Sorry, I'm not getting the being a "good person" gets you into heaven. Even if you have lied just one time, you have sinned. You are a sinner. I have lied more than one time too, but Jesus forgives me of my sin when I ask him too. How in the world can being a "good person" get you anywhere close to heaven. You have still sinned, and therefore deserve punishment.
Being a "good person" isn't enough. I don't get it. Please explain!
2007-06-30 07:37:00 · 23 answers · asked by Kathleen 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The "key" to getting into heaven is Jesus Christ. He died for your sins. You may be a OK person here on earth and do all you are supposed to do, but since God is sinless, and we do sin, we are separated from him. The only way that we can spend eternity with God is if we take the salvation Jesus offers us when he died on the cross. He took our sins upon him.
I challenge you to to think about what will happen to you when you die.
2007-06-30 07:45:55 · update #1
great question- I am interested to see if anyone can say HOW good you have to be, to achieve Heaven- if we could be good enough, Jesus died for nothing- and I can tell you He died for everyone on earth, because no one is perfect- except Him.
2007-06-30 07:41:29 · answer #1 · answered by AdoreHim 7 · 3⤊ 5⤋
You're correct. being a good person will definitely not get someone into heaven. The real problem with man is explained in the Bible. Every one of us has the sentence of death in us because we were all born spiritually dead and in a state of separation from the Lord. In John ch. 3 Jesus explains to Nicodemus that a man must be born again because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God i.e. our works can't save us. Only the shed blood of Christ can. Ephesians ch 2 V8-9 wraps it up totally and points out clearly that we cant save ourselves by our works as salvation is a free gift from the Lord and can't be earned. Tragically, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This means as Proverbs states "There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death." Many people refuse to come God's way and receive their free gift of salvation by accepting Christ as their Savior and have elected to go about establishing their own righteousness. Romans Ch. V22 tells us that the righteousness of God is upon all who will believe. The only standard of righteousness that the Lord will accept is his own. We can avail ourselves of it by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and there is no other way a person can gain entry into heaven.
2007-06-30 14:55:51 · answer #2 · answered by mandbturner3699 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
hopefully I can explain this in a very subtle, relatively straightforward way. please read this carefully and think about it, if you *really* want an answer.
I trust God.
I trust that God will forgive me, and like a parent, WANTS to forgive.
I trust that God will, when neccesary, give APPROPRIATE and JUST punishment as is needed.
I trust that God is in fact Just, and has given me the capacity to at least in the most general sense, comprehend concepts of justice and goodness and so forth, and given me the knowlege I need to make descisions when I chose, that are reasonably good.
and despite that, inevitably I will make mistakes, but God knowing this, punishes and forgives as needed.
MY God is powerful enough that he does not need a sacrifice to forgive. he WANTS to forgive.
MY God is perfect and powerful enough that nothing could ever damage that. as a comparative point, I read some people saying that God cannot be in the presence of sin.... this does not make sense to me. it is as though gods perfection would be tainted if he were exposed to sin. in my view if that were the case, then God would not in fact be very perfect at all, and would not be worthy of worship.
there is not a single sin any regular person can commit in any remotely regular circumstance that would merit infinite/eternal punishment. not a single one. even the punishment that would be just for someone like hitler to receive for his crimes, is not truly infinite. (a whole freakin lot, absolutely,... but not infinite)
oh by the way... I'm Jewish by religion.
adding to it for your additional details:
>>"The only way that we can spend eternity with God is if we take the salvation Jesus offers us when he died on the cross. He took our sins upon him. "<<
is your God not powerful enough to forgive you? to reach down, and absolve your sins if you ask?
>>"I challenge you to to think about what will happen to you when you die."<<
if there is an eternal hell, and the only way to get into heaven is through jesus, then I will EAGERLY walk myself right down to hell and be happy to do so.
Hell would be infinitely better than being near a God such as that. no God that would have an eternal hell such as most christians belive, is remotely worthy of my devotion.
beliving in jesus as you describe is idolotry as well, btw.
the idea of "all people are naturally worthless and filthy and deserve eternal torment in hell away from God" is an EVIL ungodly teaching.
2007-06-30 14:58:05 · answer #3 · answered by RW 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Who says you cannot lie? Lying is not part of the 10 Commandment Law. I know, I know, you will say but the Law of "Thou shalt not bear false witness on they neighbor."
If one lies to harm another or to cause disastrous tragedy to others does fall under that law. But to lie for the right reasons as not to hurt someone or to make an excuse (in a lie) because you don't want to go or do something you don't want to do; does not fall under that law. Many important followers of God and Jesus did lie in the Bible and God didn't find their lie terrible enough for them to be condemned or gravely punished. We are all borned under sin that is why we all fall short of God. As Jesus said the gift of "LOVE" is the highest gift any one person can have. If you have LOVE than EVERYTHING else falls into place. Love is what makes a person good.
1 Corinthians Ch. 13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but with rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
Cheryl E, you are not free. Freedom to be free of being a saved person with Love only comes from God above. What is the definition of God?
God is LOVE.
The feeling of Love can come only from God. You have love because God loves you. Remember God makes the sun to shine on the good and the bad. God makes the rain to fall upon the good and the bad. Because God is LOVE.
2007-06-30 15:15:34 · answer #4 · answered by Debs 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your problem is that you apparently assume the following:
a) That 'sins' are worthy of punishment. Obviously if all you have to do to avoid punishment is to apologize to Jesus, then sins are NOT worthy of punishment. So which is it?
b) That sinning carries more weight than being a good person. This would imply that over-eating is looked at more harshly than being a hateful, nasty, cruel, vile, destructive, selfish person who treats everyone badly. Is that what you believe? If so, how desperately sad.
c) That God is more interested in 'punishing' people than in loving them, sins notwithstanding. Is THAT what you believe? IF so, what a low opinion of God you must have.
2007-06-30 14:50:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 1⤋
Earthly goodness wont buy us a thing... that is what we're created for. It would be as if God were a glass maker and He created drinking glasses. The purpose for these glasses were to hold beverages. It doesnt matter how many beverages the glass has held or how good the drink was, if its cracked, its worthless. Our sins are the "crack" that makes us worthless. We all have them. Jesus is the "Super Glue" so to speak, that holds us together and makes us usable. If we reject the glue, that's not the fault of the maker ;)
2007-06-30 14:53:01 · answer #6 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I am so glad I don't share the same beliefs as you. Being a "good person" is definitely enough in my book to have a happy life; in this one and the next with my loved ones--regardless of what we may or may not have believed in.
2007-06-30 15:07:53 · answer #7 · answered by Liesel 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, I'm not getting the being a "sinner" gets you into hell. Even if you have told the truth just one time, you have done right. If you have done even just ONE act of kindness, you are a kind person. Most people have done these things alot more than once. You are a kind person. I have done acts of kindness more than one time too, but the Devil hates every act of kindness, and just one act of kindness is enough to keep you out of hell. How in the world can being a "sinner" land you anywhere near hell ? You have still done something good and therefore deserve reward.
Being a "sinner" isn't enough. I don't get it. Please explain !
additional details:
The "key" to getting into hell is Satan. He was banished to hell for your good deeds. You may be a bad person here on earth and not do all you are supposed to do, but since Satan is pure evil, and we do acts of kindness, we are separated from him. The only way that we can spend eternity with Satan is if we sell our soul to Satan and accept all the evil he offers us when he was banished to hell. He took our good deeds upon himself into the pits of hell. He hates us all so much, that he had a good person ritually tortured and murdered, and convinced the masses that bathing in the blood of this slain martyr was the only thing keeping you out of hell. He convinced generations of followers that a ritual, bloody, tortourous act of murder is what it takes to keep people out of hell. It is actually good deeds and kindness that will keep you out of hell. You see, the devil is so purely evil, that he can not abide in the presence of even ONE kind act or word . . .
BTW, this is a tongue in cheek response
2007-06-30 14:44:13 · answer #8 · answered by queenthesbian 5 · 4⤊ 2⤋
The point is to do your best. If your heart is truly with God, then you will be saved, and if that is the case, you will also do your best to exemplify being a follower for others, which it sounds like you are doing.
2007-06-30 14:41:53 · answer #9 · answered by Avery 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, I don't believe in your sin or hell, so I guess I'm off the hook there. However, I know I am a good person, and if you met me and we talked you would never know that I am a Pagan unless I told you. Why? Because I treat people with respect. I help the needy. I pay my bills, live up to my obligations, and take responsibliity for my own actions. Just because I don't buy into Christian fear doesn't make me NOT a good person. It makes me free.
2007-06-30 14:41:49 · answer #10 · answered by Cheryl E 7 · 5⤊ 3⤋
In God's eyes, there's no such thing as a "good person" because we're all equally law-breakers (yes, one little lie puts you in same boat with Hitler and Stalin) and we're all equally powerless to redeem ourselves. That's why we all need Jesus. As John the Baptist pointed out, Jesus is "the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."
Good question. God bless you!
2007-06-30 14:51:21 · answer #11 · answered by Lyle the farm cat 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋