Messages on Facebook: Being Saved by Faith Alone Does Not Work

By Danyi

This morning, after practicing spiritual devotion and saying a prayer to God, I turned on my computer and logged on to Facebook. I then saw a message from Sister Jinshen: Hello, Danyi, the recent fellowshiping about the Bible with you has answered so many of the confusions I had in faith. And today I’d like to delve into another issue with you. Since I started believing in the Lord Jesus and read the following in the Bible: “For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10), I have always believed that because of our faith in the Lord Jesus, we believers are saved, that once we are saved then we are saved forever, and that when the Lord comes back we will automatically enter the kingdom of heaven. But later on, I read the Bible verses: “Be you holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16), and “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Seeing these words reminded me of how we are still living in the state of continually sinning and confessing, and haven’t reached holiness. For example, some brothers and sisters follow the world’s evil trends, pursue eating, drinking and carousing, and covet physical pleasures; some indulge in online games or playing mahjong and gambling; some plot against each other in their interpersonal dealings, bicker over every little bit of their interests, and lie and cheat others. I am therefore really confused and wonder: The Lord is holy, so can we, who often commit sins, be worthy to see the Lord’s face and enter the kingdom of heaven? I’d like to hear your fellowship on this.

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Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst God’s Management

Be saved

In the eyes of every person, God’s management is a very unfamiliar thing because people think of His management as being utterly removed from them. People think that God’s management is His work alone and that it only concerns Him—and so mankind is indifferent to His management. In this way, the salvation of mankind has become vague and indistinct, and is now nothing but empty rhetoric. Although man follows God in order to receive salvation and enter the wonderful destination, he has no concern for how God conducts His work. Man cares not for what God has planned, nor for the part he must play in order to be saved. This is truly tragic. Man’s salvation cannot be separated from God’s management nor disassociated from His plan. Yet man thinks nothing of the management of God, and thus grows ever more distant from Him. This has caused increasing numbers of people who are completely unaware of fundamental issues related to the question of salvation—such as what creation is, what belief in God is, how to worship God, and so on—to join the ranks of His followers. Hence, we must now discuss God’s management so that each of His followers clearly understands what it means to follow and believe in Him. Doing so will help each person more accurately choose the path they should tread, rather than following God merely to gain blessings, or avoid disasters, or stand out among others.

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What Does Being Saved Mean? Does It Mean Receiving Full Salvation?

By Xiaorui

Being Saved

Regarding salvation, many brothers and sisters say with confidence: “The Bible says: ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:9–10). We have received salvation at the cross of the Lord Jesus and if we only believe in our hearts and confess our sin with our mouths, we will be forgiven—we are already saved, so we have full salvation and when the Lord comes, we will definitely enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is this viewpoint of ours actually correct? Does having our sins forgiven and being saved really mean we have full salvation? We really need to communicate this issue clearly, because it is directly connected to our entering the kingdom of heaven, a great matter.

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What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

By Yanxi

Speaking of being born again, I believe that all the brothers and sisters in the Lord know it and may think of the dialogue between the Lord Jesus and Nicodemus recorded in the Bible, “Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be 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 the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, You must be born again” (John 3:3-7). The Lord Jesus told us that a man cannot enter into the kingdom of God unless he is born again, and that anyone who is not reborn will be eliminated by God. As can be seen, this requirement of the Lord Jesus is of great concern for every one of us that believes in and follows God.

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What’s the True Meaning of Being Saved?

By Xiaorui

What is the meaning of being saved? Many people believe that “salvation” refers to having our sins forgiven through believing in the Lord and repenting to Him, and no longer being condemned to death by the law. So why do we still sin? Are we completely saved? Read this article to learn the true meaning of being saved.

Meaning of savedRegarding salvation, many brothers and sisters say with confidence: “The Bible says: ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:9–10). We have received salvation at the cross of the Lord Jesus and if we only believe in our hearts and confess our sin with our mouths, we will be forgiven—we are already saved, so we have full salvation and when the Lord comes, we will definitely enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is this viewpoint of ours actually correct? Does having our sins forgiven and being saved really mean we have full salvation? We really need to communicate this issue clearly, because it is directly connected to our entering the kingdom of heaven, a great matter.

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What Is True Salvation and How Should We Understand Salvation?

Hello Sister Wang Qiao:

As is known to us believers, the Lord Jesus carried out a stage of work of redemption for mankind. The pastors and elders often preach that we are saved as long as we acknowledge the Lord Jesus with our mouth and believe in Him in our hearts. Just as the Bible says, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:9–10). So, they believe as long as we acknowledge the Lord’s name, confess and repent to the Lord, we are saved. And once we are saved, we are eternally saved. However, recently I’ve heard some brothers and sisters who had gone out to listen to sermons say that believing in the Lord Jesus only means receiving His redemption and having one’s sins pardoned, but not truly attaining salvation. As for what true salvation is, our church’s brothers and sisters often discuss it, but we haven’t got a certain answer. And I still don’t understand it. So I wonder how you understand it. Looking forward to your reply!

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What Is God’s Salvation According to the Bible? Have You Gained It?

What Is God’s Salvation According to the Bible? Have You Gained It?

Many brothers and sisters in the Lord are familiar with the word “salvation,” and we all look forward to gaining God’s salvation when He appears in the last days, because the Bible says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). However, many brothers and sisters may be unclear on what the meaning of gaining God’s salvation is. So, let us first look back at God’s work in the past to understand this aspect of the truth better.

Many brothers and sisters know that before the Israelites left Egypt, they were slaves under the Egyptian Pharaoh, were abused and suffered hardships, but their tormented voices reached the ears of Jehovah. Jehovah could not bear to let the Israelites be constrained and suffer under the Pharaoh, so He called upon Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of Canaan. The Israelites were rescued by God from the Pharaoh’s grasp and saved from his enslavement. For the Israelites, this was God’s salvation. Before the Israelites entered Canaan, Jehovah proclaimed the law through Moses, and taught the people of Israel how to fear and serve Him, taught them that by acting righteously they would gain His blessings but by doing evil they would be cursed by Him, taught them how to get along with each other, how to live, etc. God’s work in the Age of Law gradually brought the life of the Israelites onto the right track, and they no longer lived in chaos. God’s law again gave God’s salvation to the Israelites by teaching them what sin is.

Later in the Age of Law, mankind did not keep the law and no longer had hearts that feared God, and so risked being condemned and executed by the law. To save mankind from the threat of death, the Lord Jesus came to earth incarnate in the flesh to do the work of redemption, thereby saving mankind from the law. Mankind was no longer in danger of being condemned and executed by the law, and lived in God’s grace. Those who lived under the law, therefore, again received God’s salvation. Just as the Bible says, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).

In the last days, many brothers and sisters anxiously wait, wondering when the Lord Jesus will descend on clouds to bring them to their home in heaven. However, they don’t understand that although we have been redeemed from our sins by believing in the Lord Jesus, and God will forget our past mistakes, this doesn’t mean we have gained salvation, because we still live in a cycle of committing sins in the day and confessing them at night, and still suffer the bondage of sin. For example, we often lie and deceive to protect our own interests in our daily lives. We also act arbitrarily, according to our own notions, as we preach and work for the Lord. In our interactions with others, we often like to show off ourselves while we ignore and look down upon others. Our corrupt dispositions of being arrogant, selfish, deceitful, and evil still exist, so we still cannot enter God’s kingdom. We still need to accept God’s salvation in the last days to be completely purified so that we can gain all the salvation God has prepared for us and enter God’s kingdom.

This completely fulfills the Lord Jesus’ prophecy, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). The Bible also says, “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). From this, we can see that God will do the work of judgment and purification in the last days, and that this work is to purify and save mankind. So, today, in the last days, we must accept God’s work of chastisement and judgment, to completely escape our corrupt satanic dispositions, to be truly purified, and to gain God’s salvation.

From: Testify God

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As Christians, How Can We Face Trials From God Audaciously and Calmly?

As Christians, How Can We Face Trials From God Audaciously and Calmly?

Brothers and sisters of Testify God:
Glad to write to you!
  I have met some problems and calamities in my life recently. Although I know from theory that they are trials and refinements from God, which are good environments for me, I’m still afraid of them a lot. What should I do to dare to face them?
Jia Yin

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