This question is a follow-up to the conversation in the thread about Jakes, especially Aaron’s post.Question is in the subject. If I were to believe that Jesus is the only Son of God, and that He died for my sins and was raised for my justification, but also affirm that God could forgive my sins by another means if He chose and grant me eternal life, is it possible for me to be a true believer?Or to put it another way: When does one’s understanding of the gospel become incorrect enough that they cannot be said to believe the true gospel, and therefore cannot be true believers and true children of God?What level of understanding of the gospel is required in order to experience genuine conversion?
I ain’t jumping in all the way on this, But the scripture says: …..Who so ever believes in him shall be saved.NOW to:What level of understanding of the gospel is required in order to experience genuine conversion? We all know that the above is the foundation of being saved… For many years that was accepted. BUT now it seems more and more ‘additional’ things are required.SO, if one thinks there are other ways, but picks Jesus seriously, then in my opinion the person will be saved.
John 10:1Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.Romans 10:10That 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
The gospel and salvation are built upon the fact that God exalted his Son and made him Lord. Embracing that excludes the possibility of believing there are many ways to God and salvation. It’s all about Christ.As far as Sabellianism is concerned, how can those who embrace this teaching really affirm there was a genuine distinction between Father and Son? On that note, how can Trinitarians truthfully affirm the same? All in all, I don’t think embracing imperfect doctrine on the godhead unsaves anyone. For example, though trinitarianism sometimes resembles tritheism, most trinitarians do not believe in their heart there are three Gods________________
I am a believer in John 3:16
If I understand Jesus as being a human (but completely perfect) son/creation of God, and believe on him, will I have eternal life? He gives eternal life through regeneration of the Holy Spirit as described in John 4….
…yikes. As an immediate proof text rebuttal, Acts 20:28, in which the Ephesian elders are exhorted to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Also would note that the epistles were mostly written during the time that the Acts narrative was occurring, so it’s not correct to imply that the Acts narrative occurred, completed, and then the epistles were written to further clarify Jesus’ deity (if that’s what you were doing, pardon me if you weren’t).
…yikes. As an immediate proof text rebuttal, Acts 20:28, in which the Ephesian elders are exhorted to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
Sorry guys. While I certainly agree that perfect (or even semi-perfect) theology is not a requirement of salvation, I don’t see how you can have genuine belief and faith in a God and a gospel that you have totally and completely misunderstood.A new believer who experiences genuine conversion and regeneration may indeed not know any of those things, but will quickly discover them as the Spirit of Christ leads him or her.
Overall, I agree. And it seems that groups who stress grace through faith salvation inevitably will guide disciples into knowledge of Christ’s deity, even if we might have different ideas about God’s unique existence as Father, Son and Spirit. Thus, we see the elders in Acts 20:28having gained an understanding that God purchased the church with HIS own blood________________
That’s kind of my point though — a genuine believer doesn’t need to be discipled into learning that Christ is divine. He doesn’t need to become an elder before it’s clear to him. No one who has experienced genuine regeneration needs a class on the divinity of Christ. These are things that are revealed by the Spirit, through the Word, and are just recognized and known by those who have experienced genuine conversion and have been born of the Spirit.
I cannot agree with this, and from personal experience discipling new Christians. Ninety-nine percent of those repenting in an altar are looking to Jesus as the Son of God, not God himself. Certainly the illumination of the Holy Spirit will lead them into more truth as they grow in grace and in
I’ve been very careful in this thread to refer to regeneration, rather than coming to an altar. Untold multitudes walk to an altar and say a prayer and walk away unregenerate.Romans 10
I’ve been very careful in this thread to refer to regeneration, rather than coming to an altar. Untold multitudes walk to an altar and say a prayer and walk away unregenerate.Romans 10… how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? If you have not heard that Christ is God the Son, you cannot believe in Him for salvation. I understand. However, I’ve never seen someone receiving a revelation of the deity of Christ or the trinity simply by being regenerated. Regeneration is about correcting the sin nature so that we can begin receiving revelation over time, IMO________________
And even this verse clearly teaches that the Father and the Son are separate entities. Every pseudo-Christian cult errs on either the humanity or deity of Christ. So I do believe it’s crucial that we believe in the right Jesus. Paul warned the Galatians about those who preach another gospel and he warned the Corinthians against those who preach another Jesus. I can take you step by step through the Prologue in John 1
And even this verse clearly teaches that the Father and the Son are separate entities.