On Being Saved
I believe God at times grants the temporal requests of unbelievers, just as Jesus healed all those who came to Him. But just because God helps unbelievers does not mean they have a close, saving relationship with God. They are still spiritually dead, lost in sin, and condemned before God. They may feel they have a spiritual connection with God, but that connection is a lie. (See Matthew 7:22-23.)
A true spiritual relationship with God requires two prerequisite things on our part, and two saving things on God’s part: Our part consists of:
- Repentance: We must repent of our sin. This is not a requirement to live a perfectly sinless life, for that is impossible. It is a heart thing: we must lay down our animosity to God as He has revealed Himself, and what He has already declared about our state of relationship with Him. (Acts 3:19)
- Faith: We must trust in Jesus Christ alone to save us, for we cannot save ourselves. (John 3:16, Acts 4:12)
In response to these two things, God does the following:
- Forgives: God forgives our sins, solely on the basis of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. Apart from what Jesus Christ did, God cannot forgive us and remain just and holy. Forgiveness always has a cost, and God paid that cost. (1 John 1:9)
- Regenerates: God grants us new life through His Holy Spirit so we are no longer spiritually dead. Apart from this, any feeling of spiritual well-being is a lie. (Titus 3:4-5)
All of this is exclusive to any other means of attaining a relationship with God. In other words, there is no alternative way to a true relationship with God (John 14:6). Guilt must be dealt with.
Guilt has an objective side and a subjective side. Subjective guilt is what we feel when we know we’ve done something wrong. Objective guilt is a legal state of being. The world is concerned with eliminating guilt feelings. This can be done through various means, including confession of past wrongs. But this does not eliminate the legal status of being guilty. I cannot go to court as a defendant and tell the judge, “But I don’t feel guilty!”. Objective (legal) guilt must be dealt with first before subjective guilt. The only way to get rid of legal guilt is through the steps shown above.
No comments in 800 days? What a shame!
“Repentance: We must repent of our sin.”
“Faith: We must trust in Jesus Christ alone to save us”
These acts are not generated by gritting our teeth or setting our reprobate will-power to do so.
If you are unable to cite Jesus’ words in connection with good acts of repentance and faith, you are failing to deny self and follow Him. Here are the two verses: John 6:65 and John 15:5. Nobody comes to Me unless Father does something first, and without Me you can do nothing.
Asserting self (which is anti-christ) is not the same as giving Father and Son all credit and authority over good acts. Jesus has authority to command us to deny self.
If I worship the “jesus” who believes in my human “free-will” in regards to salvation, I am a rank idolator and certainly not saved.
Anyone who refuses to work within Jesus’ teachings is likely a self-asserting idolator who worships a different, foreign “jesus”. And fails to deny self. Those who are unable to stay within Jesus’ teachings just don’t have God and should not be teaching. See 2 John 1:9-11 for proof. Pretty sure the real Jesus believes this verse! The description gets much worse in 2 Corinthians 11:4,13-15. Ministers of Satan.
Billy Graham always taught a false christ. He taught that God does His 99% but your SELF must supply the other 1%. Graham failed to deny self, failed to stay in Jesus’ teachings. Jesus never taught this. His error would be more stark if he had said “God does His 1%, but you must generate the other 99%” I do not assume he is a saved man.
Are you legally guilty for assuming (being deceived) your whole life that Graham was a saved, righteous Christ-obeyer/follower?
What if you refuse to deal with this legal guilt? Does it just not exist because your SELF says so?
How is asserting SELF the same as denying self? Jesus commanded one of these!
How is being deceived equivalent to obeying Jesus’ words? Jesus commands me not to be deceived. (rhetorical questions, although they demonstrate a point)
Are you a Calvinist
No, although I do agree with most of their theology.