Hello SBG,
If a person truly believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but also believes the following things, are they saved?
-they reject Genesis and all it says
Yes that person will be saved. That said, however, the person has no basis for the purpose of Jesus' life. When one rejects Genesis, then one destroys the very foundations that the Gospel
relies on to make any sense.
-they reject the whole Old Testament
Once again, yes they will be saved; same negative effect as above. They basically destroy the foundations that the Gospel is set on. Also, how then, if one rejects Genesis and the Old Testament, can one claim that the Bible is the infallible Word of God if there are parts that you do not even believe or take it as it was meant to be written to make sure that it conforms to the pseudo-science of evolutionism? Each time the theory changes, the TE's account of how the Bible should be read changes -- doesn't sound like the infallible Word of God to me if mere humans can change it at will to
make it conform to a fallible man made theory.
-they reject the Virgin Birth
This seriously destroys the Gospel message and in my opinion destroys the very reason why Jesus came down. Let me explain, the Bible says that we sin in the likeness of the first man, Adam. King David says that he was a sinner from the point of conception. Since
every person in Adam's line (who has a father) is a sinner, if Jesus really did have an earthly father, then he too would be a sinner and could not:
a. be the Son of God as He would be sinful and God hates sin.
b. be the perfect sinless sacrifice that was needed to pay the price for our sin.
It is for these reasons why the Holy Spirit made Mary pregnant.
-they reject Jesus raising from the dead
Then they have no basis for the next life and if they still believe that Jesus is dead in the grave then no, they would not go into heaven. Jesus told us that no one gets to the Father except through Him; but if He is dead, then what chance have we?
-they reject Jesus' second coming
Once again, what basis for the next life do they have if Jesus does not come back to take us into heaven? They may be saved from sin - but what purpose does this serve if Jesus does not come back to raise the "dead in Christ" and take them to heaven? You'll still be rotting in your grave until the day that the sun expands to a red giant and overtakes earth. I don't believe that we go straight into heaven when we die. I believe we stay here on Earth until the day of His return when the dead in Christ will rise and when Jesus will create a new heaven and new earth to be like it was in the beginning, a perfect sinless state -- a restoration of all things. So no, they would not be saved because they would still be in their graves rotting away.
TE's however are at heads with this idea - a restoration implies that there's something dramatically wrong with this world for it to be restored to what it once was. But according to the TE's, God created using death and evolution. In other words, death has always been here. This world would be just like what it was in the beginning -- nothing much has changed -- why then, does God need to restore it back to how it was if it is no different? The literalist view says that this world is massively different to how God originally made it thanks to Adam's fall. God placed a curse upon His creation and death entered to world through Adam's rebellion (or sin). After the restortation, things will be back to a perfect state like that described in Genesis. The restoration invloves the destruction of the curse that God placed on His creation.
-they reject Jesus being the only way to the Father
No they would not be saved from sin because they didn't trust who Jesus was and what He did and the things that He said: "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except by me." One must believe that Jesus died on the cross to save them from their sins so that they could enter heaven. If there was another way for people to get to heaven, why then, did God send His one and only Son? God obviously would have done that then watch His loved Son go through the torture and cruel death that He was given. That is what makes this position illogical and irrational.
-they worship other gods, but believe Jesus is a higher God
I would argue no because Jesus said that He is the
only truth. The other gods therefore, must be false because they can't be ture without making Jesus to be a liar (so why believe in them?). Once again, do these other god's have different holy books, different ways of getting into heaven? If one does not believe the who, what, why, and sayings of Jesus, then I would argue that they would not be saved.
They will profess with passion, that they are saved because they believe Jesus is the Son of God, and they tell you that they have a different interpretation than yours and yours is no more correct than theirs.
Oooh, the Son of God. Wow! Who cares that He's the Son of God? What does that do and mean for us? The reason that us Christians are saved is not because Jesus was the Son of God! Only fools would argue that!! It was action of Jesus paying the debt for our sins by living a perfect and sinless life and dying on the cross where His blood took our sins away that is the reason why we are saved. If one does not believe this, then they are damned to eternal suffering.
Do you correct them, or fall in line with this 'you can interpret anyway you choose and be right, still?'
Does this ring a bell to the TE's? You must point out the
inconsistencies with their beliefs and what the Bible says -- this is what the Biblical literalists have been trying to do to the TEs for years.
Furthermore, I know a few people who will tell me the same professing faith, but yet they do not follow Jesus Christ. They call Him their Savior and believe He is the True Son of God, but they do not pick up their cross and follow Him. They believe the Bible supports being saved by just this one belief that Jesus is the Son of God and they need to do nothing more.
As I said above, it is not the fact that Jesus is the Son of God that saves us. It was the sacrifice that He made that causes us to be saved if we follow Him. Our love for Him should show in our lives by picking up our crosses and following Him in His example. All the other religions in the world say that good tasks are required to please God and enter heaven - this is where Christianity is different. God doesn't care about how many good things or bad things that we've done to get us into heaven. Only if we believe who Jesus was, what He did for us and the teachings that He taught.
If people do not believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead three days later they will not be saved from eternal damnation unless God says otherwise in special circumstances, e.g. babies dying very young who do not get the chance to accept Jesus.
Delta One.
Btw, sorry if I sound a little angry now. After following that many
Sunday drivers on Saturday on the road for hours
and getting lost, and a number of other events that didn't go my way, you will understand why I am slightly ticked...
I need a good night sleep.
