How many Christians will be saved?

[RedRose333]

I am a baby christian. What does this mean "he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.". The will of God is to love your neighbor as yourself and to forgive others as Christ forgave you and love the Lord with all your mind, heart and soul. I understand Jesus says somewhere in John that to love Him is to obey His commands. Is it true that if you love your neighbor like yourself and love God with your whole mind heart and soul this is what it means to obey Jesus commands? Is this true? Because when you love God and others then you will not sin. Is this true? Also...what does it mean to love God with your whole mind, soul and heart? How can someone manage to do this? Isn't it a process ?? My greatest wish is to be able to be in communion with Jesus so much I will love him with my whole mind, soul and heart (or is it strength) ? Also, how do you know that the verse "the road is very wide, but the gate indeed narrow." relates to rewards and not to salvation or vice versa, where does it say that ? Nowhere is it explained...I thought we were saved by GRACE and not by our own works , Some say we have to be holy and I agree but holiness is a process what if we are not perfect? I mean I want to be ready and 100% holy. And I will be ready when He comes! I will ! But explain how this works. Because one camp in christianity says its all by the blood and grace and another camp says it is by our holiness and actions. Who is right?

 

[4meta]

The only number we know or ought to know (if you read & study your bible) there will be 144,000 Christians (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) selected first.

1st Resurrection
Revelation 7 (KJV)
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

Revelation 14 (KJV)
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Then after that, a great multitude will be selected that no man can number!

Revelation 7 (KJV)
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

2nd Resurrection
Revelation 20 (KJV)
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 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.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.


So will all "Christians" be saved? Yes but God will determine who is truly a Christian and who is not.

 

[rrobsr]

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Correct, unfortunately.

Actually, incorrect, fortunately!

Jesus was talking to Jews before the day of Pentaecost when the law was still in effect. Things are different now that Jew and Gentile are made one body (Ephesians 2:6) in this age of grace (Ephesians 2:8), apart from law (Romans 10:4).

Else why did Jesus suffer and die?

 

[RedRose333]

The only number we know or ought to know (if you read & study your bible) there will be 144,000 Christians (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) selected first.

1st Resurrection
Revelation 7 (KJV)
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.
6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.
7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.
8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

Revelation 14 (KJV)
1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

Then after that, a great multitude will be selected that no man can number!

Revelation 7 (KJV)
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

2nd Resurrection
Revelation 20 (KJV)
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 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.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.


So will all "Christians" be saved? Yes but God will determine who is truly a Christian and who is not.

isn't this a Jehovah's witness teaching ?

 

[RedRose333]

Actually, incorrect, fortunately!

Jesus was talking to Jews before the day of Pentaecost when the law was still in effect. Things are different now that Jew and Gentile are made one body (Eph 2:6) in this age of grace (Eph 2:8), apart from law (Romans 10:4).

Else why did Jesus suffer and die?

Maybe Jesus said this for everyone, inculding those in the age of grace, otherwise His other teachings wouldn't relate to us either? What about His other teachings? Do they apply to us in the age of grace or not ?

 

[rrobsr]

The only number we know or ought to know (if you read & study your bible) there will be 144,000 Christians (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel) selected first.

You mix up Israel and Christians. You can't possibly make any sense out of the Bible if you don't get the characters right. Try researching the difference between Jew, Gentile, and Church of God. This will help you get started:

1 Cor 10:32,

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
​

God makes a distinction and you should too.

 

[Dr Bruce Atkinson]

Been studying the population numbers recently, with a view toward trying to estimate how many Christians in this generation may be saved according to the following assumptions:



Quote:

The saved in Heaven according to the count: 100 million angels ( Rev 5:11 )

The estimated population of all those who ever lived a life on earth, = ~100 billion.

The estimated number of Christians who have lived since 33 AD = ~10 billion .

The current world Christian population is ~2 billion ( 1/3 of world pop ).

The current world Catholic population is ~1 billion

The current world Protestant population is ~ 1 billion

The current World population is roughly ~6 billion.

The estimated World population in 2030 will be ~8.4 billion.

The estimated Christian population by 2030 will be ~2.5 billion.



Based on the above numbers, as a Christian, you will have a ~1:1000 chance of being worthy of inclusion in God's kingdom, taken from all those who ever lived a life on earth.

Based on the above numbers, as a Christian in this ET's generation, you will have a ~1:100 chance of being worthy of inclusion in The Rapture, taken from all those who claim themselves “Christian” in this generation.

Based on the above numbers, as a Christian in this end times generation, you will have a ~1:70,000 chance of being included as a "Firstfruit", taken from all those Christians who ever lived a life on earth.

Based on the above numbers, as a Christian in this end times generation, you will have a ~1:18,000 chance of being included as a "Firstfruit", taken from all those who claim themselves “Christian” in this generation.

These are raw numbers, without anything else taken into consideration. Therefore, there is considerable room for error. I calculated this information to get an "idea" what percentage of "true" Christians are seperated from those who only pay "lip service" to The Faith. That is ~1%.

Based on the above numbers, ~25 million Christians ( ~1/4 of all those accounted saved in Heaven - 100 million ) shall be taken in this generation. That number may also be a "very telling" number that may indicate the overwhelming holocaust of the shear numbers of Christians, worldwide, that may truely witness the GT coming. By comparison, in numbers alone, the Jewish Holocaust of WW2 will pale in significance.

In a country such as the USA, where 75% of the pop consider themselves "Christian", your chances of being included worthy of rapture as a Christian in this generation may only be:

~1:133 Christians, with a total taken in America of ~2.25 million.

Based on the above numbers, your chance of being "excluded from the GT as a "Firstfruit" is considerably low, Therefore, the wise Christian would NOT look to be included in the "Firstfruits" as being worthy of being extracted from witness in the GT.

There will be many of those who claim themselves "Christian" in this country, who shall "shrink" from their responsibility to witness the GT coming.

Based on the above numbers, it is clear that the road is very wide, but the gate indeed narrow. And the window of opportunity is shrinking daily.....

Your original premise is wrong. Angels (Revelation 5:11) are not saved human beings. There is no number recorded in the Scriptures of the number of saved human beings. That information is for God only; as Jesus said, it is none of our business.

 

[PanDeVida]

This is based on the popular thread, How Many Christians are Christian?

My question, for you, is how many Christians will be saved?

b. The answer is a Few, but in that few their are Many! NOT ALL cHRISTIANS WILL BE SAVED. The Lord himself say in: Matthew 7:21 21Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

b. Who says Lord, Lord and prophesies in the name of Jesus and cast out devils in HIS Name, Yesteryears and TODAY??? The Answer is NOT the Pagans, the answer is the cHRISTIANS. So Jesus Christ here States, NOT ALL cHRISTIANS who's say's Lord Lord SHALL NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

 

[Shempster]

First I will say it depends on what you mean by "saved".
Saved from eternal torment?....ALL
Saved from tribulation in general?.....A few
Saved from the great tribulation?.....All
Saved from the presence and effects of sin?....ALL

The issue might be in the timing of it all. Not everyone believes you get one chance and that's it.
There seems to be a heirarchy in God's creation plus the fact that He deals with different groups in different methods.

 

[patdee]

This is based on the popular thread, How Many Christians are Christian?

My question, for you, is how many Christians will be saved?

ALL true (Born Again) Christians will be saved.

However, MOST who call themselves "Christians" have NOT had the "new" birth.

John 3:3 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. John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water 'from' the (Holy) Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

What is "Born Again"?

When any one truly believes IN Jesus, His holy spirit gives them a NEW birth of the spirit, NOT of the flesh. That is: any one that believes that Jesus WAS indeed the Messiah, sent to save His own; that person WILL be saved instantly; and it is irrevocable for ANY reason. Sadly, his own rejected Him. So the covenant was changed to include ANY one that believed that Jesus WAS the Messiah, "be they jew or gentile, male or female".

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Hebrews 8:8 For finding fault with them (because they rejected Him), he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

IE:

1 Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament (covenant) in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me (not the law-not works, etc, but ALL about Him).

This means ALL who believe IN Jesus will be "heirs to the promise" God made to Abraham 2,000 yrs before Jesus was born-Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

However:

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

So WHAT is the will of the Father?

John 6:40 And this is the will of him (father) that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son (or heareth Him through His holy spirit after His ascension), and believeth on him, will have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Going to church, getting baptized, doing good "works", etc, does NOT save a person. It is WHO they believe in as their Lord and Savior ("Messiah" in Hebrew) that saves them.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

He made NO exceptions or other requirements for salvation, whatsoever.

Revelation 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Revelation 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

"Hot in this context" means to put ALL of one's faith IN Jesus and remove faith from ALL other entities. IE: Not just believe he existed and healed, etc.

Good works are solely for blessings for good deeds and punishment for evil works (sin); based on HOW a person lives ON the earth. Heaven has NOTHING to do with that. Heaven is a reward for believing IN Jesus. Period. Those who believe that ANY works saves them are going to be very surprised on Judgment Day. Oh indeed yes.

Anyone that does not believe IN Jesus, will perish in hell (Remember Jesus WAS the God manifest* IN the flesh; that spoke to Adam and Eve, Noah, Noah and Abraham, etc. Thus Jesus' sacrifice was retroactive all the way back to creation!) Salvation is based 100% on faith IN Jesus. It is a spiritual thing. It is NOT of the flesh in any way. Believe it or not.

In any case, may Jesus richly bless you and yours always.

* 1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was "manifest" in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

 

[S. Tellez]

This is based on the popular thread, How Many Christians are Christian?

My question, for you, is how many Christians will be saved?

Sadly most christians today are walking around as undelivered flesh bags. Christ asked rhetorically if he would even find faith when he returns.

 

[St_Worm2]

The Scriptures teach us that no one can come to Jesus apart from the Father's ἑλκύω [helkuo] "drawing". It also teaches us that ALL who are so drawn and given to the Son WILL come to Him (and that of these, NONE will be lost ).

John 6
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.​

There are many in the church who "claim" to be Christians and many of these who, no doubt, believe themselves so ("tares" .. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43), some perhaps appearing to be true (and perhaps even "super") Christians (see Matt 7:22 below), but the Lord will tell them plainly at the Judgment, "I NEVER knew you" (see Matt 7:23 below).

Matthew 7
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’​

Yours in Christ,
David

“This is eternal life, that they may know You,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom You have sent"
John 17:3​

 

[St_Worm2]

b. The answer is a Few, but in that few their are Many! NOT ALL cHRISTIANS WILL BE SAVED. The Lord himself say in: Matthew 7:21 21Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

b. Who says Lord, Lord and prophesies in the name of Jesus and cast out devils in HIS Name, Yesteryears and TODAY??? The Answer is NOT the Pagans, the answer is the cHRISTIANS. So Jesus Christ here States, NOT ALL cHRISTIANS who's say's Lord Lord SHALL NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Hi PDV, at the Judgment, the Lord said of those in v22 above (who believed themselves worthy of Heaven due to the great works that they 'claimed' to have done in the very name of Christ), "I NEVER knew you" (not: I knew you at one time but you sinned and left the faith .. or something like that). How can anyone who has never "known" God, obey Him and do works according to His will, be they great works or small .. e.g. 1 Corinthians 2:14

Claiming to be a Christian, even if one fully believes his/her claim, does not a Christian make (neither does going to church/church membership, though I am more than hard-pressed to believe that any can be "true" Christians and live their lives apart from the church ).

See below Matt 13:24-30, 36-43 as well, concerning those who are lifetime members of the visible church (the "wheat" and the "tares"). All claim (and I'm sure most believe) themselves to be true "Christians" in the church, but only some are!

Tares among Wheat​

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’
29 But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Tares Explained​

36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.​

Yours and His,
David

 

[SeventyOne]

I am a baby christian. What does this mean "he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.". The will of God is to love your neighbor as yourself and to forgive others as Christ forgave you and love the Lord with all your mind, heart and soul. I understand Jesus says somewhere in John that to love Him is to obey His commands. Is it true that if you love your neighbor like yourself and love God with your whole mind heart and soul this is what it means to obey Jesus commands? Is this true? Because when you love God and others then you will not sin. Is this true? Also...what does it mean to love God with your whole mind, soul and heart? How can someone manage to do this? Isn't it a process ?? My greatest wish is to be able to be in communion with Jesus so much I will love him with my whole mind, soul and heart (or is it strength) ? Also, how do you know that the verse "the road is very wide, but the gate indeed narrow." relates to rewards and not to salvation or vice versa, where does it say that ? Nowhere is it explained...I thought we were saved by GRACE and not by our own works , Some say we have to be holy and I agree but holiness is a process what if we are not perfect? I mean I want to be ready and 100% holy. And I will be ready when He comes! I will ! But explain how this works. Because one camp in christianity says its all by the blood and grace and another camp says it is by our holiness and actions. Who is right?

When the Lord said "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself", He explained these were the two greatest commandments of the Law. You touched on it a bit. How can we possibly comply with that 100%, which is God's standard?

Short answer, we can't. It's impossible. The bad news is that even if we can strive to comply more and more, but once we don't do it in one little area, we are guilty of breaking the whole thing (James 2:9). The worse news is, even if we somehow managed it, it's too late and we are already guilty because no one will be justified by the Law (Romans 3:28, Galatians 2:16). Remember, Jesus said these were the greatest commands of the Law, these were not instructions to Christians for us to do perfectly.

So, then, how are we saved? The only One who could ever keep the Law perfectly and born free from sin at birth did so, and stood in the gap for the rest of us and reconciled us to God, no longer counting our sins against us and placed us in right standing before God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

That's the good news of the gospel, the requirement of 100% perfection before God has been fulfilled for us by the only one who could ever do so, the one who was perfect God and also one of us, a man. Our justification isn't a process. Once we are declared justified, we remain that way. From that point on, we continue to be sanctified while battling our sinful flesh for the rest of our lives. Thank God one day we'll be rid of that as well.

 

[4meta]

You mix up Israel and Christians. You can't possibly make any sense out of the Bible if you don't get the characters right. Try researching the difference between Jew, Gentile, and Church of God. This will help you get started:

1 Cor 10:32,

Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
​

God makes a distinction and you should too.

Christian was mentioned in the bible only 3 times. And being called a christian during that time was meant to make mockery of those who believe in Jesus.

1st time Christian was mentioned (disciples called Christians)
Acts 11:26

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

2nd time Christian was mentioned (Agrippa talking to Paul)
Acts 26:28

27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.

3rd time Christian was mentioned (Jesus telling those not to be discouraged from being called a Christian)

1 Peter 4:13-16

13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.


Now are you saying those Israelites can't be Christians? Who gave you the authority to say who is Christian & is not? Of course the particular 144,000 Israelites that are already chosen to be with the Lord in the 1st resurrection were not called Christians in the old testament but did they followed the Lord like the disciples that were called Christians in the new testament. And did you not know that the disciples are Israelites? So if those disciples who are from 12 tribes of Israel were called Christians, it is just fine to call those chosen 144,000 Israelites Christians also. Anybody can be a Christian if you are following the Lord. But only the Lord knows who is truly a Christian unto Him for he has stated clearly, do not be ashamed being called a Christian, be a Christian unto God the Father.

What is a Christian? A christian is not a Jew (Israelite) or Gentile. Being a Christian means to be Christ-like, believe in the teachings of Jesus & if you are Christ-like, you would follow the ways of Jesus just like he had taught us. A Christian can be anyone, from any nationality that does this.

 

[S.O.J.I.A.]

The correct answer is 'all'.

 

[sdowney717]

I am a baby christian. What does this mean "he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.". The will of God is to love your neighbor as yourself and to forgive others as Christ forgave you and love the Lord with all your mind, heart and soul. I understand Jesus says somewhere in John that to love Him is to obey His commands. Is it true that if you love your neighbor like yourself and love God with your whole mind heart and soul this is what it means to obey Jesus commands? Is this true? Because when you love God and others then you will not sin. Is this true? Also...what does it mean to love God with your whole mind, soul and heart? How can someone manage to do this? Isn't it a process ?? My greatest wish is to be able to be in communion with Jesus so much I will love him with my whole mind, soul and heart (or is it strength) ? Also, how do you know that the verse "the road is very wide, but the gate indeed narrow." relates to rewards and not to salvation or vice versa, where does it say that ? Nowhere is it explained...I thought we were saved by GRACE and not by our own works , Some say we have to be holy and I agree but holiness is a process what if we are not perfect? I mean I want to be ready and 100% holy. And I will be ready when He comes! I will ! But explain how this works. Because one camp in christianity says its all by the blood and grace and another camp says it is by our holiness and actions. Who is right?

Hi, simply this, about him that does God's will being saved,

John 6:28-29New King James Version (NKJV)
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

God's work that He does in your life is that you believe in His Son the Christ of God.
He actually teaches you by His Spirit, you are drawn by God to Christ and that is why you believe.

43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

If your not drawn, you are not hearing and learning from God and you will never believe in Christ by yourself. You will actually depart from Christ being an antichrist.

60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.

65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”


66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Why did some disciples stay? Because they had been taught Jesus was the Christ by the Father.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Actually, incorrect, fortunately!

Jesus was talking to Jews before the day of Pentaecost when the law was still in effect. Things are different now that Jew and Gentile are made one body (Ephesians 2:6) in this age of grace (Ephesians 2:8), apart from law (Romans 10:4).

Greetings, Rrobsr. I don't believe we've talked before.

Ok, I will engage with you here, although I reserve the right to kindly and respectfully back out if I can tell we are hopelessly at odds in our theology.

Here would be my question to you: The verse in question is Matthew 7:14. If this only applies to Jews, are you saying that the entire passage of Matthew 7:12-20 only does as well? If so, then what is the "fire" referred to in Matthew 7:19? Not setting the stage to argue with you. As stated, I may be backing out of this in a post or two. I'm just curious as to how you apply the surrounding context.

 

[Jesus' Girl]

Some. But not all

 

[ewq1938]

Actually, incorrect, fortunately!

Jesus was talking to Jews before the day of Pentaecost when the law was still in effect.

Yet Christ was speaking of a time after both of those so his words are perfectly valid. Most humans will not receive eternal life. That's just a fact.

And just a friendly reminder the rules here do not allow for Universalism (all will be saved) just in case anyone believes in that:

Discussions in all "Christians Only" forums must be in alignment with Nicene and Trinitarian beliefs. Non-Trinitarianism may only be discussed in the Christianity & World Religion forum and the Debate Non-Christian Religions forum. Other Christian non-Nicene topics may only be discussed in the Controversial Theology forum. The Controversial Theology forum is open to Christian members only (faith groups list). These unorthodox topics include (but are not limited to):

• Universalism
• Open Theism
• Full Preterism
• Annihilationism
• Gnosticism