Indeed praying the sinners prayer as a means of a fire insurance policy and even a faith which believes Christ to be the Son of God while being completely devoid of any personal commitment or relationship does become highly suspect of a saving grace! That said, truly the Lord alone shall judge the hearts of men! As every thought, word and deed will be submitted to God's heavenly fire of refinement! Yet the saving grace of God is always portrayed as a simple endeavor! That we but simply call upon the name of the Lord and be saved! While Israel still refuses the name of Jesus, many who have not heard His name may still be saved! TR :amen: I knew this one cyber “friend” back in 2014 - 2015 who was in the “easy believism” group … who wanted only the free fire insurance of heaven but also felt he freely had a license to sin because God would still forgive him. He saw no problem with continually doing the things that are forbidden in the Bible for a true Christian to partake in. He struggled with once saved always saved. I tried to help him for months on that subject but he could never grasp that comforting promise that a true believer has in Jesus. He said lets see what Jack Kelley hast to say about “his lifestyle living” and would email him. Then Jack would tell him off and he didn’t like his answers and claimed Jack was just being fresh to him. :mdrmdr: Then he would ask him more questions but Jack simply ignored him and wouldn’t respond back. He was a user … he had me pray for all his problems (he needed a new job, needed to win the court case to get custody of his youngest daughter, needed prayer for his other daughter, etc. etc.) I did pray and the Lord did answer those prayers. But when I asked for prayer for my dad, who was suffering from dementia … he never would. Instead he would criticize my dad’s actions and say he must not be saved. 🙁 And many of the discussions became arguments. He loved to push the rapture dates out for at least 20 more years only because he loved this life more. He asked me things like what was Paul’s thorn in the flesh … I said it was probably he had bad eye sight … blind by the bright Light of Jesus on the way to Damascus to being beaten in the head and left for dead, etc. he laughed at my response … because he believed Paul’s thorn in the flesh was …. he loved little boys. :wacko: I said where do you get that sick belief from? He said from his professor (a priest) at catholic college. He left the forum board and then return ONLY because he needed them to pray for him because he developed cancer. So he disguised his name and would lie daily to the members over there. As I lurked over … I recognized his style of writing … and noticed he still struggled with once saved always saved. He mentioned putting a small Buddha statue on his work desk. He fooled so many people over there … he, unfortunately, died and they all think he made heaven. Maybe … at the very end … he was finally serious and called out to Jesus? :unsure: Did not God say, that Israel honors Him/God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him! And in the NT Christ is heard exclaiming, "get thee from Me, I never knew you"! A knowing of deep, intimate, and a personal nature as like found in a marriage relationship! Being we have been given the testimony of Christ which was long prophesied, there is indeed no other name given under the heavens by which men can be saved! For Christ was God incarnate! TR I find "easy believism" to be a bit of a misnomer. God doesn't make it complicated and even a little child can be saved. John 1:12-13 New King James Version 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Now, the life of a believer certainly isn't easy but we do have the Holy Spirit to guide us and a promise from Jesus to never leave us or forsake us. :good: I've never met anyone who trusted Christ as his Savior as fire insurance. I have known people who trusted Christ for assurance of eternal life. It is very sad if there are those who don't pursue a wonderful relationship with their Lord and Savior who gave up everything to save them. I pray that everyone who gets saved will grow in the Lord. I consider it kind of an insult from those who use the term "easy believism" at those like me who believe what the Bible says, that we are saved by grace alone thru faith in Christ alone. It is also a denial the the word of God in Scripture to add works (Rom. 4:1-8). It seems that these accusations come from the lordship salvation MacArthur camps. Believing is supposed to be easy; Christ already did the hard part for us. There is no other way to be saved other than to trust in the grace of God and his free gift of salvation; out works count for nothing for our salvation, not before or after we are saved. If there are people who come to faith in Christ and just go on about their sinful lives as they did before then they will have no reward and just escape through the flames with nothing but their salvation. (1 Cor 3:11-15) I think most of the people who throw out these "easy believism" accusations are the ones who the act of saving faith is just not enough; they just have to add their good works and not sinning. And the reason they do it is simple: PRIDE in themselves, Boasting. And their works, pride and boasting will be burned up like stubble. (1 Cor 3:11-15) Sometimes I just have to laugh at these unscriptural insults like, "easy believism" and "greasy grace." Phil
