1. First, the bad news - we’re all sinners in the eyes of God.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
2. More bad news - the result of sin is death.
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death.
There are two parts to death. The first death is a physical death here on earth. The second death is the lake of fire (hell).
Revelation 21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
That’s a pretty bad list, right? But, notice at the end of the list it said “all liars.” The Bible says, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). The point here is that we’re all sinners and we’re all condemned to hell - even if the only thing you have ever done wrong is tell a lie.
3. Now the Good news – God has a gift He wants to give you (eternal life).
Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God has a gift He wants to give you and that gift is eternal life and it is through Jesus Christ. You don’t have to work for the gift and you don’t have to pay for the gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
4. More Good News – Jesus paid the price for our sins.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Just because the gift is free doesn’t mean that someone didn’t pay for it. Since God wants to give you a gift, He’s the giver and you’re the receiver, so He paid for the gift. Jesus paid for the gift by His death, burial and resurrection. Do you believe that Jesus died, was buried and was resurrected on the third day to pay for our sins?
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
God says he wants to give you eternal life, that is life that will never end. This means that when you die the initial physical death, you will not die the second death of being cast into the lake of fire but instead you will go and live with God forever in heaven.
Titus 1:2: In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
Our hope for eternal life is that God cannot lie. So if God promises you life that will never end, then He will give you life that never ends. Salvation had nothing to do with you, remember it’s “not of yourselves” (Ephesians 2:8). When God forgives you of your sins; He forgives you of all your sins—past, present, future. That is how he can guarantee us eternal life.
5. All you have to do is accept God’s gift for you by faith.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If someone were to buy a gift, wrap it and write your name on it, it would not become yours until you accepted it. The gift from God is exactly the same. It’s already been paid for by Jesus Christ and God offers it to everyone but you need to accept it. You accept the gift of eternal life by confessing with your mouth while believing in your heart.
Do you want to accept Jesus Christ and be saved from your sins right now? Then just say this simple prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I’m a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I believe that you died on the cross, were buried and rose again to pay for my sins. I ask you to save me, forgive me of my sins and take me to heaven when I die. Thank you for giving me eternal life. Amen.
Congratulations, you are saved!
If you prayed that prayer and got saved, send me a message - it would make an old Canadian guy very happy to hear that you got saved. God bless.
This is Protestantism, not Christianity. The Orthodox Church does not ever say to a believer, "You can be sure you're going to heaven." Things can point in that direction, but we never can say, "I'm going to heaven when I die." There is a famous story of an aged monk, a man of holiness, who, on his deathbed was asked, "How can we get to heaven?" , by another monk. He said, "Do as I have done", the answer that sent him to Hell because it was prideful. So, keep struggling every day. There is no resting on one's laurels, if you get my drift. LIFE IS A STRUGGLE.
You have misunderstood the Gospel, I'm afraid. I rest on God's laurels. There are many, many, many, many passages in the Bible that unequivocally teach assurance of salvation. Here's one:
The blood gives us the righteousness of Christ from the point of our most sinful state (through faith), so after that, what more would Christ hold against us? He's seen us on our worst hair day, dressed in filthy rags, smelling like manure, and no make-up on, and he still cleaned us up, gave us new clothes, married us and brought us into His house. We can be sure He will love us forever after that!
Look at how often salvation is referred to as a gift from God. A gift, not a reward. If God gives a gift, would He take it back? Only if we reject it, refuse it, renounce it, could we ever not own it.
I strongly suggest you look up a preacher named Andrew Farley. He teaches well on this subject, like all the time, over and over. Almost everything he teaches is about this, and and it's very clear. Be blessed.
Who is us?
If it is everyone, then Joe Biden gets to go to heaven and meet all the kids he sniffed without so much as needing to repent or even believe in God.
If it isn't everyone, then what do we have to do for that verse to apply to us? Believe in Christ? Do I really believe in someone if I refuse to do anything they told me to do? I mean, even the demons believe in Christ. They know He is Lord. They know He rose from the dead. They just reject Him anyway.
So if actually doing what Christ tells us is required, how can I know I am saved?
Not to levy any disrespect, truly, but is Andrew Farley as clear on the subject as Paul is:
Romans 11:17-24 NLT [17] But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. [18] But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.
[19] “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” [20] Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. [21] For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. [22] Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. [23] And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. [24] You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.
1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
1 Corinthians 4:1-4 NLT [1] So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. [2] Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. [3] As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. [4] My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
How about Jesus:
Matthew 24:9-13 NLT [9] “Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. [10] And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. [11] And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. [12] Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. [13] But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
If to repent is to turn away from sin and to God, then what would it mean to turn away from God?
If only those who endure to the end are saved, how can salvation be assured?
In terms of an equation, I think a lot of people believe
True Living Faith + repentance + good works + perseverance = salvation for the believer. This is contrary to Eph. 2:8-9, the teachings in John's Gospel and epistles, and several other passages.
I believe the Bible teaches this:
True Living Faith x God's work = repentance + salvation + good works + perseverance in the believer.
This does not contradict James or the verses you provided.
I could be accused of using the True Scotsman fallacy in this (what is "True Faith"?) but my argument is that the Bible teaches it, so I'm going to stick with it.
I suppose that is a reasonable argument, and you're right it fits with the verses I mentioned.
The only thing I'd wonder, is where does that leave the people who hold a strong conviction in Christ, believe they have True Faith, yet the works don't follow, and they stay stuck in unrepentant sin?
Maybe that simply doesn't happen, but it seems reasonable to me that there are people like that. So their faith is dead, I suppose, but this seems to establish that works are important for salvation, at least as evidence of faith. It almost seems more like we're arguing semantics than doctrine, kek.
So what really is the difference? How would we tell between the two you mention?
In either case, I think the above verses I mention make it clear that salvation can be lost; we can be cut off. The only difference is whether it happens because of ceasing belief or ceasing works. Though in your above equation, it seems there isn't much difference, since without the works, the faith isn't true.
Lastly, how can works, repentance, etc. be evidence for True Faith, while also coming after True Faith? In effect, it seems you'd be proving the faith with these things, so they can't come second.
P.S. I'd include God's work in the first equation. Without that, it still doesn't work. Only God's grace ultimately saves.
The Bible tells us we can know for sure if we are heaven bound.
I John 5:13 says this, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know you have eternal life.."
John 3:36, "36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life"
The Bible is clear, everlasting life is available to those who believe, conversely everlasting punishment is for those who don't believe.
Jesus said in John 5:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
Jesus said in John 8:24, " Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
YES, you can know if you are going to heaven or hell.
That word translated as "believes" means more than lip service.
It also means obedience.
Yes, John 3:36 ESV - very clear. Belief results in obedience.
So demons? Demons don't just believe Christ is He, they know it. They were there from the beginning and chose to rebel with full knowledge of what they were doing.
And my comment here provides some verses to the contrary: https://greatawakening.win/p/17s5WE36ff/x/c/4Z7SQaZWBzI
Yeah, this board is dominated by evangelical protestants. To declare yourself bound for Heaven and worthy of living next to Christ because you think you're good enough and doing what you think is right is pure egotism. There is only One who will determine our destination in this Universe.
Not to be uncharitable, but the Protestant insistence on Sola Scriptura, or personal interpretation, is the same. It's the first sin of the Garden. It makes the self out to be God, with final say. Even if one considers other interpretations, when yours is the definitive one, you are worshiping yourself.
I'm heaven-bound because I accepted that Jesus is the living Son of God that died on a cross for my sins. I told him that I'm a sinner and that I deserve to go to hell. I accepted His free gift of salvation by His Grace and by my faith in Him.
I certainly NEVER pretended to be "good enough" to get to heaven. LOL The Lord certainly knows that is not the case.
I am curious, when you say "there is only One who will determine our destination in this Universe" - who are you referring to?
His comment perfectly mirrors what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:1-4
[1] So look at Apollos and me as mere servants of Christ who have been put in charge of explaining God’s mysteries. [2] Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. [3] As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point. [4] My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide.
This is among several other verses that make it quite clear that salvation can be lost. I explained more in my other comment above: https://greatawakening.win/p/17s5WE36ff/x/c/4Z7SQaZWBzI
Further, Satan and his demons also accept that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God who died on the cross to defeat sin and death. They don't go to hell because they don't believe, they go to hell because they reject Christ in their will. They go to Hell because they are evil, and don't obey God.
So if we're evil too (we are; sin nature), and we also believe, the only thing that would separate us from the demons is not belief, but obeying God.