Many ways to salvation?
Many ways to salvation? Do all religions focus on salvation in a similar but different way?
Before i go any further i would like each one to know that i am not a fanatic christian trying to convert others. Now everyone who will disagree with me have their own beliefs and i do respect that. Which religion and what "propoganda"(as many put it) they want to accept and follow is upto them.
I am blogging on what i believe.
This blog has members of 3-4 religions and i am not forcing anything on anybody nor am i indirectly trying to "shoot someone down".This started off with paz and myself having another one of those sessions on Religion,etc.. These sessions usualy end in one of us saying " Dude just let it be... its been a week of argument.... rather leave it at - you-have-your-beliefs-i-have-mine" We have always agreed to disagree.
How can things which differ radically on major points be the same? Yes, there are some similarities, but they are far outweighed by the differences. Some people say thereis a grey side to every story . In reality, there is only one side, the truth, and everything else is a lie. Some people think it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you really believe it. What if you believe a lie? Just because you really believe something does that make it true?
Truth is independent of opinion.
In the Gospels, Jesus used the phrase "I tell you the truth" 80 times.
He also said, "I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
John 18:37
Jesus either spoke the truth or he spoke lies.
If there isnt a God and the Bible does not contain actual words which came from God, then the Bible is the biggest lie that has ever been befallen on humanity. On the other hand, if it is true the Bible contains spoken words from God, it is the most valuable book mankind has ever seen.
The Bible is called the Word of God for a reason. No other book in the world claims to contain direct quotes from the mouth of God. It is interesting how the majority of the people accept most of the written literature of antiquity without question or second thought. But when it comes to the Bible, they unitedly declare it cannot be trusted without examining the evidence or facts. When it comes to facts which can be verified, the Bible is flawless. No one has ever been able to disprove the truth of the Bible. Thousands of years of scrutiny have amounted to nothing more than fruitless searches and converted skeptics. It is intriguing how the people who are the most vocal opponents of the Bible are the same ones who know virtually nothing about it. How do you really know the Bible is God's Word? First of all, the Bible contains advanced wisdom which mankind had no way of knowing or proving until recently. Secondly, and most importantly, prophecy. Unlike human prophecy, which is nothing more than mere predictions about what might happen in the future, prophecy to God is a promise of what is certain to take place in the future.
The religions which believe in heaven state you can only get there by working for it and trying to live a good life.
You earn your salvation by making yourself worthy enough, but the God of the Bible says you are saved by his grace through faith in what he has done for you. If you can save yourself, Christ died for nothing. If you can work for your salvation, Jesus would have never needed to come to earth and lay down his life. It's human pride that makes one think they can earn entrance into heaven. God hates pride because it is the number one thing preventing people from knowing him and accepting his mercy.
If you could save yourself why would we need a God to save us? You wouldnt need him in this life on earth and we could do all the stuff we wanted to. If you as a human had any part in salvation you would be full of pride and boastfull. You would worship yourself. God has created us for a reason - to glorify him.All creations have a common God- centered goal. God wants all the glory and praise ( i mean hes GOD, afterall!!)This is why salvation must be all grace.
Now if you would go to ask any muslim if he would go to heaven when he dies ... he would say no ( to be honest with himself i.e) Muhammand himslef said that even if he had one leg in heaven he still wouldnt trust Allah to let himin. He says that The only way to go to heaven is "Jihad"They have no assurance because their religion depends on the person gaining enough merits or good points. How can you ever know for sure you have done enough good deeds to get to heaven?Or your just going to heavenm because you have visited a holy place?(Mecca).You can't. You could never know. There is a lot of talk about peace these days, but the fact is there is no true, lasting peace without the assurance of salvation.
You have a promise from God, who cannot lie, that if you accept the sacrifice he made for you and turn from your sins, you will live with him forever in heaven when you die. This is true joy and true peace!
If you were to choose your faith based on the assurance of salvation alone, you would only have one choice. Faith in Christ is about God reaching out to you and doing for you what you could never do for yourself. God's requirement to enter heaven is perfection, and you can only be made perfect by God. All other religions involve people attempting to earn God's favor and mercy through living a good life. Make no mistake about it, living a holy life is very important but believers do good deeds because they are already on their way to heaven not because they hope to go there one day.
Lastly and most importantly, when you become a true believer in the one and only God of the universe, he places his Holy Spirit inside your body.
This point cannot be emphasized enough. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, God's Spirit supernaturally inhabits your mortal body. The Holy Spirit who resurrected Christ from the dead is the same Spirit who gives you eternal life. Jesus said no one can enter heaven unless they are born of the Spirit. If you are counting on anything other than the cross of Christ to get you into heaven, you will be eternally disappointed. I realize this point of view is not politically correct, but I am more interested in being biblically correct. We live in a world where all roads lead to heaven. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way.
(thanks a million Beni,for helping me on this and encouraging me. God knows I needed it)
This topic contd. -> Click here
-Oscar Abraham Varghese, in other words-
Before i go any further i would like each one to know that i am not a fanatic christian trying to convert others. Now everyone who will disagree with me have their own beliefs and i do respect that. Which religion and what "propoganda"(as many put it) they want to accept and follow is upto them.
I am blogging on what i believe.
This blog has members of 3-4 religions and i am not forcing anything on anybody nor am i indirectly trying to "shoot someone down".This started off with paz and myself having another one of those sessions on Religion,etc.. These sessions usualy end in one of us saying " Dude just let it be... its been a week of argument.... rather leave it at - you-have-your-beliefs-i-have-mine" We have always agreed to disagree.
How can things which differ radically on major points be the same? Yes, there are some similarities, but they are far outweighed by the differences. Some people say thereis a grey side to every story . In reality, there is only one side, the truth, and everything else is a lie. Some people think it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you really believe it. What if you believe a lie? Just because you really believe something does that make it true?
Truth is independent of opinion.
In the Gospels, Jesus used the phrase "I tell you the truth" 80 times.
He also said, "I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
John 18:37
Jesus either spoke the truth or he spoke lies.
If there isnt a God and the Bible does not contain actual words which came from God, then the Bible is the biggest lie that has ever been befallen on humanity. On the other hand, if it is true the Bible contains spoken words from God, it is the most valuable book mankind has ever seen.
The Bible is called the Word of God for a reason. No other book in the world claims to contain direct quotes from the mouth of God. It is interesting how the majority of the people accept most of the written literature of antiquity without question or second thought. But when it comes to the Bible, they unitedly declare it cannot be trusted without examining the evidence or facts. When it comes to facts which can be verified, the Bible is flawless. No one has ever been able to disprove the truth of the Bible. Thousands of years of scrutiny have amounted to nothing more than fruitless searches and converted skeptics. It is intriguing how the people who are the most vocal opponents of the Bible are the same ones who know virtually nothing about it. How do you really know the Bible is God's Word? First of all, the Bible contains advanced wisdom which mankind had no way of knowing or proving until recently. Secondly, and most importantly, prophecy. Unlike human prophecy, which is nothing more than mere predictions about what might happen in the future, prophecy to God is a promise of what is certain to take place in the future.
The religions which believe in heaven state you can only get there by working for it and trying to live a good life.
You earn your salvation by making yourself worthy enough, but the God of the Bible says you are saved by his grace through faith in what he has done for you. If you can save yourself, Christ died for nothing. If you can work for your salvation, Jesus would have never needed to come to earth and lay down his life. It's human pride that makes one think they can earn entrance into heaven. God hates pride because it is the number one thing preventing people from knowing him and accepting his mercy.
If you could save yourself why would we need a God to save us? You wouldnt need him in this life on earth and we could do all the stuff we wanted to. If you as a human had any part in salvation you would be full of pride and boastfull. You would worship yourself. God has created us for a reason - to glorify him.All creations have a common God- centered goal. God wants all the glory and praise ( i mean hes GOD, afterall!!)This is why salvation must be all grace.
Now if you would go to ask any muslim if he would go to heaven when he dies ... he would say no ( to be honest with himself i.e) Muhammand himslef said that even if he had one leg in heaven he still wouldnt trust Allah to let himin. He says that The only way to go to heaven is "Jihad"They have no assurance because their religion depends on the person gaining enough merits or good points. How can you ever know for sure you have done enough good deeds to get to heaven?Or your just going to heavenm because you have visited a holy place?(Mecca).You can't. You could never know. There is a lot of talk about peace these days, but the fact is there is no true, lasting peace without the assurance of salvation.
You have a promise from God, who cannot lie, that if you accept the sacrifice he made for you and turn from your sins, you will live with him forever in heaven when you die. This is true joy and true peace!
If you were to choose your faith based on the assurance of salvation alone, you would only have one choice. Faith in Christ is about God reaching out to you and doing for you what you could never do for yourself. God's requirement to enter heaven is perfection, and you can only be made perfect by God. All other religions involve people attempting to earn God's favor and mercy through living a good life. Make no mistake about it, living a holy life is very important but believers do good deeds because they are already on their way to heaven not because they hope to go there one day.
Lastly and most importantly, when you become a true believer in the one and only God of the universe, he places his Holy Spirit inside your body.
This point cannot be emphasized enough. When you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, God's Spirit supernaturally inhabits your mortal body. The Holy Spirit who resurrected Christ from the dead is the same Spirit who gives you eternal life. Jesus said no one can enter heaven unless they are born of the Spirit. If you are counting on anything other than the cross of Christ to get you into heaven, you will be eternally disappointed. I realize this point of view is not politically correct, but I am more interested in being biblically correct. We live in a world where all roads lead to heaven. Unfortunately, it just doesn't work that way.
Yes there are two ways to get to USA. But there is only one way to get to Heaven. If not, then God would have never sent Jesus to die on the cross.
In closing, let me add...in all of history, there has only been one man who claimed to be God, who told the world that he was God's son, that he would suffer death, and that he would rise again after three days. The only man that actually uttered the words, "your sin has been forgiven" and the only man that could utter those words without being a blasphemer. This one man's death has changed the course of history, even dating time, more wars have been fought in his name, and more hospitals and schools have been built in his name. Either this man was a lunatic, a first class freak, if you will. OR, this man actually was who he claimed to be...the Son of God, the one and only way to the Father, in which case we must accept His words as true and attempt to live by His teachings, ready to give even our lives for the sake of the Gospel. The decision now is yours...
(thanks a million Beni,for helping me on this and encouraging me. God knows I needed it)
This topic contd. -> Click here
-Oscar Abraham Varghese, in other words-
posted by Oscar Varghese at 12:23 AM
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