Is Belief Enough Pt. 1: Are There Requirements To Enter Heaven?

I believe in God, but is that enough? Is believing that God exists enough, or is there another step? Can you enter Eternal Life simply by saying you believe, or are there some kind of requirements? Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” So what does that means? Join ArieRashelle as she uses Scripture to explain what Jesus meant in Matthew 7:21, in her video series Is Belief Enough?

Ephesians 2:8-9
James 2:14-26
Matthew 7:21-23
John 14:15
Matthew 6:14-15
Matthew 18:32-35
Matthew 11:28-30
Matthew 10:22
Matthew 5:43-48
1 John 4:19-21
Luke 10:25-29
John 4:9
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
1 Corinthians 13:4-10
1 John 4:19-21
Luke 6:27-31
Philippians 2:5-8
Proverbs 16:18
Proverbs 11:2
Romans 12:3-8
Matthew 7:13-14
Jeremiah 29:11
Malachi 3:10-12
John 10:10
John 14:12-14

Is Belief Enough?

The verse many people have as a defense for the way they live their lives is:

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9

But is this really what Paul meant by this statement? Was he saying that works are unnecessary and pointless? Was he saying that it didn’t matter the way we lived our lives because we can’t save ourselves? Or was he saying that we can’t save ourselves, but once we are saved, we have to change, for there can be no unrighteousness with God?

Let’s take a look at what Jesus said during His earthly ministry.

¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15

According to Jesus, belief isn’t enough. You have to forgive if you want to be forgiven.

⁷Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
1 John 4:7-9

According to John, you have to have love in order to be a new creation in Christ Jesus. In order to keep your salvation, you must love.

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