"not by works of righteous but according to his mercy he saved us" Titus 3:5
"For God so loved the world gave his only begoten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life, for God sent not his son into the world to condem the world but that through him the world might be saved" John 3:16-17
Just be honest
2006-09-18 16:20:45 · 38 answers · asked by Brother_Alex777 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hi Bro !!
We are not saved by our good deeds even though they are important to show our relationship with God. These are the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. Isaiah the prophet states that our righteousness is like filthy rags in God's eyes. This means that we are not saved by our righteousness or by our good deeds but by the BLOOD of JESUS. Heb : without the shedding of blood there is no remiision ( forgiveness ) of sin. God's mercy alone saves us. However, this gift depends on us as to whether we accept it or not. The key word in Jn 3 : 16 is BELIEVE ... People only perish if they do not BELIEVE. In Romans 11 ; God accepts us gentiles because of the Jews' UNBELIEF.GOD BLESS !
2006-09-18 16:33:37 · answer #1 · answered by srjione 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Man can not earn salvation. It is a gift from Jehovah, based on His love and mercy.
It is interesting though that the Greek word translated "believeth" in your copy of the bible has the notion of "continueous or ongoing belief"
For a balanced view of belief or faith, you want to look at all scriptures that deal with salvation.
1 Cor 13:1-4, Faith without love is valueless.
James 2:26, Faith without actions is dead.
2006-09-19 07:39:45 · answer #2 · answered by TeeM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that we can't do good deeds to get into heaven, we need the merrits of Christs blood and sacrifice.
If you keep reading on in Titus it says this
Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
When you believe in Christ with all your heart, and all your soul. You will automatically do good works.
Jam 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
2006-09-18 16:35:03 · answer #3 · answered by Sky_blue 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
John 3:16 is one of the most quoted Bible verses of all time, because it tells of how Great God's love and mercy is for us. Just like the entire Bible, it is amazing, if you really take the time to read it, it can change your life!
2006-09-18 16:25:26 · answer #4 · answered by Lilat180 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
God has unlimited love for us and the manifestation of His mercy is that He sends us bonafide spiritual master, in this case, Jesus. By taking shelter of spiritual master, by his mercy we can be saved. Even if we have commited innumerable sins in the past, we can be saved. However, when we take shelter of spiritual master, or Jesus, we must stop our sinful activities. If we go on sinning, what is the question of love for Jesus? We "love" him so much that we think, "Jesus suffered for my sins, so I will go on sinning, because I am weak, let Jesus suffer, he is so merciful." If we have such a mentality, we will become the greatest offenders, and even though God is unlimitedly merciful to us we will cut ourselves away from His mercy. When we accept spiritual master, or Jesus, we should be determined to never commit sin again. Otherwise our accepting Jesus is simply a show.
2006-09-18 16:28:05 · answer #5 · answered by H. B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The passage refers to Paul's own "works of righteousness" when he was under the law as a Pharisee. His works did not save him, nor make him righteous.
But God's mercy came to Paul, and he was saved...( by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. )
2006-09-18 16:25:21 · answer #6 · answered by Bob L 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
These verses show how much God loves us. I had a t-shirt that I outgrew that I gave to my pastor that says "Jesus loved us so much, it hurt" and had a picture of an arm with a nail through the hand. That is real love from the Saviour.
2006-09-18 16:43:40 · answer #7 · answered by ironchain15 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first one basically says that no matter all the "good" works you do, Jesus still saves us from hell. :) That is a comforting verse!
The second one also is a very often quoted verse- highly known. I think it is a KEY verse in the Bible. It pretty much sums it up with regards to Gods love for us.
2006-09-18 16:25:30 · answer #8 · answered by rottymom02 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What do you think of this bible passages?
"The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. But since you have utterly spurned the Lord by this deed, the child born to you must surely die." Samuel 12:11-14
2006-09-18 16:23:52 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not much! According to this passage, there is nobody in this world who believes in Jesus, because there is no everlasting life. It is questionable that the world is going to be saved, because it says "might".
2006-09-18 16:26:01 · answer #10 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋