If Jesus loves us so much, why do we have to grovel and apologise to get into heaven?

Question

I mean when I go for a sanger at Subway, I don't feel the need to prostrate myself and bow and scrape so I can get a meatball marinara. Why should it be any different? It's not like I'm a bad person in the first place.

Kenzie - what if I feel I have nothing to apologise for?

Iccutance - I thought god's love was meant to be unconditional? Or is he 'a bit picky'?

Preacher - you're the kind of person who likes to talk about love and respect while all the time slagging off other religions. Bit of a hypocrite aren't you?

Right, this is what I believe; I believe in a higher power than us but it has nothing to do with religion. If the tales you tell of your god are true, that just means he is cruel and deceitful, the same as you say the devil is. If the god you say is love allowed things to go on as they are then he simply doesn't care about us. Why should I care for him?

True enough Skull. I don't suppose you get Reign in Blood on the heavenly jukebox. According to Therapy? though, they have 'Venom on the jukebox, postcards to Hell, hey Satan, you rock'. Hard to argue with really.

Death came to all men because all men sinned'. Strange I thought we die because we are biological entities. Silly me, it's because a bloke went round doing card tricks and telling them he's the son of god then said 'yer all bastards, you gotta let me love you. Or you're dead.' Fair enough, you've got a new convert. Where do I sign up to give you my 10%?

So can an animal sin? Because they do bad things. Is there a doggy hell then?

Answer 1

Because Christianity is a confused hotch potch of moral law and psychological insecurity and paranoia. If Jesus loved us all indiscriminately, regardless of whether we were good or bad people, there would be no incitement to behave morally. Hence the carrot and stick system of heaven and hell that gives Christians an external motivation to be good (since apparently they have no internal self-regulating conscience????). In the words of Margaret Mead (anthropologist):

"It is an open question whether any behavior based on fear of eternal punishment can be regarded as ethical or should be regarded as merely cowardly."

To the person who said we should be grateful because Jesus died for our sins, have you never wondered WHY Jesus died for our sins? To pay off the debt incurred by human sin. But who decided that Jesus's death would cancel out our sins? Presumably God. But why would God devise this punishment, if God loves his son? Over to Slavoj Zizek...

"why does God not forgive us directly? Why must he obey the need to pay for sin?... if God were to pardon us directly, this would not transform us, making us new, better men - only the compassion and feeling of gratitude and debt elicited by the scene of Christ's sacrifice have the necessary power to transform us... It is easy to see that something is amiss in this reasoning: is this not a strange God who sacrifices his own Son, what matters most to him, just to impress humans?"

So while I like Noezzelle's point, I think it's actually the wrong way round - it's God who's needy, who needs demonstrations of our love - this love seeming to matter more than ethics. I'd like to think that if there is a God, it would want me to use the brain it had endowed me with to base my morality on rational evidence. I'd like to think that this God would be clever and emotionally stable enough to consider the fact that I try to be a good person to be more important than whether or not I believe in it.

Answer 2

Why the bother with the effort? The decor in Hell is probably a lot more interesting anyway and like they say, the devil has the best tunes.

The bible and christianity don't exactly paint a very nice picture of god, but on the other hand, people who slag off satan are usually either seriously lacking in the sanity stakes or telling porkies.


Sin is a very harsh word to use, I haven't killed anyone or done a hit and run on a cornershop and I live a good life, so why should I bust my a** off to please the 'big guy'. It doesn't add up.

What's this business about 'knowing god'? Nobody "knows" god. It's not like you pick up the phone and say "hey god, want to come out tonight?". If he really is an all seeing, all knowing entity then I doubt he has the time or patience to have personal relationships with the likes of the human race.

Reading some of these answers is quire depressing, so apparantly Jesus had a time machine, saw me doing something bad and was so shocked that he went back and got himself crucified. Am I wrong? Because that's the impression that some of you are giving me. Oh and I'm supossed to be a terrible person simply because I was born. Well that's hardly my fault is it.

Answer 3

First things first, "groveling and apologizing" comes after receiving Christ; we are sorry for our sins when we recognize that Christ had to die for us on the cross to pay for our sins, and when Christ lives in us, it becomes natural to be sorry for our sins...

I think the question you really want to ask, based on your last sentence, is "Why do we have to accept Jesus Christ if we aren't bad people, like murderers, rapists, etc.?" (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong with this assumption...)

While it is true that we aren't such bad people, we must be honest when it comes to the fact that we are all "sinful" people. There is a key difference there, because we tend to define being a sinner as being a murderer, a swindler, a perpetual liar, etc., or say that "I'm not a bad person..." compared to say, a serial killer.

The Bible, however, has a more serious issue to attend to...

"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3: 23 (a full summary can be taken from reading Romans 3: 10-18 also)

and more importantly...

"...death came to all men, because all sinned." - Romans 5: 12

In our eyes, we may seem to be okay, but in the eyes of God, we are all sinners. The fact that we can do something wrong without being taught to do so or even think of doing so is a testament to our sinful nature. On our own, we cannot come to the Lord, for no one can completely obey the Law or be without sin. That is why Christ died for us, and that is why we come to Him, sometimes with great emotion, always in sincere repentance, that we may be cleansed of our sins and that we may be a new creation in Him...

(With regards to the bloke playing card tricks, it does sound harsh coming from him. However, the penalty for sin was decided long ago after the fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3: 19, 22) As for where to sign up, regardless of sincerity or sarcasm, I do not know where you are from, so I cannot recommend a place to you without sounding foolish by sending you halfway around the world.)

Answer 4

Well, think of HIm as a friend. If you were constantly offending and hurting a friend, would you feel comfortable living with them for ever? you'd constantly be reminded of what you have done wrong. However, If you fix mistakes as they happen, and build relationships with your friends, you can have a very happy and longlasting relationship that can bring joy, happiness, and comfort when you need it.
In the same way you deal with a friend in a "grovelly" manner(by that I mean you treat them with respect and expect respect in return) you can also treat Diety in the same way and have a very happy and joyful relationship with him. If you feel like you are constantly grovelling and apologizing, you are in the wrong mindset---with Him as a random force instead of a Loving God.
That's all I have to say about it.

Answer 5

Jesus does not expect you to grovel, apologize and beg your way into heaven. All he wants you to do is accept his completed work at the cross, and believe in him as your Lord and Savior. Jesus died for your sins and he wants you to accept this. There is nothing complicated about Jesus. Christianity is not Islam---in Islam you must bow and grovel and beg and apologize, and then you still go to hell because Allah cannot save anybody because Allah is the devil. Just have faith in Jesus, and live your life in his love. Love thy neighbor as you love yourself, and you shall fulfill all the commandments of God. Jesus loves you.

Answer 6

in the first place i dont know what meat balls have to do with Jesus. its all about love and kindness and giving and sharing,ya know, being kind to others. if you find this so hard to do, maybe you ought to do some soul searching. i believe in God and no, i am not a church go-er, but i believe in everything good and God is good. i do believe there is a heaven and even in the end if there really isnt heaven, the belief still makes it worth it to live a decent life. nobody said you have to bow and scratch your way to heaven. love Him first and everything he has given us. alot of times things go bad in our lives because most of the time we choose the wrong path therefore, making it harder for us to FIND our way to heaven. just believe in good things and try to make the right choices in life. dont be so bitter, open your heart to God and let the peace inside of you begin. good luck to you

Answer 7

What would you expect from a people that you had died ona cross for? Why is it so hard to say forgive me for I have sinned to someone who has given so much? None of us are perfect and all fall short of the glory of God.. I feel you are being petty to not give the respect that is due to our Lord and Saviour.

Answer 8

Well, yes, you ARE a "bad person in the first place".

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Why is it neccesary for you to ask for forgiveness for your sins?

Why do you think He should give you something that you are not asking for?

Answer 9

Who ever told u that rubbish. Sure we should apologise, we should want to. Jesus went through soo much pain to forgive us for our sins. He even prayed for the people who crucified him to be forgiven. The least we can do is thank him and apologise to him for our sins. If we don't apologise, How can God forgive us?

Anyway to get into heaven, you have to have a relationship with God, you have to know him. If you don't know him then when you r stood before God with nobody to protect you, he will say " Ahhh yes, My precious, precious son. I love u soo much but I do not know you and you don't know me. Give me one good reason why I should let you into Heaven" and then there's you saying "ummmmmmm"

I was told that once you say sorry for your sins to God and they are forgiven then they r forgotten. If you don't say sorry then they r not forgotten.

think about it.

Answer 10

How much do you love Him? Being a "good" person to your standards is different then what we truly are inside. I can give to homeless people but at the same time curse and drink. Are you willing to humble yourself? Today's society it's hard to find a humble person, we are full of pride and arrogance