For Christians, how do you get saved?

Question

Some say all you have to do is believe in Jesus, that he died for your sins, and that you are a sinner in need of his saving grace. Some say that you have to live a life worthy of Christ afterwards, and I agree.
But many of these same people say that I'm not a Christian. I have done the above. But because I have some doctrinal differences with them, they say I'm not a Christian. I believe Jesus can save people of other religions, even if they don't realize it is Jesus who is saving them. I believe the Bible contains some authentic teachings of Jesus, but I have seen much evidence to believe that it also contains man's word, attributed to Jesus - things he never spoke. So I don't believe every word of the Bible is from God. (I don't think God is a liar. I think man is a liar).
So, after you have accepted Jesus, you can be unsaved because of things like this? Then why say all you have to do is the above? Why not admit that you also have to believe in right doctrine?

And how much right doctrine to you have to hold to? Are you allowed any mistakes?

Paxico - I base it on textual and historical evidence. Kind of a long story, but there is a lot of evidence that some things were added later. It takes a lot of study of Biblical scholarship.

Answer 1

I would preface this by warning you that scholarship is oftentimes subjective. For instance, the redactions to the OT theorized in the Documentary Hypothesis are based on social movements in Israel, and they justify modeling it that way. The evidence for the social movements (like the Yahwist movement) are the redactions. They see and divide things via a very subjective lens. Be careful with them. I studied for a religion degree, and it bugged me to no end.

Notice also that each reconstruction of what the earlier forms were that were being redacted (or textual variation) happen to coincide with the scholar's own prejudices and philosophy (hmmm). That doesn't mean scholarship is invalid, but you do need to take it with a grain of salt.

I'm going to outline this simply (and you can request more if you want). I would also tell you to go for the max. I can also back up each statement with the earliest Christian Fathers.

1). Believe -- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jn. 3.16

2). Repent -- "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3.19. Notice that the remission of sins is tied to repentence. You cannot have one without the other, and since we still sin, we are ever repenting.

3). Be baptized -- "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Jn. 3.5. "Water" refers to baptism, and "spirit" refers to chrismation (the reception of the Spirit). In the passage, the Lord contrasts earthly birth with what He is talking about: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." v. 6. Notice that He says "flesh" not "water." The union of baptism and chrismation are intimate and they are almost always closely connected.

4). Receive the Spirit at chrismation -- "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2.38. This is, again, connected with baptism, but he lists here reception of the Spirit as a normative part of salvation. Notice in Acts 8.4ff. you can see it as separate from the act of baptism.

5). Eat Christ -- "Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Jn. 6.53-54. If you do not eat the Eucharist and accept that the bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ, then you can't have salvation according to Christ. St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of the Apostle John, said regarding those who do not so believe that "they abstain from th Eucharist and prayer since they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our savior Jesus Christ, which suffered on behalf of our sins and which the Father raised in his kindness. And so, those who dispute the gift of God perish while still arguing the point." (Smyrn. 7).

6). Confess -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" I Jn. 1.9. Notice that the clause is conditional: *if* we confess. This implies that if we do not, they are not forgiven. Likewise, St. James commands that we confess to one another, to men (Js. 5.16). This establishes the sacrament of confession. If we refuse this, then we refuse forgiveness of our sins.

7). Do not reject the authority of the Church. -- "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects him who sent Me." Lk. 10.16. After that, He sent out His 70 apostles who returned to Him. If you reject those whom Christ has sent to you, then you reject Christ, which rejects salvation.

Christ also told St. Peter "You are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My Church, and the Gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Mt. 16.18-19. All the Apostles share in this authority given by Christ; Peter doesn't have it alone (Mt. 18.18). You learn three things from these passages. 1). The Church has the power to shut-up or open salvation to anyone. 2). The Church will never fall to corruption (Hades is the realm of the dead, the ultimate corruption, in Greek). 3). Christ bequeaths His power to men. The word Church translates a Greek word that means "assembly," so it's not a lofty concept. It is an assembly of people, and thus, identifiable.

If faith in Christ depends on having faith in His Church and not rejecting her, then the Apostle Paul's comments make sense: "The Church is the Pillar and Ground of Truth" I Tim. 3.15. Likewise, Christ promised that His Holy Spirit would lead believers into all Truth, and thus safeguard her from error. He is the Spirit of Truth, after all. Jn. 16.13.

You must, then, find the original Church that never failed for normative salvation. It's messy because of the schismatics, but this is essentially a historical matter, and you only have to look at the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Only one can be the original, and the other is a schismatic.

At the Schism, the Roman Catholic Church changed the Christian Creed, asserted universal papal authority amongst other things. These doctrines were novel to Christianity and thus a departure from the faith that was handed down to the saints. Consequently, of the five apostolic seats, all four of the others stood against Rome. Orthodoxy is, thus, the historic Church, and the Roman Catholic Church has not ceased changing ever since she broke off.

I know this is long, but it's maximalistic and so is Christianity. Just because sectarians break off and make up new doctrines doesn't give them an equal footing. Things do not become Christian simply because we say so. The faith must date back to Christ, and only that faith can save. What I gave is a rough sketch, but the Protestant sects you've spoken with haven't even a shred of evidence. At least the Roman Catholic Church can put up a decent claim (even if it fails).

Thus, my advice is, seek out an Orthodox priest, ask him about it, and do what he says. This is biblical advice, and following it will solve the "how much doctrine" problem in its entirety. Seek what is true, not a minimum bar.

Answer 2

I dont believe u can be "unsaved" at all. Ive been taught that once youve accepted Jesus as ur Lord and Saviour then u are saved and ur name is in the Book of Life. Just because u sin, that doesnt mean u automatically are unsaved, it is natural to sin, we have it in us. But its our responsiblity to continue doing wrong or to correct our mistakes and make things better.
And i think that man was inspired by Jesus/God to write things in the Bible after Jesus's death, i dont think that makes man a liar. But we;re entitled to our own opinion and beliefs right?
Im not too sure if i asnwered most of ur questions but i hope i gave u a little insight on what some christians like myself believe in (sometimes its such a bother and confusing with so many different beliefs and theories in the Christian religion)

Answer 3

to be saved, one must

1) Believe Jesus died to potentially pay for the sins of the world. By potentially, I mean only those who are saved are saved from sin and do not die in it, and therefore can enter Heaven. Repentance, turning away from sin and asking God for forgiveness, even called dying to it, is the only way to enter from sinfulness into Righteousness

2) Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. As Lord, your life is in His hands. Your body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, and therefore you must not defile the temple with sin, with the temptation of others, etc.

The next stage is Baptism: the public confession and symbolic representation of your death to sin and rebirth in Christ. This should be done ASAP, but God will not hold it against you if you die before doing it, or need more faith. However, God knows your heart, so no excuses!

The Bible is the word of the Lord. Every marking, every stroke of the pen is the Word. Nary a jot nor tittle spared, nor a stroke out of place. If something seems to contradict itself in scripture, your misunderstanding it. God makes no err and is very particular about His word.

I believe the Bible did not leave out anything we need to know. All Jesus' teachings were authentic. As you said, better, as the Bible says "God is not a man that He should lie". God's word rings true despite human misconceptions.

To be 'unsaved', you basically have to renounce God. God is forgiving, and will show compassion. By Biblical standards, believing that the Bible is wrong (even partially) would be doubting God, and therefore wrong. God would forgive you for this, but sin needs to be repented of.

I believe Christianity is like a diamond: many facets, one jewel; where there is connection, there is strength, where there is unity there is power (a three fold cord is not easily broken); even if we do not share the same views, we are all saved and we can all accomplish God's will, whether we feel our brother or sister is in the wrong or not. If any man sins against his brother or sister, especially those of new or weak faith, they must repent and make it well with them if they can; when one part of the body hurts, we all hurt.

so technically, if you follow Islam or Judaism, you are not saved. the above steps are the only way. personally, I believe Jesus is God, but I believe Jesus will forgive those who do not understand this enough; those who are not yet trained in faith. If I am wrong, I will apologize as the Spirit leads me.

Answer 4

The meek will inherit the earth. You have to humble yourself and realize that you don't know all the answers. You have to realize that you need the Lord. Then you have to be born again. This is something God does for you. You can't do it yourself by saying a prayer. You need a repentant heart. When you realize that you are a lost sinner who needs a savior and turn your life over to Jesus, believing that he died to take the punishment for your sins, He will lead you to a good church where you can grow spiritually. If you are sincere in your belief, you will have a desire to read the Bible and fellowship with other Christians, share your faith with unbelievers and have a personal relationship wtih God through prayer.

Answer 5

Great question. Definitely, definitely one needs to acknowledge that he is hopeless on his own. Awareness of one's need to be forgiven and made righteous is pivotal. Then a belief and trust in the fact that the forgiveness and righteousness that are needed come only from God, through Christ's sacrifice. Finally, living out the rest of life by the power of the Holy Spirit, thankful for God's mercy.

I think the above are necessary (and I think the last part is automatic for anyone who has done the former). I believe doctrine, for the most part, though EXTREMELY important for life on this earth and having a right understanding of God, can't add or take away from God's plan of salvation, briefly mentioned above.

Answer 6

Once you are saved, the only thing that can "unsave" you again is the UNPARDONABLE SIN.
Very few Children of GOD (saved people) ever commit this sin.
The Unpardonable Sin is not--getting drunk, fornication, stealing, being gay, murder, doing drugs so on so on.

The Rule of Thumb is this--if you are Scared that you have committed the Unpardonble Sin and won't get to go to Heaven--YOU HAVE NOT COMMITTED THE Unpardonable Sin.
That simple.
Believe it!
Ditto........people who have actually committed the Unpardonable Sin, don't won't Anything to do with Jesus, Heaven or even want to talk about these things.

Answer 7

Just believing is not enough, Satan believes, If you believe, and accept Him as your lord and savior. As far as getting unsaved after you are truly saved, is wrong, although some disagree, but when you get saved, you become an adopted child of God, and you know that an adopted child has the same rights as a begotten child. As any parent, God is not gonna disown you if you sin, but if you willfully, keep on, He will chastise you. He has that unconditional Love.

Answer 8

Here is your answer right from The Bible.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."


Romans 3:10 As it is written:

"There is none righteous, no, not one;

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

In short you and me and everyone are sinners. The works necessary to get you to Heaven, only Jesus could do. The works are Death and Resurrection.

Pray this prayer.

God,

I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for me and was resurrected. I cannot save myself. Save me please. In Jesus name Amen.

If you meant business you are now a resident of Heaven.

Yes you are allowed mistakes.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Answer 9

lady of you say you did exsept Jesus and try to live a Godly life and people mock you cause you see things differently,well don,t believe them you follow your hart cause as life goes on you will come to undestand a lot more about Jesus then you do at the moment,every one of us has a walk to walk with the Lord and only He can correct or change you.don,t believe every one that calls them selfes christian but believe Jesus.it took me a couple of years to trully understand Jesus after excepting Him.and it seemed so hard then but now it,s easier not saying that life is easy but understanding and trully believing Jesus is easier,also about people of different religions to be saved ?in the Bible it clearly says the bride of Christ is a mystery group,but at the same time it says unless you proclaim that Jesus died on the Cross for your sins and except Him you can,t enter heaven.so who is this mystery bride?well so many people look good as christians on the outside,but on the inside they are brood of vipers or even woolfes in sheeps clothing.so don,t allow anyone to tell you you are not a christian they are judging you and they will be judged by the same judgement by God.

Answer 10

We are saved through baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Jesus Christ told us in the Bible this is necessary for salvation.

However, salvation doesn't just happen one day. It's a lifelong process. We are all "being saved" if we persist in a state of God's grace (i.e. not committing mortal sins).

How do you know which parts of the Bible are true and which parts are not? Did you just pick and choose? I'm not being sarcastic here, just trying to point out that either the Bible is God's word or it's not.

If you say it's only partly His word then what criteria are you using to discard parts of it? By what authority do you do this?

Answer 11

Matthew 10:22 (King James Version)
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
According to this ones salvation is future. AFTER one has proven his faith through endurance to the end either of his life or the end of Satan's system.
You may not believe this since you don't believe all words attributed to Jesus in the Bible are accurate. However, my study of the Bible has led me to believe definitely that the entire Bible is the word of God and that it has come down to us essentially unchanged.