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it's a natural human instinct to think in terms of quid pro quo and earning our way into heaven
If you think he is a Christian and are aware of the way he communicates about such things I would hope you are praying that someone close to him would speak to him about it. If you are a Christian and understand that people are communicating that Trump is also a Christian should you also be concerned that this is leading people astray from the grace of God and work of Jesus taught by all Christian traditions for 2000 years?
For those that might misunderstand. I'm not pretending I know the heart or life of Trump or anyone else. I pray that he has put his faith in Jesus and that he is on a path to following Jesus and that all the things I have heard him say are just from ignorance. I take no glee in anyone being outside of the family of God. But it is important for Christians to be clear about such things.
Yeah, I try to avoid proclaiming that anyone's faith is genuine or not from a distance. That's between them and God, and the people closest to them.
But if they say something that I think is theologically incorrect (as Trump has many times), I don't mind pointing that out either.
Yeah, that's a very responsible and reasonable way to approach this to me as well. In recent years we've seen many celebrities make declarations of faith or had them pushed upon them. Never really like the way it gets handled by many Christians. It has to be incredibly hard to be in the public eye and be walking through such things. None of us like when our motives are questioned or assumed but this happens quite a bit in these situations.
Thus my earlier question. Is the way Adams approached this valid, or isn't it?
I'm not sure how he approached it. If he approached it in sincerity and he surrendered to Christ I would say it is valid. If not, it is not valid. Christians do not believe that it is simply some incantation you recite that "gets you in". Nor the weight of your good vs. evil in this life.
Jesus said,
On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’
Matt 7:22
And the thief on the cross didn't do any good works and yet Christ says he will be with him in paradise.
I would say that based on my very limited knowledge of how Adams approached this that it could be valid or not valid but it is not the way we would recommend for anyone.
If you asked me, how do I get to the store? I need to buy some things before they close. I would give you clear directions. I would tell you the turns to make. I would assume you really wanted to know and it wasn't a hypothetical. After doing this, if you asked me. Well, can I travel to another town first and then go here and there... but eventually come back and drive down the street to the store? I would say yeah... but why? They might be closed by the time you do all that. And I thought you wanted to go to the store before they closed? You are taking a risk there.
If someone really wants to experience Christianity they should ask go to a church. Talk to other Christians. A pastor, or a priest (different names for the same role) and ask them about it. They should pray. They should pick up a Bible.
I'm sure others could answer this better but that's my attempt at it.
So the heart of it is his actual trust and belief? And if a person does not have that belief, then actions like his (paraphrasing) "I don't really think this is true, but I hope it is" aren't sufficient?
This seems consequential, since a person doesn't have much control over what she believes or doesn't; but she does have some control over what she does. A person can sign up for something by force of will, but not believe in something by force of will, using the usual definition of "will".
I've never been clear on what "counts" wrt Christian salvation.
If you read any of the four gospels, you will see that the primary concern is with the identity of Jesus Christ and his mission. The gospel (which means good news) is that Jesus came to die for the sins of the world so that "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). But the "belief" here is not mere intellectual assent. Even in the Bible, it's written "Even the demons believe--and shudder!" (James 2:19). So, beyond just intellectual assent, it's also a personal submission and placing of trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior: "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
I think there are a few questions that I'd ask of anyone to really get a sense of what they believe and whether they have a "saving faith":
- Who is Jesus?
- What did he die for?
- Why did he need to die?
- Why was Jesus resurrected?
- If you're at the gates of heaven, and God asks why he should let you in, what would you say?
These questions I think highlight the main elements of what Christians believe w.r.t. salvation. (Catholics and Protestants will also differ on some details).
Always happy to talk more. If you're interested, I encourage you to go visit a local church and chat with some of the people there.
The question isn't whether any action he did or didn't take was good enough to get him into heaven. By that metric we'd all fail. The more important question is whether he trusts that Jesus's death and resurrection are sufficient for his justification before God.