Love One Another and the Cross

[shazeep]

Originally Posted by mfblume

The overall bible says salvation is not by our works. .. whether they're in love or not.

yet we have Do not be deceived, little children. So i doubt that we define "love" very well, either, it can seem cruel. Love can also be faked; it is better possibly to say "righteousness."

Originally Posted by mfblume

The cross. Nothing but the blood.

yet we have Not all who call on the Lord will be saved!

Originally Posted by mfblume

Works follow. Faith that works is what saves.

amen, unfortunately, it is all too easy to direct people into an OSAS understanding, creating a faith that finds fault, which doesn't work.

Originally Posted by mfblume

Can Islam save anyone?

Who then, can be saved?

Can any religion save anyone? i guess you might say "yes." But many will cry "Lord, Lord," and all who call on the Name of the Lord are not accepted. To directly answer your question, i would not want to hazard a guess. But i suspect the question is naive and irrelevant. God judges the heart, but we insist upon the mechanics of Acts 2:38.

What does it matter if you win the argument--say i flip and start agreeing with you, so what--and miss salvation? I might become accepted for saying the right things in the right places, and go to hell! One cannot fool God with empty works, either; Job conscientiously tried. Even being righteous was not good enough for God, who wants a personal relationship.

You could do righteous works the rest of your life, and if you are hoping that you are getting saved by them, your heart is in the wrong place. This person would not be humble, could not apologize, etc. so don't get me wrong.

We are really pretty much agreeing i think; i have just lost the need to insist upon a human formula for salvation that may not produce salvation at all, and likely works more against the Kingdom than for it. And this was not an easy step for me; it was quite scary in fact. I had to admit that either only OPs go to heaven, or everything i had been taught was from men.