Posted on 08/11/2020 7:12:36 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Less than half of U.S. Christians expect to experience eternal salvation because of their confession of sin and acceptance of Christ as their Savior, while a larger number of professing Christians believe good works will get them into Heaven, a new survey has found.
The American Worldview Inventory 2020 survey conducted by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found that a majority of people who describe themselves as Christian (52%) accept a “works-oriented” means to God’s acceptance.
In contrast, a minority of adults (46%) who describe themselves as “Christian” expect to experience eternal salvation because of their confession of sin and acceptance of Christ as their savior.
The study also found that “huge proportions of people” associated with churches whose official doctrine says eternal salvation comes only from embracing Jesus Christ as savior “believe that a person can qualify for Heaven by being or doing good.” That includes close to half of all adults associated with Pentecostal (46%), mainline Protestant (44%), and evangelical (41%) churches. A much larger share of Catholics (70%) embrace that point of view.
The survey of 2,000 individuals found that one in three Americans (33%) say they consider themselves to be a Christian and affirm the statement that “when you die you will go to heaven only because you have confessed your sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior.”
Len Munsil, president of Arizona Christian University, said the “lack of understanding of basic Christian theology is stunning,” with “potentially devastating consequences for individual souls and really for all aspects of American life and culture.”
“It’s a wakeup call for the church, and for leaders in all areas of influence, to speak, teach and work to restore biblical truth,” Munsil said. “Many souls will be lost if people are misled by the false notion that we can earn our way to heaven, rather than recognizing the truth that Christ alone and His righteousness are the basis for our salvation.”
Overall, 54% of U.S. adults believe they will get to Heaven after they die and only 2% believe they are going to hell. Additionally, 63% of adults believe “having faith matters more than which faith you have.”
George Barna, director of research for the Cultural Research Center, said Americans are “in an ‘anything goes’ mindset when it comes to faith, morals, values and lifestyle.”
“Americans appear to be creating unique, highly customized worldviews based on feelings, experiences and opportunities rather than working within the boundaries of a comprehensive, time-tested, consistent worldview,” he said.
“... By abandoning our moral standards and traditions, and replacing them with inclusive and conditional preferences, we are losing the foundations that have enabled the ‘American experiment’ to succeed for more than two centuries,” Barna added.
“We can only hope that our critical moral institutions — particularly the family and churches — will wake up and help the nation to get back on track.”
The survey corroborates a previous report released by the Barna Group and the American Bible Society which found that Scripture engagement is on the decline, with U.S. adults who say they read the Bible daily dropping from 14% to 9% between early 2019 and 2020.
Another recent poll from LifeWay Research, in partnership with Explore the Bible, found that 57% of Protestant churchgoers say the Bible is “challenging” when read alone.
In recent years, a number of pastors have stressed the importance of discipleship within churches amid a nationwide decline in biblical literacy.
“You and I are so overstimulated, you and I are so overwhelmed with fast-paced, energized entertainment that we have developed a real idealized sense of life with a real low pain tolerance,” megachurch Pastor Matt Chandler said in a sermon last year. “The Church herself no longer is about discipleship, no longer is about being shaped, no longer is it about being formed. It’s about being entertained in the gathering.”
Chandler noted that in Acts, Paul warns the Ephesians, “After I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.”
“How do you fight that? You walk with one another in community, you encourage one another in your giftedness, and you embrace that you’ve been called a minister of reconciliation and an ambassador of Christ for the building up of the body,” he said.
Pastor H.B. Charles Jr. told The Christian Post that every aspect of corporate worship should be a means of “making disciples of Jesus Christ,” from the preaching of the Word to singing.
“Faithful shepherds are needed to oversee the worship life of the Church to keep the Church focused on the Word of God,” he said. “Every element of a worship service must be geared around the Word of God so that we sing the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, pray the Scriptures, preach the Scriptures and enact the Scriptures in prayer and the ministry of the word.”
“We need to build safeguards around the Church so that the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ are central,” Charles added.
The Psalm is about mercy. Your answer is inadequate and it shows that your thinking process is probably inadequate.
God bless you.
Christ said that unless we become like the child he held we could not see the Kingdom.
This brings up the question what is it about young children?
I will submit to you that the feature is that they trust their parents.
If you go back to the fall itself many have asked what was it that our parents could have had to resist the temptation ... but what about trust? They’d known the Lord their whole lives and the temptation in its very essence was to trust the serpent rather than trust the Father.
Where am I taking this?
Well, I’m not taking it in the easy peasy direction that trusting in your works is not trusting in the promise given but rather towards your query: how can I know I’m saved.
Many aspects of the doctrine of grace and substitutionary atonement can seem dodgy to folks, which is one reason why things like doctrines of salvation by works have found purchase time and again. It isn’t a dodge to say the Gospel can be a stumbling block because Scripture itself says it is an offense.
TrustIng like a child seems to be a key.
On one level the Lord has put the proverbial cookies on a low shelf so that those of limited ability can grasp them (that too is something offensive to the great and the good as the world counts such things ... or as I sometimes say if the Lord had waned to save thre great and the good all He would have had to do was give them a different gospel, one that only the great and the good could understand, and then they’d have flooded into the kingdom whilst patting themselves on the back because they are so clever); yet, there are certainly deep, hard things wrapped up in it.
Do I here say His ways are not ours?
No. because that too is not the answer I’m after.
To all the ways men might say that they don’t understand, that it doesn’t add up, the Lord can respond that His Son has dealt with it and we have His word on it ... essentially “do you trust me?” He can always ask.
His children will trust Him.
The tares sown in the world just will not.
The accomplishment of the former is being born, not something any newborn has right to crow about and that does not change.
Again, I wrote the saved can have works resulting in reward because they are saved. The unsaved have no works no matter how hard they work, period.
How do I know I’m saved?
I cannot tell you about my experiences because unlike the Scriptures those are not independently inspectable by you (that is the fundamental flaw in any appeal to personal experiences).
Can I give you a sign? Over the Internet? Please....
But I can say I’m saved because of His promise offered on His terms. I didn’t do it. He does it. He keeps me as Scripture says. And I trust Him to keep His word.
My works, such as they are, are even things He gives me to do.
If I’ve come up short in this post in your eyes that’s okay, because as the old joke points out there is a difference between being sent and just being went.
And yet “Faith without works is dead” ... if the survey means anything it means the “church” needs to be introspective. There’s been incredible corruption across the spectrum from ministers enriching themselves to grave acts of hypocrisy to predatory acts.
James tells us I will show you my faith by my works - NOT we get saved by works. James is saying his faith was already his possession before he did any works.
People concentrate on what they ‘do’ because they do not understand what Jesus did. Instead of turning to God’s grace that is easily assessable they turn to their own abilities, they trust in man, themselves.
If you are not saved (by the gospel) then you have no knowledge of the gospel, for the power of the gospel saves all immediately who submit to it and confess Christ’s death for their sins and resurrected for their justification. We are to embrace the gospel as if there is no other way, (because there isn’t), it is our survival.
James chapter 2. All of it.
No it doesn’t. Read the catechism instead of listening to pastor Bob. You’re 100% wrong.
Only by accepting that Jesus Christ died for you and paid the price for your sins and accepting his Grace will anyone get to Heaven.
Read John 14:6
You state.......” If you are honest about God you know that he will take the kind and helpful over the mean and nasty no matter what they believe.”
That is a lie. It always and forever will ‘matter’ what you believe.
While I'm not Lutheran myself, I really came to more fully understand this while reading True Christianity by Johann Arndt (available as a free download from Project Gutenberg at the link). If you've got some time, and don't mind reading slightly archaic English, it's a worthwhile read.
So in other words the thief got an indulgence.
Let the hate posts begin!
There is a reason the scripture says, “The Lord is my Salvation.”
Do you have assurance of salvation or do you think such assurance is a sin of presumption?
Works based Salvation always fosters ‘Pride’...one of the hardest sins to overcome and which is a ‘stronghold’ on the heart and mind. I think often it’s difficult for those who depend on what ‘they do’ to look at the cross....for in doing so they will clearly see their own sin put Jesus there.
"And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment." 1 John 3:23
Belief in Jesus is the key to one’s salvation, to my thinking and understanding of scripture. One shows their faith through good works.
Even the Cananite woman showed her belief in Jesus asking for Him to exorcise her daughter in her statement “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Then why did Jesus die on the cross?
What did Jesus say?
"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” Luke 17:10
In this passage it says, "someone will say, . . " The context of this passage is justification before man, not God. Romans speaks of justification before God.
You can repeat it all you want, but as this thread proves, even half your fellow protestants don't buy that anymore. Including many "evangelicals". Interesting you don't see the reverse -- lifelong Catholics accepting "Christ alone will save you without you doing ANY good works" theology.
'I can do nothing but evil acts my whole life, but that's OK as long as I declare that I "accept Jesus", and then I get an instant ticket to heaven' doesn't hold water.
And the GOOD Thief probably realized that, too.
IMO, its the opposite. Mother Terera believed in Works based Salvation, and she was extremely meek and humble.
Christ Alone based Salvation always fosters 'Pride'. That's why you always see followers of it arrogantly proclaim they KNOW they are "Saved" and guaranteed a spot in heaven no matter what.
I would never presume to tell people that. God alone will make that decision AFTER I die, and not before. It's not place to determine if I am "saved". That's entirely up to God.
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