My point is : Isn't it still true that if you are a bad guy, you will not go to heaven even if you read the Bible and pray every day ? Each and every Christian can go to heaven ? If so, it doesn't sounds like a religion anymore. It sounds like a TV commercial. This is not a joke. Serious answers only please. Thank you in advance. btw I am a person who has read the Bible, but I can understand the New Testament only, not the whole book, and I don't believe I have fully understood the concept of heaven. Jesus didn't talk much about heaven.
2007-03-02 17:25:00 · 25 answers · asked by Gone 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Accepting Jesus as your Savior means more than just saying I don't want to go to hell so I'll say a little prayer. It is making a committment of your life.
To make things as simple as I know how sin separates us from God. The result of sin is death spiritually, not painless unconsciousness but spending eternity in hell. You can research this in Romans 6:23 and Romans 3:23 and Mark 9:44-48. None of us is good enough to walk up to God and say "hey I'm just as good as you are so I deserve to be in heaven with you." If we're even marginally honest with ourselves we know that's just not true. We can't fix this on our own. That's why Jesus came to earth to live a sinless life as a human and die for our sin. The easiest places to see this are John 3 and Romans 5. Jesus did for us what we can not do for ourselves. He took the penalty of our sin and not only died for us but rose from the dead as a demonstration that God accepted His sacrifice for us.
When we receive Jesus as our Savior we are as He said in John 3 born again. That means we become new inside (spiritually). You can read that also in 2Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. " A person who has really received Jesus as their Savior may make mistakes and may need to overcome some habits with Jesus' help but the will not want to live as a bad guy. They may mess up and need to ask His forgiveness but their intent will be to live for HIm.
I know it does souind too good to be true in a way but it is a gift to us from God and Jesus because they love us very much and want us to be able to be with them eternally.
You are right Jesus does not talk a lot about heaven. He seems to major on living now today through Him in a way that will help us to be with Him and with His Father. I think sometimes we get too into streets of gold and mansions and such and not enough into the wonder of being with God for ever. Maybe we try to see heaven from too much of an earthly emotional perspective.
We have a discussion board at www.iljboards.com that you may like and find some answers and some folks to talk with who may be more help to you. Come visit it if you like. My name on the board is Ann so say hi to me if you come by there. You can also click on my name there to email me or email me thriough Yahoo answers if you'd like to talk some more about this. Another site that may be useful to you is http://appalachianfoothills.tripod.com/id2.html
2007-03-02 17:57:46 · answer #1 · answered by A F 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Let me ask you this question. This may help to answer your question. Do the verses in the Bible tell you that someone who intentionally sins and disobeys the teachings of Jesus Christ will inherit the kingdom of heaven? Jesus talked more about heaven than any other person in the Bible, but He never explained exactly what the kingdom of heaven would be like. According to Revelation Chapters 21 and 22, heaven will be a paradise for Christians and hell will be a place of eternal torment for all of the people that did not make an effort to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ.
2007-03-03 02:38:08 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a couple parts to your question. Are you saying that someone can become born again and still be a "bad guy"? Well of course they can. There is no one without sin. Accepting Jesus as one's savior doesn't mean you will never sin again. It means you acknowledge that you are a sinner, that there is nothing you can do about this condition, and that you humbly repent of sin and accept the sacrifice of Jesus on on the cross of Calvary. But that is only the beginning. A truly born again person will desire to find out how God would have them live. They will follow the teachings of God's word, the bible. Will they make mistakes? Every day.
Salvation is not gained by reading the bible or praying. It's about realizing you are a sinner, asking forgiveness, and accepting Jesus as your savior. And God sees a truly repentant heart.
2007-03-03 02:09:13 · answer #3 · answered by Esther 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Great Question. The only way to heaven is through the Son. Know the Son, Know the Father. The best way I can explain it is this way. Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior you have died (kinda). Out with the Old in with the new. Jesus said That our sins would be forgivin past, present and future, if we repent of our sins. The word repent means to turn away from. like a 180 i.e turn around and head the other way . We have to walk out of the darkness into the light. I can tell you this much I was lost 27 years untill i found the Lord. When I was saved by his Gace and Mercy, I wanted to do everything I could to please him. When your saved and you have repented of your sins. Inside you want to do everything you can not to sin. But you still do once in a while. GOD gave us freewill, even after being saved, EVERY man expect for one falls short of GODs glory. You have to be willing to leave Worldly things behind i.e lust, lies, gossip anything that is not wholesome, what you watch on TV and what you do when no one is looking .Less you, More GOD praying and reading won't save you. Believe that Jesus died for you, saved you, and repent i.e turn your life around and mean it in your heart. GOD sees all that we do in our hearts, and in our minds. Do this and Love the Lord with all you Heart,Mind, Body and Soul and you will live for ever in Heaven. No matter what you have done there is nothing Jesus can't save you from. In GODS eyes a sin is a sin. A lie is the same as a murder. Yes once your saved no matter what you do you can not be seperated from Christ. You have to have Faith to Believe...It's like the wind you don't see it.... but it's still there.
2007-03-03 02:15:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the one thief on the cross was considered a bad guy and said he deserved his punishment, but Jesus in His Mercy looked into this bad guy's heart who asked Jesus to save Him and promised the thief would be with Jesus. We cannot earn Heaven on our own merit by being good. Even Mother Teresa, as good as she was, is no different than you or I. We are all sinners and deserve eternal death. Accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives = repentant and changed lives thru the asking and power of the Holy Spirit who then dwells within us. You are right, it is not a religion, but a relationship with Jesus. And Jesus did talk alot about heaven in the bible and even more about hell. If we are true christians and love the Lord who we follow, then if we did bad things, we will repent and try to live the life the Lord wants us to live willingly. Our being good is the result of a changed life, not our way to heaven. Jesus is the only way.
2007-03-03 01:39:53 · answer #5 · answered by connie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are right. Jesus didn't talk much about heaven. He mostly spoke of God's Kingdom--the government that will rule over the earth from heaven and will bring about God's will right here. The Bible says that only 144,000 will go to heaven to rule as kings and priests with the Christ. The other Great Crowd of other sheep will be the meek who will inherit the earth and live forever upon it. Keep reading. It is evident that you are being drawn by God and you are doing well. The Bible says that the only people who will survive Armegeddon are those who know God and obey him and that would include belief in and immitation of Jesus. It doesn't mean you will be perfect but it does mean you will put God's will ahead of your own and try your best.
2007-03-03 03:41:48 · answer #6 · answered by Sparkle1 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
OK, if you accept Jesus as your Savior then you have accepted His blood as a covering for your sins. You will no longer be a "bad guy" as being saved means you have turned over a new leaf.
Yes, each and every true Christian will go to Heaven.
You can "backslide", (bad term ) but once you are truly saved you can not be unsaved. If the Blood of Jesus being shed once was not enough then He would have to come down again every time some one sinned and climb up on the cross again. He ain't gonna do that because once was more than enough.
As the Apostle Paul said many times, we strive for rewards in Heaven. What they might be I have no idea. But if you continue to willingly sin you will lose rewards in Heaven not the chance of going to Heaven
2007-03-03 01:36:54 · answer #7 · answered by Kye H 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Reading your Bible and praying doesn't get you into heaven. The only way you can go to Heaven is to accept Jesus, God's only begotten son, as your savior and believe that he died on the cross for the redemption of your sins. You do not earn your way to heaven, it is a gift given freely to everyone born on earth. The Bible was written for believers and that's why people who are not believers can't understand it. You must be saved and the Holy Spirit will help with your understanding of the complete Bible.
2007-03-03 01:34:41 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
If you accept Jesus as your Savior, you are going to live eternally in Heaven?
Yep.
I suggest you study the below URL for much more information on TRUE CHRISTIANITY. It could clear up a lot of things.
2007-03-03 01:46:14 · answer #9 · answered by dondutkowski 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you must confess that Jesus is the son of God and our Savior to go to heaven (Acts 8: 36-38) but before that you must repent of your sins (Acts 2:38) and after you have confessed you must be baptized (Acts 8:38, Acts 2: 38) and then try to live a good Christian life, constantly praying and repenting of your sins because none of us in this life can be perfect. God is merciful, and he will forgive Christians when they have sinned if they repent, and he forgives us of all of our sins when we become Christians.
2007-03-03 01:55:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋