Because christianity rejected the Father’s traditions when it was invented after all the New Testament apostles had died, and was then codified in the 4th century by a sun-worshiping emperor, it threw away the instructions we are given by those foreshadows to understand the things of Christ. Thus, christianity blew off the very things that demonstrate the path to righteousness, which is why it invented its own counterfeit means to salvation.
Christianity says that if a man believes, he IS saved (present tense). The Holy Spirit says that man’s belief is what WILL make him saved (future tense). Christianity says that salvation is an immediate event effected by man’s decision, prayer, or declaration. The Holy Spirit says that salvation is the end result or goal (not the beginning) of man’s belief (1 Peter 1:9), and is directed wholly by the will of the Father, and perfected (completed) by His giving of the Holy Spirit.
The Father provided pictures for us to see how the bride’s salvation occurs, from the point of man’s belief to his receiving the covenant (which is given ONLY to the bride).
The Passover began with belief that spreading the lamb’s blood on the doorpost of the house would protect from death. After the Israelites did that, they were led out of Egypt (the world), through the Red Sea (baptism), and guided by the pillars of cloud and fire, which were the Holy Spirit. He provided His nourishment (manna) along the way, and led them to the mountain, where they waited to receive the physical covenant.
The way of the tabernacle shows that exact progression from the outer courtyard with the brazen altar (Passover) and the laver (Red Sea), into the Holy Place with the bread of the presence (manna), the altar of incense (pillar of cloud), and the menorah (pillar of fire), and then into the Holy of Holies where the physical covenant was housed.
Messiah was crucified on Passover and He rose again on the Feast of Firstfruits (first day of the barley harvest). That day starts the “counting of the omer,” or “waiting for the promise.” 49 days later is the Feast of Weeks, which is the day the New Covenant of marriage was poured out—the giving of the Holy Spirit of PROMISE (Acts 2). The “counting of the omer” is a picture of the period between belief and salvation.
It is what we’re told in Hebrews 10:36—For you have need of patience, that, AFTER you have done the will of Yah [believe in Messiah and confess Him before men], you might receive the promise.
What is the promise, and how does one know he has received it? If it is immediate at the moment of belief (which is a common false christian teaching), why is patience (endurance) needed to receive it?
The only reason any pastor, or preacher, or teacher would tell you that your decision—your belief alone—means you are immediately saved is because HE has never received the covenant—he has never been told directly by the Holy Spirit that he is a child of Yah. HE is trusting in false doctrine for his eternal security, for he was taught that he was saved by, and at the moment of, his decision.
Such a person claims that Messiah Yahoshua is a liar in Luke 8:13, for Messiah said that some will believe (human agreement with truth) for awhile, but, during their time of testing (that all must endure), will fall away because they have no root (they never receive the source of life—the Holy Spirit).
The counterfeit of the true faith teaches that going forward and saying a prayer, or making a decision, or “accepting Christ into your heart” means that you are saved. That is a lie!
Believe in Messiah Yahoshua, confess Him before others (which usually involves personal or relational risk), and then await the giving of the covenant. That is the picture of the bride’s salvation the Holy Spirit presents over and over throughout the scriptures.
Christianity threw the pictures away, and in doing so, they lost their way. They do not see the true path to salvation, so they invented their own man-based, man-centered way. They are who we see in Matthew 7:21-23.
For more information: What Is Saving Belief?