The idea that God will save people just for being good, sincere, or hardworking is one of the enemy’s most subtle deceptions. The Lord did not give us His powerful commandments just to be written in the Bible, but to be lived out with faithfulness and reverence. Being a “good person” does not replace obedience. Jesus and His apostles obeyed all the Father’s laws and left us the example to follow. It is only when we seek to fulfill each commandment with sincerity and perseverance that the Father is pleased with us, unites us to Israel, and sends us to the Son for forgiveness and salvation. Salvation is individual. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | “You have commanded your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.” (Psalm 119:4)
In none of the four Gospels did Jesus state that following the Father’s commandments would be the same as rejecting the Son as Savior. On the contrary, He made it clear that loving the Father and obeying His will is the foundation of true faith. However, this demonic idea, that to obey is to reject, is exactly what many leaders have taught. And the people like it, because this lie allows them to continue in disobedience. But there will be despair on that day. As the prophet Amos said: “Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light.” The Father is the same, His laws are the same, and the Son never contradicted the Father. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21)
When Peter asked Jesus what the apostles would gain for having left everything to follow Him, Jesus replied that, in addition to blessings on earth, they would also receive eternal life as a reward for their obedience. In other words, according to Jesus, who knows the hearts, by obeying, Peter and the other apostles earned what they desired (this connection is clear). If the proponents of the doctrine of “unmerited favor” were right, Jesus would have rebuked the apostles for expecting something in return for their obedience. This doctrine does not have even a drop of support in the four Gospels. Salvation is individual. Do not follow the majority just because they are many. Obey the Law of God while you are alive. | “You have commanded your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.” (Psalm 119:4)
Believing in Jesus is following only His words, nothing more. Gentiles who hope to attain salvation through teachings that did not come from the lips of the Master are not believing in Him, but in the men who created such doctrines. Jesus taught clearly that it is the Father who chooses the souls to be sent to the Son, and the Father only sends to the presence of the Lamb those who please Him, obeying His laws revealed to the prophets in the Old Testament. This was the faith of the apostles and disciples: to believe in Jesus and obey the Father’s Law, just as the Messiah Himself did. Salvation is individual. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | “I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me; and they have obeyed your word [the Old Testament].” (John 17:6)
In the region where Jesus lived, there were millions of gentiles from various parts of the world. If He had come to create a religion for the gentiles, there would be no shortage of candidates. However, Jesus never addressed them, nor did He invite them to follow Him, for He made it clear that He came only to teach and be the perfect sacrifice for His nation, Israel. The gentile who seeks salvation in Jesus must follow the same laws that the Lord gave to the nation He set apart for Himself with an eternal covenant. The Father sees the faith and courage of this gentile, even in the face of challenges. He pours out His love upon him, unites him to Israel, and leads him to the Son for forgiveness and salvation. This is the plan of salvation that makes sense because it is true. | The gentile who joins himself to the Lord, to serve Him, thus becoming His servant… and who remains firm in My covenant, I will also bring him to My holy mountain. (Isaiah 56:6-7)
The prophet Jonah knew the voice of the Lord and knew exactly what God commanded him to do, but decided not to do it, fled, and suffered for it. Millions of Christians act the same way: they know there are commandments, they know God has not changed, but they ignore the powerful and eternal Law and choose the message of their heretical leaders. Just like Jonah, their punishment on Judgment Day is certain. Do not follow leaders; follow Jesus, who trained His apostles to obey the Law strictly. They all obeyed the Sabbath, circumcision, the forbidden meats, the use of tzitzits, the beard, and all the other statutes of the Lord. The Blood of the Lamb does not cover rebels; obey while you are alive. | “You have commanded your precepts, that we should keep them diligently.” (Psalm 119:4)
Many want the beautiful promises they read in the Old Testament, but despise the divine process. They ignore the Law of God given by the prophets and, even so, imagine that they will be protected, blessed, and received in heaven with hugs and kisses, as if the Most High rewarded disobedience. This will not happen. The Father sends to the Son those who please Him, and the way to please God is to seek to obey His powerful and eternal Law. Jesus trained apostles and disciples in obedience to the Father and, like them, Jews or gentiles, we must keep the Sabbath, circumcision, the forbidden meats, the tzitzits, the beard, and all the other statutes of the Lord to inherit eternal life. Salvation is individual; obey while you are alive. | “If only they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, so that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)
On Judgment Day, many Christians will be rejected. They all had the Bible, and the powerful and eternal Law was before them, but they traded it for deceptive sermons from leaders who taught disobedience with an appearance of holiness. The weeping will be great because the choice was conscious: they ignored the “thus says the Lord” to follow what was popular. Jesus taught obedience to His Father’s commandments to the apostles and disciples and, like them, Jews or gentiles, we must keep the Sabbath, circumcision, the forbidden meats, the tzitzits, the beard, and all the other statutes of the Lord to inherit eternal life. Salvation is individual. Do not follow the majority, obey while you are alive. | The foreigner who joins himself to the Lord, to serve Him, thus becoming His servant… and who remains firm in My covenant, I will also bring him to My holy mountain. (Isaiah 56:6-7)
It is simply incredible that millions of people in churches believe that what God wants from them is to live in declared disobedience to His laws given to His prophets in the Old Testament. By the way they live, they understand that it is the disobedient who benefit from the sacrifice of the cross. Nothing in the words of Jesus suggests that the holy and eternal laws of His Father were given to be ignored. However, as absurd as it may seem, this is the inevitable result of accepting the false doctrine of “unmerited favor.” Salvation is individual. No gentile will be taken to heaven without seeking to follow the same laws that Jesus and His apostles followed. Do not follow the majority because they are many. The end has already come! Obey while you are alive. | “Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith in Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12)
In several passages of Scripture, God praises His faithful children. He was so pleased with the faithfulness of some that He did not wait for the final judgment and already took them to heaven, as He did with Enoch, Moses, and Elijah. If the doctrine of “unmerited favor” were true, the faithfulness of these people would be irrelevant, for their actions would not influence anything. But the truth is that God observes souls, and when He finds one after His own heart, He decides that it deserves all good things. Besides blessings and protection, He sends it to His Son for forgiveness and salvation. What God never does is send disobedient souls to Jesus. | Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked… But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2
