Why do people have the notion that Heaven is where you are rewarded for good works?

Question

It's not that way at all. You simply have faith in god, and you can get there. Of course, you usually go beyond the call of duty if your zealous about it. Salvation has nothing to do with doing charity or converting people. Doing those extra things is just a sign of our love for god.

Answer 1

I think agree that good works do not equal eternal life, but you have to say more than belief in God gets you to heaven. It says in the Bible that even the demons believe that. You have to believe that we are all sinners who deserve death and that Christ sacrificed himself for us in order that we may have eternal life.

Answer 2

Like anything else..Heaven has ranks and classes. For example the manager is not like the employee in the work atmosphere. And the Lexus is not like the Mazda, The ranch house is not like the apartment. In Heaven there are ranks and classes as well. So the more you work here on Earth, the more of a luxury life you can get then in Heaven. God is Most mercifull, and we only enter heaven by His mercy, And God is Fair so will get rewarded by Him justly.

Answer 3

There will be 2 judgments! one for the unsaved and one for the saved where our degree of reward will be determined. Salvation is not granted as a reward or payment for good works as salvation can only be given on the basis of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible states that even the devils believe in God but they tremble. God now commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 4

Once faith in Christ has resulted in our adoption as God's sons and daughters, good works do most certainly matter.

The concept of personal merit explains why Jesus told the young man to sell all that he had and give the proceeds to the poor, so he would have treasure in heaven.

The parable of the talents also clearly illustrates the concept of personal merit.

There's much more to God's plan than mere salvation.

It's about time that non-Catholics figured it out.

Answer 5

Ahh, but "faith without works is dead" (James 2:24). Faith is the spiritual portion, you have to live the life, too, doing good works not out of a sense of reward, but as an outgrowth of your faith; out of duty to God.

BE a Godly person. LIVE a Godly life.

Answer 6

I can't find happiness in a heaven. Heaven is supposed to blissful and beautiful, but I find no bliss and beauty in knowing that Billions upon Billions of souls that I walked the Earth with are being eternally tortured and burned in "Hell." Why "God" would create either heaven or hell is beyond me. If he essentially wanted you to be in heaven or hell, wouldn't he have just created you there in the first place instead of creating you here on Earth? Seems like an ill-effective way to work to me.

Answer 7

There is no heaven, so get over it already! The concept of heaven and hell is just a trick conjured up by religionists to get you to "behave" and to have faith in their god. Nobody knows what happens after you die, so it doesn't really matter what you do now anyway.

Answer 8

So, are there separate heavens for Calvinists and Arminians?

If heaven is not a reward for good works, only faith, then hell is not a punishment for bad works, only disbelief?

The Hugenots and the Catholic soldiers who killed them all believed in God and Jesus. Will they resume their battle in heaven?

Just asking.

Answer 9

Reward is a western thought & Capitalism has its birthplace in that kind of thinking. In eastern though, doing an action perfectly is its own reward.

Answer 10

Because that's what people hear their entire lives from birth up and it's easier to believe what you've always been told than to question authority.