Agreed, but we have a part to play, as well - Trusting enough to obey, not perfectly, (Yet!) but with a pursuit of Him that is whole hearted. We will have no desire to sin when the new heavens and the new earth come, and some will have no desire to sin even before that, when the event described in the passage quoted above comes to fruition.
When I talk about trusting God I am not talking about just saying some words. I mean trusting God.
Let me try to explain.
Back in 1979 I was not a very good person. Just to keep this simple one moment I was not a believer the next moment I was.
I did not know anything about church or what I was "supposed" to do. I did not "repent" by confessing my sins.
I spent the next couple of months reading the bible, praying and seeking God. I found that I did not want to lie or cheat because I knew it was not life.
For me there was amazing joy just knowing that God was real and he loved me.
My girlfriend (who is now my wife) also became a Christian.
For the first month or so I didn't talk to anybody. Except my girlfriend. Not because I didn't want to but because I was seeking God every moment I had.
It may sound boring to you but it was the best time of my life. I was walking in pure joy.
Then I went to visit a friend that did not know what had happened with me.
I knocked on his door. When he opened it he took a step back and say you're different, I want what you have. So he is also a Christian.
Then someone told me about Christian churches. Talk about being clueless. I just didn't know.
I go to church and I hear that in order to be a Christian I need to pray at least 15 minutes a day, Read my bible every day, Repent of my sins. On and On.
So I thought I was doing great. I easily prayed 15 minutes a day. I was always reading my bible. I wasn't sure if I repented the way I was "supposed" to. So I told God I was a sinner and asked Him to forgive my sins.
Things changed after that. Instead of praying because I wanted to be with God I was checking my watch to make sure I was praying for at least 15 minutes. I was checking how much time I was reading my bible.
In other words what was a joy became a law that I had to follow.
To keep it simple I was completely deceived. I don't blame anybody, it was my choice to be deceived. I look back now and I realize that I wanted to be sure that I was walking with God. I no longer trusted that He was speaking to me. Maybe I was making it all up.
I started to do more things for the church. We had a youth group that was growing fast. I poured my life into it
What was really happening was not good. I replaced Loving God with repenting of my sins by doing good works. It all sounded holy and right.
A few years later I was falling apart on the inside. I wanted so much to be perfect in his eyes. I just couldn't do it. I failed at being perfect over and over.
Finally I just gave up. I told God that I couldn't follow Him anymore because I was a complete failure.
That is when I heard Him say, When did I tell you to do these things? Return to your first love.
So when I say that trusting God is all we need to be saved I am saying that from my understanding of trusting God instead of what we can do to be right with Him.
Agreed, but we have a part to play, as well - Trusting enough to obey, not perfectly, (Yet!) but with a pursuit of Him that is whole hearted. We will have no desire to sin when the new heavens and the new earth come, and some will have no desire to sin even before that, when the event described in the passage quoted above comes to fruition.
When I talk about trusting God I am not talking about just saying some words. I mean trusting God. Let me try to explain.
Back in 1979 I was not a very good person. Just to keep this simple one moment I was not a believer the next moment I was. I did not know anything about church or what I was "supposed" to do. I did not "repent" by confessing my sins.
I spent the next couple of months reading the bible, praying and seeking God. I found that I did not want to lie or cheat because I knew it was not life. For me there was amazing joy just knowing that God was real and he loved me.
My girlfriend (who is now my wife) also became a Christian.
For the first month or so I didn't talk to anybody. Except my girlfriend. Not because I didn't want to but because I was seeking God every moment I had.
It may sound boring to you but it was the best time of my life. I was walking in pure joy.
Then I went to visit a friend that did not know what had happened with me. I knocked on his door. When he opened it he took a step back and say you're different, I want what you have. So he is also a Christian.
Then someone told me about Christian churches. Talk about being clueless. I just didn't know.
I go to church and I hear that in order to be a Christian I need to pray at least 15 minutes a day, Read my bible every day, Repent of my sins. On and On.
So I thought I was doing great. I easily prayed 15 minutes a day. I was always reading my bible. I wasn't sure if I repented the way I was "supposed" to. So I told God I was a sinner and asked Him to forgive my sins.
Things changed after that. Instead of praying because I wanted to be with God I was checking my watch to make sure I was praying for at least 15 minutes. I was checking how much time I was reading my bible.
In other words what was a joy became a law that I had to follow.
To keep it simple I was completely deceived. I don't blame anybody, it was my choice to be deceived. I look back now and I realize that I wanted to be sure that I was walking with God. I no longer trusted that He was speaking to me. Maybe I was making it all up.
I started to do more things for the church. We had a youth group that was growing fast. I poured my life into it What was really happening was not good. I replaced Loving God with repenting of my sins by doing good works. It all sounded holy and right.
A few years later I was falling apart on the inside. I wanted so much to be perfect in his eyes. I just couldn't do it. I failed at being perfect over and over.
Finally I just gave up. I told God that I couldn't follow Him anymore because I was a complete failure.
That is when I heard Him say, When did I tell you to do these things? Return to your first love.
So when I say that trusting God is all we need to be saved I am saying that from my understanding of trusting God instead of what we can do to be right with Him.
I understand, and in the sense you described, I agree. It all relies on grace.