BruceD, of YBMT.org, recently asked the question "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Well, presuming for a moment that the Bible is meant to be taken as literally as most evangelicals seem to believe, what does it say that I have to do (and avoid) in order to go to heaven and not get sent to hell? Here are some of the requirements I've managed to find in Scripture so far:
- Say the right things.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified. -- Matthew 12:37
- Do the right things and avoid doing the wrong things.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life. -- John 5:29
For you render to each one according to his works. -- Psalm 62:12
When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness ... and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul. -- Ezekiel 18:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Matthew 16.27
Who will render to each one according to his deeds. ... For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. -- Romans 2:6, 13
For we must all appear before the jugment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. -- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. -- 2 Corinthians 11:15
The Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work. -- 1 Peter 1:17
I will give unto every one of you according to your works. -- Revelation 2:23
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. -- Revelation 20:12-13
- Feed the hungry, give beverages to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. -- Matthew 25:34-36
- Have faith.
A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. -- Romans 3:28
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. -- Romans 5:1
A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. -- Galatians 2:16
For by grace are ye saved through faith. -- Ephesians 2:8
- Have faith and do works.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:17
- Believe in Jesus.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -- John 3:16
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life -- John 3:36
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. -- Acts 16:31
- Just ask.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.-- Matthew 7:7-8
- Be born again.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. -- John 3:3
- Hear the words of Jesus and believe in whoever sent him.
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. -- John 5:24
- Be born of water and the spirit.
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. -- John 3:5
- Be washed by the Holy Ghost.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. -- Titus 3:5
- Be converted and become like a little child.
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. -- Matthew 18:3
- Believe and be baptized.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. -- Mark 16:16
- Call upon the name of the Lord.
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. -- Acts 2:21
- Confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
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. -- Romans 10:9
- Follow the commandments (at least some of them).
If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. -- Matthew 19:17-19
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life. -- Revelation 22:14
- Keep the commandments (at least some of them), sell everything you own, give all your money to the poor, and follow Jesus.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ... Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
...lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.-- Luke 18:18-22
- Be poor, not rich.
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. -- Matthew 19:23-24
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. -- Luke 6:24
Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. -- James 5:1
- Keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. -- Revelation 14:12
- Endure to the end.
He that endureth to the end shall be saved. -- Matthew 10:22, 24:13, Mark 13:13
- Don't judge other people.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. -- Matthew 7:1, Lk.6:37
- Have lots of babies (if you're a woman) and make sure they don't backslide when they grow up.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. -- 1 Timothy 2:14-15
- Be given by the Father and come to the Son.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. -- John 6:37
- Be chosen (predestinated) by God.
For many are called, but few are chosen. -- Matthew 22:14
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate ... Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.-- Romans 8:29-30
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. -- Romans 9:11
He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us ... according to the good pleasure of his will. -- Ephesians 1:4-5
- Be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees.
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. -- Matthew 5:20
- Eat Jesus' body and drink his blood.
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. -- John 6:53-54
- Don't blaspheme the Holy Ghost.
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. -- Luke 12:10
- Mutilate your body whenever it offends you.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. -- Mark 9:43-48
Okay, that's all I could come up with for now, but I'm sure I missed some so I hope somebody can fill me in on the rest because I don't want to risk going to that place where I have a worm that doesn't die (no idea what that means but it doesn't sound fun) and there's a fire that isn't quenched.
The above list should get us asking ourselves why we choose certain Bible verses over others when it comes to salvation (not to mention everything else, but we'll focus on soteriology for now). Many of those verses, if taken literally, contradict each other, yet seem to clearly tell us that the requirements in each verse is necessary for salvation. Many Christians take the last half of Mark 9:43-48 literally when they want to prove that there is an everlasting torture chamber called hell, for instance, and yet they don't seem to take the first half very seriously or else we'd see a lot more blind and disabled Christians. So, what reasons do we use to justify picking the particular verses we prefer when it comes to soteriology and deciding that the rest of the verses are not meant to be taken literally?
Well, presuming for a moment that the Bible is meant to be taken as literally as most evangelicals seem to believe, what does it say that I have to do (and avoid) in order to go to heaven and not get sent to hell? Here are some of the requirements I've managed to find in Scripture so far:
- Say the right things.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified. -- Matthew 12:37
- Do the right things and avoid doing the wrong things.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life. -- John 5:29
For you render to each one according to his works. -- Psalm 62:12
When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness ... and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul. -- Ezekiel 18:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Matthew 16.27
Who will render to each one according to his deeds. ... For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. -- Romans 2:6, 13
For we must all appear before the jugment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. -- 2 Corinthians 5:10
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. -- 2 Corinthians 11:15
The Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work. -- 1 Peter 1:17
I will give unto every one of you according to your works. -- Revelation 2:23
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. -- Revelation 20:12-13
- Feed the hungry, give beverages to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those in prison.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. -- Matthew 25:34-36
- Have faith.
A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. -- Romans 3:28
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. -- Romans 5:1
A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. -- Galatians 2:16
For by grace are ye saved through faith. -- Ephesians 2:8
- Have faith and do works.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:17
- Believe in Jesus.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. -- John 3:16
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life -- John 3:36
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. -- Acts 16:31
- Just ask.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.-- Matthew 7:7-8
- Be born again.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. -- John 3:3
- Hear the words of Jesus and believe in whoever sent him.
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. -- John 5:24
- Be born of water and the spirit.
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. -- John 3:5
- Be washed by the Holy Ghost.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. -- Titus 3:5
- Be converted and become like a little child.
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. -- Matthew 18:3
- Believe and be baptized.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. -- Mark 16:16
- Call upon the name of the Lord.
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. -- Acts 2:21
- Confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
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. -- Romans 10:9
- Follow the commandments (at least some of them).
If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. -- Matthew 19:17-19
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life. -- Revelation 22:14
- Keep the commandments (at least some of them), sell everything you own, give all your money to the poor, and follow Jesus.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ... Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
...lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.-- Luke 18:18-22
- Be poor, not rich.
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. -- Matthew 19:23-24
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. -- Luke 6:24
Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. -- James 5:1
- Keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. -- Revelation 14:12
- Endure to the end.
He that endureth to the end shall be saved. -- Matthew 10:22, 24:13, Mark 13:13
- Don't judge other people.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. -- Matthew 7:1, Lk.6:37
- Have lots of babies (if you're a woman) and make sure they don't backslide when they grow up.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. -- 1 Timothy 2:14-15
- Be given by the Father and come to the Son.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. -- John 6:37
- Be chosen (predestinated) by God.
For many are called, but few are chosen. -- Matthew 22:14
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate ... Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.-- Romans 8:29-30
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. -- Romans 9:11
He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us ... according to the good pleasure of his will. -- Ephesians 1:4-5
- Be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees.
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. -- Matthew 5:20
- Eat Jesus' body and drink his blood.
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. -- John 6:53-54
- Don't blaspheme the Holy Ghost.
And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven. -- Luke 12:10
- Mutilate your body whenever it offends you.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. -- Mark 9:43-48
Okay, that's all I could come up with for now, but I'm sure I missed some so I hope somebody can fill me in on the rest because I don't want to risk going to that place where I have a worm that doesn't die (no idea what that means but it doesn't sound fun) and there's a fire that isn't quenched.
The above list should get us asking ourselves why we choose certain Bible verses over others when it comes to salvation (not to mention everything else, but we'll focus on soteriology for now). Many of those verses, if taken literally, contradict each other, yet seem to clearly tell us that the requirements in each verse is necessary for salvation. Many Christians take the last half of Mark 9:43-48 literally when they want to prove that there is an everlasting torture chamber called hell, for instance, and yet they don't seem to take the first half very seriously or else we'd see a lot more blind and disabled Christians. So, what reasons do we use to justify picking the particular verses we prefer when it comes to soteriology and deciding that the rest of the verses are not meant to be taken literally?
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11 comments:
I get your point, but I think you're quite obviously seperating many of these concepts when they very apparently don't need to be treated as separate (simply because, for instance, a synonym is used or whatever). The best way to lose an argument is to overstate it. Makes you look like you don't have a good point, if you seem to need to do jiggery pokery to make it. You do and don't.
Can you elaborate a little? Not that I think you're necessarily wrong, I'm just curious which passages you're referring to?
Hence the 20,000 denominations. Most of us, at one time, believed what our faith heritage taught us. I am in the Churches of Christ, they teach you must be baptized by immersion for the forgiveness of your sins. That's what was taught too me. You can manipulate anything, rip things out of context and obtain a doctrine. Its too confusing, faith alone, grace alone, faith plus works. No wonder many fall away in their faith, its so confusing. Did you ever notice, if you take Jesus' words literally, you miss the point?
Sorry, I know I am all over the place with my response.
Sorry, I know I am all over the place with my response.
Not at all. Your response was right on target.
Good post, Drew. Sometimes, I think the bible is more of a distraction from the truth than it is a pointer to the truth. I wonder why "God" wound do that? No wonder people are so confused about their relationship with God... and so full of doubt and fear.
Sometimes, I think the bible is more of a distraction from the truth than it is a pointer to the truth. I wonder why "God" wound do that?
My first thought is, "because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand."
I have a theory that God is not ready for the majority of the world (which includes most people in the Church) to fully understand "the truth" just yet.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Considering that Scripture was penned by 40-odd people, over a time frame of 4000 years, using two (and occasionally a 3rd) languages, I think it's easy to see how one could run into interpretational problems, if you wanted to go looking for them.
In order to have the best understanding, you'd need to comprehend the ways in which certain words were used during the specific time-frame during which they were penned. You'd have to know (since writing on scrolls did not lend itself to as much babble as we will generate here -- they wanted to get stuff said with as little parchment as possible) what the penmen considered 'obvious', and without need for explanation again, in conjunction with their time-frame.
So if you can't understand how it is that any fool who takes a verse here, and a verse there, at their whim, can put together an essay that says anything they want it to -- then perhaps your mental acuity is not up to the task of trying to figure it all out on your own!
The fact that when Jesus spoke to the people, He spoke mostly in parables should also be noteworthy. Obviously, many were going to 'hear' the 'good news' (gospel), and yet not learn from it!
If God wanted everyone to be frightened into compliance, would it not be a simple matter, to rather than just hit Paul with a sudden inability to see, and put a conversation in his head, to have done that to ALL living beings at the time, and then have them simply spread the word?
And as time went by, and people exaggerated or altered that which happened, why not just schedule repeat performances say every 100 years? (If you don't think thats necessary, sit in on any trial where eye witnesses are being used.)
It seems to me, that God did not give us 'freedom to choose', only to give us such clear proof, that only those incapable of logical thought could be lost.
So all this aside, if you are truly looking to understand the Word of God, then, as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 - 7:28) instructs... pray and ask for understanding, and according to Scripture, He will answer you!
If you're not sure how to pray, read Matthew 6:5-15. It's all important, but please don't skip verse 7, and figure you can repeat the example 10 times, and you're good to go! You have a mind that your Creator gave to you! Use it, and talk to Him! Ask Him what baffles you! Ask Him what is important to you!
I will quote specifically (from the NKJ) Matthew 7:7-12. And it would be a good idea to read the whole sermon, and hopefully you will agree that the context of the passage as a whole, is that material things for us as flesh-and-blood people, with a definite time limit to sort it all out (ie: we are all destined to die) do not matter nearly as much as questions of a spiritual nature!
Matthew 7:7-12:
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
All I can say, is that when I was given a bible, even though at the time, I scoffed at religion and my opinion was summed up by 'Religion is a moral crutch some people need to stay on the straight and narrow', I really wanted to understand what I was reading.
Having read it front to back, I can honestly say that I see a single message, fluent and convincing, from a number of different angles, each making the whole a bit clearer!
Now, obviously I'm not a scholar. I did not nit-pick on the many different nuances of words -- much more learning awaits! But the core of the message -- to wit, what must I do to be saved? I find is answered completely!
My advice is simply... pray for understanding, and then read it. When you do not understand a section, re-read until you do. And if you can't, then come back to it later, and see if you can fit it into the whole yet.
For me, the content seems quite clear. What was a far greater hurdle for me, was what guarantee I had that what I was reading was inspired of God, and left behind so we might be able to learn of our Creator!
could all of these various instructions for salvation, mean that there are many methods that will work, and each individual doesn't need to fulfill all of them? could it be a tribute to the wideness of God, rather than a list where we must each check them all off for ourselves?
could all of these various instructions for salvation, mean that there are many methods that will work, and each individual doesn't need to fulfill all of them? could it be a tribute to the wideness of God, rather than a list where we must each check them all off for ourselves?
It's possible, although I lean more towards the idea that not all of the references to "salvation" and "justification" in Scripture are referring to the same thing. Also, since I'm not an inerrantist I'm okay with the idea that some of the above passages are just plain wrong (at least from a literalist perspective).
And by the way, glad to see you found my new site. :)
I'm glad to see you stirring it up, you antagonist. :D
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