Posted on 07/23/2016 8:18:41 AM PDT by pinochet
Calvinists teach that a tiny percentage of baptized Christians known as the "elect" will go to heaven. But most Christians are not Calvinists. If human meritocracy is not needed to get to heaven, shouldn't the majority of baptized Christians go to heaven?
Me too.
“JUST believe! Only believe and you’ll be saved!!!”
That’s for phoney TV preachers and other hucksters.
John disagrees with you. John 20:31
Just sayin' -- this is just a neutral observation, not a criticism looking for a fight.
Sayonara
It does no such thing. It shows people pointing to their works as the reason that they should enter the Kingdom. Read carefully and notice not one points to faith.
Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
If there is, leave it. It's teaching a false gospel.
Baptism does not save anyone.
Churches and religions don't save anyone.
Faith in Christ does.
While baptism is a testimony of the changed heart and life for a born again/born from above believer, for anyone else, all it does is get them wet.
Can you prove the visions are true?
Except that no one can merit heaven.
ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Since God's standard is absolute perfection, one sin and you are done, just as Adam and Eve broke their fellowship with God with one sin.
One sin is enough to disqualify you from being in God's presence.
So we depend on God's grace, His UNMERITED favor, to credit us with the righteousness we can never attain on our own.
No. ALL Christians WILL go to heaven.
Many who call themselves Christians may not.
That's interesting because we keep being told on the RF by FRoman Catholics that there is only one baptism.
I wish y'all would agree on whatever it is you decide.
What Jesus taught makes the title of this thread a non sequitur.
No, it's not.
It's for everyone.
Salvation by grace by believing
John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3-8 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:14-18 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Acts 16:27-31 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Romans 10:9-13 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Mormon Christians? Christian Science Christians? JW Christians? Homosexual Christians? Wake up...not all who call Jesus Lord will be saved. The Bible tells me so.
They CALL themselves Christians.
Just cause they slap the label of *Christian* on their title, doesn’t mean they are.
I didn’t say that all who call Jesus *Lord* are saved. People have to put their faith in the Jesus of Scripture, who died for them.
I would argue that Lawlessness is the key to this verse. Joel Osteen’s church is a great example. I personally know people who go there and claim to be Christians who are in open and unrepentant homosexuality, fornication, drug use, etc. Joel would say they are going to heaven. They say they are going to heaven. The Bible tells us differently
Then we are in agreement. Why do you argue with me?
That question is totally loaded. It requires the definitions for:
(1) What is a Christian?
(2) What is "baptism"?
(3) What is "most"?
(4) Why do you ask?
The way you phrase it is not briefly answerable. Anyone who thinks otherwise is rather imperceptive. But the question does say that if you do not know the answer, you do not know what the Gospel of Jesus is.
Then you ask another question in your Post #1:
"Is there any church that explicitly teaches that the majority of its members will go to heaven?"
This is a separate matter, one about what a "church" is, and what its beliefs are. You will get any number of responses.
So, what is your real question? If it is "How can I receive eternal life?", then I know for sure I can tell you, if you wish. Other people might also, but I know I can.
Are you interested?
Faith is the key.
They kept the laws. Jesus didn’t know them because they didn’t have faith.
That is what I was taught as a kid (I’m62) in a catholic grade school religion class by a nun, and it made sense to me. It still does today, to me anyway.
The first sentence of the article sets up a straw man.
Interesting. I never met a Calvinist. I don’t know much about Catholics even though there were many in my ancient family. Charismatics are easier to understand for me. Jews were are the history of the earth and I enjoy studying the history of the earth.
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