Easy Believism

[Goodboy]

Easy Believism

There is a relativity new accusation against Christians that believe all you have to do to be saved is to accept Jesus free gift of salvation. They call that idea “Easy Believism” and a false doctrine. But what does the Bible say?

Romans 5:15 - But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many
Romans 5:16 - And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The Bible also uses the word “easy” in Matthew 11:30 referencing “yoke” as ownership or belonging to Jesus and “burden” referencing your walk or what you should do after salvation.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Goodboy

 

[mattfivefour]

Man just cannot seem to accept that he has to do nothing except believe.

Now, true belief WILL result in a changed inner man -- regardless of how slow the change in the outer man. If there is absolutely no change within, then there was absolutely no salvation. But true belief will always bring about the beginning of the change. That's how you know you're saved: are you exactly the same inside as you were before? Or has something fundamentally changed in your inner being? The Holy Spirit will always produce the latter. His presence taking up residence in you at the instant of your salvation makes that fact inescapable.

Now, how long it takes for any change to show on the outside depends on how hard the individual is. With some of us, it takes God a lot longer to chip away and wear away the hard shell of our being, allowing us to surrender our individual (and long developed and cherished) identity in order for His light to shine out. Think of Gideon and the lamps: until the clay pots were broken, the light could not shine out and God's purpose could not be accomplished through those who held the lamps.

The legalists equate outer change with salvation. In other words, they confuse sanctification with salvation. And mixing up the fruit with the root messes up the whole tree, producing a twisted result-- hard Pharisees instead of soft saints.