How does someone "get" saved?

[Bob corrigan]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

 

[HTacianas]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

Two things you mentioned. One is the case of the jailer in Acts. Go back and read what he did after he believed in Jesus and you'll see that it is not a matter of merely believing. See also the men of Samaria at Acts 8. They believed, and just like the jailer, were baptized. But it wasn't finished.

Second is the case of the thief on the cross. A point that is near universally missed among some. You're right that the thief did no works, but the thief died sinless. He died sinless because Jesus forgave him of his sins and he sinned no more. Just as Jesus told those he healed, "go. and sin no more". It would be difficult to sin while one is hanging from a cross. I suppose he could have blasphemed, but apparently he didn't.

Belief is the second step towards salvation. The first is repentance. The first word of the gospel is "repent". As it says, "repent, and be baptized ... for the remission of sins...", see Acts 2:38.

 

[Aussie Pete]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

You missed one: John 1:12
"But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—"

Romans 10:9 is not to do with the initial, born again experience.

"Believe" in the Greek is much more than an intellectual acceptance of facts. I believed for many years before I was born again. My believing meant as much to me as knowing that Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome.


The Amplified puts it this way:
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

 

[d taylor]

-​

Actually also using the word salvation, is not really the best word to describe what God is offering a person.
Why because salvation in The Bible can be other than salvation to eternal life. Which many of these salvation's require works by a person. So if one does not properly understand the salvation being used in The Bible, they can end up making works part of eternal life salvation.

What God is actually offering a person is His free gift of Eternal Life, which is only received by belief in Jesus The Messiah.
To know a person is saved all they have to do is believe God's promise that all who believe in The Messiah have received Eternal Life.

 

[disciple Clint]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

Just to cut to the chase, if a person must do anything at all, then the theory that God has in effect forced salvation on them by virtue of His Sovereignty fails does it not? If I must accept belief then I have taken a position, if I am taking that position because God is forcing me and I have no election of my own then we are all nothing but robots and God should have made us such and given us not option to love Him or not love Him but God makes it clear over and over that He did not do that because He did not want robots, He wants genuine love, love is not love if it is forced

 

[Unqualified]

That list is just another way of saying, ‘I believe with all my heart’. Cornelius- had to be baptized into Christ. Apollos had to know the complete gospel and believe it. The Sidonian woman had to receive her miracle and believe it. Paul accepted that we have Christian traditions. Look what the rich young ruler would have had to do to follow Jesus.

 

[Soyeong]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

In Titus 2:11-14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so it is not the case that we need to these works first and then God will save us as the result, and it is not the case that we need to be saved first and then we will do these works as the result, but rather it describes the content of God's gift of salvation as teaching us to do these works. Someone who refuses to do these works, then they are not being saved from not doing them, so choosing to do these works through faith is a requirement for our salvation, but our salvation is not the result of doing these works, and the reason why there is so much confusion about what it means that someone is being saved is because they miss this nuance. Likewise, people often mistakenly think that obediently relying on what God has instructed is relying on themselves rather than relying on God.

Our salvation is from sin and the Mosaic Law is how we know what sin is (Romans 3:20), so living in obedience to it is intrinsically part of the concept of Jesus saving us from not living in obedience to it. For example, honoring our parents is intrinsically part of the concept of Jesus saving us from not honoring our parents, so the way that we can know that Jesus is saving us from not honoring our parents is if we are obediently relying on what God commanded by honoring our parents.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

Just because a particular phrase is not used in the Bible does not mean that the concept it refers to is not taught by the Bible, such as with the Trinity. Or for example, The Romans Road uses a certain set of verses from Romans to explain the good news of our salvation, so just because someone coined a phrase that is not found in the Bible to refer to that specific set of verses in Romans does not mean that those verses are not taught by the Bible. Likewise, many of those things are synonymous with what is taught in the Bible, like in Acts 16:31, we need to believe in Jesus in order to become saved, which is synonymous with trusting or having faith in him.

The next issue is what exactly it means to believe in Jesus. The way that we live expresses what we believe to be true about the nature of who God is, so for instance the way express, experience, love, believe in and testify about God's goodness is by following His instructions for how to do that, which is why our good works in obedience to the Mosaic Law bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:13-16).

This is also why there are many verses that connect believing in God with obedience to Him. For example, in John 3:36, believing in Jesus is equated with obeying him. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the Mosaic Law. In Romans 1:6, we have received grace in order to bring about the obedience of faith. In Romans 3:31, our faith upholds the Mosaic Law. In James 2:18, he would show his faith by his works. In Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same as those who kept God's commandments. In Hebrews 11, every example of faith is an example of obedience to God's will. In Hebrews 3:17-18, it connects unbelief with disobedience. In Numbers 5:6, disobedience to the Mosaic Law is described as breaking faith.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

The thief on the cross should understood in a way that is compatible with all of the verses that speak about salvation and not in a way that is contrary to them. Someone can still choose to repent and become a doer of the law through faith even while they are physically prevented from expressing it.

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

In Romans 10:5-10, our faith references Deuteronomy 30:11-16 in regard to saying that the Mosaic Law is not too difficult for us to obey, that the one who obeys it will attain life by it, in regard to what we are agreeing to obey by confessing that Jesus is Lord, and in regard to the way to believe that God raised him from the dead. Furthermore, in Romans 10:16, it speaks against those who do not obey the Gospel, so belief should not be considered to be something that is independent of obedience.

 

[Strong in Him]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

Romans 6:23 - The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
God sent Jesus to offer his life as a sacrifice for sin, Matthew 26:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 10:11, 2 Corinthians 5:19. To say that he gave his Son only for a few people, suggests that he creates millions of people in his image, with no intention of saving them from sin - and later punishes them because they didn't turn from that sin.

I doubt very much that anyone would deliberately choose eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect.

We can do nothing to make God save us. He does not need our permission to save us; just as he didn't need our permission to create us.
God has sent Jesus - we believe in him and receive him, or don't. Jesus said "come to me", and "everyone who believes in me" - not "have you done enough to make God accept you?"

The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them.

Jesus HAS died for sin and made it possible for someone to be reconciled to God.
If we accept that and receive God's free gift, we have eternal life; as he promised.

If you bought me a house, chose it, paid for it, put it in my name etc, I wouldn't benefit from it unless I accepted it and went to live in it. Even if you gave me the keys and a map of how to get to it, if I didn't move in, the gift would have done me no good.

They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

I don't know what others think, but I have never come across that view.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:

God doesn't need to be "enabled" to save anyone. He only asks that we accept what he has provided - which is eternal life through his Son.

As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

That's fine.
Where does Scripture say that God decides to save only a few people, that a sheep has to become aware of its salvation or that there is limited atonement?

 

[bling]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

How does yours vary or is the same?

1. God predestined prior to man’s time beginning to save all those who humbly accept His charity, but not individuals by name.

2. A newly conceived baby starts out in a “safe” condition not needing to be saved, because the baby has not sinned, yet.

3. Shortly after reaching the age of accountability the person rebelliously disobeys God (sins) and is in need of salvation.

4. The person becomes hell bound, without reason to “Love” God and the desire for the perceived pleasures of sin makes God his/her hated enemy.

5. Sins (acts of hurting others) burdens the person’s heart for at least a while (until the heart becomes hard)?

6. The actions of the person put them in a deadly spiral of hurt with no way to personally rescue themselves.

7. The person attempts to seek and find an escape.

8. The truth about their enemy God is presented to him/her while they are spiraling down to the pigsty of life at times they come to their senses, so they have the opportunity to make an autonomous free will choice to be macho, hang in there, pay the piper and be willing to accept the punishment they fully deserve or they can wimp out, give up on self and surrender to their enemy in hopes/trust/faith of just the possibility the enemy might provide undeserved charity.

9. God showers the person who is still hating Him, with unbelievable wonderful gifts including eternal life, Love, fellowship, new friends, new family, purpose, and a home in heaven.

10. As a result of this Godly type Love and out of gratitude for all these wonderful gifts the person wants to join God’s army, be obedient to God, be baptized, be His child, accept being crucified with Christ (God’s Loving disciplining) and Love others.

11. With this new Godly type Love and with the little faith the person has shown, the Love and faith can now grow with use, to be more and more like Christ.

I use the example of the Prodigal son story in Luke 15. The prodigal son did nothing worthy of anything and in fact is turning to his father, selfishly (sinfully) wanting a livable job, he totally does not deserve. If he was macho he would have taken the punishment he fully deserved, not bothered his father further and starved to death in that pigsty. The older son is another example, he is invited to the party with pleas from his father, but it is up to the older son to go or refuse to go. What more could the father say or do to have his older son be happy at the party?

You also have the banquets where undeserving people are invited and some just refuse to go.

Saved people did nothing honorable, righteous, worthy, glorious or holy to deserve in anyway their salvation, but they do have to humbly accept God pure undeserving charity as pure charity (as God is giving it) even for selfish reasons. After that God showers them with unbelievable wonderful gifts, which will cause them out of a gratitude type of Love to serve God.

 

[Blade]

"All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)"

Forgive me He is not the problem. See the key to this is we must be willing to surrender to repent. We might think we are yet in our heart we have not. Lets make this even easier anyone that just calls on His name shall be saved. See if I believe Jesus was who He said it was if I confess with my mouth and believe in my heart I am saved. Now based on what you said.. He found me. I went up front crying said the "sinners" prayer and yeah here I am over 55 years later. I still have the tiny booklet "Four spiritual laws" they gave me that day.

The ones that believe as you do forget that Christ said anyone that comes to Him He will in no way cast them out. So that list you made is fact and true. It comes down to faith. A kid that never heard of Jesus looks out sees a part of this world that is so beautiful and thinks.. I want that God that made that! That kid is saved so to speak. This world.. man has no excuse to say "there is no God".

 

[FireDragon76]

Classical Arminians do believe in predestination... they just believe God's predestination is according to the freedom of the believer to accept the Gospel, and not apart from it.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Salvation is God coming down to rescue us, out of His pure and unconditional kindness shown through Christ. Faith is not our believing a set of doctrines which secures a seat in the good place after we die. Faith is God coming down and opening up our clenched fist in order that we might receive what God gives freely.

We are hostile toward God, our fists are clenched, at enmity with God. That is why the Scriptures say we were dead in our trespasses, and we were at enmity with God. But God, in His super-abundance of mercy, has cracked open the heart of stone and is transforming it into a heart of flesh. God takes a clenched fist and pries it open by His love, to receive Him and His gifts. So that we are justified through faith, not as a reward given to us for believing certain things, but as an open and bare hand of a beggar which passively receives what God freely gives. Faith, then, by God's own power and grace, clings to God's promise.

The promise of God is that though our sins be as scarlet, He will make us white as snow; gifting us His righteousness like a garment--the white robe of Christ and His righteousness. So that we stand before God, in Christ, guiltless.

For the Law, in being the mirror that reflects back to us our guilt gives way to terror, dread, and dispair; so the Gospel is the declaritive word of God's love and mercy toward every single guilty person that Christ has accomplished already what we could not. The Law, impossible to fulfill by our own efforts, made full by the righteousness of Jesus; and so what the Law could not do, God has done, by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful humanity. And God, out of HIs kindness, works faith in us to receive and cleave to Christ, to the promise of this precious and saving Gospel. For this reason the Gospel is the very power of God to save all who believe, as it is righteousness revealed from faith to faith--the righteousness of Christ granted to us as pure gift.

And from faith we confess and believe what God says, we hope and trust in Jesus, we confess our sins knowing we are sinners; but trusting that He who suffered and died has made full and complete satisfaction. From faith we, armed with God's love and kindness and grace, now take up our own cross, follow Jesus, and seek a life lived in accordance to Him. A life of obedience, not out of the dread fear of condemnation; but out of a renewed and broken heart that now beats in us by the Holy Spirit, to walk by faith, to walk in the Spirit, to love God and neighbor.

Faith does not ask, "Should I do good works?" Faith does them; for faith looks upon our brother, our sister, our neighbor, and even our enemy and is compassionate., beholding them in love for Christ's sake. With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Only grace can chip away the stone that surrounds our heart until it is freed to love, only grace can take what is broken and wounded and heal and renew it.

So daily there is grace, for St. Jeremiah the Prophet has written,

"The steadfast love of YHWH never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3:22-23

-CryptoLutheran

 

[fhansen]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

Historic teachings of the church maintain that man cannot possibly turn himself to God; grace is essential for that. But man can resist that grace, refusing to open the door. Or, man can close the door, once open, at any point down the road. From our perspective, we know that those who persevere to the end will be saved. We can have a high level of assurance about our salvation, based on God’s trustworthinesss and evidence of fruit in our lives, but not 100% certainty. God, alone, knows with perfect certainty whose names are written in the Book of Life.

 

[IoanC]

Well, I am in a third camp. I don't believe I need salvation. The theology of sin and the Scriptures, etc., come from Satan, in my view. They exist because the wicked envy those who are made in the image and likeness of God and try to create a system through which some or all humans can be saved. This system is man made; God is transcendent and beyond any understanding. If you ask me why am I still a Christian at all, it is because such is my Cross and duty.

 

[FireDragon76]

Well, I am in a third camp. I don't believe I need salvation. The theology of sin and the Scriptures, etc., come from Satan, in my view. They exist because the wicked envy those who are made in the image and likeness of God and try to create a system through which some or all humans can be saved. This system is man made; God is transcendent and beyond any understanding. If you ask me why am I still a Christian at all, it is because such is my Cross and duty.

I wouldn't put it in those terms, but as I have gotten older, I've become more skeptical of the "ontology of lack" underlying much of Western theology and culture, the so-called diastema of Orthodox theology, resulting in the sometimes lugubrious spirituality of Orthodoxy, and the guilt-ridden theology of the Roman and Protestant traditions.

I actually prefer the Quaker theology now days, though I don't agree with the Quaker's rigid spiritualizing tendencies and anti-sacramentalism they inherited from English Puritans.

Salvation is God coming down to rescue us, out of His pure and unconditional kindness shown through Christ. Faith is not our believing a set of doctrines which secures a seat in the good place after we die. Faith is God coming down and opening up our clenched fist in order that we might receive what God gives freely.

We are hostile toward God, our fists are clenched, at enmity with God.

???

This kind of statement strikes me as often unreal. It's too broad of a generalization of human experience.

 

[Strong in Him]

Well, I am in a third camp. I don't believe I need salvation.

You're not perfect, so I can't understand how you might think you don't need salvation.

The theology of sin and the Scriptures, etc., come from Satan, in my view.

So John the Baptist preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins, Jesus's message to repent and the Apostles' teaching on repentance were all from Satan? Really?

They exist because the wicked envy those who are made in the image and likeness of God and try to create a system through which some or all humans can be saved.

They exist because God - against whom we have sinned - tells us to repent.

If you ask me why am I still a Christian at all, it is because such is my Cross

It is your cross?
Having a relationship with, and having the privilege of serving the Creator of the universe is a burden that you have to bear??

and duty.

Not something you want to be because your heavenly Father loves you?
Sad.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV
1. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

That is the mechanics.
This is the application:

Romans 10:9 KJV
9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

 

[Jesus is YHWH]

At the end of a person's life, only one thing matters: is the person saved or not? As we all know, there are two camps concerning salvation, predestination or Arminianism. I am of the predestination camp. My camp teaches that it is strictly God's sovereign choice as to who is saved, and Armininism teaches that it is up to each individual to decide to "get saved" or choose to suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire. Regardless of which camp you belong to, the big question is how does a person know they are saved?
Predestination teaches that the question is when does a sheep become aware of their salvation, and Arminianism teaches that after a person "does something," that salvation comes. Those of "free will" salvation have a number of options available for a person to do that will "allow God to save them." I am going to address this aspect. The premise is that if Joe or Suzi does "this or that" God will then "save" them. They maintain that God will never "save" somebody against a person's will. That God has absolutely no power to arbitrarily choose to save people, and salvation is totally dependent on what an individual does or doesn't do.

From the best I can determine, a person must do one of the following to enable God to "save" him/her:
Give your heart to God.
Accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
Invite Jesus into your heart.
The sinner's prayer.
The Roman's Road.
Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life.
Respond to the wooing/prompting of the Holy Spirit.
Put your trust in Jesus.
Accept the gift of salvation.
Surrender to any member of the Godhead.

All of that sounds great! I used to believe this. I once "walked the aisle!" (But I was severely disappointed because after being told that God/Jesus would change my life after I "got saved," and nothing changed!)

I like the Missouri approach to Scripture, "show me." Show me in Scripture where any of this is taught. Guess what? Not one of these expressions is found in the New Testament! These phrases are not taught or commanded. You do not find a single person doing even one of these things. But we do see people coming to a knowledge of salvation! So what is going on in the New Testament? After studying this, I discovered a single word that is always connected to when individuals are aware that they have been saved. What is that word? BELIEVE!

John 2:22-23...and they believed the Scripture...many believed in his name.

John 3:15-18 That whosoever believes in him...whosoever believeth in him...He that believes on him...

John 4:41 And many more believed...

John 10:42 And many believed on him...

John 12:11...and believed on Jesus.

John 20:29...thou has believed...

Acts 4:4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed...

Acts 9:42...and many believed in the Lord.

Acts 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed...

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed...

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed...

This is not all of the verses; you can take your concordance and discover more that show the same doctrine. You don't see anyone "accepting Christ," Inviting Jesus into their heart," or "praying the sinner's prayer."

In Acts 16:14, we read about Lydia, a Jewish woman who was already worshipping God as a Jew, but then God opened her heart (mind) to believe in Jesus. She wasn't instructed to do any of the things I listed. She believed in Jesus because God opened her mind to the truth.

Read Acts 16:22-29, and then what happens?

In verse 30, the jailer asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There it is, a person asking what he must do to be saved. What is the answer?

Acts 16:31 And they said, "BELIEVE on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved..."



If there were any place in Scripture to instruct someone to do one of the things listed, this would have been the place! We just don't see "Accept Christ," "Invite Jesus into your heart," "Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life," or anything else I listed. Those teachings do not come from Scripture; they come from the traditions of men! Is 29:13, Mt 15:1-3, 6-9, Mk 7:1-13, Col 2:8, 22, 1Tim 6:20, 1Pet 1:18.

What about the thief on the cross? Did he do any of those "works" I listed, or did he just believe?

I will do one more post, maybe two, dealing with Rom 10:9-10 and vs. 13.


As with all my posts, I don't demand or expect you to believe me. I am simply showing you what is found in Scripture and, in this case, what is not.

Jesus never once taught that faith was given , granted or a gift .He said " YOUR FAITH " has saved and healed you. Not the faith I gave you healed you, saved you or made you well.

Luke 7:50
And he said to the woman, Thy faith ( not the faith I have given you )hath saved thee; go in peace.

Luke 8:48
"Daughter," said Jesus, "your faith (not the faith I have given you )has healed you. Go in peace."

Luke 17:19
Then Jesus said to him, "Rise and go; your faith( not the faith I have given you ) has made you well!"

Luke 18:42
"Receive your sight!" Jesus replied. "Your faith(not the faith I have give you ) has healed you."

Matthew 8:10
When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

Matthew 8:13
Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Matthew 9:2
Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.

Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned and saw her. "Take courage, daughter," He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was cured from that very hour.

Matthew 9:29
Then He touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you."

Matthew 15:28
"O woman," Jesus answered, "your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Mark 5:34
"Daughter," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction."

Mark 10:52
"Go," said Jesus, "your faith has healed you." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

John 4:53
So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.



See Barnes


The world - All mankind. It does not mean any particular part of the world, but man as man - the race that had rebelled and that deserved to die. See John 6:33; John 17:21. His love for the world, or for all mankind, in giving his Son, was shown by these circumstances:

1. All the world was in ruin, and exposed to the wrath of God.

2. All people were in a hopeless condition.

3. God gave his Son. Man had no claim on him; it was a gift - an undeserved gift.

4. He gave him up to extreme sufferings, even the bitter pains of death on the cross.

5. It was for all the world. He tasted "death for every man," Hebrews 2:9. He "died for all," 2 Corinthians 5:15. "He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world," 1 John 2:2.

That he gave - It was a free and unmerited gift. Man had no claim: and when there was no eye to pity or arm to save, it pleased God to give his Son into the hands of men to die in their stead, Galatians 1:4; Romans 8:32; Luke 22:19. It was the mere movement of love; the expression of eternal compassion, and of a desire, that sinners should not perish forever.

hope this helps !!!

 

[Jesus is YHWH]

You missed one: John 1:12
"But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—"

Romans 10:9 is not to do with the initial, born again experience.

"Believe" in the Greek is much more than an intellectual acceptance of facts. I believed for many years before I was born again. My believing meant as much to me as knowing that Julius Caesar was emperor of Rome.


The Amplified puts it this way:
But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

Amen !

 

[Jesus is YHWH]

Two things you mentioned. One is the case of the jailer in Acts. Go back and read what he did after he believed in Jesus and you'll see that it is not a matter of merely believing. See also the men of Samaria at Acts 8. They believed, and just like the jailer, were baptized. But it wasn't finished.

Second is the case of the thief on the cross. A point that is near universally missed among some. You're right that the thief did no works, but the thief died sinless. He died sinless because Jesus forgave him of his sins and he sinned no more. Just as Jesus told those he healed, "go. and sin no more". It would be difficult to sin while one is hanging from a cross. I suppose he could have blasphemed, but apparently he didn't.

Belief is the second step towards salvation. The first is repentance. The first word of the gospel is "repent". As it says, "repent, and be baptized ... for the remission of sins...", see Acts 2:38.

Yes faith and repentance are two side of the same coin. His Calvinism is showing with sola fide. His OP is straight out of Augustianism. Free will was the orthodox position until Augustine brought in his false teaching of determinism and original sin from Paganism, Manichaeism, Gnosticism, and Greek Philospohy and married those with Christianity. Calvin bought into it and was a student of Augustine.