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Salvation – False View

Salvation – False View

  • BIBLE (CORRECT): Salvation is the deliverance from the righteous judgment of God upon the person who has broken the Law of God. This salvation is accomplished only by faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and does not depend in any way upon our works (Rom. 4:1-5, 5:1, Eph. 2:8-9).
     
  • Christian Science: Salvation is not from God’s righteous judgment.
    • “Salvation. Life, Truth, and Love understood and demonstrated as supreme over all; sin, sickness, and death destroyed,” (S&H, p. 593).
       
  • Islam: Salvation is based on a combination of good works and Allah’s grace, which is arbitrary. A Muslim may live a dedicated and faithful life to Allah but may not make it to heaven since, in Islam, Allah can decide to damn a person who has been faithful to him.
     
  • Jehovah’s Witnesses: Salvation not by faith alone in Christ alone. It is by faith and what you do, (Studies in the Scriptures, vol. 1, pp. 150, 152). Therefore, it is earned. Salvation can be lost, (Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 358-359).
    • “For a person to gain salvation God requires that he exercise faith in Him and Christ Jesus . . . Salvation through the coming war of Armageddon and from death depends upon obedience to Jehovah God and to Jesus Christ . . . Endurance in the way to life is also a requirement for salvation . . . A person must manifest his faith in the manner Christ did by dedicating himself to Jehovah God, symbolizing that dedication by water immersion, and making public proclamation of the truth. He must be a teacher of God’s Word and purposes. He cannot remain silent, thinking that belief alone is sufficient for salvation,” (Watchtower 3/1/1960, p. 135).
    • “There is no easy road to salvation. It is gained only by strenuous endeavor . . . Taking in knowledge is the first essential . . . So the first step on the way to salvation is study of the Bible . . . worship that is offered ‘with spirit and truth,’ is vital to your salvation . . . Another indispensable requirement for salvation is pointed out by the apostle Paul in these words: “You should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct . . . ’, “So the fleshly, materialistic aims so common to worldly people need to be put away . . . your faith should lead you to take another important step necessary to your salvation . . . You offer yourself for baptism,” (Watchtower, 12/1/1967, p. 707, What Is Needed for Salvation?).
       
  • LDS – Mormonism: Good works are necessary for salvation (Articles of Faith by James Talmage, p. 92).
    • “As these sins are the result of individual acts it is just that forgiveness for them should be conditioned on individual compliance with prescribed requirements–‘obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel,'” (Articles of Faith by James Talmage, p. 79).
    • “One of the most fallacious doctrines originated by Satan and propounded by man is that man is saved alone by the grace of God; that belief in Jesus Christ alone is all that is needed for salvation,” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 206).
    • “If I ever obtain a full salvation it will be by my keeping the laws of God,” (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, p. 23. See also Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 71).
       
  • Roman Catholicism: Salvation is not by grace alone and faith alone. It is the result of a process that begins with baptism, and includes good works, along with Catholic sacraments.
    • “ . . . so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments,” (CCC, 2068).
    • “In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere ‘to the end’ and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God’s eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ,” (CCC, 1821).
    • “Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation,” (CCC 846).
    • “This sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation for those who have fallen after Baptism, just as Baptism is necessary for salvation for those who have not yet been reborn,” (CCC 980).
    • “The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation,” (CCC 1257).
    • “Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation,” (CCC 1816).
    • “The authority of the Magisterium extends also to the specific precepts of the natural law [i.e., 10 Commandments, CCC 2070], because their observance, demanded by the Creator, is necessary for salvation,” (2036).
    • “Detachment from riches is necessary for entering the Kingdom of heaven,” (CCC 2556).

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