The Scripture is pretty straight forward, bow down and confess that Jesus is Christ, the only Savior of mankind. He is the way, the Truth and the Life, and no man goes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6). After you believe with all your heart, one must “deny himself, pick up his cross and follow [Jesus] (Matthew 16:24).” For “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead (James 2:17).” In common speech, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and do your best to love God with all your heart and your brothers as yourself (Matthew 22:36-40).
Professions of faith (such as baptism, observing the Lord’s table, following Old Testament laws, etc.) are beneficial to faith but not pre-requisites for a relationship with the Lord. Matthew 12:1-14 clearly demonstrates that the Sabbath was fulfilled by Christ and not a requisite practice. So before you believe the interpretations of Seventh Day Adventists or Jehovah Witnesses, consult the words of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Jesus Christ is more powerful than the ideology of the Black Jews who worship Yahushua hanged on a tree, perpetuating a racial ideology that promotes hate and not love. These ideologies are in contradiction to the words of Christ, whose lineage follows that of Matthew 1 and whose life came in accordance with the Old Testament prophets. But Jesus did tell us in Matthew 24, there will be many false Christ’s. Remember, Christ tells us that we can recognize genuine faith from a tree that brings forth good fruit (Matthew 7:17), and Jesus and Paul emphasize the greatest of all commands is love (Matthew 22:36-40; 1 Corinthians 13). If you believe in anything that deviates from the aforementioned paragraph that leads to exclusivity, pride, or an unhealthy fear of God (healthy fear is a beautiful thing), you are probably being deceived by false doctrines.
This is a Pharisaical question based on vantage point. From an unbeliever’s viewpoint, the answer is no. From one who is mature in faith, the answer is different. In Mark 4, Jesus describes the parable of the sower. In such an analogy, Jesus was telling us only a deep faith based on a solid foundation can produce long lasting fruit. He also talks of the plant that gets scorched in the sun, which would contradict the idea that one profession of faith is more important than a relationship. If I only told my wife I loved her on our wedding day, our marriage would be a farce too.
The challenge to this question depends on how capable one is to empathy. Having been raised in both a free will church (we choose Jesus) and a pre-determination church (God chose us), I can state that most of these dichotomies are destructive philosophies to the greater Gospel of Christ. Satan’s devices are to create doctrines of divide, and he’s done a good job. We have over 10,000 protestant denominations. Kind of crazy if you realize all you need to do is recognize Christ fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and others, and his sacrificial death provided for salvation, so long as we believe and take our cross. Does it really matter if you believe you chose your fate or God predestined you (both type of believers are known in the Lambs Book of Life)? Does it really matter if spiritual gifts ended in the days of the apostles or continue in the Pentecostal church? Salvation is through Christ alone. These issues of divide are meaningless if you follow Matthew 22:36-40.
The simple answer to this question is no. As Jesus said to us, follow the narrow road. Jesus Christ is the Son of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, brought through the Israelite blood line. He was the redeemer for Jew and Gentile alike, at least for the time being (when Revelation’s judgments come, this will change). Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). With those stringent requirements, and the fact that Israel and Christianity present the only theologically consistent prophetic literature (Christ was consistent to Old Testament Prophecy, and Revelation is consistent to Jesus and Old Testament Prophecy), we do not worship the same God of Islam, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, etc.
Beware of Masonic or Unitarian literature that posits we all serve the same God. We do not. If you can stretch past the concepts adhered to in Scripture (recognizing the Baal based worship) and examine the near Middle Eastern religions, one could venture to guess the fallen angels are the myths created in the polytheistic origins of old. We know of Hammurabi’s code and know that strict punishment didn’t stop rebelliousness or sin. God destroyed that all in a flood. One God is greater than the fallen angels and when his time of wrath comes, it isn’t going to be pretty.
This is a Pharisaical question as well. The position of salvation is contingent on accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and accepting God’s grace. This gospel message has been spread to all nations, so that no man can deny that God extended His loving arm. As God said in Genesis 6:3, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal.” Bigger position, heaven can only exist if all believers follow Matthew 22:36-40.
God’s plan has been disclosed for the past 6,000 years and has been fulfilled by the flood, the law, the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, so that his glory and righteousness could be displayed in full. Was it really that hard to recognize your fallen nature, accept Jesus Christ, and practice love as Christ? Were the Ten Commandments really that onerous? The fall of man, and of the demons, was one of pride. The failure to accept the Gospel (good news) was the acceptance of a lie. Satan’s a master liar, and if you put yourself out of God’s loving hands, can you really trust Lucifer will take care of you?
The unpardonable sin is often believed to be that of Luke 12:10, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I have since thought per John 16:9, where Spirit led believers will reprove “sin, because people do not believe in [Jesus Christ].” The unpardonable sin is more likely that one doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ, for all who are united in the Holy Spirit will declare that Jesus is the Christ. Revelation saves those beheaded for Christ’s testimony in Revelation 20. The greatest sin is believing there isn’t a Savior or just the One Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the only way to the Father. I think this deception was created by Satan to undermine faith.
This is a double edged sword. For if we were never tested by Satan or Satan’s devices, how genuine would our faith be, or how deep would our character be? Satan, whether we like to admit it or not, is God’s best tool for demonstrating to the righteous how not to live. I do find it puzzling when bad things happen, people blame God, instead of Lucifer or the bad actions of others. These are the same people who want to be saved, but don’t accept Jesus Christ. Sounds like a bunch of hypocrisy to me.
Under God’s design, we have free will and choice. We have to recognize our fallen status, which is good, because humility destroys pride, thus making us capable of being in the presence of the Father. It’s a logical game that only the righteous will understand and the proud will find foolish. The Fall was born upon all of us when Adam and Eve ate the apple. Was it a curse? Absolutely. Was it a blessing? Absolutely. I wouldn’t be living or serving my creator had Adam not fallen. Nor would I be capable of thought if God didn’t design man to understand His will. The design was perfect, and fulfills what Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 15.
Rather than focus on the down side, God wants us to find blessings in our life. Not just the things we have, but what we can do for others. If you live your life for that, the question above becomes meaningless and you walk into eternal life in this age and the next. On the converse side, who would want to live in a world full of robotic personalities that seek to please their Master out of mandating? Look at Satanist’s or religions of submission, their worship has no heart, no love, no lasting impression. We also know from the Ancient Middle Eastern religions, it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Eventually a heart of desire will discover it will never be fulfilled.