kellyjaz said:
Hello, Thank you for making this great thread btw.
I was wondering, if Jesus will save us from our sins, Does that mean we are all free to do as we please, and later we can ask Jesus and God for forgiveness?
You ask ten Christians this question and you're likely to get ten different answers. Here's mine:
The gospel of Jesus Christ requires that each of us recognize that we need a "Savior," that we are, as individuals, incapable of attaining the state of perfect righteousness God expects of those who wish to return to His presence. We come, though faith, to accept that Jesus Christ is the only individual who has ever lived to have led a perfect life. Because His goodness is infinite, He alone was in a position to be able to offer Himself as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of all mankind.
In order to take advantage of this gift, we need to have faith in His ability to accomplish what we cannot to for ourselves. We then need to be sincerely repentent of the sins, both large and small, we may have committed up to that time. We need to have a sincere desire to do better in the future; we need to have a firm resolve not to repeat our sins of the past. We then enter into a covenant relationship with Him through the ordinance of baptism. According to the terms of this covenant, we are promised that if we continue to do our best to live righteously, repenting time and time again as necessary, we will be granted forgiveness and welcomed into God's kingdom. After we are baptised, we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is a guarantee that, provided we do our best to keep God's commandments, we will have a member of the Godhead to be our constant companion. He will sustain and comfort us in times of trial and will guide us as we are comfronted by temptations.
In order to sincerely say that we have
faith in Christ, we need to be
faithful to Him. We are bound to make mistakes from time to time, but the terms of of covenant with Jesus Christ will enable us to continue to improve over time and become more like Him as we grow in our faith in Him and understanding of His gospel. In the end, God knows the condition of our hearts. He is fully aware of the extent to which we sincerely tried to be obedient and faithful.