IThis is what preachers teach today according to the bible Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? Many Christians now believe that just believing in Jesus is enough to go to heaven . What does the bible say ? Is there no more difference between justification and sanctification ? Let us find out, does profession to be christian enough to be saved ?Mk 16 ''He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.' This is one verse that people take out of context to say to find out Is faith in Jesus enough to go to heaven ? But we understand that this verse is not saying all people who come to Jesus will automatically go to heaven .
This verse says that this is the first step to go to heaven . It is like saying If you use there car keys you can go to Africa. But it does not men to say that the person will arrive to Africa. Does profession to be christian enough to be saved ? It means with these keys you can go to Africa. It is not saying With these keys you are sure to go to Africa . As the person will need to buy gas, buy insurance, learn to drive. Buy a car, get a drivers license among others. Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? No as belief in Jesus is he first step. We hear about Jesus, we find out Jesus died on the cross and loves us so much . We want to reciprocate this love and we accept Jesus .
Ac 16 31 31'And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.' Here also we see this is the first step to heaven is accepting Jesus . This is justification . Then comes sanctification . Someone that starts a marathon is he guaranteed to finish and win ? No but when he write his inscription, then the person could tell him . This is your ticket to winning the marathon . Is faith in Jesus enough to go to heaven ? Unless the person signs up for the marathon, he cannot have a chance to win . Unless a person accepts Jesus in their hearts, they have no chance to go to heaven .
He 10. 38 'Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.' This verse is plain, it says that people can draw back from Jesus . Some draw back from believing in Jesus. But some draw back because of offense, because of not wanting God anymore . Does profession to be christian enough to be saved ? No as their acceptance of Jesus did not guarantee going to heaven as they turned away and cannot enter heaven , unless they return to the truth . 39'But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.' This verse also is clear it says drawing back means going to perdition . Perdition is destruction in hell . Here we also see that salvation is by faith not by works . Believe to the saving of the soul, it doe snot say works to the saving of the soul .
Mt 7 15'Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.' In this verse it says some people are church members and church leaders. They claim to be prophets. But Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? No as they are false teachers. Because ? By their fruits we know people , not by their profession of being a christian . 16'Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?' 17''Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.'
Most people judge people by what they wear . A charlatan is not a doctor by wearing doctor clothing . A robber does not become a policemen by wearing a police uniform . A christian does not become a christian by profession to be christian . Unless there are fruits, there is no Christianity . 18'A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.' Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? The fruits are love, gentleness, humility, kindness, honesty among others. Many christian wear evil fruits. It shows they are not children of God .
The fruits show to who we belong . Just claiming to be a christian is not guarantee to go to heave, . 19'Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.'N All christian who wear bad fruits and do not ask God to remove them will burn and be destroyed . As evil cannot live in the presence of God . When Jesus returns he will not by a miracle cleanse the robbers, the liars, the proud, the selfish people . We need to remove those defects now before it is too late. 20'Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.' We do not know someone by their profession but by their fruits. Claiming to be a christian is nothing to God . God looks at the heart .
Mt 7 21 'Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.' 22Many 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? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. ' Many will come to Jesus and say they are christian , but Jesus will tell them i never knew you . Legalists are proud and self serving , they never were converted . And for many other reasons such as refusing the truth . Being proud, abusive, evil and claiming to be a christian .
Mt 7 24 'Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26¶And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand 27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. '
Here we see another example searching is Jesus enough to go to heaven ? We find out that the profession was too weak and claiming to be a christian who founded his christian life on sand did not stand the test of time . Does profession to be christian enough to be saved ? No because we need to have conversion and receive righteousness by faith , we need to accept all messages God sends us along the way . If we turn back new messages God sends us we fall in darkness .
Mt 19 16 'And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17¶And h said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18¶He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 20¶The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22¶But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 'This young men had done everything God requires from the outside beholder . He seemed to be a christian to all who judge by the appearance . But Jesus knows the heart . And works is not enough to be saved. In fact we are saved without the works of the law . Is faith in Jesus enough to go to heaven ?
He was in the true church of the times, people looked at him at the perfect believer in God . But Jesus saw that he was selfish . His character was not enough to enter heaven . Many legalists want to show they are good and work for heaven . But we cannot go to heaven in our own works. If it is by works, then it is no more of faith . Our best works are tainted and dirty . Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? No , Jesus says in revelation To him that overcomes . Unless we overcome by the power of God through righteousness by faith we shall not enter .
Ja 2 19 'Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.' Satan and his angels believe in Jesus, they believe Jesus died on the cross . They believe salvation is only through Jesus . But they will not be sved. As their character cannot enter heaven .
He 12 14 'Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:' One can say i am a christian but if they are in the flesh with fights, pride, arrogance, unloving, uncaring character, they cannot enter heaven .
Mt 16 24 'Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ' People can follow Jesus, but here Jesus says not everybody that claims to follow Him wil go to heaven . Many christian retain their life and they do not find eternal life . Is faith in Jesus enough to go to heaven ? When one is abusive, and doe snot listen to others, deceives people, and think himself better, and is dishonest, refuses the truth . All these things are attitudes of the world. They will not be in heaven .
Lk 14. 26 'If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' Jesus here too says that come people come to him, but they do nto love Jesus more than earthly things, and they cannot be his disciples . They are Christians, they go to church, they can even preach in church, but they are not bound to go to heaven . 27'And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.'
Jn 6 66 'From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.' Some disciples of Jesus heard a new truth . They had accepted Jesus before, they were baptised, they were followers of Jesus . But a new light came and they rejected it and left Jesus .
Mt 27 'And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.' Judas was an amazing evangelist for Jesus , he loved Jesus . Ellen g White said that if Judas would have died a few years before , he would have gone in history as one of the greatest evangelist who ever lived . But his selfishness and pride and wanting things for himself and robbing Jesus was too strong . He refused the offer to remove those defects of character . Judas as many Christians will not enter heaven . Their name christian was only a farce and a profession without the fruits .
Ac 5 3 'But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?'4'Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.' 5 'And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.' This couple were christian , baptized and church members. They lied to God and were destroyed . They will not be in heaven . Is believing in Jesus enough to be saved ? No one need to be like Jesus , one needs to have the same character as Jesus . Justification is the first step, then comes sanctification .
'Those outside of the city are among the most confident, boastful, and apparently zealous ones who love in word, but not in deed and in truth. Their hearts are not right with God. His fear is not before them. The fearful and unbelieving, who are punished with the second death, are of that class who are ashamed of Christ in this world. They are afraid to do right and follow Christ, lest they should meet with pecuniary loss. They neglect their duty, to avoid reproach and trials, and to escape dangers. Those who dare not do right because they will thus expose themselves to trials, persecution, loss, and suffering are cowards, and, with idolaters, liars, and all sinners, they are ripening for the second death.' 2T 630.1
Outside the city of God will be many who claimed to be christian but who were in reality belonging to Satan . Did you know Satan claims to be God ? His angels believe to be in the right and abused of God . Does profession to be christian enough to be saved ? When someone is proud, they belong to Satan ? The fruits we have show who our master is . We saw above we know someone by their fruits . 'Some are willing to receive one point; but when God brings them to another testing point, they shrink from it and stand back, because they find that it strikes directly at some cherished idol.Here they have opportunity to see what is in their hearts that shuts out Jesus.
They prize something higher than the truth, and their hearts are not prepared to receive Jesus. Individuals are tested and proved a length of time to see if they will sacrifice their idols and heed the counsel of the True Witness. If any will not be purified through obeying the truth, and overcome their selfishness, their pride, and evil passions, the angels of God have the charge: “They are joined to their idols, let them alone,” and they pass on to their work, leaving these with their sinful traits unsubdued, to the to the control of evil angels. Those who come up to every point, and stand every test, and overcome, be the price what it may, have heeded the counsel of the True Witness, and they will receive the latter rain, and thus be fitted for translation.' 1T 187.1
Here again we see the sins that are in the church and outside the church that nobody talks about . Pride, evil passions, like anger, and strife, and judging people by the world . Selfishness . Those are the fruits of many christian people . 'If it is the power of divine truth, it will lead to good works.It will elevate the receiver, and make him wholehearted and generous, like his divine Lord. But if evil angels control the heart, it will be seen in various ways. The fruit will be selfishness, covetousness, pride, and evil passions.' 1T 188.1
are not saved by saying i am a christian i go to church . We will be saved if Jesus sees that all sins are removed and we are kind, honest, humble like Jesus 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Professors of religion are not willing to closely examine themselves to see whether they are in the faith; and it is a fearful fact that many are leaning on a false hope..... They seem to think that a profession of the truth will save them.....It would be more pleasing to the Lord if lukewarm professors of religion had never named His name.
They are a continual weight to those who would be faithful followers of Jesus. They are a stumbling block to unbelievers, and evil angels exult over them, and taunt the angels of God with their crooked course. Such are a curse to the cause at home or abroad. They draw nigh to God with their lips, while their heart is far from Him. '1T 188.2People do not understand this but for many people it would have been better for them never to come to Jesus . As it would have been better for them to have a good time on earth, to party, and lots of pleasure.
They go to church, pay tithe, preach, and do many things keeping at the same time the character of Satan . What will make it to heaven is much more who you are rather than what you do . When you repeat an action it becomes the character . But a occasional sin is not what will keep you from heaven . It is who you are . Are you humble, kind, honest, gentle, forgiving, peaceful ? Father God please give us your righteousness . Provide for all our needs, forgive our sins, protect us from evil people, give us the desires of our hearts in the name of Jesus amen
