Thanks very much for your thoughts! My comments were not directed specifically at anyone in particular, so I’m glad you “butted” in! ;o)
I agree with you that believing we are saved is not presumption but trusting God to keep his word. When you speak about what “believing in Jesus Christ” means, of course I am not speaking of simply acknowledging he exists. The demons - and all angelic beings - believe in him, but they are simply acknowledging the truth, being honest about it since he DOES exist and they have seen him. The demons nor the Heavenly angels have the ability to trust in Christ to save them. He came for the “world” of humans, not angels.
But the issue is, what does it mean to “believe” in Christ? My thoughts are that it is repentance - changing the mind - and trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior rather than thinking we can be good enough. When we really do this at the heart level - meaning it is more than a head knowledge - we surrender to Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. Placing our faith in him to save us, trusting that he IS who he claims to be and accepting his sacrifice in our behalf. That is the point I am trying to clarify. Is someone who believes in Christ as Savior YET also believes - based on a lifetime of teachings - that they must do other things to deserve heaven, get saved? I have a sinking feeling that they aren’t because they aren’t really trusting in Christ as their Savior after all.
Thanks for your reply. I have very much enjoyed your posts in past and knew you to be “solid” where contending with the faith. These are hard questions, no doubt. I wanted to clarify the phrase “believing in Christ” for myself and anyone who reads later who might not be clear on what I mean by that. (I knew you did not mean belief as the demons do, but had to clarify for the purpose of my example).
On the issue of those who are tempted to add something to Christ’s sacrifice, I am reminded of a conversation I had with a professor of mine who was a Huguenot. She once said that she “hoped” she would get to Heaven. I was stunned because while I knew this was a position that Catholics take I was unaware of any Protestants who did. I gave her citations from Scripture which assure us of salvation. She read them (as she told me later) and admitted that that IS what Scripture teaches (once saved, always saved). I know now, of course, that there are some Protestant denominations who believe that one can “fall from grace” and must be restored. I rather think they are basing that thinking on the parable of the sower — and confusing those who “once tasted but fall away” as those who are saved when in fact a contextual exegetical reading will confirm these were those who were never believers to begin with.
I think (and these are just my thoughts) that in the dark of night our frail human nature feels that surely one must “do something” to gain entrance into God’s good graces. It’s one of the oldest temptations we have. I had a conversation once with a girl who was crying in a pew by herself after church. I went to find out what was wrong. She said “I just feel I’m not good enough for God.” I said “You’re not. And neither am I. And that’s the point. If you were there would be no need for Christ. He’s doing what you cannot.” If one has trusted in Christ as one’s Savior, but then feels one must add something — isn’t that a bit like praying that the Lord will help with a problem or resolve it, only to take it back again? I think the Lord understands both temptations and tendencies. I don’t think it’s the same as those who are trusting in something other than Christ for their salvation — but those are just my thoughts and certainly I could be quite wrong. I can see why you (or any other believer) would question the salvation of those in the former situation (and would agree that the latter are not saved, of course).
Repentance and confession, precedes forgiveness.
We too easily confuse repentance with remorse and emotion, rather than turning back and facing God directly again from when we turned away from Him to look at anything else as the object of our thinking. There also is an element of volition in changing our mind, but changing our mind in METANOIA, is also understandable as changing the object of our thinking. Instead of anything but Christ and His work on the Cross, we simply return to Him, focusing on Him as the object of our thinking.
That is the first part of believing in Him.
Next we confess our sins in judging ourselves.
If we are thinking through faith in Him at this same time, then we are thinking and knowing by faith He has already had our sins imputed upon Him at the Cross.
When we think about ourselves first before Him, we fall into arrogance.
People frequently are challenged by three different but very arrogant thinking problems when they doubt their salvation:
1) They think they had performed some sin which is just too heinous to be forgiven.
2) They keep performing the same sin, so they must not have really repented from the sin.
3) At the time of their salvation, they were fine, but later performed something so heinous that wasn’t covered by the Cross when they were first saved.
In each of these arrogant situations, the believer fails to recognize Christ had ALL sins imputed upon Him at the Cross and ALL had been judged. God knows every sin we ever committed and will ever commit, when he gives any human a created Human Spirit, imputed to the believer justifying the believer.
The first step in such arrogance is, again, by 1st John 1:9, retuning to God in repentance, then confessing all known and unknown sins to Him, then letting Him handle the situation.
I believe that their trust, although imperfect theologically, could still be soul saving. Consider the faith of a child ~ do they understand the difference between the doctrines of justification and sanctification?
What I find sad is the lack assurance that these people have. We all have doubts from time to time, and that is why we examine ourselves. The examination of my life shows me that I am a failure but I am “in Christ” and count on His righteousness which is more than weight-lifting. To be counted righteous in Christ, is joy filling.
When I stand before God, I will plead Christ’s perfect righteousness. There is no need for me to wonder if I have done enough. Thanks be to God that He gives me this assurance through the reading of scripture.
By grace I am an heir of heaven: why doubt this, O my trembling heart?
If what the Scriptures promise clearly is true and firm in every part,
This also must be truth divine: by grace a crown of life is mine.