What do you think is the most vital thing for one to have as a Christian? (paradise, lordship)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The most important thing is salvation, which comes through faith, and it gives birth to everything else you mentioned, including the fruits of the Spirit.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast."
Some say "love is god", but the Bible says love is a fruit of the Spirit. Some try to save themselves talking about love, and by trying to be "loving", but since love is a fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit must come first.
The most important thing is salvation, which comes through faith, and it gives birth to everything else you mentioned, including the fruits of the Spirit.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not by works, lest any man should boast."
Some say "love is god", but the Bible says love is a fruit of the Spirit. Some try to save themselves talking about love, and by trying to be "loving", but since love is a fruit of the Spirit, the Spirit must come first.
And the Spirit that bears the Fruit IS God, so all those fruits ARE GOD. Yes this is a rebuke for resisting that which God IS, in favor of your carnal minded belief about God.
reason, commonsense and control. along with not believing everything you are told. Not only that, but not siding with a person just because they are atheist or theist but siding with people that have healthy perspectives. You guys call that perspective "Christ". It's all covered really well in the 4 gospels.
what you say is true but faith alone isn't enough. Without love in your heart you will remain blind to the ways of God you will not fully understand the scriptures and you cannot make a true and deep love and relationship with God.
You can believe you can have faith you can know the bible like the back of your hand but without a heart full of love for God and for others you will not go much further. Love is like a steroid for a Christian, the deeper the love between you and God the more love he pours into your heart and being the stronger in him you become the faster you grow the more of him you are revealed the more like him you become.
Your prayers your beliefs your very thoughts and hearts desires begin to mirror him.
A distinction must be made between what is required for eternal salvation and what is required to live the spiritual life after salvation.
To be eternally saved from the penalty of sin, faith in Christ Jesus is ALL that is necessary. Nothing can be added to faith alone in Christ alone in order to receive eternal life.
To have a spiritually productive life after receiving eternal life the believer must learn and apply the Word of God to his life under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
These two areas must be kept separate in order to rightly divide the word of truth.
And again, if a person adds anything at all to faith alone in Christ alone for the purpose of earning eternal life then he has not believed the gospel message and is not saved but remains under condemnation.
A distinction must be made between what is required for eternal salvation and what is required to live the spiritual life after salvation.
To be eternally saved from the penalty of sin, faith in Christ Jesus is ALL that is necessary. Nothing can be added to faith alone in Christ alone in order to receive eternal life.
To have a spiritually productive life after receiving eternal life the believer must learn and apply the Word of God to his life under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
These two areas must be kept separate in order to rightly divide the word of truth.
And again, if a person adds anything at all to faith alone in Christ alone for the purpose of earning eternal life then he has not believed the gospel message and is not saved but remains under condemnation.
They are two peas in the SAME pod...or are we saying there is a purgatory "waiting" room or that there are some who get preferential treatment and have it BETTER in Heaven>?
Because last I read in the scriptures that are all encompassing for the evangelical it says
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
But let me guess who will be experincing spiritual life...I wonder who that would include....
Although I hate it when people say you have to believe this or that to be a true Christian and if you do not your not a Christian. It sound to much like if you do not believe like me you cannot be a true Christian. We get a lot of that on this forum.
That said love God and others is a very good start in one walk with God.
You seem to misinterpret my post,This isn't about what I believe. I am interested in what all of you believe. Of course if we were to get into such a debate about what truly makes a Christian you have take everything anyone says with a grain of salt and go to God for the answer.
Love is mentioned 310 times in the bible 131 in the old testament and 179 in the new testament. If you notice God mentions about how he loves us many many times in the old and new testament if you also notice Jesus did not come to judge and condemn he didn't come to save soul by showing his awesome might he did everything in and out of love in fact every command he gave for us to do seemed to be an act of love if we were to do them.
God appears to be a God of love and thus as his children should we not be love? I do not claim to know the ways of God or that all my beliefs are correct in fact i can guarantee there are some beliefs I believe in that are incorrect and so I always keep a teachable heart. If one is to learn and grow in faith they cannot have an I am right and you are wrong no matter what attitude, they need to have the humbleness to admit they were wrong and learn from it.
in the end this sin't about what I believe this matters about what all of you believe and how you and God take what you believe an do with it.
Either the evangelical vote is not in, or all this emphasis on scripture is just hype?
Could it be we are all beginning to understand that if we have love, we can have everything?
The Scriptures tell us who God is. Of course they're important. We don't get our knowledge of God by the liver shiver we get when we sing the 19th round of our favorite chorus -- we get it from what he has told us about himself -- the Scriptures.
Having said that, there are varying degrees of knowledge of the Scriptures one needs. A pastor, obviously, ought to know more than someone else. A lay Christian needs not necessarily have as much knowledge, but he/she ought to have enough to know the basics.
But I chose prayer--because it's through a good prayer life that the others will come. If we have a healthy prayer life, we will want to know more about God, and we'll study the Scriptures. If we have a healthy prayer life, we will be led to love others.
A distinction must be made between what is required for eternal salvation and what is required to live the spiritual life after salvation.
To be eternally saved from the penalty of sin, faith in Christ Jesus is ALL that is necessary. Nothing can be added to faith alone in Christ alone in order to receive eternal life.
To have a spiritually productive life after receiving eternal life the believer must learn and apply the Word of God to his life under the filling ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
These two areas must be kept separate in order to rightly divide the word of truth.
And again, if a person adds anything at all to faith alone in Christ alone for the purpose of earning eternal life then he has not believed the gospel message and is not saved but remains under condemnation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zthatzmanz28
They are two peas in the SAME pod...or are we saying there is a purgatory "waiting" room or that there are some who get preferential treatment and have it BETTER in Heaven>?
Because last I read in the scriptures that are all encompassing for the evangelical it says
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
No, they are not two peas in the same pod. Works, obedience, and commitment should result from having been saved through faith alone in Christ alone, but they are never the means by which one is eternally saved. I said nothing about purgatory. There is no such thing. However, in eternity there are degrees of blessing and rewards based on how faithful the believer is to God while here on earth.
Last edited by Michael Way; 04-22-2015 at 10:41 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
