"Christians": Is it true that "... no one will enter Heaven on their own merits"?

Question

Is it not true that no one gets to Heaven unless they freely choose to accept Jesus? They must do it of their own volition, correct?

Is this not deemed the meritorious deed that alone pleases God?

Is it not this deed by which God makes you holy enough to permit into heaven?

After all, God doesn't let anything into heaven unless it is holy enough for Him, right?

Isn't this the meritorious deed that makes a "Christian" holier than any unbeliever, in the eyes of God?

Answer 1

"Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
(James 2:17)

"How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?" (James 2:20)

"For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." (James 2:26)


Did Jesus do works?
Did his disciples do works? (Read the book of Acts before you answer)

Faith alone or saying "I believe and am saved" will get you nowhere. Even Satan and his demons believe there is only one God----"You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!"
James 2:19
LOBT

Answer 2

That is true. It is a GIFT from God lest any man should boast. But only by accepting Christ, the ultimate sacrifice for the Sin of the world. Jesus said, "IT IS FINISHED!" What was finished? Everything. Death by SIN was overcome in the Flesh...guaranteeing me life eternally. The Word says, the blood sacrifice cleanses all from Sin when we confess our sin He (God, Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us. As we confess, we are cleansed and made in His righteousness, not our own. We could never be perfect enough.

Mans not Holy never could be, Only God, and Christ, the Sin sacrifice.

Answer 3

It is true that only those that believe will enter the Kingdom.

It is also true that no man goes to heaven based upon works.

Choosing God however is not a "work" of ours, nor is it a meritorious deed. It is a work of God alone. And even the "good works" that we do under Christ are not works of ourselves but of Him.

Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Romans 8:28-30 (KJV)
"28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

(This could be quite a long discussion and that is difficult in this medium...I would suggest taking a look at Calvinism and Reformed Theology on the net for those that don't understand).

Answer 4

This is the what we as Christians believe indeed. Christ is the only way to eternal life. He is the only one who can give a sinner the right to stand before God forgiven. We should not brag on any holiness that is granted to us because it was not our doing but Christ. This gift of forgiveness is for all who want it, no one needs to be excluded. All it takes is the tiniest belief in Christ to be forgiven. The truly wonderful part is that He seeks us and gives us the faith to believe in Christ. So there are no bragging rights here. If you are sensitive to God you will see this too. Blessings and may you too feel the tug of Christ on your heart.

Answer 5

It is by grace through faith we have been saved. There is nothing anyone can do to obtain righteousness. Only the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross can pay for our sins. I realize that eternal life through the blood sacrifice of Jesus; a free gift; is difficult to swallow in the society in which we live. Everybody wants to pay their own way or prove their own worth. But, God's ways are not our ways. He gave us a free gift. Only by this free gift, this grace, can we be saved.

Grace and Peace.

Answer 6

The Bible says it clearly that even the most righteous thing done by man is filth in God's eyes.
We have the choice: either we believe Christ saved us from our sins by shedding His blood or we pay for our sins. When we accept Christ, we are made righteous by faith in Him.
Do you know that David murdered a man to take his wife. But God still refers to him as ''The man after His heart''. This alone proved that David had faith in God, so God declared him righteous.
God bless you in Christ's name.

Answer 7

We are saved by grace through faith,in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ....Neither God's grace(unmerited favor) or the human response of faith constitutes self merit. Responding in faith to the call of God is evidence of belief and submission....this is God's plan for all.

Answer 8

"Fruitful' might be a better term than "meritorious". Salvation and growth in virtue and sanctification are totally by God's gift of Grace. Christians believe that everything is won by Jesus,the Incarnation of God the Word in His Death and Resurrection., and His merits are all-sufficient and of infinite worth and power. Our "merits" are totally relative to those real merits of Jesus,true God and true Man, and are gifts to be received and cooperated with not payment for something earned and deserved.
Living faith is a grace and undeserved gift of God and is a result of God's work,yet our reception of that gift and our living in the state of grace can be called a"work" since it is colaborating by free will with God's perfect work and Christ's gracious promises. Every deed of faith,hope and love by the grace and mercy of God is pleasing to God and only such deeds are pleasing and acceptable to Him and His own.
To experience Heaven,which is primarily unobstructed union with God,His Will and His Grace, one must be totally yielded to Grace and the Merits of Christ and one must give up all attachment to sin and self-centeredness and self-justification and be totally cleansed and purged in and converted by and to the Blood of Christ
What about people who do not consciously "accept Christ" but show evidence of Grace's working? What about the "invincibly ignorant" or those who have never really heard of the real Jesus Savior? What about those who claim to "accept Jesus" but live wicked lives? Can living faith survive if separated fron hope and love?

Answer 9

Yes this is this plan of God,its that simple.Its only recieving Christ as your savior that you will be accepted into heaven.Not that you continue to offend once you have recieve Christ and that you do not do the things that God wants you to do,good works.But not one thing can bring you to God except Christs sacrifice.

Answer 10

We will never be holy enough for God until we get to Heaven. It is only by God grace and the death of Jesus Chris on the cross for our sins that we will get there. Each person must make that choice themselves. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is our savior, that he died on the cross for us and that he rose on the third day.