Are you good enough to get to Heaven?

By the criteria of Christianity, it doesn't matter WHAT you do, or how often you do it....as long as...in the end....you HONESTLY seek forgiveness from Christ.

Yes, that is true, but how do you know when your ‘end’ will be? You could be killed instantly in a car accident like my mom was when I was 17 years old! She never knew what hit her! Why would you want to wait till the end anyways, assuming you did know exactly when it would be? Why not get your heart right with God now?

1. Do you think Jesus never lied? Not even like telling Mary he made his bed when he didn't? Sure...
2. I'd wager Jesus picked a fruit or two from someone's field during his travels...
3. Even Jesus asked why pops had forsaken him....
4. Like Jesus never looked at Mary of Magdelene's rack...

No, Jesus NEVER sinned! That is what the Bible says, and that’s what I believe!

As for #3, Yes, He did, ask God why have You forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34)
That was because at that moment the sins of the ENTIRE WORLD (past, present and future sins) had been imputed upon Him. God being so holy that he can’t stand to even look at sin, had to look away from Him just for a moment.

You do realize of course that the divinity of Jesus was hotly contested within the church, and that the New Testament was basically a complete overhaul, overriding the Old Testament, and including and throwing out many different books of the Bible.

The Bible contradicts itself many, many times because of this, and yet you accept every word blindly without question? Surely then...this tool of control has proven itself extremely effective....

To believe Jesus was divine and of God is a leap of faith. To believe that he NEVER sinned, prior to knowing this fate and his alleged origin, is simply completely niave and illogical....(imho)

Yes, that is true, but how do you know when your ‘end’ will be? You could be killed instantly in a car accident like my mom was when I was 17 years old! She never knew what hit her! Why would you want to wait till the end anyways, assuming you did know exactly when it would be? Why not get your heart right with God now?

I do not require any man-manufactured diety to "get my heart right". I know my heart quite well, and I strive to be a good and moral person. I do not need any approval from some absentee parental fairy Godfather who is content to stand by while natural disasters kill by the millions or his own representatives are busy raping children while he sits on his cloud.

IF such a diety exists, then he isn't worthy of my attention. Supposedly he has unlimited power and is omniscient...yet alleviating such relatively minor issues (as opposed to creating the entire Universe), is unworthy of his time.... Bah... And I'm supposed to rejoice because he one day, 2000 years ago, knocked up a virgin behind her husband's back and then set in motion a chain of events that would (completely known to his omniscience) lead to the death of that same child as some kind of object lesson? My god (pun intended)! It sounds like a bad soap opera!

So in answer to your question...and to get back on track... As long as you (sincerely) accept Christ as your savior, no matter what you did, you're allowed into Heaven with your get out of jail free card (according to Christian beliefs). Personally, I've known clubs that are harder to get into...

[edit on 3-11-2005 by Gazrok]

Originally posted by just me 2
Consider these questions:
1. Have you ever told a lie?
2. Have you ever stolen anything? (regardless of the value of the item)
3. Have you ever used God's name in vain? That is the same thing as using God's holy name as a curse word which is blasphemeing.
4. Jesus said that whoever looks upon a woman with lust in their eyes has committed adultery with her already in his heart. Have you ever looked with lust?

1) Never. Wait...yes, now I have.
2) Yes.
3) Yes.
4) Yes. In fact I don't know anyone who hasn't.

BUT, it doesn't matter. I will just accept Jesus when all is said and done and...I'M IN!

Just have to LOVE that little loophole.

ZZZ- You are speaking in the future tense which means you haven't yet trusted in Christ?
You obviously have some knowledge of the Gospel message. What if you are killed instantly, and aren't given a chance to pray about it and have a deathbed conversion? What's the point in waiting?

I think i will go to heaven. There was a time there where i had to repent, but thru my conversations with the almighty (mental and not out loud:clown i was saved. I was wild and thats all in the past.

I do as much as i can for others and i dont go to church on a regular basis but i worship from home. Be true to yourself, honest and loving and you will get there.

You cannot get to Heaven by your own good works or by being "good."

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast."

Isaiah 64:6
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

We need to trust in Jesus Christ's righteousness and His sacrifice for us on the Cross and His Resurrection to get into Heaven. He paid the debt for us because we couldn't pay it on our own.

Nice, maybe there IS something to Christianity...

Looks like everytime I lie, check out a breezy, think about hurting someone who pisses me off, etc., all I have to do is ask Jesus for forgiveness. If I became a rapist/killer/child molester/bank robber and was good enough not to get caught, all I would have to do is ask for forgiveness each time.

But wait...

The sudden death thing is moot because God would know, had you lived on and knew death was coming, you would ask for forgiveness.

Thank you, Christians. Instead of living like I have been, I will do stuff I feel is wrong and use my get into heaven free card. See y'all there!

Originally posted by just me 2
Are you good enough to get to Heaven?

Yes I am. And not because of my deeds. But because I just am.

No I am not worthy/good enough to go to heaven...I deserve hell, but I do know the lord, and am/will continually work on my relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ, and through him I will make it...there's no other way.

[edit on 11-11-2005 by glan]

As an Orthodox Christian, I cannot say that I will be accepted in Heaven.....
Gods mercy is great....

The Theme of God's Mercy

This is brought out in the Gospel reading of the Pharisee and the Publican. "God, be merciful to me the sinner," prayed the Publican. His only plea was for mercy, Kyrie Eleison! Without this prayer Christianity would be a philosophy, a history, a code but not a religion that saves.

The same theme of God's mercy is expressed again in the Gospel lesson of the Prodigal Son. Listen to the words of the following hymn from the vesper service of the Prodigal Son:

"As the Prodigal Son I come to you, merciful God. I have wasted my whole life in a foreign land; I have scattered the wealth which You gave me, O Father.

"Receive me in repentance, O God, and have mercy upon me."

One of the most beautiful examples of God's mercy is the prodigal son, who leaves home, wastes all his father's resources in sin, ends up living with pigs, remembers his father, repents, and returns home ­ where he is embraced by the waiting father, who declares a feast to celebrate his return. That is God's mercy.

Gods Mercy

quote///
"Even if we reach the summit of virtue, we are saved only by God's mercy," said St. John Chrysostom.

But God who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up with Him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:4-6).
Be Merciful as God Is Merciful

We cannot pray for mercy without being willing to extend mercy to others. That is the point of Jesus's parable about the two debtors (Matt. 18:23-35)
READ MORE

A dying Christian was asked on his death bed, "Are you going to receive your reward?" "No, no!" he breathed. "I go to receive not my reward but God's mercy."
Prayer from the Triodion

"As the Prodigal Son I come to Thee, merciful Lord. I have wasted my whole life in a foreign land; I have scattered the wealth which Thou gavest me, O Father. Receive me in repentance, O God, and have mercy upon me."

Several articles on living a life in Christ......from earlty times.
www.roca.org...

Glory be to God.
IX
helen

Ezekiel 20:25-26 I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by; I let them become defiled through their gifts--the sacrifice of every firstborn--that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the LORD.

Now that quote from the bible makes me all warm and fuzzy! You know I may not be very good, but I am better than whatever originated that quote...

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic

Originally posted by just me 2
Are you good enough to get to Heaven?

Yes I am. And not because of my deeds. But because I just am.

Why do you say that? How do you know for sure?

Being brought up by a very spiritual, religous and well intentioned family, All i have to say is I dont care at this point. I Truelly Don't Care! I start every day doing as much good as I see as reasonable, I don't do it for Christ or for buddha or even for Good natured family i come from. All i know is that I am satisfied with the person I Am. It brings me great shame when i can't help others out with i could have given. i realize all thegood i do is a small payback for the good fortune i have been given in life.

and to be honest i recieve no joy for when i help people, i only get back a certain sense of balance. As if the world is going more towards the direction it should.

as i stated before, I really don't feel i'll go to heaven. there is no heaven in this existance as long as there are women being mistreated, people being misled and especially as long as children aren't All allowed to play in the sun with their friends with no worries.

for that matter i see most people as children, Children with burdons on them that shouldn't be. With baggage in their hearts that keeps them from being pure. and honest and loving.

For me its a horrible way to see everyone, the bad aren't really bad but just either forgotten by their loved ones or misled. there is no one to point at and blame, because in the end they just don't the see world or haven't felt the world as others might or could.

For me there will never be a heaven, except in the smiles of Certain people mother,siblings, my newborn nephew and friends who love me with endless amount of energy.

Sometimes on my day off i hear kids playing in the background..........i hear their laughter to me that's heaven, Sometimes i see relatives who have been apart for long period of time rejoice in their luck to be together for a dinner and some resturaunt i might be attending.

Heaven to me it seems is all around me, but i personally can't quite grasp it, i can only enjoy it when i see it in others.and am quite honored when it comes along.

The way i see the world leads me to agree with most faith that agree taht you should accomplish as much as you can in life and leave as much for others as you can to enjoy while they can.

I see alot wrong with the world , and as much as i wish i was noble enough to sacrifice the rest of my life to making it a better place.I feel a strong urgency to survive, to be as comfortable as i can be while i'm here.

and that's why i don't feel i'm going to exist in any heaven after my life here. because Heaven is a trully Noble idea, and to me anyone that believes that they can exist there by simply following some rules, has some sort of distasteful quality to them.

how can you judge some people , just because they took the other road. Just because their life brought them to some of the same choices i make. But from a totally different perspective.

i'm often told I ask to many questions and should just accept the way things are. but why should I if truly have noble intentions for asking.

while i basically went off on some tangent, the purpose of me writing this is why would I think i'm not going to heaven , well to me it doesnt make any sense, If i can't reach it in this plane of existance, why would I in some other.

the world can be hell, i would not see it as fair for me to exist in perpetual heaven while others that i love and would fight for would be cast aside for the fact that something was deemed unworthy by them.

So in answering the question originally asked by the poster of this thread , i don't see myself going to heaven.

So in answering the question originally asked by the poster of this thread , i don't see myself going to heaven.

Doesn't that bother you?

Originally posted by just me 2

So in answering the question originally asked by the poster of this thread , i don't see myself going to heaven.

Doesn't that bother you?

To be honest,No. Heaven as imagined by Some is a sort of resting place for those that are deemed worthy. At least that is what has been presented to me by people around me my whole life.

I do personally believe in higher states of existance, that as of it have not been or never will be properly defined.

if asked what i feel i would like heaven or my eternal resting place to be, i would describe different than has been presented to me in life.(if i could find the words to describe it.)

I have been an outsider in alot of ways much of my life, so not being part of any particular group doesn't cause me any personal shame or discomfort(well at least most of the time).

but in the end, though my own beliefs might be different, i accept the fact that i have made certain choices and am willing to face the possible consequences or benefits. it wouldn't seem fair to me otherwise.

Are you good enough to get to Heaven?

I certainly hope not. There's one thing that I've learned from religion and people who follow it is the lies,hate and discrimination. Why would I want to join the rest of these people into one large mass? I was raised catolic and went to catholic school when I was young. I'm really thankful to myself that I was able to get away from religion and the populace beliefs in order to live a better life. I now don't have any faith nor beliefs in religion or gods and my life has been grand. I have found that you don't need religion, god or a book to do this.

In answer to the question......I shall ask another....Do I really want too?

I mean, this Heaven place, it's supposed to be full of everyone who has followed the rules in the bible and obeyed evey little commandment sent down from "on high".

Now, all the people I know that would describe themselves as Christian and would subsequently fill Heaven are:

1. Boring
   
2. Have no imagination
   
3. Are so closed minded as to make a shrew look like Albert Einstein
   
4. Boring
   
5. Did I mention boring?
   
6. Have some really twisted world view's and tend to be quite offensive towards those that are different or do not agree with them
   
7. Boring
   

Now, the poor souls who get sent to Hell tend to be the more interesting (and not in anyway "evil") members of our society.

And think about it, Satan himself supposedly loves all the things that would get you banned from heaven.com, so he is surely going to let you carry on with whatever it was that was soooo bad that Mr omnipotent decided to be a snob and bar you?

Surely, hell has to be the place to be? All the kind of people you would mix with, all the things you liked doing and to top it off, your host is the Party King, none other than Mr Fun bags himself, Satan!!!

I dont buy the whole Hell/heaven thing anyway, but if you take a step back and look at it without Christian Dogma in the way, it is a battle of numbers, isn't it?

Each "deity" is trying to bag as many souls as he can, with that in mind, it doesn't stand to reason that Hell would have to involve your continued punishment?

The only reason the Bible says you will get poked by little devils with Pitchforks and thrown into lakes of fire is to scare you into voting for the other guy. Same as today's politics, but with your soul!

Hell could just be like the other "club" on the other side of the street to Heaven. Now, heaven is the prudish, snobish place were only intensely dull people hang out, play harps and stuff, whereas hell is the more wild, let you hair down venue.....

No punishment, just a different venue......

Originally posted by stumason
And think about it, Satan himself supposedly loves all the things that would get you banned from heaven.com, so he is surely going to let you carry on with whatever it was that was soooo bad that Mr omnipotent decided to be a snob and bar you?

Surely, hell has to be the place to be? All the kind of people you would mix with, all the things you liked doing and to top it off, your host is the Party King, none other than Mr Fun bags himself, Satan!!!

......

There is no partying in hell. Hell is not a place where satan is in charge of people who get to continue with sin. People there will retain there sins but will not continue adding to them. There is no fellowship or enjoyment in hell. The notion that demons with pitchforks running around poking people is incorrect. Hell will be loneliness, emptiness, mental suffering, emotional suffering, physical suffering. It is also described as darkness. It is also a place place where each will realize that they are there by a choice they made, to reject the forgiveness offered in Christ.

Well if according to most of these replies, you have to be Christian to "get in", so I guess I won't be going to Heaven either.

Don't think I really care either ... especially if all the people I know of who "claim" to be religious and preach to others yet don't know a damned thing and do worse than I ever could be capable of then I'd much rather go in the opposite direction

Also, bordnlazy was on point

Just as an after-thought, as Jay Z said "You ain't gotta go to church to get to know your God"
And that is real




[edit on 13-11-2005 by ImJaded]

Originally posted by ImJaded
Well if according to most of these replies, you have to be Christian to "get in", so I guess I won't be going to Heaven either.

Don't think I really care either ...

People will only enter heaven because they place their faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ to remove their sins.

Yes you do care, this is eternity we are talking about. This is the most important decision of your life.