Christians....how many of you?

Question

Are good just because you want into Heaven? There seems to be, on this board anyway, this belief Christians are only good because they are scared of God, and want into Heaven. So, to dis-spell this belief, how many of you are good, tolerant, nice, and kind because you want to be, because its your nature, and not just for Heaven?

I'll start it off. I am good and kind and tolerant and nice by nature, not because I think its getting me into Heaven, but because thats just the person I am. Who else?

Johnny_Zondo, did you get that idea from a study, or poll, or is it just your opinion?

Johnny, under your idea than, if we only invest for a return, does that mean atheists and agnostics cant be nice and tolerant because they are investing only in themselves, and at death expect no return? dont believe that either.

Answer 1

the vast majority of christians only beleive so they get into heaven. were there no (empty) promise of heaven no one would believe. thats a loical fact.

dont beleive me? if you invested in the stock market would you invest in a stock that gave no return? would you invest your money if you werent going o get anythin back? no. of course not.

christians invest their faith (money) into religion ebcause they think theyre going to get something back. but like i said, if there was no heaven no one would beleive.

the vast majority of christians, regardless of hat they say, beleive in god for the reason of getting into heaven. period. they believe for their onw self interest. that is why christianity is inherently selfish.

Answer 2

I'm not a Christian, you know that. But i do believe that Christianity is a religion of the Good. As i also believe that Islam is a religion of the Good.

Basicly, all people are Good, some need to be educated a little more. I don't believe people choose a religion simply to become a part of Heaven.

But, i see the purpose of your question, and i agree. Being on this Yahoo!Forum sometimes makes it difficult to see the things i truly believe in. There is a lot of screaming and yelling here about "believe! or go to hell!"

I also admit that sometimes it makes it difficult to not generalize religions based on the intollerant statements that some people type on this forum. It's people like you, and many others, that keep my feet on the ground, thank God for that.

Answer 3

Actually, I'm not very good by God's standards. I'm wasteful, gluttonous, and I don't have an abundance of compassion for other people, or kids. I know you can't get to heaven by trying to be "good", and thank God for that, because I'd be screwed!

In my human thinking, I sometimes worry that my many sins will somehow make me unworthy of heaven, despite being saved. But, I do truly, sincerely, and honestly believe in the core of my being that Jesus is my Savior, and that is all you need to go to heaven.

If I were to beat myself up on not being "good enough", it would be because it seems ungrateful of what Jesus saved me from - the horrors of hell. Also, not measuring up for a God who is so awesome and loves me so much, not because I want to fake my way into heaven.

Answer 4

I like to think I'm a good person because Christ has made me this way. I wasn't always nice and caring, until I was saved, and then my heart was changed. I live my life for and to please the Father because I love Him, not to get me somewhere. He sees the heart and knows what our motives are, and we can't hide them from Him.
So you're good, kind, tolerant and good by nature, have you received Jesus into your heart to get into heaven? This is the only way, not because of how good you are or how you act.

Answer 5

You claim to be a good, kind, tolerant and nice person by nature, AND you claim to be a Christian? That's quite a contradiction!
Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in Spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Answer 6

Being good has nothing to do with entrance to heaven. There is not a soul on this earth who is good enough to get into heaven.

It has never been about being good. We are told "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness is as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

So, if our righteousness is as filthy rags (the real Hebrew word there is "menstrual cloths"), then how can we ever hope to be good?

It is because Jesus paid our fine for all the evil that we do. He took upon Himself the punishment that was due us. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

So, all we need to do is receive from Him the free gift that He gave to us. He then exchanges our wickedness, and puts on us His righteousness. It's a trade, really. And THAT is what gets us into heaven. But it is only for those who recognize that their niceness and goodness is not going to do anything for them. It is not about what we do, but about what He did.

Answer 7

Oh let's be honest shall we. You are not always good, kind, nice and tolerant; no one is.

I would not make the attempt to follow the ways God has laid out for me if I didn't love Jesus Christ the way I do. Heaven is something that will happen after I die and I'm grateful to Jesus that I will be there. It's not my incentive; His love is.

Answer 8

I'm a Christian, one of Jehovah's Witnesses to be specific.
The Bible says that only a select group of anointed people will go to heaven. -Revelation 14:3, Revelation 7:1-8.
The rest of obedient mankind will inherit the earth as the bible says. Psalms 37:9-11, verse 29, Matthew 5:5
However, man cannot "earn" to go to heaven or even have everlasting life provided by Christ's ransom
We are sinners, and the wages sin pays is death. Romans 5:12
Everlasting life is a GIFT from God that he chooses to give us if we put all faith in him and live our lives according to his will (as set out in the Bible - John 17:3).
Read Romans 6:23.
So NO, I live a life of faith to Jehovah God because I want to, and he is worthy of all praise and devotion. -Revelation 4:11
He gave me life, so I will live my life to do his will and give my all to him.
IF he gives me everlasting life, great. Absolutely. But I don't deserve it. None of us do.

Answer 9

Ya i know where you are coming from. But sadly that is what the church teaches, and God doesn't want fear to be the reason that you love Him?! How can you love Him in fear? Obviously that isn't what God is about. I look at this way the OT is like man in his younger years-no don't do that, hey stop that, no not like this, hey get out of there lol haha then the NT is like a post teen to adult ok here is my command Love God, love others as you would yourself. Now God wants us to govern ourselves in what we have learned that harms another and instead of fear of law or coulda, woulda, shoulda. Sry I rambled but just a perspective in love.

Answer 10

Non of us on the earth are perfect. Only Jesus is the prefect one. He came down to the earth as a complete and perfect Man. In Christ there is no sin or negative thing. Jesus is a man, but His humanity is of different source than ours; by death and ressurection, He uplifted this Humanity. He is God-Man. His humanity is not only new and holy, but also uplifted. Our humanity at its best is just a shadow; the humanity of Jesus is the reality. When we take Christ in and enjoy Him as the Spirit of reality, we are taking in and enjoying a person; by this we become "Jesusly" human. We must be "Jesusly" human, not humanly human; we should not bring anything natural into the realm of Jesus.

If we are take Christ in our life, and we are in the spirit. We not trying to be so kind nice perfect as Christ. it is impossible because no matter what, we still have our human nature, but by taking Him in our daily live and walk in the spirit. We automaticly express Chrsit!

Answer 11

I agree with you. God is loving and forgiving, and we should be that way too too. I'm nice to people because it's the right thing to do. I don't agree with a lot of people, but I'm still nice to them.

The funny thing to me is there are a lot of Christians around here who are anything but good, tolerant, nice and kind. They're self-righteous, judgmental, rude and condescending. They quote a lot of Bible verses, but they forget the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do to you. If you don't want people telling you what to believe and how to live your life and damning you to Hell, DON'T DO IT TO THEM!!!