Christians, I have a question about going to Heaven. Can you help?

Question

I am a Christian myself and the thought of salvation hit me. The Bible says that once we believe Jesus died for us on the cross and accept him into our Hearts, we will go to heaven.

Well, what if there is some Pagan out there that knows Jesus died for him and accepts the fact that Jesus did die for him, yet he doesn't want to be a Christian and follow the path of Christianity.

Why do we have to ask Jesus to come into our hearts if we already believe he died for us? Is accepting him into our hearts some way of opening the door to our own path to Heaven?

I appreciate your answers.

I'm not a Pagan... don't be confused I was using Pagans as an example.

Answer 1

Some suggest that belief in Jesus is the end of the matter. Many believe that a sudden, emotional conversion experience is all we need in order to guarantee everlasting life. However, to concentrate on only one essential requirement for salvation to the exclusion of the others is like reading one crucial clause in a contract and ignoring the rest.

Believing in Jesus is crucial to our salvation, but more is needed. Jesus spoke of some who professed faith in him and even did “powerful works” in his name. But he did not recognize them. Why? Because they were “workers of lawlessness” and did not do the will of his Father. (Matthew 7:15-23) The disciple James reminds us of the need to “become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning.” He also said: “You believe there is one God, do you? You are doing quite well. And yet the demons believe and shudder. . . . Faith without works is dead.”—James 1:22; 2:19, 26.

Yes, there are various things involved in getting saved. We must take in accurate knowledge of God’s purposes and his way of salvation. Then we must exercise faith in the Chief Agent of salvation, Jesus Christ, and do God’s will the rest of our lives. (John 3:16; Titus 2:14) Salvation is sure for those who follow this course. But it involves persevering right to the end of our present life or of this system of things. Only “he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.”—Matthew 24:13.

http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1996/2/1/what_must_we_do.htm

Answer 2

I can see that you have doubts......keep pressing it means you willing to learn more than you have done in the past.......

I myself was christian, now ive been baptised and at that point i took jesus and accepted him, I havent been a christian now for about 10 years, do you know what changed my mind? Reading the bible....in those days i felt i would only become a better christian by learning more about our saviour......but always felt something wasnt quite right, it was pressing at me to look further and further not just at the the bible, but in religions altogether. And by doing so i learnt alot, not only about christainity, but many other religions as well.

try not to go to much into that here, but the reason why i decide that i no longer wanted to be a christian was because i found that there were far to many discrepancies between the bible and scientific data......which in my opinions the scientific data has more factual evidence to back it up, the bible doesnt.

My point being is that there are not enough people looking at themselves and asking themselves why they believe......? So here is my question to you? How is it that you know that all of this really exists? What makes you so sure that there is a god? What makes you sure that jesus was anything more than a mortal man?

Why do you carry such blind faith for something just because you are told too? (either by your parents, or your church.) Is it because you have been told too? Or is it because you truly beleive?
And dont tell me it because the bible told you so......because the bible wasnt written in jesus time either.....It was written more than 300 years after his death around the time that the first christians came into power through the Emporer Constantine the great, after he held the great council of Nicea....So the men that wrote it had no idea either...........Here i hear you say that the Emporer was a christian man.......wrong again!!!

Constantine the great was acctually a pagan god worshipper......right up until three days before he died. Where he renounced his pagan beliefs in order for the the growing popular Christian faith as it was one that was gaining many followers in Rome (mostly within his court at that point).

So that this point we have an Emporer that was a pagan god worshipper, we might as well say until he was on his death bed.

We have men writing the bible well and truly after jesus died, .....so tell me if they wrote the new testament after he died.....how could any of these men have been his apostles???? or have even met him for that matter?

I will leave you with these things to think upon, email me if you wish as i will not recant on anything i have said here, all the above written , was in university through my different studies, one of them being ancient history, as well as religious studies in which i have had the many different religions to read about, learn from and having decided what i need to know, am now no longer a christian.......i will leave the rest up to you.

And in answer to your question......if i have been baptised and accepted the lord into my life when i became a christian.....i guess that qualifies me for the so called christian heaven, although all im looking forward too is being in a pine box so that i can get some rest.

Answer 3

Well, the Bible says that even the demons know that Jesus died for our sins, and they're God fearing... things. But that's not enough. If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and you give your heart to him, you'll go to Heaven. If you just believe he died on the cross to save people, you won't. It's kind of like, if you have cash in your pocket when you go through the check out line at the grocery store, you can buy eggs. If you know there is cash in your pocket but you never take it out, you're not gonna get the eggs. The clerk will simply glare at you and point towards the door.

Answer 4

I don't think that knowing that Jesus died for you is enough to get you to heaven. To be a true Christian you must follow the teachings of Christ. Simply you must love God with all your heart and all your soul and you should demonstrate this by loving all human beings as you love yourself. This can be acheived without knowing anything about Jesus himself.

There are many Christians out there who do not go by that title and may not even realize that they believe in Christ. Similarly, there are A LOT of people who claim to be Christians who are nothing of the kind.

Answer 5

I'm not sure, but I think that when you invite Jesus into your heart the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you. So I guess that would mena that we ask Jesus into our hearts so that the Holy Spirit will dwell within us and help us along the path of Christianity. Accpeting him into our hearts, at least in my mind isn't the most important thing I have asked him into my heart, but I think that admitting that you were a sinner is the most important thing. Admitting that your a sinner and that you've screwed up, and believing in Jesus and the fact that he died for us and rose again. That's how I think we will get to heaven....

Answer 6

"Asking Him into your heart" is some weird phrase people developed when they wanted to say "ask Him to become your Lord and Savior." If you believe and trust in Christ as the only hope for your salvation, then you're a Christian, but you must follow His teachings as well. We are to be disciples, not just converts.

As for the pagan, if He accepts that Jesus died for Him but doesn't trust in that death to save Him, what good it that?

Answer 7

Believing so ultimately important, as is baptism in water. Read Acts 2:38-39. Doing so, then God gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit. That is a seal of God, that our sacrifice has been accepted. In the Old Testament, Abraham "believed", and God gave him the seal of circumsission, to show that He accepted Abraham's belief. Today, the baptism of the Holy Spirit "seals us to the day of our redemption". Evidence that you have that is that you can accept every Word. Hope that helps. It's my understanding. By all means, study the Word and pray before just accepting someone's view of this very important topic.

Answer 8

Even the devil and his demons "believe"....they did not want to follow God either.

Salvation (from hell) is a change from living one lifestyle, realizing you have sinned against God, asking forgiveness, receiving that forgiveness (into your heart), and turning from that lifestyle toward a walk w/Christ to do His Will, not yours.
You are no longer your own, you are bought w/a price (blood of Christ).

It's a present.......it is offered to everyone........not ALL accept it. If you are giving a present don't you hope someone will receive it?
UNTIL it is accepted, you are not born again. Just because you know you have a present does not prove anything. You have to receive it.

God says,"IF you do THIS, I will do This." It is always conditional.
"as many as RECEIVED HIM, became the children of God."
So IF you receive, you are a child of God.

How can one hear (learn to be saved) without the Word? Who IS the word? (Jesus).
Without THE LAW, we do not know where we sin. Breaking the moral law is against others. Breaking God's law is against God.
The Bible says, "how can one believe/hear without a teacher." So, they have to HEAR....

Believing and receiving are two different things.
The reason we can believe without accepting is SIN. We do not want to give up that sin.
When we believe AND receive we give up that sin.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." WHAT then does it mean to believe? you can't receive without believing.

Answer 9

Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

To be saved , we have to do 2 things. With the heart , believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. With the mouth , confess that Jesus is Lord. That is what faith is all about , making a decission to believe and keep speaking out what you believe in.

Answer 10

Everyone accepts that Jesus died. However, not everyone accepts the sacrifice of Jesus and the Resurrection to absolve them of sin. So it's the belief that his resurection overcame sin and saved us all. It's not just that Jesus died on the cross but the resurection as well.