October 2, 2013—SnyderTalk Editorial: Salvation, Obedience, and the Leading of the Spirit—Part 2: Salvation is by Grace or it’s not Real

1--Intro

Intelligent and Informed People Read SnyderTalk!

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2--SnyderTalk Editorial 4

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Salvation, Obedience, and the Leading of the Spirit—Part 2: Salvation is by Grace or it’s not Real

Paul explained salvation this way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, (it is) the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2: 8-9)  Yahweh will not be our debtor under any circumstances.  He set things up in the beginning so that our salvation can’t be payment for our good works.  Our salvation is and always will be totally and absolutely dependent on His grace because even our faith is a gift from Him.  We have absolutely no room for pride — none at all.

In Hebrews 11: 6, Paul goes even further: “And without faith it is impossible to please (Him), for he who comes to God must believe that He is and (that) He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”  In a nutshell, when it comes to salvation, it’s either all Yahweh and none of us, or it’s all us and none of Yahweh.

No matter how good we are, regardless of how hard we try to please Him, we simply can’t earn our way to Yahweh because we’re not perfect, and perfection is required — His perfection.  That’s why we have a Redeemer.  He is our atoning sacrifice.  He paid the price for our sins and declared us perfect, righteous, and holy.  He covered us completely with His shed blood and wrapped us up with His perfection as a free gift for having faith in Him.

Jeremiah 23: 5-6 says that He is our righteousness and that one of the Messiah’s Names is Yahweh Tsidkenu – Yahweh our Righteousness.  Without Him we have no righteousness.  Isaiah 64: 6 says, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  This message is all over the Bible, and it’s central to salvation.  You reject it at your own peril.

Despite what the Bible says, some people can’t accept the fact that salvation is by grace through faith.  They insist on believing that they can, that they should, that they must earn their way to Yahweh.  It’s ironic because simply trying to earn your way to Him is sinful.  People who do it may as well stand on the rooftop and yell as loud as they can, “I don’t have a clue what salvation is.”

Trying to earn your way to Yahweh is stumbling over the stumbling stone. (See Isaiah 8: 14-15.)  It’s unfortunate that the thought of earning salvation is so seductive and compelling.  It makes sense from a human perspective because most of us think that no one would ever give us anything.  But Yahweh isn’t like us.  He’s our Redeemer, and He loves us enough to die for us — to pay the price for the sins we’ve committed, and will commit, with His shed blood.

Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians because they had drifted toward legalism.  Below are a few excerpts from Galatians that illustrate the points I’m making:

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,….,

I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is (really) not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!….

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.  For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but (I received it) through a revelation of Jesus Christ…. nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified….

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the (life) which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness (comes) through the Law, then Christ died needlessly….

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed (as) crucified?  This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?….

Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, ‘THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH’….

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law….

But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”  Galatians 1: 3-4, 6-8, 11-12; 2: 16, 19-21; 3: 1-3, 11, 21-22

Paul was irate because the Galatians had substituted obedience to the law for faith.  He said that whoever spread that nonsense was cursed.  Paul even went so far as to call the Galatians “foolish,” and he asked them who had bewitched them.  Any one of us can be deceived or seduced into believing that obedience makes us special in Yahweh’s eyes, but it doesn’t.  The only thing that makes us right with Yahweh is faith in the atoning sacrifice that He made on our behalf.  In a nutshell, legalism stems from pride, and it has no place in the life of a believer.

That doesn’t mean that we can ignore the law and violate it with impunity.  Far from it: it simply means that obeying the law is not enough.  Faith is required, and the obedience that Yahweh wants stems from faith in Him.

This SnyderTalk editorial is adapted from my book What Will You Do with the Rest of Your LifeClick here to order a copy.  

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9--Jerusalem Post

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Russia moves to revive plans for conference on WMDs in Middle East

Netanyahu’s positive ties with Obama worry Israel’s far Right over Iran, Palestinians

Obama to Netanyahu: US ‘clear-eyed’ on Iran’s nuclear program

Yadlin: Israel’s job is to prevent a bad deal on Iran’s nuclear program

Revolutionary Guards chief: Rouhani should have waited to talk to Obama

Right-leaning Likud members aim to block any agreement Netanyahu makes with PA

Arrow 3 missile-defense program at risk of slowdown due to cuts

Biden to J Street: Regional instability presents incentive for peace

IDF shoots at 2 Palestinians suspected of sabotaging Gaza border fence, 1 dies

Dutch, German anti-missile systems protect Turkey against Syrian rockets

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10--Arutz Sheva

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Ex-Spy Chief: Iran-US Talks are Good

40% of US Jews: God Gave Israel to Jews

Iranian FM Derides ‘Flip-Flopping’ Obama via Twitter

Yachimovich Criticizes Netanyahu Over Attitude on Iran

Syrian Jihadists: Insult Muhammad and be Executed

Obama to PM: No Nukes for Iran, Period

Terrorists: Egyptian Army is ‘Enemy of Allah’

Ashton Wants ‘Best Atmosphere’ for Iran Talks

Biden: Nuclear Iran Threatens Israel

Kerry: Confident in Netanyahu’s Commitment 

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11--THE TIMES OF ISRAEL

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PM to urge Obama to bolster sanctions, set clear parameters for Iran nuke deal

Netanyahu’s mission: Setting parameters for Obama’s Iran diplomacy

American envoy says Israel and US in sync on Iran nuke issue

Iran to explore renewal of direct flights with US

MKs fire up J Street crowd with progressive causes

Extreme right makes gains in Austrian elections

Advanced Arrow 3 missile defense system facing budget cuts

Inspectors set to destroy Syria chemical warfare capacity

Palestinian students riot at Gaza border crossing

New program takes on Israeli ignorance of US Jewry

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12--Other News

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The Ketef Hinnom Archaeological Site in Jerusalem (Video)

U.S.: Any Agreement with Iran “Must Be Fully Verifiable and Enforceable”

‘US and Israel have the same goal — prevent an Iranian bomb’

Israel Seals Holes in West Bank Security Barrier after Two Soldiers Killed

Khamenei’s Fatwa Against Nuclear Arms Does Not Exist 

Compilation of Khamenei’s Newest Fatwas Contains No Nuclear Fatwa

Iranian paper calls Israel’s arrest of spy a ‘cheap shot’

Police apprehend price tag criminals in the act

Mumbai ups security at Jewish institutions following alert

Egyptian physician named Righteous Among the Nations

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13--Perspectives 2

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Dr. Ephraim Kam: Positivity is not enough— Rouhani has been working carefully to create a positive atmosphere and appease both the West and Iranian conservatives — but that alone won’t lift sanctions.

Noah Beck: Iran Knows What the West Forgot: Charm is Cheap— With starry-eyed optimism, Western leaders and members of the media have recently fawned all over the new Iranian president, Hasan Rouhani, as if he had taken any meaningful steps to reverse Iran’s illicit nuclear program, abysmal human rights abuses, or support for Hezbollah terrorism and Basher Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. Rouhani can thank his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for being so repugnant that virtually anyone succeeding him would be welcomed with relief. But the West’s premature exuberance over Rouhani undermines efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions and dangerously signals to rogue states that a few weeks of charm can quickly compensate for decades of terrorism, genocidal incitement, and human rights abuses.

Isi Leibler: Obama and Israel: looming confrontations— Israel is not obliged to behave as an American vassal state, but we must act prudently.

Evelyn Gordon: EU: What’s Fine for Spain Is Unacceptable for Israel—Spain is now committing virtually every “abuse” the EU sanctimoniously accuses Israel of, without a peep of protest from its European peers. Spain recently erected checkpoints along its border with Gibraltar that are creating real hardship, lengthening travel times from 45 minutes to two hours. European officials who repeatedly demand Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the West Bank haven’t said a word to support Catalonia, where hundreds of thousands formed a 250-mile human chain this month to demand independence from Spain. Then there are the Basques who have often proclaimed a desire for independence.

Barry Rubin: Syrian Rebels Say: We Demand Radical Islamism; U. S. Says: We Can’t Hear You!— Can it be more obvious? Thirteen Syrian rebel groups–including the most important in Aleppo and Damascus–demand an Islamist state in Syria and say they don’t care what the official rebel, U.S.-backed politicians say. By the way, only one of these groups is an al-Qaida group, Jabhat al-Nusra. There is also the large Salafi Islamist group, Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiya. The others include the powerful Liwa al-Tawhid (Aleppo) and Liwa al-Islam. Both groups operated as part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) umbrella.

Rabbi Shraga Simmons: The Fateful Holocaust Secret— Tom Gale never knew what hit him. En route to a weekend home from college, he was cruising along a Canadian highway at 95 mph in his bright red Triumph Spitfire. The nasal decongestant he’d taken that morning made him drowsy. “I took my eyes off the road for a minute,” Tom recalled, “and that’s all it takes at 95 mph.”

Michael Herzog: Rouhani at the UN: Why Israel Remains Unconvinced—While welcoming a “genuine diplomatic solution” to the Iranian nuclear challenge, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, this week warned the world not to be “fooled by half-measures that merely provide a smokescreen for Iran’s continual pursuit of nuclear weapons.” From Israel’s perspective, spinning open-ended diplomacy while centrifuges continue to spin is a dangerous situation.

Amos Yadlin: Yes to an Agreement that Distances Iran from the Bomb—Does the Iranian charm campaign signal a willingness to forfeit a military nuclear capability, or is it yet another attempt to attain this option at the lowest possible cost? The U.S. and Israel must concentrate on the parameters that widen the distance between Iran and the bomb should Iran unilaterally abrogate the agreement. This would entail a strict limit on the number of centrifuges spinning in Iran, enrichment limited to 3.5%, removal of all enriched material from Iran, and return of enriched material to Iran only in a form that cannot be used in nuclear bombs.

Yoav Limor: To catch a spy— Unlike other intelligence agents apprehended in Israel in recent years, the Iranian spy arrested earlier this month was a professional.

Dr. Reuven Berko: Iran’s dangerous façade— The nation that plotted to conquer the Arabian Peninsula and overrun the Middle East and the world is not going to change simply because its president graced the U.N.’s podium.

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4--Scripture of the Day USE THIS ONE

The scripture below is from the New American Standard Bible, and the hyperlinks associated with each word are from Strong’s Concordance for the New American Standard Bible.

Amos 3: 1-2

Hear this word which Yahweh has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt: “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

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5--HNIY Print form 2

His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.  It’s also available for free in PDF format.

  • God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
  • “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
  • “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
  • Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)

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6--His Name is Yahweh Audio Presentation 2

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Is it legalistic to pay too much attention to God’s Name?

Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached.  Share it as often as you want.

6--Freely You Received Freely Give

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14--Blessings from Revelation 2

Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now.  There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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Other Books by Neil Snyder

  • Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming.  Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days.  Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall.  Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace.  With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life?  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide.  It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided.  They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make.  As they say, forewarned is forearmed.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

15--Concentric Circles 2

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