Website owner:  James Miller

  CRITERION FOR SALVATION                 3/96


   The Old Testament presents as that person who will go to heaven 
   the godly, righteous, upright, God-fearing man; that man who's 
   first love is for Jehovah God (the God of the Israelites), 
   whose faith is in him, who serves him (as exemplified in such 
   Old Testament characters as David, Abraham, Job, Daniel, etc.).  
   The book of Psalms presents a good picture of the heart of such 
   a man. 

   Did any change occur in the criterion for being saved with the 
   coming of Jesus Christ?  Is the criterion for salvation any 
   different now, after the coming of Christ, than it was back in 
   the days of the Old Testament?  Jesus said that the person who 
   believed in him (Jesus) would be saved and the person who 
   didn't believe in him wouldn't (John 3:14-18).  This would seem 
   to present a different criterion for salvation from the Old 
   Testament criterion.  Using such statements as these that were 
   made by Jesus the Protestant evangelicals use such phrases as 
   "accept Christ as your personal Savior", "give your heart to 
   Christ", "turn to Christ", etc. to indicate the path for going 
   to heaven.  They emphasize in doing this a one-time experience, 
   a conversion experience, being "born again", being "saved", as 
   a sort of ticket to heaven.