Joe Alward writes,
Mouthy, there is no "salvation," if by that you mean living in some spiritual sense after your death. There's zero evidence of any type of life after death, or any type of "heaven," unless you count the "evidence" that exists in the imagination of hopeful people. Furthermore, if you're looking for a salvation prescription in the Bible, you won't find it; there exists in the Bible a mass of confliction opinions on how one is saved, so we cannot believe any of them. Here is a sample of what you'll find:
Save Yourself with Good Works Jesus says that one will inherit eternal life if one does the following things: Obey the commandments, and give to the poor all that one owns. Thus, by doing these good things, one gains salvation.
18 A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: `Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' " 21 "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said. 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
(Luke 18:18-22)
Good Works Dont Gain Salvation
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)
8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. (2 Timothy 1:8-9
Love Your Neighbor to Go to Heaven
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself.' " 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live. (Luke 10:25-28) Faith is Not Enough
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:14)
Have Faith and Be Baptize d
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved , but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16)
Predestinatio n
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (Ephesians 1:3-6)
So, you see, Mouthy, some writers think faith alone is enough for salvation, while others think one must not only have faith, but also do good works. For another, doing good work alone (giving all your money away) is sufficient to go to heaven. Finally, one author thinks it was all decided before the time of creation which names would appear in the book of the saved. It's all nonsense, Mouthy.
In my opinion, if you're looking for a rule to follow, adopt the attitude of the writer in Ecclesiastes, who wrote
"Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.
"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. All share a common destiny--the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good man, so with the sinner; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them. This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all.
"For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
"Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do...Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love " ( Ecclesiastes 9:1-11NIV)
In my opinion, you have one life to live, and you should live it without worrying about a nonexistent "salvation."
........................
Defining "grace":
Grace : The divine favor toward man; the mercy of God, as distinguished from His justice; also, any benefits His mercy imparts; divine love or pardon; a state of acceptance with God; enjoyment of the divine favor. Here's is some of what the Bible says about grace:
And if by grace, then is it no more of works. --Rom. xi. 6. My grace is sufficient for thee. --2 Cor. xii. 9.
Edited by - JosephAlward on 13 October 2002 22:23:39