by Jon Burnett
First of all, who said that to receive a gift you didn't have to do something for it? If someone were to give you a car, and said, you come over to my house, pick up the title, sign off for it, and give it a car wash, you can have it. Would you not do it? And would you still be able to get the car the same way without following up with all of the parts of the verbal contract? Of course not, but if you did do all those things, would you not still consider the car a gift? Even though you had to do something to get it, the gift was still undeserved, and the giver still gracious. Your actions don't undermine the grace you've received.
For more on what the BIBLE says on salvation look at these examples of conversion and what they had to do: On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:22 & 36-47), in Samaria (Acts 8:4-13), Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-39), Saul or Paul (Acts 9:1-20 & 22:6-16), Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48 & 11:1-18), Lydia (Acts 16:13-15), the Philippians jailer (Acts 16:23-34), and of the Corinthians (Acts 18:8).
I agree that Christians are not expected to be perfect, but merely penitent. Not to be perfect, but always be willing to change to be more so than before. Obedience to God's word is commanded though throughout the New Testament. Here's some help with this: we must do the will of the Father (Matthew 7:21), we must do what is right to be acceptable to God (Acts 10:34,35), we must obey the gospel of Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9), if we love him, we keep his commandments (John 14:15,23), we are purified by obedience (1 Peter 1:22,23), obeying Christ results in salvation (Hebrews 5:8,9), those who claim to love Christ and don't obey him are liars (1 John 2:4, 5:3), we are slaves of whom we obey (Romans 6:16), we are not justified by works alone (James 2:24). For those of you who listen for God, listen to him through his word, which is verbally inspired (literally "breathed out") by God himself (2 Timothy 3:16,17).
On the topic of Biblical knowledge, Hosea said, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). And without knowledge where are we with God? Obedience cannot be expected if we know not God's law. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ, so without knowing God's word, you can neither hear, nor have faith in God. We're also told that the knowledge of Christ brings us into life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), and therefore without such, we have neither life nor godliness. Very important to us should be that we will be judged by the word of God (John 12:48).
On the matter of divisions, the Bible in amazing clarity condemns them. In Romans 16:17, we're told that divisions and obstacles contrary to Christ's doctrine are to be avoided. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, we're told not to associate ourselves with the person responsible for converting us. In the New Testament these were people such as John the Baptist, Paul, Apollos, and Cephas, but today this same denominational spirit leads on as we see churches claiming to be followers of mere humans: Luther (Lutherans), Wesley (Methodism), John the Baptist, Peter (Catholicism), Joseph Smith (the Mormons), and the list goes on... I'm proud to call myself just a Christian, b/c Christ is not divided. The bible goes on to say that there is only one body (Eph 4:4 & 1:22,23), those who have been saved (Acts 2:47).
On the theory of "theological evolution," let's examine the clear Biblical evidence against it. The creation account of Genesis chapter one repeatedly uses the word day. In six days God created everything (Genesis 1:31). Some propose that these days are actually millions of years during which evolution occurs. But the Bible presents a much different view. When God revealed the law through Moses at Sinai, he spoke of the creation again. Using the same Hebrew word for day as in Genesis 1, Moses records God's words as, "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day" (Exodus 20:11). In both cases the noun is representative of a literal 24-hour day, not millions of years. Also interesting to add is the Biblical principle (expressed in Genesis 1:11,12) that organisms reproduce only "according to its kind," something upheld by the science community (and still on the books) until the THEORY of evolution was proposed. Now basic evolutionary truths contradict that principle by their very nature. Also God created each of the beings in their whole forms: plants yielding seed and fruit trees bearing fruit (Gen 1:11), the swarms of sea creatures and flying birds (Gen 1:20-23), and the creeping things of the earth (Gen 1:25). Even man was made in his full form, not evolving from any beast, and being unique in that he was created with the moral sense of God (Genesis 1:26, 27). Evolution simply cannot possibly be reconciled with the Genesis account, as Christians that should matter to us.
Unlike my former posts, much more Bible has been used. This technique, though requiring much time and research, is used to show that God's word is not merely a great story, but has practical modern-day significance. After all "the word of God is living and active" (Hebrew 4:12). As Christians, it is our only standard, "for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" thoroughly equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16,17). To conclude, I leave you with the words of Christ himself: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31,32)