Inconvenient Truth: Salvation Is Neither Conditional nor an Open Check (Edited by ChatGPT)

  

The difference between law and grace is the difference between slave and child. More than a slave, however, law is related to a hired servant. A servant is conditional, and the tolerance label for his folly is minimum. If the servant becomes a liability rather than an asset, the odds are he will find himself in the unemployment line. This is law — and our relationship with God is conditional on following laws, and when we break them, we come with animals to ask for forgiveness from God who loves mercy, not the blood of animals.

 

Grace and the Reality of Being a Child of God

 Grace is being a child of God, and a child is not a hired servant. Being a child of your father is not conditional because you are not a hired servant but a loved one. In infancy nothing is expected but to be adorable and incompetent, and a great deal of tolerance and freedom is given to raise a man out of a baby. Even when you run away from home or family pushes you to be self-employed, their love is always unconditional. But there are things that lead to death. It is not an open check, and let alone our adopted childhood status — even Jesus, if he became devil-like as Lucifer did, I am sure God would cast him out. Jesus is Jesus, not the devil, but we can lose our salvation if we become devils.

 

The Sins That Lead to Death: Jesus the Vine and Our Connection

 This is not conditional childhood, but there are sins that lead to death. Jesus said, “I am the true vine and you are my branches.” If we are separated from Jesus we will wither away, as a branch cannot produce without the vine. If the Holy Spirit is not with us and is not connecting us with Jesus, we will dry out and our end is to burn. These are the ones who are not born again, or those who leave Jesus behind and abandon the Holy Spirit.

Even if we are connected to the vine, are born again, and still with the Holy Spirit, if we cannot produce fruit, God will cut us out and burn us with the rebels. If we have the Holy Spirit but no fruit, it means we are not obedient and the Holy Spirit is cornered in our life — and grieving as a result.

 

One critical problem that can make us fruitless is lack of love. Whatever service and dedication we have for the heavenly cause — and whatever faith and obedience we claim — is worthless without love. If our faith is without love, it means either we do not belong to God at all, or we do belong to Him but we are not obeying Him. In both cases, our end is burning down. To leave Jesus behind, you do not have to officially leave him like Samaria — you can do it informally like Judah. The end of both, however, is known.

 

Peter’s Dying Warning: Grow or Wither

 Beyond love, fruitfulness demands spiritual growth. Peter makes it clear: to be fruitful and to ensure the gates of heaven are widely open, we must grow spiritually. And he gave this message as his dying message to make sure they knew it before he was killed by the Roman Empire. It is not a simple message. Peter (2 Peter 1:5–11) said:

 

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is near-sighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Peter is warning them that they need to be fruitful and that they must confirm their calling so the gates of heaven will be widely open to them. What they need is to add faith to goodness; goodness to knowledge; knowledge to self-control; self-control to perseverance; perseverance to godliness; godliness to mutual affection; and mutual affection to love. Besides, all these must increase — showing the need for spiritual growth. Those are the ways that ensure and affirm our salvation. Otherwise, as Jesus said, you will be cut off and you will burn in fire.

 

Law vs. Grace: Market-Level QC vs. Farm-to-Market QC

 So what is the difference between law and grace? The difference is between quality control at market level (law) versus quality control from farm to market level (grace).

 

Law says: if you have the right standard of quality by the law, you will be marketed in heaven and will fetch value. There is grace of blood sacrifice, but still it does not improve quality — especially for naturally poor crops farmed by lazy farmers. Which is us.

 

Grace says: quality supervision with proper intervention will follow from planting up to market, and maximum effort will be made to produce the right quality. But if the vine branch produces sour grapes at last, or is completely fruitless, it will be cut off and burned down.

 

When a branch is germinating, what is expected from it? Nothing but care and protection will be given by the Father. It will take time to grow, time to blossom, and time to generate fruit. But what if the fruit is wild grapes or there is no fruit? It will be cut off. It is written, dears — you cannot fool yourself.

Even if you are fruitful, you need improvement. The heavenly Father must purge and clean you so you may be more fruitful. Even the best assemblies must learn to perfect themselves and improve, otherwise from those who are given more, more is expected. And God may take another road rather than preserve a good assembly that fails to grow.

 

What Is Fruit? And What Is Not Fruit?

 The good question is: what is fruit? I have seen worthless assemblies claiming fruit of abundance. Are you joking? Samaria was much more fruitful compared to Judah. Heretical movements in history were large assemblies. Word of faith, prosperity gospel, and dominion theology are the fastest-growing denominations — but what they have is sour grapes. Wild vine is growing, and worshipers of money, wealth, and earthly power have simply replaced their witch doctors with “Jesus,” worshipping earthly things with an assurance of heaven — and that is as gods.

 

The expected fruit should not be wild fruit but fruit that looks like Jesus. Ask Peter and ask Jesus what makes you fruitful: Love, said Jesus. But Peter explained it in detail by listing goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, love — and their growth. In simple words, spiritually grow into the image of Jesus. That is your assurance of salvation.

 

There are lies that dead religions hold dear, and they will never listen to evidence from the Bible. They will go to hell with their preferred lies. The same thing is true here: many prefer to hold the lie they are told rather than deal with the uncomfortable truth. But you are told — and your blood is in your hands. Grow into the image of Jesus. That is what you are asked. Don’t take Jesus as given to run after yourself — take everything, pain and happiness, as given and run after Jesus.

 

White Lies: “Once Saved Always Saved” and Conditional Salvation

 If salt loses its taste, what purpose does it serve? If the foolish maids are without oil, what future do they have? You can say “Jesus, Jesus,” but if you don’t follow his commandments, what future do you have? If the fruit of the Spirit is not growing in you, what association do you have with God? If the worthless servant did not serve right, where does he end but with rebels? If God cuts the branches of the true vine, does God give you an open check for your wild nature? If we taste heavenly gifts and turn back, will it be without consequence? If we know Jesus and taste the heavenly kingdom but turn back to our old ways, does it mean we are saved forever? What is wrong with people? A white lie is a lie: once saved always saved, and conditional salvation — both are white lies.

 

You are not a hired hand. You are a child. And I am sure my children take their assurance as guaranteed — but if they become wild fruit of the devil and over time become less of me and more of the devil, I am sure there is a limit to all things. Even Lucifer was a beloved child of God — but some sins do lead to death. Wake up. Never take Jesus as given, but take everything else — the pain and the smile — as given, and focus on growing toward Jesus.

 

Grow Toward Jesus: Love God, Love Others, Grow in His Image

 Grow to Jesus. Who is Jesus? Look how he lived, what he taught, and grow toward him. Take love. Do you love God with your full heart, mind, soul, spirit, and life? How much of yourself do you give to God, and how much to family? Grow toward God by dedicating your life to God. It is growth, and the limit is Jesus — he was obedient to become man and to die on the cross. Grow, dear.

 

Love your brothers and sisters in faith. How much do you care? Do you love them the way you love yourself? Grow, and all starts small but grows until you would give your life for their salvation. What about neighbors and people around you? Do you love them and care about them? As Jesus said, find people, be a good Samaritan to them, love them as yourself, and lead them to Jesus. Slowly learn to love your enemy, pray for those who curse you, and protect those who hunt you. Let the light of God shine in you so people can see the glory of Jesus in you.

 

This process will make you less judgmental, because you will struggle and you will understand failures. You will be helpful and understanding but not compromising. If you have ten checklists and judge people by those ten lists, you will be neither holy nor helpful, but judgmental. When you have Jesus and are climbing toward him, you will not accept lack of growth, but you will not be judgmental either, because your failures will remind you that they are like you.

 

Besides, when you produce fruit, what you see is your small achievement compared to what is left — which is overwhelming, as yours is a drop of water in the ocean that Jesus is. And that will make you humble and thankful before God. When you give a share of your income to God — not to rich religious leaders — what you feel is that you should have done more, and you will ask God for forgiveness because you have children to feed and a house to build. Otherwise you may demand equal rights for your share company in the assembly of God.

 

Why Modern Faith Is Dying: Because We Think Jesus Is “Given”

 What faith needs in this age is spiritual growth toward Jesus — and that is what keeps us on track. Now, since we declare we are saved with no questions asked, we are busy adding different wild grapes into the faith. We are saved, even god-like, and even equal to the Father. So why not unity with dead religions? Why not new age and new thought? Why not power, money, and respect?

 

Jesus is a secure wife who is going nowhere — so let us add side chicks here and there in our faith, right? What a joke, and this is why our faith is dying out. We take Jesus as given, and we are losing Jesus along the way. We need to know that service to God is eternal and precious, while earthly comfort and social life are worthless. We need to serve God rather than run after the worthless of this earth. Does this mean Jeremiah was fruitless and those who hated him were fruitful? Fools. When all the rebels were crushed by Babylon, it was the words of Jeremiah that proved to be the true fruit.