Christians: What "saved" you?

Agree totaly!! Anything the bible says is right!!! But you must love!

Your list is pretty good. Here are a few clarifications though.

Matthew 10:22, Philippians 2:12, I John 2:29 are talking to people ALREADY saved. Not how to become saved.

1 Peter 1:22 doesn't deal with salvation.

1 Peter 4:17 - obey the gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again. To obey the gospel is to believe it and accept the free gift.

Baptism is important for salvation. 1 Peter 3:21 is a great verse that explains what baptism is - not getting wet. So, the thief on the cross was baptized after all :-)

1 Peter 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

You missed a great passage that talks about grace with salvation:

Ephesians 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (9) not by works, so that no one can boast. (10) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, (5) he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, (6) whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (7) so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

For more details on how to be saved, see www.godlovestheworld.com

P.S. Regarding your reply to Chris.

Do you consider John 6:28-29 a contradiction or do you consider it a clarification to Ephesians 2:8-9 and Titus 3:5? There is definitely something we need to do to be saved - believe and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law for us and acts of righteousness do not help us one bit to be saved since:

Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

I used to believe in the "once saved, always saved" theory. I still do to a certain extent. I believe that we are saved by grace through faith. Taking scriptures out of context is a dangerous thing.

You didn't list grace but it is in the bible as a "condition" of being saved.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:

Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Works alone will not save you. What you listed are ingredients, but not the final product. You must read all that go along with those things to get the whole picture.

I also believe that those whom God has called and they answered will be saved. However, I also think that God has a place for us, but what that place is in Heaven is up to us. Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you.

If this makes sense to you- all the things you mentioned are so closely related to one another- it's like asking " is pizza cheese or bread or pepporoni? " Because without grace- faith is impossible. Hearing God's word is what produces faith which leads to obedience- etc. etc. The one thing I would disagree with is works- we do them but they are PROCEEDED by faith and the works themselves do not save us (Rather, if they did - you could be a terrible horrible person and have a mean bitter heart but quickly do alot of "good" deeds and still enter Heaven even if you hated God and everything He stands for) It sounds like you have misunderstood Grace- it is OFFERED to everyone through the atonement of Christ. However, that does not mean that everyone accepts this free gift- so no, not everyone will be saved.

What saved me? Well, first, I was saved from the wrath of God. Second, I was saved by Christ taking my place. As a result of this, I have repented from sin and made Christ my Lord (as every Christian does). I will endure to the end, as all try Christians do. I regularly call on the name of the Lord. I read the Bible to increase my knowledge of God. I try to be obediant. My works exist to try to demonstrate that I am saved. God would not save me without knowing he exists, and me believing he can save me.

All in all, every one of these things you mention play a part in either a Christian's salvation, or as a indespensible sign of it.

There are others: Predestination, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, evangelism, a deep joy, ect. . .

Does this help (even if it is a little jumbled). . . if so, best answer would be cool. . . (hint, hint)

I would agree with those save three.

endurance to the end (controversial debate amongst Christians)

baptism (same debate)

works (bible is very clear works do not gain salvation for you).

Philippians 2:12 and 1 John 2:29 refer to acting out what you believe (i.e. not being hypocritical), not using works as a way to salvation.

My personal opinion on endurance is that it means that you can't use your grace as a free ticket to heaven, that you just can't get saved for one day and then live the life of a heathen the rest of your life.

On baptism, I believe that baptism should be done, but is not necessary for salvation.

You can look up both sides of the debate on these topics on Google, I won't get into that here.

The question should be WHO saved me, not what. salvation is only through Christ and His shed blood. works do not saved, but once saved we will want to do the works that He has planned for us to do long before the creation of the world. We must confess and repent and accept Christ for our salvation. Grace does save, however not everyone will accept that free gift

The truth is that the Bible makes entrance into heaven clear and easy.

The truth is that the only way to be saved and go to heaven and not the eternal lake of fire is by believing in this life that Jesus, who is God, died for our sins on the cross and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe this and you're saved!

Your list is OK, except for the "works" part. If Jesus's death on the cross once and for all and the amazing grace of God to grant us this gift through faith (and most of the rest of your list there, not trying to play semantics) is somehow limited by our ability to keep or lose it, then you are diminishing His power.

People sin even after salvation--we struggle with dual desires living in the flesh in a fallen world. Paul talks about this extensively. People fall away, people let go, but God never does. If those people were truly saved to begin with (and only they and God know that for sure) then they are still saved--Jesus died for ALL sins of ALL who would accept---past, present, future.

We can quibble about occasional sin vs habitual or lifestyle sin, but bottom line, once you add anything to God's grace, then how much is enough, and if you did more than I, or someone else did more than you, then they are MORE saved? It doesn't work like that--it's all about what Jesus did for us, not what we can or will do for Him.

However, once we are saved, and Jesus through His Holy Spirit is indwelling our hearts, ideally we will desire to do good works and bear fruit because He is living through us, and we will desire to complete His purpose for our lives. Otherwise, why wouldn't God just zap us to heaven as soon as we are saved to keep us from sinning and ruining our relationship/witness or as your question implies, even losing our salvation?

I think you are very close to the truth, just fuzzy on the sequence. If you belong to one of those churches that does preach that other things besides God's grace are REQUIRED for salvation, please do some more thoughtful prayer and study--"For by grace are ye saved through faith; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

Jesus + anything else is bordering on blasphemy as it negates/diminishes His power and gives it to us.

Keep in mind that many who "claim" to be saved, but are bearing no fruits of repentance or service afterward may not have had the total change of heart and may just be going through the motions or doing what they think is necessary to "buy off" God or get the preacher/mama/wife/husband/fill in the blank to quit bugging them, etc. BUT, that is for God to judge not us. All we can do is live the truth as best we understand it and pray for those about whom we are unsure that the Holy Spirit would convict them and get them right with the Lord. Be very careful about trying to measure someone else's salvation by your standards or a church's idea of what a Christian looks like....remember how radically different Jesus was than the religious Pharisees of His day?

God bless you & hope that helps!

P.S. Whoops skimmed right by and missed the baptism part--that isn't required either--the thief on the cross wasn't baptized. It is merely a symbol of the change that takes place in the heart and an act of obedience in following Christ. An important first step of dicipleship for a believer, but not necessary for salvation, and meaningless if done by christening or sprinkling to a baby who doesn't understand it and wasn't saved first!

PPS: You're Church of Christ, aren't you? While we're at it, explain the no music thing to me will you? I sure enjoy good old gospel music with instruments & would miss that if it weren't allowed in heaven!

Jesus

Luke 1

46...My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.