Who then can be saved?

[Dan1988]

Your explanation about the Eastern Orthodox view on salvation seems more like their view on sanctification rather than salvation. It’s my understanding that their view of salvation, at least while in this world, is more of a current status and those who have that current status are undergoing sanctification. Now I’m not an Eastern Orthodox member but that’s just my understanding of it.

My understanding is that Eastern Orthodox Theology, claims that a saved person can lose his salvation. I reject that view, because Jesus opposed it, when He said in, ---

John 6:39 "all that the Father gives Me shall come to Me Now this is the will of the One having sent Me, that all that He has given Me, I should lose none of it, but will raise it up in the last day.

I'm not sure how the Eastern Orthodox get around this verse which clearly exposes their theology. I'm sure you agree that Jesus is speaking about the "elect of God" here. Who else would have the Father given Him to save, surely not the children of the Devil.

The Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox Church, hold to the same theology, which holds to the works based salvation, version of the gospel. While the Protestant Church holds to the grace based gospel. I can find may verses to support the "saved by grace" gospel, but I can't find a single evrse to support the "saved by works" version of the gospel.

 

[Dan1988]

The word grace refers to anything that God does for someone because the blessings we receive are never deserved. Grace isn’t exclusively referring to what God does for us in reference to salvation, it just means that someone has favor with God. In Luke 2:40 the grace of God was upon Christ when He was a child. This just means that Jesus had favor with The Father. It had nothing to do with salvation. In this usage of the word grace and many others in scripture it doesn’t always refer to unmerited salvation. In some cases it can just refer to God bestowing blessings upon someone because they found favor with Him.

There are only two kinds of people in the world, those who are alive in Christ and those who are dead in their sin. Those of us who re alive in Christ, are under Gods grace, and those who are dead in their sin are under Gods wrath and judgement. He's angry with them everyday.

God doesn't decide to show His grace or mercy to someone, because they have done some good work or earned merit points. The Bible never teaches that anywhere, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

So God only shows grace, mercy and love to those He chose to save, the wrath of God abides on the rest. Nobody finds favour with God, through their works.

 

[fhansen]

No, the point is that it's impossible to continue in the faith, without backsliding and falling away. Every single Born again Christian, will backslide and fall away. But thank God He draws us back to Himself every single time, so if salvation was dependant on our efforts to remain faithful and steadfast in the faith, nobody would be saved.

God is the author and finisher of salvation, He chose to save His elect before He created the earth. God wrote the name of every single one of His elect in His book, before He created the world. You simply can't get around that fact, so it was a done deal before time began, and you are wrong to suggest that it's not.

Your idea that some supposed "spark of Gods image, ,still lies within", is nothing more than wishful thinking. I don't mean to pour cold water on your ideas, but they are not supported by any scripture and they are born out of your imagination.
You won't find a single verse in the Bible to support this unbiblical notion. But you will find hundreds confirming the doctrine of total depravity.

As mentioned earlier, the bible is crystal clear that "you can do nothing without God". He must do it all for you, or you will remain dead in your sin forever. And the fact that born again Christians, strive to live in obedience to God, is not a testimony of their strength or ability or determination or faith or anything else of theirs. It's actually evidence that God is working in their lives to conform us, to sanctify us and ultimately transform us into the image of His Son.

Nobody come willingly, we all go kicking and screaming as it contrary to what we want to do. We love our sin by nature, God Word confirms that there are none who seek after Him, and all have gone astray. There is none righteous, no not one.

You can't even see, or ''live and move and have your being"' without God, and yet He doesn't ask you to acknowledge and believe in Him in order to have physical sight, or to live and move and have your being. In order to become righteous, however, you do, indeed,, have to participate and that's Christianity 101, from the beginning. It's never been understood any other way so you're not even fully engaged with the faith to begin with. Pray, study, ask, seek, and knock and you'll eventually be brought around to the full understanding of the truth

 

[A New Dawn]

No

Yes

Yes, and Yes.

What is Justification? Bible Meaning and Definition

Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. Being justified is a forensic term, opposed to condemnation. As regards its nature, it is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as...

www.biblestudytools.com

What is justification? What does it mean to be justified? | GotQuestions.org

What is justification? How can I be justified before God? Why, on the basis of Christ’s death, can God declare us to be righteous?

www.gotquestions.org

 

[Lukaris]

I believe what St. Paul explains in Colossians 1:1-29 ( especially verses 10-24) probably bests sums up salvation in Orthodoxy. However long & how we live our life by the Lord’s commandments by His grace we are saved.