Scripture References

Scripture References
Unless otherwise noted, all verses are in the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

Psalm 16:11: "Thou wilt make known to me the path of Life; In Thy presence is fullness of joy; and in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever."

Psalm 34:21 "Evil shall slay the wicked; And those who hate the righteous will be condemned."

Psalm 34:22 "The Lord redeems the soul of his servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned."

Psalm 89:11 "The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; The world and all it contains; Thou has founded them."

Psalm 90:8 "Thou hast placed our iniquities before Thee, Our secret sins in the light of Thy presence."

Psalm 90:11 "Who understands the power of Thine anger, And Thy fury, according to the fear that is due Thee?"

Psalm 135:5-6 "For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps."

Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching the evil and the good."

Proverbs 16:1-2 "The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives."

Proverbs 24:12 "If you say, 'See, we did not know this,' Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?

Isaiah 43:10-11: "You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no god formed, And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; And there is no savior besides Me."

Jeremiah 16:17 "For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes."

Jeremiah 17:13 "O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake Thee will be put to shame. Those who turn away on Earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord."

Jonah 3:1-10 "Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 'Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation which I am going to tell you.' So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three days' walk. Then Jonah began to go through the city one day's walk; and he cried out and said, 'Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.'"
"Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on the ashes. And he issued a proclamation and it said, 'In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 'But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. "Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish."
"When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. He did not do it."

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you: DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.""

Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. "And everyone who hears these words on Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."

Matthew 12:41-42 "The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South shall rise up with this generation at the judgment and shall condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here."

Matthew 12:50 "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

Mark 8:35-38 "For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's shall save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

Mark 12:28-31 "And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, 'What commandment is the foremost of all?' Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is One Lord; And You Shall Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart, And With All Your Soul, And With All Your Mind, And With All Your Strength.'" "The second is this, 'You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

Luke 12:4-5 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes I tell you, fear Him!"

Luke 13:1-5 "Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And He answered and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered this fate? "I tell you no, but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? "I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Luke 19:27 "But these enemies of Mine, who did not want Me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in My presence."

John 3:14-21 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness; even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. "But he who practices the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."

John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

John 5:22-23 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Truly, Truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

John 6:37-40 "All that the Father gives Me shall come to me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I, Myself, will raise him up on the last day."

John 8:24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins."

John 10:14-16 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd."

John 10:17-18 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back up again. This commandment I received from My Father.

John 10:27-30 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. The Father who has given them to Me is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are One."

John 11:25-26 "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die...?"

John 12:26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor Him."

John 14:1-6 "'Let not you heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.' Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.'"

John 14:23-24 "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me, does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is nor Mine, but the Father's who sent Me."

John 15:22-24 "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin." "He who hates Me, hates My Father also. "If I had not done among them the deeds which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well."

John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent."

John 18:1-6 "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the ravine of the Kidron, where there was a garden, into which He Himself entered, and His disciples. Now Judas also, who was betraying Him, knew the place; for Jesus had often met there with His disciples. Judas then, having received the Roman cohort, and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth, and said to them, 'Whom do you seek?' They answered Him, 'Jesus the Nazarene.' He said to them, 'I am He.' And Judas also who was betraying Him, was standing with them. When therefore He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground..."

Acts 4:12: "And there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved."

Romans 1:18-23 "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures."

Romans 2:11-16 "For there is no partiality with God. For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. For when Gentiles (i.e. non-Jews) who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a Law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel (i.e. good news message), God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." See also I Cor. 15:1-10

Romans 3:19-24 "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;"

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

Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 10:13 "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

I Corinthians 1:18-25 "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

'I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.'

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believed. For Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

I Corinthians 15:1-10 "Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve. After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as it were to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me."

Beware of possessing only a "vain" belief in God.

Note: A vain belief is one that is empty, and that doesn't affect our lives in any noticeable way. In other words, we "claim" to believe in God, or in Christ, but we still live as though He didn't exist, or the same as we did before we "believed." In other words, our faith in God should have a noticeable change upon our lives, and even on the way we think and view the world. For, if we truly believe, then we will realize that we are citizens of heaven, and that Jesus Christ is our savior and Lord, and as a result we either obey Him or grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). However, if we live our lives (only for ourselves) the same as we did before (our commitment to Christ), then there is a good chance that we never really "believed" in the first place.
See also Matt. 7:21-23, John 3:36, and James 2:14-20

II Cor. 5:9-10 "Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."

II Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come."

II Corinthians 6:1-2 "And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain -- for He says, 'At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the Day of Salvation I helped you'; behold, now is 'the acceptable time,' behold, now is the 'Day of Salvation' --..."

Ephesians 1:7 "In Him we have redemption, through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."

Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."

Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Phil. 3:20-21 "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself."

Colossians 3:5-6 "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come."

Colossians 3:15 "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful."

Hebrews 1:1-14 "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world (See also Col. 1:15-18). And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say,

'Thou Art My Son, Today I Have Begotten Thee'?

And again,

'I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me'?

And when He again brings the first-born into the world, He says,

'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'

And of the angels He says,

'Who makes His Angels Winds, And His Ministers A Flame of Fire.'

But of the Son He says,

'Thy throne, O God, Is Forever and Ever, And The Righteous Scepter Is The Scepter Of His Kingdom. 'Thou Hast Loved Righteousness And Hated Lawlessness; Therefore God, Thy God, Hath Anointed Thee With The Oil Of Gladness Above Thy Companions.'

And,

'Thou Lord, In The Beginning Didst Lay The Foundation Of The Earth,
And The Heavens Are The Works Of Thy Hands; They Will Perish, But Thou Remainest;
And They All Will Become As An Old Garment, And As A Mantle Thou Wilt Roll Them Up,
As A Garment They Will Also Be Changed. But Thou Art The Same,
And Thy Years Will Not Come To An End.'

But to which of the angels has He ever said,

'Sit At My Right Hand, Until I Make Thine Enemies A Footstool For Thy Feet'?

Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?"

Hebrews 4:13 "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

Hebrews 9:27 "And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,"

Hebrews 12:5-11 "and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My Son, Do Not Regard Lightly The Discipline Of The Lord, Nor Faint When You Are Reproved By Him; For Whom The Lord Loves, He Disciplines, And He Scourges Every Son Whom He Receives." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."

The Difference between a "vain" belief vs. a genuine (saving) belief:

James 2:14-20 "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?"

I Pet. 1:17-23 "And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."

"Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God."

I Peter 2:6-8 NASB-MV
"For this is contained in Scripture:

'Behold I Lay In Zion A Choice Stone, A Precious Corner Stone, And He Who Believes In Him Shall Not Be Disappointed.' "This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve, 'The Stone Which The Builders Rejected, This Became The Very Corner Stone,' and 'A Stone of Stumbling And A Rock Of Offense': -- for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word; and because of the path they have chosen for themselves, (i.e. to reject their Maker and His rightful authority over them and their lives on Earth) they will be without excuse on the day of their Judgment."

I Peter 2:24: "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

II Peter 2:4-17 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter; and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men... while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties... But ... like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; forsaking the right way they have gone astray.... These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved."

II Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance."

I John 2: 22-23 "Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also."

I John 2:25 "And this is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life."

I John 5:1, 9-12 "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him... If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son. And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."
See also John 14:23-24 above, and note the word "we." See also John 3:14-21; 3:36 and 5:22-23.

Revelation 1:17-18 "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying: 'Do not be afraid: I am the first, and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.'"

Revelation 3:20

"Behold I stand at the door and knock;
if anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come into Him and will dine with Him and he with Me."

In other words, Jesus Christ, the Creator, Savior, and Judge, Will NOT kick the door of your heart down and Force His way in, but rather He simply "knocks" and waits for you to Invite Him into your life. For that is what True Love is all about. And if you don't want to have anything to do with Your Creator, and the One who shed His Blood for your sins, and also the One who holds the Keys of Eternal Life and Death, then that will be on you on the day of Judgment. For if that is the case, then instead of Jesus being your Savior, He will be your Judge. And you will be Judged according to your own "good works" -- and will very likely fall short, of God's standard of Perfection (and especially if you heard about Jesus, and what He did for you and also offered you. John 15:22; Rom. 3:19-24)