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I don't get why people say that all believers of God will be in Heaven when in reality you have to do a lot more than just believe in Jesus to get to Heaven, unfortunately not all people who claim to be Christians will be in Heaven, only those who live by Jesus/God's teachings are the ones who'll be there, not those who believes in God yet does nothing for Him.
I don't get why people say that all believers of God will be in Heaven when in reality you have to do a lot more than just believe in Jesus to get to Heaven, unfortunately not all people who claim to be Christians will be in Heaven, only those who live by Jesus/God's teachings are the ones who'll be there, not those who believes in God yet does nothing for Him.
People who do not understand God's grace always say that you must add something to faith in order to be eternally saved. But that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. When asked by the crowd what the works of God were that by doing them they might have eternal life, Jesus said that the work of God was simply to believe in Him. Here is the passage.
John 6:27 ''Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.'' 28] Therefore they said to Him, ''What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?'' 29] Jesus answered and said to them, ''This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.''
The crowd thought that there were works that they could do by which they might earn eternal life. But Jesus' reply was that there was but one work that they must do. And that one work was a non-meritorious work. A work for which they could take no credit. That one non-meritorious work was to believe on Him. To believe on Christ means to rely on Him rather than on yourself. And that is the issue. Are you going to try to impress God by your efforts, thinking that if you are good enough God is going to grant you eternal life? Or are you going to rely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross which made salvation possible for those who place their faith in Him? Eternal life is a free gift which cannot be worked for. If you had to work for it then it would neither be free, or a gift. The Book of Revelation closes with an invitation to take the water of life without cost.
Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, ''Come,'' And let the one who hears say, ''Come.'' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.''
During His earthly ministry, Jesus did not teach that you must perform good works for eternal life. I know what He told the ruler in Luke 18:18-23. But He had been asked what must be done on the basis of the law in order to obtain eternal life. The man wanted to know what actions on his part would make him right with God. And Jesus answered on that basis. He told him to keep the commandments. But since no one can keep the commandments perfectly, no one can be saved by trying to keep them. James 2:10 states that if you stumble in one point of the law then you are guilty of breaking all. Romans 3:20 tells us that no flesh will be justified in God's sight by the works of the law.
Jesus spoke of discipleship and of life in the kingdom. In His humanity, Jesus was born, lived, died, and was resurrected in the age of Israel. And during His ministry the kingdom was being offered to Israel. If corporate Israel had accepted His offer, if they had accepted Him as the Messiah, then Jesus would have set up His earthly kingdom after going to the Cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. Jesus would have still made His way to the Cross by some way other than the Sanhedrin scheming to have Him put to death. But He was rejected and the coming of the kingdom was postphoned until His Second advent which He had always known would be the case. But the offer of the kingdom was made nevertheless. And so Jesus had much to say about life in the kingdom and of following Him. But that has nothing to do with the issue of eternal salvation which as Jesus said, was to simply believe in Him.
As the apostle Paul put it,
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10] For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We are saved for good works. Not BY good works. We are saved on the basis of grace, through faith in Christ Jesus. Grace means that God does all the work. Remember that believing on Christ is a Non-meritorious work for which you can take no credit and for which you cannot boast. It was Jesus who did all the Meritorious work on the Cross which made salvation possible.
Here is what the Bible says about grace.
Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
Both Jesus and Paul stated that eternal life is given to anyone who simply believes on Him. Do not confuse Jesus' teachings about discipleship and life in the kingdom with what He said concerning the fact that to receive eternal life you simply believe on Him.
If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died for your sins, and therefore have placed your faith in Him, then you are eternally saved and will be with Him in heaven when you depart from this world by means of physical death.
Last edited by Michael Way; 11-25-2013 at 02:03 AM..
Salvation, God's gift, comes from faith alone.
Faith without works is dead. Faith without good works doesn't exist.
In the ancient Hebrew mind faith wasn't just knowing and agreeing with religious things but also doing them. So while it's great someone has memorized all verses that state we should help the poor they are of no use unless that person actually helps the poor by giving food for example.
By that I do not mean we are saved by works. Good works are the fruit of salvation. A tree is known by the quality of its fruit.
Salvation, God's gift, comes from faith alone.
Faith without works is dead. Faith without good works doesn't exist.
In the ancient Hebrew mind faith wasn't just knowing and agreeing with religious things but also doing them. So while it's great someone has memorized all verses that state we should help the poor they are of no use unless that person actually helps the poor by giving food for example.
By that I do not mean we are saved by works. Good works are the fruit of salvation. A tree is known by the quality of its fruit.
James' reference to dead faith does not mean a non-existent faith, but is a reference to a non-productive spiritual life. A believer who is eternally saved may be a hearer of the word only, rather than a doer of the word, and therefore have a non-productive spiritual life, but he is still eternally saved . James was talking about the issue of the believer's spiritual life and production. He was not talking about the justification which occurs at the point of faith alone by which one is eternally saved. To be saved from having a non-productive or 'dead' spiritual life, an eternally saved believer must be a doer of the word, and not just a hearer of the word.
All believers, whether they have a productive spiritual life or not, have been credited with God's perfect righteousness and declared justified, and are positionally sanctified and eternally saved, but the believer's experiential sanctification comes with spiritual growth.
Last edited by Michael Way; 11-25-2013 at 02:25 AM..
It doesn't matter what people say.
It should matter to you if people are saved.
Concern yourself with those inside your sphere of influence especially your family
The offer for salvation stands for all.
The heavenly position of God has already been filled
Never play God by judging or condemning others
Judgement is not our to give or take away
We're all gonna need a ton of grace to get where we all wanna go
Be a faithful doer and worry not.
Truth and love are easily observed within an act of sacrifice
Love your God
Love your neighbor and your enemies
Hate sin = evil
Do not deny the presence of evil
Pray the Lords Prayer
Go get Baptized
Not to be a downer, but even HaSatan believes in GOD?????!! Those that accept the LOAD/YESHUAH.
There are three things you should realize.
First, Jesus didn't die for the fallen angels. He didn't come into world to provide salvation for the fallen angels. He came into the world to provide salvation for mankind.
Second, in James 2:19 it wasn't James who said, 'You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe and shudder. It was James' hypothetical opponent who said that. James introduced a hypothetical opponent who was arguing against James. In James 2:18 James introduced the hypothetical opponent with the words ''But someone may well say.''
James 2:18 But someone (the hypothetical opponent) may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
In arguing against what James was saying, his position was, if you can show me your faith without works, then I can show you my faith by my works. In other words, James' hypothetical opponent's argument was, 'You can't show me your faith without works, BUT, neither can I show my faith by my works. The hypothetical opponent's argument was that it was not necessary to be a doer of the word. That of course was in opposition to what James was saying.
Third, James isn't using the word 'faith' in terms of believing on Christ. The word faith can also refer to that which is believed. In Acts 13:6-8, the word 'faith' refers to the Word of God - doctrine.
Acts 13:6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7] who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God [with reference to the gospel].8] But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith [away from the gospel].
As can be seen, in Acts 13:6-8, the word faith is used with reference to the gospel which is a category of doctrine.
In like manner, in Gal. 1:11, 23, the word 'faith' refers to the gospel. Notice the definite article in front of the word faith - 'the faith.' Paul was preaching the faith - the gospel.
Gal. 1:11 [This is Paul speaking] For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man . . . 23] but only, they kept hearing, ''He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith [preaching the gospel] which he once tried to destroy.''
In 1 Timothy 4:6 the reference is to the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine.
1 Tim. 4:6 In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.
And so, in James 1:22,25 we find James talking about being an effectual doer of the word, and not a forgetful hearer. He is urging his brethren (which means that they are saved) to not just hear the word of God, but to apply it in their spiritual life. If they do not apply their doctrine, then their faith with reference to their doctrine is useless and they have a non-productive or 'dead' spiritual life. But they are still eternally saved.
I don't get why people say that all believers of God will be in Heaven when in reality you have to do a lot more than just believe in Jesus to get to Heaven, unfortunately not all people who claim to be Christians will be in Heaven, only those who live by Jesus/God's teachings are the ones who'll be there, not those who believes in God yet does nothing for Him.
All believers of Jesus Christ will be in heaven because believers will receive the Holy Spirit as promised by God the Father. At that point, believers are in union with the Father, Son, and Spirit. The fulfillment of the law is by the presence of Christ in us.
Some can say they believe, but without the presence of the Holy Spirit within them, they are not children of God by faith. Satan falls in this category.
I don't get why people say that all believers of God will be in Heaven when in reality you have to do a lot more than just believe in Jesus to get to Heaven, unfortunately not all people who claim to be Christians will be in Heaven, only those who live by Jesus/God's teachings are the ones who'll be there, not those who believes in God yet does nothing for Him.
First you are correct believing alone is not the only requirement.
Second, heaven is Not the only place for believers as Jesus plainly taught us to pray:
KJV Matt 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
God's will was expressed in the beginning and will not fail.
KJV Genesis 1: 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God's purpose never fails no matter what man has or may do. Jesus knew that.
First you are correct believing alone is not the only requirement.
Second, heaven is Not the only place for believers as Jesus plainly taught us to pray:
KJV Matt 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
God's will was expressed in the beginning and will not fail.
KJV Genesis 1: 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God's purpose never fails no matter what man has or may do. Jesus knew that.
Believing on Jesus Christ is the only requirement to receive the free gift of eternal life as has already been shown.
As for the Millennial kingdom, Jesus will establish it on the earth when He returns. And while the Millennial kingdom will start with believers only, as people are born in the Millennium there will be people who do not believe on Christ.
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