I wish fellow Christians who believed in Jesus so strongly would also believe that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is sufficient for eternal life. Because if they do not, then they are basically saying that what God did for them was not enough.
I agree. In fact, that is the belief. That Jesus is the Christ, the promised one from God. That is why Jews are labeled as possesing the knowledge of the promises. They understood what a Savior would be to them.
In "modern" Christianity you have two sides to the idea. You have the one side that say,
"Christ saved us from our sins(past tense) and now it is up to us to continue in the way of righteousness".
Then you have the other side of the road that says,
"I believe Christ died on the cross for ALL my sins, past, present, and future. I believe that I have salvation right at this very moment and if I wanted to I could swing out over hell on a rotten grape vine and shake my fist in the devils face".
Both sides misinterpret what faithful Jews really believed about the Christ to come.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah,
9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. Heb 8:8-12
The Jewish people believed in the promised Messiah that would not only take sins, past, present, and future; but who would give them new life. A life that God would live through the one willing to obey. No more would they have to strive to be pleasing, to keep the law. He was going to write it on their hearts. It would always be before them, there would never be a time when they did not know what the "law" of the Lord is.
It was going to be a covenant completely different than the one He made with their fathers. It was not going to be a covenant of works, but one of faith. The faith that says, "Where He leads, I will follow".
What we have done in modernity is to take that faith and peddle it as a intellectual belief in a man dieing on a cross.
The Jews believed in a man who would "always be with them and always be constantly guiding them".
Don't believe me? How many times did the disciples, the first ones to see the Messiah and follow Him...how many times did they ask Him when He was going to set up His kingdom? Even still...after the resurrection...they still asked again if it was the time.
What God was speaking about was the promise of the Holy Spirit who would always LIVE IN MAN. Constantly guiding and correcting, producing HIMSELF fruit through the life of the indwelt individual. When the disciples finally put two and two together, their testimony was this;
29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. Ac 5:29-32
The apostles were looking for a Messiah who would be their Savior and Leader. That is why they were looking for Him to set up His kingdom. So that they could follow Him, and be lead by Him.
Modern Christianity has watered down the "faith" to a faith in a Savior, but not the same faith in a leader. In order for faith to be true faith listed throughout Scripture the same amount of "belief" that one holds in Jesus as being their Savior has to equal the same amount of "belief" that one has in Jesus as their Leader.
There are times when we stumble and fall, but that does not mean a disbeleif has occured. It just means that part of the flesh still needs to be dealt with. That is precisely why Jesus is not our Savior in past tense, but He is always before the throne day and night making intersession.
We no more need to "strive" to produce fruit than we did to be saved. But if the fruit is not being produced...if there is a constant attitude of disobedience...if there is not a acknolodgment of "Jesus is LORD", but only one of "Jesus is Savior"...then there is something wrong.
The Spirit of God is who confirms our standing with God. Not our words, not our thoughts, not our actions. Those are fruits. A tree does not "strive" to produce fruit. It either happens or it does not.
There is one thing, and only one thing that should be done by everyone who calls themselves a Christian;
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. 2 Co 13:5
I did not mean for this response to be so long, but appreciate what the Lord has done for us. In gratitude, you can help his children to show them the love of God, but it is not required. God knows what is in your heart.
God is in your heart. It is not required, but will happen if He is truly in your heart. I understand what you are saying though...I think.