After nearly 4 years of interacting with the SI discussion forum I have a question for those who consistently post here. It is this-
What do you believe are the actual requirements for a person to be a child of God, have eternal life, and spend eternity with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What are the actual requirements that make that true for a person... nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.
Thanks for your input.
Since you "consistantly" post here... what is your answer?
Awaiting your reply.
Krispy
Brother Solomon, I believe sincerely that the answer to this is found in John's First Epistle.
We sometimes forget the fact that John was the closest to Jesus, for one very important reason.
GOD Bless you.
Solomon101 asked:What do you believe are the actual requirements for a person to be a child of God, have eternal life, and spend eternity with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What are the actual requirements that make that true for a person... nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.
Jesus didn't say you must be born again and wear a head covering to enter the Kingdom of God or believe in the pre-trib doctrine or keep the sabbath or believe you don't sin or anything else that someone wants to piggyback on to it.
mho and God bless,
Lisa
Receiving His Spirit by faith makes us children of God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
If you die after receiving His Spirit you will go to be with Him because you are already with Him. You are already a part of Him. He in you and you in Him.
Ye must be born again... nothing more / nothing less!Jesus didn't say you must be born again and wear a head covering to enter the Kingdom of God or believe in the pre-trib doctrine or keep the sabbath or believe you don't sin or anything else that someone wants to piggyback on to it.
With all respect for you sister:-
John 3-5:-
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. "
Jesus says to be "Born again" is the first condition for entering the kingdom of God. He actually says if you are not born again you will not enter the kingdom of God at all. It is not same as what you are saying. He never said if you are born again you have a confirmed seat in Kingdom of God!
For example, Saying unless you take this exam you will not pass. Does not mean everyone who takes the exam will pass.
I hope you will take this correction with Love.
Many of the false doctrine, false hope and false faith floating around are because believers are not reading Bible carefully.
sree, finish the sentence... read their bible and understand it the way i do.if you ever laid next to a wife whose water broke in prep. for a birth you will know what water and spirit means...it is all about Jesus and His grace and His mercy and being birthed from above.you have nothing to do with being born... life is a gift from God as is eternal life.it is obvious that you have never had a child that no matter what he or she does,that is still my child. one of my best christian friends' son tortured a man to death and robbed him and is doing life in prison and everytime i talk to her she is telling me how he is doing and she has spent every spare dime on attorneys to get him out...he is her child.i am Gods child, and He is forever making intercession for me.i am very secure because of Him.jimp
Brother Jiimp, I don't want to take it personal. I don't want to prove any specific doctrine right or wrong.
I just told that sister that if what she posted is purely based on what Jesus told in John 3 then Jesus did not tell that. I never said that her doctrine is wrong. I just said there are many wrong doctrines. Which does not mean her's is wrong. I have my own doctrine which is based on complete scriptures and not just one of two.
It is true that we should be very careful with scripture and how we interpret it, Jesus was tempted by Satan using Scripture which was wrongly quoted. Jesus balanced it by quoting scriptures.
I hope I answered your questions, I am gracefully exiting this thread. As I feel there will be a fight soon between doctrines.
What do you believe are the actual requirements for a person to be a child of God, have eternal life, and spend eternity with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What are the actual requirements that make that true for a person... nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else.
GREAT topic!!!
Answer
Acts 16:30-31 .....Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.....
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
OJ
I will leave it to Brother Tozer and Dr Shafer to answer your question.
Instant Christianity tends to make the faith act the terminal (end) and so smother the desire for spiritual advance. It fails to understand the true nature of the Christian life, which is not static but dynamic and expanding.
By trying to pack all of salvation into one experience, or two, the advocates of instant Christianity flaunt the law of development which runs through all nature. They ignore the sanctifying effects of suffering, cross carrying, and practical obedience. They pass by the need for spiritual training, the necessity of forming right religious habits and the need to wrestle against the world, the devil and the flesh. A W Tozer Inadequacy of Instant Christianity
(The work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, called the "new birth" should plainly teach us that this is the beginning and not the end. All of life that is then granted us is a time of growing and maturing, of seeking Him more and more. JCS)
this act of salvation, turning ones rule of their life over to Jesus and reckoning himself dead is just the beginning. this act of faith based on the finished work of Jesus at calvary gives us eternal life. we are birthed by the Holy sSpirit into the family of God and we are in Christ Jesus. thats a very good beginning for success.jimp
Back a zillion years ago in a Sunday school class, my friend Candy Hanes had been listening quietly for several weeks, not asking much until one day she reached for that bottom line. While hell isn't very real in the mind of a teenager, the thought of being there for eternity does give pause. She asked,
"So...What's the least you can do and still go to heaven?"
I still remember Pastor Smith leaning back and roaring with laughter. He recognized that she had cut to the chase and it was the same question many have pondered over the years. In a way, it has been asked here, am I right?
The answers are all correct in some sense. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." "Ye must be born again." "Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden..." There are more of course.
But I would suggest that to get to an answer that carries the security we're looking for another question must be posed.
Remember the rich young ruler who asked the question in his day of the Lord Himself. (Lk 18) "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus has a little conversation where the man answers that he has fulfilled all the basics. But then Jesus asks him for something He knew the man would not give up. He said "Give away all your possessions and follow Me." And as the man went away sorrowfully, Jesus certainly ached for him. The man was willing to give a part, maybe a large part, but he wanted to keep some back for himself. Jesus knew this wouldn't work.
The question that needs to be asked must be preceded by a confession of sins and the asking of forgiveness. It is a heart and mouth affair, with the heart a person believes and with the mouth confession is made. Once that is done here's the question:
"Lord Jesus, what is the most I can do for your Kingdom?"
When your heart and mouth are asking that, you are there. Because everything you have now belongs to Christ and you are willing to endure hell if that pleases Him.
People fear laying their lives down before Jesus because they think He is going to take away something they like. But He is looking for sons, to whom He can give everything He has!
Learn from the rich young ruler who had only the spirit of Esau. "What's in it for me??"
The more I see the contention and the piety of some of the posters here on this forum the more I realize that people just want to be right. It is ridiculous. Jesus said repent and believe. The work is His and we are to follow.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
The more I see the contention and the piety of some of the posters here on this forum the more I realize that people just want to be right. It is ridiculous. Jesus said repent and believe. The work is His and we are to follow.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
The more I see the contention and the piety of some of the posters here on this forum the more I realize that people just want to be right. It is ridiculous. Jesus said repent and believe. The work is His and we are to follow.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
The more I see the contention and the piety of some of the posters here on this forum the more I realize that people just want to be right. It is ridiculous. Jesus said repent and believe. The work is His and we are to follow.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
The more I see the contention and the piety of some of the posters here on this forum the more I realize that people just want to be right. It is ridiculous. Jesus said repent and believe. The work is His and we are to follow.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
Brother Sree, If I may, can I ask your age? I believe our friend jimp's testimony that he gave several days ago really struck a cord with me because his humility shone through his wanderings. Brother maybe you could gleam some wisdom from our older brother.
I am in late 20s. I have not read his testimony but I have read him mention few times about his 40+ years of service. I have all respect for him. I did not have any intention to be harsh at him or disrespect him. Neither I liked him taking my post as my personal interpretation of scripture and accusing me directly, which might not go well with every posters here.
But I cannot agree on his doctrine, simple as it is. I want my doctrine to be purely based on complete scripture. I had a valid argument for his post on 'a mother who keeps waiting for her murder accused son'. But I did not post it because I believe it is not going to benefit anyone, neither is he going to leave his 40+ years of belief nor am I going to fall for a doctrine that does not cover all the scripture. With all respect for him I backed out of the argument. This is one thing I came to know from SI that one can spend all his energy in arguing but no one is going to change.
Regarding the scripture on Jesus in John 3, it is better for us not to add something to what Jesus has already said or make a new meaning that he did not desire to make. It might appear logical to us now, but it is not good at all.
For example Eve added something to what God has said -
‘You shall not eat from it OR TOUCH IT, or you will die.' in Genesis 3-3. God did not say if you touch it you will die. So that was starting of her deception.
I do believe one will have their hands full testifying to the rebirth. As Lisa said according to our Savior's words, "ONE MUST BE BORN AGAIN". Within this, the Gospel is shared. There is no recipe for salvation apart from this or men would commandeer it and attempt to rob God of the birthing, thus resulting in untold numbers of false converts...........Oh wait.
As for the recipe after salvation, is it any different? To whom will one turn, or where will one go, after having been given eyes to see? A born againer has been ruined to this world. It is a process of sanctification from there and to abreviate scripture for the cliff notes can ill be afforded.
Sanctification: I draw from the natural relationship of a father raising his child but a quadrillion times exponentially greater when considering our true Father's work.
"What do you believe are the actual requirements for a person to be a child of God, have eternal life, and spend eternity with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What are the actual requirements that make that true for a person... nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else."
I like the simply gospel.
The requirements: The Beginning
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The Necessities: The Promise
Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the PROMISE of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now SEE and HEAR.
Acts 2:39 For the PROMISE is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Daily Living: Obedience
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
If I were to envy any man that ever lived, it would be the thief on the cross. That man just believed. He wasn't bombarded with all the doctrines of the Church, he just asked Jesus if He would remember him, and Christ offered Him eternal life. I wish I never knew anything about OSAS, the doctrine of the Trinity, the TULIP and all the other, (forgive me) trash.
wow. that was totally right on brother.
If I were to envy any man that ever lived, it would be the thief on the cross. That man just believed.
I understand that you are saying with the context of being stuffed with Doctrines.
But in general one should never envy the thief on the cross. We have higher calling than him. Actually the thief on the cross has to envy us.
If somehow getting to heaven is the only motive of one being a Christian then he should always envy Thief on the cross. But God has called us with something better than just getting into Heaven, he has called us to be like Jesus. The thief on the cross did not get the opportunity to live like Jesus on this earth. He never experienced Holy Spirit and a guiltless living or clear conscience towards God on this earth. By all means we have a higher calling than him, if you understand this you will thank God turly for each and every day you have on this earth to live like Jesus.
"But God has called us with something better than just getting into Heaven."
When I was in living in sin without Jesus, the only thing that was on my mind when I cried out to Him was to be saved from going to hell. That is the greatest thing in the world is to save sinners. If I in this life become more and more like Jesus, then that is just a perk, a bonus for the jounney. But if I spend the rest of my life thanking Jesus for saving me from my sins then the work of the cross has found a resting place.
If being like Jesus is the greatest thing, then being like Jesus is the greatest thing for you. I know within myself I will never be like Jesus. BUT, oh I love that word BUT don't you? But, the SEED that has been planted in me, THAT will be the outshining, the glory that is going to be revealed in us, Christ in you the hope of Glory. I will never be like Jesus, but the Jesus in me will be Himself in me. Just as the Father was in Christ Jesus speaking the words of eternal life and doing the works through Him, He will be the one that speaks through us and does the work through us.
Praise God brother for your words.
This is one of the most beautiful stories of non-works based acknowledgement of faith which that I know of. The only thing that pleases God if faith, for without faith it is impossible to please Him.
The greatest thing in this life is to come to Christ and the thief did just that. Even more beautiful, Christ came to him and received him. "This day, thou shalt be with me in paradise".
I believe all condemnation melted away from the thief and he died with a clear conscience. How could he not? The Holy Spirit ministered to him while he was on the cross. Indeed, that is where God does His greatest work in our lives, when we are on the cross.
Do we know how everything took place from a technical perspective? No. But from a relational perspective we know that when the thief "came to Christ", he was not rejected.
Pilgrim
Great post Pilgrim.
Sree wrote:
He actually says if you are not born again you will not enter the kingdom of God at all. It is not same as what you are saying...I hope you will take this correction with Love.
If it was an actual correction, I would! I promise.
Let’s go to John 3.5-6 and please continue on to John 3.7, Jesus said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again;’” He condenses what he said in verses 5 and 6 to “you must be born again.” How is that not the same? It is!
It seems to me that you just like to argue, condemn and/or correct people over semantics and I hope you take that lovingly, my brother!! :)
God bless you,
Lisa
When I was in living in sin without Jesus, the only thing that was on my mind when I cried out to Him was to be saved from going to hell. That is the greatest thing in the world is to save sinners. If I in this life become more and more like Jesus, then that is just a perk, a bonus for the journey. But if I spend the rest of my life thanking Jesus for saving me from my sins then the work of the cross has found a resting place.
I want to tell a story, there was a man who was infected by Cancer. Each and everyday the Cancer was spreading in him, making him weak. He knew that if he continues like this he will die.
One day he met a fake doctor who told him that he has a medicine that will prevent him from dying of Cancer. This man accepted the medicine and had it every day. The cancer kept spreading in him making him weak. But he kept believing that he will not die because he is taking the medicine given by this fake doctor. This man thought that this how his life is supposed to be and kept accepting the cancer infected life and thought he will never be relieved.
Now in this story the Cancer is the sin of man, medicine Gospel and the fake doctor was an evangelist who did not know the complete Gospel and death is Going to Hell.
One day he met another doctor who saw his medicines and said that this is not the complete treatment he has received and he has been deceived so long and the truth is Medicine has a cure to Cancer that will totally remove it from him. When the patient heard this news he was so happy and he immediately accepted the treatment and lived happily without Cancer. How stupid will the patient be if he did not believe the Real doctor and keep trusting on the fake doctor who made the patient believe (for so many years) that he can never be cured?
It is not wrong to believe in an incomplete Gospel that says getting Saved means we will go from Hell to Heaven. It is because one can only believe what he has been told by evangelists and Churches. But when one is shown the complete Gospel which is stated in the very first promise of New Covenant -
Matthew 1-21:-She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for [w]He will save His people from their sins.
This is Salvation to be freed from Sin. And it is possible, all we need is to believe and seek.
I am not writing this post to prove anyone wrong. Just shared a story that Holy Spirit reminded me. Please forgive me if I have hurt anyone.
[quote Solomon 101]What do you believe are the actual requirements for a person to be a child of God, have eternal life, and spend eternity with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Jn 3:14-21 Jesus speaking to Nicodemus
14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
God was displeased with the sinfulness with His people of the exodus that Moses led out from Egypt, they were very rebellious, their hearts were hardened, they had no faith in God. So God sent out deadly poisonous snakes to bite them that they may die.
Our God is a merciful God, and God extended His mercy to all the people that they may not die from the snakes bites. He told Moses to hold up his Serpent staff, and all the peoples were informed that God said that every person dying from the snake bites will not die, but live, if they look upon the Serpent Staff that Moses was holding up for all to see. All who by faith in God looked upon the Serpent Staff Moses was holding up, God delivered them from death, they were saved from impending death, they lived. By their faith they were saved and received this gift of life from God.
All those who did not believe God and did not look upon the Serpent Staff, lacking faith in God, forfeited God's gift of life, they died.
We all sinned, me and all you reading this, and all other humans, except Jesus, we are sinners, and are worthy of death.
Jesus tells us: Jn 3:14-15
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." NASU
Jesus kept the entire Mosaic Law. Being sinless, Jesus became our unblemished Lamb, whose blood shed on the cross, takes away our sins for all time, so that we, by faith, believe Jesus and accept Jesus shed blood as covering for all our sins, past - present - and future, then we have met God's requirement, for by believing God, by this faith in receiving God's GIFT of eternal life, we HAVE inherited eternal life, being sealed by THE HOLY SPIRIT (HE WHO IS US IS STRONGER THAN he who is in the world), TILL THE DAY OF REDEMPTION, we await the bridegroom who is preparing a room for us in His KINGDOM. Once sealed by the Holy Spirit, we are saved. He who is in us, The Holy Spirit, is greater than he who is the world. No one can take away our salvation.
THIS IS HOW AMAZINGLY EASY GOD MADE IT FOR US TO BE SAVED.
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 " He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 " For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." NASU
You and I, we have already come to the Light, and we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit who dwells in each of us, God in us, working God's will in us. The Holy Spirit is our Helper. He even prays for us when we do not know what we should pray for.
Thank you for the story about Cancer.
I understand completely what you have tried to convey.
Just to be clear though. The very first time I came to Jesus I was young boy. A Sunday School teacher told me about Him, I loved that woman. Christ had been planted in my heart. The work of the Spirit had already began though I understood nothing at this point in fact I didn't even know who Jesus was until I was 15 while reading the bible for the first time. There drowning in tears I fell in love with Jesus Christ. I needed to know Him for the years that followed as I was about to drown in my own sin. The cancer that was in me was eating me up but the SEED was also at work eating up the cancer. I lacked knowledge on what Christ did on the cross therefore I lived a defeated life. Through my life of sin God never abandoned me, not once. I was very much a believer that stumbled many many times and couldn't understand why I was being driven in all sorts of directions. In all instances of crying out to Him He saved me from every situation, even when I thought that the best thing for me to do was to go all hog into the world of sin He always sent someone to minister grace unto me and I always turned back toward Him, even though the cancer of sin was strong, His grace that compelled me was stronger, and besides, I wanted Him and He knows that.
Thanks for explaining that Brother in story form, I like reading of stories of that nature. :-)
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