The
religious
man
is
often
led
into
error
because
he
tries
to
understand
spiritual
things
according
to
the
rules
of
the
flesh.
Think
of
alligators
looking
at
the
shadows
of
birds
in
flight
and
trying
to
make
sense
of
the
shadows.
Alligators
are
so
heavy
and
close
to
the
earth
that
the
concept
of
flying
is
beyond
their
ability
to
even
dream
about.
So
also
are
truly
spiritual
things
beyond
the
ability
of
the
flesh
to
conceive.
1Corinthians
2
compares
the
wisdom
of
man
to
the
wisdom
of
God
and
the
Spirit
of
power
.
The
chapter
is
summed
up
in
1Corinthians
2:14
which
says
But
the
natural
man
receiveth
not
the
things
of
the
Spirit
of
God:
for
they
are
foolishness
unto
him:
neither
can
he
know
them,
because
they
are
spiritually
discerned.
The
only
way
that
an
alligator
could
understand
flying
is
to
believe
what
a
bird
told
him,
and
even
then
much
of
it
would
be
beyond
the
alligator's
concepts.
If
the
bird
tried
to
give
the
alligator
an
allegory
by
using
the
alligator
swimming,
the
alligator
might
understand
so
long
as
he
didn't
try
to
make
the
allegory
(See
definition
below)
fit
exactly
to
his
experience
swimming
and
kept
in
mind
that
it
was
only
an
allegory
and
not
an
exact
description.
The
same
is
true
about
the
religious
man
and
spiritual
things.
In
John
6,
Jesus
tried
to
make
the
religious
man
see
that
His
statements
had
to
be
understood
spiritually
and
could
not
be
made
to
fit
exactly
into
the
physical
religious
concepts.
The
religious
men
did
not
understand
His
allegories
because
they
insisted
upon
trying
to
fit
them
completely
into
a
religious
frame
of
reference.
Jesus
gave
one
allegory
after
another
with
each
one
making
perfect
sense
from
a
spiritual
point
of
view,
but
each
becoming
more
ridiculous
when
forced
into
a
religious
frame
of
reference.
He
finally
said
in
John
6:53-56
Then
Jesus
said
unto
them,
Verily,
verily,
I
say
unto
you,
Except
ye
eat
the
flesh
of
the
Son
of
man,
and
drink
his
blood,
ye
have
no
life
in
you.
Whoso
eateth
my
flesh,
and
drinketh
my
blood,
hath
eternal
life;
and
I
will
raise
him
up
at
the
last
day.
For
my
flesh
is
meat
indeed,
and
my
blood
is
drink
indeed.
He
that
eateth
my
flesh,
and
drinketh
my
blood,
dwelleth
in
me,
and
I
in
him.
Think
about
it.
eat
the
flesh
of
the
Son
of
man,
and
drink
his
blood
absolutely
cannot
fit
into
acceptable
religious
concepts
of
'
good
godly
behaviour'.
However,
when
you
take
He
that
eateth
my
flesh,
and
drinketh
my
blood,
dwelleth
in
me,
and
I
in
him
from
the
point
of
view
that
this
is
a
spiritual
allegory,
then
eat
the
flesh
of
the
Son
of
man,
and
drink
his
blood
becomes
an
allegory
for
dwelleth
in
me,
and
I
in
him
and
from
a
spiritual
point
of
view,
we
have
Jesus
saying
that
unless
we
abide
in
Him
and
he
abides
in
us
(spiritually
speaking)
ye[each
and
every
one
of
us
personally]
have
no
life
in
you.
There
is
a
whole
lot
more
in
this
chapter
and
verses
that
I
am
not
going
into
at
this
time.
The
point
is
that
here
is
one
place
where
it
should
be
obvious
that
what
the
Bible
says
is
totally
ridiculous
if
taken
from
a
religious
point
of
view
and
only
makes
sense
if
taken
from
a
spiritual
point
of
view.
As
mentioned
before
in
1Corinthians
2:14,
we
must
receive
the
Spirit
of
God
before
we
can
truly
understand
the
spiritual
things
of
the
Bible.
Only
the
Spirit
of
God
can
take
the
allegories
of
the
Bible
and
make
us
truly
understand
them
spiritually.
Even
after
receiving
the
Spirit
of
God,
we
must
be
willing
to
listen
to
the
Spirit
and
reject
any
religious
interpretation
for
the
Spiritual
when
there
is
a
conflict
between
the
two.
So,
the
above
leads
to
an
obvious
question
of:
'If
it
takes
the
Spirit
of
God
to
understand
the
Bible,
how
does
someone
without
the
Spirit
get
it?'
In
this
same
chapter
(in
John
6:63)
Jesus
says
It
is
the
spirit
that
quickeneth;
the
flesh
profiteth
nothing:
the
words
that
I
speak
unto
you,
they
are
spirit,
and
they
are
life.
Religion
is
of
the
flesh
(what
we
do
in
this
physical
world)
and
does
not
profit
spiritually.
According
to
Jesus
in
this
verse,
we
receive
the
Spirit
by
accepting
God's
Word
as
He
spoke
it.
We
must
believe
that
God
said
what
He
meant
and
meant
what
He
said.
The
Bible
calls
salvation
life
(God's
life
in
us)
and
uses
the
term
born
again
(
John
1:12-13;
John
3:3,
7;
1Peter
1:23;
1John
3:9;
4:7;
5:1,
4,
18).
Since
God
is
a
Spirit
(
John
4:24),
then
the
life
that
comes
from
God
at
salvation
is
spiritual
life
(
John
1:12-13).
We
physically
only
get
born
once
but
need
daily
nutrition
after
that
to
maintain
life.
The
same
is
true
about
God's
Spiritual
life.
We
have
to
receive
life
from
God
or
we
do
not
have
His
life
(
John
1:12-13)
and
if
we
die
without
His
Spiritual
life
in
us
before
our
physical
death
then
we
can't
enter
His
personal
home
called
Heaven.
However,
once
we
receive
His
Spiritual
life,
we
need
to
nourish
it
and
allow
God
to
cause
it
to
grow.
The
allegory
between
physical
life
and
spiritual
life
separates
on
the
word
eternal
.
All
physical
life
ends.
Several
places
tell
us
that
the
spiritual
life
from
God
is
eternal
oR
everlasting
.
Just
like
the
alligator
can
get
messed
up
if
it
tries
to
equate
his
swimming
too
closely
to
a
bird's
flying,
so
also
can
the
religious
man
get
messed
up
when
he
tries
to
equate
his
physical
life
too
closely
to
spiritual
life.
The
truth
is
that
every
religion
that
claims
that
people
can
loose
salvation
are
basing
that
claim
upon
people
not
keeping
a
set
of
religious
rules.
The
difference
between
religions
comes
down
to
what
set
of
rules
the
particular
religion
claims
have
to
be
kept,
but
all
claim
that
people
have
to
keep
their
rules
to
stay
saved.
There
are
more
details
on
this
below.
The Bible teaches truth about salvation, which is receiving personal spiritual life from God and becoming His child ( John 1:12-13). The Bible warns us that the devil uses subtil creatures ( Genesis 3:1). He got religious people to put too much emphasis on part of the truth of salvation and neglect another part. He then got other religious people to try and balance the wrong emphasis by emphasizing the part neglected by the first group and neglecting the part they emphasized. Once a disagreement was started, the devil got more and more religious people to take one side or the other and encouraged them to become more extreme in their view until a split in doctrine resulted. The devil also got 'good godly people' involved and now most religious people are on one side or the other because they are following 'good godly people' and are not checking what the Bible actually says. People of each side call people on the other side hypocrites and liars.Each side points to the truth that they have and tell people that their truth cannot be denied while they try to deny the truth held by the other side. Yes, what each side has is part of the truth, but not all of the truth. In the end, a half truth is a lie and each side ends up fighting for a half truth lie.
God
wants
His
people
to
have
all
of
the
truth
about
salvation
and
works.
I
often
show
this
truth
with
Ephesians
2:8-10
which
says
For
by
grace
are
ye
saved
through
faith;
and
that
not
of
yourselves:
it
is
the
gift
of
God:
Not
of
works,
lest
any
man
should
boast.
For
we
are
his
workmanship,
created
in
Christ
Jesus
unto
good
works,
which
God
hath
before
ordained
that
we
should
walk
in
them
.'
Grace
is
defined
as
'unmerited
favor'.
You
cannot
earn
grace.
It
is
absolutely
impossible
to
merit
(earn)
unmerited
favor.
See
Romans
11:6
for
more
details
on
merit
verses
works.
As
it
says
here
in
Ephesians,
salvation
is
Not
of
works,
lest
any
man
should
boast
.
However,
it
also
goes
on
to
say
For
we
are
his
workmanship...
unto
good
works'
we
should
walk
in
them
.
The
word
For
means
'here's
why'.
God
gives
us
His
unmerited
favor
(
grace
)
through
faith
(you
have
to
do
the
acts
of
faith
to
get
to
the
grace
)
and
God
does
it
so
that
He
can
make
us
his
workmanship...
unto
good
works
.
You
see,
one
side
is
shouting
'
grace'
to
the
point
that
they
deny
any
works
after
salvation,
even
those
done
by
God
through
the
saved
person's
life.
These
people
emphasize
'It's
all
done'.
The
people
with
the
other
half
emphasize
the
works
to
the
point
that
they
deny
that
it
takes
grace
to
get
saved
in
the
first
place.
They
are
too
busy
emphasizing
that
if
you
don't
have
works
then
you
aren't
saved
to
recognize
the
initial
grace.
In
addition,
they
forget
that
the
works
are
supposed
to
be
his[God's]
workmanship
and
not
our
own
religious
works.
The
entire
book
of
Galatians
was
written
to
correct
this
error.
Also,
there
are
times
that
God
works
in
my
life
and
others
don't
see
it
and
these
people
get
caught
up
in
seen
religious
works
instead
if
unseen
spiritual
works.
Just
because
no
one
sees
God
working
in
my
life,
that
doesn't
mean
that
God
isn't
doing
so.
Of
course,
there
are
people
on
one
side
or
the
other
that
aren't
as
extreme
as
some.
However,
the
Biblical
truth
is
still
where
God
put
it
and
not
on
one
side
or
the
other.
Here
is
the
truth.
Those
who
claim
to
be
saved
because
they
said
a
'
prayer
of
salvation'
but
go
on
living
their
life
for
sin
and
God
never
changes
their
life
are
just
as
lost
as
those
that
claim
to
be
saved
because
they
have
lots
of
religious
works
as
evidence
of
their
'
salvation'
but
never
received
God's
Spirit
in
the
first
place.
Think
about
it.
God
uses
Seed'
as
an
allegory
of
His
Word
that
gives
His
life/salvation
(
Matthew
13;
Mark
4;
Luke
1:55;
Luke
8;
etc).
Born
again
is
an
allegory
of
salvation.
Birth
is
not
possible
without
the
male's
seed
and,
as
we
know
through
DNA,
that
the
exact
male
who
is
the
father
can
be
determined.
The
DNA
that
marks
life
comes
from
the
father
and
is
the
same
throughout
all
of
the
child's
life.
Just
as
DNA
positively
identifies
the
father
of
physical
life,
so
also
are
there
markers
that
identify
the
father
of
spiritual
life.
God
is
the
father
of
true
life
and
the
devil
is
the
father
of
false
spiritual
life.
For
most
of
men's
history
they
couldn't
read
or
understand
DNA.
The
best
men
could
do
in
use
inaccurate
evidences
of
physical
parentage.
Men
still
cannot
positively
identify
spiritual
parentage
and
the
best
they
have
are
inaccurate
signs.
The
devil
can
and
does
imitate
signs
of
true
salvation
and
God
didn't
give
men
the
ability
to
read
'
spiritual
DNA'.
The
best
that
men
have
are
inaccurate
signs.
That's
why
we
can't
know
for
sure
if
someone
else
is
saved
or
not.
In
Matthew
13:24-30,
Matthew
13:36-43
we
have
the
parable
of
the
wheat
and
tares.
The
tares
are
a
weed
that
looks
like
wheat
but
doesn't
produce
fruit
.
In
Matthew
13:38
we
are
told
that
the
wheat
are
the
saved
and
the
tares
are
the
imitation
saved
(lost).
In
Matthew
13:30
we
are
told
that
God
lets
them
grow
together.
In
Matthew
13:30
and
39
we
are
told
that
the
harvest,
when
they
are
separated,
is
at
the
end
of
the
world
and
that
the
reapers
are
the
angels.
When
religious
men
start
trying
to
separate
truly
saved
from
the
imitation
saved,
they
are
trying
to
do
a
job
that
God
did
not
equip
them
for.
God
gave
that
job
to
angels.
It
would
be
easier
for
a
male
to
birth
a
baby
than
it
would
be
for
men
to
do
the
job
of
angels,
but
religious
men
keep
trying.
We
can't
know
if
someone
is
truly
saved
or
not
saved
unless
God
tells
us
or
unless
the
Bible
tells
us.Since
the
time
that
God
finished
the
Bible,
the
God
of
the
Bible
isn't
telling
anyone
who
is
or
is
not
saved
except
the
individual.
Anyone
who
says
that
God
told
them
about
the
salvation
of
anyone
besides
themselves
and
those
in
the
Bible
is
listening
to
another
god
(not
the
God
of
the
Bible).
We
can
say
that
someone
does
not
show
the
evidence
of
salvation,
and
therefore
do
not
follow
their
example.
But
that
is
not
saying
that
they
are
positively
lost.
Any
parent
knows
about
disobedient
children.
God
also
has
disobedient
children
that
act
like
the
lost
and
Satan
has
very
good
liars
who
can
fool
the
'elect'
(
Matthew
24:24;
Matthew
13:22).
We
have
indirect
inconclusive
evidences
of
salvation
but
the
God
of
the
Bible
deliberately
made
it
so
that
there
is
no
physical
evidence
that
positively
says
that
someone
is
or
is
not
saved.
The
Bible
says
that
those
who
teach
otherwise
are
heretics
and
specifically,
Philippians
3
says
that
those
who
have
confidence
in
the
flesh
(religious
'
proof'
of
salvation)
are
the
enemies
of
the
cross
of
Christ
.
The
Bible
teaches
that
the
truly
saved
have
a
personal
walk
with
Christ
after
salvation.
Those
who
never
have
any
walk
do
not
meet
the
Biblical
definition
of
true
salvation.
In
addition,
those
who
'
walk'
according
to
a
set
of
religious
'
laws'
instead
of
through
a
personal
intimate
relationship
with
Christ
through
the
Holy
Ghost
are
not
showing
true
spiritual
life.
Think
about
this.
The
Bible
uses
marriage
as
an
allegory
of
salvation.
Any
person
who
has
a
functional
marriage
should
understand
how
ridiculous
it
would
be
for
them
to
let
some
outsider
come
in
and
tell
them
that
they
are
going
to
regulate
every
intimate
detail
of
their
marriage
relationship.
This
outsider
claims
to
know
the
'right'
time
and
way
for
each
to
talk
to
each
other
and
the
'
right'
time
and
way
for
the
other
to
respond,
etc.
That
is
what
Paul
is
talking
about
when
he
in
Galatians
5:4
Christ
is
become
of
no
effect
unto
you,
whosoever
of
you
are
justified
by
the
law;
ye
are
fallen
from
grace.
True
salvation
is
a
personal
relationship
just
like
marriage
is.
Trying
to
control
salvation
be
religious
rules
is
like
trying
to
control
the
intimate
parts
of
a
marriage
relationship
by
rules.
When
we
claim
to
be
saved
by
keeping
religious
rules
we
are
doing
what
the
Bible
calls
being
justified
by
the
law
.
Paul
says
that
Christ
is
become
of
no
effect
unto
you
(when
people
claim
to
be
saved
by
keeping
religious
rules)
because
Christ
cannot
cause
any
good
or
bad
consequence
(
no
effect
)
through
a
personal
relationship
that
allows
Christ
to
work
differently
in
my
life
than
He
works
in
your
life.
That
means
that
Christ
cannot
teach
the
person
anything
because
we
each
need
different
personal
lessons
on
how
to
deal
with
the
problems
of
life
that
are
affecting
us
but
not
others
at
any
given
moment.
Truly
saved
people
have
been
lifted
from
the
role
of
servant
to
the
role
of
child
of
God
by
God's
grace
(unmerited
favor)
at
salvation.
God
took
a
personal
interest
in
teaching
the
saved
person
how
to
become
a
child
of
God
and
these
'
law
keepers'
tell
God
'NO'.
Instead
of
being
a
child
of
God
,
with
all
that
provides,
they
want
to
be
beggars
who
barely
make
it
into
Heaven
by
'
earning'
what
can
only
be
received
as
a
gift.
There
is
a
parable
in
Matthew
20
about
workers.
In
has
been
preached
that
the
ones
who
negotiated
according
to
the
law
(a
day's
wages
for
a
day's
work)
at
the
beginning
of
the
day
were
very
upset
to
find
that
they
earned
far
less
per
hour
than
those
who
worked
for
whatsoever
is
right
(
Matthew
20:7).
So
also
will
the
truly
saved
who
work
to
'
earn'
salvation
(or
blessings
after
their
initial
profession)
be
upset
to
find
out
that
they
receive
far
less
than
those
who
serve
a
loving
God
for
whatsoever[He
decides]
is
right
.
Those that are truly Biblically saved are saved because they trusted the promise of God ( Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6) to make then His children ( John 1:12-13). There is no faith in saying 'God has to let me into Heaven because I kept some religious rules' ( Ephesians 2:8-9). Salvation is only to those who come to God by faith like Abraham did.
As
for
those
in
the
Bible
who
were
not
saved,
we
are
told
that
Judas
Iscariot
was
not
saved
(
John
17:12)
and
that
he
was
a
devil
even
though
he
was
chosen
by
God
(
John
6:70).
Judas
is
not
an
example
of
a
saved
person
who
lost
their
salvation
because
he
never
was
saved
to
begin
with.
His
fake
spiritual
life
came
from
Satan.
He
is
an
example
of
how
good
of
a
job
Satan
can
do
when
he
makes
his
agents
pretend
to
be
saved.
All
of
the
other
apostles
were
fooled.
If
they
were
fooled,
we
also
can
be
fooled
by
the
agents
of
Satan.
Yes,
Judas
did
miracles,
but
the
magicians
confronting
Moses
also
imitated
the
first
few
miracles
that
God
did
through
Moses.
Also,
other
places
in
the
Bible
tell
us
that
Satan
does
miracles
through
his
agents.
Yes,
Judas
was
chosen
of
God
to
fulfill
the
role
of
betrayer,
just
as
God
chose
pharaoh
to
abuse
the
Jews
and
He
chooses
who
gets
saved.
However,
God
never
takes
away
free
will.
Each
could
have
personally
refused
the
role
that
God
let
them
take.
If
they
had
done
so,
God
would
have
found
another.
There
are
always
lots
of
people
who
are
willing
to
go
to
Hell
if
they
receive
the
appearance
of
power
in
this
life.
God
does
not
force
salvation
or
damnation
on
any
man
but
lets
each
of
us
choose
for
ourselves.
God
lets
men
choose
to
go
to
Hell
and
He
will
not
take
away
their
free
will
choice
top
do
so.
God
provides
opportunities
and
some
people
choose
to
accept
evil
roles
in
life
while
they
also
choose
to
ignore
the
costs.
God
is
responsible
for
pharaoh
and
for
Judas
just
as
much
as
God
is
responsible
for
making
the
'
Law
of
Gravity'
that
kills
some
fool
who
chooses
to
jump
off
of
a
high
place
onto
a
hard
surface.
Yes,
God
makes
the
law
but
God
also
reveals
the
consequences
and
the
individual
chooses
to
ignore
those
consequences
of
their
own
free
will.
Some
people
are
all
worried
about
how
they
are
going
to
know
who
is
saved
and
who
isn't
and
who
they
can
trust
and
who
they
can't.
But
those
are
two
different
questions
and
are
not
really
related.
The
unfortunate
fact
is
that
you
can't
trust
a
lot
of
saved
people
and
should
have
limited
trust
for
most,
if
not
all,
who
claim
to
be
saved.The
fact
is
that
God
expects
His
people
to
spiritually
mature
to
the
point
that
they
can
take
any
spiritual
claim
to
the
Spirit
of
God
and
expect
the
Spirit
of
God
to
use
the
word
of
God
to
show
the
child
of
God
what
is
the
will
of
God
for
that
individual.
Yes,
on
'
small'
issues
God
uses
men
in
positions
like
father,
husband
and
pastor.
But
for
something
as
critical
as
salvation,
our
trust
should
rest
exclusively
upon
the
word
of
God
as
revealed
to
us
personally
by
the
Spirit
of
God.
Yes,
God
uses
men
to
show
us
the
truth
in
the
Bible,
but
God
expects
us
to
put
our
final
trust
in
His
Word
(not
in
the
word
of
the
messenger)
because
He
personally
backs
His
word.
Our
salvation
isn't
dependant
upon
the
messenger
that
brings
us
God's
Word
but
upon
the
God
who
wrote
and
preserved
His
Word.
We
can
argue
about
if
Judas
was
or
was
not
saved
for
the
rest
of
our
lives
and
it
would
not
matter.
We
can
argue
about
if
the
Bible
says
we
do
or
don't
have
to
do
something
and
it
wouldn't
matter.
In
John
5:39
Jesus
said
Search
the
scriptures;
for
in
them
ye
think
ye
have
eternal
life:
and
they
are
they
which
testify
of
me.
If
God
says
that
ye
think
ye
have
eternal
life
,
that
means
that
salvation
is
not
in
the
scriptures
(Bible).
Satan
believes
every
word
in
the
Bible
(
James
2:19)
and
he
could
keep
every
word
in
the
Bible
and
still
not
be
saved.
The
same
is
true
for
any
man.
Notice
that
Jesus
said
'
they
are
they
which
testify
of
me
.
The
Bible
points
us
to
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ.
Those
who
rely
upon
the
Bible
have
not
gone
far
enough
to
be
saved
because
they
have
not
gone
beyond
the
Bible
to
the
person
that
the
Bible
testifies
of.
Salvation
is
received
by
receiving
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ
(
John
1:12-13)
through
believing
the
promise
(found
in
the
word
of
God)
which
is
backed
by
the
person
of
God
Himself.
A
banker
can
tell
you
all
about
the
money
of
Bill
Gates
but
the
banker
cannot
give
you
any
of
the
money
that
belongs
to
Bill
Gates.
So
also
is
it
with
the
Bible.
Salvation
is
not
in
the
Bible
but
in
the
person
of
Jesus
Christ.
If
Jesus
Christ
tells
me
that
Judas
Iscariot
was
a
lost
devil,
I'm
not
going
to
run
around
telling
everyone
what
a
liar
Jesus
Christ
is
and
then
expect
Him
to
take
me
to
His
personal
home
called
Heaven.
Whenever
anyone
tells
me
something
is
in
the
Bible,
the
first
thing
I
do
is
ask
myself
how
well
does
their
claim
match
the
person
of
the
God
who
loved
me
and
died
for
me
to
make
me
His
child.
I
then
ask
myself
if
believing
this
thing
require
me
to
put
more
faith
in
Him
or
does
it
make
me
trust
myself
or
some
man
more
while
I
depend
upon
His
leading
less.
I
said
earlier
that
'
Some
people
are
all
worried
about
how
they
are
going
to
know
who
is
saved
and
who
isn't
and
who
they
can
trust
and
who
they
can't.'
I
also
said
that
we
can't
know
if
other
living
people
are
saved
or
not
saved,
but
it
doesn't
matter.
What
really
matters
is
who
I
can
trust
and
who
I
cannot
trust.
I
don't
trust
anyone
who
tries
to
tell
me
that
I
have
to
depend
upon
their
interpretation
of
the
Bible.
I
trust
those
that
point
me
to
Jesus
Christ
by
saying
'the
Spirit
of
God
will
use
the
word
of
God
to
show
the
child
of
God
what
is
the
will
of
God
and
God
said
what
He
meant
and
meant
what
He
said
in
the
word
of
God'.
Pray
for
the
Spirit
of
God
to
show
you
the
truth
and
read
the
word
of
God
believing
it
as
it
is
literally
written.