Dance with Your Heart! Inspiration from Child Prodigy Shirley Cheng, Author, Poet, Speaker, Advocate: Recent Comments

Comment on Gift of Salvation: How Can You Accept and Keep It?

Shirley Cheng — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 17:08:32 GMT

The Bible says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16, WEB.) Does this mean that anyone who believes in Jesus will have eternal life?

Yes and no. Yes, anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved (have eternal life). But we must understand what "belief" in Jesus means. The important doctrine of "believe and you will be saved," is often not fully grasped. The problem lies in the concept of "belief."

To begin to understand "belief" for salvation, we must ask ourselves: What does believing in Jesus really mean? Will those who simply acknowledge Jesus receive eternal life?

Well, let's consider the demons. During Jesus' earthly ministry, the demons fell down at his feet trembling, and acknowledged him as the Son of God (Mark 5:7). Indeed, the demons most certainly believe Jesus. But are they going to be saved? No, unless they repent.

The first message that Jesus preached at the start of his earthly ministry was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2) Repentance is a change of attitude that results in a change of action; if you only feel sorry about what wrong thing you've done without changing your action to do the right thing next time, you've not truly repented. Those who do not repent will perish (Luke 13:3), so eternal salvation requires a faith (belief) that entails repentance. Whenever we sin, we must confess it to God and He will faithfully forgive us (1 John 1:9).

Our faith in Jesus must be a working faith, for faith without works is dead (James 2:26), and "that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith." (James 2:24). A faith is proven genuine by works. If you claim to have faith in God and not trust Him for your daily necessity, do you have genuine faith? By its very definition, "Christian" describes a follower of Jesus who is Christ-like in all they think, say, and do, by living according to the will of God. Being a Christian is not simply believing that Jesus exists; otherwise, we can call demons "Christians." Thus, if you don't live by faith, you aren't a Christian. And if you aren't a true Christian, you won't find the narrow road that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14).

Our belief in Jesus should involve not only acknowledging him as the Messiah and the only Son of Jehovah God, but also trusting him for our every need, knowing our need to be saved by him, that he is our only Savior (Acts 4:12), and that without his sacrifice, no one would receive eternal life--the entire human race would go on singing the sad tune of "Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." And the belief of ours must be shown through our actions, and that's done by repenting and living according to Jehovah's teachings (Matthew 19:16-17). Our obedience to the Word of God should stem from our love for Him and gratitude for His gift.

Of course, our works and obedience will never be perfect enough to meet the righteous standards of Jehovah; this is why we can never earn salvation through our works (if we can earn eternal life by working for it, then Jesus died for us in vain). Salvation is a free gift to those who believe and repent through God's grace (undeserved kindness). but it's one thing to receive eternal life without working for it; it's another thing to abuse this gift by repeatedly and willfully committing evil acts without repentance. Rest assured, unrepentant sinners will not be saved even if they confess and profess belief in Jesus.

Jesus himself said it best: "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’ Then I will tell them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity.’" (Matthew 7:21-23)

So, those who faithfully follow Jesus will never perish (John 5:28-29; John 10:28-29). On the other hand, those who, like the demons, simply believe in Jesus without repenting of their evil deeds and without a genuine faith will not receive eternal salvation. Don't be deceived--God will not be mocked. Whatever you sow, that's what you'll reap. (Galatians 6:7)

Please carefully note what the Bible says:

"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries. A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'Vengeance belongs to me,' says the Lord, 'I will repay.' Again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:26-31)

"'But the righteous will live by faith. If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul." (Hebrews 10:38-39)

"For concerning those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then fell away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God for themselves again, and put him to open shame." (Hebrews 6:4-6)

"For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, 'The dog turns to his own vomit again,' and 'the sow that has washed to wallowing in the mire.'” (2 Peter 2:20-22)

"See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off." (Romans 11:22)

"Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, will inherit the Kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

"Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21).

To learn more about salvation, please read my article:
What is salvation? Why did particularly Jesus have to die to save us?
http://blog.shirleycheng.com/2009/10/15/what-is-salvation-why-did-jesus-christ-have-to-die-to-save-us-from-what-are-we-saved.aspx

Please, I implore you, if you truly want to learn about salvation or any other crucial topic, study the Bible yourself. Personal study and constant prayer to God will give you the truths. Don't just take people's word for it, because there are many different interpretations and false teachings out there.

If you need help in better understanding the gift of salvation, please e-mail me via http://www.shirleycheng.com and I'd be more than glad to do my best to answer any questions you may have!

Comment on Inspiration from a Blind: Where's Truth?

Dr Shirley Cheng — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 20:54:10 GMT

Hi, Noel,

Thank you for your questions, which are much appreciated! Below, I'll do my best to answer them:

1) Many who believe in the Bible believe that there's a literal burning hell and that we have immortal souls--both of which are unbiblical beliefs. So if those who believe in the Bible believe that the earth is flat, it's simply another false belief. Can we base the Bible's trustworthiness on people's false beliefs about it? The problem is that many, many who claim to believe the Bible have never read through the entire Bible even once. Instead, they simply believe whatever other people tell them. The same can be said of those who criticize the Bible. If we choose to believe or not to believe in the Bible, we cannot base our belief solely on what others tell us. If we truly want to know what the Bible teaches and says, then we must, must read and carefully study the Bible on our own to draw a correct conclusion.

The Bible is very clear on the fact that the earth is round (Isaiah 40:22). When the Bible uses such phrases like "four corners" and "four winds," it's simply referring to the four general directions of the north, the south, the west, and the east; the phrase can also mean "every corner and crevice of the world," depending on its context.

Even today, we use sayings like, "to the ends of the earth" and "corners of the world." Does this mean that we believe that our earth has "corners" and "ends"?

The Bible stated certain scientific facts thousands of years before scientists actually proved them, such as the earth being round. No contradiction between the Bible accounts and scientific facts exist. The Bible is scientifically sound, completely.

2) The approximate forty writers of the Bible fall into mainly three categories: eye witnesses who had personally witnessed the events they wrote about, companions and disciples of eye witnesses, and a handful of unidentified writers. The majority of the Bible was written by eye witnesses. Nearly, if not all, of the New Testament, for example, was written by eye witnesses. The apostle Paul wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. In one of his personal letters to the Corinthians, he mentioned that over 500 people personally witnessed the resurrected Jesus Christ, and that many of these witnesses were still alive when he wrote that letter (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). These witnesses included:
a) Peter and John, who spent three years with Jesus. They wrote seven other books in the New Testament.
b) James, who wrote one of the book in the New Testament.
c) Paul himself. In his letters, he mentioned Luke, who wrote two of the books of the New Testament. Luke was one of Paul's traveling companions and missionaries, so he personally witnessed certain experiences he wrote in the book of Acts.

And Jesus, who is the subject of the New Testament and whose miraculous resurrection was witnessed by over 500 people and which many had died for, personally attested to the trustworthiness and authenticity of the entire Old Testament, including the books by prophets Isaiah and Jonah, both of which were eye witnesses of their own events.

When we research what secular and religious scholars say, we must carefully examine the basis on which they establish their claims. Are their reasons sound? Do they base their beliefs on sound basis? Even secular scholars differ between themselves in their claims. So we must be sure to examine the reasons for their claims. We must weigh their reasons and any evidences against one another, and also compare them with the religious scholars' research, claims, and evidences. Not all religious scholars believe or support the Bible, and not all secular scholars deny the Bible. As a matter of fact, many unbelievers became devout believers after they have done extensive research about the Bible and seen the undeniable evidences of the Bible's historicity and authenticity.

3) When I say that the Bible is trustworthy because it is historically accurate, I meant that this single aspect of its trustworthiness is just one reason why we can trust the Bible. We cannot base a book's trustworthiness solely on one aspect--we'd have to consider all the reasons for its trustworthiness. The more reasons we have for a book's trustworthiness, the more confidently we can trust the book. For example, if a book is dishonest even though it's historically accurate, we don't have really good reasons to trust it. On the other hand, if a book is both historically accurate and honest, we have more good reasons to trust it. The Bible is not only historically accurate and painfully honest, but it's also scientifically sound, as mentioned. It also contains hundreds of literally fulfilled prophecies. It prophesied events hundreds and thousands of years before their literal fulfillment. No other book that has ever been written has the credentials that the Bible has. The Bible is the most unique book. It's completely trustworthy. Belief in the Bible is therefore not blind faith.

However, no matter how great the Bible is, it won't do anyone good if no one reads and studies it and applies its teachings and principles to their daily lives. As I stressed earlier, we must study the Bible on our own to truly know what it really teaches. Then and only then can we decide to trust it or not.

Noel (and anyone else who's reading this), I'd be more than happy to be your Bible buddy if you need a bit of guidance or help in understanding the Bible. Any diligent Bible reader and student will have questions. Think of me as your friend/guide/answer lady. Our Bible study will be done via e-mail without any cost to you, in your own pace, in your own style, and at the comfort of your home. For example, if you just have questions about a specific passage you read, just ask me. If you have questions prior to reading the Bible, ask as well. No question about the Bible is ever too small or stupid. Whatever you need, just ask and I'd be glad to best assist you. Life is a giant school, and we're all in this together. So feel free to e-mail me anytime whenever you have questions. Those who read this post and want to get in touch with me can leave a comment here or e-mail me via my site http://www.shirleycheng.com

Thank you again for your questions! Talk to you soon.

Shirley

http://www.shirleycheng.com

Comment on Inspiration from a Blind: Where's Truth?

Noel — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:39:56 GMT

Did u know most people that believe in a 'flat-earth' do so because of their belief in the bible? That is a simple fact. Also, hindsight allows you to translate the bible as correctly stating the earth is a ball, but their are still people clinging to the bible as they translated it as flat (four corners, etc) and have rejected science because they believe it so strongly!

Did u know that secular scholars that study the bible do not believe it was done by eye witnesses? You claim there are eye witnesses in the bible, but it is doubtful if not wrong, in a search for truth one has to admit to the weakness of the evidence one finds.

You also claim the bible is accurate because it shows detals of everyday life during the time of the bible correctly, which is like believing a modern novel is not fiction because it correctly names presidents and and city names. It just doesn't work.

I see no othercomments so I expect this one may be moderated as well, but feel free to answer via the email adress I provide. I too believe in a creatormof some sort, I just discovered the importance of reading anything and everything with a skeptical heart, and taking truth from unlikely places, truth that I realise could be wrong, so I don't cling to my beliefs.

Noel.

Comment on Gift of Salvation: How Can You Accept and Keep It?

Shirley Cheng — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:28:58 GMT

Hi, Missy, thank you for your comment! Will those who simply believe in God receive eternal salvation? Well, the demons believe in God and they shudder (James 2:19), but are they going to be saved? No, unless they repent. The first message that Jesus preached at the start of his earthly ministry was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2, WE Salvation requires both faith and repentance. Our faith in God must be a working faith, for faith without works is dead (James 2:26), and "that by works, a man is justified, and not only by faith." (James 2:24) And without faith, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6). Those who maintain a working faith will be eternally saved. On the other hand, those who, like the demons, simply believe in God without repenting of their evil deeds and without maintaining a working faith, or those who turn from their initial working faith, will not receive eternal salvation (Matthew 7:21-23; 2 Peter 2:20-21; Romans 11:22; Revelation 2:4-5; Revelation 20:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9). Of course, our works will never be perfect; this is why we can never earn salvation through our works. Salvation is a free gift to those who believe (having a working faith) and repent.

Comment on Knowing the One and Only True God: Who Is He?

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Comment on Gift of Salvation: How Can You Accept and Keep It?

Missy — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 03:45:36 GMT

John 3:15 states that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will "have eternal life." If you believe in Christ today and have eternal life, but lose it tomorrow, then it was never "eternal" at all. Hence if you lose your salvation, the promises of eternal life in the Bible would be in error. (f) For the most conclusive argument, I think Scripture says it best itself, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39). Remember the same God who saved you is the same God who will keep you. Once we are saved we are always saved. Our salvation is most definitely eternally secure!

Comment on Inspiration from a Blind: Are You in Control?

Melissa Scott — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:46:07 GMT

nice post! thanks!

Comment on Is Homosexuality Wrong?

Melissa Scott — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 22:40:40 GMT

very nice post! thanks!

Pastor Melissa Scott

Comment on Inspiration from a Blind: Let's Start Gardening!

manalan — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:48:36 GMT

Hi Shirley,

I liked your article and your understanding of God's word.

God bless,

Alan

Comment on Inspiration from a Blind: What Is Love, Really?

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