Alexa - Saved?

We are not saved by our own actions. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

We observe baptism because it was the example that Christ gave us, symbollizing that we want to follow in His steps.

The only salvific act that we recognize is Christ dying upon the cross. If other acts were necessary, the criminal that hung on the cross next to Christ would not have been promised paradise. (Luke 23:43)

In summary, if God shows His grace on you, then yes, your salvation is valid.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Alexa;
I'm sorry, but thats a question only You & God can answer.
I tread lightly here, but the Word teaches
that His Spirit bears witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God.
It also says that, old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.
Some things are changed immediatly, others are taking place as we grow in our walk with the Lord.
The question I would ask you is are you "looking" at things differently? Not with your emotional mind...but with your heart?
I'll leave you with this, though some may disagree I found it true in my life. The devil never tried to make me doubt anything till I came to Christ for my salvation.
Mabey others can help better than me, but I try.
Oops..One other question, do you have a DEEP
Settled peace in your heart? Not a "good feeling" but Peace?

I was responding to your first post...guess I type too slow.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: preacher ]

 

I never chose to see doubt as a ploy of the devil but rather in the shortcomings of my being human. Life provides constant opportunity to reaffirm my faith in God. My journey has not been a rollercoaster, like some...being saved didn't feel much different at the time. I can look back and see that being saved began the bridge of communication that I could turn to as I learned to develop trust in the Lord and His plan for me.

As for temptation and doubt, they were always there, before during and after being saved. What I have gained is security that I now have a personal relationship with God, that my life is His and His Will is mine to do. This relationship was built gradually as I turned to Him during times of need. Yes, during times of great success I remembered to thank God, but I didn't fine tune the relationship in the same way as when I was suffering.

When I fail to live up to expectations, I am redirected and forgiven, when I ask.

Search yourself in prayer and contemplation. You will find the answer to your question yourself. That might not give you peace for the moment, but your salvation doesn't rest on what we think. Trust yourself, trust your relationship that you're building with God.

Take care!

 

Alexa,
You will find the calvanistic point of view on this board, but I'm not sure if thats where Clint was aiming or not.
We do have a choice in the matter, read in Gen. when you have time of when Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for his son Issac. This is a clear example Of how the
Trinity works. God the Father(Abraham) sends
the Holy Spirit (the servant) for a bride for
His Son (Jesus). The servant finds the bride as he was instructed to do & ASKS her if she will return with him. She says yes, clearly making a "choice". The servant didn't choose her & then take her. God did show she was the one for Issac, but she could have refused, but didn't. Hope this helps.

 

Good morning Alexa -

The problem with conversing on these machines is that we may misunderstand one another and we have to wait for responses. After re-reading your postings in this forum, I will try to "set you straight" to the issue of salvation as I see it.

How will I know I am saved? It's a fair question with no easy answer. I think if you read Matthew 7 you will see in what a quandry I am. Human beings cannot discern for one another and indeed we are told not to discern another's relationship with Christ. In the link I give you in the above statement there is a commentary that goes along with the passage and I am lifting this statement from it: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> Yet the image of the tree and the fruit also reminds us that behavior flows from character, and in Christian teaching character comes through being born again rather than merely through self-discipline (see Odeberg 1964:72). Our own best efforts at restructuring unregenerate human nature are doomed to failure (Gal 5:19-21). By contrast, a person transformed by and consistently dependent on the power of God's Spirit will live according to the traits of God's character because of God's empowerment, just as trees bear fruit according to their own kind (Gal 5:18, 22-23).
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I can empathize with your concern. No one wants to be punished, especially if they feel that they have not deserved it. I would not classify myself as a Calvinist. I, personally, refuse to put God in a box like that. My theology is a personal philosophy that I continue to build on as I grow spiritually. In fact, to be 100% honest with you, I cannot assure you that I am guaranteed salvation at judgement either but I do not let that stop me from doing my best to accomplish what God sets before me to ready this earth for His Kingdom. My immediate goal is not to get to Heaven, but it is rather to ready the earth for His return.

Look at the Gospel of
Luke 1: 26 - 38. When Mary learned that she was going to give birth she was an unmarried teen. Joseph could have had that poor girl dragged out in public and stoned to death! But how did Mary respond? She said, "I am the Lord's servant." Was she afraid at this point? I'm willing to bet she was. Did she consider it unfair that she had been chosen? No, she considered herself blessed.
You see, Alexa, It's easy to follow Christ when the times are easy and the path goes downhill. It gets a little tougher when the times are hard and the path goes uphill. It's harder even still when you are following Christ to the cross. But the real test of Christian mettle is when you are asked to follow Him UP ONTO THE CROSS.

You may read personal testimonies on this board where the salvation experience came to the person like lightning through the sky. God may have wanted that emotional burst for that person. Other testimonies will be as gentle as someone deciding that it was finally time to go forward to be baptized. It doesn't make it any less valid.

If your yearning that you demonstrate on these postings is sincere, you are well on your way down the path. Matthew 5:6, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

Let God work through you. There is no way to spur Him and what He may have planned for you. Even the doubt you feel and the questions you ask on here may be benifitting another soul who has merely been lurking here and is afraid to ask or cannot phrase the questions as well as you. We are all part of the Body and we all serve a different function. Are you saved? Beats me. But there will come a time when you become comfortable with this angst you feel and even a time further up the path where you embrace it.

Take care, Alexa, and may God bless you.

- Clint

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

I was thinking about my response and I want to make a qualification. About my own salvation, I am not 100% sure 100% of the time. As I said it is by grace through FAITH that we are saved. As the scriptures say, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." My spirit (faith) believes all the time, but my flesh (brain) sometimes doubts.
All of us falter. A good example is Matthew 14: 22 - 33. Peter had faith in Christ and walked on the water. But he doubted and begabn to sink. Just as Christ lifted Peter back to the surface, so He lifts us up when our faith weakens.
I ran home from work to let you know this. Please do not think that Christ will let you sink. I am just letting you know that we all battle doubt.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Clint Kritzer ]

 

Alexa, I have a few questions for you to answer, that may help you a little.

1. What are you trusting in for your salvation?

[Proverbs 3:5-6] Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.

2. Do you believe that Christ's work on the cross was for you personally!?

3. Do you recognize that there is nothing you can do to earn salvation on your own- including reciting someone else's prayer, or being baptised, or confessing to a mortal?

4. Do you understand that salvation comes through faith alone, and by the grace of God. Grace is God's kindess to us when we deserve punishment.

[Ephesians 2:8-9] For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.

5. Do you take God at His Word when He promises eternal life if we trust in Him for our salvation?

[I 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.

[Acts 16:31] Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

6. Wouldn't you like to settle your salvation once and for all today?

If you are feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit, you can be 100% sure you are on your way to heaven today! That is what we all desire for you, but it is truly up to you.

Don't base your trust on a prayer, or how you feel, or how much you understand about the Bible. Follow what the Bible teaches about salvation. It is pretty obvious that you agree that you are a sinner, so confess that sin to God, and believe that He is faithful and just to forgive your sin. This is the best part- He promises to forgive your sin and give you eternal life, because His payment was Once and For All!

[Romans 10:9-10] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt beleive in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteouness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

Hi Alexa,

What I always ask folks is this:

is there a time in your life that you can look back on when you knew you were a sinner separated from God?

Until a person realizes they are "lost" (separated from God because of sin), salvation cannot happen.

Once a person knows their condition, this is the point in time when they can believe on and put their faith (trust) in Jesus Christ and what He did for them. At the very moment that their they put their trust in Christ's work for them, that is the very point in time that their sins are taken away and they are given the righteousness of Christ.

I hope this helps you understand a bit better.

Julia

 

Hi Alexa. It seems many want to help you with your question. I cannot tell if this helps any. As for the salvation of a soul there is no middle ground. A person is either saved by God, of grace alone, or in a state of being unsaved. This is the objective standpoint. Then it is a fact that a person may subjectively be uncertain as to his/her state before God Almighty. It is biblical to say that there are people who will assume they are saved when in fact they are not, and in such a frame of mind they will come before the judgment seat of Christ, Matt. 7:22-23. This is not a popular truth, but nevertheless it is what the inspired word of God says. As to the sinner's prayer I believe that on basis of God's word it can be shown to be a manmade invention and a heretical such, without biblical warrant. Christ and the apostles did not use the so called sinner's prayer, cp. Isa.8:20, 1Tim. 6:3. The Bible teaches sovereign election in Christ before the foundation of the world, unto salvation. This number was fixed in eternity by God, not on basis of any good thing(s) foreseen in those He elected, but on basis of His own will and purpose of grace and love, and for His own glory. Those elected were effectually redeemed by His Son Jesus Christ, the appointed and promised Messias who has come in flesh. The Bible teaches that a person may know his/her election of God by the Gospel call, cp. 1Thessalonians 1:4-6,9. This passage speaks about conversion in the Holy Spirit, through the Gospel of grace. If a person has been biblically converted through the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Lord, in the power of the Spirit of Christ, he/she may be assured of having been elected of God and redeemed by His Son Jesus. Salvation is wholly of God and none of man's initiative, that it might be of grace (undeserved favor or kindness) and that not anyone may boast, Eph. 2:9.

Harald