Is accepting Christ enough to be saved?

[ebdesroches]

The one time mere confession of "accepting Christ" from the non-Christian and the Christian is far from enough! It only puts you in the same category as Satan who believes! If you are a Christian what should your attitude be about doing the right thing? Are you saved? 1John 3:9 says “No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” Many translations say "continue" in sin, a habit of sinning. Matthew 7:21 says: “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.” Christianity is about doing God’s will. Rev 20:13: "... and they were judged every man according to their works."

What Jesus do you believe in? The one who gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity? The one who gave us a new nature, who enabled us to do what’s right? Shall you continue in sin that grace may abound? (Rom 6:1). What you do is directly related to what you believe.
You have the power to walk the way he walked.

Does obeying God's just commandments mean that it has to be a hard, white knuckled, teeth clenching event as a Christian? No! You can love Him and really want to do what is right, because you seek to please God with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your soul. Many have felt the return love of God which cannot be replaced by anything on this Earth. Out of the abundance of love for God you will want to worship Him because he first loved you by His sacrifice. When you know Him even more you will see who He really is, His power, beauty, His gentleness, His tenderness, (and a long list of other superlatives) plus his continued forgiveness for the rare times you fall. Then you will want to worship Him even more!

 

[Nehemiah6]

The one time mere confession of "accepting Christ" from the non-Christian and the Christian is far from enough!

Then just explain what this means: Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26)

 

[Jesusfollower]

Then just explain what this means: Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26)

Martha knew Jesus well, she knew and confessed he was the messiah, the son of God, she believed in him. When you love someone with all your heart, you will try your best to imitate them to better yourself. Jesus followed the commandments of eternal Life and love as given to us. He was teaching the commandments to the people and disciples, and all who would listen. He wants for us to sin no more, He wants us to know the truth, he is sinless and is the perfect example that we need to follow.

Peace,

Jf

 

[Nehemiah6]

Martha knew Jesus well, she knew and confessed he was the messiah, the son of God, she believed in him. When you love someone with all your heart, you will try your best to imitate them to better yourself. Jesus followed the commandments of eternal Life and love as given to us. He was teaching the commandments to the people and disciples, and all who would listen. He wants for us to sin no more, He wants us to know the truth, he is sinless and is the perfect example that we need to follow.

None of that is expressed in the quoted words of Christ. And none of that was found in that thief who was invited to Paradise. So once again, what exactly did Jesus say?

 

[LoveBrokeThru]

The one time mere confession of "accepting Christ" from the non-Christian and the Christian is far from enough!

Reader,

Salvation is not something you do.
Its something that Christ accomplished on the Cross, for you

So, how is this SALVATiON, that Christ accomplished on the Cross, received?

"all that call on the name of Jesus, shall be saved".

Jesus said..>"all that BELIEVE IN ME......i give unto them Eternal Life, and they shall never Perish'.

So, Salvation is not what you do.......Its what God provides, as "the GIFT of Salvation, and this gift is given by God to all who Believe.
Their "faith, is counted as Righteousness" and they are "justified by Faith".

 

[Everlasting-Grace]

While the op is correct. Mere belief has never saved anyone.

We must be careful when we try to add our acts of obedience as a requirement to be saved. As paul said when the jews tried to add circumcision to the gospel of grace. If your going to do that, your indebted to obey the whole law. As as Moses said (in deut 27: 26) , and paul re-terates in his letter the the Galation church in the 3rd chapter, Whoever is under that law is cursed. because cursed is everyone who does not obey every word.

We need saved because we are guilty
We need rescued from the curse of death (the penalty of sin is death) and this is only done by the gift of God (but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus)

The issue is do you trust God at keeping his word. Do you believe Jesus when he said it is finished (literally paid in full or completed) when it came to the payment of sin. Do you trust when he said whoever believes is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.. That as moses lifted the serpent, so to must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes will not perish. but have life eternal or forever?

or do you lack this faith. as the jews who thought yes, I believe Jesus, But I can;t believe all I must do is receive this gift. I have to do my part (circumcision and other works of the law) in which case, they really did not have faith. they had mere belief. Much like those James confronted. who also had mere belief. but did not think they sinned or were bad. hence why the continued to live in sin as they lived before they supposedly had faith.

 

[ebdesroches]

The devil believes in God, yet not saved.

There is more than one verse that talks about salvation. This one is hard to escape is Matthew 7:21 says: “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. Notice the word "Does" it means you do what God wants, do not continue in sin and do the works He wants you to do.

True enough you are saved by faith, works confirm you are saved:

James 2:14
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

 

[Chester]

The one time mere confession of "accepting Christ" from the non-Christian and the Christian is far from enough! It only puts you in the same category as Satan who believes! If you are a Christian what should your attitude be about doing the right thing? Are you saved? 1John 3:9 says “No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” Many translations say "continue" in sin, a habit of sinning. Matthew 7:21 says: “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.” Christianity is about doing God’s will. Rev 20:13: "... and they were judged every man according to their works."

What Jesus do you believe in? The one who gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity? The one who gave us a new nature, who enabled us to do what’s right? Shall you continue in sin that grace may abound? (Rom 6:1). What you do is directly related to what you believe.
You have the power to walk the way he walked.

Does obeying God's just commandments mean that it has to be a hard, white knuckled, teeth clenching event as a Christian? No! You can love Him and really want to do what is right, because you seek to please God with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your soul. Many have felt the return love of God which cannot be replaced by anything on this Earth. Out of the abundance of love for God you will want to worship Him because he first loved you by His sacrifice. When you know Him even more you will see who He really is, His power, beauty, His gentleness, His tenderness, (and a long list of other superlatives) plus his continued forgiveness for the rare times you fall. Then you will want to worship Him even more!

Salvation is not by "accepting": salvation begins with the grace of God working in the heart of the believer to produce a deep-seated faith that clings to Jesus because of a deep need. Salvation is through faith in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Saving faith is not intellectual belief in a set of facts: too often this is all that is "required" to make one a Christian in many churches in America today.

Where do works come in? They spring out of faith and are a part of the package of salvation. They are not an extra optional add-on that the sincere believer uses to stick a feather in his hat.

 

[ebdesroches]

While the op is correct. Mere belief has never saved anyone.

We must be careful when we try to add our acts of obedience as a requirement to be saved. As paul said when the jews tried to add circumcision to the gospel of grace. If your going to do that, your indebted to obey the whole law. As as Moses said (in deut 27: 26) , and paul re-terates in his letter the the Galation church in the 3rd chapter, Whoever is under that law is cursed. because cursed is everyone who does not obey every word.

We need saved because we are guilty
We need rescued from the curse of death (the penalty of sin is death) and this is only done by the gift of God (but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus)

The issue is do you trust God at keeping his word. Do you believe Jesus when he said it is finished (literally paid in full or completed) when it came to the payment of sin. Do you trust when he said whoever believes is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.. That as moses lifted the serpent, so to must the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes will not perish. but have life eternal or forever?

or do you lack this faith. as the jews who thought yes, I believe Jesus, But I can;t believe all I must do is receive this gift. I have to do my part (circumcision and other works of the law) in which case, they really did not have faith. they had mere belief. Much like those James confronted. who also had mere belief. but did not think they sinned or were bad. hence why the continued to live in sin as they lived before they supposedly had faith.

Yes, the justice of God requires the sacrifice of His own dear Son so that we may be saved from our sins. Because our offenses are against God, He has made the condition that we believe that His sacrifice covers our sins, and we are forgiven by that. The results of being born again is that we have a heart that loves God and doesn't continue in sin. It's hard to make the case that it's OK to continue to commit adultery, lying, theft etc. because we are believers, and we are forgiven. It's hard to make the case that we should not do good works. If we continue to do these sins and don't do good works, it says:

Luke 13:23
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

It's OK to do good and not to sin! (Ok I am having a bit of fun here!)

It's not OK to say (for example) way back in 1995 I went to a Billy Graham crusade I was saved..... since then I have committed every sin I did before and basically never did anything for the Kingdom or the King, but sure I'm saved. Your life has to be consistent with that confession of faith.

 

[ebdesroches]

Then just explain what this means: Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26)

The scripture has to be taken as a complete work. It is possible to quote one verse to prove a point but not have the correct idea.

 

[ebdesroches]

None of that is expressed in the quoted words of Christ. And none of that was found in that thief who was invited to Paradise. So once again, what exactly did Jesus say?

None of that is expressed in the quoted words of Christ. And none of that was found in that thief who was invited to Paradise. So once again, what exactly did Jesus say?

The thief on the cross was an acception, Jesus knew he had no more life to live. So since he had no more life to live, just the faith was enough. We who have life to live after conversion must live to Him and die to Him, the One we love..

Besides that what else did he say that you object to?

 

[ebdesroches]

Salvation is not by "accepting": salvation begins with the grace of God working in the heart of the believer to produce a deep-seated faith that clings to Jesus because of a deep need. Salvation is through faith in the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Saving faith is not intellectual belief in a set of facts: too often this is all that is "required" to make one a Christian in many churches in America today.

Where do works come in? They spring out of faith and are a part of the package of salvation. They are not an extra optional add-on that the sincere believer uses to stick a feather in his hat.

Absolutely! Thanks

 

[Nehemiah6]

The scripture has to be taken as a complete work. It is possible to quote one verse to prove a point but not have the correct idea.

You showed a thumb down to the words of Christ. So you will also show a thumb down to John 3:14-17 which says exactly the same thing. And I could add many more verses but you would not accept them for what they are. Which means that you DO NOT BELIEVE.

 

[arthurfleminger]

The one time mere confession of "accepting Christ" from the non-Christian and the Christian is far from enough! It only puts you in the same category as Satan who believes! If you are a Christian what should your attitude be about doing the right thing? Are you saved? 1John 3:9 says “No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.” Many translations say "continue" in sin, a habit of sinning. Matthew 7:21 says: “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.” Christianity is about doing God’s will. Rev 20:13: "... and they were judged every man according to their works."

What Jesus do you believe in? The one who gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity? The one who gave us a new nature, who enabled us to do what’s right? Shall you continue in sin that grace may abound? (Rom 6:1). What you do is directly related to what you believe.
You have the power to walk the way he walked.

Does obeying God's just commandments mean that it has to be a hard, white knuckled, teeth clenching event as a Christian? No! You can love Him and really want to do what is right, because you seek to please God with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your soul. Many have felt the return love of God which cannot be replaced by anything on this Earth. Out of the abundance of love for God you will want to worship Him because he first loved you by His sacrifice. When you know Him even more you will see who He really is, His power, beauty, His gentleness, His tenderness, (and a long list of other superlatives) plus his continued forgiveness for the rare times you fall. Then you will want to worship Him even more!

Jesus told us that, "Many will call Lord, Lord and will not be saved. Only those that do the Will of My Father in heaven will be saved." The road to perdition is wide, many will try and take the short cut, the easy way. But the road to eternal life is narrow, few will find it.

 

[ebdesroches]

You showed a thumb down to the words of Christ. So you will also show a thumb down to John 3:14-17 which says exactly the same thing. And I could add many more verses but you would not accept them for what they are. Which means that you DO NOT BELIEVE.

You showed a thumb down to the words of Christ. So you will also show a thumb down to John 3:14-17 which says exactly the same thing. And I could add many more verses but you would not accept them for what they are. Which means that you DO NOT BELIEVE.

Clarification: The thumbs down is not the verse. The verse is excellent and I do believe it. Its the implication (maybe wrongly?) that you think that all you have to do is believe and you are saved....no results in your life that the thumbs down is for.

 

[ebdesroches]

Jesus told us that, "Many will call Lord, Lord and will not be saved. Only those that do the Will of My Father in heaven will be saved." The road to perdition is wide, many will try and take the short cut, the easy way. But the road to eternal life is narrow, few will find it.

I am encouraged!

 

[arthurfleminger]

Then just explain what this means: Jesus said unto her [Martha], I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26)

Maybe Jesus is talking about believing in Him as Lord, God, and Savior and all that He taught us to do? Following Jesus' teachings is part of the belief in Jesus. Belief in Jesus isn't just a mental acceptance, never was and was never meant to be.

 

[Everlasting-Grace]

Yes, the justice of God requires the sacrifice of His own dear Son so that we may be saved from our sins. Because our offenses are against God, He has made the condition that we believe that His sacrifice covers our sins, and we are forgiven by that. The results of being born again is that we have a heart that loves God and doesn't continue in sin. It's hard to make the case that it's OK to continue to commit adultery, lying, theft etc. because we are believers, and we are forgiven. It's hard to make the case that we should not do good works. If we continue to do these sins and don't do good works, it says:

Luke 13:23
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”

And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.

It's OK to do good and not to sin! (Ok I am having a bit of fun here!)

It's not OK to say (for example) way back in 1995 I went to a Billy Graham crusade I was saved..... since then I have committed every sin I did before and basically never did anything for the Kingdom or the King, but sure I'm saved. Your life has to be consistent with that confession of faith.

the problem is. People want to judge those who struggle with certain sins (alcohol, drugs, sex) and do not want to fess up they have their own "bessetting" sins.

Its not my place to judge a person if he is saved or not. It is God. It is his or her disciplers job to help come side by side with them and help them (us) with these sins.. But even then they are not to judge.

So many people have walked away from God because they give up. instead of being helped. they are attacked and judge as lost.. "why bother, i can;t do it"

thats the point, we can not do it, The power of God and those in our lives are what helps us.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

I am encouraged!

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
-Jesus

John6:40

 

[Everlasting-Grace]

Jesus told us that, "Many will call Lord, Lord and will not be saved. Only those that do the Will of My Father in heaven will be saved." The road to perdition is wide, many will try and take the short cut, the easy way. But the road to eternal life is narrow, few will find it.

your right.

Those who are trying to earn salvation by obedience is the largest most widespread religion on earth.

Those who believe by jumping into the net below to escape a flaming building (into jumping into Christ hands) and stop trying to save themseves are few and far between