Call Us: 423 661-4734 | Email: requests@comeandreason.com      
What Is Essential for Salvation?

What Is Essential for Salvation?

Have you ever wondered what the essential elements are that make someone a child of God?

Is it:

  • Whether they profess Jesus as their Savior?
  • Whether they were baptized in the right way?
  • What day they attend worship services
  • How they dress?
  • Whether they are pro-life or pro-choice?
  • Whether they believe in the Trinity or reject the Trinity?
  • Whether they avoid alcohol and pork?

Consider each element:

  • Are there people who have professed Jesus as their Savior but who will ultimately be lost? According to Jesus, many of the unsaved will claim salvation in His name: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21–23 NIV84).
  • Will there be people in heaven who weren’t baptized in water? Consider the thief on the cross to whom Jesus promised salvation. The man died without water baptism, as did all those who were saved in Old Testament times.
  • Have there ever been people who observed the right day of worship yet had un-Christlike hearts? Those who crucified Christ wanted Him taken down from the cross before sunset so that the Sabbath wouldn’t be violated.
  • Have there ever been people who wore Christian clothing yet have done things Christ would never do? Some people have worn overtly religious garb—clothing designed to declare their devotion to God—and yet have molested and abused the innocent.
  • Can a person be pro-life yet act in a way Jesus never would? Some have professed Christianity yet have murdered abortion doctors or bombed abortion clinic. Is taking a political stance and advocating for a particular legislative policy a requirement for salvation?
  • Must we fully comprehend the nature of the Godhead to be saved? Many who burned people at the stake did so while believing in the Trinity.
  • Will we be lost because we ate things the Bible says we shouldn’t eat? David gave food meant only for priests to his soldiers, yet he will be in heaven. Pharisees who never touched pork plotted the murder of Jesus.

Doesn’t it seem that these particular elements can sometimes put us into a state of fear? What if I’m not doing it right? We become afraid of getting into legal trouble with God, of having an act of unforgiveable sin put onto our account, of losing eternal life. Yet when fear is the primary motivation for our behavior, what happens to us? We become insecure, which will result in conflict when other Christians practice their faith differently. We object, find fault, put down, and seek to prove wrong the “others.” As a result, Christianity falls into division, disagreement, and hostility.

But the Christianity that Jesus taught was one of unity, an experience in which divisions fade away and people enter into loving fellowship despite their differences. Jesus broke down dividing barriers: He spoke to women, touched lepers, ate with tax-collectors, and socialized with prostitutes; He visited Samaritans, defended and accepted the poor, and broke the Sabbath rules of the religious authorities so that He could do good works, like healing untouchables.

What was different about Jesus than the divisive Christianity we see today? Jesus loved perfectly, operating only upon God’s design protocols (laws) for life. He didn’t approach life with a rules-first perspective; rather, because He understood how life is built by God to operate—in a never-ending circle of selfless love—He served selflessly even those who were breaking the rules.

Jesus came to lead humanity back into harmony with God’s design for life, away from fear-based rule-keeping and toward love-first behavior. He understood that acts of sin deviate from God’s design—causing pain, suffering, and death—so He avoided behaviors, not religious rules, that would take Him out of harmony with God’s design. He often broke religious rules in order to bring others into harmony with God’s design.

Jesus knew behavioral modification could not save anyone, because mere rule-breaking isn’t the real problem. He knew that the problem sin caused was a heart that was selfish and fear-ridden—a condition of being outside of God’s design of love. Jesus knew that human beings need to be renewed, regenerated, recreated; we need to be reborn, to have our hearts of stone removed, to have hearts of flesh put in, to have our hearts circumcised by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus knew that we need to experience the truth of God’s love in order to win us back to trust in God, so that we will choose to open our hearts and experience the healing power of the Holy Spirit and then live that love in how we treat others.

Thus, the Bible teaches:

  • “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10 NIV84).
  • “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right” (James 2:8 NIV84).
  • “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37–40).

Only by returning to the truth of our Creator God, who built life to operate upon the protocols of love, and rejecting the lie that God’s law works like human law, a system of imposed rules that require imposed penalties, will trust in God truly be restored. Then, when hearts open in trust to God, the Spirit will come in, and a miracle will happen: Fear will be replaced by love, selfishness will be expelled by selflessness, cruelty will be purged by kindness, shame and guilt will be eradicated by peace and contentment, callousness will give way to tenderness, rudeness will turn to kindness, impulsiveness will turn to patience, and divisions will evaporate as people renewed in love experience genuine unity of heart, of principle, of motive, of character—people who celebrate the richness of their diversity in culture, race, nationality, social status, education, and abilities.

What is the essential element that makes someone a child of God? To be renewed in heart to love like God loves and to live in harmony with how our Creator God has built His universe to operate. All of this is made possible only through our Savior Jesus Christ, who took our terminal condition upon Himself in order to overcome it, to eradicate it, and to restore the species human back to God’s ideal.

I invite you to reject the false human-law lie that has infected Christianity and made it appear that we are in legal trouble with God and that God is a cruel dictator who is required to punish rule-breaking. Instead, worship our Creator God who built His universe to operate on love and who understands that we are all struggling with a condition of heart and mind with which we were born, a condition that needs healing, not punishing, and who sent His Son to procure the remedy that will heal and restore all who trust Him.

I invite you to enter God’s universe of love!

Email me the blog whenever a new one is published.

Donate online, securely via PayPal using your credit or debit card (no PayPal account needed, unless you want to set up a monthly, recurring payment).


cancel recurring payment

 

Want to use zelle instead?
See how on our
Support and Donations page.

Upcoming Events

calendar

Testimonial Post Slider

Testimony 61

I grew up in a prominent protestant church and had what I like to call religious anxiety. I’ve always had questions about God and Salvation that no one could seem to answer.  I didn’t know how to find resolution. During 2020, at the height of my anxiety, I fell to my knees and begged God to show me truth and light and to give me the hope that I’ve been longing for. Days later, I stumbled upon your online videos and it was like a veil was lifted and EVERYTHING made sense! For the first time in my almost 39 years of life, my religious/spiritual anxiety has lessened. I feel a sense of freedom and peace I’ve NEVER had before… and it’s all because my view of God has changed. Thank you!

Ashleighn C.

 

Testimony 35

I am so pleased with the response your message is receiving at my church from the middle-aged to the young adults. I have given out 100 copies of the first two seminars and there are more request every week. One of my [class members] came to me after viewing the series, grateful and impressed with how easy the message was retained. He had been a Seventh-day Adventist in fear all his life, and felt like the scales were removed from his eyes after viewing the seminars. I am so impressed by the change I see in members who have received this message, we are in one accord. However, I am sadden by the negative response of the older people. I am verbally attacked anytime I talk about imposed laws, but I believe my mission is to enlightened everyone I can. I watch your Bible Study Class on YouTube every Friday night and I feel like I am apart of the class. All of you are in one accord and I am so blessed to have found you. I pray that all of you continue to spread this message and I am committed to doing my part.

Clara S., Westfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 37

Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

I can tell you that this new, “present truth” message is far grander and life-changing than when I shifted from being an agnostic and then a nominal Christian. It has radically altered my worldview, because it reveals a God that makes sense. It is a revolution. I believe that Dr. Jennings’ message is the final message that must go to the world. If any message could be called “righteousness by faith,” as abused as that term is by the right and the left, this is that message, because Jennings’ biblical message identifies a God who is different, whose character isn’t an impossible contradiction.

I walk this path now without fear. I see people differently, and the Holy Spirit burns in my heart. Many call Dr. Jennings’ message false and compromising, but it isn’t false, because I’ve seen the fruits within my mind and body. It is not compromising, because in this message is the only road to holiness that makes any sense. No longer do I behold a pagan god who is always angry and suspicious. Instead, I behold a God who is freeing and loving, always working for our good, and giving me every reason to love my enemy even to my own death, just as Jesus pleads with us. God is good.

Anthony L., CA, USA

 

Testimony 45

I have been confused for years about what [christianity] calls [its] most disgusting teaching. It has never made much sense to me and for that reason has been evermore empty. I have listened to your class off and on and have struggled determining what is truth, because of the resistance design law encounters in the church. So, I thank God for your ministry. What you teach makes sense. It’s logical and backed up by the power of love. I have never seen that in Christ until now. I am astounded by the insight that is found when we look at God’s ministry through design law. All strength to this message, as I believe it to be the power of God.

Brendon S.

 

Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 6

I got the book “Could It Be This Simple?” a few months ago and the reading was wonderful and I was fascinated. I lent the book to a friend at work. She is having a difficult time and the book is helping her to find Jesus and I found this very exciting. She has asked me questions and I can see her life changing.

H. S., Australia

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 5

We listen to your bible studies lessons in our class in Montana. You actually were the main reason I decided to get a laptop, so I can go to your site and listen, read, learn, and print the class notes. I am so grateful to learn the correct view of God and his character. Now, to just have others have an interest in knowing, so I can share it with them. Good thoughts your way.

R. N., MT, USA

 

Testimony 1

Thank you! I love listening to the Come And Reason Ministries Bible study classes and am using some of your notes to get the lessons together that I will be teaching. You always have such good quotes and Bible texts and pull things together to make good sense.

T. C., IN, USA

 

Testimony 60

Just watched watched lesson 10 in the 1st quarter 2021 bible study classs on Isaiah. I want to thank you for your intellectual spirituality; it’s not an oxymoron! From the point of view of a teacher I also enjoy seeing how much personal pleasure you clearly take in not just tasting, but feasting on God’s word – it reminds me of Jeremiah not being able to hold it in! It makes me smile that your cup is so full and overflowing that you make it to Tuesday’s lesson (on a good day). It just goes to show the richness of God’s Word.

God bless the Come and Reason Team from our church here in Great Britain.

Andrew H., Great Britain

 

Testimony 14

We really appreciate your views on the judgment and they make good sense considering our free choice.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 33

I was invited over a friend’s house to see the “God and Your Brain” seminar today. I became [a christian] 36 years ago at the age of 19, but have struggled with the concept of God taking His ‘pound of flesh’ out on His Son to be appeased. Wow. Your seminar has been an incredible revelation and breath of reason and fresh air! I have your book, “The God Shaped Brain,” and it is SO eye opening. Finally, after 36 years enlightenment has come! Praise the Good Lord! What can I say, but that the Real Gospel is truly “Good News!” Thank you for your efforts in giving the Gospel a clear sound!

Paul C.,  Springfield, MA, USA

 

Testimony 32

The message [of Come And Reason Ministries is] for all Christians (and those who may become Christians) and not just Adventists or any other group. It is difficult to imagine why any [anyone] with intellectual and spiritual honesty could find fault with the way you explained the healing substitution concepts and the truth about God’s character, though I know some will reject and criticize. On behalf of those in our group near Tacoma, WA, thank you and your staff for all of the hard work and for sharing the Gospel in this manner. God’s message of healing love will be carried to the whole world and then Jesus will come – He promised it.

Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA

 

Testimony 50

After coming into contact with Come And Reason Ministries, I can finally say that many of my unanswered questions have fallen into place. I discovered that my view of God’s Law was “imposed laws and rules” with “imposed punishments” and that this was the major culprit of my many unanswered questions. Thanks be to God for using you and those around you to help us who have struggled with this “infection” of thought. I have now rejected the “imposed law” concept to fully embrace “Design Law”… to look thru “Design Law,” instead of “imposed law,” is a relief.

Viliami L., Australia