What must we do to receive eternal life??

[Grubal Muruch]

Acts 16:31 states, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Romans 10:9 states, "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.

In order to be "saved" we must first, hear the word--(Romans 10:17--"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The Holy Spirit uses that word to convict us of sin and help us to receive the message of God's salvation through Christ...

We must place our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior...

Once we have placed our faith, The Spirit "sanctify's (cleanses us) and seals us and puts us in the "body of Christ" and then we are considered a "child of God."

In accordance with the word, we should come to "Almighty" God the Father, and confess to Him that we are a sinner and acknowledge to Him that we need His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior and would desire Jesus to come into our life in order for our sins to be forgiven... We should also ask God for His Holy Spirit to sanctify (cleanse) us from our sins and place us in the "body of Christ" so that we can be "born-again Spiritually", and become a "child of God." Amen...

 

[glorydaz]

Acts 16:31 states, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Romans 10:9 states, "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.

In order to be "saved" we must first, hear the word--(Romans 10:17--"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

The Holy Spirit uses that word to convict us of sin and help us to receive the message of God's salvation through Christ...

We must place our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior...

Once we have placed our faith, The Spirit "sanctify's (cleanses us) and seals us and puts us in the "body of Christ" and then we are considered a "child of God."

In accordance with the word, we should come to "Almighty" God the Father, and confess to Him that we are a sinner and acknowledge to Him that we need His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior and would desire Jesus to come into our life in order for our sins to be forgiven... We should also ask God for His Holy Spirit to sanctify (cleanse) us from our sins and place us in the "body of Christ" so that we can be "born-again Spiritually", and become a "child of God." Amen...

It's interesting to see it all laid out like that. It can appear to be a "head" thing, but it's really a "heart" thing. It almost begs for an explanation of what exactly believing entails, and the power behind the gospel itself. I guess I'm thinking of witnessing to the lost, and how their understanding plays into it. I know best how it happened for me, and I've seen the dawning on others who suddenly see what they'd never seen before.

It's miraculous to watch someone being convicted of their sins when the glorious light of the gospel does it's work on a man's heart. For me, it was as though my life had been lived under a cloud and suddenly the sun shone so brightly I could hardly suppress my joy. There is power in the Word of God that is released on a heart filled with godly sorrow. People need to see their sin as God sees it....that's the hardest part for many to get past.

 

[savedbygrace57]

What must we do to receive eternal life??

Nothing if one is elect, it is given to them as a free gift ! John 17:2


2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

Rom 6:23

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1Jn 5:11

And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

 

[kjb1769]

You must receive the free gift of salvation.

 

[kjb1769]

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. -1 Corinthians 1:21

What must be preached that we should believe?

For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. -1 Corinthians 1:17

The preaching of the gospel.

What is the gospel?

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; -1 Corinthians 15:1

By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. -1 Corinthians 15:2

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; -1 Corinthians 15:3

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: -1 Corinthians 15:4

Recieve the free gift of salvation trust that Christ made your payment for sin.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. -2 Corinthians 5:21

 

[savedbygrace57]

You must receive the free gift of salvation.

Its given ! Thats how it is received, its not an offer, that's a lie !

 

[for_his_glory]

Faith, repentance and Spiritual renewal through the grace and mercy of God is how we receive eternal life with God, but only if we endure until the end will we be saved. Grace pardons us, mercy loves us unconditionally.

John 10:9 I am the door, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Romans 10:9, 10 if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in his heart that God has raised him from the dead thou shall be saved. Vs.10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

It is not by our works or good deeds that save us for if that was all it would take then Gods word would be made void in our lives and Jesus would have died in vain, but because we are all sinners, it is by Gods grace and mercy that forgives our sins and washes us clean by the atoning blood of the Lamb (Jesus) so we can be made renewed again and free from our old sin nature.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Titus 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

If you want to study more about Gods salvation please visit my website and click on Salvation as I can not explain everything I would like to here as it is to lengthy.

 

[Drew]

I entirely agree with the OP.

This may surprise some readers who might think that, just because I believe Paul when he writes about a final salvation by good works, that I therefore reject the statements in the OP.

I do not. I entirely believe in the "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved".

Its just that I believe, as do others, that there is an intellectually and Biblically defensible way to believe this, and yet to also believe Biblical statements about how, at the final judgement, it will be "good works" that commend us unto salvation.

 

[Drew]

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

I repost material which has largely been ignored in the past, but hope springs eternal:

Here is Ephesians 2:8-9 from the NASB:

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that (Y)no one may boast.

In verse 9, the writer is denying the salvific power of doing the works of Law of Moses, and not the more general category of “good worksâ€.

A point of method: It simply will not do to declare up front that the writer is talking about good works here. That begs the question, since the term “works†is not qualified by the term “good†or anything else that would rule out the possibility that the “works†of the Law of Moses is the subject. The fair-minded reader needs to ask which of the following views makes more sense given both the local context and the broader context of the whole letter:

1. The salvific power of doing good works is being denied;

2. The salvific power of doing the works of the Law of Moses is being denied.

Explanation 2 is the one that makes sense in light of what the writer goes on to say in verse 11.

Proceeding to an examination of Ephesians 2:11 and following, Paul uses the "therefore" to show us that he is now going to fill out the implications of his denial of salvation by “worksâ€

Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

The writer is clearly now talking about the Jew-Gentile divide, and how the actions of Jesus have brought Jew and Gentile together. Doing the works of Law of Moses, of course, is what demarcates Jew from Gentile in terms of covenant membership and shuts the Gentile out of citizenship in Israel. The writer continues:

14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations

How much more clear could the writer be? What has divided the Jew from the Gentile and been the barrier? Good works? Obviously not, both Jew and Gentile are on “the same side†of any good works barrier (first 20 or so verses of Romans 3). It is doing the works of Law of Moses, of course, that is the very thing that the Jew might otherwise boast in and which is now being declared to not be salvific.

 

[Drew]

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Titus 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Some might see this text as subverting what Paul says elsewhere - like in Romans 2, Romans 8, and 2 Corinthians - about how final salvation is based on 'good works'.

Fortunately, this text from Titus works perfectly well with these other texts.

When Paul affirms a final salvation that is based on 'good works' it is manifestly clear that he is specifically talking about 'good works' that are produced by the action of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers.

Those kinds of 'good works' are not "ours", and, yes, they are indeed the criteria for final salvation.

Here, in Titus, the author denies that works that arise from "moral self-effort" do not save. True enough.

There is no contradiction. Good works "matter" unto salvation, but only the Holy Spirit, not the person acting apart from the Spirit, can produce such 'saving' good works.

 

[Grubal Muruch]

I entirely agree with the OP.

This may surprise some readers who might think that, just because I believe Paul when he writes about a final salvation by good works, that I therefore reject the statements in the OP.

I do not. I entirely believe in the "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved".

Its just that I believe, as do others, that there is an intellectually and Biblically defensible way to believe this, and yet to also believe Biblical statements about how, at the final judgement, it will be "good works" that commend us unto salvation.

Drew,
Revelation 20:12 states, " And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Now, the "dead" being spoken about here is the, "spiritual dead." It's they (the spiritually dead) who will be judged according to their "works."

You will notice in that verse, there is a "distinction" between "the dead" and, "those whose names are written in the "Book of Life?"

The difference is, those whose names are written in the "Book of Life" are those who had "come to God through faith." As opposed to "the dead" who were "unbelievers" and rejected God and His Son Jesus Christ...

In conclusion, only the "dead" will be judged according to their "works" The "just" were forgiven and their names were written in the, "Book of Life."...

 

[kjb1769]

Its given ! Thats how it is received, its not an offer, that's a lie !

What's a lie what I said or the bible?

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. -Romans 5:15

And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. -Romans 5:16

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) -Romans 5:17

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. -2 Thessalonians 2:10

 

[kjb1769]

For what it's worth I don't believe the doctrine of enduring to the end to be saved is for the Church the Body of Christ.

It is plainly meant for the tribulation saints that must not take the mark of the beast as well as the believers at Pentacost who believed Peter's gospel of the Kingdom to the Circumcision who are waiting to have their sins blotted out at the second coming of Christ.

The epistles of Paul plainly teach that we already have the forgivness of sins the atonement and are in Christ flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. They also show that we are saved from wrath so I expect we will be caught out before the tribulation.

 

[Free]

In accordance with the word, we should come to "Almighty" God the Father, and confess to Him that we are a sinner and acknowledge to Him that we need His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior and would desire Jesus to come into our life in order for our sins to be forgiven... We should also ask God for His Holy Spirit to sanctify (cleanse) us from our sins and place us in the "body of Christ" so that we can be "born-again Spiritually", and become a "child of God." Amen...

I'm not so sure that any of the above is supported by any of the Scripture that you gave. After all, you did say "In accordance with the word...".

I would encourage people to watch the whole thing, but the 10 minute mark is what I had in mind here:
[video=youtube;cncEhCvrVgQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncEhCvrVgQ[/video]

 

[glorydaz]

Drew,
Revelation 20:12 states, " And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Now, the "dead" being spoken about here is the, "spiritual dead." It's they (the spiritually dead) who will be judged according to their "works."

You will notice in that verse, there is a "distinction" between "the dead" and, "those whose names are written in the "Book of Life?"

The difference is, those whose names are written in the "Book of Life" are those who had "come to God through faith." As opposed to "the dead" who were "unbelievers" and rejected God and His Son Jesus Christ...

In conclusion, only the "dead" will be judged according to their "works" The "just" were forgiven and their names were written in the, "Book of Life."...

I agree, and here we see the sheep and the goats.

His sheep are those who've heard His voice, been declared righteous and are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Notice they're already declared righteous - Justified by faith unto God. (Romans 4)

Now, where all can see, they are justified before men by what they have done. (James 2).

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

 

[savedbygrace57]

for his glory

but only if we endure until the end will we be saved.

Works salvation..Salvation is by Grace !

 

[glorydaz]

For what it's worth I don't believe the doctrine of enduring to the end to be saved is for the Church the Body of Christ.

It is plainly meant for the tribulation saints that must not take the mark of the beast as well as the believers at Pentacost who believed Peter's gospel of the Kingdom to the Circumcision who are waiting to have their sins blotted out at the second coming of Christ.

The epistles of Paul plainly teach that we already have the forgivness of sins the atonement and are in Christ flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. They also show that we are saved from wrath so I expect we will be caught out before the tribulation.

I agree in that true believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption.

 

[reba]

Moratorium on Frewill and Predestination threads

Due to the large number of Freewill and Predestination (and related) threads latetly, the staff will no longer allow any new threads of these topics. Please use one of the existing threads instead. New threads will be merged or deleted.

This moratorium will end at the start of the new year!

Please keep the above request in mind...


2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

 

[glorydaz]

I'm not so sure that any of the above is supported by any of the Scripture that you gave. After all, you did say "In accordance with the word...".

I'm not sure why you think what was said isn't supported by Scripture....of course it is.

I listened to the tape and this guy finds fault with the altar call and the luke warm churches that don't teach the need to be born again. There isn't anyone on this forum that speaks more often of the need to be born again than Grubal does. That the churches don't preach, "Come out from among them and be ye separate" is the problem of modern American churches...certainly that doesn't diminish in any way what Grubal has posted in the OP.

The state of the church in America is one of the very reasons some of us post on this forum. The Word of Truth is not being preached as it should be. The key is to be born again with a new heart to follow the Lord. If you hear it here on this forum, it will, undoubtedly, be Grubal that speaks it.

 

[Free]

I'm not sure why you think what was said isn't supported by Scripture....of course it is.

Okay, then, based on the passages that were given, which was my argument:

Acts 16:31 states, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Romans 10:9 states, "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.

how is it "in accordance with the word" that:

"we should come to "Almighty" God the Father, and confess to Him that we are a sinner and acknowledge to Him that we need His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior and would desire Jesus to come into our life in order for our sins to be forgive," and that 'We should also ask God for His Holy Spirit to sanctify (cleanse) us from our sins and place us in the "body of Christ" so that we can be "born-again Spiritually", and become a "child of God"'"?

Where is any of the above stated in those passages? Don't those passages just say that we need to "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" and believe that God raised him from the dead?