Why won't living a good, moral life make me acceptable to God?
Many believe that if they do their best here on earth and are ‘sincere’, God will recognize their effort, overlook their weaknesses and "grade on the curve." This belief, however, shows a misunderstanding of God’s infinite righteousness and perfection.
The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."(Romans 3:23) Not a single one of us could honestly say that we have never knowingly done anything wrong. The apostle James tells us, "For whoever keeps the whole law, (God’s absolute standards) and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."(James 2:10)
These violations (sins) are not just isolated events; they are a reflection of the sin nature that permeates our entire being. Consider, for illustration, an omelet (which is a cooked mixture of eggs, some milk and cheese). It takes only one rotten egg to make the entire omelet rotten, no matter how many good eggs we add. The one rotten egg permeates the whole mixture and makes it unacceptable to our taste. Similarly, it takes only one sin to make us unacceptable to God. God is infinitely holy and good, and no matter how hard we try, we could never succeed in reaching His absolute standard of perfections. He is also a just God who holds us accountable for violating those standards that we know to be right. (Romans 2:14-16)
Only one person has ever lived a perfect life – Jesus Christ, God the Son. Therefore, His death on the cross in payment for our sins is the only basis for God’s total forgiveness and acceptance of us. When we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and choose to follow Him, then we are no longer under God’s condemnation."(Romans 8:1)
People who feel their sincerity [in whatever they believe] should gain them entrance to heaven are misled. It is not the degree of sincerity one has in whatever they choose to believe. Rather, it is the object of one’s faith. Someone may be a sincere follower of some religion, cult or philosophy, but they will go to hell because they did not come to the One Person who should be the object of faith. Jesus Christ is the only object in whom you should place your faith … with all your sincerity and commitment.
In this society, many say, "Your truth is not my truth." They feel they somehow can decide [like God] what are the absolutes. They feel all truth is relative. However, the fact is that not all religions or belief systems are equal. There are absolutes (check out gravity). It is faith in Jesus, God revealed in history, not faith in faith itself, or some code of ethics, other religions, or mindset that someone has constructed. Jesus wants you to know for sure that you can have eternal life. (I John 5:11-13) He offers His love to you. Won’t you receive Him as your Savior, friend and Lord today?
Will you give up trying to live a good enough, ‘sincere’ moral life … or even a ‘sincere’ legalistic, religious one … and accept the free gift of forgiveness that Jesus Christ lovingly offers you?
What are your thoughts?
posted by Bry... @ 12:18 p.m.
14 comments
14 Comments:
I'm very confused! I want to lead a righteous life and go to Heaven someday, but I don't know how to get there. Here’s my story: A few years ago I attended a Baptist church and the minister assured me that Jesus was the son of God and that God sent him to die on the cross for all my sins. He said that all I would have to do is believe in Him and I will go to Heaven, just like you said. This made me feel so good! So I prayed for Jesus to forgive me, and I completely believed that Jesus had cleansed me of my sins and saved me. I thought I was on the path to Heaven when something happened. A very good friend of mine attends a Pentecostal church, and she told me I was going to Hell! I couldn't believe my ears, I thought I was following God's words in the Bible. She told that most churches are misleading and said Jesus was really God in the flesh, not his son as I was told by my Baptist minister. She told me that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was all one and there was no such thing as a ‘Holy Trinity’. Then she said I needed to be baptized to go to Heaven and that if I died today, even if I believed that Jesus was God, I would still go to Hell. So, the next Sunday I was baptized. After the ceremony, the Pastor told me that even though I was baptized, and believed Jesus was God, I would still go to Hell unless I finally received the Holy Spirit in me and spoke in tongues (God's own language, Acts 2). I prayed and I prayed for God to give me this gift and reveal himself in me, but two years have passed. I’m so afraid I will go to Hell if I die before this happens! I don’t know what to do except keep praying. I tried to explain to the Pastor that I was doing everything I could to go to Heaven, but he said that I must not really believe in my heart or I would have received the Holy Spirit by now. I told him about the Baptist church I came from, and he said they were wrong because they didn't believe in the Bible the right way. He said every other Church was being blinded by the Devil, and the Pentecostal faith was the only true path to Heaven. So I'm still confused! You say God has a free gift of eternal life, but my Pastor tells me that I need to complete these 3 steps to enter Heaven. I'm still praying every day that the Holy Spirit will enter me and I will speak in tongues. Please help me figure out if I'm really on the right path, I need to know if Baptists or Pentecostals or maybe even Catholics are right. It really doesn’t matter which one is right, as long as I know I’m going to Heaven someday! Thanks so much for your advice.
Xeric,
You are paranoid. I wasn't talking to you. I was just stating truth.
AND, yes I would call myself narrow-minded. I don't mind it if you call me that... I think I've already mentioned that in previous responses to your comments. Jesus is the only way to heaven... he is the narrow gate!
And fankly, if you are offended by what I am posting on my site, don't read it. This is Ney and I's site and we post the things that we believe is true. I let you think what you want and I'm open to talking about it, I have no problems with that, but as long as you know that nothing in this world will change my mind about God the Father and His truth about Salvation. Believe what you want to be believe, that's fine by me.
when I post something on this site, I don't speak to anyone in particular... just those who want to read it, so next time you think I'm talking directly to you, don't.
MARK, (before reading any further, the only way this advice will work for you is if you pray first and ask God to show you the truth about Himself concerning salvation and the other questions that you have. And you must not consider "other religions" or ways of thinking. it is healthy to be working out your salvation like this: Phil 2:12 - Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Any other books about other religions are lies and will definitely lead you astray... Stick to what you're doing and work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You are searching for God the Father with all your heart and you will find the truth! Deuteronomy 4:29
"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul." Also, this advice will not work in your heart either if you have already determined that what they have already told you is true about yourself... so open up your heart to what the Lord our God wants to tell you and go on and read - and may the Lord Bless)
I'm sorry that you are facing such confusion about your salvation. The TRUTH is my friend and brother in Christ, if you have believed in Him and know with your heart that He has died for your sins and has risen again to sit at the right hand of the Father, then YOU ARE SAVED and are going to heaven.
Being baptized is simply an outward and public declaration that you have chosen to live for Christ. He wants us to be bold with our faith and being baptized is a great way to start showing people that you love God and are dedicated to living for Him... it also makes you accountable to others who have seen you proclaim your faith in this way. It is certainly a command, so we should obey, but it will not keep you from heaven if you by chance never got baptized. It's all about the attitude of your heart. That's What God looks at.
Now, I have heard of the idea that some Pentacostle congregations believed that in order to get to heaven you had to speak in tougnes. I DO NOT see that ANYWHERE in God's Word. Acts 2:3-4 says, "They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." The term "tougnes" there actually means OTHER LANGUAGES in the original Greek language. If you go on to read about that account, you see people from other places and languages who are able to understand in their own languages and there was a bunch of them! There is no where in the ENTIRE word of God where He said that if you do not speak in tougnes that you will not go to heaven.... but this is what he did say: Acts 16:30-31 says, 30He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."
AND: Romans 10:9 says, That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. These are only a couple of the scriptures that show you what you must do to be saved. If God wanted us to be saved by any other means, he would have made the silly "3 step process" more clear everytime He talks about it. You only need to do ONE thing. Accept Jesus as your saviour and live for Him. It is very simple. If you have already taken the steps to accept Christ as Lord of your life, then I'll see you heaven!
About the Trinity.... There is only one God. ONE God with three "function" for lack of better term. God the Father, creator and overseer. God the Son (this is God himself who came down as a mere human... look at Philippians 2:5-11 - 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,7but made himself nothing,taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
So as you can see here in the passage, Jesus, in his nature, is God... but He humbled himself and came as a human so he could go through the same things that we go through... so he can relate to us even more personally than before. It also says there that God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name... There is NO OTHER NAME above any Name but God Himself... Jesus, God's Son because he came to us in the form of a human through a woman, but He was God in the Flesh... His "function" was to save us from our self-destruction; to be our saviour and the One to show us the way to Heaven.
Then there is God the Holy Spirit (God is Spirit) who is our Comfortor in times of need and distress, our convictor of our sins, our guide, ETC... So, God is One God who, in His infinity and Greatness, has taken it upon Himself to Be our creator AND our saviour, and the One who is with us ALL THE TIME as the Holy Spirit. that's the only reason we call it the "TRINITY".
1 Corinthians 12:3b - no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit." If you can say with all your heart that Jesus is Lord, you have the Holy Spirit.
LOOK AT THIS: same book as above.. verse 4: 4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men." One Spirit, MANY GIFTS given by the SAME spirit... I will show you the verses in the BIble that prove that not everyone who has the Holy Spirit has the gift of tougnes... same book verses 7-11 - 7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
So, as you can see... it's up to God how he distributes his own gifts. If he thinkst that you'll benefit the body of Christ by giving you the gift of tongues, then He'll give it to you as He sees fit... not as you or anyone else around you sees fit. He has already given you spiritual gifts, if you haven't already discovered what they are. You should be praying for God to show you what it is... stop praying for tongues... He'll ultimately give you what you NEED, not what you want anyway.
I hope that this makes sense to you, Mark. I would also suggest never stepping foot in that Pentacostle church again if they are making you feel so insecure. Jesus Christ came to set us free from guilt and shame and uncertainty... those feelings are not from Him. Go back to the Baptist Church... it sounds like they are right on!
So, may God Bless you and keep you.. may he make his face shine upon you and give you peace!
please let me know whn you have read this and re-comment, that would be great!
Talk to you soon.
Xeric,
I don't want you to think that I want you to stop posting comments. I enjoy talking about this stuff. It's important stuff for sure. In fact, I welcome you to post... both ... Ney and I welcome it. It's just about being entitled to think what you want and same here...
So, if you reconsider your "solution" to our happiness, don't hesitate to comment again to anything you want to.
Blessings...
Bry...
Q: Why did you pick Christianity and the teachings of Jesus over i.e. Buddhism and the teachings of the Buddha, Islam and the teachings of Muhammad, or Hindu and the teachings of Shiva?
2. When did you realize that Jesus had the answers you were seeking? And;
3. What was it about Christianity that convinced you to invest your life in it over the other options?
My answer below will answer all three I presume.
A: I chose Jesus because I found the other religions to be empty with nothing to offer. The other religions are exactly that - religions! They are full of strict ritual and emptiness with focus on "worhiping" a dead or non-existent thing that have no power and have never shown its power. I chose Jesus because I have heard and seen evidence of His power in my own life and in the life of others, through mental, spiritual, and physical healings (for example). Jesus doesn't offer religion to people.. he offers a personal relationship with Him and freedom. Those who have a personal relationship with Jesus I know can attest to the fact that they have freedom in Christ: who is a LIVING God, not some dead person or thing who had mental issues and thought they were a god or some magificent prophet. In the record of any other religion there is no other that claims that their "god" was raised from the dead and is still alive and with them and wants a personal relationship with them.
I began hearing the true message of Christ spoken when I was 12 years old. I didn't know what to think at first because I knew there was more out there that the world and other religions had to offer... so I (even at that young age) explored my options, but it didn't take long for me to realize the validity of Jesus. And when I was 13 years old, on May 16... I gave my life to Christ.. and since then I've matured in Christ and I've matured in my understanding of Christ and of God and He's proven Himself to me in many ways which I've alrady mentioned and has kept me from pretty well destroying myself.
You can only go so far with logic when it comes to belief in the God of Christianity. Then you need to have faith... and God has gifted me with faith and has been solidified in my heart over the past 14 years as a person who has a personal relationship with Him. You have to experiencing Him yourself through the power of the Holy Spirit in order to truly get what I'm saying here. And until you let yourself be open to the Holy Spirit and soften your heart to what God (of Christianity) has for you, it is impossible for you to experience it like this without the biases of what you hold so dear to. I can say the same things about myself when it comes to what you have to say about what you believe... but when you talk about those amazing scientific things, I can't help but put them in the light that it is so amazing because God's design and creation is incredible.
anyway... that's my answer for now... it's hard to go further with this because I'm no great scholar or anything like that by any means, I just know what I've experienced personally and I've seen the power of God at work... and some of what I've have read in other sources...and I know beyond doubt that He is real.
"It is best addressed without fear of condemnation or judgment."
Christianity isn't about fear of judgement. It's about a relationship with God. If you have a relationship with God, you have no fear of judgement because fear, at that point, is irrelevant. You have nothing but joy in the fact that your eternal destiny is sealed by the Holy Spirit in Christ and you will be spending your eternity with Him. No fear, only Joy. Don't get me wrong, there's a difference between Joy and Happiness... because I'm not always happy, but I always have my Joy in Christ because I know He's right there with me...
The difference between Christianity and all others is: Christianity is personal (ie. a relationship) and all others are impersonal (ie. ritual, religion, "do" as opposed to "being with").
God Bless.......†
Oh, my friend xeric... you seem to be getting angry? Is something bothering you? I thought we were just discussing without getting personal here... just talking about a subject of interest to the both of us. Oh, and for your future reference, I have taken a few theology classes... funny you'd say that.
Anyway, I hope we can discuss again soon.
God Bless............†
God gave everyone in this world a chance to respond to Him in the appropriate way - Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
without excuse.. eveyrone has a chance, then it's up to them at that point. God isn't the one sending people to hell, people send themselves by not choosing Him. People are "sinful" and God is Holy and pure and righteous and perfect and because of that, sin can not be in His presence... so, the only way to be cleansed from our sin (which by the way is an archery term meaning "missing the mark") is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ through the revelation of the Holy Spirit... and let Him be Lord of your life.
People themselves choose hell by not choosing Jesus... Hell is a place God made for Satan and the demons... and it is the only place outside of heaven and earth where God's presence is not... sin goes there...
anyway, May God enlighten the both of us to the things that we don't know about Him.
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
but I am not going to say either way... it's not my place to judge the Hindu Sherpa.
To answer your question... Yes, this scripture means that somehow, through what God has created, God's qualities are revealed in nature. His eternal power and even His divine nature have been CLEARLY SEEN being UNDERSTOOD from what He has made - so, men are without excuse. Right from the beginning of creation it's been like this and it hasn't changed. God made it possible for everyone on this plannet to respond to Him and His eternal power. I mean, if a person hasn't heard of Jesus at all before they die, then only God really knows what happens to them in eternity but He's saying that men are without excuse so we have to respond to this power we see and is evident to all men. Then God looks at the condition of the person's heart... because that's what it's ultimately about... the condition of the heart.. but if a person has heard about Jesus and what He done for us, then they are held responsible for what they know.
I hope this answers the question you asked.
For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
let me give you the original intent behind that passage and a few before it and maybe that will help with my trying to clarify myself.
Here is the Passage to give us more context: Romans 1:18-25 - 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
And this is the original meaning behind this passage which we need to apply to our own lives:
The apostle Paul begins to show that all mankind needs the salvation of the gospel, because no one could obtain the favour of God, or escape his wrath by their own works. No man can say that he has fulfilled all his obligations to God and to others; nor can any truly say that he has fully acted up to the truths that have been revealed to him. The sinfulness of man is described as ungodliness against the laws of the first table, and unrighteousness against those of the second. The cause of that sinfulness is holding the truth in unrighteousness. All, more or less, do what they know to be wrong, and omit what they know to be right, so that the plea of ignorance cannot be allowed from any. Our Creator's invisible power and Godhead are so clearly shown in the works he has made, that even idolaters and wicked people are left without excuse. They foolishly followed idolatry; and rational creatures changed the worship of the Glorious Creator, for that of brutes, reptiles, and senseless images. They wandered from God, till all traces of true religion must have been lost, but the revelation of the gospel of Christ prevented it from being lost. Because whatever may be pretended, as to the sufficiency of man's reason to discover Divine truth and moral obligation, or to govern the practice properly, facts can't be denied. And these plainly show that men have dishonoured God by the most absurd idolatries and superstitions; and have degraded themselves by the vilest "affections" and most abominable deeds.
perhaps this is helpful in answering your query. If not, we'll just continue talking....
well, there are numerous cases of christ appearing to people in visions. It happens quite frequently in islamic countries where Christianity is outlawed.
"Eternity in their Hearts" is a good book to read for that by Don Richardson I believe.
There are other cases... one sited by Ravi Zacharias about a gentleman that he met from the middle east living in asia...he had christ appear to him in a dream every night for 7 years. Now, he plans to return under threat of death in order to share the gospel.
Point being, that geographical barriers to the gospel are not barriers at all and ultimately, the barriers to christ are not intellectual, they are of the heart.
If a person is not truly seeking the truth, they will not hear him when he speaks... that's what chirst said to Pontius Pilate.
Also, God in his foreknowledge knew in advance whether every individual given the choice would accept or reject chirst. So for the one's that would freely reject christ, no matter where he placed them in the world, he could have them be born any where at any time. For those who would freely accept him under a given set of circumstances, he has so ordered the world and history to give them the opportunity by placing them in the exact environment so that they will freely choose to receive christ. The point is that it just merely shows that it is logically possible. It shows there is no logical contradiction between God's mercy and His justice and letting people enter eternity without hearing the gospel.
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us (Acts 17.24-27).
Read my previous post that you just commented to and then read this verse again.
You're putting limits on God. We cant do that with an eternal, all powerful, all knowing, omni-present God.
Anyway... I think we're gonna leave it as it is. I just want you to know that I don't judge you whatsoever in anyway. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am the last one to judge anyone for anything. I appreciate your points of view and you have challenged me and I have learned through this process of discussion.
Maybe in the future though, when we talk about other stuff, that we can be a little more amicable..:)
Many Blessings to you, Xeric. Talk to you again soon.
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