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Salvation of Others
I am a bit confused regarding this topic. However, my question is: What should our view be regarding the salvation of those not in Christ. Although, by the previous term, i simply imply those not following the correct faith, as in, the Orthodox faith.
Forgive me if it is not clear, but the only other terms i could think of putting the question is, is: Will those outside the true faith be saved, also does the bible mention much regarding such a topic...
Thanks
Forgive me if it is not clear, but the only other terms i could think of putting the question is, is: Will those outside the true faith be saved, also does the bible mention much regarding such a topic...
Thanks
Comments
I am a bit confused regarding this topic. However, my question is: What should our view be regarding the salvation of those not in Christ. Although, by the previous term, i simply imply those not following the correct faith, as in, the Orthodox faith.
Forgive me if it is not clear, but the only other terms i could think of putting the question is, is: Will those outside the true faith be saved, also does the bible mention much regarding such a topic...
Thanks
God is the only judge not us.
Will nonOrthodox definitely go to hell? No.
Will a genuine christian nonOrthodox definitely go to heaven? As much as I like to say yes, they are not part of the church so we should not be providing these 100% guarantees.
The bible says that you must be baptized and eat the body and blood to be saved. This does not allow us to say that all Protestants will not be saved, but how can we say that they definitely will, in light of these verses?
Sorry, forgive me guys, shouldnt have really asked this question.
Wow, entirely forgot. But, this has always been going on in my head...
Sorry, forgive me guys, shouldnt have really asked this question.
No, it's alright for you to ask. You didn't know and now you do. If you ever have any questions just ask. There's no such thing as a stupid question.
I'm interested in the above quote particularly the part about Evangelicals "they are not part of the church". Do you not believe that the church is the Body of Christ?
Forgive me if this isn't the proper place in the forum for this question. I'm an Evangelical researching the Coptic Church, maybe for membership I don't know.
I'm interested in the above quote particularly the part about Evangelicals "they are not part of the church". Do you not believe that the church is the Body of Christ?
Perhaps someone else can explain it better than me, but my 2 cents worth is:
Yes, we believe that the Church is the Body of Christ.
However, we also believe that their is "one Lord, one Faith, one baptism" Eph 4:5
In the above, There is no room for many different Churches: only one which has preserved the faith of the apostles. This is because there are many unreconcilable differences between the 2 churches.
I don't think I've expressed the above very well, so if someone would care to elaborate...
Which book?
So there are a bunch of differences in different categories between the Oriental Orthodox Church and the Protestant denominations as a whole. If you define exactly which category you inquire about (i.e. theology, doctrine, spirituality, Christology, etc) , I am sure a lengthy thread exists about it somewhere on here.
we believe roughly the same on the trinity, Jesus' divine and human natures and the Holy Spirit. also roughly the same on atonement, grace, repentance, healing, the second coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead. but sometimes the same words are used by different churches for different things, so don't assume we have exactly the same meanings u r used to hearing.
differences arise in these areas:
1. the Bible - we believe it is divinely inspired, and we include in this the deuterocanonical books of the old testament; known in protestant terminology as the 'apocrapha'.
we also believe that interpreting the Bible is difficult and the most accurate interpretations can be made by those who were close to Jesus when He was incarnate and by those who knew them, or who received knowledge passed down by the early church leaders. those who have written about the traditions they have received of understanding the Bible are called 'church fathers'. they are by no means equal to God or to the apostles, but their insights are extremely valuable in helping us to live a spiritual life.
2. original sin. do a search on this website and u will find lots of discussion. we believe man inherits the tendency to sin and also inherits mortality. in Jesus Christ we can overcome this and live a Holy life with God in immortality. we are not born sinners.
3. justification, sanctification etc.
all this makes so much more sense once u accept the orthodox concept that salvation is a continual process, not a moment in time. if u want some Bible verses about this, please send me a personal message with yr email address.
there is a summary of our dear departed patriarch's booklet here:
http://www.suscopts.org/stgeorgetampa/salvation_in_the_orthodox_2.htm
it is out of print in the orthodox bookstore website.
4. baptism and Holy Communion.
yr church's website (nazarene.org) calls these sacraments, then talks about them as if they were just symbols. i was used to this confusion as a protestant (i have been orthodox 3 years). it is less confusing if u realise they really are sacraments, which means that something very special happens in these situations and they are holy things to be administered by a priest who understands their sacramental nature. my protestant baptism was a very special experience; definitely more than a symbol, so i always had problems understanding the 'only a symbol' explanation of my church leaders.
i also had problems with 'the Jesus prayer' of 'salvation', as i never found it in the Bible. it all made sense once i discovered salvation is a process; it starts with baptism (or often before in the case of an adult being baptised) and lasts the whole life.
5. 'entire holiness' (seems to be yr church's speciality).
we don't follow this teaching, but we do believe that the closer we get to God through fasting, prayer, having fellowship with God and each other in the Holy Communion, and giving to the poor the more holy we are. there is no easy road, but we aim to be like those of our forefathers who accepted poverty and resisted temptation until their lives were like a bright light shining in a dark place. we listen to the stories of the saints and martyrs to encourage each other to keep walking on this difficult path.
so i encourage u to keep looking on yr spiritual journey until u find what u are looking for. it took me 2 years to understand that what i needed was found in the orthodox church. i needed to ask many questions and also to observe the life of orthodox Christians to see if they lived what they preached (having been rather disappointed in this area in previous churches). i thank God every day for the orthodox church and the people i have met in the coptic church who have changed my life.
i pray u will also find this, by God's grace.
:)