by Dawn 37 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
When you're saved (by accepting Jesus as your Lord), you will experience the Holy Spirit who is living inside of you and he will guide and direct you in your "new" life. You're driven to pursue a more wholesome way of life and your whole outlook will be changed for the better.
Surely it's those who aren't "saved" who are in more need of this guidance? It doesn't make sense that you only get the guidance when you don't need it.
WE ALL NEED IT Funky!!!
Derek,
Those who are not saved CAN be saved by WANTING to be saved. The only thing God asks us to do is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord in your heart, not halfheartedly but sincerely so and out of a pure heart. God gives us life FREE, we do not have to do works to earn God's gift - it's by means of God's grace that we can be saved. So my desire is to tell anyone about Jesus Christ and to show them that the only thing they have to do to receive life free as a gift is to accept Him as your Lord. So everybody has a chance for life, but only when people draw close to God by accepting Jesus will He give us life. It's as simple as that! Then when the Holy Spirit resides in you, you will feel that - you are driven to do what is right. Of course, we still make mistakes and sin often, but Jesus died for mankind, sothat our sins can be FORGIVEN once and for all times.
Richie :*)
Unfortunately, there's no hope for me...go ahead, save yourselves!
Assuming there is a God, and that he is a "God of love" I believe you don't have to do anything to be saved. Just by virtue of being his creation we are saved. As an all-loving father, it wouldn't make sense to condem any part of his creation for the way He made them. I believe that when we die, all is forgiven and we are "clean" before Him. No caring parent could stand to hear the cries of eternal suffering coming from the supposed place called "Hell". I think we are saved by compassion, wether we "accepted" Christ or not; his message was that of salvation, not destruction.
Of course, I'm still not even sure of His existance or the existance of an after life, so it could be some beliefs I hold in my mind as a "comfort" factor I guess.
I don't think any of us will ever know the answer until we die.
I believe once you accept Christ into your heart and accept him as your Savior, that you're saved.Does that mean Taoists, Buddhists and Hindus are screwed??
I don't believe that no. I believe that at some point in your life, God will make himself known to you in some form. I believe the method he makes himself known to you may not necessarily be in the form of "Christ". (Obviously so regarding Native Americans or any other people groups that don't ever hear of "Christ".) But at some point God will present Himself to you in your life and will give you the opportunity to recognize Him as Father. He presented Himself to me several times before I even acknowledged His presence or my need of His presence. Whether that means we only have this life or a next one to do that I don't know. I don't believe God would destroy people without them having the opportunity to know Him.
Get life insurance.
Acts 4:12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Jesus Christ)
Richie :*)
I don't think any of us will ever know the answer until we die.
To a certain extent I believe this too!
What must we do to be saved?
It is what leads to salvation that is important, not all the manufactured interpretation of Scripture to try to make it fit an organization?s pre- conceived notions. We should not turn our backs on what is important for salvation- Faith in God, service to him, faith in his Son's ransom sacrifice's power to redeem us, practicing the fruitages of the Holy Spirit, prayer, doing our utmost to avoid sin, and helping others do the same are what matter. It's all there in the NT. Want some citations? You can look these up online at http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible/ there's 17 Bible versions available there.
Putting faith in God (YHWH), his Son, Jesus Christ, his Son's ransom sacrifice's power to redeem us, and his inspired word the Holy Bible - Hebrews 10:12, 26; 11:6; 11:1-40; John 3:16-21; Romans chapters 4, 5 & 6; Romans 10: 9-17; Acts 4:12; 10:43; Matthew 26:28; Mark 3:28-30; James 4:17; 5:15; 1 John 4:9-14;Luke 13:23,24; 1 Timothy 4:10.
Real faith compels us to works, service to God - James 2:26; Acts 26:20; Hebrews 10: 23-25.
Practicing the fruitages of the Holy Spirit, doing our utmost to avoid sin -Galatians 5:19-25;1 Corinthians 6: 9,10; Matthew 12:31.
Prayer - Matthew 5:44, 6:9, 26:41; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; James 5:16; Romans 12:21; Phillipians 4:6; Colossians 4:2; 1 Peter 4:7.
There are many more scriptures that provide insight on these things necessary for salvation. Everthing else outside the scope of these things is principle, prophesy, trivia and dissertation. It's all a matter of setting priorities and importance.
I choose to keep the Bible based moral rules and principles in mind, and let the Fruitages of the Spirit guide me, along with faith in God. I pray to him when I feel compelled to do so, and try my best not to sin.
Leaving the JWs, just another part of Babylon the Great, is one of the best things any of us can do. But we shouldn?t jump from the fire into the frying pan. Avoid at all costs walking on through the broad gate that leads top destruction, as tempting as it may be.
