Another thread about Apologetics explains why Christian theism is the best belief or most logical answer to truthseekers’ questions concerning ultimate reality, because the New Testament (NT) God provides the only credible hope for attaining heaven and justice, the “duo of desirables” (DOD). The purpose of this thread is to delve more deeply into God’s requirement for salvation (GRFS).
The Old Testament (OT) indicates that God chose the Jewish culture for the purpose of providing Messiah, through whom the world would be blessed or saved (GN 22:18, IS 42:6, 49:6, JL 2:28& 32, MIC 4:2-3, ZPH 3:8-9, ZCH 2:11, 14:9&16), and the NT proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah or Christ (ACTS 2:36, RM 1:1-4, HB 1:1-4, 3:3-6). It is tragic that the person God has ordained to be the head of one worldwide body of believers (JN 17:20-23, EPH 1:9-10 & 3:6, CL 1:18-20, PHP 2:9-11) is rejected by so many who claim to be theists. And it is ironic that this gemstone, which is the foundation and cornerstone of ultimate reality (EPH 2:20), is the stumbling-stone (1PT 2:6-8) to faith in GRFS for many souls (1CR 1:22-25).
A crisis that threatened a Philippian jailer with death prompted him to ask Paul and Silas the most important question in life: “What must I do to be saved?” (ACTS 16:30) This question is most important, because—as sinful and mortal souls—we need saving from corruption, both moral and physical. We need saving from physical death if we value or enjoy life, and we need saving from immorality or evil-doing if it results in unhappy existence, especially after this lifetime.
The reply of Paul and Silas was this: “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” (ACTS 16:31) This is GRFS in a nutshell. Jesus expressed GRFS even more succinctly: “Ask… seek… knock…” (MT 7:7). This indicates that God graces every sinful soul with the ability or opportunity to understand how to be saved (MT 7:7, cf. 1TM 2:3-4), which might be called “seeking grace“. As Hebrews 11:6 states: “he [God] rewards those who earnestly seek him” (cf. IS 45:19). Seeking God is the beginning of saving faith, and not seeking God or rejecting His salvation in Christ is the essence of evil atheism or faith in I-dolatry (RM 3:11, 1:18-23).
Thus, sinful humanity retains the image of God or moral free will (MFW), so every normal adult soul is able by God's grace through faith to choose to seek salvation–or not (cf. DT 30:19). Jesus lamented those who did not but instead resisted God's will (in MT 23:37), and he expressed frustration at their obstinacy (in MT 13:14-15).
Paul went “every Sabbath to the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (ACTS 18:4)! “He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus.” (ACTS 28:23b) “Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe." (ACTS 28:24) They disagreed and began to leave after Paul expressed the same frustration as Jesus and quoted the same Scripture: The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving, for this people’s heart has become calloused.” (ACTS 28:25-27a, cf. 2TM 3:7)
