Growth After Spiritual Baptism

Scripture

Tradition

Romans 10:9-11 ESV
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. [11] For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."

Breakdown

Jesus Christ

God's only-begotten Son; the original image of God, which is still God, for God is original.

Colossians 1:15 ESV
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

God's knowledge of Himself, which is Himself

John 1:1-2 ESV
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God.

λόγος
Usu. Transl. "Word"

This is one of the most important words you can study, and it will come up in several places throughout your investigation of Christian doctrine.

The modern mind has a tendency to jump to, and stick to, the first sense given by Thayer's Lexicon: The embodiment of a concept or idea.

An idea or concept can be embodied in a written word or a spoken word, but these are not the only ways that ideas and concepts can be embodied. An idea may be embodied in a dance, or even in a whole bodily life.

Just as it is possible to mistake the body as the true self, it is also possible to mistake the embodiment of an idea for the idea itself. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the λόγος of God, but more importantly, He is the idea or concept which is embodied. That is why "the Word became flesh".

See note from C.S. Lewis on the "dangerous sense" of words.

John 1:14 ESV
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The idea or concept itself is the fourth sense which Thayer's gives to λόγος: "what is communicated by instruction, doctrine."

I have sometimes explained this sense as "that which is transmitted from a lucid teacher to an apt student."

Now, an idea or concept is something that exists in a mind. We say that an idea or concept is "true" to the degree that the idea or concept corresponds or agrees with the reality outside of the mind, which the idea or concept is about.

Christ is the idea or concept which God has of Himself. His idea or concept of Himself is so perfectly perfect, that His idea doesn't merely correspond to Himself, but it literally is Himself.

Christianity teaches that God's knowledge of Himself, His Word the Christ, is the only source of true knowledge of God. The only way we can truly know God, is for God to enter into us, and then know Himself in us and for us.

Immaterial Concepts versus Material Expressions

Five Proofs of the Existence of God, Edward Feser
Page 88, The Augustinian Proof

If someone writes "Snow is white" on a marker board, you can see the sentence, but you cannot literally see the proposition it expresses. (After all, the same proposition is expressed by the written sentence "Schnee ist weiss", which looks very different from the sentence "Snow is white.") You can erase the sentence, but you cannot thereby destroy the proposition.

This is why eternal life is hidden in the Christ: for the knowledge of God is eternal life.

John 17:3 ESV
And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

λόγος can also mean "reason"

Reason, as the grounds for believing something

1 Peter 3:15 ESV
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

When someone asks you why you believe what you believe, the account that you give is a "λόγος".

Can this sense be read sensibly into John 1:1?

Yes. Christ is the grounds that God gives the world for trusting in Him. The life and teaching of Jesus Christ constitute a sufficient and demonstrative account of reason. Whoever rejects that reason is culpable for their unbelief.

John 3:18 ESV
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Matthew 7:24-27 ESV
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. [25] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. [26] And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. [27] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Christ, the Word of God, is often compared to a Rock. There are at least three ways in which God's Word is like the rocks of our experience in the world, and they are well worth noting. But, it will also be important to note one mysterious way in which the spiritual Rock of Christ is unlike the rocks of this world!

The Rock of Christ is like the rocks of this world:

Foundations:

The rocks of this world are suitable for supporting great structures. The Rock of Christ, as God's Reason for Belief, supports the spiritual structure of the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 12:7 ESV
The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand.

1 Corinthians 3:9-11 ESV
For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. [10] According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. [11] For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 28:16 ESV
therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’

Permanence:

The stones of this world resist corruption better than any other material in this world. If you want a writing to survive many generations, the stone tablet is the best option. This is why the Commandments were etched into stone tablets. This is also why the oldest known constructions are those that were constructed out of stones, such as the Pyramids and Ziggurats.

Malachi 3:6 ESV
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.

Numbers 23:19-20 ESV
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? [20] Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

Hebrews 13:8 ESV
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Destruction:

The greater rocks of this world are able to crush the lesser rocks of this world. The Rock of God is the greatest Rock of all, and is able to crush all that oppose Him. Keep this in mind if you ever find yourself reasoning against God!

Matthew 21:44 ESV
And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Daniel 2:34-35 ESV
As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. [35] Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

The Rock of Christ is unlike the rocks of this world:

The rocks of this world are dry. No one turns to the rocks of this world to quench their thirst.

But the Rock of God gives living waters from His belly.

This point is so important to remember, because it will affect your motivation to engage in the intellectual rigor involved in the "work of belief".

The systems of knowledge which are taught by this world require intellectual rigor to learn. The process is dry, boring, and leaves the disciples of the world right where they were: in darkness, sin, death, and in hunger and thirst for righteousness.

But the system of knowledge which God teaches through His Word give living waters. The process of intellectual rigor by which we grow in our knowledge and understanding of the Bible brings us to a place where we find victory over sin, sickness, and death!

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 ESV
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] and all ate the same spiritual food, [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Exodus 17:6 ESV
Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.

John 4:10-14 ESV
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” [11] The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? [12] Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” [13] Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 7:37-39 ESV
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” [39] Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Reason, as the faculty of the mind judging ideas as either true or false

Hebrews 4:12 ESV
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Christ can be understood as God's capacity for the formation of true ideas. God's faculty of reasoning is perfect. Man's faculty of reasoning is imperfect, leading us into error, and therefore death.

Once our reason leads us to trust God only, we should trust God's Word to reason for us, and in us. "Judging with right judgment" means agreeing with God's Word.

John 7:24 ESV
Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Savior of the world

John 3:16-17 ESV
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Lord

κύριος
Lord

HELPS Word-studies
2962 kýrios – properly, a person exercising absolute ownership rights; lord (Lord).

Exodus 20:1-2 ESV
And God spoke all these words, saying, [2] "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

When God gave the Law to Moses, His first words established His Lordship, which is the basis for His authority as law-giver.

God's Lordship is the basis for the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:10 ESV
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Proverbs 15:33 ESV
The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Acts 10:34-38 ESV
So Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, [35] but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. [36] As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all), [37] you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: [38] how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

God is able to do whatever He wants with us, and no one can resist Him, or call Him unrighteous for the way He makes use of us, because He owns us. We are His property, because He created us.

Romans 9:19-23 ESV
You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" [20] But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" [21] Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? [22] What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-

Matthew 20:12-15 ESV
saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' [13] But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?'

God

Genesis 1:1 ESV
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16 ESV
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Exodus 3:14 ESV
God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

Ephesians 6:23 ESV
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 9:5 ESV
To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

Raised from the dead

1 Corinthians 15:12-19 ESV
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? [13] But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. [15] We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. [16] For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

1 Corinthians 15:20-21 ESV
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

Resurrection Accounts

Matthew 28:1-10 ESV
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. [2] And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. [3] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. [4] And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. [5] But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. [6] He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." [8] So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. [9] And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. [10] Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

Mark 16:1-8 ESV
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. [2] And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. [3] And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" [4] And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back-it was very large. [5] And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. [6] And he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. [7] But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you." [8] And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Luke 24:1-12 ESV
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [2] And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, [3] but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. [4] While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. [5] And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? [6] He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, [7] that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise." [8] And they remembered his words, [9] and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [10] Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, [11] but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. [12] But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

John 20:1-9 ESV
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. [2] So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." [3] So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. [4] Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. [5] And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. [6] Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, [7] and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. [8] Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; [9] for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

Immediate Entailments

The dead are raised.

Luke 20:37-38 ESV
But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. [38] Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him."

The way things have always been, is not the way things will be.

2 Peter 3:4 ESV
They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."

And, by the way, things have not always been the way things are.

2 Peter 3:5-7 ESV
For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, [6] and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. [7] But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

You will be saved.

σῴζω

HELPS Word-studies
4982 sṓzō (from sōs, "safe, rescued") – properly, deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin – and into His provisions (safety).


[4982 (sṓzō) is the root of: 4990 /sōtḗr ("Savior"), 4991 /sōtēría ("salvation") and the adjectival form, 4992 /sōtḗrion (what is "saved/rescued from destruction and brought into divine safety").]

The Penalty of Sin

Death

Romans 6:23 ESV
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wrath of God

John 3:36 ESV
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Revelation 14:9-11 ESV
And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, [10] he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. [11] And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

Hell of Fire
Burning and Torment

Matthew 10:28 ESV
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 5:22 ESV
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

Luke 16:23-26 ESV
and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. [24] And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' [25] But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. [26] And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'

Isaiah 66:24 ESV
"And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

Shame

Daniel 12:2 ESV
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Blood to Drink

Revelation 16:6 ESV
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!"

1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

John 6:53-56 ESV
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. [56] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

See how Jesus takes our punishment in a different direction. While still fulfilling the just requirements of the law, His Mercy repays good for evil, and so He overcomes the believer's evil heart.

Romans 12:21 ESV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Luke 6:27-36 ESV
"But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. [29] To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. [30] Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. [31] And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. [32] "If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. [34] And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. [35] But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. [36] Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

This is how to imitate God. This is what God is like. Pray to God who gives to everyone that begs from Him.

And when your Crown of Glory and Honor come to you, remember that God Himself does to others, as He wishes they would do to Him. That Crown, as all Crowns, are to be cast right back at Jesus' feet!

Revelation 4:4,9-11 ESV

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. [9] And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, [10] the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, [11] "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

Crown of Glory and Honor
(copied from the Seven Crowns, in the Final Revelations)

Psalm 8:4-8 ESV
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? [5] Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. [6] You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, [7] all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, [8] the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

Hebrews 2:6-10 ESV
It has been testified somewhere, "What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? [7] You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, [8] putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. [9] But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. [10] For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

1 Peter 5:1,4 ESV
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:...

[4] And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The Power of Sin

John 8:34 ESV
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

What it means to be enslaved to sin:

Galatians 5:16-21 ESV
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. [17] For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Romans 7:14-25 ESV
For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. [15] For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [16] Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. [17] So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [18] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19] For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [20] Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [21] So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. [22] For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23] but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. [24] Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

What it means to be delivered from sin:

Galatians 5:22-24 ESV
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. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

The power of sin to enslave comes from the law.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 ESV
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 7:7-11 ESV
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." [8] But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. [9] I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. [10] The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. [11] For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

Romans 8:2 ESV
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

The serpent beguiled Eve into thinking she could make herself like God, apart from God's will. The law was not given so that men could justify themselves before God. The law was given to mitigate the pain of ignorance, until the time came when God would pour out His Spirit on the world.

The Cursed Serpent's Deception

Genesis 3:4-5 ESV
But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Isaiah 14:13-14 ESV
You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; [14] I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'

Ezekiel 28:2 ESV
"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because your heart is proud, and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god-

Purpose of the law

Galatians 3:19,23-26 ESV
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. [23] Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. [24] So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. [25] But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, [26] for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

Matthew 19:8 ESV
He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

Romans 3:20 ESV
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 9:30-33 ESV
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. [32] Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, [33] as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Romans 10:3 ESV
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Pain of ignorance

Hosea 4:6 ESV
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Isaiah 5:13 ESV
Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.

God had not yet given the Spirit, which is the Heart of Understanding

Deuteronomy 29:4 ESV
But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.

Isaiah 6:9-10 ESV
And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' [10] Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Isaiah 63:17 ESV
O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your heritage.

Romans 11:7-8 ESV
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, [8] as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day."

Christ came to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf. He poured out His heart so that we would understand: God is Love.

Joel 2:28-29 ESV
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. [29] Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

Isaiah 29:18-19 ESV
In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. [19] The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.

Luke 7:22-23 ESV
And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. [23] And blessed is the one who is not offended by me."

Isaiah 32:15-17 ESV
until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. [16] Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. [17] And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

This word σῴζω is also used of those who are healed, because in healing, a person is delivered from the evil condition of sickness.

Matthew 9:22 ESV
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Mark 10:52 ESV
And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Those who are saved belong to the true Church, which is One body, one flock, having One Shepherd, which is the Christ. That body is composed of every soul which confesses with the mouth and believes with the heart that Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead. There are no other requirements to belong to Christ's church, and nothing at all whatsoever in heaven or earth can cause you to lose your place, once your name has been written in the Book of Life.

Romans 8:1 ESV
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:38-39 ESV
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 10:16 ESV
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Revelation 3:5 ESV
The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.