What’s Your View Concerning Easy-Believism
There’s a term going around – called “Easy-Believism.” Have you heard of it? If not, just take a look at the results that you get from google-ing that term. It’s a term that’s mostly used in a negative way to fight a popular trend here in the US. Easy-believism deals with the age old question: “What must I do to be saved?” It seems that over time, many have boiled the answer down to accepting a set of beliefs. Is this all there is to it? – Just accepting a set of truths taught from the Bible?
Consider this short article a welcome to share your views in the comment thread below.
Assumptions:
- The Bible is true.
- Mankind has a serious separation-from-God problem. That problem started in the Garden of Eden with the rebellion of man in disobeying God. As a result, our nature has become one that goes against God as evident by our continued natural behavior today.
(1). An Important Issue to Consider:
Are we made right in the sight of God from accepting some a set of spiritual truths? Are we adopted into the family of God based on mentally understanding and agreeing with a crucial set of beliefs? If someone has a correct understanding of Biblical teachings, is this all that is required in order to enter into the presence of God after death?
-or-
Can someone, who even believe correct doctrine, not meet the requirements of God necessary to enter heaven?
(2) Supporting your opinion.
If accepting correct beliefs alone is all that is required, what scriptures can you find that support this view?
If accepting correct beliefs alone are not all that is required, what scripturs can you find that support this view?
From front cover to back there is not one SUGGESTION made by God. Over and over again you will find the word COMMAND in the Bible. COMMAND : 1. To direct with authority ; give orders to. 2. To have control or authority over ; rule 5. To dominate by position. ( I skipped a couple definitions, they get pretty redundant )You get the point.
MATTHEW 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and TEACHING them to OBEY everything I have COMMANDED you. We see in this passage that the Lord didn’t stop after He said “TEACHING” which is how we gain the “knowledge” but by saying OBEY He was in fact is saying : 1. To carry out or fulfill the command, order, or instruction. 2. To carry out or comply with. 3. To BEHAVE obediently. Jesus didn’t say “respect” what I say. He didn’t say “gain a healthy knowledge of me” He in fact said DO WHAT I SAY.
The word knowledge or “to know” in the Bible goes further than just having head knowledge. Here’s something I posted before that explains “to know Jesus” … it will save the trouble of having to write it all out again. If you REALLY love God you will read this from start to finish! Although most won’t finish reading this and it doesn’t determine your love for God or not, I will post it anyway. I am astonished just how many ” If you love God ” posts I see. I have to tell you not only is this ridiculous and childish, but it is also unbiblical. Show me in the Bible where it says: “If you love God you have to send this to ten people.” or “If you love God don’t scroll down” … knowing all the while people have no choice but to scroll down. Does this mean I don’t love God? This type of stuff clearly comes from unbelieving people who have no idea what the Word of God says. Mostly out of ignorance. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that these people are just misinformed, maybe not, but we will just assume that.
First of all, we can not and do not love God on our own. The Bible clearly says the only reason we can even love God is because He first loved us. (1 JOHN 4:19). Now here’s where I might freak you out. The word “know” when used in the Bible (and you must know the context it is being used in) is a word that describes “to have sexual relations.” For example: GENESIS 4:1 says, “And Adam KNEW Eve his wife; and she conceived” (KJV). A more modern translation reads, “Adam lay with his wife Eve and gave birth to Cain” (NIV). To be even more clear here is how THE LIVING BIBLE translates this passage, “Then Adam had sexual intercourse with Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son, Cain.” In the Bible sex outside of marriage is immoral and forbidden 1 CORINTHIANS 7:2 & HEBREWS 13:4 amongst many more passages. Sex within marriage is sacred in the eye’s of God. Although the culture of today would disagree, but in this day and age just about anything goes in this Godless society we call America. Sex is far more than just the physical act, it is an intimate act of mind and emotion on behalf of the marriage partners. Therefore when the word “know” is used in the Bible it is an intimate knowledge between the parties involved. It’s not always referred to in a godly or positive manner I must add. For example : In GENESIS 19:5 it reads, “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may KNOW them.” These were the ungodly men of the wicked city of Sodom. These were homosexual men bent on having sexual relations with the ones (the two angels) Lot took into his house.
So we have clearly seen that the word “know” has to do with close intimate relations. Jesus Christ Himself calls His Church (that is true believers in Him) His bride. As we have established there can be no true godly intimate relationship between unmarried people. There can be intimate relations between unmarried people, they will just be ungodly and not according to Gods will. Sex was designed by God as a good thing, but because of sin it has been twisted. So when the Bible says, “to KNOW God” it is saying one has an intimate relationship with Him. To have an intimate relationship (one according to Gods design and will) takes time. I mean you can say you love someone, but until you get to “know” them and truly love them for who they are and not for just who we THINK they are, real love can’t be known. This happens in Hollywood all the time. Love is not just an emotion, love is action. Love is not just a word, it is sacrifice.
1 JOHN 3:6 “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him (God) or KNOWN Him ( God ).”
1 JOHN 2:4-6 “The man who says, ‘I KNOW HIM’ (God) but does not do what He COMMANDS is a LIAR, and the truth is not in him. But if any one OBEYS His Word, GODS LOVE is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him (God): Whoever claims to live in Him (God) MUST WALK AS JESUS DID.
1 JOHN 5:2-3 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and CARRYING OUT HIS COMMANDS.
For someone to just post up any old “If you love God” you will blah, blah, blah this or blah, blah, blah that shows no regard for God’s TRUE LOVE which is revealed to us through His Word (the Bible). It certainly doesn’t show any love from the one posting it because of the disrespect that is shown by the total disregard for any kind of true knowledge and accurate depiction of scripture about the REAL LOVE people are supposed to have for God.
IF YOU REALLY LOVE GOD YOU WILL GIVE YOUR LIFE COMPLETELY TO HIM AND PROVE IT BY ACTIONS, NOT EMPTY WORDS!!!
To just accept correct beliefs is not enough JAMES 2:14-26 clears this up.
Thanks for sharing Ray … forgive me for taking so long to see this post. I must have missed the email notification. My site gets very little traffic.
Ray, I like your comments. 🙂
I think this is in agreement with your thoughts, and seems to summarize them quite nicely:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
(John 14:15-24 ESV)
Well thanks Richard for your response. Until recently I used my e-mail very sparingly myself but, I have kind of been using it a little more as opposed to face book. There is a lot of nonsense that gets posted on fb, so I kinda have reverted back to good old e-mail to correspond with others. Although I will still post biblical truth on fb when I feel Im being led by the Spirit. Well thanks again Richard, may our Lord Jesus hold and keep you and yours until that glorious day!
A slave of Christ Jesus, Ray D.