Regarding our growth in this life, when we believe in the work Jesus did on the cross, we have been saved from the penalty of sin (justification); while we are being sanctified through , the Holy Spirit enabling us to break the power of sin; and through glorification we will be saved from the presence of sin in heaven.....what is your understanding about the nature of our exsistence in heaven relative to what we did here (works) and the degree we believed?  More sussinctly, how do interpret what we will be like in heaven, and what will we bring with us?  How will that secret kindness we did when we were say, seven, and perhaps did not fully understand how God views our works (as filthy rags) affect us/be applied, and how will the sin we hold on to now (say, struggle with alcohol, porn, cheating, lust, envy, etc.) warp or cripple/hinder our stature in Christ? How will our works, both good and bad, affect our actual spiritual appearance?
209587
I think there's a lot to be said for the ideas - in books like Dallas Willard's "Divine Conspiracy" and NT Wright's new one "Simply Christian" that we will have a job to do in the afterlife.\n\nIn other words, I think we will be, in some sense, responsible for the new creation. I'm thinking, in terms of Bible references, of places where Jesus tells the parable of the talents, or where Paul talks about people getting in "as through fire." \n\nNT Wright is very interesting to read in this regard. He points out that many of the references to the afterlife hint at us being brought back to a renewed earth, with the New Jerusalem almost being lowered down to this earth - this renewed creation. It sounds weird to you, I am sure, if you are used to thinking of the afterlife as our soul going up to Heaven. But if you read the Bible with this new way of looking at it, so much makes sense.\n\nSo, I think that, based on what we do here, how long we are Christians and what we do with that time we are given, we will have more or less responsibility for God's creation after death. Remember, Jesus' woe sayings - he hinted that it works that way in Hell, as well. He basically hints that there are layers, or degrees of both punishment and reward. That's how I see it.
243816
When you are save the holy ghost come and seal you, your soul.\nyour soul, he save. can we miss up ,  yes. but most repent!\nJesus die on the cross for you,  shed his blood for you,\nbuy the blood our sin are made white. Buy the blood we are wash clean.  Buy the blood our sin are wash a away.\nThe blood clean all sin. \n\n             NOTHING CAN WASH THE BLOOD AWAY.\n\nBut we do not have the right to sin, if we go to sin because we want to we well pay for it.\nThat why some people are sick,   NOT all, some are because of sin.\nyou have to repent.\nIt what Jesus the Christ did on the cross that save us, and it a gift but we have to take it when call by the Holy Ghost.\nCan not buy it, or work for it,  IT IS FREE!!!!!!\nThen after we are save we need to work..
424235
Christians understand that this earthly llife is really a preparation for eternal life in the kingdom of heaven. The focus of this preparation is the mind. It is through the mind that God communicates with us and impresses us for the development of a Christlike character. But Satan tries to work through the body to control the mind. Anything that elevates the mind, inspires reverence and love for God and promotes physical well being in harmony with God's word is acceptable for a Christian. Some modern music with its emphasis on rhythm bypasses the higher faculties of the mind and stimulates the physical senses. The more often a person is controlled or stimulated by feelings, emotions or the senses, the less willingness to study God's word and the less defense against temptations aimed at the body. \n\nDoes the music leave you with a clearer understanding of God ? Does it increse your love for Him ? Are you inspired to serve Him with your whole heart after listening to it ? Can you picture Jesus and the holy angels better ? Does your body like it more than your mind ? Is your mind involved when you are listening to it ?\n\nBiblical answer: Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Philippians 2:5\n\nFinally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8\n\nShow N Tell
93953
Dear Ryefleit, This is an honest question with an honest answer. The Bible makes clear that there is a heaven and Hell. The Bible say's God is a Judge who will sit on his throne and judge our sins. he has revealed this fact to us through his Holy word. How will you do on Judgement day?\n \nLet me ask you a few questions.................\n\nHave you ever lied (even once--fibs, white lies, etc.)? Ever stolen (anything--the value is irrelevant)? Jesus said, "Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her, has committed adultery already with her in his heart." Have you ever looked with lust? If you have said "Yes" to these three questions, by your own admission, you are a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart; and we’ve only looked at three of the Ten Commandments. Nothing you’ve ever done is hid from His holy eyes. Will you be innocent or guilty on the Day of Judgment? Listen to your conscience. You know that you will be guilty, and therefore end up in Hell. That’s not God’s will. He provided a way for you and I to be forgiven. \nHe sent His Son to take our punishment: "God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." He was bruised for our iniquities. Jesus then rose from the dead and defeated death. \nYour own so-called “goodness” can’t get you into heaven any more than mine could.  Jesus is the only way to Heaven. He is the "Door," the only "mediator." There is salvation in no other name, so pray something like this: "Dear God, I repent of all of my sins (confess them). This day I put my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me and grant me your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen."
329217
Good question!\n\nWhich brings us to the fact that Jesus was a man spreading the Word of God and not being penalized for everyone elses mistakes. They will be held accountable. We are responsable for our own actions. Would that then mean that we can freely sin since we have been saved? i think not.\n\nWell done you for highlighting this!\n\nto the person who said Jesus went to hell for 3 days to get the souls of those who were wrongfully sent there, are you implying that God makes mistakes now??\n\nand i wish people would stop rhetorically quoting the bible as their answer without explanation, like they know what it means anyway, its just rhetoric.\n\nand for the record, if all sins have been cleansed through Jesus and his crucifiction, then will someone please tell me the point of judgement day??!!!
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'Self' righteous people must remember that nobody can ever be good enough to please God and no amount of 'good works' will get anybody into heaven.  Ephesians 2:4,7-9 says '..But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.. [that] ..He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through grace, and not of yourselves;  it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.'
376426
You may want to read the book of James, he addressed this nicely to the congregation. Salvation is indeed a gift, however we demonstrate our faith by our works, that is why James says that "faith w/o works is dead". I would suggest reading the book of James, he talks about this in depth.
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If we are truly living in (or by) the spirit we will not be gratifying the sinful pleasures and evil of the flesh. If we live in the Spirit (or by) the Spirit only then can we fully please God.\n\nPaul speaks of being controlled by the Spirit - where by God helps us to over come the flesh. A man living by the flesh one can not please God and has no control at all over what he does
273904
That verse is true 100%. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us when we are fighting sin and we cannot do it in our flesh at all. God will help us with our struggles through the power of the Holy Spirit.
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I would go to heaven, because I have accepted Christ as my lord and savior. You see, heaven is a free gift. It is not earned and can not be deserved.  "For it is by grace that you are saved through faith. it is the gift of God, not of man, that none may boast."Eph 2 8-9 It has to be a free gift because man is a sinner. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Rom 3:23 Anything that is against God's will is considered sin. There are sins of thought, omission, and commission.  God gave a standard we must achieve if we wish to earn our way into heaven According to Matt 5:48, that standard  is " Be therefore perfect as your father in heaven is perfect."  That definitely leaves me out. Our God is merciful, and does not want to punish us, but He is just and must punish sin. This apparent problem was solved by Jesus - who is 100% God and 100% man. What did He do? He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and purchased a place in heaven for us. Does everyone receive this gift? No - the key to heaven is faith. Not temporal faith - like praying when you have a sick loved one , not head knowledge - many people believe that Jesus lived, much as they believe that George Washington lived. However, they are not counting on him to do anything for them today. Scripture tells us "You believe there is one God? You do well. The demons believe as much - and tremble!" James 2:9 No - the key to heaven is saving faith - asking Jesus to save you from the penalty of your sins. If this is what you want to do, ask Him to be your lord. Ask him to be your savior. Repent of your sins, and be a new creation!
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This is a toughie for me. \n\nI admire your work, and that youd put your life on the line for it. You are no doubt a good person. \n\nBut, yes my belief, in the Bible, and Jesus as the Savior, the way into heaven, and taken the given fact you probably have heard of him (if not, its a diffrent story), and have chosen not to believe, would mean you would be bound for hell. However, I like to think, with no scriptural refrence here, maybe God would let people in for their works, and until we actually DIE, we cant know for sure.\n\nPlease no hate mail, just answering the question honestly.
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First of all, thank you for your kind words.  Since we didn't start off on the best foot (my fault) they mean a great deal to me.  Also, thank you for your humility in removing the questions with negative overtones.  Humility is one of the greatest qualities to have, and one that is very difficult for most people to show.  It is a quality I could use much more of, I know that.\n\nYour question is a very good one.  I'm not sure there is a truly satisfactory answer.  Some of your past questions have been more on the psychology of certain cultures.  This question is a deeper question aimed more at the very soul of man.  Therefore my answer will be much more based on my faith than those I have given you in the past.\n\nThe best I can say is that we cannot live in a society free of hate, poverty and despair because we are sinners.  We all have inherited the sinful nature of Adam.  I do not believe we are born sinners in the way that we are guilty of sin when we are born, but I do believe we are born with a tendency towards sin.  We don't have to teach our children to lie, it comes natural to them.  We do however, have to teach honesty, sharing, love, etc.  This also goes along with some of Freud's (ptewy - excuse me) ideas.  Freud says that we come into this world only thinking of self and our needs, that we are born with only an id.  The Bible calls this our sinful nature, or simply our flesh.  We inherited this from Adam.  Our fleshly nature starts with just wanting basic needs met - I want to be fed, I want to be changed, etc.  Very quickly, however, most of us begin to see our needs as ultimate - I want to be fed NOW, I want to be changed NOW.  I want to play with that toy becomes (or starts as) - I want to play with that toy, and I DON'T WANT YOU PLAYING WITH IT.  This eventually leads to individuals believing they are better than everyone else, which leads to hate and despair, which leads to poverty.\n\nThe bad news is that these things will always be present in the world.  The good news is that we can rise above these things as individuals.  Some individuals seem to actually manage to have no harsh feelings towards anyone else, but most of us never get to that point.  However, most of us are able to make the world a better place just by striving for it.  God bless, my friend.\n\n\nI also feel I must speak to what CushBen stated...\n\nLuke was a Grecian, and both his gospel and Acts were written to a Grecian man.  He wrote the gospel in Greek, not Hebrew, so if the name cannot be translated, it cannot be translated to Yahshua (Hebrew).  In verse 10 Luke states that it is in the name of EE-AY-SOU CHREEST-OU, not Yahshua.  \n\nLuke was saying that salvation was through no other person, not that you could not translate our Lord's name.  If you believe otherwise, you'd better learn Greek, not Hebrew.  In fact, many Jew's of Jesus' time probably ONLY spoke Greek, which is why they thought Jesus was calling for Elijah on the cross.
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Hi Justin, This simply means, that if we continue to do a sin God has convicted us about and we repent for, then we continue sinning, believing God's grace will cover us (Romans 6-8) God cannot accept that, habitual sin, it also allows the devil a foothold in our life, we are just mocking God if we continue to live sinning on purpose after accepting Jesus, and the truth God has revealed to us. 2 Peter 1:1-13 (this shows how to stop being sinful.)
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There's two parts - we are saved and we are to continue to work out our salvation.\n\n"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."\nphilippians 2:12-13\n\nSince we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.\nGalations 5:25\n\nSo we are to work with God's spirit in our lives - hence there is rest in him, but also action to be done!\n\n"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus"\nPhilippians 3:12-14\n\nKeep the faith!
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What makes me saved?\nSalvation is about putting your trust in Jesus as your saviour. It's much more than just believing in Jesus' existence.\nSalvation is about the forgiveness of our sins. It's about becoming righteous in God's eyes. It means that you as an individual acknowdedge your sinfulness and that you ask God to cleanse you through the blood of Jesus.\nThat's the first step. The second step is a lifelong process!\nIt's a relationship with God as a Father. As a Christian we should endeavour to live a life that is holy and without sin.\n\nEphesians 1\n\n4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love  \n  \n\nIf you really trust in God and believe that you have been forgiven, it should show in your life.\nReal faith requires action. \nWe are saved by grace and not works but once saved, the works should follow.\n       \nJames 2\n\n14 \nWhat doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?\n15 \nIf a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,\n16 \nAnd one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?\n17 \nEven so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.\n18 \nYea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.\n19 \nThou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.\n20 \nBut wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?\n\nHope that more or less answers your question.
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I can't understand whats a happiest thought is, For me each and every good thought gives me happiness. I am not able to find the difference in the degree of happiness i experience. \n\nI would be a very happy man rather when i overcome all my vices and become a perfect spiritual personality. Thinking of that day i feel very happy.\n\nI believe that, God simply won't forgive our sins, we must confess and after confessing must not repeat it again, then the first part of ur happiest thought will become true. Heaven is a place where there are no sins or glimpse of sorrow, what would be God or Jesus doing there. I mean to say,  God and jesus are responsible to clear our sins, what will they do in heaven?
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Carnut is on the right track here.\n\nDuring the O.T. times, we had to spill blood in order for the blood to "wash away our sins".  \n\nThe symbolism here is:  only the life portion of God's creation can wash away our sins.  \n\nThe pilosophy here is:  a lower form of existence can help save our souls thanks to the original sin of Adam and Eve.\n\nIn the N.T., Jesus became a coverall; kind of like an umbrella.  His blood replaces the blood of tiny animals.  And it is considered the ultimate sacrafice that humans could do (killing the son of God).\n\nTo argue the other side of the fence:  even with worshipping the devil, we have to shed blood of small animals in order to be closer to the sin of satan.\n\nAnd if we do shed blood in the name of satan, it is considered to be entering the ranks of satan, and there is no salvation that can follow once this happens.  Because once you do, you are foever considered in God's eyes to be evil and on the side of satan.  He will never let you enter heaven if you have gone this far.\n\nI hope you can see that religious zealists felt that blood was the ultime source of life.  And that by shedding God's life source, it must have some sort of deep meaning.  Therefore, we harbor the phrase when someone kills another..."His blood is on your hands".\n\nI had to add stuff here.  GRAVATOL is wrong.  Don't you remember in the N.T. that even though Jesus didn't want to die on the cross, he knew he had to because he had to fulfil God's plan?  The plan was so that we did not have to go through the measures of killing animals to be forgiven of our sins.  It also was a way so that we don't have to go through any other man.  This means that the Catholics who think that they have to confess are wrong.  Jesus put an end to that.  We are not supposed to confess our sins to any man.\n\nRead the O.T., you will find many sacrafices.  The profets did not admonish it.  Only Jesus's deciples did because they knew what the new law was going to be.  BTW, I guess when Able's shrine where he sacraficed animals wasn't too bad, because if it were so terrible, then his brother Cain wouldn't have killed him over it.