Featured Easy believism.

great question, as see it as faith alone in Lord Jesus as the one saves us , but saving faith will give some evidence of being real and genuine!

 

Just your misguided interpretation. I notice you cite eight verses, but do not address the verses cited against the false and unbiblical doctrine of Easy Believism.

 

Wait, prayer is a work?

 

I was once rebuked by the head of the Bible school in Japan where I taught. I had said to my class on personal evangelism that a prayer was not necessary for salvation, since prayer is a work. When I pinned him down, he squirmed but then replied that well, yes, prayer is a work, but not when you are praying for salvation! This was a missionary with a good M.Div., but he had not thought it through very well. I was not fired from teaching there.

My grandfather used to finish witnessing with a prayer time. He would stop in the middle of his prayer and say, "Take my hand if you are trusting Christ as Savior." Then he would have the new convert pray a prayer of thanks for salvation.

 

Is it likely, do you think, that someone who never prayed, could be a child of God?

Is it likely, do you think, that someone who never prayed could be a child of God?

 

Prayer is a work, and thus is a demonstration of faith, just like any other work. I would wonder if someone was a genuine child of God who never prayed, or never went to church, never read the Bible, etc. There are four works that are said in the Gospels to be signs of a disciple. (Feel free to preach my outline.)

I. Commitment (Matthew 12:49-50, Mark 8:34-38)
II. Continuation in the Word (John 8:31)
III. Compassion for Christians (John 13:35)
IV. Conversion of Souls (John 15:8)

 

How is it a work? By what biblical standard have you determined that?

 

Are you kidding? How is prayer not a work? Jesus sweat great drops of blood when He prayed (hematidrosis). That is indicative of great effort. The Greek word usually translated prayer (aiteo) literally means "ask." If you asked someone for help in changing a tire, would that act of asking not be a work? Again, prayer takes time; it is a progressive act. Belief is not progressive.

The Bible says about Anna that she "served God with fastings and prayers night and day." (Luke 2:37). The word for "served" there is clearly a work.

 

John,
Perhaps it is that the prayer of salvation is that first offering of thanksgiving in response to work done and not the initiation to work done. I present that is the larger significance.

For example, while traveling across country a number of years ago, I was following a car of an elderly that I saw had lost air in a tire. Becoming aware of the flat, they pulled off the road, and I stopped behind them. Walking up, I introduced myself and said, "I would be glad to replace your flat with your spare." I didn't offer to help, I stated that I would help.

The elderly person was not embarrassed to respond with gladness, gratefulness and thanksgiving.

Such was the prayer(s) offered at the salvation of one introduced to Christ by your Grandfather.

Certainly, there is work involved. The hearing ear, the open heart, the enlightenment of the understanding, and the impress of the need. But the "asking" is that of expression, not of determination - that is prayer is the expressions of thanksgiving resulting from the actions of other work done by the Holy Spirit - conviction, righteousness, and judgement, and by the willing ambassador who "preaches" the message.

Perhaps one of the problems with this topic is it seems to bring out those that perhaps contend if one doesn't present some kind of "sinner's prayer" in which the person must ask for salvation, then one isn't saved.

No such prayer was ever presented in the NT after the resurection. Rather, the presentations of those who came to the Savior after the cross and resurrection was that of recognition and thankfulness. Prior to the cross, that was not the offer made to folks. One had to come to God under the old covenant of asking, seeking, finding. Now, believers are ambassadors who carry the message to those who do not seek. Believers are not high priests waiting for folks offering acceptable sacrifices; rather, believers are those sent out to compel others to come.

This post is not so much in disagreement with you as it is showing a bit of different hue to the thread.

 

In the case of my grandfather's soul-winning method, the prayer of thanks was assumed to be for the previous act of God in giving salvation.

But then, "expression" always involves action: art, music, expressing feelings, etc.

I'm very happy to interact with such folk. It's a very important issue. Looking through the book of Acts, where we see the Great Commission carried out, we see no place where the apostles or others told people they had to pray.

Speaking of prayer as an offering, it Revelation 8:3-4, the prayers of the saints are presented as an offering to God. However, the offering that brings salvation is that of Christ offering Himself as a blood atonement.

Thank you.

 

More arguments against the man, and not a word about the difficulty in finding the narrow way to eternal life.

 

And you believe that is equivilent to the things required in OT law that the Jews held were necessary for salvation?

 

Nope, I believe that works have never been necessary, either in the New or Old Testament (whatever Jews who did not know their Bibles thought). So the famous passage in Ephesians 2:8-9 is relevant. You do not get saved by a prayer. You get saved by faith.

When dealing with a person about their soul, I always emphasize that faith must be from the heart, even if I have them pray a prayer. I tell them that the prayer will not save them.

A missionary friend came to my church in Yokohama to preach once, I believe at a Christmas meeting. The small room we used for our church was full of folk, but the landlady, who lived on the second floor of the building, had come down for the meeting. I had been witnessing to her for years, but she had not trusted Christ. The missionary speaker grabbed her, said, "Say this prayer," and led her it a little prayer for "salvation." Later I asked him what that was for. He said, "Oh, I was just planting seed." Nope, he was confusing her.

 

Easy believism is unbiblical false doctrine. Here is the supporting part of the post:

How do we "take His yoke?" By believing into Christ, which means by God crediting our faith as righteousness and on the basis of that faith in the truth, putting us into Christ spiritually. But Matthew 13 tells us superficial faith and holding on to some of our worldly treasures might not result in our faith being credited as righteousness.

A deep commitment, results so to speak in having a "root" within us, such that we will strive to walk the talk. Live faith not dead faith. Not whitewash on the outside, but vile on the inside.

Many additional references to the difficulty in finding the narrow way that leads to life and living a life for Christ following being placed into Christ spiritually were given.

Salvation is indeed a "free gift." (Romans 5:15, Romans 5:16, and Romans 6:23)

Easy believism relies on "dead faith." (James 2:17 and James 2:26)

1 John 5:11 Eternal life is "in" (within) His Son. Only faith that results in God putting an individual into Christ results in receiving the free gift. To believe otherwise is false doctrine.

Romans 6:23, Eternal life is "in" (within) His Son. Only faith that results in God putting an individual into Christ results in receiving the free gift. To believe otherwise is false doctrine.

Romans 1:16 says salvation is to everyone who "believes" and it is God who decides who "believes." The second and third soils of Matthew 13 did not make the grade.

Romans 4:4-5 says it is God alone who credits or not an individuals faith, not ourselves.

John 3:16 says everyone has eternal life who believes "into" Him, thus spiritually transferred into Him by God based on credited their faith as righteousness.

Matthew 11:30 says those placed into Christ will find His Yoke beneficial and that is true.

 

Another reference demonstrating it is not easy to walk the talk.
Romans 12:10-13
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

Easy Believism ignores the deep commitment indicated by Matthew 13, and the difficulty living for Christ might cause. It is therefore a false doctrine, certainly destructive to the ministry of Christ.

 

he believed in God and was justified before his was going to give Isaac!