"Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" Luke 18:26
Jesus Christ gave His famous example of a camel going through the eye of a needle to illustrate the difficulty of getting into Heaven on the merits of one's own works, when the disciples asked, "Who then can be saved?" It is the moment that all of us need to experience. The Kingdom of God is accessible only to those who accept the grace and mercy of God found through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus told the people that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. He went on to say that a person must be as perfect in their behavior as God, the Father. Therefore, the reaction of the disciples is perfect. It has been nearly two thousand years since Jesus said these words, and many Christians have yet to reach that point of asking that question about who can be saved? There are hundreds of denominations and religions underneath the banner of Christianity. It has been said that you can separate the denominations by the laws they put themselves under. The Bible is clear about how to obtain salvation. "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9)." Salvation is putting your faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Plain and simple. However, accepting gifts is difficult for people to take because they have a problem with taking "charity." Instead, they want to "earn" everything or "payback" the giver for their expense. The end result is all these denominations and sects permeating Christianity.
Jehovah's Witnesses
The Jehovah's Witnesses teach that salvation is earned by being baptized as a Jehovah's Witness, and then most followers must earn everlasting life on earth by "door-to-door" work." Furthermore, they believe that salvation is limited to 144,000 "anointed ones." Unfortunately, as of the time of this writing, there are almost 9 million adherents to the religion. There is going to be a lot of unhappy people when it is all said and done. However, they have a bigger problem than that. They believe that Jesus is not God. Until they address this error, there won't be any of them in Heaven, much less 144,000.
Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
What do Mormon's believe about salvation? They teach that a person is resurrected by grace, but saved by works. This is called being "exalted to godhood." This includes being faithful to church leaders, Mormon baptism, tithing, ordination, marriage, and secret temple rituals. And there is no eternal life without Mormon membership. Similar to the Jehovah's Witnesses, they also have the wrong Jesus. They believe that Jesus is a separate god from the Father. They teach Jesus was created as a spirit by the Father and Mother in Heaven and is the "elder brother" of all men and spirit beings (including Lucifer). Continuing, they believe Jesus' body was created through a sexual union between the Father and Mary and that Jesus was married. It goes on, but you get the picture. These are untrue statements about nearly everything the Bible teaches. It will not save them no matter how hard they work at it.
Seventh-day Adventism
Seventh-day Adventists teach that salvation is by grace, but that it is maintained by keeping commands and repentance. Sabbath (Saturday) observance is believed to be the sign of the seal of God and that Sunday worship is the mark of the beast. Interestingly enough, Saturday worship is a violation of the Sabbath. One of their founders, Ellen White, taught that Jesus Christ was exalted by God the Father to be his Son. This act provoked the jealousy of Lucifer and started a war in Heaven. Jesus is believed to be our example to prove that we can live sinlessly. They also think that the death of Jesus Christ did not finish the work of forgiveness, and many adherents do not believe in his deity. Why call yourself a Christian if you do not believe what the Bible teaches?
Catholicism
It is difficult to determine what Catholics believe about salvation. The answer could vary depending on who you talk to. Even when reading what some Catholics say about salvation, it can be hard to figure out. For example, one apologetics source writes, "The Catholic Church does not now, nor has it ever, taught a doctrine of salvation by works…that we can “work” our way into Heaven." Yet, in the very next sentence, it says, "Additionally, nowhere in the Bible does it teach that we are saved by “faith alone.” Although untrue, which is it? Faith alone or not? To further complicate their belief, we read, "The Bible says very clearly that we are not saved by faith alone. Works do have something to do with our salvation." So, it is faith alone one time, and then works have something to do with our salvation. The same paragraph then says, "As Catholics, we believe that we are saved by God’s grace alone. We can do nothing, apart from God’s grace, to receive the free gift of salvation." That is great until "Catholics believe a response of faith and works is necessary…" The seesaw is non-stop. Perhaps, this is an example of the "lukewarm" church God talks about spewing out of His mouth in Revelation.
Protestants
There are too many denominations to address what Protestants teach about salvation. However, much like it is with Catholicism, they teach what has been sarcastically called "Levitical Light." That means they teach various forms of legalism cloaked in grace language. From my experience, they teach that salvation is grace through faith, but when it comes to your life as a Christian, it is a life of obeying and repenting to the laws, rituals, sacraments, rules, and so on each denomination teaches. These include, but are not limited to, baptism, tithing, church attendance, accountability groups, ministry work, repeatedly asking God's forgiveness, and more. All of it designed to keep you busy and barren. The hope is that through all of this, a person will become more like Jesus Christ. In reality, all that happens is that you realize just how unlike Jesus you are and, in many cases, you feel further away from Him than when you began.
Those who "can be saved" are the ones who realize that all of these religious and denominational regulations are just man-made obstacles that prevent people from getting to know their God. Too often, a person gauges their relationship with God based on their ability or lack thereof to navigate all of these religious and denominational demands put on them. It is why people believe that a person can lose their salvation. People are led into a life of comparison with other Christians as they judge each other according to whatever laws they've agreed to live by. Others will "walk-away" from the faith. Religious pride is fueled as some falsely believe they have found a way to be obedient to God. Witnessing devolves into recruiting people to church instead of giving a reason for the hope you have in Jesus Christ. God did not come to this earth to teach us how to live. He came to this earth to teach us about the One who gives us life!
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