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Condemning others to hell for sin?

Beanieboy

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One thing that logically puzzles me is when I hear a fellow Christian say to another person, Christian or non, "X is a sin! You are going to hell!"

I am Christian and have been condemned for being gay, and had verses thrown at me. However, Christianity is very clear that we do not earn our way to Heaven. We are giving eternal life through Christ, not of our own doing. Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and only through active loving of others do we love, serve and know God. 1 John 4:7-8. Look it up.

So, does it make sense to tell someone, "murders go to hell!" or "X goes to hell because they sin!" when the truth is, according to the bible, that all of us are sinners. If we are forgiven, is it right to say to someone, "I may not be perfect, but I'M forgiven, and YOU aren't, so there!!!"

Should we thank God for his forgiveness and mercy by exhalting ourselves, rather than Christ? Should we gloat about being forgiven, something that we don't deserve, when it is offered to all, and knowing that Christ died to take away the sins of the world?

It isn't loving your neighbor, nor God, but acting like a hypocrite whom Christ condemned.

Anyone able to explain this?
 
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Daniel25

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One thing that logically puzzles me is when I hear a fellow Christian say to another person, Christian or non, "X is a sin! You are going to hell!"

I am Christian and have been condemned for being gay, and had verses thrown at me. However, Christianity is very clear that we do not earn our way to Heaven. We are giving eternal life through Christ, not of our own doing. Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and only through active loving of others do we love, serve and know God. 1 John 4:7-8. Look it up.

So, does it make sense to tell someone, "murders go to hell!" or "X goes to hell because they sin!" when the truth is, according to the bible, that all of us are sinners. If we are forgiven, is it right to say to someone, "I may not be perfect, but I'M forgiven, and YOU aren't, so there!!!"

Should we thank God for his forgiveness and mercy by exhalting ourselves, rather than Christ? Should we gloat about being forgiven, something that we don't deserve, when it is offered to all, and knowing that Christ died to take away the sins of the world?

It isn't loving your neighbor, nor God, but acting like a hypocrite whom Christ condemned.

Anyone able to explain this?



there is no forgiveness without contrition.
 
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ToBeInChrist

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I became aware I needed a savior -- I was condemned as a sinner -- I wanted Jesus as Lord in my life -- I want to live with God forever, without sin.

Jesus died on the cross, to reach out to me, to save me from the consequences of my sin if I would receive Him in faith as my Lord and Savior.

I do not want to practice sin on earth, excuse or rationalize my sin on earth. I do not want to continue pleasing my flesh just because I have this or that impulse -- I do not want to be a slave to impulses. I do not want to harbor lust in my heart. I do not want to encourage or excuse actions that I see are identified as sinful in the Bible; I want to grow in walking according to what God has revealed in the Bible, the Bible that shows me Jesus my Lord and Savior. I want to grow in spiritual fruit, not fruit of the flesh (see Galatians 5)
 
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TomZzyzx

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Beanieboy said:
One thing that logically puzzles me is when I hear a fellow Christian say to another person, Christian or non, "X is a sin! You are going to hell!"

I am Christian and have been condemned for being gay, and had verses thrown at me. However, Christianity is very clear that we do not earn our way to Heaven. We are giving eternal life through Christ, not of our own doing. Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and only through active loving of others do we love, serve and know God. 1 John 4:7-8. Look it up.

So, does it make sense to tell someone, "murders go to hell!" or "X goes to hell because they sin!" when the truth is, according to the bible, that all of us are sinners. If we are forgiven, is it right to say to someone, "I may not be perfect, but I'M forgiven, and YOU aren't, so there!!!"

Should we thank God for his forgiveness and mercy by exhalting ourselves, rather than Christ? Should we gloat about being forgiven, something that we don't deserve, when it is offered to all, and knowing that Christ died to take away the sins of the world?

It isn't loving your neighbor, nor God, but acting like a hypocrite whom Christ condemned.

Anyone able to explain this?

We should never say to another person "you are going to hell". God is the ultimate judge. If your having a conversation with some one it's ok to say "murderers are going to hell" if you also follow that up with, "unless they accept that Jesus died for our sins", and are born again. Forgiveness is offered to all, but not all accept it. Read Matthew 7:13.
 
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Reine

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Hi Beanie Boy,

We all have sinned and we will all continue to sin. Anything that is foolish or in error is sin. God hates sin, IMO, because it is destructive to the objects of his love which is us. People tend to insert their own agendas into the concept of condemnation. Our sins are what condemn us already, because of it's destructive powers... and when someone speaks in such a manner as you have described, it is a sin with the same destructive powers that God condemns. I would urge you to look into the four words used for Hell in the Bible and their meanings, and do some research regarding the Christian concept of Hell. I won't get into all that here. I would also do some research into homosexuality and the biblical verses of those words and what they were really talking about, but I won't get into that here either. What I want to address is what your own perspective of your actions, for you are the best judge if you look impartially within. Are your behaviors harmful to you? Hetero sexual and homosexual deisires can both be a form of Idolatry that can keep us from gaining all that we could from a connection to God. Does this describe you? I know at times in my life, making the search to find that special person became an event that was blown out of proportion and could have been considered a form of idolatry. When we do this with anything, it replaces God, and prevents our growth. What doesn't grow or move, eventually dies. As we grow closer to God, we deepen what we know and are held to different standards, so that we struggle and grow even more. We are bound to make mistakes (sin), but what is important is what we learn from those mistakes and apply that into our lives. God Bless :)
 
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Paradoxum

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I agree that it makes no sense and I have never had someone say it to me. I think the reason they say that is because they see your 'sin' as an abomination and that the Bible is clear about this, therefore you can't be truly repentant and so aren't saved. A bit like if you knew someone was raping children, you would tell them that they should get saved. If they replied and said that they were saved by faith you would hardly believe them because how could a rapist continuing raping if he were truly saved.

I don't agree of course, but this is probably the reasoning.
 
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yasic

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My understanding of the general idea held by Christians is as follows:

God forgives you for your sin, and will continue to do so. He realizes that you are imperfect and that your imperfect nature compels you to fail over and over. He however expects you to try to stop sinning and if you do not even wish to change then there is no reason to forgive you.

For instance, lets take a serial killer who kills over and over but regrets it every time. In this case god will forgive and continue forgiving this person until he dies as he is trying but simply failing to stop. On the other hand, if he kills then thinks 'great, I sinned, let me pray for forgiveness and then plan my next fun murder' then he will not be forgiven as he is not repentant.

Hence how Christians may see your homosexuality: You cannot be forgiven of it until you repent for it and try to stop it. Its ok if you fail, but it is not ok to accept your condition as acceptable and choose to live with it happily.
 
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JustMeSee

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One thing that logically puzzles me is when I hear a fellow Christian say to another person, Christian or non, "X is a sin! You are going to hell!"
{White Noise}

Personally, I see it as a fear tactic.

I am of the opinion that your entrance into Heaven is between you and God.
 
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Sojourner1

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Beanieboy said:
So, does it make sense to tell someone, "murders go to hell!" or "X goes to hell because they sin!" when the truth is, according to the bible, that all of us are sinners. If we are forgiven, is it right to say to someone, "I may not be perfect, but I'M forgiven, and YOU aren't, so there!!!"

Are you asking if it is ethical to judge others and condemn them to hell based on their actions (sins)?
 
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ToBeInChrist

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In person the most I generally observe on the subject of sin/death/Hell is perhaps some discussion/disagreement about whether there is sin or Hell, whether something is or is not in fact a sin that a Christian really should avoid, questions about the basics of the Gospel.

I'm not sure in what context people are experiencing this sort of condemnation.

Online things can be so very different than f2f. We often don't have the niceties of building up to a subject and getting to know each other and exchanging non-verbal cues. Abruptly, we find nit-picky discussions and bold assertions, controversy, etc., much more than I have encountered f2f.
 
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One thing that logically puzzles me is when I hear a fellow Christian say to another person, Christian or non, "X is a sin! You are going to hell!"

I am Christian and have been condemned for being gay, and had verses thrown at me. However, Christianity is very clear that we do not earn our way to Heaven. We are giving eternal life through Christ, not of our own doing. Christ commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and only through active loving of others do we love, serve and know God. 1 John 4:7-8. Look it up.

So, does it make sense to tell someone, "murders go to hell!" or "X goes to hell because they sin!" when the truth is, according to the bible, that all of us are sinners. If we are forgiven, is it right to say to someone, "I may not be perfect, but I'M forgiven, and YOU aren't, so there!!!"

Should we thank God for his forgiveness and mercy by exhalting ourselves, rather than Christ? Should we gloat about being forgiven, something that we don't deserve, when it is offered to all, and knowing that Christ died to take away the sins of the world?

It isn't loving your neighbor, nor God, but acting like a hypocrite whom Christ condemned.

Anyone able to explain this?


being gay is not a sin unless you engage in the behavior that gays often engage in. There are gays in the Catholic Church but they (if they are true Catholics) remain CHASTE. Single people who are hetero also remain chaste. Married people also... Sex is only for marriage... and nowadays we have to add: only for married heterosexual couples.

Sin will drag you to Hell... whether you believe in Jesus or not... whether you have 'accepted him as pesonal savior" or not... God and mortal sin do not go together... so i hope and pray that you are not engaging in sexually immoral acts..

Jesus said that there are few who find the n arrow way that leads to eternal life... (St Mt 7)

the saints say that most people end up in Hell over sexual sins ... (2nd to that are sins against charity)

sin, by its very nature, separates us from God/Heaven... (Romans 1 and 2)
 
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JustMeSee

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Agreed, one I am supprised doesn't push more people away.

And this would be unfortunate. We all have our own path to follow in life, and destructive messengers often set us off course. It bothers me that Beanieboy is encountering, what I consider to be, destructive messengers.

From what I have read from Beanieboy, he seems to be a very decent guy. I wish inner peace and happiness for him.
 
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