Elijah John wrote:
New International Version Romans 10.9
If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Contrasted to Jesus statement:
New International Version Matthew 7.21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven
For debate:
1) Where did Jesus
ever teach what Paul is saying in Romans 10.9? Where did Jesus ever teach that
calling him "Lord"or believing in the reality of his impending death and resurrection were conditions for salvation?
Proclaiming with the mouth:
But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. Luke 9:26
So it is a matter of acknowledging Him, rather than denying Him.
Indeed, Paul goes on:
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
From my Lord,
"For out of the heart's abundance, the mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45)
**
And it was not a matter of believing in his
impending death and resurrection - because at the time Paul wrote that, Christ had already died and been resurrected. It is a matter of knowing (having faith) in the LIVING Christ.
Otherwise are you (general you) believing in Him, truly? In his
teachings, sure. But in Him, truly, and in all that He said, including about Himself?
(Remember though that Paul
also spoke of those who would be declared righteous because they do the requirements of the law (of love) upon their hearts)
2) Didn't Jesus already teach what is necessary for salvation? (doing the will of the Father)?
Is not the will of the Father that men should listen to Christ?
Did He mean just listen to some things? Or did He mean listen to all things?
Did He mean 'believe in the [Jesus] of one's choosing? Or believe in His 'only begotten' Son.
3) If so, why should anyone listen to Paul's added conditions?
I'm not sure that this is an example of added conditions. The way that some might apply
them, perhaps. (I have no example; I don't know what you are referring to as a contradiction)
But one should listen to Christ... first and foremost; including over Paul. Since Paul is a man and men can make mistakes.
4) And if Paul added conditions to Jesus own "recipe for salvation", does that make Paul a liar or a false prophet? Or simply an opinionated theologian and preacher?
[/quote]
Paul is a man, and Paul can make mistakes (hence all things that anyone states should be held up to and tested against the Light that is Christ)
I'm not sure this is an instance of that though. Or more of an instance of some men taking the things that Paul writes (things that can be difficult to understand) and interpreting them in an erroneous way. (again I have no example, perhaps you could elaborate though?)
2Peter 3:16
Some parts of his (Paul's) letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
So keep in mind that Paul is writing in this entire exchange about there being no difference between Jew and Gentile. Those who stated that one needed to be circumcised, or that one needed to obey the law, or that one needed to be a Jew, etc... were the ones adding to the conditions that Christ set out.
Romans 10:12,13
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile"the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Peace to you EJ, and to your loved ones,
your servant and a slave of Christ,
tammy
