Romans 10:9

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Is it really this simple?

reply to post by rigel4


No...

Becoming is a path journeyed by action... Belief in good people does not a good person make..

Watch Star Wars 4-6..

Saved = having soul = enlightened = eternity... Even Darth Vader was enlightened in the end, but he never believed in Jesus, he finally believed in good, in his son, and made the ultimate sacrafice.

Ie. He Redeemed HIMSELF.

"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and yet loses his soul?"
~jesus
"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
~jesus


You must bring forth the light... No one else can do it for you.
See:


The Light is Within U...

Originally posted by rigel4
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Is it really this simple?

I wouldn't say 'simple'. The hard part is believing in your heart.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says,
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

reply to post by rigel4


From what I understand, yes.

One can always repent... Many modern men of science tend to repent on their death beds.

For fear that maybe they were wrong after all.


SS

reply to post by rigel4


No its not that simple... bloody paul eh



27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.


And that ain't easy...

reply to post by Spike Spiegle


Repenting, from my understanding is being sorrowful for ones sins. That's a completely different vegetable than believing that Jesus is lord (God) and that he rose from the dead. Then there's the added component that his death was a payment for ones sins, but only for the sinful ones that believe in the above..

reply to post by rigel4


Good question. I don't believe it's that simple at all.

Luke 14:33 So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple.

wow, i didn't think it would be and that my friends is the problem.If to become spiritual i have to
some how believe in my heart i am struggling...i do not want to say the words in-sincerely.

HOW i got here is a very bizarre tale and with a broken laptop keyboard i would struggle to right it all down.

IMO Yes it is that simple because it is not based on anything that we are capable of doing but on what Jesus has already done.

Don't want to waste my time on the whole Pauline Doctrine, salvation by grace debate, which is why I led with- IMO.

reply to post by rigel4

All summary statements are simple.
I think this one does at least get at the essence of Christian faith, which is about throwing oneself upon God (and his Christ) in trust.
That one word "trust" sums it up even more briefly.

Originally posted by Akragon
reply to post by rigel4

 

No its not that simple... bloody paul eh

27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.

30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.


And that ain't easy...

The part that most people leave out is that if you do the first thing (as stated by the OP, which actually is simple), God empowers you to do all the other things that Paul listed. AND, you want to do these things because you're changed on the inside, over time. It's not at all like depriving yourself or "trying to be good so Santa will bring you something."

I think the notion that Christians must live up to a bunch of edicts on their own power is what drives many people away from the faith. It's a shame.

There is head knowledge and there is heart knowledge. To be saved, must be heart knowledge. Many fake it with head knowledge. Even if this Bible promise is true, our society has been so degraded with evil of every kind, that very few will have the necessary heart knowledge.

reply to post by micmerci

what Jesus has already done.

I agree to a certain extent, but with that said I still think there is more unless Jesus encompasses our collective soul, only then will that above statement make sense in my mind.

reply to post by graceunderpressure

The part that most people leave out is that if you do the first thing (as stated by the OP, which actually is simple), God empowers you to do all the other things that Paul listed. AND, you want to do these things because you're changed on the inside, over time.

Uh huh... and of course the evidence behind pauls idea of grace is clear... right?

As we all know Christians are the most selfless and loving people in the world.... very giving... never judge others... etc etc...

What a joke... Just like pauls doctrine

Originally posted by rigel4
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Is it really this simple?

Yes it is. But there's a catch (isn't there always?): look:

2Co 11:4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

Ah, so there's more than one Jesus. The question for anyone "confessing" and "believing in Jesus" is: are you confessing and beleiving in the right one? Most professing Christians are in for the horrifying truth here shortly that they believe and confess the "another Jesus" of whom Paul was speaking. The heart of the matter comes down to understanding.

Mr 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matt 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Now, see, if you finish up that passage you're citing it says this:

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

See how he's bridging the act of "calling upon the name" with the act of "preaching"? And in the verse I cited how he is talking about the "preaching of another Jesus, whom we have not preached"? It's the "Christian preachers" who are guilty of destroying the earth:

Jer 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

and when that "dreaded day" does come, it won't be the unbelievers* who "wail and gnash" their teeth: it will be the great multitude of professing Christians who never knew the truth, yet went about "pretending" to be teaching others about "Jesus" who were really preaching "another Jesus" and by doing so, destroying the minds of men:

Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

The scripture calls Jesus the "Word of God"; to confess the Word of God and believe the Word of God, you first have to know the Word of God and understand the Word of God. So just running around saying, "I love Jesus I love Jesus I believe in Jesus!" is meaningless if you don't know what the words coming out of your mouth actually mean.

To further clarify what I mean, the Muslims believe in Jesus. Now ask a Christian if the Muslims believe in the same Jesus that they do, and they will say, "Certainly not", or, ask a Muslim if the Christians believe in the same Jesus they do and they will reply, "Certainly not." And how can this be? Both are confessing the same name "Jesus"- ah, but it is the IDEA that is at the heart of the matter- the name itself is just a grouping of sounds used to convey that IDEA. So, without comprehension of the IDEA, the name used to describe it is irrelevant.

*you have to understand that the Lord only deals with people that are in covenant with Him. As far as He is concerned, "unbelievers" don't even exist. When you see the words "unbelievers/believers" in the bible it is strictly speaking of people within the group in covenant with Him.

"trying to be good so Santa will bring you something."

reply to post by graceunderpressure


I think the above statement is what is wrong with our society today.

We, as a society ( I dont) bribe our children with awards/rewards to do good, when doing good should be done because it is the right thing to do... and be. At least try to anyway according to standards you set for yourself and your family. I have always been honest with my kids.They know even if they have been "bad" throughout the year I will still buy them gifts. I love them. Love is giving. Giving is what Jesus stands for.... imo.

The kids have asked me for an allowance to help around the house. I don't do that. They should help out around the house because it is the right thing to do. There is no I in team. It takes all of us.

Jesus sets the bar high, there is no doubt about it. With 7 billion people though, maybe living as he suggests would be more like a heaven on Earth instead of a hell.

I dunno.

Why do i need to be saved???

reply to post by andy06shake

Paul uses the word "saved" in the context of expecting a future judgement;
"...Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come"- 1 Thessalonians ch1 v10

Originally posted by andy06shake
Why do i need to be saved???

You don't. Need is a funny word on it's own without qualifiers..

reply to post by MrCobb


Let me just tag something on here real quick, about this "unbelievers don't exist to God": you see, there were two groups in the OT "Jews" and "Gentiles"- the Lord only had dealings with the "Jews" and the "Gentiles" were pretty much on their proverbial own. Now when we get to the idea of "believers" and "unbelievers" when God is talking, He's speaking of people's attitude toward His word soley among the group professing covenant with Him; okay?

So when we get to the NT Jesus says, "I am sent only to the house of Israel" because only the house of Israel was porfessing covenant with the Lord. Then Jesus tells these Jews, "believe the gospel" and then some of them did, and some of them didn't. So the "unbelievers" weren't people (and still aren't) outside of covenant but those within the covenant.

So an atheist says, "God doesn't exist" and the feeling is mutual, God says, "Atheists don't exist" you see? In His eyes, the only people that actual have "existence" are them who are in covenant with Him. That's it. In this present end of the age, it is still the "house of Israel" that is being spoken of when we see the words "believer" and "unbeliever" and has nothing to do with non-Christians. Never has, never will. It means the attitude of Christians (currently only "real people" in God's eyes) and their attitude toward His word. If a "Christian" rejects "the Word" when it is given to them- they are unbelievers.