Even “ I” understand the difficulty of accepting this belief.....Common senses says “ No Way!”..... Not too many years ago , we would have been in agreement.....
Having said all of that, there are some verses that I just can’t get around or dismiss....such as, “If we are UNFAITHFUL—- He REMAINS Faithful—- He can not deny Himself” or “HE will FINISH the work that He started” or “ Anybody that asks to be Saved WILL be SAVED” .....it’s an unconditional Promise Of God .....HE made these Promises.....The Onus to Save is on God’s shoulders .....God knew that the-possibility existed that a man could have Faith and then lose it......God did NOT say “ If you Turn to me with Faith in Jesus Christ , I will Save you to the Uttermost, But * ONLY* if you never fall into unbelief”
In my Own life, I was a Believer in my youth, became a Solid Atheist in my College years and by the Amazing Grace Of God , came back to Belief , thanks to God leading me to gifted Teachers of the Word that showed me the True Gospel Of Grace as opposed to the False Gospels That had me poorly taught and “ Fallen From Grace” completely unawares.....
It was the same old sad story....”Sure, Jesus Saves—- But once you know “THAT”—- you gotta be “ good enough” to make it to Heaven....Jesus died for your sins alright—- but only you PAST sins....NOW it is up to YOU to “ Make Yourself Worthy”....... Any Of this HogWash sound familiar? Thanks to proper teaching, I discovered that I was “ MADE WORTHY” by the Blood Of The Lamb...My life has never been the same since....God now indwells me and has changed my life for the better....MUCH better....and it is All His Doing....God gets ALL of the Glory,and BB gets None.....just like God wants it....
See notes #2, #3, #7, and #11
Be good and do good!
1..No one is saying that being good and doing good has anything do with being initially saved, everyone agrees that, that is through Christ.
2..No one here is saying that being good and doing good justifies us, it all about the biblical requirement to be obedience to Christ.
3..I am saying that being good and doing good is what Christians are repeatedly told to do. Being good and doing good is obedience to Christ. I mean really, what is the alternative that is being proposed here by some.
4..I am saying that sinful lifestyles can lead to hell...whether they believe in Christ or not.
5..I am not saying that sinful lifestyles cannot be forgiven. Even towards the end someone that has committed the worst of horrible sins or a sinful lifestyle can repent and be forgiven. That is all depends on sincerity and Christ will know the intentions and truths of the heart and will judge according. But that is Christ's choice to send that Christian to heaven or hell. I do contend that a change of heart at the last minute and expecting forgiveness is very risky, because, could someone like Hitler or serial killers change their character in that last few moments of their life? Not saying I know, but I would debate it.
6..I am saying that repentance is required to be initially saved. That repentance is not only acknowledging that you have sinned but a commitment to obey and be good and do good....the best you can. Salvation was not designed for perfection. Then after one is saved and commits sins, that repentance is required to get those sins forgiven. Again a commitment not to keep doing the same sin over and over again. It is not wrong for Christ to expect us to learn from our mistakes...we maybe slow learners but...
7..No one here is saying that you have to be perfect to go to heaven.
8..Then again, heaven is not going to be full of evildoers.
9..No one is saying that being good and doing good is salvation. It is obedience to Christ.
10..And the Bible says over and over again that we should obey Christ and our deeds will be judged, come Judgment Day.
11..Alternatively sins can lead to hell, particularly lifestyle sins because you cannot repent for something you intend to do or even continue to do. You cannot play Christ for a fool. You cannot con Christ, he know the heart and the intent.
12..I do contend that your average Christian will show up on Judgment Day and pass with flying colors.
13..In regard to sins, what is being discussed here is mostly lifestyle sins.
14..No one is saying that there is a biblical requirement to ask forgiveness for every sin or to remember every sin. Just ask forgiveness in one of your daily prayers.
The disclaimer....if you are so messed up in the head that you cannot control your actions....that is still between you and Christ on Judgment Day and that is up to Him. On the other hand if this is you, and you cannot control your actions, you need to seek psychiatric help, because who knows what harm you could do to yourself or others.