And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' 

Yes, the penitent Paul who had been blinded and healed, who had been chosen by Jesus to be an Apostle to the Gentiles, was told to be immersed to receive cleansing of sin, thereby calling upon God for salvation. It was not the immersing in water that took away his sins, but it was the response of a penitent heart that took Jesus at His word, and was cleansed by the power of God.

But repentance is not a one time deal. Paul spent the following years often trusting his own provision as he traveled throughout Asia preaching the gospel. Paul confessed that one time he was let down over a wall to escape, because he did not trust God to protect him. It was after Paul was stoned and left for dead that he finally learned to trust in God more completely. 

2Co 1:8  For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 

So repentance is not just for sinners, but also for those who are following Jesus. We need to learn to trust and follow Jesus way beyond our comfort zone. We need to give up our own notions of what is needed, and listen to Jesus. Jonah learned this lesson the hard way. God called him to carry a call for repentance to a city that Jonah hated. So he ran from God's command. But you cannot hide from God. After three days and three nights in the belly of a great fish, Jonah was spit out upon dry land. After he rested a bit, God told him again to go and preach repentance to Nineveh. Jonah went this time, and Nineveh repented. They turned from their sinfulness and turned to God.

Yes, we need to repent and learn to trust God. His power is beyond our understanding. He can change the hearts of mankind. But He has given the message of repentance to us, clay vessels. We are not worthy of His trust, but when we repent of self and learn to trust Him, we will be amazed.

Yes, it was a message calling for repentance that went forth from Jerusalem on Pentecost following the crucifixion of Jesus, repentance and remission of sins beginning at Jerusalem. The message went out into the world, and where it was received, it brought life.

Luk 24:33  And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34  saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" 
Luk 24:35  Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. 36  As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!"
Luk 24:37  But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 
Luk 24:38  And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39  See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."
Luk 24:40  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41  And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
Luk 24:42  They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43  and he took it and ate before them. 
Luk 24:44  Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46  and 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 and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 
Luk 24:48  You are witnesses of these things. 49  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high."
Luk 24:50  Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51  While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 
Luk 24:52  And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53  and were continually in the temple blessing God. 

The call to repentance went out from Jerusalem into all the world, the message that Yeshua, Son of David, Son of God, Jewish Messiah, won the victory over sin and death. He fulfilled the requirement of the death penalty for sin, rose from the grave, appeared to many who gave their testimony recorded by reliable witnesses, and is ruling from the throne of David. He fulfilled the Holy Scriptures, Isaiah 53 and Psalms 22. He calls everyone to repentance.

Today the call to repentance has come back to Jerusalem. It is past time for those who live in Israel to recognize their Savior. God has brought them back from the nations where they were scattered and persecuted, a ragged remnant that needs to learn to trust the God who created the Universe. But they curse the people who dare suggest that they should open their hearts to their King. Yet Psalms 2 calls them to repentance. 

Psa 2:1  Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 
Psa 2:2  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, 3  "Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us." 
Psa 2:4  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5  Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6  "As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill." 
Psa 2:7  I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, "You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9  You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." 
Psa 2:10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. 

תהילים 2 The Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)

2 לָ֭מָּה רָגְשׁ֣וּ גֹויִ֑ם וּ֝לְאֻמִּ֗ים יֶהְגּוּ־רִֽיק׃

2 יִ֥תְיַצְּב֨וּ ׀ מַלְכֵי־אֶ֗רֶץ וְרֹוזְנִ֥ים נֹֽוסְדוּ־יָ֑חַד עַל־יְ֝הוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֹֽו׃

3 נְֽ֭נַתְּקָה אֶת־מֹֽוסְרֹותֵ֑ימֹו וְנַשְׁלִ֖יכָה מִמֶּ֣נּוּ עֲבֹתֵֽימֹו׃

4 יֹושֵׁ֣ב בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם יִשְׂחָ֑ק אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י יִלְעַג־לָֽמֹו׃

5 אָ֤ז יְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֵ֣ימֹו בְאַפֹּ֑ו וּֽבַחֲרֹונֹ֥ו יְבַהֲלֵֽמֹו׃

6 וַ֭אֲנִי נָסַ֣כְתִּי מַלְכִּ֑י עַל־צִ֝יֹּ֗ון הַר־קָדְשִֽׁי׃

7 אֲסַפְּרָ֗ה אֶֽ֫ל חֹ֥ק יְֽהוָ֗ה אָמַ֘ר אֵלַ֥י בְּנִ֥י אַ֑תָּה אֲ֝נִ֗י הַיֹּ֥ום יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ׃

8 שְׁאַ֤ל מִמֶּ֗נִּי וְאֶתְּנָ֣ה גֹ֭ויִם נַחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ וַ֝אֲחֻזָּתְךָ֗ אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ׃

9 תְּ֭רֹעֵם בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט בַּרְזֶ֑ל כִּכְלִ֖י יֹוצֵ֣ר תְּנַפְּצֵֽם׃

10 וְ֭עַתָּה מְלָכִ֣ים הַשְׂכִּ֑ילוּ הִ֝וָּסְר֗וּ שֹׁ֣פְטֵי אָֽרֶץ׃

11 עִבְד֣וּ אֶת־יְהוָ֣ה בְּיִרְאָ֑ה וְ֝גִ֗ילוּ בִּרְעָדָֽה׃

12 נַשְּׁקוּ־בַ֡ר פֶּן־יֶאֱנַ֤ף ׀ וְתֹ֬אבְדוּ דֶ֗רֶךְ כִּֽי־יִבְעַ֣ר כִּמְעַ֣ט אַפֹּ֑ו אַ֝שְׁרֵ֗י כָּל־חֹ֥וסֵי בֹֽו׃

Jonah Repented

Obedience

We Obey Because We Love

The importance of obedience has been dismissed by those who believe in salvation by faith only as taught by Augustine and Calvin. If salvation is by faith only, then how does baptism fit the picture of the gospel? And how does the demonstrated love of Jesus on the cross call us to submission to the will of God? And should love motivate us to please Him in our lives?

Clearly, having a Priest sprinkle some water on a baby does not fit the picture of obedient faith. The idea of salvation by ritual works practiced by an unauthorized priesthood within a divergent system was rightfully rejected by the reformers and restorers. 

However, believer immersion in water has never been in conflict with salvation by grace through faith. Salvation is for all who are faithful in Jesus Christ. Our relationship of faith in Jesus, being members of His body, comes by a process called new birth. Yes, we must be born again to enter the kingdom. We must be born of water and the Spirit. We cannot see the Spirit, but we can see the burial in water. And because we have witnessed the love of God, we want to please Him.

Apostle Paul clearly shows the role of immersion in water while coming to Christ for salvation. Baptism is a burial with Christ that shows death to sin. Sinners are baptized, not saints. A believing sinner is immersed in water, and raised a saint, because of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This is not complicated.
Rom 6:1-10--1. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.   NASU

Romans chapter 10 has been a favorite passage used in justifying the idea of calling upon the Lord for salvation by praying the sinner's prayer. Verse 13 is the favorite verse. People should read the rest of the passage and keep things in the proper context. Much damage has been done to scripture by taking statements out of context and making them a pretext for sophist arguments abut faith only. Paul had already explained in chapter 6 the significance of baptism. We call upon God for salvation by heeding (obeying) the gospel.  Seeing the death, burial, and resurrection in the gospel, seeing both the love and power of God, calls us to submit to Him.

Rom 10:6-17--6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: "DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART,"WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?' (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or "WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, in your mouth and in your heart" -- that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?"

17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
NASU

As Paul has already written in the first chapter of Romans about the relationship of the message of the gospel and salvation. 

Rom 1:15-17--15 So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." NASU

The Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the Apostles on the day of Pentecost, and they preached the gospel. The gospel includes a message that must be heeded (obeyed) in order for faith to be realized in faithfulness. Faith is more than mental consent, more than praying a prayer recommended by well meaning men. Faith includes obeying the message of God. When we love God, we desire to keep His commandments. 

Acts 2:22-41-- "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -- 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 "But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
25 "For David says of Him, 'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN. 26'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; 27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES, NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY. 28'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.'
29 "Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 "And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. 32 "This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

33 "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
34 "For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET."'
36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ -- this Jesus whom you crucified."37 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 

38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself."

40 And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!"
41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. NASU

Yes, those that heard, believed, and heeded the gospel were immersed, confessing their faith that Jesus is the Son of God. Their sins were forgiven, and they were added to the number of God's called out people. And they were united in love of God and love of each other.

God expects obedience from His family. Since I live nearby four of our grandchildren, and both of their parents work, we are often blessed to supervise the activities of the clan we love. I often find myself in situations where my instructions are being ignored, and declare that to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. If still ignored, I have ways of demonstrating my responsibility as loving overseer. 

Maybe the grandchildren mean well by their disobedience, as they have their own plans, and are intent upon doing things their own way. But there can be no exercise of authority without the demonstration of power, and love makes the demonstration more effective. So after I have switched their bare legs with a keen switch, I give them a hug. Seeing and feeling the demonstration of authority, exercised with love,  encourages obedience. 

King Saul, like the faith only teachers, seemed to have good intentions. He wanted to offer sacrifices for the people, and show mercy to King Agag. But God had commanded death for King Agag.  Samuel obeyed. But Saul lost his relationship with God, and later died a tragic death, along with his son. Yes, obedience is important. It becomes a measurement of our love.

1Sa 15:20  And Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 15:21  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." 

15:22  And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 15:23  For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king." 

Work out you own salvation with fear and trembling does not fit the vocabulary of easy believism. If salvation if given by God to some people He selected without regard to their actions, then what is the importance of obedience? But God chose for salvation from the beginning those who are faithful in His Son Jesus. Obedience is part of faithfulness, and being faithful in Jesus is salvation. And those who are faithful in Jesus are to love each other.

Jesus promised, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life."

Psalms 103
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on his faithful followers.
14 For he knows what we are made of;
he realizes we are made of clay.
15 A person’s life is like grass.
Like a flower in the field it flourishes,
16 but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears,
and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.
17 But the Lord continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, and is faithful to their descendants,
18 to those who keep his covenant,
who are careful to obey his commands.
19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven;
his kingdom extends over everything.
20 Praise the Lord, you angels of his,
you powerful warriors who carry out his decrees
and obey his orders!
21 Praise the Lord, all you warriors of his,
you servants of his who carry out his desires!
22 Praise the Lord, all that he has made,
in all the regions of his kingdom!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!  
New English Translation

Yes, we must be faithful in Jesus to have the hope of salvation. Obedience matters. It is what it is. Obedience is a demonstration of love.