Are you one of Abraham’s ‘Spiritual Children’?

If Christians hope to acquire eternal Salvation, the Bible says they must become one of Abraham’s spiritual children!

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

This article examines the principles of how Abraham demonstrated two levels of faith towards God — and ultimately, how “…A MAN IS JUSTIFIED [by his ‘works of faith’], AND NOT BY FAITH ONLY”:

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are THE [spiritual] CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM." (Galatians 3:7)

“Was not Abraham our father JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, WHEN HE HAD OFFERED ISAAC HIS SON UPON THE ALTAR?  22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, AND BY WORKS WAS FAITH MADE PERFECT?  23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God [i.e. ‘Initial Salvation’], and it [his faith in ALL of God’s words that] was imputed unto him for righteousness: and [it was on this basis] he was called the Friend of God.  24 Ye see then HOW THAT BY WORKS [where God requires believers to demonstrate they love God far more than they love their own family members — and by this,] A MAN IS JUSTIFIED, AND NOT BY FAITH ONLY [that has no ‘works of faith’ accompanying that faith].” 
(James 2:21)

This article reveals how Initial and Final Salvation for Christians relate in much the same way to the trial God inflicted upon Abraham.

This understanding evolved from a question posted on a video I uploaded. In this video, I expose the heresy of the ‘Once Saved Always Saved’ doctrine.

The video was prompted by a visitor who referenced a popular preacher by the name of Onorato Diamante. He made the following statement in this video.  Here, he misquotes Romans 4:5 to falsely claim that Christians who “…WORKETH NOT” will be saved:

“But to HIM THAT WORKETH NOT, but BELIEVETH ON HIM that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”  (Romans 4:5)

In this verse, the Apostle Paul is referring to an audience of unbelieving sinners who are considering becoming ‘Christians’.  The above verse cannot refer to mature-aged Christians as Onorato is implying.

In the previous verses (Romans 4:2-4) that Onorato conveniently fails to refer to, the Bible says this:

"For if Abraham were justified by works [prior to him being accepted by God], he hath whereof to glory; but not before God [but before others].  3 For what saith the scripture? ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, and it [meaning, his faith only] was counted unto him for righteousness.  4 Now [on the contrary] to HIM THAT WORKETH [by refusing grace and working instead to impress God for His Salvation] is the reward [of Salvation] NOT RECKONED BY GRACE, BUT OF DEBT." 
(Romans 4:2-4)

The above verses spoken of by Paul allude to Abraham being “Initially Saved‘ by FAITH ALONE and NOT OF WORKS.  In a similar sense, God requires the same to occur in Christians, as portrayed in the illustration below:

In this illustration, the dark horizonal line represents the timeline of an individual from birth to death. The block above the timeline extends from the date of their ‘Salvation’ to their death. I also term this, ‘Simple Salvation‘, as it symbolises a particular ‘religious’ viewpoint of Salvation.

God’s testing of Abraham’s faith

The scriptures reveal that God required Abraham to be tested; just as Job was tested (Job 1:8; 2:3). This ‘testing’ of God’s servants is to determine every Christian’s worthiness to be termed the “Friend of God”. Please read James 2:23; 1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 4:12 and John 15:15.

For Abraham to inherit God’s promises, God required him to offer up his only son as a burnt sacrifice.  This requirement would determine his destiny (or eternal life — meaning, ‘Final Salvation‘ (Genesis 15:5),

Here, God required him to do “WORKS OF FAITH“. The outcome of his OBEDIENCE would prove his dedication towards loving and serving God from that point onward. Below is God’s command to Abraham:

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.  2 And he said, TAKE NOW THY SON, thine only son Isaac, WHOM THOU LOVEST, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and OFFER HIM THERE AS A BURNT OFFERING upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of."  (Genesis 22:1-2)

If you read the following verses, you will see that Abraham OBEYED God! 

Once God witnessed Abraham’s obedience, God intervened in Abraham’s ‘WORKS” at the altar. In this God provided “…a ram” (verse 13) as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac.

Christians MUST demonstrate their LOVE for God also!

My point here is that >>IF<< Abraham loved his ONLY SON more than he loved and obeyed God – this would mean he was no different to any other person on Earth. It also meant he was unworthy of any favours from God – especially eternal life with God – or, ‘Salvation’. 

The same principle involving God testing Abraham’s love and ‘service’ similarly applies to Christians in relation to the same “WORKS of Faith” (James 2:26). In this, God requires Christians to perform similar “WORKS” as Abraham did, as stated in the following verse:

“They [the Pharisees] answered [Jesus] and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, YE WOULD DO THE WORKS OF ABRAHAM.”   (John 8:39)

“Was not ABRAHAM OUR FATHER JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?”  (James 2:21)

As Abraham was justified by becoming a “Friend of God“, God similarly requires ALL Christians to become a Disciple of His. God first requires an ‘INITIAL’ test. This is to demonstrate the Christian’s LOVE for JESUS CHRIST. It is to be demonstrated to be far MORE than their LOVE for any family member. The contrast in one’s demonstrated LOVE FOR GOD is measured in how much someone can be LOVED or HATED:

"If any [Christian] man [or woman] come to me [Jesus for Salvation], and HATE NOT [meaning, LOVE LESS THAN JESUS CHRIST to the degree as love and hate are the extremes] his FATHER, and MOTHER, and WIFE, and CHILDREN, and BRETHREN ['brothers’], and SISTERS, yea, AND HIS OWN LIFE ALSO, he CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE."  (Luke 14:26-33)

This New Testament principle of loving God more than one’s own family members is the same requirement God used when testing Abraham’s faithfulness.  This same principle applies to EVERY CHRISTIAN today (Acts 10:34)!

The ‘FINAL’ test for Christians is to perform the SAME WORKS (or miracles) that Christ performed (John 14:12).

What ‘INITIAL’ and ‘FINAL’ Salvation represents

The image below indicates that once a ‘new’ Christian is “Initially Saved” by responding to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he or she must then “STRIVE to enter into God’s kingdom” (Luke 13:23-24). At some point in this “striving”, God will provide him or her with the ‘New Birth’ (John 3:3-8). This is to enable the new Christian to “…see the Kingdom of God” with their spiritual eyes opened (John 3:3; Matthew 13:15).

Christians are then required to mature spiritually from being a “Babe in Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:1) through to being a “Good Soldier of Jesus Christ”( 2 Timothy 2:3).

From this, such an individual is headed towards the ‘spiritual’ “Finish Line” (2 Timothy 4:7) of the “Race the God has set before every Christian to run” (Hebrews 12:1-2) as shown in the two illustrations below.

Finally, all Christians who are spiritually maturing are allocated “ministries” (1 Corinthians 12:12-20). These ministries are to be “…fitly joined together in love” within the “Body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:16; John 13:35; 1 Corinthians 12:27). This is the role of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:10-12), and is termed the “Spirit Baptism” (Matthew 3:11).

Summary

The following table compares the requirements God set for both Abraham and for Christians as the basis for entry into Heaven after their life has ended on Earth.

	Abraham	Christians	References
INITIAL Salvation	Abraham believed God (FAITH ONLY)	Christians who believe in Christ are ‘Saved’ (FAITH ONLY)	Romans 4:3 Mark 16:16 Ephesians 2:8-9
Believers MUST: 1. Count the Cost 2. Forsake ALL 3. Take up Cross 4. Follow God & Jesus	God told Abraham to take his only son from the land of the Philistines to Mt. Moriah.	Christ states that ALL Christians MUST COUNT THE COST of Salvation before becoming a disciple of His	Genesis 22:1-3 (Luke 14:26-33)
FINAL Salvation	Abraham loved God MORE than he loved his only son, which he demonstrated through “WORKS“	Christians are to demonstrate their love for God by loving Jesus FAR MORE than any family member and perform “WORKS“	James 2:21 Luke 14:26-33 John 14:12 Mark 16:17-18 James 2:26 Ephesians 2:10

The above table reveals that Abraham and Christians are to LOVE and OBEY GOD in FAITH. Christians are also required to perform “WORKS OF FAITH” to prove to God that they LOVE HIM.

If Christians fail to meet the above foundational requirements for entry into Heaven, how else can they be assured of Salvation?

Further reading

All of the above claims are 100% Biblical. I invite anyone who disputes this claim to say so in the Comments below.

These claims refute the false doctrines being preached in most (if not all) Christian churches today.

It could also be said that the above doctrine represents “Paul’s Gospel“. In the following verses, he refers to his gospel in Romans 2:16; 16:25 and 2 Timothy 2:8. He also referred to it in Galatians 2:2 as “…that gospel“.

I suggest you read the following articles on my website. These provide a deeper understanding behind the images and claims presented above.

• The Gospel of Initial and Final Salvation
• The Eight Stages of Biblical Salvation
• An Overview of the Apostle Paul’s Gospel
• The Apostle Paul’s Gospel of Salvation

Please feel free to post any comments you may have below.

If you have any questions about what has been presented, feel free to send me an email.

Blessings.

Alan Manson
A Disciple of Jesus Christ
(Luke 14:26-33)