If one could lose the salvation they didn't earn in the first place, then their own good deeds would be keeping them saved. But that doesn't work because Christ had to die for us to gain salvation by grace. The shedding of man's own blood could not save a man, then how could just being better save him. It was required that the shedding of blood by the Perfect Lamb, Who was without spot or blemish atone for sin! How then could mere obedience save a man who was imperfect and could not save himself?
It is obvious that a man cannot save himself or even keep himself saved. It is all the work of Christ in the initial saving and the keeping until He comes for us.
Pride drives those who believe they can be good to keep a salvation they couldn't earn. They must have the sense that they are "doing well" and "better than others" to feed their illusion that they are working to keep what they did not earn.
May many who believe they are keeping their salvation ask God to open their eyes to truth. May they realize that they have no part in their own salvation, to get or to keep it.
Ephesians 2:10
"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Ephesians 2:8-9 " 8 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.…"
If you exist to diminish the real you in order to make people like you and treat you special, it is best to "do nothing, be nothing and say nothing."
If you exist to please God and live in His freedom from the mandates of worldly minds, then you will be your authentic self, growing and blooming more every year.
Praise God He is the source of our validation, no man, no woman, no expectations of others will be that source.
When Christ is our focus, it matters little what others expect of us, His principles are enough, they are fulfilling while bringing joy to our soul no matter what is going on around us.
When Christ is our guide, our attitude toward our fellow man will be right too.
Philippians 4:6-9
"6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Meditate on These Things
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
Ever notice how the narcissists in your life are angry when you mention principles of God, but then when you block them because you are offending them and do not wish to do so, they are mad because you blocked them.
Perhaps it isn't because of our differing views or the fact that we blocked them, perhaps it's because we didn't become them, doing what they do, saying what they say and believing what they believe.
Controlling others is the aim of narcissists, they care very little about substance and truth, placing manipulation and control over rational thinking, they manage to go with "feelings" every time.
Their feelings dictate that they experience personal glory and elevation regularly from their targets, without it they turn into mush unable to function, so their tactic is to bring the target back into submission through overt and covert intimidation.
The more the narcissist can make another human being feel "less than", the better and more whole the narcissist feels.
There is a little of this in all of us, we must fight it, pray about it and asked to be cleansed of it. Today we live in a culture that is deeply narcissistic, in order to avoid feeding the beast in us, we must remove ourselves from the narc while filling our hearts and minds with the Word of God.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
This does not exclude those in the body of Christ who have chosen to emulate the world. Until the narc in the church learns humility, they must be avoided.
1 Corinthians 5:7 "5:7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough – you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."
John 3:29-30 "…29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands by and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must increase; I must decrease."
When a narcissist has turned from their arrogance and pride, then we must receive them back with gentleness and love to restore them. Let's not bypass the order which God has ordained by forgiving and receiving back before there is confession of sin. God's way is effective, unless we are dealing with a stubborn heart, then we must remove them until God has dealt with their heart.
Kathy Griffin has been in the news lately for her foolish and devilishly disrespectful antics, holding up the bloody head of our president.
What I am about to expose is her insincere apology that is indicative of narcissists, is her rolling eyes, her canned speech and her lack of sorrow in the voice. The response of many people was so strong that she was forced into an apology she would have rather not have had to make.
Narcissists are like this, they will manufacture "sorry" as a tool to regain the confidence of those who were appalled by her ridiculous sense of humor.
By the way folks, this was not just a joke or a rank sense of humor, as some may believe, it was an expression of her own desire for this to happen to our president. Often narcissists will cloak their spiteful and mean spirited heart, in jokes, so that they can claim, "it was just a joke."
If this same joke had been played on president Obama the media would have been all over it and she probably would have been arrested as a threat to our sitting president.
Narcissists have no problem mocking, demeaning and tormenting those who do not hold to their views. When they see that too many people who used to support them are withdrawing from them, (especially those who have withdrawn financial support for various add campaigns from her) they engage in more manipulation through phony and insincere apology, without ever intending to change their wicked heart. They will more than likely be more careful next time to hide their true self.
Kathy Griffin erroneously thought, having surrounded herself with liberals, that she could do and say anything and most people seeing it would laugh and support her. Often narcissists believe they are admired by everyone, thinking they can get away with anything.
The narc knows there are people out there that would be upset, but it would be those she does not respect and her intent is to cause anger in them, hoping they will become vitriolic, then she can say, "see how YOU are."
I cannot count the number of times the narcissists in my life poked at me until I would turn and angrily raise my voice to entreat them to stop their attacks. This was Griffin's hope, that she could cause conservatives and especially those who voted for Trump to become angry, saying and doing things she could point to. The narcissist loves to play the victim when they were the ones that started the fight.
Shame on Miss Griffin, she needs to confess her sin in a very real way, and turn to Christ for cleansing.
How we treat people is the evidence of what is in our heart. The fruit of the Spirit are the character qualities of Christ in us.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
Matthew 7:15-20
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
We can know the heart of a person, not by one act, but by many acts and habits. We can know a person's heart by their response to correction or instruction.
A person with bad fruit will always rage at any suggestion that there needs to be a change in their heart. These people never grow until they have been broken and confess.
A humble person will feel hurt at first at a rebuke, but will be grateful for the information and improve as they make a heart change. Joy will return to them as they engage in another growth spurt.
There are many people who claim to be Christian but lack the love, kindness and selflessness of Christ in their heart. If someone lacks this, learns of it through correction, then they can confess it and ask the Lord to cleans their heart to become more like Him.
James 5:16 "16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
Want to be cleansed by Christ? Admit that you have sinned, that you have offended God and others, then ask Christ to cleanse you of that sin and even reveal any others that linger there because of pride, then your spiritual growth will soar, the joy will flood in.
Each time we confess, each time the sin is dealt with, there is strength to more easily confess the next thing that needs attention. It gets easier as we learn how wonderful it feels to be free of guilt and one more sin.
We are not free of guilt by denying our sin, nor are we free of guilt by getting others to absolve us by accepting our sin. We are free by confessing it, being cleansed by God and moving forward in holiness. Hallelujah!
Ecclesiastes 10:2 " 2 A wise man's heart directs him toward the right, but the foolish man's heart directs him toward the left."
Interesting isn't it!
All men are have been and are being drawn to Christ, God works on everyone, but few will respond.
There is a reason, those who are not saved have rejected Christ, it is their choice.
Just as those who are saved have accepted Christ, it is their choice. God knows who will and who will not, but he does not force anyone.
Romans 10:10-12 "…10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. 11 It is just as the Scripture says: “Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on Him,…"
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism, 35 but welcomes those from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.…
ALL those who desire to be cleansed by Christ, will be saved!
Romans 10:8-10 "…8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.…"
