This has been an on-going topic here at TalkJesus for at least 10 years.
People tend to cherry-pick the lowest common denominator of verses. For example...
A lot of people like John 3:16 and Eph 2:8-9; - these are "lowest denominator" verses.
John 3:16; "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
From that verse, it sounds like "all" I have to do in believe in Jesus. That's it. If I do that, I'm done.
Eph 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Eph 2:9; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Many people take this verse, and say "I was saved by faith and grace". That's all there is, I'm done.
So it's good to have a doctrine or a creed. But it's also important that this creed encompasses as much scripture as possible.
If we just pick one or two verses and leave out of the majority of what the Bible says about a subject, that can be dangerous too,
If we just take the verses above as stand-alone scriptures. - keep in mind, even the demons believe.
Here is some verses that lean the other way. Should we discount all of these, on the basis of the two above?
For example - enduring is also required. Apparently everyone won't endure... until the end.
Matt 10:22; "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matt 24:13; "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Mark 13:13; "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
Luke 8:13; "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
Some scriptures say baptism is "required". (baptism is mentioned over 40 times in the NT)
Mark 16:16; "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Rom 6:4; Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Eph; 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Col 2:12; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
1 Pet 3:21; Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Acts 2:38; Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 22:16; 'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.'
Some scriptures say being "born again" is required.
John 3:3; Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:4; Nicodemus *said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"
John 3:5; Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
John 3:6; "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
John 3:7; "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'
John 3:8; "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Like Nicodemus... a great many Christians today don't even know what that means.
Many verses say dying to self "taking up your cross" is required. Following after Jesus is required.
Matt 10:38; "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Matt 16:24; Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Mark 8:34; And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Luke 9:23; And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
Luke 14:27; "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Many scriptures say obedience is required.
2 Cor 2:9 For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.
1 Pet 1:14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
John 3:36; "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Acts 5:29; But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:32; "And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."
Rom 6:16; Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
1 Pet 1:2; according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
1 Pet 4:17; For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Luke 6:46; "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
...and yes, there are even many verses that say keeping the commandments is required. (moral law, as opposed to Levitical/Mosaic law).
Matt 5:19; "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 19:17; And He said to him, "Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
John 14:21; "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
John 15:10; "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
1 Cor 7:19; Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.
1 Jn 2:3; By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1 Jn 2:4; The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
1 Jn 5:2; By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
1 Jn 5:3; For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
2 Jn 1:6; And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.
Rev 14:12; Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Overcoming is required.
Rev 2:7; 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'
Rev 2:11; 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.'
Rev 2:17; 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'
Rev 2:26; 'He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;
Rev 3:5; 'He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev 3:12; 'He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 3:21; 'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Rev 21:7; "He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
These are just a few things... there are many more I am leaving out. (being a sheep or a goat, being a good steward, bearing good fruit, etc...)
But in spite of the fact that the Bible gives dozens and dozens of scriptures of things we have to do, many churches and people try to boil this down to one
or two of the simplest scriptures they can find. People have a tendency to water down scripture and take "the easiest way" possible.