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<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma color=#ff8000>to the lot of you who have been knocking what Siarlys said:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma color=#ff8000>Obviously, none of us can 100% know exactly what is needed to gain salvation as many different things are said in the BIble (for example some passages say faith alone and no works at all and some say faith and works and some say all you need is to be baptized). Here, for example, is what Jesus Himself said:</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT color=#ff8000> </FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#ff8000>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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." <BR>(Luke 18:18-22)</FONT></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma color=#ff8000>See in this passage Jesus Himself says you just need to follow the commandments and give to the poor - He says absolutely nothing at all about having faith in Him or believeing that He is God's son. What are your opinions on this? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Tahoma color=#ff8000>-Layne</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>In a message dated 5/17/2004 12:10:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT face=Arial>I'm sure no-one means to offend anyone else, but when Jeff writes<BR><BR>>with out having accepted Christ according to the Bible your works mean<BR>nothing. It<BR>>is clearly stated in the Bible that you have to have accepted Jesus to<BR>>enter heaven<BR><BR>I believe both statements are incomplete, which means I have to deny that<BR>the second one is correct.<BR><BR>First, it is all over both the Old and New Testament that humans cannot<BR>earn salvation by good works. God is not impressed, because, first, we<BR>are imperfect and inconsistent, and, second, we all "fall short of the<BR>glory of God" to the extent that if God didn't care about us, for reasons<BR>that no human with the powers of God could comprehend, we would be<BR>nothing and nowhere. Without giving a long list of citations, the Psalms<BR>of David, the preaching of Amos, Micah, Ezra, Job's contemplations, the<BR>four gospels, and some of Paul's epistles, all are consistent on this<BR>point.<BR><BR>But, it is not in the Bible, but in various teachings of church councils<BR>and modern founders of denominations, that we find a rigid claim that<BR>only those who have accepted Jesus can get into heaven.<BR><BR>Accepting Jesus is a very good way to get into heaven. But Christians who<BR>believe nobody else will get in are in for a shock when they see how many<BR>Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, maybe even some agnostics, are going to<BR>be there with us.<BR><BR>The most consistent reference directly from Jesus is Matthew 25:31, to<BR>the end of the chapter. Jesus is very clear that many who think they have<BR>accepted Jesus, but have not acted on what Jesus taught, are not going to<BR>get in. Also, many who are unaware they ever did anything for Jesus, are<BR>going to be accepted.<BR><BR>C.S. Lewis worked with this theme in The Last Battle, the concluding book<BR>of his Narnia series, which features a parallel to the Revelation and<BR>last judgment. Aslan, the Lion, the story's Christ-figure, explains to a<BR>prince of a pagan kingdom, who has become a man of high moral values and<BR>compassion through cultivating a sincere devotion to his nation's rather<BR>ruthless pagan idol, "anything good and true and pure you did out of<BR>dedication to Tash, you really did for Me."<BR><BR>Friends have tried to tell me that this cannot be true, citing John 14. I<BR>have two answers to that. The simpler is, Jesus said in Matthew 24,<BR>"inasmuch as you have done it for the least of these my brethren, you<BR>have done it unto me." Therefore, those who are not Christian, who have<BR>fed, clothed, visited, "the least of these my brethren," have come to<BR>salvation through Jesus because "you have done it unto me." Anyway, that<BR>is what Jesus said, whether it conflicts with some Christian doctrine or<BR>not.<BR><BR>Second, I believe John 14, which is arbitrarily separated from John 13,<BR>has been badly misunderstood. Peter, Philip and Thomas were asking<BR>questions that bordered on idolatry: from we can't see where you are<BR>going, to show us the Father and we will believe. Jesus responded,<BR>essentially, you can't see the way or the Father, that is why I came, in<BR>human form, follow what I have taught you and you will be fine. Nobody<BR>had asked "can people who don't accept you as their savior be saved?" and<BR>that is not the question Jesus was answering.<BR><BR>But, as I said, accepting Jesus is a very good way to be saved. Its just<BR>not the only way that Jesus will accept a human. And Jesus did say that<BR>"salvation is of the Jews." (That is a phrase taken out of context, but<BR>so are many other conclusions). Bottom line, Jesus sacrifice was not only<BR>for those who formally accept him by name.<BR><BR>Siarlys</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
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