Can men be saved by grace, word, works or by bread. These have been touted as ways or means to salvation, But how effective are they?
Those who think spiritual is not for them will be living by bread alone. Then they are denying life beyond death and may end up living to the hilt and getting what they want in life. They end up tormented by not getting enough and will be victims of their wants.
The Bible says men shall not live by bread alone. They are the ones living by bread alone. Bread alone is not enough!
Those who think spiritual is not for them will be living by bread alone. Then they are denying life beyond death and may end up living to the hilt and getting what they want in life. They end up tormented by not getting enough and will be victims of their wants.
The Bible says men shall not live by bread alone. They are the ones living by bread alone. Bread alone is not enough!
Lord Bo Tien adds that such men have doubts about spiritual and doubts arise because they do not understand. It is alright to have doubts and for men not to agree. They should not be condemned but be welcome to the holy temple of a heavenly saint despite their doubts and deference. In time, they will learn and if they do learn, they will be near to the lord even if far initially.
Those believers who believe and appear to have no doubts may be far if they are shallow in their spiritual grasp. If they somehow do not develop further and do not learn from why others do not think or believe as they do, then they themselves too are lacking in doctrine or spirituality.
They may end up far though near initially. Thus the lord saint Lord Bo Tien says that the far may be near and the near far. Many in a temple may be like that. They pass negative remarks on those who do not readily agree with them. This is due in part to conceit and thinking that they are the chosen ones.
Then there are those who are good and attend to the worldly needs of those who lack in bread. They may be in temples or outside temples. They carry out welfare works, good works so that the needy others could have their daily bread, so that they can at least live by bread.
But they too have their dark side and their good though good may not be good enough or often outweighed by their dark side. While they will reap goodness, they too will reap darkness from their dark side.
On the balance, their good may not be good enough or will not last long. They may end up not having the durable peace or not at peace at all with themselves. They reap places in Heaven but may not be there long enough and have to come down again as men or other beings.
But the truth is that many though having done good have done more bad as well and on their own merits do not deserve to even have short sojourn in Heaven had it not been for the Grace of God and saints.
They think they can live without food. They deny basic needs of body, thinking that this is the way to be away from the world to be with God and saints. They think men can live without bread.
They mortify themselves and torture themselves, so that they have less of the flesh and more of spirit. They have the false notion that the absence of peace is due to their body and they must deny the needs of the body. They end up even further from peace which is the goal of their spiritual pursuit.
Thus in summary, for those who live by bread alone, for those who think they do not need to go by bread, for those who think they are spiritual by being in a temple, and for those who additionally do good works, all fall short of the glory of God and saints. They must be saved by grace of God and saints.
That is why there is the Pure Land of Amitabha where all who are not good enough can go to that section of Heaven to learn more. But in time, they may have to come down as men again to cultivate themselves further. That is why most of men need to be saved by grace, without which it would be a much longer spiritual road to even a finite sojourn in lower level Heaven, let alone the 7th Heaven and beyond.
But grace is not enough, they must know the Word and cultivate the Word. The Word is God. Lord Bo Tien says that he who sees, knows and effects the Word or Doctrine sees, knows God and saints. But the process of walking in the Word is long and men need shelter and blessings of God and saints along the way. Men still need divine grace.
Men need lasting peace and the world is always in flux never at peace for long. This will deny men of lasting peace unless they persevere and be content with more moments of peace. Men need to be at peace by balancing the flux of the opposite contenders in life - the worldly contingencies of yin and yang, the ups and the downs, the fire and the water etc.
This won't be easy and it will be a long drawn process though momentary peace or success is there from moment to moment. So men still need good works and the shelter of God and saints.
This won't be easy and it will be a long drawn process though momentary peace or success is there from moment to moment. So men still need good works and the shelter of God and saints.
In totality, men must be saved by combination of grace, word, works and by bread. This is the principle behind salvation. Men shall not be saved by good works alone, be it by good deeds or the good word or doctrine, for the road of practice of Word is long and arduous while good works is finite and not good enough anyway. That is the problem - a dilemma of sorts.
Men must be saved by Grace of God and saints. Grace is good though not good enough. We need to cultivate the Word, we need to have good works and we need to be men, and as men in flesh, we need to live by bread as well.
In Tao or Way as taught by sages of old in China, we need to balance all. They call this the balancing of yin and yang. Yin and yang must work as one. We must balance the elements or parts of life like depicted by the feet of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien atop elements in his image.
In Tao or Way as taught by sages of old in China, we need to balance all. They call this the balancing of yin and yang. Yin and yang must work as one. We must balance the elements or parts of life like depicted by the feet of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien atop elements in his image.
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| LORD BO TIEN |
There is the sheer delicate need to comfortably and where possible effortlessly intertwine all ways in wholesome holistic totality - be it by Grace, by Word, by Works or by Bread. This requires practice and having to acquire more of the knack to have the momentary joy in the process - every moment or minute of it and never mind when the end point will be or will come.
God and heavenly saints at all levels of Heaven and outside Heaven will look down and rejoice in the men who are able to do so. Their joy knows no limits and radiates to the wayfarers to augment their many moments of peace so that they can have bigger moments of peace. Isn't that augmentation by grace?
Isn't that wonderful and heavenly? Well, go for it. Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door will open. Do we need a religion for this? Certainly 'yes' and of course any religion will do but we are not necessarily disadvantaged if we do not have one.
This is indeed the view of Lord Bo Tien the messenger of God for the mission to reawaken men of religions in their respective religions to the common way to salvation behind all religions. God bless.
This is indeed the view of Lord Bo Tien the messenger of God for the mission to reawaken men of religions in their respective religions to the common way to salvation behind all religions. God bless.
