so if good acts won't get you into heaven...?

Question

why even write the ten commandments? if all that is important is accepting jesus as your savior then why, presumably, did god give us a code of conduct by which to live by? accepting someone as your savior does not necessarily mean you're going to live the way they want you to live, does it? indeed, nobody can go the entire rest of their lives without "sinning" even after accepting jesus as their savior. however, certain sins are viewed as being permissable, while others if committed are considered unforgivable even if you accept jesus as your savior. isn't this a contradiction to the idea that good acts won't get you into heaven? if not, then isn't it a contradiction to saying that accepting jesus is your only way into heaven?

nina, protect us from what? we're all going to die. that is our punishment for sin, right? and we are all sinners. the best we can do is accept jesus as our savior and get into heaven where sin cannot harm us... or so the bible teaches us.

faye, so as long as you accept jesus as your savior it's ok if you're a serial killing, raping, child molestor?

mr. taco, but i can rationalize most of the ten commandments without even looking at them. i have a little bit of trouble with the first few which pertain to god, because i do not see him, so i see no point in worshipping him.

furthermore, i'm not out committing unforgivable sins as it is, so why should i have to accept jesus?

Answer 1

Good point.

If actions are unimportant, why write anything about them in the Bible at all? Why differentiate certain actions as "sins" if actions are not what gets you into heaven?

Answer 2

Well, I believe that good acts, in part, CAN get you into heaven.

That said, the logic behind that is simple: the commandments are there as a guideline to what the ideal person should be striving for. Whereas the acts won't get you into heaven, the chosen people will be the people who are good and in God's favor, and those people will be doing good acts.

With that in mind, you are making one illogical step in your argument here. You are assuming that by accepting Jesus as your savior, you will automatically be saved. That is simply not true. Going out and committing sin left and right pretty much cancels out "accepting Jesus." If one has truly accepted Jesus as their personal savior, then they won't be out committing unforgivable sins. In other words, saying you are a Christian and BEING a Christian are not the same thing. Nobody is perfect, but if someone is going to be saved, they will be out committing good works and they will not be committing unforgivable sins. If you're doing that, you haven't really accepted Jesus as your savior no more than I can say I am an attorney just because I have a law degree but never passed the bar exam.

Answer 3

You are wayyyy out left field somewhere. #1. There is a major difference between good "acts" done by an unsaved person and good "works" that is demanded and expected "if" you are a child of God. 2. We don't get to heaven, receieve eternal life because we are good, but because we are saved by the blood of Jesus. 3. I beg to differ. Jesus tells us "be ye holy, just as I am holy." Jesus would not have told us to attain holiness, without sin if there was no way we could. Christians do not sin because they are weak and can't help it. We all make a conscious choice to obey or disobey. Sin has no power over a Christian if they would choose the way of escape offered every time, obedience. 4. Are u kidding me? Any Christian is capable of losing their salvation by continually sinning. "Once saved always saved" is a lie from hell that has deceived untold numbers. There is no sin permissable because you are a "Christian." But there is always forgiveness "if" you STOP comitting the sin. No, there is no contradiction....just lack of biblical understanding.

Answer 4

Part of accepting Jesus in your life is repenting from one's sins and turning towrd him. The code of conduct is to give us a guideline when we do this.

If you believe with your heart what he did for you, you indeed will repent and turn toward him and attempt to live the way he wants you to live.

You are correct in your understand that all have sinned and all will sin. There really are no sins that are permissable however. The wages of sin is death. Any sin. no one sin is better or worse than another. Every sin separates us from the God that loves us. Blashpmy against the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin and that invloves completely turning ones back on God and permanately hardening ones heart.

Not sure where you see a contridiction since it seems to me that you see a contridiction based on some mistaken assumptions.

The good acts that you see in men you see as a result of having repented and turning toward God. That is the outward way for the world to see what is in a man's heart. God is the only true judge of a man's heart however. One will be judged on ones heart and what that heart believes.

The message is truely wonderful when one understands and believes it. Hopefully you can someday experience that for yourself and that your heart does not become hardened.

Answer 5

Good acts won't get you into heaven. But simply accepting Jesus as savior isn't enough either.

The Bible tells us that we must accept Jesus as LORD, as well as Savior. Meaning that, we must turn our lives over to God. For the truth of the matter is, if believe that God and Jesus are who they say they are (in the Word), we must either submit to His authority or we must turn away from Him.

The Ten Commandments reveal God's holiness. If we love God and accept Him as LORD, we will obey Him and abide by His commandments. We'll certainly fail...over and over again. But by His grace, we can continue on and try our best to show our love to God through obedience.

Answer 6

It goes beyond accepting Jesus as your savior, you must accept him as your Lord.
Making a decision that it is God who created you and God that knows what is good and not good for you- you do not obey FOR salvation but BECAUSE you are saved- like a small child obeys a parent because they trust them and know they are protected by them (unfortunately an increasingly harder picture to use in todays society)

Once you accept Jesus , you are making a commitment to follow him- If you are continuing to live your old life of sin and make the excuse that Jesus saved you , then you are using his name in vain.
Once you are saved you will desire the Holy Spirit to change you and make you more and more like Jesus and the works will come as a natural part of that process, you will begin to behave and act as you were created to - you will not automatically be perfect- it is a process of choices and changing old habits but the process will be one of joy and not obligation.
The commands are there to help us live a life sanctified and set apart, pure and holy, recognizably different from the sinful world we live in.

Answer 7

If you have accepted Jesus as your Saviour, no sin is unforgivable. The unpardonable sin is to NOT accept Jesus as Saviour.

During old testament days, before Jesus came to take on the punishment for all our sins, there were hundreds of rules. No one could keep all the rules, so God sent Jesus to pay the price once and for all for the world's sins.

All Christians sin, even though we try not to. The carnal, or earthly, body can't help but sin. But, the Holy Spirit within Christians cannot sin. It is our souls that are sealed until the day of redemption. No man is able to pluck us out of Jesus' hand.

NOTE: A person who has TRULY accepted Jesus into their life has a huge desire NOT to sin, although we may fail occasionally. Once we accept Him, we desire to please God, and committing horrendous crimes are definitely not pleasing to God. I don't believe a true child of God will do those things.

And you say you are "not out committing unforgivable sins". But, if you reject Jesus until the day you die, you HAVE committed the ONLY unpardonable sin.

Answer 8

This is the reason that I reject modern quasi calvanistic protestanism as I honestly find it confusing. the older christian
teaching is that a desire to be the immage and likenes of God we are meant to be is the basis of a saving faith..and the 10 comandments and other rules of conduct are simply guides and when we fail we need sek forgivness so yes good deads do matter as they will naturaly result from the desire to love our neighboor.

Answer 9

Yeah, it's a big contradiction anyway you look at it. There are only two of the commandments that are really important to me; don't kill and don't steal. the rest are good ideas to live by.

Answer 10

You hit the nail on the head. As usual in christianity, your beliefs are much more important than your actions.