Just curious how many of my friends will get this....

[horatio09]

So, in America, Christianity is pretty ubiquitous. Theoretically, therefore, most Americans should have at least a passing familiarity with the Gospel. Of course, we all know how theory and reality always match to exactly all the time...so, to test the hypothesis, two questions

Comments

[achan_hiarusa]

1) "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

2) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Romans 10:13)

Sola Scriptura

[horatio09]

I enjoyed reading this. A very eloquent answer. I really admire your depth of understanding of scripture and your trust in it.

[achan_hiarusa]

That being said, this is more descriptive of me nowadays:

Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. James 1:23-24 (NIV)

[horatio09]

I'm sorry to hear that. Is life just too hectic, or what? If you don't mind my asking.

[labrat78]

The answer to both questions is the same and I believe you'll find it in the Gospel.

Christ said that in order to get into the kingdom of God one must be born again. This was later meant to say that you have to acknowledge Jesus Christ as your savior and repent for your sins.

I was taught that it was that simple. Over the years some people have made it harder and added loopholes to it but that's the answer to both questions.

[horatio09]

For someone who has such a good grasp on the basics of Christianity, as well as the respect you show for those basics, I find it sad that you've turned your back on them. I regret that the self-righteousness and hostility of Christians has driven you away from Jesus's loving arms.

[cats_galaxy]

Alright, you know I am not a Christian, first and foremost, however, you also know (should) that I grew up in a "Christian" home. That meaning that my parents (all of them) believe in God, but I myself, for whatever reasons, have decided not to

[horatio09]

You mention in the second point that a humble person would say that "by the power of Your (God's) virtue alone shall I pass." If that is indeed the case, then we can be very certain indeed that we will go to heaven, since God's virtue is infinite. We can trust Him to see us through, in other words. He has promised that by Him we are saved, and we need only rest on that promise. He has shown himself to be faithful. So, if He has promised to bring us to Him by His virtue, then I'd say we can be 100% certain that we will go to heaven.

I think you're spot on about what far too many Christians would say, though. Religious people in general have a tendency to rely way to much on their own self-righteousness. That's the exact opposite of trusting God to see us through.