A question about salvation?

Question

According to the protestant view we are save by faith and no by works. Jesus said to Nicodemus: no one can enter the kingdom of God UNLESS he is born again, When he said unless he meant that being born again is a necessary condition right?.But Jesus also said in Matthew 5-20: UNLESS your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. When he said righteousness, doesn't it mean what we must do? in other words works?.Also in Matthew 19-17 when the rich young man asked Jesus how to get eternal life, Jesus replied: OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS, sell your possessions and follow me. Again works.
How do we reconcile all these passages?

Answer 1

1) Born again - born into God's family through the acceptance of Jesus' free gift of salvation.

2) Our righteousness comes from salvation through the acceptance of Jesus' free gift of salvation, not of our own works as the Pharisees were trying to project.

3) Specific to this young man - Jesus saw into his heart and knew that the man loved money more than God and would not accept the free gift of salvation - the young man's heart was with his riches.

Answer 2

Rather, God's Word states: "Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. 18 Nevertheless, a certain one will say: “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith apart from the works, and I shall show you my faith BY my works.” "Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if a certain one says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it?" (James 1:22, 23. 2:17, 18.) Also, “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. 22 Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ 23 And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23.)

The apostle Paul said that “faith follows the thing heard.” (Romans 10:17) This natural progression from hearing the Word of God to exercising faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, puts us in line for everlasting life.

Paul described the faith of Enoch and other witnesses when he wrote: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” (Hebrews 11:1) Yes, faith is the confident expectation, based on assurances, that the things we hope for will come true. It involves an expectation so strong that it affects the focus of our life.

. “Faith,” says the apostle Paul, “is not a possession of all people.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2; Gal. 5:22, 23.)

"6 Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please him [God] well, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him." (Heb. 11:6.)

Romans 10:10 says: “With the heart one exercises faith.”

If you would like further information or a free home Bible study, please contact Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit http://www.watchtower.org

Answer 3

We are saved by grace, not by works, so that no one can boast.
We are saved by grace alone. Recall that in Acts 16:31 the jailer asked Paul and Silas how to be saved. They responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The jailer believed and immediately became saved.
Close to 200 times in the New Testament salvation is said to be by faith alone - with no works in sight. Consider the following:
John 3:15 tells us that "everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
John 5:24 says, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
In John 11:25 Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
John 23:46 says, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."
John 20:31 says, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
If salvation were not by faith alone, then Jesus' message in the Gospel of John - manifest in the above quotations - would be deceptive, stating that there is one condition for salvation when there are allegedly two - faith and works.
I must emphasize that we are saved by faith for works. Works are not the condition of our salvation, but a consequence of it We are saved not by works, but by the kind of faith that produces works.

Eph 2:8-10 God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this: It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Answer 4

Some of us "reconcile" all the bible's contradictions by throwing the whole thing out.... But that is exactly why there are so many different versions of christianity, they all interpret the same book in different ways. There is no one right answer, you either go with the interpretation you were taught, or you choose another that feels more right. It's all mistranslated anyway.

Answer 5

- Salvation of human kind: any man will be saved according to God &/or Jesus Christ standard of judgement thru their GRACES not by human effort. Meaning, get connected well with God to know what pleases Them and do it wholeheartedly & willingly with satisfaction even though nobody notices it. Not showing your generosity to human kind & always expect to be awarded later by other people or the society/world you live in.
- Nobody enters the kingdom of heaven unless he is born again. Is human`s willing acceptance of God, The Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ into his being, his heart, his consciousness. But it is just the beginning in your life with God`s existence. You have to maintain it until death, ask God`s guidance & protection from this world/evil/satan`s temptations that it won`t pull you out from God`s grace.
- Righteousness is all about justice, morally good & right, virtuous. Meaning... practicing being just, right, of high moral standard surely comes from the inner voice of the goodness of The Holy Spirit that guides the righteousness of your heart opting for justice...but never from the eliteness of your title or positions, wordly knowledge stained by hatred/envy/rivalry/competitiveness/greediness, etc. aimed for other man`s destructions just to emerge self-victorious or amassing award/wealth/success/title/positions.
...or we may say, just be like an innocent child who looks at all man with love, trust and help and surely you`ll be inching your way to heaven.
- sell all your possessions and follow me, means...don`t be too attached with worldly possessions/comfort, because you`ll reside in this world in a very short time/temporarily, enjoying shortlived happiness compared to heaven which is eternal life, joy and happiness with God. So, follow Jesus Christ words and guidance for a sure way to promised Paradise in Heaven.

What is Christ guidance?
1. Love God above all things
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Everything is not work. Just fill your heart with LOVE, JOY, PEACE, HAPPINESS, HELP one another. Exudes and shine with this beautiful qualities in life and you can infect everybody.
These 2 commandments are very simple, isn`t it?...but this is everything for God. It pleases Him well...and you are sure for your SALVATION and for everybody !!!

Answer 6

Salvation is free, but we will be judged by whet we did or didn't do for God. We will get rewards for the good things. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Answer 7

We are saved by placing our faith and trust in Christ to forgive our sins and that we believe in his death and resurrection. Anyone who does not have Christ cant expect to understand all of the bible because the bible said these things are spiritually discerned by the spirit of god which comes to dwell in us when we receive christ.

Answer 8

They can't be, just do what you think is best. When you die, you will be as dead as any other animal and it won't make a damn bit of difference.