a little help here please

[Vita345]

hey everyone

um well this is basically my problem tho I don't really know if it is one

My sister doesn't believe that anyone who doesn't accept christ as their personal saviour will go to hell. She says it's kind of mean to think that especially saying people like Gandhi are in hell since he was hindu. When she says that she makes me question it too in a way but then again it also makes me want to witness more but I still worry about her. I dunno if that really makes sense tho. She is a christian tho and knows that the bible says that no-one can go to the father except through Jesus Christ but she sorta brushes that away.
Please Help I'm confused cos I don't even know if it's something u can sort out

 

[Rafael]

Nobody knows that Ghandi was not given a chance to accept Jesus except for the Lord Himself. It depends upon what that person has been given in life. Only God knows the hearts of men and can truly judge fairly because He is the life giver and all life returns to Him for judgment. We are told to not judge the judgments that only God can make. This doesn't mean we are not to warn others against evil - just to not judge for God.
Who knows what goes on after death to a person who lived the best life they could under the conditions and things they were given by God in life? Only He. If a person is brought up in India, their life and knowledge about Jesus would not be the same as we have in the United States, so, you see, we are to let God judge those things in the perfect, merciful way that only He can.

 

[Johnnz]

Hi Vita345

Actually, it was Jesus who spoke about His being the Way to God. We are not in a position to "play God" in deciding who makes it into heaven. But we know two important facts.

1. Jesus taught about Hell, and he underwent all that he did when He was crucified because he took the reality of our life after death seriously.

2. If someone does not want anything to do with Jesus while they are alive, will they then really want to spend forever with Him?

John
NZ

 

[Evangelical Pastor]

Your sister is raising one of the most serious criticisms of Christianity,the one that actually prevents many people from becoming Christians.Let's be honest,the traditional teaching that most Christians receive,makes God appear to be cruel and irrational.In fact the belief that only those who accept Jesus as their savior before death,in some people's minds,will mean that all Catholics will go to hell because these people don't consider them to be Christian.

Most ministers fail to talk about the Book of Revelation discussion of the Judgement which will occur towards the end of Jesus' 1000 year kingdom on earth.(the Second Coming)At this time,all non-Christians will be raised from the ir state of death and Jesus will determine their fate.His decision will be based on the moral quality of the life they led.If they led a basically moral life,if they are willing to accept Him as their personal savior and if they are willing to confirm that by going through a water baptism ceremony,then they will receive the reward of heaven even if they were not Christians while living.That's how the "injustice" issue that some raise,will be done away with.Jesus loves non-Christians and those worthy,will receive salvation.

 

[livin4thebigman]

"If they led a basically moral life,if they are willing to accept Him as their personal savior and if they are willing to confirm that by going through a water baptism ceremony,then they will receive the reward of heaven even if they were not Christians while living.That's how the "injustice" issue that some raise,will be done away with.Jesus loves non-Christians and those worthy,will receive salvation."

This is a teaching completely new to me. Could you give me some more information on it (scripture, etc) so I can look into it. I always thought that once Christ comes, thats it, you're either accepted him or you haven't.

 

[Sketcher]

Ghandi was given a chance to accept Christ. In fact, he was ready to, but a racist British greeter at a church turned him off to the Gospel. It's sad, because he was educated in Britain and loved reading the Bible. In fact, Jesus' teachings are what influenced him to be the man he is remembered for.

But he never turned to God for forgiveness. Yes, he sinned. He worshipped false gods and persisted in doing so. Only Jesus' sacrifice on the cross can clean someone's sins off them, and he refused the bath.

 

[TheMainException]

It is something hard to accept...but really...we have to accept the truth. It's like playing "Who wants to be a millionaire," and instead of 50/50, they have 25/75 and there is only one question, and you get tons more than a million. The correct answer is Christ...you can't save yourself, Ghandi can't save you, Satan can't save you...only Christ can...but whenever people are given the option to choose christ or one of the others, many choose one of the others...why? I'm not too sure as to why. The answer is there, all they have to do is accept it. It's not God's fault that they don't accept the truth that is laid out in front of them.

 

[gsmithcat]

This is a teaching completely new to me. Could you give me some more information on it (scripture, etc) so I can look into it. I always thought that once Christ comes, thats it, you're either accepted him or you haven't.

Yeah, I'm with livin4thebigman. I've never heard this teaching, and I would like to see scripture as well.

I agree with raphe. I believe that salvation is through Christ and we must preach this. However, it is not our place to judge, but to trust God who is perfect in love, mercy, and justice.