My attempt at answers are from questions left in the comment section of this post.
I sorta felt like these next questions go hand in hand so I'll attempt them together, yet separately. Also, I am going to try not to use "Churchy" words because before I was a follower of Jesus, those words were a HUGE turn-off. Let me know how I do with that, mmkay?
Once again, please remember:
1. The thought of answering questions and defending my faith makes me nauseous. Not because I do not believe, but because I am afraid of misrepresenting the One who is perfect and blameless.
2. I am not a theologian. I have never studied Greek or Hebrew and I have not attended seminary of any kind (I knew you all were wondering). This is the BEST that I can do with the limited knowledge (and jumbled Mom brain) that God has given me.
3. If I don't answer your questions it's because, well, I DON'T KNOW.
4. I do not claim to represent any specific denomination or church "sect." What I can tell you is that I am a believer in Jesus Christ, that He is indeed the Messiah and that His blood has the power to wash away all sin no matter how great or small. I've seen it in my own life.
5. Please, I'm begging you, remember that I've only been a Christian for 5ish years. I'm still just a baby. If you see an error in something I have said, please feel free to comment and correct me. However, please also back it up with Scripture. I will also use Scripture to emphasize my points.
----------
First up:
Courtney, in an effort to save a little space, I'm going to paraphrase your question. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
The general gist of your question was:
There are a lot of good people in the world. My experience with "churchgoers" and "Christians" is that some of these people do not fall into my category of "good." So, how can Christians say they are getting into heaven but claim that other, basically good people (who are not self-identified as Christians), are not? (Okay, maybe I didn't shorten your question.)
I SO struggled with this in the past. And now, knowing what I know, I still struggle (if not even more) with this, just in a whole new way. But, I must remember that the Bible is 100% the word of God and so it is there that I find my answers.
The book of Romans is amazing at outlining what it takes to get to Heaven. Anyone who gets bogged down with the speech of the Bible might try The Message version (it has helped me to understand parts of the Bible that I might have otherwise never understood).
Romans is written by a man named Paul (who used to be Saul...gotta love the name changes). When Paul was still called Saul, he hated Christians. He often witnessed and helped lead them to their deaths. However, he had an extreme encounter with the Son of God and from that day forward, he believed in Jesus as the Savior.
The book of Acts was written by a man named Luke. Luke was a doctor that traveled with Paul, recording the things that he saw along the way. I love Acts Chapter 15 because it so clearly talks about salvation and what must be done for it to be obtained.
Basically, Paul and another man named Barnabas come upon some people teaching Gentiles (non Jewish people) that they must be circumcised before they can be saved. Also, these other teachers were trying to convince the crowds that in order to retain their salvation they had to obey the Jewish (Mosaic) Laws. Paul and Barnabas believed differently, so the church decided to send them to the council in Jerusalem to ask the apostles (the disciples of Jesus...the 12 men who were his closest confidants) and elders about obeying the law and circumcision as it pertained to Gentiles.
(You still with me? I'm getting somewhere, I promise.)
Okay, so Paul and Barnabas arrive at the council and someone stands up and says, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." (verse 5) Then Peter, who is like the leader of the disciples - now that Jesus has ascended into heaven - addresses the group saying the following:
"God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9)
So that's it! Faith. Faith that Jesus is the Savior, and trust in Him. Here's how that ties back to Courtney's question...
Good people exist, but I think we would all agree that NO ONE is perfect...no matter how "good" they might be. However, true salvation is not dependent on how strictly we follow a law or how "good" we are in the world's eyes. True salvation comes ONLY through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Again, I SO struggled with this when I first became a Christian. I knew (and still do know) so many "good" people. It made me sad to think that because they had not confessed Jesus as their Savior that they would not be in Heaven with me one day.
However, here is the flip side of that. I am a generally "good" person. Yet, I'm not good enough. God is a just God. He requires purity and blamelessness and holiness before we can ever even be in His presence (this is also something I used to have issue with...before I was a Christian...but that's another post entirely).
I can NEVER be good enough to be in God's presence, no matter how many "good" works I do, or how many other people think I'm "good." I'm still prideful and bitter and jealous and just down right sinful. So, what's the solution? Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life, a life without sin. Because He did, and He chose to die for all people, we all have "pass" if you will. He took the blame for all sin, so that God could remain a just God, yet we can be allowed in His presence one day.
If you ask me, I'm sorta glad I don't have to work to EARN my way into Heaven. Whew...I'd never be good enough.
Which leads me to....
Kristin's, and GK's and Chasity's questions about suicide.
Suicide is a sin. Afterall, one of the Ten Commandments is "You Shall Not Murder." And, killing of oneself is, certainly, murder.
However, if we are going to keep with the Ten Commandments theme, let's keep looking. Some others on that list include, in no such order: (and I'll say "check" if I've done them)
Adultery (check): later in scripture it talks about lusting after someone other than your spouse and that such lust is considered adultery. Yep, done that.
Steal (check): Seriously. If you haven't ever stolen anything, you're a liar.
Honor your Father and Mother (check): Or rather, I HAVEN'T always honored them...and most of the time, I still fail to do this.
Misuse God's Name (check): I think we are all clear on this one, I don't need to elaborate.
No Other God's Before God (check): I've certainly put some things before my relationship with God.
Don't Give False Testimony - aka..don't LIE - (check): and refer to stealing if you think you don't lie...and yes, little white lies count.
Don't Covet (check): Once, when I was in middle school, I wanted this girl's Kriss Kross tape so bad I stole it. Double whammy....stealing AND coveting.
Now, I'm not trying to make light of the 10 Commandements or suicide, but I think if we reflect on what we know about God and what we know about sin, the answer is clear.
We are saved by grace, through faith in the Savior (Ephesians 2:8-9). If a person truly believes in Jesus Christ, has proclaimed his/her faith and has a transformed heart, then NO SIN is going to separate them from God's love and mercy.
If suicide means, for a Christian, immediate death and eternity in hell, then you are going back to "faith by works" (see my reply to Courtney above) rather than "faith by grace."
Again, if you see an error, please feel free to comment, but also use scripture to prove your points.
I pray that you will see my attempts at answers for what they are, a simple lover of the Lord, trying her best to show others how wonderful HE really is.
Please, find out answers for yourself. If you don't have a Bible, and you'd like one, please email me at beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com and I will mail you one. Also, don't forget about Bible Gateway.com.
Many, many blessings...
I sorta felt like these next questions go hand in hand so I'll attempt them together, yet separately. Also, I am going to try not to use "Churchy" words because before I was a follower of Jesus, those words were a HUGE turn-off. Let me know how I do with that, mmkay?
Once again, please remember:
1. The thought of answering questions and defending my faith makes me nauseous. Not because I do not believe, but because I am afraid of misrepresenting the One who is perfect and blameless.
2. I am not a theologian. I have never studied Greek or Hebrew and I have not attended seminary of any kind (I knew you all were wondering). This is the BEST that I can do with the limited knowledge (and jumbled Mom brain) that God has given me.
3. If I don't answer your questions it's because, well, I DON'T KNOW.
4. I do not claim to represent any specific denomination or church "sect." What I can tell you is that I am a believer in Jesus Christ, that He is indeed the Messiah and that His blood has the power to wash away all sin no matter how great or small. I've seen it in my own life.
5. Please, I'm begging you, remember that I've only been a Christian for 5ish years. I'm still just a baby. If you see an error in something I have said, please feel free to comment and correct me. However, please also back it up with Scripture. I will also use Scripture to emphasize my points.
----------
First up:
Courtney, in an effort to save a little space, I'm going to paraphrase your question. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
The general gist of your question was:
There are a lot of good people in the world. My experience with "churchgoers" and "Christians" is that some of these people do not fall into my category of "good." So, how can Christians say they are getting into heaven but claim that other, basically good people (who are not self-identified as Christians), are not? (Okay, maybe I didn't shorten your question.)
I SO struggled with this in the past. And now, knowing what I know, I still struggle (if not even more) with this, just in a whole new way. But, I must remember that the Bible is 100% the word of God and so it is there that I find my answers.
The book of Romans is amazing at outlining what it takes to get to Heaven. Anyone who gets bogged down with the speech of the Bible might try The Message version (it has helped me to understand parts of the Bible that I might have otherwise never understood).
Romans is written by a man named Paul (who used to be Saul...gotta love the name changes). When Paul was still called Saul, he hated Christians. He often witnessed and helped lead them to their deaths. However, he had an extreme encounter with the Son of God and from that day forward, he believed in Jesus as the Savior.
The book of Acts was written by a man named Luke. Luke was a doctor that traveled with Paul, recording the things that he saw along the way. I love Acts Chapter 15 because it so clearly talks about salvation and what must be done for it to be obtained.
Basically, Paul and another man named Barnabas come upon some people teaching Gentiles (non Jewish people) that they must be circumcised before they can be saved. Also, these other teachers were trying to convince the crowds that in order to retain their salvation they had to obey the Jewish (Mosaic) Laws. Paul and Barnabas believed differently, so the church decided to send them to the council in Jerusalem to ask the apostles (the disciples of Jesus...the 12 men who were his closest confidants) and elders about obeying the law and circumcision as it pertained to Gentiles.
(You still with me? I'm getting somewhere, I promise.)
Okay, so Paul and Barnabas arrive at the council and someone stands up and says, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." (verse 5) Then Peter, who is like the leader of the disciples - now that Jesus has ascended into heaven - addresses the group saying the following:
"God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith." (Acts 15:8-9)
So that's it! Faith. Faith that Jesus is the Savior, and trust in Him. Here's how that ties back to Courtney's question...
Good people exist, but I think we would all agree that NO ONE is perfect...no matter how "good" they might be. However, true salvation is not dependent on how strictly we follow a law or how "good" we are in the world's eyes. True salvation comes ONLY through belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Again, I SO struggled with this when I first became a Christian. I knew (and still do know) so many "good" people. It made me sad to think that because they had not confessed Jesus as their Savior that they would not be in Heaven with me one day.
However, here is the flip side of that. I am a generally "good" person. Yet, I'm not good enough. God is a just God. He requires purity and blamelessness and holiness before we can ever even be in His presence (this is also something I used to have issue with...before I was a Christian...but that's another post entirely).
I can NEVER be good enough to be in God's presence, no matter how many "good" works I do, or how many other people think I'm "good." I'm still prideful and bitter and jealous and just down right sinful. So, what's the solution? Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life, a life without sin. Because He did, and He chose to die for all people, we all have "pass" if you will. He took the blame for all sin, so that God could remain a just God, yet we can be allowed in His presence one day.
If you ask me, I'm sorta glad I don't have to work to EARN my way into Heaven. Whew...I'd never be good enough.
Which leads me to....
Kristin's, and GK's and Chasity's questions about suicide.
Suicide is a sin. Afterall, one of the Ten Commandments is "You Shall Not Murder." And, killing of oneself is, certainly, murder.
However, if we are going to keep with the Ten Commandments theme, let's keep looking. Some others on that list include, in no such order: (and I'll say "check" if I've done them)
Adultery (check): later in scripture it talks about lusting after someone other than your spouse and that such lust is considered adultery. Yep, done that.
Steal (check): Seriously. If you haven't ever stolen anything, you're a liar.
Honor your Father and Mother (check): Or rather, I HAVEN'T always honored them...and most of the time, I still fail to do this.
Misuse God's Name (check): I think we are all clear on this one, I don't need to elaborate.
No Other God's Before God (check): I've certainly put some things before my relationship with God.
Don't Give False Testimony - aka..don't LIE - (check): and refer to stealing if you think you don't lie...and yes, little white lies count.
Don't Covet (check): Once, when I was in middle school, I wanted this girl's Kriss Kross tape so bad I stole it. Double whammy....stealing AND coveting.
Now, I'm not trying to make light of the 10 Commandements or suicide, but I think if we reflect on what we know about God and what we know about sin, the answer is clear.
We are saved by grace, through faith in the Savior (Ephesians 2:8-9). If a person truly believes in Jesus Christ, has proclaimed his/her faith and has a transformed heart, then NO SIN is going to separate them from God's love and mercy.
If suicide means, for a Christian, immediate death and eternity in hell, then you are going back to "faith by works" (see my reply to Courtney above) rather than "faith by grace."
Again, if you see an error, please feel free to comment, but also use scripture to prove your points.
I pray that you will see my attempts at answers for what they are, a simple lover of the Lord, trying her best to show others how wonderful HE really is.
Please, find out answers for yourself. If you don't have a Bible, and you'd like one, please email me at beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com and I will mail you one. Also, don't forget about Bible Gateway.com.
Many, many blessings...