Worthless, Dead Relgion vs. Vibrant, Living Relationship

A vital question, of the upmost importance, that every self professing believer in Jesus Christ must ask ourselves on an individual basis is this; Do we actually know Jesus or do we simply know a lot about him? What is the difference and how does it affect our salvation, if at all? To understand that difference, we must first ask ourselves; Are we saved solely on the basis of WHO we know? Or, are we saved on the basis of WHAT we know?

Based on year's of experience both serving & working with Churches across denominational & doctrinal lines, it is both my belief & concern that far too many professing Christians today think they are saved because they agree with certain biblical facts (mental ascent).

According to scripture, human beings simply do not have the capacity to possess the attributes (righteousness) of Christ apart from the presence (Spirit) of Christ in our lives. It is the good pleasure & role of the Holy Spirit to be both the gift & worker of Christ's righteousness in & through our lives. Each & every single human being is completely and utterly reliant on an ongoing, daily relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, for salvation. Anything less, is to place one's trust in one's own human ability to process information, which is nothing short of a salvation based on human works.

Are we saved solely on the basis of WHO we know? Or, are we saved on the basis of WHAT we know?

Based on year's of experience both serving & working with Churches across denominational & doctrinal lines, it is both my belief & concern that far too many professing Christians today think they are saved because they agree with certain biblical facts (mental ascent).

Grace doesn't remember sin, we do till we understand why we remember, it does take time to forget them by flesh and blood looking and waiting. When we start to wake and grasp who we are then we laugh at ourself.

Neither. We are saved on the basis of FAITH: certainty that God is Who He says He is, and that He will do what He says He will do, even when we have no tangible evidence of such.


The word is "assent", which is related to "agreement," "consent," and "dissent".

"Ascent" is akin to "climb", as in, "The ascent of the summit was challenging." It is related to "descent" which is the noun for going down.


You cite Galatians, but your statements don't align with Galatians. Perhaps you could base your assertion (particularly the one I have bolded) on specific scriptural truths.

A vital question, of the upmost importance, that every self professing believer in Jesus Christ must ask ourselves on an individual basis is this; Do we actually know Jesus or do we simply know a lot about him? What is the difference and how does it affect our salvation, if at all? To understand that difference, we must first ask ourselves; Are we saved solely on the basis of WHO we know? Or, are we saved on the basis of WHAT we know?

Based on year's of experience both serving & working with Churches across denominational & doctrinal lines, it is both my belief & concern that far too many professing Christians today think they are saved because they agree with certain biblical facts (mental ascent). They are willing to "accept" that Jesus humbled himself by becoming a man and sacrificed himself for the forgiveness of sin. That He rose again on the third day so that we too may partake in the resurrection assured to those who place their trust in Christ for their salvation.

However, when you evaluate both their character & behavior, it is painfully obvious that the presence & power of the Holy Spirit is completely void in their life thus it could be easily argued that they do not know Christ at all. I have personally encountered people, who can quote scripture word for word, yet refuse to submit themselves completely to the wisdom found in Christ's word, which teaches us how we may relate to & walk with Christ. Do keep in mind that Jesus himself taught that a good tree shall not bare continually bad fruit and that we may discern a genuine believer from a counterfeit one according to such bad fruit.

According to scripture, human beings simply do not have the capacity to possess the attributes (righteousness) of Christ apart from the presence (Spirit) of Christ in our lives. It is the good pleasure & role of the Holy Spirit to be both the gift & worker of Christ's righteousness in & through our lives. Each & every single human being is completely and utterly reliant on an ongoing, daily relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, for salvation. Anything less, is to place one's trust in one's own human ability to process information, which is nothing short of a salvation based on human works.

I whole heartedly agree that we are saved by FAITH. However, if you actually paid attention to what I wrote, instead of glancing over it looking for typos and other reasons to he critical of someone that you obviously disagree with based solely on the title of this post, you would noticed that FAITH is obviously implied, for why would anyone place their complete trust in & full reliance on someone who they do not personally know to be worthy?

Anyhow, you would be wise not to let your pride in your "head knowledge" allow your heart toward others to grow so cold, for even truth, if delivered with a wrong motive, can become sinful.

A vital question, of the upmost importance, that every self professing believer in Jesus Christ must ask ourselves on an individual basis is this; Do we actually know Jesus or do we simply know a lot about him? What is the difference and how does it affect our salvation, if at all? To understand that difference, we must first ask ourselves; Are we saved solely on the basis of WHO we know? Or, are we saved on the basis of WHAT we know?

Based on year's of experience both serving & working with Churches across denominational & doctrinal lines, it is both my belief & concern that far too many professing Christians today think they are saved because they agree with certain biblical facts (mental ascent). They are willing to "accept" that Jesus humbled himself by becoming a man and sacrificed himself for the forgiveness of sin. That He rose again on the third day so that we too may partake in the resurrection assured to those who place their trust in Christ for their salvation.

However, when you evaluate both their character & behavior, it is painfully obvious that the presence & power of the Holy Spirit is completely void in their life thus it could be easily argued that they do not know Christ at all. I have personally encountered people, who can quote scripture word for word, yet refuse to submit themselves completely to the wisdom found in Christ's word, which teaches us how we may relate to & walk with Christ. Do keep in mind that Jesus himself taught that a good tree shall not bare continually bad fruit and that we may discern a genuine believer from a counterfeit one according to such bad fruit.

According to scripture, human beings simply do not have the capacity to possess the attributes (righteousness) of Christ apart from the presence (Spirit) of Christ in our lives. It is the good pleasure & role of the Holy Spirit to be both the gift & worker of Christ's righteousness in & through our lives. Each & every single human being is completely and utterly reliant on an ongoing, daily relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ, for salvation. Anything less, is to place one's trust in one's own human ability to process information, which is nothing short of a salvation based on human works.