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We can do nothing good to earn our way to heaven (Titus 3:5).
John 14:6 (New International Version)
6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
If you desire to be saved right now and become a Christian (a follower of Jesus)
and know for sure that you will go to Heaven, you can pray this prayer right now.
Pray it to God, pray it from your heart:
Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner. Please forgive me of my sins.
Help me to turn away from my sins. I here and now TRUST in Jesus Christ
as my personal saviour and ask you to come into my heart and life right now.
Come in today, come in to stay! Thank you for dieing on the cross for my sins.
Thank you for saving me. Help me to TRUST you and make you Lord of my life!
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, the Bible (God's Word), tells us that when you pass away
or when Jesus returns again, that you will be saved and spend eternity with Jesus Christ!
◊ How does someone become a Muslim?
Simply by saying 'there is no god apart from God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.' By this declaration the believer announces his or her faith in all God's messengers, and the scriptures they brought.
Of all the things in religions, from the vast majority i've seen, the one way to 'an eternal place of happiness' is believing?
I would logically, speaking, think a god would be obsessed with deeds, not just a belief.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
backs it up with damnation of those who attack believers.
The world is like a ride at an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it, you think it's real, because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round and it has thrills and chills and it's very brightly colored and it's very loud. And it's fun, for a while.
Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they begin to question: 'Is this real? Or is this just a ride?' And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and they say 'Hey! Don't worry, don't be afraid -- ever -- because... this is just a ride.' And we kill those people.
'Shut him up! We have a lot invested in this ride! Shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry; look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.' It's just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that -- ever notice that? -- and we let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter, because... it's just a ride, and we can change it any time we want. It's only a choice. No effort. No worry. No job. No savings and money. Just a choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your door, buy bigger guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one.
Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, into a better ride. Take all that money we spend on weapons and defense each year and, instead, spend it feeding, clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would do many times over -- not one human being excluded -- and we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever. In peace.
Just can't 'comprehend' that an almighty, superior being, creator of everything, would spend so much time, hiding, and basing damnation on a living being, on whether one 'believes' or not in someone that may or may not of, shown their face, 1,000s of years ago, or 10,000s of years ago.
Originally posted by AshleyD
reply to post by Republican08
Just can't 'comprehend' that an almighty, superior being, creator of everything, would spend so much time, hiding, and basing damnation on a living being, on whether one 'believes' or not in someone that may or may not of, shown their face, 1,000s of years ago, or 10,000s of years ago.
Your concern is shared with many. An eternal consequence determined by faith. That sounds harsh. But what is the alternative?
Earning our own way? Doing an endless list of rites, rituals, and good deeds to EARN salvation? While many religious systems require rigorous actions of their adherents to follow, in Christianity, salvation is based on a simple 'I accept' level. And even when you have doubts, it's a conscious decision to say, 'I may not KNOW but God I will put my faith in you that you are what you say you are.' That's it. It doesn't get any easier than that.
When people bring up the objection you do, I feel it is as if they place God into a situation where He cannot win. If he demands we spend our entire life earning salvation ourselves He would get accused of asking the impossible. But when He says 'Here it is. It's free. Just say yes.' He's harsh? Giving a gift for free and all you have to do is accept is unfair? That doesn't make any sense.
We don't earn it. It is given to us for the taking. To me, that's true mercy. We don't deserve the pardon and cannot earn the pardon but it's given to us in spite of ourselves if we accept it.
[edit on 10/29/2009 by AshleyD]