Is accepting Christ enough to be saved?

Everlasting-Grace · Sep 3, 2022

1. You can not love Jesus before you are saved. The Bible says we love because he FIRST LOVED US
2. You can not BELIEVE everything the word of God teaches before you are given the HS. The things of God are foolishness to you
3. Before you are saved, you are Gods enemy. You do not go from an enemy hating someone, to loving that person.
4.. Love requires a personal relationship. You can not possibly love God until you have had a relationship for some time.
5. Faith in all areas of your life takes time. Its one thing to trust he died to save your soul because you were lost and needed rescued. Its another thing to believe you have to stop having sex with your girlfirlend and move out because your living in sin until you get married. Especially since you have been sexually active for multiple years.. (I have witnessed many a couple who found christ eventually do that very thing, because the HS worked on them. And they wanted to do what was right.. But it did not happen overnight. And this is just one example of sin. There are many many sins we have spent a lifetime of doing. Some we may carry for along time as I said earlier.

as for your last comment. Jesus lived wiht these men for three years. Hey believed in him and followed him and knew him intimately. They did love him, because he spend three years showing how he loved them.

Context helps..

Everlasting-Grace · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

Yes.. We need to be as the tax collector.. And I think this is lifelong.

To many pharisees pumping their chest praising God how they are not like the Sinner. When they are just like the sinner, they just have different sins.

Everlasting-Grace · Sep 3, 2022

gb9 said:

I believe this is the churches fault. Sadly I feel the church is in a numbers game, how many can I get saved. And they forget. Once a person is saved, they need discipled. I believe there are many sincere people of faith who came to christ, who ended up lost (not loss of salvation, lost in their way) because the church failed them

Everlasting-Grace · Sep 3, 2022

The_Watchers_2017 said:

Hellfire and brimestone teaching have their place. One place it does not have is in a church of true believers.

We had a pastor who did nothing but hellfire and brimstone for two years. He lost half of his congregation. Because all they did was get judged every sunsay as if they were unsaved. And there was no edification and way for them to grow.

Everlasting-Grace · Sep 3, 2022

HealthAndHappiness said:

Its one thing to believe in God, even in jesus

its another to repent that you are a lost sinner, headed straight to an eternity away from God. And that God sent his son to die on a cross for YOUR sins so you can be restored to fellowship with him based on that love grace and mercy he offers. And nothing else.

Far to many people want their cake and eat it too (God and sin or licentiousness) or they want to earn the cake, or they will not take it (God plus works or legalism)

mailmandan · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

In James 2:19, we see that the devils believe "mental assent" that "there is one God," but they do not believe in/have faith in/trust and reliance in Jesus Christ for salvation. In other words, they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31) and are not saved. Their trust and reliance is in Satan, as demonstrated by their rebellion in heaven and continuous evil works.

Your interpretation results in salvation by works, which did not work out for these many people in Matthew 7:22 who were trusting in works for salvation and in verse 23, we see that Jesus never knew these many people. Sobering thought! In regards to doing the will of the Father unto salvation, in John 6:40 we read - For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

Man is saved through faith and not by works (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; 2 Timothy 1:9); yet genuine faith is substantiated, evidenced by works. (James 2:14-24) Christ saves us through faith based on the merits of His finished work of redemption "alone" and not based on the merits of our works. It is through faith "in Christ alone" (and not based on the merits of our works) that we are justified on account of Christ (Romans 3:24; 5:1; 5:9); yet the faith that justifies does not remain alone (unfruitful, barren) if it is genuine. (James 2:14-24). *Perfect Harmony*

In James 2:14, we read of one who says/claims he has faith but has no works (to evidence his claim). That is not genuine faith, but a bare profession of faith. So when James asks, "Can that faith save him?" he is saying nothing against genuine faith, but only against an empty profession of faith/dead faith. *So James does not teach that we are saved "by" works. His concern is to show the reality of the faith professed by the individual (James 2:18) and demonstrate that the faith claimed (James 2:14) by the individual is genuine. Simple!

We need to realize that James is discussing the evidence of faith (says-claims to have faith but has no works/I will show you my faith by my works - James 2:14-18) and not the initial act of being accounted as righteous with God. (Romans 4:2-3)

HealthAndHappiness · Sep 3, 2022

Everlasting-Grace said:

He knows how to discipline His children when necessary.

"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."

That's why I prefer 1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Snacks · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

You refer to yourself 12 times in the above post. Nine I’s and three me’s. All the while you condemn others who have faith in Jesus Christ, albeit with differing views. You may want to check your self-righteousness at the door.

tourist · Sep 3, 2022

The answer to your question is yes.

peldom10 · Sep 3, 2022

Chester said:

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.

If you are suggesting ...no works are indicated...you would be wrong.
That is a new age religion teaching...that is not scriptural.

PennEd · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

Isn't that exactly what you, and others that demand a show of works to prove Salvation do with the James verse about the demons believing?

BTW- The devil and his demons are ineligible for Salvation NOT because they believe and don't have good works, but because God didn't become an angel or demon and die to pay their sin debt. He became a human being, and ONLY human beings are eligible to be saved.

PennEd · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

God doesn't put "exceptions" in His Word for any other reason but to edify a situation for us who will read, and understand how He operates, and we should.

In this case, it is to show us to NEVER give up on someone, even as they are on death's doorstep. Continually pray, and give the Gospel, in the hopes that in their last moments of life, they will believe and become born anew.

studentoftheword · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

I say
HA HA ----but this just proves that you don't understand the difference between Salvation and God's Plan in the beginning to bring about Salvation ------

The scripture you quote here is from the Old testament and God the Father dealt directly with the people to bring about His plan of Salvation -----

So God chose whom He wanted because God knew who He could rely on --Esau sold his birthright for some stew----- Esau was the first one born and had the birthright but thought more about his stomach than he did about serving God ---God already knew who would be His chosen when the Babies were in the Womb -----

What your doing is trying to take a piece of Scripture and use it to prove YOUR POINT ---Without any Understanding of what you are Quoting ------Context of the Scripture explains itself -----

God chose Jacob from the very beginning--before He created the Earth to be the one who He would call Israel ------Esau gave birth to the Edomites who were pagans ------there was no favouritism shown here God already had Jacob chosen for His roll in His Plan for Salvation ------

So you need to understand the whole truth from Scripture ---and not make up what you feel is your truth -------
Read the whole context of the scripture ----God knew who would become a pagan and who would serve Him before they were born ------- God played out His plan before Jacob and Esau were conceived ----

Genesis 25:19-34

New International Version

Jacob and Esau
19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram[a] and sister of Laban the Aramean.

21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 The Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”

24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.

25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.[b]

26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.[c] Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.

28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.

30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.[d])

31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”

33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.
So Esau despised his birthright.

PennEd · Sep 3, 2022

arthurfleminger said:

Yes. Jesus NEVER knew them. It is NOT like they were born again, did, or didn't do something they were supposed to do and were then lost.

THEY WERE NEVER BORN AGAIN TO BEGIN WITH!

What they DID have, and what they DID rely on, was their WORKS. Things that WE would think were good things.

22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

NONE of them said " Lord, did we not trust in YOU, YOUR Sacrifice for our sin, and YOUR resurrection?"

arthurfleminger said:

Matthew 11:30

New King James Version

30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The WIDE path is EVERY single religion or no religion that does not entirely rely on Jesus Christ ALONE for Salvation.
Examples would be without being exclusive:
Islam
Judaism
Buddhism
Hinduism
Mormonism
Jehovah's Witness
Scientology
AND ANY "Christianity" that mixes works with Grace, to attain or maintain Salvation.

Snacks · Sep 3, 2022

tourist said:

The magnificent, beautiful simplicity of God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, right there in one sentence. 🙏😎

Snacks · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

Did Jesus Christ say to the thief on the cross, “you are an exception therefore today you will be with me in paradise”? No He didn’t, so stop shutting out the Kingdom of Heaven against others by devaluing God’s grace. It’s people like you who push people away from the Lord.

ebdesroches · Sep 3, 2022

Snacks said:

Repent, believe, and His grace will save you. Continue in this all your life doing all he says to do!

XavierJesusLovesIndia · Sep 3, 2022

Gal 6:

Be Generous and Do Good
6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Heb 10:36 "For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised."

James 1:12
"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Rom 2:

4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your [a]impenitent heart you are [b]treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”: 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the [c]Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.

ebdesroches · Sep 3, 2022

ebdesroches said:

It did me good to see all of the responses to see that there’s very few that subscribe to easy believism.

Probably the Easy believism people can’t let go of some sin or another or believed God would ask too much of them. If they always confessed their sin and trusted God and did what God required they would be in the same, scripturally based, camp we* are by default.

Having said that:

*Oops! Do I hear the pharisee in me talking? I really believe I am a complete wreck without Gods grace! I love His mercy and forgiveness So don't look at my clay feet please!

The_Watchers_2017 · Sep 3, 2022

Runningman said:

seeker friendly, universal, and more new age has emerged in the past 20 years.

Is accepting Christ enough to be saved?

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Banned

Senior Member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Senior Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Banned

Well-known member

Banned