Please don't bash me for this answer, I am not bashing you for your beliefs, but in my most profound thoughts, I would not abide by a book written by men and translated by men at least a thousand times over. It's a beautiful book, great stories of another world and about a great man named Jesus. I prefer to believe that salvation comes within each person, you forgive yourself for whatever which is sometimes the hardest thing anyone one person can do. WARNING, I do not want anyone trying to convince that I am an oddball for what I say of the bible, as I state I do believe it's a beautiful book but I do not lead my life by it I just take what I like from it like any other book I read that has nice advice....

The answer you get to this question will depend on who you ask. In my Church, we believe that certain ordinances are necessary for salvation. Jesus himself said to Nicodemus, "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot denter into the kingdom of God." John 3:5 We take this to mean that we must be baptized in order to enter heaven. This is the first of several ordinances that must be performed for salvation to be received. However, there are other churches that don't believe this. They believe that all you have to do is accept Jesus as your personal Savior and you will be saved. So, what you need to do is study the Bible, ask God for His guidance and decide which you think is correct.

You are trying to save yourself. It's a noble effort, but it's doomed to fail. You will NEVER be able to do enough good works, church rituals, worshipful thoughts, selfless sacrifices, or anything else by your own unaided efforts. If it were up to you, there would be no hope. But it isn't up to you, it's up to God, who created another way. What might that be? Well, if it is true that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then it's interesting that he didn't say "I show the way" (which is what every other religious leader says), but "I AM the way." In other words, he will not show you the way to heaven, he will take you there. That's why a major biography of him was simply entitled "The Savior." He saves your life. You don't save your own. I'd like to type several more pages, but am not sure you'd read them and my typing fingers already hurt... what you need to do is make friends with someone you respect who has a good personal relationship with God and ask him or her about it.

Salvation is only believed to be necessary if you are from a religion whose dogma includes: 1.) A Deity that punishes humans for their sin in a permanent, eternal manner. 2.) The sinful nature of humans being so severe that we cannot possibly ever redeem ourselves. This is the general religions section, so you need to note that this question is inappropriate for many religions. The need simply isn't there. The answer depends upon the dogma to which you subscribe. Many Christian denominations preach that certain ritual requirements are necessary to go to heaven. In Catholicism, these are known as the Sacraments. Many denominations require baptism by water. Some will accept baptism by spirit. More specific answers are possible when the question is more specific. (i.e. According to Presbyterian dogma, what church rituals are necessary to achieve salvation?)

Church is NOT necessary for salvation. The ONLY way one can be saved is through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 - "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" Attending a church is about having fellowship and a community with other believers. It will not save you to go to church. However, much like baptism, a true believer will WANT to attend a church to come and worship their God with other believers. Hebrews 10:24-25 - "... and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."

take a quick look at the history of church rituals and you'll find your answer, mine is "no"

As a Christian, the only necessary thing for salvation is belief in God and asking for His forgiveness and asking Christ into your heart. If you have trully done this, then you will want to go to church for spiritual growth and support. Baptism is a form of obedience. Whether or not you are baptized is not as important as accepting Christ as your Saviour. Being sprinkled, immeresed, etc. does not get you into Heaven. If you are truly wanting to get saved and have questions, you might want to ask a pastor and look to the Bible for the answers you seek. I hope you find the answers you are looking for and wish you all the best in your search.

In the new testament, in John chapter 3, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus. This is what he is saying at the end of the conversation, in verses 16-21: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world through him, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. All those who do evil hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." See? Not a word about church rituals. Churches are called 'fellowships' or 'the family of God'. Fellowships and families are meant for support and uplifting, not as 'the oracle of God'. Abraham, or Abram,didn't have a church, there was no such thing at the time and he came from a half-pagan family, but the Bible commends him for his faith. Rituals are ways of showing our respect for God, but everybody has individual ways of showing respect. One person will kneel to show respect to their leader, another will stand and look their leader in the eye. One person will flatter as a sign of respect, another will never flatter someone they respect-seeing flattery as an insult. One person will talk about someone they respect all the time, another person won't talk about them at all unless asked. If you can't feel like you have a good relationship with God without church rituals, then yes, they are necessary for your salvation, but if you don't need them, then they aren't.

The contemporary bishop Tom(E.W.)Wright sums up the answer to this question to all Christians who have come to believe that their salvation is not assured. He writes: The tragedy of the situation is that there must have been countless Christians down the years in all churches who really did believe in Jesus Christ as their risen Lord, but who failed in this life to enjoy the assurance of salvation which was theirs for the taking, because they were never told that believers are declared 'righteous' in the present because of the death of God's son. John, Paul, Peter, Luke, Mark, and the author of Acts (probably Luke again), are very clear on this issue. God Bless

No when youare saved you become a part of God not the church

The gospel delares that no matter how dutiful or prayerful we are, we can't save ourselves. What Jesus did was suffcient. We develop a false sense of security thinking our good works and dogmatic observance of the law will save us. At the moment of Jesus death He took on everything vile, sick putride and all that is wrong with this world we ive in. If we think we can do anything to add to his sacrifice is to be arrogant and distrutful of God. Whe are we to think that Gods grace is not sufficent for us?

Church rituals are not necessary, but to be in fellowship with other believers is a good thing. When I come out of a church service I feel refreshed and I feel like going on. Sometimes when the minister speaks, it really touches my heart and it redirects me in the right way. Sometimes I feel like God healed my broken heart, when I was hurting. I am able to let loose at church through singing and worship.

Jesus said in the Bible: " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me." (John 14:6) Romans chapter 10 tells us how to be saved. We must cofess the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, and call upon the name of the Lord. Jesus taught us in John Ch.3 that one must be "born again" to go to heaven. We are born-again as new creatures in Christ. Jesus is the only way. He died for us, lost sinners, so we could have new life, eternal life, with Him forever as it He meant for it to be in the begining. Christ did what "church rituals" and religion could never do. If you're trusting in religion, it will only send you to hell. Jesus bled and died for you, not religion! Thank you and God bless you!

It would truly depend on what church you are talking about and what you are thinking about doing. Many churches are very sparse on ritual while the One True Catholic Church is very big on ritual and experience within the church. If the rituals are suported by scripture, then I feel that they become an integral part of being a Christian. It really depends on who you are talking to and what particular branch of Christianity they are talking about.

No they are not.

No, it is good to be around other believers.

In certain traditions, it is said that church rituals are necessary for salvation, but that is not what the Bible says. In Ephesian 2:8,9 it reads "For by grace are you saved through faith. It is not of your opwn doing, but the free gift of God, and not because of works, lest any man should boast." It also says in Romans "The just will live by faith." Think about this: the thief on the cross beside Jesus, begged Jesus to take him with him into his kingdom. Jesus' reply was "Truly I say to you.: today you will be with me in paradise." He did not say "Get down off the cross and do this ritual or that and THEN you will be saved". The thief's salvation did not depend on works. I am not saying that good works (including some church rituals) do not have a role to play. But they are the carriages pulled by the train of grace through faith. To put ones trust in works, means that some people do more than others and therefore are rewarded for it. That is not the case: our works were preordained by God for us to do. We don't get brownie points for them. They are the logical response to God's goodness. This is where some church traditions have got their priorities skewed. There are two parts to the Christian experience: one is justification or being made right by God. If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, says Romans 10:9. If, having made the heartfelt confession, and turned to God, trusting in his grace shown by the death of Jesus on the cross, you are saved, justified, made righteous. If you died just after that, without having committed one good work, you would go into the presence of God. But most of us do not die straight after justification. We live on. And the life we live is the second part of the Christian life :sanctification, being set aside for God and being transformed by his spirit into the image of Christ. These are what our good works (including certain Church rituals such as baptism and communion) are all about. They are God teaching us how to live as one of his people. They are a natural outpouring of thankfulness for his love. Do you see the difference between justification and sanctification? Two parts of the one Christian experience, the first a one off decision, the second a lifetime commitment. Neither depends on our goodness. Both are initiated by God. I hope this explains a little better the purposes of any good works, including rituals/ordinances. If you want to talk about it more, please ask. You can even contact me (Sue) through our website (on my profile page).

Good question. In Hebrews (we're assuming here that loving God equals accepting God's word), we are told to "not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing," but I don't hear anything about "ritual" per se in there.

No church ritual is necessary for salvation. There is one way to salvation and heaven. John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

unless a man be bornagain (john 3) he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.church attendence does not mean salvation.do you know the nam of the Lord?

No.

http://www.exposingchristianity.com/Human%20Sacrifice%20and%20the%20Bible.html

you musr repent turn from your wicked ways be baptised as a man (NOT A CHILD) John 3 Yahoshua said unless a (man) be born of water.NOT A CHILD. HAVEB YOU BROKEN THE TEN COMANDMENTS? IF YOU HAVE LIED -WHAT ARE YOU? IF YOU HAVE STOLEN-WHAT ARE YOU? IF YOU HAVE EVER BEEN ANGRY AT YOU BROTHER YOU HAVE MURDERED HIM IN YOUR HEART-WHAT ARE YOU? REPENT-REPENT-REPENT LOVE MARK

No, just utter the magic words and presto! *POOF* Salvation! Which means you can spend 70 years being the most brutal, rotten, mean killer ever known to the human race and if you say the magic words before you die then *poof* You get to pass and go to the head of the class and hop on the escalator to hevun... OKEYDOKEY then..

They are 'essential' only for the 'freeloader' priests who always get the best cut of the offerings, and all the money in the hat!!

the practice of rituals helps us feel a sense of history of that religious tradition and the practice of rituals helps remind those of us who are absent-minded or who require tools that factilitate our seeking elevated spiritual states. church rituals are necessary for salvation only to the extent that each person relies upon them to be filled with the spirit of love. thus, not necessary in theory but often beneficial to humans with human frailty.

no rituals and such are not about salvation...salvation is by faith alone,,,this belief is not...I believe and now im done... it is like i believe that i am a soccer player and so i go and practice and find a team and get better and play harder...during the whole time i was and am a soccer player but if i say i am a soccer player and do nothing then i am not really a soccer player...+2 GOD BLESS

Church rituals/ordinances in themselves have absolutely no saving grace. Any church rituals are solely the earthly expression of Gods commands. In my denomination, there are only two ordinances - baptism and observance of the Lord's supper (communion).

No, "but if thou wilt enter into life, (it is necessary to) keep the commandments" said Jesus himself in Matthew 19:17