The following are questions that most Christians either do not think about, try to ignore or never even knew about:
If God is against human sacrifice, then how is it that they say that He sacrificed his own son? (Jer 7:30,31, Eze 18:1-4)
If God’s own law says “every man shall be put to death for his own sin”, how is it that it is said that God made his own son die in the place of all humanity? (Deu 24:16)
If Jesus died in the place all those who believe in him, as they say, how is it that believers in him die every day?
If eternal life is a free gift of God (Rom 6:23), then why must all men pay for the deeds done in their bodies, good or bad? (2Co 5:10)
Albert Einstein
If men are ‘saved’ by the grace of God, without works of righteousness (Tit 3:5), then why did Jesus say it was necessary to do works of righteousness to ‘enter life eternal’? (Mat 25:31-46)
Why are there so many definitions of salvation and no one is really sure exactly which is the right one?
If Mary, mother of Jesus, was a virgin at Jesus’ birth, why does Matthew say Joseph was his father? (Mat 1:16)
If Mary, mother of Jesus, was a virgin at Jesus’ birth, why does Matthew go to all the trouble of listing Joseph’s genealogy all the way back to king Solomon who had to be in the Messiah’s bloodline to be king of the Jews?
How is it that Mary, being of the house of Levi (her cousin being of the “daughters of Aaron”), was supposedly the only descendant of the Messiah who was supposed to be a descendant of Solomon, son of David, of the house of Judah? (Luk 1:5)
There is something seriously wrong with Christianity
This site is being read by thousands of people a month. I would suppose the majority of these readers are Christian, yet I have had very few come and defend their beloved dogmas. The questions on this page pretty much sum up the content of this site.
I have turned Christianity upside down, declared openly for the world to see all the embarrassing things that Christians don’t like to think about or talk about. The truth is they want no one to disturb the status quo, no one to rock the boat. Things are just the way they would like them to be. But Christianity is a far cry from what Jesus really taught. Christianity today is more the invention of Paul and the roman church. Christianity today is largely things that are against their own bible and much of it is inspired by the corrupted bible.
You know why Christians ignore this site? Because there are some impossible-to-answer questions here. A few have tried to address some of the easy questions, but they give the stock, out-of-context, far-fetched interpretations that they have heard from their pulpits — most of them. These are questions that most have either not thought about, or the question was lingering in the back of their minds and they dismissed it as doubts “inspired by the devil” something to that nature.
The real reason they ignore this site is because they can’t answer the questions! These questions expose Christianity for what it really is!
How is it that no one knows the year Jesus was born, much less the month and day, yet his birthday is celebrated by Christians everywhere on a day that is a known pagan celebration?
How is it that the worship of a tree is condemned in Jeremiah 10:1-5 as idolatry, yet Christians all over the world practice this idolatrous act on the very day they say is Christ’s birthday?
How is it that the Greeks used the name Jesus when his real name was Yeshua — they already knew the correct translation 300 years before his birth?
How is it that Matthew says “they shall call his name Emmanuel”, and Joseph called him something completely different (actually Yeshua)? (Mat 1:23, 25)
If Jesus were God, how is it that he had a biological father, when God is not even a man? (Mat 1:16; 1Ki 20:28)
If Jesus were God (who has no flesh and blood father), how could he also be the Messiah, since the Messiah was to be the son of a man according to prophecy?
If Jesus were God, and there is only one God, how is it that Jesus has a God? (Joh 20:17; Mat 27:46)
If Jesus were God, how is it that God is greater than him? (Joh 13:16; 14:28)
If Jesus were God, and God is all-knowing, why didn’t Jesus know all things? (Mar 13:32)
If Jesus were God and had no sons or daughters, why does the messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53 say that he shall “see his seed” (literally physical offspring)? (Isa 53:10) (unless Jesus had a wife… then he couldn’t be God)
If Jesus is the ‘beginning of God’s creation’, how is it that he is supposed to be God? (Rev 3:14)
Since the logos of God is originally from Greek philosophy and not Jewish, how is it that the logos turned into the Word of God — in a gospel that was written in Greek?
Why are there very important teachings of Jesus that do not even exist in the bible?
How is it that Paul, whose doctrines have become the basis of Christianity, never even met Jesus nor ever even mentioned a doctrine so central to Christianity known as the ‘virgin birth’?
How is it that Paul taught central doctrines to Christian faith that completely contract Jesus’ teachings?
How is it that many if not most of the first century Jewish believers did not believe Jesus was God, did not believe in the virgin birth and to them Paul was an apostate? (…but twenty-first century Christians do believe it?)
How is it that though Muslims revere Jesus as a true prophet sent from God, yet their holy book declares that Jesus was never crucified, but it was Bar Abbas that was crucified instead?
If the bible is the infallible word of God, why are there so many contradictions and inconsistencies? (some are huge ones)
Why don’t we know exactly who wrote the new testament gospels and when they were written?
Why don’t we have even one single original transcript of any of the gospels?
Why did Athanasius order the burning of the entire library Alexandria? (with many original manuscripts) (Book burning)
Why was the library of Antioch burnt by Emperor Jovian? (with many original manuscripts) (Destruction of Libraries)
Why is there almost no credible evidence of Jesus’ existence outside of the bible?
What is the real reason first century Christians and Jews were murdered?
Why did the early Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah that came to deliver them from their enemies? (Luk 1:70,71; Luc 24:21)
Why did the Church murder hundreds of thousands of innocent people over the centuries?
Why did the Church support and encourage the evils of slavery for hundreds of years?
Why did Martin Luther consider the pope the Antichrist?
Why did Martin Luther inspire and encourage the persecution of Jews and the burning of their synagogues? (“On the Jews and Their Lies” — Martin Luther)
Why was Martin Luther considered very highly by Hitler and his officers?
Why did Hitler, a protestant Christian, murder millions of Jews and burn their synagogues while protecting and even supporting protestants and catholics?
Why are there so many different versions of the bible?
Why are there so many different denominations of Christianity?
Concerning;
Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins so that we would not feel the “sting of death.” Not that we would not die, but that it is no longer painful- because now death is a blissful escape to eternal life with our creator
“O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55
The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. (Isaiah 57:1-2)
Death is not a punishment or tragedy for Christians- I personally would like to be given the chance to die for my God- to test my faith and see if I am strong enough. see if I could show him I am willing to put my life on the line for him.
But wait. You dodge the question. “The wages of sin is death…” so the opposite is not dying.
Please explain to me how and when believers do not die… anymore. If you have eternal life, then supposedly dying ceases.
Why do believers still die?
I agree that some believers do not feel much pain when they die, but other believers do actually die agonizing deaths — this is a fact. I know this first hand. So the “sting of death” could not possibly be referring to the pain of dying. But believers STILL DIE regardless of the fact that “Jesus died in their place”.
The payment for sin is death: “Every man shall die for his own sins.”
If Jesus died so that the sinner would not have to pay the penalty of his own sins, then why is it that he still dies? He still pays the penalty for his own sins even though (supposedly) “Jesus paid the penalty of sin” for everyone that believes in him.
…
Come on Christians! How is it that you can’t answer this simple question?
Hello there, I found your blog via Google at the same time as looking for a related topic, your website came up, it appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Easy explanation,Jesus died for a sins,the wages of sin is death(eternal separation from God and our physical bodies die).Jesus taught the way to live and of the salvation of our spirit & souls.It’s real easy to understand,religion divides people.It should be life itself,cause Biblical history and events are slowly being proven by science.They’ve even found Jesus’ tomb and evidence of his DNA.The truth is not hard to find but the carnal mind cannot hear or see.They are ignorant of truth which the spirit is not.
I believed like that for most of my life, maybe about 50 years. But words have meaning.
When I really started thinking about the real meaning of things, too much just didn’t make any sense. Stock phrases that where used we never stopped to think if they really meant anything or not. If we questioned, it wasn’t meant for us to know now — “we’ll find out after we’re dead”! Too many things that didn’t have meaning were given outrageous interpretations that were not logical or reasonable and extremely far-fetched. If you’re really honest with yourself, open your eyes and take a good logical look at things, you find that there are so many things that are ridiculous and contradictory.
Reply to Truth is Life:
You addressed things that you did not really explain.
1) If Jesus paid the wages of sin with his own life, for billions of people that believe, how is it that they still have to pay for the good and bad done in these bodies? (2Co 5:10) And why must we give an account? (Mat 12:36) And if we are all forgiven of everything then why shall we all stand before the judgement seat of Christ — with our brothers? (Rom 14:10)
2) God sacrificed his son, but human sacrifice is an abomination to God. Huge contradiction. (Jer 7:30,31; Lev 18:21)
3) How can they prove that the tomb belonged to Jesus and how can they prove the DNA is his? That’s impossible.
Right, the truth is not hard to find, but the REAL “truth” is not what we’ve been fed from the pulpits all these years. When I pray to God, He shows me things that are contrary to what religious men have taught me over the years.
Religion divides people: How true!
CHRIST Is WHo He IS…His Work, however, What He actually Said, has been touched, re-touched, mutilated in all of the Accounts/Reports of what He Said…VERY VERY Important sign POSTS have been changed or REMOVED ALTOGETHER!!!
Please find and read, ‘In The Light of Truth, ‘The Grail Message’ by Abdruschin, The 1931 Edition.
All your questions have been answered for humanity, – and for all time in this Wonderful Book!
Wole Alade
It is so very interesting in these End Times that these questions are being asked. Followers of Jesus Christ worship and have experience in Spirit and in Truth. We accept the word of God on Faith, which is God-given and we focus on the Kingdom. If you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to Earth and brought to Humans the gift of Eternal Life in Truth and Light- a message from His Father, the One who sent Him, you would trust in His words and all your questions will be answered.
There are many who are being deceived. especially with all manner of questions. You only have to Repent and receive the gift of Salvation. You also must have a personal relationship with The Father and His Son. You have to study the words on your own, prayer a lot, meditate and fellowship, both with other Christians and with Our Lord and Our Father.
Faith comes first and then the questions, so do not let your failure to find an answer remove you from your faith. Do not doubt because you have not yet found an answer. Remember that there is an answer to every question. I believe that the important thing is to seek and find the true way to travel, the one that Christ Jesus offers to Humans, and there is a way of Truth and Light…and few are they who find it.
Christ Jesus is the Son of God and He is the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world; He is also the Son of Man. He is our Savior, our Shepherd, our Lord, our King, our Redeemer. He is also the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the Messiah, the Servant of God, and the Light of the world. He is Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.
There is a way of Truth and those who find it find the Kingdom, where Christ Jesus is King and Lord and God. Seek ye first the Kingdom…when we worship in spirit and in Truth, we have spiritual experiences and the truth of Jesus is revealed to us. We will never doubt His Deity or His resurrection and His Ascent into Heaven. I will never question His Virgin birth or His geneology. There is a truth concerning all these things and it is up to the individual to seek and find it. It is our Faith- how much and how deeply we really believe and care about the word of God and what we did with it when we heard about what Jesus did for us- for Humanity. In the end, we will each have to answer for our own choices, which are made because our our beliefs.
I think you’ve got it backwards. If you don’t have anything to substantiate your faith then you could be deceived. Faith with no substance to back it up is blind faith.
The only reason that I believed anything was the fact that I was raised in the US by Christian parents, went to church and read the bible. If I had been brought up in a Muslim country, I would very likely be a Muslim. If I were brought up in a Buddhist country I would likely be a Buddhist today. Believing has so much to do with where you were raised and with whom.
Faith without Truth and fact is dead faith. If you can’t prove to be True what you have faith in, you could very well be deceived.
You are right, But not those you think are being deceived. If you don’t question you don’t get answers. The important thing is to not stop questioning. The majority of Christians today are deceived.
The reason that I came to the conclusions that I have come to is because I had that sneaking feeling that something was seriously wrong with Christianity and something wrong with what I believed.
Jesus said: “ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND KNOCK AND IT SHALL BE OPENED UNTO YOU”
I asked, and asked, and asked for years. And gradually my eyes began to open. I discovered that I had been deceived by Christianity and people who interpreted the bible to mean what they wanted it to mean.
Yes. All of those things that you say in your comment I believed for over 50 years! And I discovered that I had been deceived. The Church has been lying to us for centuries. The way of life that Jesus taught is extremely different than the religion that they call Christianity today.
I’m sorry but you’ve got this one all wrong too. How can know you make the correct choices based on something that you believe? Belief in today’s definition of the word is something that you can’t prove, there is no way that you can know that it is True or factual.
It is completely possible to believe in something that is false, which is the same as being deceived. Those who are deceived don’t know they are deceived. It’s only when you begin to question and search for the REAL Truth that you find it. When you find the real Truth based on fact, that is something that you can believe in and make the correct choices on.
Salvation has nothing to do with what you chose to believe. Salvation has everything to do with what you do with your life — it’s all about doing good to others, fulfilling God’s commandments and doing God’s will.
Doug
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This is a very challenging time for Christians, as it it written many will fall away from the Faith and be deceived. We can make sure that we are not deceived. There is one thing you seem to miss and that is there is a true way and when we find it, we do know because we follow the way and do what is commanded of us to do. We also have spiritual experience through prayer and visions…the hidden things are revealed to us.
I have personally had many spiritual experiences that proves that Faith and Christ and the Father are real and True. I have been delivered from persecution from within and on the outside. I have called on Jesus when I have been at my weakest, with no way to deliver myself from the hands of the Evil one and He has been faithful to come to my rescue.
I think that if you are not being persecuted, especially from within- your thoughts and dreams, you need to examine your faith.
Faith is the door through which we enter into to find and worship. When we see the things revealed to us in faith we can then proceed to do the works of the believer, because you cannot have faith without doing the things that are required. That is why faith without works is dead.
The bottom line is that, first we believe in all the word of God, and as we study the word and prayer and do as is commanded of us, we will have experience and evidence that will strengthen us and keep us in the care of the Father and His Son- Our Lord and Savior.
I have also blogged extensively concerning my spiritual experiences and if you are interested you can check me out at … word...@myspace.com/blog.
So how do you know YOU are NOT deceived? The strangest thing that I hear Christians saying is that they know they have the Truth because they believe by faith. There is NO WAY you can know something is the truth if you just believe it. That’s what believing is: trusting in something that you can not prove!
What is worse is that they believe in things that are obviously NOT true being things that are contradictory to the very bible itself!
Examining my faith is what I’ve been doing for many years. What I used to believe is much like what you believe, and with all my examining I found that there were so many things that were false — I threw those things out. But as far as being persecuted as a way to know that you are on the right track, that’s pretty far-fetched sister!
You can know that you are not being deceived when you follow the way in truth. When you have a personal relationship with our Lord and you are doing the things expected of you, you will receive spiritual assurances of your faith. There are those who will never fall away and there are those who will fall away.
The ones who are sealed in the Lord and in the Light know that they are because of their daily experience with our Lord in this world. You can pray to God for the hidden things to be revealed to you…and if it is God’s will, you will see spiritual things. Light mingles with Light, and the Children of God are not left alone in this world, we have our Father and our Lord…they are with us always, and they also reveal their presence to us in all manner of ways. Those who are truly saved, the ones who will never fall away, these ones do know and truth in the words and in their Faith which continues to grow and penetrates the veil between the things that are above and those that are below.
So how do you really know you are following the Real Truth? If you are going purely by faith then there is no way you know you are not being deceived since faith and belief are largely going on someone else’s word and not having any concrete evidence that what you believe is actually true.
How do you know you’re “saved”? You don’t really know. The truth is you don’t even know what it means to be saved — you only think you know.
I have seen time after time those who thought they were “truly saved”, fall away.
Your faith has to be in something substantial, something that you have sufficient evidence of. This world is full of deceit, forgery, falsehood and hypocrisy. It’s just too easy to be deceived.
I don’t really know what you’re referring to. But if I see them I will delete them.
Obviously you are not saved and do not possess the discerning power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you. I know that I am saved through Faith and Grace in Jesus Christ. Those who are saved know because of our Faith and because we have spiritual experience. You seem to have taken the role of judge and you know who is saved and who is not.
It is a sad thing when we seek to find proof of our own Salvation and cannot find it because there is nothing substantial in our lives to show for it.
Do not be so concerned about my walk with Jesus, pay attention to yours.
There is also no point in me responding to you anymore, because you have no spiritual understanding and Truth and Wisdom do not abide in you.
Dear Marlene,
Just a little that you don’t know about me: My grandparents were missionaries, my father was a baptist minister, my mother was a missionary in south america. I was raised in a Christian home. I was baptized sometime while I was in grade school. I was a missionary for about 20 years in central and south america.
I judge no one. I only speak the truth. I have not judged your salvation, especially since I do not even know who you are.
I want nothing but the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. My whole life has been centered around finding the real truth no matter what it may be. I have sincerely prayed for this for over 50 years.
After God having showed me Real Truth and taking the blinds off my eyes, I was shocked to find how deceived the whole Christian world actually is.
I could truthfully say that I know the bible better than most pastors. I have studied and memorized it a good part of my life. I was a true Christian for most of my life until I came to grips with the real truth. This is paying attention to my own walk with God — not yours or anyone else’s.
I can no longer truly say that I am a Christian.
Sincerely Doug
Doug, I do not understand what you are saying. You said that God showed you the truth, yet you did fall away. Do you not believe God anymore? No one can save you but God through His Holy Spirit. You said that you were a true Christian for most of your life; how then can a true Christian turn away from God? It is just as you said, you follow what is in your own heart and your own understanding. True Christians are sealed in Christ and they can never ever fall away. You fall away only if you were never truly saved.
Hi Marlene,
Thanks for coming back. I said nothing about “falling away”. I do believe in God, yes. What I don’t believe anymore is the inerrancy of the bible. I believe what Jesus taught, though I’m not sure that everything that is in there is what he actually did say.
I was a “true Christian” for over 50 years. However I can not call myself a Christian.
I have not “turned away” from God (obviously). On the contrary, I have become closer to him.
I’ve only seen more truth and the truth has set me free from all the falsehoods, forgeries and misinterpretations of church men.
That’s a really strange thing to say, since they say that all you have to do to be saved is believe in Jesus. What if one sincerely believes and then sees something that causes him to believe a different way? What happens then? You can’t really say that he wasn’t saved in the beginning. He just changed the way he believes. That isn’t falling away. This idea is a contradiction in itself.
Anyway, I don’t believe that “salvation”, if you wish to call it that, works that way. I don’t believe what Paul taught, I believe the way Jesus taught:
It’s not really about believing, it’s about doing.
Sincerely Doug
This is very interesting and I am responding to you based on my own personal beliefs concerning what the word of God means to my walk as a Christian, I actually consider myself a follower of Jesus Christ over the term Christian, however I do love our Lord and I know Him personally…yes I do and He knows who I am.
I too am a seeker of Truth, but I have found it…Truth the Comforter…the one who came to us when Jesus ascended. He dwells with us, but the world does not see Him, however we see Him and we know Him. Jesus Christ is Truth and the word of God is Absolute Truth. I believe the Entire Bible, the Authorized King James is the one I use. I have been on the journey to experience Perfection, the highest Human condition and Jesus Christ offers that journey.
He is many things to us. He wears many crowns and we are not all the same in the spiritual…what I mean is that we are not clones, there are many ‘kinds’ of spiritual children.
You have to first believe in order to find Jesus, that is what Faith is about. The Old Testament is mainly the chronicles of the genealogy of Jesus and the History of the children of Israel. I was not there but I do believe the things which are written. I do believe the words to be those of God and Jesus Christ His Son.
All the books of the Old Testament speaks of Jesus and I believe that He came from the Spiritual Realm where He left His Glory, being spiritual, and He took on a fleshly form in order to bring the message sent from His Father, the One who sent Him. He brought us many wonderful spiritual gifts and was crucified, buried and on the third day He rose from the dead and after a short time with the disciples, He ascended to Heaven in the sight of His disciples. I also believe that He will return at the end of this age to usher in the new Heaven and the new Earth- the Kingdom of God.
In my understanding of the Way, you cannot accept some things and reject others. You have to take it all, because it is all necessary for proper understanding. You can then try and test the words. Do you believe in the crucifixion and resurrection and the return of Jesus, or do you only use His words and do not have the personal relationship with Him? Remember that you cannot know the Father unless it is through His Son Jesus Christ.
The ones who do His commandments are the ones who believe in His word. There are so many levels or glories we attain, when we follow the way in truth. The spiritual and hidden things are revealed to us so as to test us and strengthen our Faith…Faith does grow and it reveals many things. I have had many spiritual experiences and Jesus or His presence has been in a few of them.
You may not believe this, but I tell you that you can be certain if you are saved and you can know Jesus personally. What I mean is that you can call on Him when you need to be delivered from situations in which you are helpless as a Human Being and you know that the only way out is to call on Jesus to deliver you…and as His name is called Faithful and True, He will be there to help you.
I have seen in a dream-vision the heavens rolled back as a scroll and wonderful white light filled the world below and penetrated every space of my being. I have been immersed in white light on several occasions. I have seen Angels and Demons… There are so many spiritual experiences in my life, that I know that I am saved and I know that I am sealed, mainly because I experienced my ‘sealing’. Whether it was a vision of something to come or it happened in that moment I am unsure, but it matters not.
I have even seen in a vision the taking away of the church…people ascending up in the sky and disappearing beyond the clouds; it was in that dream-vision where as I watched the church ascend, I realized that I was being left behind, and before I could think another thought a bolt of white-lightning came from beyond the cloud and struck me in my forehead. My head was filled with the familiar white light and I could see in my mind’s eye a seal branded on my forehead. It was made of golden and white light with specs of golden light . I was then filled with an uncontrollable urge to preach the gospel and I began to run to and fro, from person to person, even going into schools telling people about Jesus, Repentance and Salvation.
I could go on and on, but I will stop here. I know of what I speak. Jesus has to know you personally and if you believe in a God without going through Jesus Christ, then that god is not His Father.
Dear Marlene,
I won’t be able to reply to such a long post. But one thing stands out that I would like you to answer for me.
You said:
1) How can you be certain that you are “saved”?
2) And what is the definition of “saved”?
3) And how does one get “saved”?
Sincerely, Doug
I read your whole comment. Yes. I did all of that, many years ago.
But that still doesn’t answer my question: How can you be certain you are saved? Nothing in your comment tells how to be certain. I’ve heard all of this kind of talk for years upon years. It proves nothing.
Here is a quote from Pastor Perry F. Rockword @ TPGH.org.
Quote:
“The Bible reveals two ways which people are following to get into heaven. One way, the true way, is God’s way. God’s way into heaven is the way of peace and truth and righteousness. It is the only way approved of God. This way centers in the Lord Jesus Christ who said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me” (John 14:6). The Bible declares that there is another way. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12).
There are so many popular ways today filled with lost multitudes all over the land, such as the way of morality, the way of respectability, the way of religion, the way of churchianity, the way of baptism, the way of christening, the way of confirmation, the way of penance, the way of confession, the way of “doing the best I can”, the way of self, the way of education, the way of philosophy, the way of false isms and cults that crowd the street. Little wonder then when we speak to people about the way of salvation, that so many have asked, “How can I know which is the true way? There are so many different ideas and so many religions.
But there is ONE difference between God’s way of salvation and man’s way, and that difference is found in a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. You will notice that man leaves Christ out of the center of his way. You will discover that the modern false cults and isms demote Christ to a mere man and add something to what He has already done for your salvation and mine. We become children of God through a supernatural birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Jesus also said, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:7)
“May the Lord bless you, and make you a blessing!” – The PGH Staff”. Unquote
………………………………………………………………………………………….
You are saved through Grace, however with Faith it is impossible to please God. I know personally that I will never fall away. I will always believe, I cannot help myself. There is a power within me which drives me and there is an uncontrollable desire to become manifest in the Light… This is what I live for, to experience what is means to be born again.
I also know I am saved because the word of God says so: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
If you believe in all the word of God says about Jesus and all the things done by Him for us you are saved, however I also understand that it is only when Jesus Returns or when we face Him, can we really know what Salvation really means in terms of our righteousness; what we will inherit. The treasure are given to those who stay the course, neither fainting nor falling away, but to those who endure til the end.
When you are saved you rely on your Faith which is basically the complete trust we put in His word. When you are saved you will have the discerning power of the Holy spirit dwelling with you and you will hate sin and you will do everything in your power to please God. You do not doubt the word and all things concerning the world, even the universe and the Cosmos are written in the word of God, so it is apparent to those who are saved.
The words teaches you what you will become and how the world will see you and react to you. It teaches you how to think and how to feel and what to do and what not to do. It teaches you of your origins and your destination, and if you believe that God gave each one of us a small measure of faith as is written in His word, then you would use your small measure and cause it to grow. You can only find God and worship god through Faith- in spirit and in truth.
There is a great free online booklet called, ‘How to be saved and know it’, written by Pastor Perry F Rockwood. check it out online. He was truly a great Pastor and man of God.
You know you are saved when you follow in truth and have the spiritual experiences written in the word. There are so many promises made to us by the Father through His prophets, disciples and His Son. Make them work for you. It is all about Jesus Christ, for without Him you can do nothing.
You can also believe and walk in a false way, be led by deceivers, so that is why we must search in the word and ask God to grant us Wisdom and Understanding which is needed in order to see the things which are revealed to us.
We are not saved because of what we do or know, we are saved because of WHO we know. Only Jesus saves.
Dear Marlene,
You said a lot of vague interpretations to some simple questions. Sounds like a lot of what I’ve heard over and over — I’m just not convinced. You didn’t actually specifically answer any of the questions I asked. Except maybe for the last one…
Sorry, I don’t mean to offend, but my sincere search for truth has forced me to seek out things that are clear, succinct, and logical. For so many years I have heard so much meaninglessness in such voluminous, wordy vagueness coming from people who claim to have all the answers…
I had to throw out all the bathwater hoping not to lose the baby with it. But what I ended up doing was throwing everything out and starting completely from scratch and going clear back to the basics.
I asked:
1) how can you be certain you are really saved?
Nothing in your long dissertation actually answers this question.
2) what is the definition of “saved”?
.
In Christianity there are so many different definitions, mostly conflicting, which can almost all be “proven” by the bible. But what makes things so confusing are all the contradictions in the bible. If it’s not simple enough for a little child to understand and you have to practically have a theological degree to know what it means to be saved — then there’s something seriously wrong with the source.
3) And how does one get “saved”?
The closest you got to answering my last question was when you said:
This actually contradicts what Jesus said:
This proves that it is NOT WHO (Jesus) you know but just the opposite — it’s those who do God’s will. People who say “Lord, Lord” are the same ones who confess they believe in him. So this whole idea that “Jesus saves” has nothing at all to do with reality.
According to Jesus it really IS what you DO that gets you into heaven, not WHO you know. Any other interpretation of this contradicts what Jesus taught.
Those who do his commandments enter in, not those who merely confess to believe.
I have met hundreds of people who confess to believe in Jesus, but their lives deny him.
Sincerely,
Doug
Doug,
Let me ask you: Do you think you are saved and why do you feel that way?
I Know that I am saved because of what I believe and my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I heard the word and I believed and I did as was commanded of me in the words.
I came to Repentance and the Cross. I was cleansed with the blood of Jesus, I confess my sins and ask to be cleansed. I pray everyday,I ask God to reveal the hidden things. I study the Bible on a regular basis, because I need the words to survive, they are my food. I listen to a few Ministers, Pastor Rockwood is one of my favourites, along with J. Vernon McGee, John MacArthur and James Knoxx along with a few others. I think it is very important to listen to several Teachers as you study the word.
I have given you the words of Scripture on Salvation and being saved and still you ask the same question. What do you think the answers are? How does one get saved?
All those who are saved will enter into the Kingdom, whether in Heaven or on Earth. Those who are not will die the spiritual death, which is an eternity separated from God and the Light- they will not enter into the Kingdom of God.
The bottom line is that you have to believe the words of God and then you become the words, for they are alive. It is your personal relation with our Lord and the way in which you live your own life and the thought you have, these are the things which bear fruit and it is you who will know in your heart whether you are saved or not.
Are you doing and thinking things contrary to the word of God? I tell you this, you cannot take some of the words and leave out the ones you do not like. The Bible is the word of God all of it and I believe it to be so. Yes there are contradictions, but you have to decide which side of the line you are going to walk. You cannot walk on both at once, you have to choose and your choice will be based on what you believe and also who you believe.
I can tell you that I know I am saved because I really want to be and I know that I have to be a part of my own Salvation. Of course it is God who works within you through His word, and the choice is yours to come to Repentance and the Cross.
Is your mind set upon the Kingdom as a constant thought? My being aches to become manifest in the Light. I do not know if you can understand. You can know if you are saved when you do the will of the Father and that is for you to turn to Him and Honor His Son Jesus Christ, Praise Him and Worship Him, so that you have have Peace, Joy and Rest in this world, felling safe and secure in the bosom of the Father and in the care of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
You are already saved, since He has saved the whole world through His sacrifice on the cross. John 3: 16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, and whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have Everlasting Life.
The gift of Salvation is set before us all, you decide whether or not you choose to receive it. It is also very difficult for some to open their eyes to the truth, even though it is being repeated over and over again. Read your Bible again and see what the words say concerning your own Salvation.
You are already saved, now you have to come to the cross and be cleansed with the blood of the Lamb. You have to make the effort to change and become a passer-by. you have to follow the word, in thoughts and action, both in your mind and in your heart, for we become pure in heart.
Dear Marlene,
To answer your question, first I would have to define exactly what being saved is. After much study of the bible itself, taking it all into consideration and not just certain parts, I have discovered that the definition of “saved” is not so clear as most people believe it to be. It appears to actually be more of a process that happens over a period of time rather than a one time event that happens the instant one says the “sinner’s prayer”, though the process may start there.
Contrary to what many think, “gift of Salvation” is not really a gift as you put it, it is actually earned and merited. Yes, yes, I know you’re going to quote me Eph 2:8,9 and Rom 10:8,10 and Rom 3:23 and Tit 3:5. But that is what Paul says (or whoever inserted those doctrines into his letters).
As you admit there are contradictions in the bible. When there are two conflicting things either one or both are wrong — there is no other alternative. So what you have to do in a case as this is decide which author was right and which was wrong (if both aren’t wrong).
The choice in this case is between Jesus or Paul. You have to make a choice since they can’t both be right, despite what many people think. The choice was easy for me: Jesus. This makes Paul the false apostle as he was called by the early Jewish believers.
According to my definition of “saved”, I won’t actually know the answer to that question until that great day.
My definition of “saved” comes from Jesus, not Paul and the two different teachings are NOT reconcilable. It has to be one or the other. They can’t both be true.
So, my answer to your question is, we’ll see… someday.
Sincerely,
Doug
Marlene, Doug…nice discourse. I usually don’t throw my two cents in to debates such as this but felt compelled to point something out. Marlene, in an earlier post to Doug you state, and I quote (well actually copied and pasted your paragraph so we have exactly what you stated and in context no less) –
“You have to first believe in order to find Jesus, that is what Faith is about. The Old Testament is mainly the chronicles of the genealogy of Jesus and the History of the children of Israel. I was not there but I do believe the things which are written. I do believe the words to be those of God and Jesus Christ His Son. All the books of the Old Testament speaks of Jesus and I believe that He came from the Spiritual Realm where He left His Glory, being spiritual, and He took on a fleshly form in order to bring the message sent from His Father, the One who sent Him….”. End direct quote. The bold is me by the way, and this is why I felt the need to throw in my two cents. I can assure you, with out a shadow of a doubt that the Tanakh (Old Testament) is not “mainly the chronicles of the genealogy of Jesus”, likewise, “all the books of the Old Testament speaks of Jesus”. This is simply not true. What is true is that there are many many genealogies in the Tanakh that are listed for various reasons; yes it is the history of the children of Yisra’el but it is so much more. It is a revelation from G-d to an entire nation at Mt. Sinai and the giving of His law (the Torah), it is the account of amazing men and women who lived and breathed the word of G-d, it is the prayers and hopes of a “stiff-necked people” that demonstrate the compassion, mercy and love of a great and mighty G-d. Marlene I strongly encourage you to start at the beginning and read scripture all the way through, even to the haBrit haHadasha (the New Testament). Then if you still feel the same way at least you’ll have the comfort of knowing why you do, and will not have to rely on inaccurate depictions the make your viewpoint less creditable.
Shalom.
Shannon,
I’m really confused about the meaning of this comment. I’m guessing this is a reply to Marlene. I, too can’t see Jesus reflected in the Tanakh. Having analysed and studied in depth the scriptures that the Christians declare to be about their messiah, Jesus, I must say that they misquote, misuse, misinterpret, mistranslate and use out of context nearly every verse that they use and make bold, incredibly false statements in order to “prove” that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah of the Tanakh. I can’t see how Christians can overlook the obvious. It takes an extremely far-fetched theory to invent such ideas that are not even close to being scriptural.
Doug