Yes, i know it says in John 3:16, that who so ever believeth in Christ shall be saved.  But It also says in the Bible, that Faith without Works is dead.  So dont you need to build up your faith, work to do the Lords will, which is to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles, and to set an example, or as in Matthew 5:14-16, be a light unto the world, that man might see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven.  So...dont you need to do more then just believe in Christ to make it back to Him and our Heavenly Father?
132928
If you ask Christ to come in your heart, He does and then gives you a desire to do these other things. You don't have to do anything else to make it to heaven, but you will be held accountable to God for all you neglect to do. The Bible also says 'to him who knowth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin' Our desire should be to do whatever it takes to be just like Him and to please Him. If you are a Christian and you don't have this desire then you need to talk to God about your walk with Him.
62023
For me, a belief in God through Jesus Christ is not a vehicle by which I seek to attain the lofty heights of “good person” status, neither is it inspired by something as vague as a “feel”. It is far more definite than that and I thank the Lord that He has helped me to see these things with clarity.\n\nBut getting back to the crux your question, there are many people that have led a more righteous life than I (and others professing to be Christian), who perhaps from our limited human perspective would “deserve” to be way ahead in the queue for receiving God’s salvation.\n\nThe properly understood, “Good News” of the Gospel however is that we do not (and can not) receive the gift of God’s salvation by means of any good deeds or works that we can muster. There is simply nothing that we can do well enough to “earn” our salvation.\n\nWe need no preparation, (it’s futile), we come as we are (because God’s love is unconditional), we do not put it off (it’s the devil at work), we place our trust in Jesus, the Son of God (His blood, our only means of salvation), and we believe it in our hearts, confess with our lips and receive…… We are born again …...and with God’s help and the guidance of His Holy Spirit we become His “work in progress”.\n\nAs for being a good person, I believe that every true Christian strives to fit that bill as indeed plenty of non-Christians do also.  You do not need to be Christian to be good, you do not become Christian by being good but good (or heading that way) is what every true Christian should be.\n\nMat 6:33\nBut seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
50269
Once a person is saved, is he always saved?\n\nAccording  to most religions once you accept Jesus, you are always saved from then on.  BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY:\n\nJude 5, RS: “I desire to remind you, though you were once for all fully informed, that he who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” \n\nMatt. 24:13, RS: “He who endures to the end will be saved.” (So a person’s final salvation is not determined at the moment that he begins to put faith in Jesus.)\n\nPhil. 2:12, RS: “As you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (This was addressed to “the saints,” or holy ones, at Philippi, as stated in Philippians 1:1. Paul urged them not to be overly confident but to realize that their final salvation was not yet assured.)\n\nHeb. 10:26, 27, RS: “If we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries.” (Thus the Bible does not go along with the idea that no matter what sins a person may commit after he is “saved” he will not lose his salvation. It encourages faithfulness. See also Hebrews 6:4-6, where it is shown that even a person anointed with holy spirit can lose his hope of salvation.)\n\nIs anything more than faith needed in order to gain salvation?\n\nEph. 2:8, 9, RS: “By grace [“undeserved kindness,” NW] you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God—not because of works, lest any man should boast.” (The entire provision for salvation is an expression of God’s undeserved kindness. There is no way that a descendant of Adam can gain salvation on his own, no matter how noble his works are. Salvation is a gift from God given to those who put faith in the sin-atoning value of the sacrifice of his Son.)\n\nHeb. 5:9, RS: “He [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.”  (Does this conflict with the statement that Christians are “saved through faith”? Not at all. Obedience simply demonstrates that their faith is genuine.)\n\nJas. 2:14, 26, RS: “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.” (A person does not earn salvation by his works. But anyone who has genuine faith will have works to go with it—works of obedience to the commands of God and Christ, works that demonstrate his faith and love. Without such works, his faith is dead.)\n\nActs 16:30, 31, RS: “‘Men, what must I do to be saved?’ And they [Paul and Silas] said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” (If that man and his household truly believed, would they not act in harmony with their belief? Certainly.)\n\nAre there scriptures that definitely show that some will never be saved?\n\n2 Thess. 1:9, RS: “They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” \nMatt. 7:13, 14, RS: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
188815
Good works won't get you into heaven. Only having faith in Jesus Christ and believing that He died on the cross for you and rose again will. Jesus forgave all of our sins when He died on the cross.
216921
While it is important to have fellowship with other Christans, it is a command even, remember that you don't have to be in church to worship. God should be part of your daily walk in life, not just Sunday. Also I'm kind of reminded of something else... even Paul the Apostle supported himself as a tentmaker...
292009
Our salvation is not obtained by our "good works", for "all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" before God anyway (Isaiah 64:6). "But to him who does not work [for his salvation] but believes on Him Who justifies the UNGODLY, his faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans 4:5).\n\nWhen Christ took our punishment, God imputed to Him all the sins that we have done--and will continue to do--so that He could impute His righteousness to us, as he had promised in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16). This is why the Psalmist would only boast in the righteousness of God (Psalm 71:16).\n\nThe thief acknowledge his standing before the Law of God (guilty) and asked for mercy, like the publican in Luke 18:9-14. Therefore God justified him, and he went to be with Jesus.
170293
True for the most part, but different people have different definitions of "saved." Also, many of the Christian denominations use this word differently, so I'm not sure what you mean by it here. Essentially, you're right. Just because one knows Jesus and what He did for us doesn't guarantee one's salvation. Both faith and good works are required to be saved. For more on this, read the letters of St. Paul.
293671
Friend,\n\nRe-read Ephesians 2.  It is by FAITH we have been saved.  Not by any works of our hands or hearts.  Being saved is a GIFT from God.  When I give a gift, I expect nothing in return.  I don't think God does either.  Quoted above: our works are like filthy rags to God.  The good works spoken of are not for God's benefit, but ours and our fellow man.  The Lord delights in our being happy.  If a believer shows another of God's children love via a "good deed", the love shown is what God cares about.  When we do "good deeds" to try and please God, we fail at it miserably!  That is why no deed, however good will get you into heaven.  It is by being born again through Christ that we gain access to heaven.  That is THE ONLY WAY.  The Bible is plain on that idea.  Good works are to be done because of our love for God, not to make Him happy.  The fact that we love Him and one another is His hearts delight.\nPeace
570246
It's necessary to look at everything that the Bible says on a matter, and not just a single verse.\n\nFor example, the Bible says that we are saved by faith (Romans 5:1).  Some people jump on that and say that we are saved by faith only.\n\nOthers look at Ephesians 2:5, which says that we are saved by grace, and they want to say that we are saved by grace only.  They say that we don't have faith to be saved; we have faith because we are saved already.\n\n1Peter 3:21 says that we are saved by baptism.\n\nDo these verses contradict each other?  Not at all.  We need to put them together.  We are saved by grace, because God chose, by His grace, to give us a means by which we could be saved.  We are saved by faith when we choose to obey Him by being baptized to wash away our sins (Acts 22:16).\n\nThe Bible harmonizes perfectly (despite the rantings of certain people answering these questions).  It is up to use to read everything that is said on the matter and put it together.
69397
Yes, I definitely believe in God the Father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. I believe that if you receive Jesus into your heart and live for God you will return to God when you die. The Bible says if you believe in your heart and confess with your tongue that Jesus is Lord you shall be saved. Every person must be born again. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, for the wages of sin is death but the gift of GOd is eternal life through CHrist Jesus. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
510010
There are some interesting verses in the bible.  God says these things:  "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will harden the hearts of those also whom I choose".  God also likens Himself to a potter, and we are the clay.  He speaks of how He, as God...has the right to choose what to do with that clay.  I don't know why certain people are found of God and certain others are not.  But there is one thing I believe with all my heart:  that God is perfectly just, righteous and holy.  So I do not give up my faith in Him for those things I do not understand.
438044
I know this is long, but it's worth reading.\n\nI believe in God because I've found peace in Him.\nWhen I have a bad day at school, or if my parents get mad at me, all I have to do is read my Bible. Instant spirit boost. It reminds me that God is always there right beside me, no matter what I'm going through (and that he went there before me and knew everything that was going to happen, and that nothing happens that he doesn't already have worked out). It's a faith thing.\nTo answer your last two questions: Indeed, we are all sinners. It had to be that way. God wants us to have a relationship with him. That relationship is called "fellowship", and you can't have real fellowship with someone unless they genuinely want to. It wouldn't be a true relationship if, say, you tried to be friends with a computer; the computer just does whatever you tell it to do, it doesn't have a real choice of whether to stay with you or go somewhere else, so its friendship really means nothing. So, in order for God to have true fellowship with His creations, there had to be something standing between humans and God, so that only people who genuinely wanted God in their lives had a relationship with Him. That's why there had to be sin, and all of us had to be sinners, so that we could opt to have fellowship with God. And, if He destroyed us, there still wouldn't be fellowship. You just have to realize, God has already won. He won when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for all the sins of mankind, so we can have a relationship with Him. He loves you and He wants you, and He's already forgiven you; all you have to do is accept it.\nTo answer your last question: I'm not sure about either Ghandi's or Einstein's faith in God or their salvation, so I don't know if they went to heaven or hell. But I do know this: Jesus said "No one comes to the Father except through me." So if Jesus wasn't their personal Saviour and they had not placed their trust in Him, they did not go to heaven. For the Bible says that no good deeds on this Earth are enough to "buy" your way into heaven, even if you're incredibly smart or act on integrity all the time, you still need atonement for your sins through Jesus Christ.
103538
You must not only believe, you must live out that belief; not because you have to, but because you want to. If your faith does not cause you to change your behavior to live as Christ wants you to, you don't have faith, but only an association of convenience.\n\nJustification is the process by which a sinner is made righteous, pure and holy before God. Justification comes by means of faith in Christ, and in a life of good works lived in response to God's invitation to believe.\n\nThe term "salvation" refers to the whole process from its beginning in faith, through the whole Christian life of the works of love on Earth, to its completion in Heaven.\n\n"See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." - James 2:24-26.
376426
You may want to read the book of James, he addressed this nicely to the congregation. Salvation is indeed a gift, however we demonstrate our faith by our works, that is why James says that "faith w/o works is dead". I would suggest reading the book of James, he talks about this in depth.
41873
Jesus had to die so that we could all be saved.  If he didnt then no one could go to heaven because no one is perfect except him.  (Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit )(Gal. 3:13)  Faith and deeds are one in hand, According to James, (But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds.\n"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.) James 2:14-25
327350
Here is a standard outline for people who want to have a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Feel free to contact me via this site if you have any questions. I pray that God will welcome you into His family, in Jesus' name, Amen!\n\nRoman Road: The Highway to a Relationship with God\nRoman Road – it’s not just a systematic way to build highways inherited from the Roman Empire in the 1st Century. It’s also God’s plan of salvation set forth in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Also known as the Roman Road, the following is a collection of passages that build a beautiful and systematic approach to the gospel of grace by and through Jesus Christ.\n\nRoman Road: The Gospel of Grace\nFollow Me: \n\nRomans 1:20-21: "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." We must acknowledge God as the Creator of everything and accept our humble position in God's creation. \n\nRomans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” We must all realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness. We are not worthy of God’s grace. \n\nRomans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Through Jesus, God gave us a way to be saved from our sins. God showed us His love by giving us the potential for life through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ. \n\nRomans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and repent of our sins, we will have eternal life. \n\nRomans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Just confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved! \n\nRomans 10:13 “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” There are no religious formulas or rituals -- Call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved! \n\nRomans 11:36: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today. \n\nRoman Road: Are You Ready to Accept God’s Gift of Salvation?\nIf you truly believe the message of the Roman Road, and want to accept God’s gift of salvation right now, it's a matter of repenting of your sins and turning the rest of your life over to Jesus Christ. Again, this is not a ritual based on any specific words or prayers, but rather, a willful decision and a sincere step of faith. \n\n“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.” \n\n"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38)\n\nIf you decided to receive Jesus today, welcome to God's family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on
308166
There's two parts - we are saved and we are to continue to work out our salvation.\n\n"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."\nphilippians 2:12-13\n\nSince we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.\nGalations 5:25\n\nSo we are to work with God's spirit in our lives - hence there is rest in him, but also action to be done!\n\n"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"\nPhilippians 3:12-14\n\nKeep the faith!