When people say that they believe Christ died and rose again, does that mean they are saved? An example... an Anglican would say that he/she believes Christ Died for our sins, and rose again, is he/she saved?
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Do you mean only believing? Do you meaning believing that he died and rose again but rejecting other important doctrines like his divinity? Can you explain more what you're asking?– curiousdannii ♦Commented Oct 27, 2014 at 23:04
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1Welcome to C.SE! When you get the chance, please check out our tour and specifically How we are different than other sites. As it stands, however, this is what we call a truth question - one that isn't really geared towards an academic audience.– Affable GeekCommented Oct 27, 2014 at 23:45
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You mean according to Catholicism are people in other denominations saved?– david brainerdCommented Oct 28, 2014 at 5:39
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1Welcome to the site. We are glad you decided to participate. This question is off-topic and does not fit into one of the Types of questions that are within community guidelines Specifically, it is a Truth question, which means we cannot factually answer it if it is not scoped to a specific opinion (Catholic, John Calvin, etc.) If possible, edit this question so that it better fits into one of those question types.– user3961Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 17:17
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2 Answers
Does believing Christ died make you saved?
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
"believe" = pisteuō = trust
Faith is more than an intellectual acknowledgment of a fact. It is a trust in and reliance upon something.
If you were a slave in first century Roman times, you might be sent on an errand to pick something up or carry out some task. If while doing this someone wanted to mess with you, you could say something like, "I belong to Cassius", and the other person would realize that they might be in trouble because they could not mess with someone else's property.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
If we trust in Jesus so much that we call on his name, we are saved.
Trusting in and calling on are actions that are emblematic of a close relationship. It is this relationship (new life in Jesus) that is the basis of salvation.
This may sound shocking to you, but even Satan's demons/minions believe Jesus died on a Roman gibbet two thousand years ago. Does that mean they are saved? Hardly. See James 2:19, where James does not speak of Christ's death, but he does indicate the demons are sentient beings who know what the score is regarding the Christian faith, and the "author and finisher" of our faith.
". . . fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2 NAS).
As "timf" observed, above, an intellectual belief is one thing; a belief founded on unwavering trust is quite another. If I'm not mistaken, in the four Gospels there was a distinction made between those who
believed Christ
and those who
believed in Christ
Trusting Jesus to be one's Savior from sin, by virtue of his death, burial, and resurrection is the beginning of saving faith. What keeps us growing and maturing in faith is a regular dependence on the grace of God to keep on forgiving us when we mess up, but always on the basis of Jesus' blood and righteousness (see 1 John 1:8-10). A the hymn writer put it,
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.
