Is Salvation by Jesus alone the only way to heaven?

[mailmandan]

You must be using a different version than the KJV. Gal 2:16 reads "faith OF Jesus Christ" not faith "IN" Jesus Christ. Rom 3:24-25, Christ justified and redeemed those that God gave hi on the cross. Verse 25, God had faith in Christ's blood and set him to be a go-between for his elect to communicate with God. Romans Verse 4:8 explains verses 5 and 6. God will not impute sin to all of those that he gave to Jesus to die for, John 6:38 which was not all mankind. Rom 5:1, Therefore being justified (eternally) by (Jesus's) faith, not our faith. Our faith in Jesus will justify us to abide in Christ, but our faith does not justify us eternally. Eph 2:8,9; Fot by grace are ye saved through (Christ's) faith. Phil 3:9, the faith of Christ, not our faith.

Let me guess, one of those KJV only arguments? Galatians 2:16 does read "faith OF Jesus Christ" in the KJV, yet it reads "faith IN Jesus Christ" in numerous other translations. (NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, RSV etc..).

I noticed in Galatians 3:26 in the KJV, we read - For ye are all the children of God by "faith IN Christ Jesus." Why not OF there?
Also, in other passages of scripture in the KJV, we read faith IN instead of faith OF.

Colossians 1:4 - Since we heard of your "faith IN Christ Jesus," and of the love which ye have to all the saints. (KJV)
1 Timothy 1:14 - And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which "is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)
1 Timothy 3:13 - For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the "faith which is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)
2 Timothy 3:15 - And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through "faith which is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)

In 1 Peter 1:9 in the KJV, we read - Receiving the end of YOUR faith, even the salvation of your souls.
In Hebrews 12:2 in the KJV, we read - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of OUR faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are responsible to place OUR faith (belief, trust, reliance) in Jesus Christ for salvation in order to obtain salvation. Jesus is not going to do that for you and disregarding IN for OF isn't going to change that either.

 

[Lightskin]

I know Jesus is the only way so I guess what I'm asking is it possible to still be saved without knowing his exact name and have all the information about him?

Yes. God is merciful to whom He chooses to be merciful. Remember, His grace is sufficient.

 

[1ofthem]

Yes. God is merciful to whom He chooses to be merciful. Remember, His grace is sufficient.

Good answer...Thanks

 

[ForestGreenCook]

Let me guess, one of those KJV only arguments? Galatians 2:16 does read "faith OF Jesus Christ" in the KJV, yet it reads "faith IN Jesus Christ" in numerous other translations. (NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV, RSV etc..).

I noticed in Galatians 3:26 in the KJV, we read - For ye are all the children of God by "faith IN Christ Jesus." Why not OF there?
Also, in other passages of scripture in the KJV, we read faith IN instead of faith OF.

Colossians 1:4 - Since we heard of your "faith IN Christ Jesus," and of the love which ye have to all the saints. (KJV)
1 Timothy 1:14 - And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which "is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)
1 Timothy 3:13 - For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the "faith which is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)
2 Timothy 3:15 - And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through "faith which is IN Christ Jesus." (KJV)

In 1 Peter 1:9 in the KJV, we read - Receiving the end of YOUR faith, even the salvation of your souls.
In Hebrews 12:2 in the KJV, we read - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of OUR faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are responsible to place OUR faith (belief, trust, reliance) in Jesus Christ for salvation in order to obtain salvation. Jesus is not going to do that for you and disregarding IN for OF isn't going to change that either.

We are made just for eternal life by the faith of Jesus. The faith, that we have in Jesus, is the faith that comes as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We have to be already born again before we receive our spiritual faith, which does deliver (save) us, not eternally, but it saves (delivers) us as we sojourn here on earth. Most of the time save, saved, salvation is used in scripture it has reference to a deliverance (salvation) we receive here on earth, not eternally.

 

[ForestGreenCook]

The Cherokee's are interesting to me. They had some similar beliefs to scripture. They were not pagan.
They believed in one God with three distinct beings. And called that God Yo Ho Waah. Some people even think Jesus came a preached to the Cherokee due to the similarities. Yet, I can find no proof of that ever happening.

While I'm white as white can be, my great grandfather was full blooded Cherokee. I wonder could the Cherokee have been worshiping God...I'm not sure, I hope they were? I know God only judges a man according to what he understands so is it possible they may have been serving God to the best of their understanding? Like I said, I don't know, but here is an interesting article on it. It's a little lengthy read, but interesting.

http://nativenorthamericancherokeenationofsequoyah.com/ancientbeliefs.html

I did not read your attached article because it probably has some man's opinion of how he interprets the scriptures. I believe that scripture proves scripture and that they all have to harmonize before you are able to understand the doctrine that Jesus taught. I believe, as to what I understand in harmonized scriptures that the early American Indian, before anyone came over to teach them, that some of them were born again of the Holy Spirit.

 

[ForestGreenCook]

Yes, were told to become like little ones and not the other way round.

Verse 6, If they believe in him, then they are already born again. The natural man, 1 Cor 2:14, cannot discern spiritual things in order to believe spiritual things.

Matt 18:3“Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This statement alone is against what you teach here.
The bible doesn't teach and will never teach that wicked children will grow to be old. There's no such thing as wicked children.[/QUO John 3:6, That which is born of the flesh is flesh (Greek meaning= carnal); and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Verse 7, Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. When a baby is born into this world they are carnal and must be born again of the Spirit.

 

[wolfwint]

I am a Bible thumper and believe only Salvation thru Messiah/ Jesus (alone) is the way to heaven. Yet my Aunt (who claims to be saved) believes even people who "believe in god, even if the wrong god, like Muslims,(for example or put any religion in or lack of) will still go to heaven because of their faith.

Is my Aunt right? Am I right? Is there a middle ground or is my Aunt A. just not really saved?

It is not the faith itself. It is the matter on what our faith is based. If someones faith is not based on Jesus Christ, he not will be saved. (acts 4,12)

 

[Whispered]

Scriptures do not contradict themselves. you cannot ignore any of them, but must understand them correctly to have them harmonize.

I am aware of this. My point is that you appear to not know this. Your arguments are contradicted by scripture. You cannot say one thing and use a scripture to sustain your statement when a different scripture revokes your assertion your scripture says what you want it to say.

I get what you're trying to put forward here. And if someone takes scriptures out of context and glue them together they can make it work out as you see it.

However, when someone else comes along and realizes that glue-together effort is meant to communicate what is actually not in the context of that particular subject, in this case, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for precisely why He was born into the world as simply stated in the Book of John , then the glue together actually falls apart.

For example. You're hoping to convince us that because the Lamb's Book of Life has all the names of all who are regenerate, saved, in Christ listed there, that God then had to send Himself in order to sacrifice Himself so as to make the Salvation principle that ordered those names in the book possible. And as such when He died on the cross it was only for those names in the Book. Because He said, as Jesus, no one comes to Him unless He calls them. And the only Them that shall respond are those who's names He put down in that Book before He created the world.
Therefore, the only one's He actually died to save are those He foreknew when He put their names in His Book of Life.

I can see where that would seem right since Jesus said he came only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And those names God would know because as another passage states, Salvation is of the Jews. However, Jesus also said, I have other sheep, which would be the Gentiles, that are not of this fold and He must bring them into the fold as well. Because they will hear His voice and follow Him so that there is one Shepherd and one flock. And all of that was predestined.

That then makes it appear , especially with all those verses that tell us God predestines all things due to His zeal for His own glory, that God foreordained who would be saved when the time came. That would necessarily point to the converse of that equation however. That by doing that God also then foreordained who would not be saved.

This formula would then contradict two portions of God's own words, if we believe God's divine will communicated or inspired what is recorded in scripture.
It would contradict the Book of John 3:16 entirely and particularly the word, "whosoever", in the ESV or "everyone" in the Mounce Reverse Interlinear Greek NT.
"Everyone" = πᾶς (pas)
Strong: G3956
GK: G4246
all; in the sg. the whole, entire, usually when the substantive has the article, Mt. 6:29; 8:32; Acts 19:26; every, only with an anarthrous subst., Mt. 3:10; 4:4; pl. all, Mt. 1:17, et al. freq.; πάντα, in all respects, Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 9:25; 10:33; 11:2; by a Hebraism, a negative with πᾶς is sometimes equivalent to οὐδείς or μηδείς, Mt. 24:22; Lk. 1:37; Acts 10:14; Rom. 3:20; 1 Cor. 1:29; Eph. 4:29

The contradiction also arrives when we recall the verse found in the 2nd Book of Peter chapter 3 and verse 9.

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is long suffering to you-ward, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Anyone = τις (tis)
Strong: G5100

GK: G5516

enclitic, indefinite pronoun, a certain one, someone, Mt. 12:47; pl. some, certain, several, Lk. 8:2; Acts 9:19; 2 Pet. 3:16; one, a person, Mt. 12:29; Lk. 14:8; Jn. 6:50; combined with the name of an individual, one, Mk. 15:21; as it were in a manner, a kind of, Heb. 10:27; Jas. 1:18; any whatever, Mt. 8:28; Lk. 11:36; Rom. 8:39; τις, somebody of consequence, Acts 5:36; τι, something of consequence, Gal. 2:6; 6:3; τι, anything at all, anything worth account, 1 Cor. 3:7; 10:19; τι at all, Phil. 3:15; Phlm. 18



Perish = ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi)
Strong: G622
GK: G660
to destroy utterly; to kill, Mt. 2:13; to bring to nought, make void, 1 Cor. 1:19; to lose, be deprived of, Mt. 10:42; to be destroyed, perish, Mt. 9:17; to be put to death, to die, Mt. 26:52; to be lost, to stray, Mt. 10:6

"All" = πᾶς (pas)
Strong: G3956
GK: G4246
all; in the sg. the whole, entire, usually when the substantive has the article, Mt. 6:29; 8:32; Acts 19:26; every, only with an anarthrous subst., Mt. 3:10; 4:4; pl. all, Mt. 1:17, et al. freq.; πάντα, in all respects, Acts 20:35; 1 Cor. 9:25; 10:33; 11:2; by a Hebraism, a negative with πᾶς is sometimes equivalent to οὐδείς or μηδείς, Mt. 24:22; Lk. 1:37; Acts 10:14; Rom. 3:20; 1 Cor. 1:29; Eph. 4:29

 

[Whispered]

If the prior formula that you're insisting is true, that God died so as to insure the salvation of all those predestined to be saved were the reality of God's grace, then God would have to be charged with misleading those whom His holy words inspired to draft those two passages in themselves. Because those passages alone tell the reader that God's intention, will, is to save every one.
That not anyone, any one, would perish in their sins.

If God died to save only those predetermined to be saved and sacrificed for, then He firstly would not have told his Disciples to spread the good news into all the world, because He had predetermined only certain one's alive as sinners within it would be saved prior to the world coming into being and once the world was created. When God did that His will would be stronger than the sin the sinners, ignorant of their state prior to learning about it through ministry of the salvation message.

They would be redeemed after death and saved from damnation because they were foreknown, forenamed in the Book of Life, so as to not taste the second death by God's doing. Not theirs through repentance and so forth as we're told is the process of accepting the free gift that would then not be free at all. Because it was a preordained bestowal on only those whom God chose before the world.

Who would have to bring the message of Salvation to anyone when Salvation, per your formula, is predetermined for only one's God foreknew? Everyone either damned or saved before the world we inhabit came to exist.

In fact, when God predetermined before earth came to be who would be saved and knew them by name so as to write that down in the Book of Life, it would also mean that God predetermined why Salvation would be necessary in the beginning. It would mean He orchestrated the Fall and all that came after and pertained to that.



Yes, I can see your formula laid out right there.
It makes faith unnecessary.

God has faith in those He saved so that they are saved. And only those He knows are it. While any one of us could be mistaken. After all, He tells us, our thoughts are not like his thoughts. So if we think we're saved and we feel in Christ an renewed from our old self after what we think was our repentance of our sins, what do we know? Our thoughts aren't as God's.

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. (Ephesians 1:4)​

Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. (II Timothy 1:9)​

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” John 10:28–29

• 
  Revelation 20:15 - And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
  ​
• 
  Romans 8
  
  37 No, in all these things we are more than yconquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  
  Exodus 32:33 - And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.​

 

[Whispered]

Verse 6, If they believe in him, then they are already born again. The natural man, 1 Cor 2:14, cannot discern spiritual things in order to believe spiritual things.

I do not concur that scripture says what you think it does. Let those who would consider that suggestion click this link to the Mounce Interlinear Greek New Testament full Book of 1st Corinthians chapter 2. There are also other versions there for cross comparison. (no pun intended.)

 

[GKChesterton]

I've always wondered why so many people in the world seem to be handicapped by being born in places like China or the Moslem lands. Indeed , in the UK to some extent now.
It's true to say that children born in these places might never hear of our Lord Jesus Christ so maybe it's much harder for them , and of course there are millions of them who I think are all God's children.

However, we've been told that none shall come to the Father except through the Son, and when I'm told something that directly I must accept it.
It must be true, and of course I don't know what God knows, so I can't explain or understand what happens with people in these countries

 

[jacob_g]

A one week old child that dies is going to heaven, only if it has been born again and quickened to a spiritual life. We are all born into this world with a nature of sin, until we are quickened to a spiritual life Eph 2. The only exception is that John the Baptist while in his mother's womb was quickened to a spiritual life before his natural birth, and I believe that to be an exception with God. Luke 1:41, And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth (John's mother) heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Not all children that die in their youth (one week old, 1 yr old, 2 yr old) will go to heaven, only those that have been born again, however, I do think that all children that die in their youth will go to heaven, because the scriptures say that the wicked will live to be old.

First off what commentary are you quoting because this just does not hold true? What do you do with Scripture that God said only those under 20 years and under could go into the Promised Land (except for Joshua and Caleb). Those 20 years and under were not heald account for unbelief by God... All have been born with a sin nature since the fall, so did God change?

 

[Noose]

Verse 6, If they believe in him, then they are already born again. The natural man, 1 Cor 2:14, cannot discern spiritual things in order to believe spiritual things.

In what ways does a new born believe in Christ?

 

[iamsoandso]

Isaiah 43:11,,,Hosea 13:4 = no other Savior=no other salvation...

 

[iamsoandso]

There is none but me... https://biblehub.com/isaiah/45-21.htm there is no other salvation/savior https://biblehub.com/1_john/4-14.htm

 

[iamsoandso]

There is no other Savior nor salvation...

 

[iamsoandso]

https://biblehub.com/1_john/5-12.htm ,,,

 

[ForestGreenCook]

First off what commentary are you quoting because this just does not hold true? What do you do with Scripture that God said only those under 20 years and under could go into the Promised Land (except for Joshua and Caleb). Those 20 years and under were not heald account for unbelief by God... All have been born with a sin nature since the fall, so did God change?

"The promised land" is not heaven, although it is a type and shadow of heaven. If you are of the understanding that those of Israel who were not allowed to go into the promised land are not going to heaven, then I think that you may have a misunderstanding of the scriptures. God changes not. I do not use commentaries. Scripture proves scripture.

 

[ForestGreenCook]

I do not concur that scripture says what you think it does. Let those who would consider that suggestion click this link to the Mounce Interlinear Greek New Testament full Book of 1st Corinthians chapter 2. There are also other versions there for cross comparison. (no pun intended.)

You do not concur that the scripture says what I think it does, because you are conferring with the wrong version of the bible and other writings of men's interpretations.

 

[ForestGreenCook]

In what ways does a new born believe in Christ?

In the new birth God exchanges his heart ( Ezk 36:26) and gives him a soft heart that can absorb the truth of the scriptures. God does this sometime between our natural birth and our natural death. It is no difference whether it is in our youth or in our adult life. L believe babies that die are born again and are going to be in heaven, because Psalms 73 says that the wicked grow to prosper and that they are not plagued (divinely punished) like other men.