The Truth: Jesus Said: I Am The Way, The Truth, And The Life. John 14:6

No one comes to God but through Him. Those are His words. These are His Words also:

5Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
6In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”
Hewbrews 10:5-7

He also wrote through Paul:

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [b]robbery to be equal with God, 7 but [c]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11

Let us not forget:

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

The Truth: 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:10-16

It was never nails that held Jesus to the cross but His love for us that held Him there. This is the Truth that was recorded by those who witnessed it.

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SkeetSkeet · 100+, F

Many times, people who have strayed away from living for Christ, say that they think they have lost their salvation. When asked what makes them say this, they reply that they got involved in some sort of sin, like adultery or drug use. When asked how will they get their salvation back, they reply by saying they need to stop being unfaithful to their spouse or stop using drugs. The question is... Did they get saved the first time by faith or good works? Nearly everyone says they got saved by faith and acknowledge that good works does not save them. If they got saved by faith the first time, then why would their works be good enough to save them the second, third, or fourth times? It doesn't. If the Apostle Paul said he was the chief of sinners, how many times a day did he lose his salvation and get it back (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Timothy 1:15-17)? See this ridiculous concept, that we could somehow earn our own way to heaven? This should convict us, that whenever we sin as believers, it does not mean that we are going to hell because of it.

The danger of the belief that one can lose their salvation every time they sin, is that the believer has no assurance of salvation and no trust in God, who is the One who keeps us saved, according to God's promises. They will always be wondering if they are in right standing with God, if they are not living a perfectly holy life. Jesus knows we cannot live a perfect life, as He did, and He doesn't expect us to. Jesus paid for our sins once and for all. He doesn't have to die on the cross, every time we sin. Once was enough! The power of Jesus' blood, and His work of atonement for our sins, that He accomplished on the cross, is not so weak or watered down that it has to be repeated, in order to keep us saved. Many fear that if they have not repented of any sin they committed, and then suddenly die, they would end up in hell. Where is faith in that? Jesus doesn't want us living in fear. The given Holy Spirit upon receiving Christ as Savior, is not a Spirit of fear, but security for the believer. We should be convicted to examine ourselves when we are caught up in sinful life styles, and we will not want to repeat our sins, but if we truly believe Jesus saved our soul, we will have no doubt about where we will be, when we take our last breath on earth (1 John 5:13).

What makes us think that we have the power or right, to tell the Holy Spirit to leave, after Christ purchased us with His blood? (Ecclesiastes 8:8; John 10:26-29; Acts 20:27-28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:5-14)

People that are confused by this understanding of security in Christ, in many cases, have not really trusted Christ as their Savior, as their focus is based on having to keep the law, in order to keep their salvation. What a miserable way to live. Once they understand that their salvation and eternal security is NOT based on their performance, but on God's promise to keep us saved, it is amazing to see the change that God makes in their life because of their newfound assurance of salvation and knowledge that they know they have eternal life (1 John 5:13). Praise be to God! Salvation is given freely and each believer is forever spiritually stamped and sealed by the Holy Spirit and God's grace (UN-earned favor from God). If grace depended on our cooperation, it would no longer be grace. Jesus said, "Come as you are. I will in no way, turn you away."

"For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast!" Ephesians 2:8–9

Boast of what? That he saved himself! We are born with a sinful nature. We cannot forgive our own sins. Only Jesus who is sinless, can do that. That is why God the Father appointed and approved Jesus as the only one worthy enough to be called Savior of the world.

We do not change God. God and His Word, transforms us, by His Holy Spirit, upon inviting Jesus, our only Mediator [1 Timothy 2:5] between God and man, into our hearts and lives, to be our Savior. Only then, will the Holy Spirit dwell in us, according to God's promises in His Living Word.

Our sins were paid for by Jesus' death on the cross. By accepting his payment and believing in Him, we can be forgiven; we don't have to earn our way into heaven...which is a good thing, because we can't do it. We don't have to do one thing to earn God's love or favor. He already loves us. Scripture tells us that Christ is the only way to God the Father, because without the forgiveness that comes through Jesus', there's simply no way for us to be able to stand before a Holy God. Jesus, the perfect and sinless Son of God, was the only one qualified to offer Himself as payment for our sins.

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Adstar · 56-60, M

@SkeetSkeet [quote]many times, people who have strayed away from living for Christ, say that they think they have lost their salvation. When asked what makes them say this, they reply that they got involved in some sort of sin, like adultery or drug use. When asked how will they get their salvation back, they reply by saying they need to stop being unfaithful to their spouse or stop using drugs. The question is... Did they get saved the first time by faith or good works?[/quote]

From my experience of engaging in forum based discussions with people who self identify as being Christians this Works based religous mindset Dominates... Sadly i think most ""Christians"" are not Christians at all.. Christianity seems to be riddled with Works salvation denominations, Works salvation preachers, and works salvation believers.. So the verse that pops into my head often when dealing with these people is..

(Proverbs 14:12) "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@Adstar [quote]From my experience of engaging in forum based discussions with people who self identify as being Christians this Works based religous mindset Dominates... Sadly i think most ""Christians"" are not Christians at all.. Christianity seems to be riddled with Works salvation denominations, Works salvation preachers, and works salvation believers.. So the verse that pops into my head often when dealing with these people is.. [/quote]

I'm heartily sorry that you've had bad experiences with religious people calling themselves Christians and making you think that you need to earn your way into heaven. We can't add to what Jesus did on the cross to pay for our sins. Salvation is a free gift from God and no man or woman can purchase it with good works. Jesus paid the full price once and for all. All we need to do is believe.

SkeetSkeet · 100+, F

@Adstar The only reason Jesus was worthy enough to forgive us of our sins, was because He is without sin, spotless, without error and cannot lie. He is perfect in all ways.

What Does the Bible Say About Jesus Being Perfect?

For our sake, Jesus became sin (took our sins upon himself), who knew no sin, so that in him (Jesus), we might become the righteousness of God. That means rescued, saved, forgiven, and our sins forgotten! It is important to note that God the Father did not force Jesus to do this. He volunteered to pay for our sins on the cross for us. And while some may not take that seriously, Jesus took our soul's fate,very seriously.

"For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:34-38

Jesus became man, so that we would know that he understands our every emotion and need.

Jesus Was Tempted In Every Way, Yet Without Sin

(Hebrews 4:15) “For we do not have a High Priest, who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15) One of the things that helps us relate to Jesus as a personal Savior, is that there is nothing that we have not gone through, that Jesus has not gone through and experienced himself, when he lived as a man on Earth for 33 years.

Sin Results in Consequences.

Sin, not God, brings death to humans. Sins do bring consequences and that is because God hates sin so much, (but NOT THE PERSON) because sin KEEPS people separated from him and away from heaven, until they repent, then this brings us back into fellowship with God the Father. He never wants to lose a soul to hell, and if man had not sinned in the first place, he never would have experienced death. But sin brought death to us, until Jesus saves us.

Origin: (Romans 6:23): "For the wages/payment for sin is death; however.... the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." The free gift of eternal life means we cannot earn or work for, or be good enough to earn our way to Heaven by ourselves. It just cannot be done, because we have sin and we cannot forgive our own sins. That takes a pure sacrifice, Jesus. In the old days they used to sacrifice lambs as payment for sins to their God, until Jesus died on the cross. After that, everything changed, because the lamb was not a complete enough sacrifice and then Jesus became what we call "the Lamb of God" who takes away the sins of the world, the ultimate and final sacrifice for sins, once and for all time.

LadyGrace ·

These are really good verses, brother. I love your last paragraph.

Convivial · 26-30, F

So all those people before Christ came along, or of different religions or no religion are going to burn in hell?

Still sounds like blackmail to me from a very uncaring and capricious deity

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GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@CestManan [quote]So all those people before Christ came along, or of different religions or no religion are going to burn in hell?[/quote]

That is not what His Word says. God never cares about man made religion, He only cares that people obey Him and walk in the light as He is in the light. Religion cannot save mankind, only Jesus Christ can save mankind.

Convivial · 26-30, F

@GodSpeed63 in other words, yes they will

GodSpeed63 · 61-69, M

@Convivial [quote]in other words, yes they will[/quote]

In other words, it's up to us who goes into hell and who doesn't. It was that way in the Old Testament and it's this way now. We decide who goes to hell and who doesn't by doing one simple act: reject Christ and we choose to go to hell, receive Christ and we choose to enter into God's kingdom of heaven.