Getting saved sounds a bit too easy

[£amb]

I think I understand what you're saying.
I do have trouble with this 'turn away from your ways' stuff. Just what exactly does that mean?
For example, I play guitar, play the odd videogame, I'm not working at present, I study via distance learning, watch the odd dvd and so on. Are you suggesting I throw all that out of my life?

Hey, even I have problems with turning away from something. It can be hard especially when you don't want to let go of something that gives you pleasure. Repent is not just something you do outwardly, it's something you do in your heart as well. The word translated means "to change one's mind." It is a changing of mind about God, about sin, and about one's self. It goes much farther than being sorry for our sin, it's about repenting and living a life to be holy. I don't mean a perfect life because nobody can be that, but a life that puts God above all things..

And no, don't throw out your things. I enjoy playing my games and watching movies as well. But there are things I had to turn away from because I felt they were not good for me or did not have a part in my life anymore.

Hope I'm making sense on what I'm saying...had little sleep and running off a full cup of coffee....I can feel the shakes comin' now...

 

[Godslilgurlalways]

I'm reading this
http://www.christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=gospel#faq_christian
Specifically the 'Receiving Him Now' part at the bottom.
So if I pray that, in all sincerity, honesty and earnestness, then I'm saved?
Question is, what happens tomorrow if I, say, stub my toe and swear, maybe using His name? Am I back to square one? Or do I apologise in silent prayer and vow to try harder next time?
Also, should I read the whole Bible before I even think of giving my life to Christ? I mean, I need to know what I'm about to do, right?

It's important to know that you really believe in him and all knowing he rose on the thrid day. If you say if in honesty and all than yes Sometimes it's better to say it in front of another person if you ankoldege him before man he will ankowledge you before God. But I am thinking that is if you can say it in front of another person. If you stub your toe and all than you need to ask him sincerly to please forgive you of all your sins(knowley and unknowlgy) When you read the bible ask God to help you understand what's going on in the bible, try not to read too much at one time so that you can get more understand

 

[Caissie]

I'm reading this
http://www.christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=gospel#faq_christian
Specifically the 'Receiving Him Now' part at the bottom.
So if I pray that, in all sincerity, honesty and earnestness, then I'm saved?
Question is, what happens tomorrow if I, say, stub my toe and swear, maybe using His name? Am I back to square one? Or do I apologise in silent prayer and vow to try harder next time?
Also, should I read the whole Bible before I even think of giving my life to Christ? I mean, I need to know what I'm about to do, right?

No one on earth is saved yet. To find what the biblical definition for "saved" you must compare it to other scriptures.

What does it mean to be "Born again"?

John 3:1-7
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

Jesus actually defines what he meant by "born again". Many "religious" people use the verse to say that if one is not baptized in water, he can not enter into the kingdom of God. That is not what Jesus is saying here. Again, let us let the Bible interpret the Bible. Jesus explains in the next verse that being born of water is being born of flesh (when we are physically born into the world, we are born of water from the birth canal). So Jesus is saying, you must be born of flesh, then of the spirit. Everyone is already born of the flesh. When Jesus comes back and resurrects the dead in Christ, we will be born of the spirit.

1 Peter 1:23
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Peter is giving us another clue of what born again means. One can easily misinterpret this verse if they do not let the Bible interpret itself. When Peter is talking about being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, he is also talking about the resurrection as we see in 1 Corinthians 15:39, 42-56.

What does it mean to be "born of the Spirit"?

1 Corinthians 15:39, 42-56
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.


To sum it up...you are "saved" when you are "born again"...you are "born again" when you are "raised in incorruption" (raised from the dead).

To be apart of this first resurrection you must repent (turn from breaking the law) and pledge your allegiance to your new King, Yahshua.

 

[FallingWaters]

I don't mean to be disrespectful of your point of view, but in all the years I have ever heard this taught, being born again - being made a New Creature in Christ - is something that happenes in this life. How else would we be empowered to resist sin and to bring glory and honor to God? We couldnd't be.

Being born again happens here on this earth. I know. It happened to me.

 

[Caissie]

I don't mean to be disrespectful of your point of view, but in all the years I have ever heard this taught, being born again - being made a New Creature in Christ - is something that happenes in this life. How else would we be empowered to resist sin and to bring glory and honor to God? We couldnd't be.

Being born again happens here on this earth. I know. It happened to me.

Just let the bible define the words for you.

I am not saying that one can not be filled with the holy spirit in this life. I have seen this happen too. And if one wants to call that "being born again", then fine. But that is not the bible's definition of "being born again" or "saved".

 

[matthew241006]

So what is the Bibles definition then?
Please share it with us as some of us are trying to learn.

 

[soulsearching1]

I don't mean to be disrespectful of your point of view, but in all the years I have ever heard this taught, being born again - being made a New Creature in Christ - is something that happenes in this life. How else would we be empowered to resist sin and to bring glory and honor to God? We couldnd't be.

Being born again happens here on this earth. I know. It happened to me.

That was my understanding of it as well. That we are "dead" in our sins in this life, until we accept Jesus, and then we are "born again" into a new Christian path/life (on this earth), and that we are "saved" from spending eternity in Hell. We are "saved" from death- the moment we are "born again", we cannot truly die- physical death is just a stop along the way. It is not the "end".

 

[matthew241006]

The body dies, the soul doesn't.
The soul will end up in Heaven or Hell (or somewhere else if you follow another faith).
But I think in Heaven we get a new body.

 

[soulsearching1]

The body dies, the soul doesn't.
The soul will end up in Heaven or Hell (or somewhere else if you follow another faith).
But I think in Heaven we get a new body.

Oh, I know the soul doesn't die. But the way it's always been explained to me is that (regardless of body), when we decide to follow Christ in this life, we become an entirely new person- hence the "rebirth". The old person we were has "died". I've had several Christians explain it to me (before I became one myself) and they always explained it that way.

 

[Caissie]

So what is the Bibles definition then?
Please share it with us as some of us are trying to learn.

See post 23...

To clarify better....Jesus compares being born again to being born of the Spirit...and when Peter mentions "being born again" he mentions it in context with "incorruptible" seed. So now we must find out what "being born of the Spirit" means....and look at other verses that use "incorruptible seed" in context. Then 1 Corinthians 15:39, 42-56 connects "born of the Spirit", "raised in incorruption" to the resurrection of the dead.

Also Titus 3:5-7 says we are saved by "the washing of regeneration"...

Titus 3:5-7
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; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Many preachers will say that "regeneration" is when you repent...The bible only uses this word twice, so let us look at the other time "regeneration" is used.

Matthew 19:28
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

So the "regeneration" is "when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory" (Matthew 19) and we are saved "by the washing of regeneration"...So we are saved "when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory".


I am not sure how much you know about the resurrection of the dead (this is what we strive for). I go into much more detail about the resurrection of the dead here http://biblestuff.freerovin.com/photo3.html

I think that the reason why Christians are so confused about "Once saved always saved" is because they don't understand the true definition of "saved". I do believe in "Once saved always saved". I believe that when you are resurrected from the dead and enter into God's Kingdom, you are "always saved"...but until then, we should "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" and "endure to the end".

 

[FallingWaters]

.

 

[FallingWaters]

That was my understanding of it as well. That we are "dead" in our sins in this life, until we accept Jesus, and then we are "born again" into a new Christian path/life (on this earth), and that we are "saved" from spending eternity in Hell. We are "saved" from death- the moment we are "born again", we cannot truly die- physical death is just a stop along the way. It is not the "end".

You are correct.

 

[FallingWaters]

The body dies, the soul doesn't.
The soul will end up in Heaven or Hell (or somewhere else if you follow another faith).
But I think in Heaven we get a new body.

You are correct.

 

[prophecystudent]

I think I understand what you're saying.
I do have trouble with this 'turn away from your ways' stuff. Just what exactly does that mean?
For example, I play guitar, play the odd videogame, I'm not working at present, I study via distance learning, watch the odd dvd and so on. Are you suggesting I throw all that out of my life?
If God wants to improve my health then OK. But if He doesnt then I guess that when it does affect me, I dont have to feel too bad about it, because its His will that I still have it. Sometimes I do things which, at the time of doing them, I know are wrong. Sometimes I do things and feel bad afterwards, sometimes days or weeks after.
I really think I do believe in God. But as I'm sure you'll appreciate there are *lots* of different ways of interpreting His word. That sort of puts me off as I couldn't possibly know, I think, which 'way' is right.
But I guess that comes later.

Your salvation is easy. As others have said, it consists of accepting the Lord Jesus as your personal savior and asking Him to come into your heart. It also involves confession of past sins and asking for forgiveness. (note this is the short version) (smile).

The harder part comes after your salvation. That part is your daily struggle with attitudes and conduct that are not what Jesus would want us to do.

We all make mistakes, every day, and none of us will be perfect until Jesus comes again and raptures us away from this sinful planet.

Watching the odd DVD, watching the odd TV show are not necessarily sinful. It depends on their content and your purpose in watching them. Neither is playing the odd video game sinful, again depending on the content.

Porn, etc are in my opinion, sinful and should be stopped. Video games that emphasize killing etc are (IMO) sinful. There are video games out there that are not sinful but do not contain the graphic violence that many of them do.

When I was counselling we would tell new converts to read the book of Acts first, then the book of Romans followed by the 4 gospels.

You do not have to read the entire bible before you get saved. I would urge you to make your decision ASAP because as one other post asked, "What if you get killed today, and you have not been saved?" The bible answer is clear in that it considers only two types of people, saved and unsaved. No middle ground.

A very helpful method to use in making tough decisions is to ask yourself, "What would Jesus Do?" There used to be a groupl that wore bracelets (I think) that had WWJD on them. Every time they faced a tough decision (from a Christian point) they would ask themselves, "What would Jesus do?"

Works for me.

Good luck and I hope we can soon welcome you to the family.

Fred

 

[TravellingGrace]

I'm reading this
http://www.christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=gospel#faq_christian
Specifically the 'Receiving Him Now' part at the bottom.
So if I pray that, in all sincerity, honesty and earnestness, then I'm saved?
Question is, what happens tomorrow if I, say, stub my toe and swear, maybe using His name? Am I back to square one? Or do I apologise in silent prayer and vow to try harder next time?
Also, should I read the whole Bible before I even think of giving my life to Christ? I mean, I need to know what I'm about to do, right?

Hi Matthew,

I don't think we can neccessarily say that becoming a Christian is an easy 2 sentence prayer that automatically turns our life around completely. Being a Christian is a journey, a lifelong journey towards the perfection that we are called to. The wonderful thing is, if we stumble, we are picked back up.

A book that really helped me to realize the actual importance of the journey and process is called Traveling Mercies by Ann Lammott. It's about her journey to faith throughout her whole life. It's intense, messy and yet profoundly simple to understand. Her faith didn't come easy, and she certainly did not have all of her life together, and probably didn't read the whole Bible before she came to Christ. (You'd be surprised how many Christians haven't read the whole Bible yet.)

 

[Stinker]

It wasn't an overwhelming struggle to be different. All of a sudden I just was different. I was a New Creation in Christ.


I think this is the perfect description of what occurs to people the moment one comes to the kind of faith or belief that is commanded by the New Testament!

 

[AJB4]

Maybe 'getting' saved at the start would be easy, but staying that way would be harder. It would take a lifetime of commitment.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

Getting saved is easy.
Being saved (i.e. Christian living) is certainly not.
God takes your life in a whole different direction, and that new life will not be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is.

 

[velvetkitsune0]

Here's a story my pastor made up about salvation:

Suppose Jesus is giving away watches and the only way you get a free gold watch is if you ask(and he has a seemingly endless supply of watches.) Well, suppose you looked at him and walked by when he was standing there with a watch in his hand, then another person walks up to Jesus and asks him they can have it and he just gives it up.

Another person walks up and asks for a watch and gets a free one, then another and another. Finally you see what you have to do to receive a watch and you too finally ask.

Well let's suppose as soon as you walk away you drop the watch in a puddle, so you have to get it fixed. And after you get in fixed you accidently leave it lying around your sibling and it gets broken; you have to get it fixed again.



Anyway the moral of the story is that getting the gift is easy if you know, but its hard to maintain a blessing once you get it.

 

[revmalone]

I'm reading this
http://www.christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=gospel#faq_christian
Specifically the 'Receiving Him Now' part at the bottom.
So if I pray that, in all sincerity, honesty and earnestness, then I'm saved?
Question is, what happens tomorrow if I, say, stub my toe and swear, maybe using His name? Am I back to square one? Or do I apologise in silent prayer and vow to try harder next time?
Also, should I read the whole Bible before I even think of giving my life to Christ? I mean, I need to know what I'm about to do, right?

Greetings

Take this test and if you pass it , this will let you know if you can enter into heaven or be rejected. If were going to work our way in.

Have you ever told a lie?
Ever took something that was some one elses, no matter how small it was?
Have you ever wanted something some else had.
Ever had a dirty thought about another person.

So far how are you doing?

If God Judges you to these standards would you be guilty or not?

Were would you go, heaven or hell?

That is what you need Jesus for, we all will fail that test.

Rev Malone