We are not saved because....

[Gerry]

We are NOT saved because we FEEL like we are saved. Although Christians experience Spiritual highs and lows and emotional feelings connected to their experiences and relationships with other Christians and with Christ, we are NOT saved because we FEEL we are saved.

We are not saved because our Mother or our parents are saved, anymore than we are a hamburger because our Mother works at McDonalds. Every individual is responsible for his/her own actions and we are not saved by proxy.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

ALL means EVERYONE! We shall all give an account of ourselves individually.

Romans 14:11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We are NOT saved because we are born in a Christian nation. One confused individual said he was a Christian because he was born in America and America is a Christian nation. He also said he was Agnostic, because he did not believe anyone could ever be 100% sure of anything, and further he was an Atheisit because he believed that the evidence seemed to lean that way. Therefore said he, he was a Christian Agnostic Atheist. Regretably many who call themselves Christians seem to be as confused as this one.

We are Not saved because we have "always been saved". We are NOT simply born saved, though we are certainly given protection untill we attain the age of accountability. We are NOT saved because we intuitively know we are saved or because we were saved in a "previous life", since no such like exists.

We are NOT saved because we "try to live a good life", and we do good things for the Lady down the street, and are kind to dogs. We are not saved because we have a Kind heart.

We are Not saved because we belong to a particular denomination and we have been baptized.

We are saved because of the Grace of God, through Faith in the finished work of Jesus. We are saved because the Holy Spirit has drawn us to the realization that we are lost and has convicted us of sin and has pointed the way for us by pointing us to Jesus. We are saved because this resulted in repentence or a change of mind and heart and we have made a conscious informed decision to accept Jesus as our personal Saviour, as set forth in so many Scriptures, a few of which I will include here.

John 3:16-18, John 5:24, John 1:12, Acts 16:31, Roman 10:9-13

And we can know because of Scriptures like I John 3:14, Romans 8:16, Romans 5:5, Romans 7:15, John 5:24, Acts 16:31.

I urge anyone to look these up and see what they say to you. There are at least 101 Scripture that tell us how we can be sure we are saved.

It is surely important that we are saved and that we know WHY we are saved, and how.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

 

[Sharky]

amen Gerry. It's an eye opener too. We're not saved by works. Only by God's grace and mercy.

 

[Gerry]

Romans 10:8b-11 - It is the secret of faith, which is the burden of our preaching, and it says, in effect, "If you openly admit by your own mouth that Jesus Christ is the Lord, and if you believe in your own heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." For it is believing in the heart that makes a man righteous before God, and it is stating his belief by his own mouth that confirms his salvation. And the scripture says: 'Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame'. JBP

 

[jayebrownlee]

Amen, it is not us that saves us at all, without Christ we would all be condemned to Hell. Although we need to know that we are saved before truly we are (confused yet!!) we need to know that it God who saves us and not our works or thoughts but Jesus'.

 

[ombowstring]

Gerry, it's obvious these people will believe that they were saved,--"<SUP>21</SUP> 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. <SUP>22</SUP> Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? <SUP>23</SUP> And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

But obviously they are not. What makes you think you are saved?

 

[Gunny]

Amen, Gerry. By Christ and Christ alone. Their is only one name unto Salvation.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by jayemcintyre
Amen, it is not us that saves us at all, without Christ we would all be condemned to Hell. Although we need to know that we are saved before truly we are (confused yet!!) we need to know that it God who saves us and not our works or thoughts but Jesus'.

Amen! As it says in 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;

Look at the beauty of it as translated by JB Phillips.

Titus 3:3-8a
For we ourselves have known what it is to be ignorant, disobedient and deceived, the slaves of various desires and pleasant feelings, while our lives were spent in malice and jealousy - we were hateful and we hated each other. But when the kindness of God our saviour and his love towards man appeared, he saved us - not by virtue of any moral achievements of ours, but by the cleansing power of a new birth and the moral renewal of the Holy Spirit, which he gave us so generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour. The result is that we are acquitted by his grace, and can look forward to inheriting life for evermore. This is solid truth.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by gunnysgt
Amen, Gerry. By Christ and Christ alone. Their is only one name unto Salvation.

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.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by Sharky
amen Gerry. It's an eye opener too. We're not saved by works. Only by God's grace and mercy.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

 

[GraftMeIn]

removing what was posted since it detracts from the original thread
&nbsp;

 

[GraftMeIn]

Now what was it I going to say........

Excellent post Gerry! It holds true to the word of God.

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by GraftMeIn
Now what was it I going to say........

Excellent post Gerry! It holds true to the word of God.

Yes and the Word of God is ALL that matters. No words of any "reincarnated" demon from hell mean anything!

 

[GraftMeIn]

Originally posted by ombowstring
Gerry, it's obvious these people will believe that they were saved,--" 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.&nbsp; And Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Let me see if I can give you a better explanation of this scripture. So that you will stop trying to use it against us.

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.

Only the Holy spirit can guide, and teach us about&nbsp; what God wants us to do with our lives. We must learn to follow it.

And Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Looking at this part I can easily see the mistake being made. The key word here is WE it basically says, have WE not done all these things. Any true Christian knows WE can do nothing. It is only God who has the power to do these things, we are only vessels he uses to do them through.

There's alot more to it than just what I mentioned here, but I think this should be enough to help you understand it a little better. It is not our works that save us, but our faith in Christ. I think the scripture you keep pointing out to us shows that quite clearly

 

[jayebrownlee]

I think what everyone is trying to say here is that we are ALL saved through faith in what Jesus did for us. Saying that we are not saved is saying that what Jesus did on the cross was not big enough, but it was, otherwise He would not have done it.

Thank you Jesus for the pain that you went you through to save us from our own faults. Amen

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by GraftMeIn
removing what was posted since it detracts from the original thread
&nbsp;

Your replies are ALWAYS a positive contribution.

 

[GraftMeIn]

Originally posted by Gerry
Your replies are ALWAYS a positive contribution.

Ahh Gerry! It wasn't so much my reply that I was trying to remove, but&nbsp;merely the quotes that went along with it. It just seemed impossible to remove one without removing the other.

 

[Gerry]

Well in that case, OK!

 

[EJO]

Amen brother! Preach on!

Good stuff Gerry, God Bless

 

[Gerry]

Originally posted by EJO
Amen brother! Preach on!

Good stuff Gerry, God Bless

Thanks. It is my earnest desire that all of us who Name the Name of Christ be certain of our salvation. It is why I have started the series in the devotionals Forum called Salvation Checks.

It is important to know that just because our parents enrolled us in Nursery School at Church and we have attended every Sunday for 50 years, that that does not automatically make us saved.

Salvation requires and action on our part and is not passed on to us through tradition or genes.

 

[aggie03]

Salvation requires and action on our part and is not passed on to us through tradition or genes.

I agree with many of the things that you have posted here so far. I agree that there is nothing that we can do to merit our own salvation, and that it doesn't matter if our parents are Christian or not. But what I do not agree with is what you have said is necessary in order to receive the grace of God.

You have said that salvation requires an action on our part and I agree with you. I assume then that you realize there are some things that we must do in order to be saved - only one of which is belief.

We also need to be baptized in order to receive the grace of God. This isn't any more of a work then believing is, because there is no merit in the act of baptism, but rather it is something that God has outlined as being necessary for us to do, just like He has with belief.

Mark 16:16

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.

1 Peter 3:21

The like figure whereunt even baptis doth als no save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Acts 2:38

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.