• Welcome to Christianity Haven, thank you for visiting! If you have not already, we invite you to create an account and join in on the many discussions we have! 

    • Please be aware that when registering you must not register while using a VPN. Any registrations made using a VPN will be rejected.
    • Additionally, registration emails are not being sent out which is an issue that is being worked on. Your registration may go into an approval queue for admin approval. We work to send manual emails to the email on file, so please ensure the email you use is one you can readily access! 

Jesus will save you if you.... ???

Lamb

God's Lil Lamb
Community Team
Administrator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
34,892
Age
59
Gender
Female
Religious Affiliation
Lutheran
Political Affiliation
Conservative
Marital Status
Married
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross. For whoever would find his life would lose it; and whoever would lose his life for My sake, and the sake of the Gospel, would find it."

And then there's Romans 2:7.

So, according to Jesus, more than mere belief if required, if we seek to gain eternal life?

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. John3:16


From my way of understanding it does require more than just belief, it requires absolute dedication of one's life to that belief.

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. John3:16

James makes mention of belief not being enough. The demons believe in God.

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. John3:16

The belief in that verse is the one that refers to faith in the Savior...and that's enough for eternal life. Works come because we have belief, not to supply or add on.
 

Frankj

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2024
Messages
1,083
Gender
Male
Religious Affiliation
Non-Denominational
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
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. John3:16




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. John3:16



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. John3:16

The belief in that verse is the one that refers to faith in the Savior...and that's enough for eternal life. Works come because we have belief, not to supply or add on.
To me the first commandment means that we are to put nothing ahead of God.

Nothing!

If we do that we have put that believe in him from John3:16 in second place or an even lesser place even if it is just for a little while so we can watch Netflix or something for our entertainment.

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe he doesn't care all that much and sees the Sunday morning Christian who pursues sinful activity the rest of the time the same way as the totally devout one so it really doesn't matter what we make more important than him.
 

fuddy

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 21, 2024
Messages
73
Gender
Male
Religious Affiliation
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
As tango said, the demons believe in God, but they don't TRUST in God. It seems belief and trust are not synonymous words in scripture. So belief would be the seed, and trust would be belief's fruit.
 

tango

... and you shall live ...
Valued Contributor
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
15,511
Gender
Male
Religious Affiliation
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
The belief in that verse is the one that refers to faith in the Savior...and that's enough for eternal life. Works come because we have belief, not to supply or add on.

This seems like something that could go round and round in circles forever.

If we truly believe our lives will reflect it. Hence we have faith and works. James said that faith without works is dead - if someone has no works we might question whether they truly believe.

The question about what exactly "believeth in him" actually means seems pretty key here. In the context of your post, what exactly does "faith in the Savior" actually mean?

The demons believe in one God and believe in Jesus but they are condemned.
 

Lamb

God's Lil Lamb
Community Team
Administrator
Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2015
Messages
34,892
Age
59
Gender
Female
Religious Affiliation
Lutheran
Political Affiliation
Conservative
Marital Status
Married
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
To me the first commandment means that we are to put nothing ahead of God.

Nothing!

If we do that we have put that believe in him from John3:16 in second place or an even lesser place even if it is just for a little while so we can watch Netflix or something for our entertainment.

But maybe I'm wrong, maybe he doesn't care all that much and sees the Sunday morning Christian who pursues sinful activity the rest of the time the same way as the totally devout one so it really doesn't matter what we make more important than him.

Don't rely on the things YOU do for salvation. Rely on Jesus' death and resurrection. That's what John 3:16 is about. It's purely God being our Savior, not us adding into the mix.

As tango said, the demons believe in God, but they don't TRUST in God. It seems belief and trust are not synonymous words in scripture. So belief would be the seed, and trust would be belief's fruit.

The belief in John 3:16 is the faith given to us by God as a gift to trust that our sins are forgiven by Jesus' death and resurrection. That's the Gospel message that saves. Our works won't save us.

This seems like something that could go round and round in circles forever.

If we truly believe our lives will reflect it. Hence we have faith and works. James said that faith without works is dead - if someone has no works we might question whether they truly believe.

The question about what exactly "believeth in him" actually means seems pretty key here. In the context of your post, what exactly does "faith in the Savior" actually mean?

The demons believe in one God and believe in Jesus but they are condemned.

The demons believe, but John 3:16 is about the faith God gives us. That's the belief that saves. It saves alone, we can't add our works to it or we're going to be relying on our works instead of fully into Christ. Our works can never measure up because we still live in these sinful bodies. Jesus took that sin to the cross and we're forgiven. That's what we trust as believers. That's what saves us.
 

Frankj

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2024
Messages
1,083
Gender
Male
Religious Affiliation
Non-Denominational
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
Don't rely on the things YOU do for salvation. Rely on Jesus' death and resurrection. That's what John 3:16 is about. It's purely God being our Savior, not us adding into the mix.



The belief in John 3:16 is the faith given to us by God as a gift to trust that our sins are forgiven by Jesus' death and resurrection. That's the Gospel message that saves. Our works won't save us.



The demons believe, but John 3:16 is about the faith God gives us. That's the belief that saves. It saves alone, we can't add our works to it or we're going to be relying on our works instead of fully into Christ. Our works can never measure up because we still live in these sinful bodies. Jesus took that sin to the cross and we're forgiven. That's what we trust as believers. That's what saves us.
Well,, it's a relief to know that we don't have to pay attention to Matthew 22:37-38, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27 or even that inconvenient old covenant Deuteronomy 6:5 where that thinking originated,

Just believe, say Lord, Lord, and go about your business as if nothing else is of any value or important to God.
 

tango

... and you shall live ...
Valued Contributor
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
15,511
Gender
Male
Religious Affiliation
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Acceptance of the Trinity & Nicene Creed
Yes
The demons believe, but John 3:16 is about the faith God gives us. That's the belief that saves. It saves alone, we can't add our works to it or we're going to be relying on our works instead of fully into Christ. Our works can never measure up because we still live in these sinful bodies. Jesus took that sin to the cross and we're forgiven. That's what we trust as believers. That's what saves us.

If our lives don't reflect Jesus, can we truly say we believe?
 
Top Bottom