Question about salvation

[Broncos1982]

So, in Romans 10:9, it says, if you confess with your mouth, jesus is lord, then you shall be saved.

however, in matthew 7:21, it says not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven.

How is this possible?

 

[Stickz]

Hey, Broncos1982

Peace be unto you

On the surface, it seems like a contradiction, doesn't it?

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Some might suggest that the Matthew verse is missing the part about believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Although, the Matthew verse was before the cross and resurrection and the Romans verse wasn't. I think the problem lies more in the word 'shalt'. I'm not going to post the definitions for the words 'shall' and 'shalt' here, but let's look at some verses where the word 'shalt' shows up to see how it is used in scripture:

I Timothy 4:6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

Isaiah 1:26 And I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city.

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Deuteronomy 7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

This verse in the first epistle of John seems to help the Matthew verse.

I John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

But what exactly is the will of God? Is it different for different people? Is it something that one could do all in one day, in just a few minutes?

Acts 18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

Acts 21:10 And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judæa a certain prophet, named Agabus.

Acts 21:11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.

Acts 21:12 And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Acts 21:13 Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 21:14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.

I Peter 2:15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:

Seems safe to say that the will of God is different for different people, and probably could not be done in one visit to the altar.

The word 'shalt' implies an on-going process, continuance—at least, until everything is completed. It also implies that something should be done, but isn't an absolute. So, perhaps, confessing Jesus and believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead is the start of something that should lead one to being saved.

There are many verses throughout scripture that tell us to do things to be saved, and some of them vary. We can't choose to believe one and not another. I, personally, believe that being saved is a future event, and not something that we can attain permanently right now. But, that's just me.

It's a good question, Bronc, it could be interesting to see how others answer it.

 

[RJ]

So, in Romans 10:9, it says, if you confess with your mouth, jesus is lord, then you shall be saved.

however, in matthew 7:21, it says not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven.

How is this possible?

It is possible because it is talking about two completly different things:

Romans 10 and I would look at verses 8-13, not just not 9, is discussing the steps to your salvation.

Matthew 7:21 is all about judgement. When an individual meets God on their judgement day, he will separate them out...separating the save from the unsaved. Here are some things in the Bible that is symbolic of that:

Separating Good from Bad:

Sheep from Goats
Wheat from Chaff
Wheat from Weeds

Matthew 25:46
<SUP id=en-NIV-24055 class=versenum>46</SUP> “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

You can believe and not be saved or, you can truly believe and be saved. Here are a couple on non-Biblical terms that can explain this:

Head Christian
You know of God but you do not know God. This was me for 20 years as I sat in the pew and heard all about God and Jesus but was not saved; I was a Head Christian, I had knowledge of God but I didn't have God!

Heart Christian
In your heart and mind you have done something similar to what it says in the above Romans 10:8-13. This is me now. I officially ( between God and me) accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, hence Heart Christian.

Please understand this then:
As promised by scripture and God, a true Chistian has God's Holy Spirit living in them. It is a mystery and we don't fully understand it but, this is exactly what Jesus meant when he told Nicodemus..."You must be Born Again".....born of the Spirit! ( see John 3)
Apposed to some other views here at TJ, I believe that once you complete this process, you are saved for eternity and we are to live in that peace and guidance from the Holy Spirit now:

John 3:36
<SUP id=en-NIV-26157 class=versenum>36</SUP> Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

John 3:15
<SUP id=en-NIV-26136 class=versenum>15</SUP> that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

I will leave you with this:
It is good to be here at TJ. Certainly, It is good to listen to others.
Primarily though, it is up to you and God to sort out what is truth and what is not.
The best way to do this is read God's word on a regular basis and , another of God's mystery's, the Holy Spirit will give you the understanding that counts.

Blessings!

 

[Stickz]

Peace unto you

Here's a couple more:

Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

Romans 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

 

[brakelite]

To find out the meaning of any verse in scripture rule one is don't isolate it from context. Jesus is speaking of those who would claim to be saved but are not (e.g. Re 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Re 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.) it is important to read the entire passage....


Matt. 7:21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

These people were religious. They were doing all sorts of stuff in the name of Jesus...prophesying, casting out demons, working miracles, maybe even speaking in tongues...but Jesus is right here describing the fault they had, the very reason they couldn't enter heaven, they were workers of iniquity. In other words, they were sinners. They hadn't turned away from evil, they hadn't truly repented of sin, despite their confession. Repentance is essential to salvation. The apostle John tells us the definition of sin...transgression against the law of God. (1 John 3:4)
What then is the will of God? It is actually quite simple, and it is universal. Obedience to His commandments.

The following quotes are just from John alone...there are many many more from every writer in the Bible, including Jesus Himself (John 14:15)

1Jo 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jo 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jo 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jo 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1Jo 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jo 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
2Jo 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

We need to take the above verses seriously. 'Believing in Jesus' simply doesn't cut it. We cannot claim salvation on the basis of just one or two verses in scripture that we pick out because they are the least demanding. We all must take the whole scriptural revelation concerning salvation and apply it to ourselves. Our lives depend upon it.