Is Salvation a Free Gift?

Yes, salvation is a free gift—we do not earn it. However, it comes with requirements.

Why Requirements if It’s Free?

Grants or raffles, while free, demand specific conditions for eligibility. People who rely on government assistance must fulfill specific eligibility requirements to qualify, even though the assistance is provided at no cost. Failure to meet any single requirement or instruction will result in ineligibility.

Likewise, securing a complimentary trip to a desired destination requires precise instructions to reach the port and board the vessel to claim your prize. If those instructions include directions, they specify the number of left and right turns required. Omitting even one turn could prevent you from reaching the destination. Similarly, God’s Word delineates precise requirements end directions to receive the gift of salvation.

Earning a Free Gift

Modern religion struggles to reconcile a free spiritual gift with its requirements and instructions, despite encountering this concept in earthly contexts. Eternal life is attainable, but it demands adherence to conditions. While modern religion often criticizes commandment-keepers, it inconsistently upholds nine of the Ten Commandments they uphold. If someone disregards these nine, they are deemed unsaved. So, why the double standard?

Conundrum

Deep down, many recognize that keeping the Commandments is essential for salvation. Yet, they claim to be free from “the law” (God’s Ten Commandments), interpreting it as living under their penalties. The Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai, number ten—not nine. Modern religion selectively adheres to nine while dismissing the Sabbath, the easiest to keep, and claims no one but Christ can keep them, ignoring the prophets and faithful followers in Scripture who did.

Salvation

Scripture consistently speaks of salvation from sin, from Genesis to Revelation (1 John 3:4). Sin is the transgression of God’s law—no other interpretation holds. Many denominations, even those who oppose us, agree. Yet they fail to fully grasp this truth.

No Law for Elohim’s People?

If modern religion abolishes EL’s Commandments in its theology, how can it call for repentance from sin without a law to define it? This contradiction reveals confusion. Many follow not from scriptural study but from tradition, born into denominations they did not choose. They repeat catchy phrases without deep understanding, adhering to a constructed religion.

Groomed

Modern religion discourages dialogue or godly debate, labeling it shameful or sinful, despite claiming freedom from the law’s penalties. Scripture contradicts this stance (2 Timothy 4:2). They desire to teach salvation while advocating the breaking of Elohim’s laws. They claim humility without having gone through though biblical chastisement and profess to be filled with Elohim’s Spirit while failing to recognize Him. Scripture calls those who break His Commandments while professing allegiance, liars (1 John 2:4), despite their claim of being free from them.

Psalms 115:4-8

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak; eyes, but cannot see; ears, but cannot hear; noses, but cannot smell; hands, but cannot feel; feet, but cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”

This describes the god of modern religion—a mute deity. Unlike the Elohim of Scripture, who spoke to prophets and His people with undeniable miracles, their god lacks witnesses. They rely on emotional manipulation—soft music, persuasive words—rather than scriptural truth. Only by studying Scripture alone can one unveil this deception.

Elohim Speaks

Modern religion misses the audible voice of Elohim, a privilege described in Scripture. Elohim spoke to Ananias (Acts 9), to Israel in the wilderness, and to His followers post-resurrection. Hearing His voice validates one’s faith (John 14:19-21). My wife, my son, and I have heard His voice multiple times, like a friend speaking to a friend, simply by obeying His Commandments. Yet modern religion, rejecting full obedience, follows a path of delusion, worshiping a god of their own making. Without His voice, they lack assurance that Elohim knows them.

Biblical Patterns

In the older writings, there are a few key figures who experienced periods of silence from Elohim’s and feared something was wrong, often suspecting sin or divine displeasure as the cause. Here are the main ones: Samuel, as a young boy in 1 Samuel 3, served in the temple when the word of the Lord was rare and visions were scarce. The people, including Eli, the priest, thought EL’s silence meant He was distant, possibly due to Israel’s unfaithfulness. Eli himself, also in 1 Samuel 3, faced Elohim’s silence before Samuel’s first vision. His own failure to discipline his sinful sons led to Elohim withholding clear messages, and he initially didn’t recognize Elohim’s calling Samuel.

Saul, the first king of Israel, in 1 Samuel 28, sought Elohim’s voice through prophets, dreams, and other means but received no answer. He assumed EL silence was due to his own disobedience, particularly after rejecting EL’s commands, and in desperation, he turned to a medium.

Job, during his intense suffering in the Book of Job, felt Elohim was silent despite his pleas. He didn’t initially tie it to specific sin but wrestled with why Elohim seemed absent, later learning it was a test, not punishment.

David, in Psalms like Psalm 22, expressed feelings of abandonment when Elohim seemed silent. He often wondered if his own sin or Israel’s unfaithfulness caused the disconnect, though he typically resolved it by trusting Elohim’s eventual response. These characters indeed reflect a pattern: Elohim’s silence often led them to question if sin-personal or communal-was the cause, though sometimes it was EL’s timing or testing at play.

Now, if you are part of the modern day church you might assume, “If Elohim hasn’t spoken to me, I’m merely undergoing a trial or test.” Indeed, Scripture suggests that when Elohim withholds His voice from His children, it may indicate either a test or divine displeasure. However, He typically communicates with His children prior to any trial or manifestation of His favor, signaling when something is amiss. In contrast, adherents of modern religion may never hear His voice due to persistent disobedience.

The Messenger

Elohim sends messengers, yet modern religion rejects them, as the Pharisees did. They pray for divine guidance but dismiss it when it challenges their traditions. Many mistakenly believe Yeshua criticized the Pharisees for keeping Moses Commandments. However, Luke 16:29-31 clarifies:

“Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone rises from the dead, they will repent.’ Abraham said, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.’”

If you were, or are, part of modern religious communities, as I once was, many neglect to study ancient texts as they should. They dismiss these writings, repeatedly revisiting the same books and chapters, often providing conflicting interpretations of the same passages. Consequently, they reject the one who was sent, despite professing allegiance to him, revealing their lack of true understanding.

Supporting Scriptures

If the modern church fails to grasp John 14:21—the critical importance of hearing Elohim’s and the Son’s voice—perhaps they will consider this:

“And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen Him face to face, and His message does not dwell in your hearts, because you do not believe Me—the one He sent to you.”
(John 5:37-38)

Why did Christ say, “You have neither heard His voice nor seen Him face-to-face, and His message does not dwell in your hearts because you do not believe me”? He was indicating they experienced none of what He mentioned, simply because they did not follow Elohim’s commandments.

Why did Christ say, “…nor seen Him face to face…” if the Father is invisible? Because Christ is the visible image of the invisible Elohim. Had they truly known Elohim, they would have recognized Him in His Son, for the Father dwells in the Son. So the son’s holy doctrine is not somewhat the same, but identical.

In modern religion, many claim to know the Son while rejecting the Father’s 10 commandments.

Consider also how Christ knew they had never heard Elohim’s audible voice. Yeshua does not know the future or people’s thoughts unless the Father reveals it, as shown in Revelation 1:1; only Elohim possesses such knowledge.

How, then, did He know?

Simple, their teachings of disobedience revealed it. They did not truly know Him. Had they known Him, they would have taught sound doctrine and heard His audible voice. Moses taught sound doctrine (before the concession), and the people heard Elohim’s voice. Why is this so hard to understand?

If the modern church would faithfully follow the Ten Commandments—as Christ and the apostles did—the Father and Son would have already spoken to them, as They did to Their children, including most of those brought out of Egypt.

Though many of those were later destroyed for their disobedience, they still heard His voice.

So too have my wife, my son, and I, heard him multiple times by simply following clear scriptural instructions, unburdened by traditional practices, formal attire, grand churches, or titles. Yet, in response, we have faced ongoing rejection from the modern church, but unfazed, for we know the one who knows us.

Yet the modern church persists in pretense, adopting titles for themselves and proclaiming that Yeshua knows them.

Scripture, however, labels them deceivers—1 John 2:4, immersed in a cesspool of deception. Rather than seeking the source of life, they pursued relatable, spiritually unfilled leaders.

Shalom!