Is it enough to just claim the name of Christ to save you?

Question

Mat 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?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Answer 1

Obviously not.

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER in heaven."(Matt. 7:21, emphasis added)

Answer 2

The debate between works and faith has gone on a long time, and is not helped by plenty of Biblical statements that argue both positions--as the many quotes this thread has provided has demonstrated.

According to the Christian faith, all you have to do is assauge their god's massive and extremely sensitive ego and you're in. Just worship the Biblical god and regardless of the quality of your life you get the tickets to eternal Club Med, while everyone else--regardless of the morality or quality of their lives--get thrown away.

That's it in a nutshell.

Answer 3

And yet something like half of the Christians' posts here include claims of prophecy, identifying "Satan" as the force behind various people's actions, and telling stories of miraculous recoveries from illness and alcoholism in Jesus' name.

I call that "lying", and the Bible calls it "iniquity".
Interesting.
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Amelie writes "Edit: I don't think Paul S understands meaning of the verse at all"

Respectfully: Amelie, the fact that I don't interpret it the way that you interpret it doesn't mean that I don't understand it. It would have been far more honest - and less arrogant - of you to have written "I disagree with how Paul S is interpreting this verse". Then you'd have made the same point without falsely claiming to have the one true understanding.

Answer 4

I say no.

you must also truly believe & love Jesus with all your heart!

and if you have any sin in YOUR own life that you know to be sin, you must deny that sin & rid it!!!

so if smoking to YOU is a sin you must rid it!!!

God say's Work out YOUR OWN Salvation with FEAR & TREMBLING!!!

To ME that means some sin to ME will BE DIFFERENT from what some sin to you may be.

Take makeup for instance, to me it's not a sin!
but some believe that it is!
And if they truly believe it is well then it is!!!!

As a christian you are supposed to follow in JESUS'S
footsteps which tells you to live the most honest & loving life you can!!!

Especially in this dirty world today it is extremely hard!!!

But you can't just take one scripture and use it for your own pleasure, you must use the bible as a whole!!!

Then there is the 10 Commandments that WE ALL must abide!!!

So this is what i have learned from the bible so far.

Answer 5

When someone asks a question such as this I think of a Christian, German concentration camp guard at Auschwitz in 1944. He has a loving family who he takes to church every Sunday without fail. On this day, he is leading a family of Jews to their deaths in the gas chamber. Here's where things get confusing for me. According to the bible, all the German guard must do is accept Jesus as his savior and the son of god and ask for forgiveness of this terrible sin of multiple murders of innocent victims, and he will dwell in heaven forever when he dies after living a long and fruitful life. The innocent Jewish family, however, because they don't believe just as the German does, after having their lives cut miserably short and not allowed to bring up children have, grandchildren and enjoy the other niceties of life like the German will enjoy, will burn in hell for eternity. That's just sick man.

Answer 6

Read John 1:11-12
Romans 10:9-10
Acts 4:12

Answer 7

Works alone will not save you, but just professing the name of Christ alone won't do it either. Faith should be the basis of all of our actions, and these faith-based actions are an outward manifestation of our faith.

If you don't really have the faith to begin with, but rather are just going through the actions, thinking that the actions in and of themselves will get you to heaven, you are in for a nasty surprise (I actually know people who think like this, and it's sad and disappointing, an approach to religion and spirituality of trying to "buy your way into heaven" by your actions alone.)

Having said that though, our actions *are* important though, as I said before, as a manifestation of faith. Faith has to be the motivating factor - not the action (prayer, church attendance, etc.) itself.

James 2:16-18 -

"If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. "

Answer 8

No. it is not enough to just claim the name of Christ to be saved. You must have faith to be saved and you must work on your faith to be saved. You must be in the true church of God to be saved. You must sacrifice to the end to be saved. You must listen to the preacher of God to be saved, cause in Matt. 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Answer 9

No. He's not interested in lip service. It's what's in your heart.

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

2Timothy 4:8

The last three words are crucial....

Rev 22:20 ...Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Answer 10

you can read the bible quote the bible and go to your churches and pray to this man Jesus for eternity but it is by the authority of God that you are given salvation. Though it is said by Jesus that the father dwells in him as him and by saying that the multitudes of nations fall to ground and worship at the feet of a man made to be as god, he is not God. Only God is God, and no matter how many people come in the name of God none shall be him for he is that which is the source of creation and the author of truth. It saddens me that men worship the son and deny the father. It is not my beleif in Jesus Christ that will give eternal salvation, but my beleif in the Divine. There is none higher that God, and if Jesus so states that he is the authority on which there is none higher then he blasphemes God. Through play of words and through the deeds of a man it is not within the rights of humans to dictate what is or is not God. God dwells in all men for we are created from him, and if Jesus beleives that all men are born evil then he beleives God to be evil for we are in the image of God and are part of him. It is not inside the walls of a building made of stone, nor in the pages of a book that you will find love, peace, and God it is within your self. It is not in Jesus name I pray but in the name of the most high, God, that I pray man will open his eyes and see the Love eternal which is God. It is not through division and blood wars with your fellow humans that you will find your salvation, but in the Wisdom that God will always be the author of truth,love, and Intellegence. Though im sure you and the rest of the Christian world will find my words as lies because your faith is based on the writings of book, but I tell you that my faith is based on something far greater than another mans interpretation of God......it is based on my relationship with God. Jesus holds no power or authority over me for he did not create me God did. Though i do not doubt what Jesus was an instrument of God, I simply implore you to understand that even Satan is the instrument of God as seen in the book of Revelations. I say to you that in the day when you finally stand in the presence of Divinity there will be no room for doubt, and all the multitudes will claim that they knew God when it is Jesus who they knew not God. I will talk of this no further but I do encourage you to seek God and you will find that while Jesus was necessary in the plan of God he is not the authority of your soul for he did not fashion it.