Do non-Christians Have a Chance to Go to Heaven?

[Basil the Great]

This same poll in being posted in other Congregational Forums. Your vote is deeply appreciated.

 

[BobRyan]

This same poll in being posted in other Congregational Forums. Your vote is deeply appreciated.

Yes non-Christians may go to heaven - see Romans 2:13-16.

 

[BobRyan]

The life or death decision is whether or not to follow the truth - the "Spirit of Truth" that "Convicts the WORLD of sin and righteousness and judgment" John 16 not just Christians.

 

[ml5363]

I believe that he will not return until all have had the chance to hear the Gospel. You do not go to Heaven by your good works alone, so only leaves one choice.

 

[Sabbathkeeper&Wife]

God winks at ignorance and judges according to the heart. There are billions of dead people who never heard of Jesus. That's like people being fooled into thinking you get a second chance when you miss the rapture. What about all those who died before? Matter of heart, from a loving, just and Merciful God.

 

[Geralt]

Salvation is entirely by the grace of God, not on anyone's reaction or performance. you can easily have asked the question, do babies or unborn babies or those mentally abnormal go to heaven ? and the answer is still by God's grace alone.

 

[Sabbathkeeper&Wife]

Sure it is. But with the question being asked, and the reply on the ignorance and looking upon the heart, I'd be willing to bet that's one place He would extend such a gift. It's not their fault they never heard of Him and He would surely know it. Evil is still evil, good being still good. Like Ghandi said: I like your Christ, but it's your Christians I have a hard time with. Ya can't BS God. I'd be willing to bet that a subject like this has caused many an unlearned to entertain re-incarnation theories . Perhaps it's where the idea of purgatory came into play many a moon ago. Humans have come up with some doozies over the ages. Perhaps the Lord left answers to some of these questions out of scripture to make us study and think. We certainly aren't anywhere near His level. Peace be with you.

 

[masmpg]

The life or death decision is whether or not to follow the truth - the "Spirit of Truth" that "Convicts the WORLD of sin and righteousness and judgment" John 16 not just Christians.

Only those who follow and live the convictions given by the Comforter will go to heaven. Those who deny any of the convictions or reproof sent by the Comforter will not get to heaven, Christian or not. The simple test too know if it is the Comforter speaking to out conscience is found in Isaiah 8:20. The devil can convince us too. God has rules, morals, and ethics the devil does not, so we must be certain that what we are hearing is from the Comforter. We are all at different stages on our walk of sanctification to heaven, and only those who are living up to all the light shining on their path at the time of death will be "saved".

 

[masmpg]

I believe that he will not return until all have had the chance to hear the Gospel. You do not go to Heaven by your good works alone, so only leaves one choice.

I fully agree with you, but only those who act in the positive after having that chance will make it. Not only the hearers of the law are just but the doers of the law will be justified. Romans 2:13

 

[masmpg]

God winks at ignorance and judges according to the heart. There are billions of dead people who never heard of Jesus. That's like people being fooled into thinking you get a second chance when you miss the rapture. What about all those who died before? Matter of heart, from a loving, just and Merciful God.

God does "wink at our ignorance" BUT this is huge, He can read the heart. Many have denied, and will continue to deny convictions, so Luke goes on in Acts 17:30: "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:" There is NO hiding place where God does not look into the deepest darkest crevices of our soul to show us those things that will keep us out of heaven, but we must ask Him to reveal them some times. Believe me, He does reveal the past sins that we must confess and repent of in order to be saved, but ONLY those He does reveal, and we cannot hide from those convictions, because we are commanded to repent, NOW!

 

[Sabbathkeeper&Wife]

And MAN does He dig em up!

 

[masmpg]

And MAN does He dig em up!

When I first became a Christian I would pray that the Lord show me anything that would keep me out of heaven! WOW was that a mistake! But it has given me a clean slate to start with every day.

One of the major things He showed me, well, convicted me of, and I mean convicted me, was when I was an alter boy I stole some money from the offering basket. This basket was huge and full every SUNday. I stole about 50 cents all together, over a couple weeks time. A nickel here a dime there, just enough to buy a candy bar. 20 years later, after praying that prayer He started to convict me that I had to pay back 20.00 to the catholic church. I battled with that for 5 years before my motorcycle steered its way over to the local RCC in Oroville. I reluctantly went in and was greeted by a Russian priest. He was on a swap program situation. I was relieved a bit to know he was not the regular priest. He invited me into his study/office whatever they call it and I told him my story, and gave him the 20 bucks. He told me I did not have to pay and I told him OH YES I DO! Then he said he would not press charges!!!??? That thought never even crossed my mind. He "prayed" for me and told me the Lord has a great work for me to do, and have been realizing that ever since. Boy was I relieved when I escaped from there that day. I felt like a ton of conviction just dropped off like the backpack on the pilgrims progress movie. I was free from that sin. He convicted me of others but that was the highlight of my Christian conversion. My mom had a very similar but much more dramatic experience.

 

[Sabbathkeeper&Wife]

It may have only SEEMED like a mistake. Ha ha. Human discomfort. Imagine the Sprit convicting you of something you CANT pay back. Even the kind of thing that you can ONLY work out through asking forgiveness between you and the Spirit! Seems like I remember something about the steps in the AA constitution about making amends wherever possible until/unless it would cause harm to you or other folks. "HARM" being the loose term used. I think that the word is used unexacting on purpose. Physical? Economical? Mental? In society....and so on. Maybe it's up to the individual on how deeply they are brought under conviction, depending on their constitution, the one built into their heart. Or even the NEW ONE the Holy Spirit is rewriting. The Rome thing makes that humorous!

 

[masmpg]

It may have only SEEMED like a mistake. Ha ha. Human discomfort. Imagine the Sprit convicting you of something you CANT pay back. Even the kind of thing that you can ONLY work out through asking forgiveness between you and the Spirit! Seems like I remember something about the steps in the AA constitution about making amends wherever possible until/unless it would cause harm to you or other folks. "HARM" being the loose term used. I think that the word is used unexacting on purpose. Physical? Economical? Mental? In society....and so on. Maybe it's up to the individual on how deeply they are brought under conviction, depending on their constitution, the one built into their heart. Or even the NEW ONE the Holy Spirit is rewriting. The Rome thing makes that humorous!

No matter what the convictions, there is one way to know for certain if it comes from God, one sure test found in Isaiah 8:20. God will not convict us of something that would be impossible to do, but some convictions may seem impossible but are not and we must not run from them. I give my testimony as an example, but my mom's SHEESH! The Lord convicted her to give back money for a pair of boots my step dad stole from a store that went out of business 15 years before she was convicted to pay the money back. My step dad stole a pair of boots, well my mom tried them on and he told her to walk out with them on. I don't know why he did that because he had plenty of money, was one of the original owners of the oakland raiders with al davis. But 25 years later my mom prayed the same prayer I always do and the Lord convicted her to pay this company back 100.00. This company, Gemco had been out of business for 15 years at the time. She went to the second owners of the building since Gemco went out and asked them how to get a hold of the Gemco owners. They gave her a phone number to call so she did and was hooked up with the original owners after about three hand offs. She finally sent them a check and in the mean time she received four or five letters saying how much of a blessing her testimony was at the time. In fact a couple of the letters confessed that they were converted over the whole scenario, even the old owners of Gemco. This is how the Holy Spirit works.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

No matter what the convictions, there is one way to know for certain if it comes from God, one sure test found in Isaiah 8:20. God will not convict us of something that would be impossible to do, but some convictions may seem impossible but are not and we must not run from them. I give my testimony as an example, but my mom's SHEESH! The Lord convicted her to give back money for a pair of boots my step dad stole from a store that went out of business 15 years before she was convicted to pay the money back. My step dad stole a pair of boots, well my mom tried them on and he told her to walk out with them on. I don't know why he did that because he had plenty of money, was one of the original owners of the oakland raiders with al davis. But 25 years later my mom prayed the same prayer I always do and the Lord convicted her to pay this company back 100.00. This company, Gemco had been out of business for 15 years at the time. She went to the second owners of the building since Gemco went out and asked them how to get a hold of the Gemco owners. They gave her a phone number to call so she did and was hooked up with the original owners after about three hand offs. She finally sent them a check and in the mean time she received four or five letters saying how much of a blessing her testimony was at the time. In fact a couple of the letters confessed that they were converted over the whole scenario, even the old owners of Gemco. This is how the Holy Spirit works.

Awesome testimony!

 

[accelerator]

The Bible teaches that only though a firm belief in.. and the practice of.. Loving kindness, Righteousness, Justice, Peace, Wisdom, Truth & Freedom... (the Seven Spirits of God.. which are the Holy Spirit.. that Christ manifested in his words.. thoughts and actions).... can anyone obtain everlasting life.. So it seems.. even an atheists who believe and practice these 7 core human values.. can go to heaven.. while Christians who ignore believing in.. and practicing.. the teachings of Jesus concerning these 7 core human values - The Seven Spirits of God - go nowhere..

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"Most truly I say to you, He that hears my word and believes him that sent me has everlasting life, and he does not come into judgment but has passed over from death to life. Most truly I say to you, If anyone observes my word, he will never see death at all." "For I say to you that if your righteousness does not abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens." - Joh5:24 & John 8:51 & Matthew 5:20

He that is pursuing righteousness and loving-kindness will find life, righteousness and glory - Proverbs 21:21

Has not their tent cord within them been pulled out? They die for lack of wisdom.
Job 4:21

The treasures of the wicked one will be of no benefit, but righteousness is what will deliver from death. - Proverbs 10:2

Valuable things will be of no benefit on the day of fury, but righteousness itself will deliver from death. - Proverbs 11:4

The one firmly standing for righteousness is in line for life, but the one chasing after what is bad is in line for his own death. - Proverbs 11:19

In the path of righteousness there is life, and the journey in its pathway means no death. - Proverbs 12:28

He that is pursuing righteousness and loving-kindness will find life, righteousness and glory. - Proverbs 21:21

For wisdom is for a protection the same as money is for a protection; but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom itself preserves alive its owners.
Ecclesiastes 7:12

But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell. - 2Peter 3:13

 

[cordie]

This question comes up a lot because it seems to represent some kind of rivalry as to who gets in. Ultimately, we are not the omniscient but reading the tea leaves, we have all the people who preceded Jesus. We have Buddhists, Hindus, Sintoists, Muslims, Jews, Native Americans, etc. It seems that all faith groups believe the idea of a universal, omnipotent, gracious being. Then we have a few books come along & then the controversy starts. It appears to me that one cannot take the Bible literally but at the same time some statements seem to resonate-the statements are so profound that it makes sense of a gracious God. So when Christ said it is accomplished; then it is. Then you have all these Isaiah prophecies. Jesus died for all the people not some of the people. Paul speaks to the blindness of the Jews, their heart being temporarily hardened. You have someone in real-time as spiritual & gracious as the Dalai-Lama. Appears to me this is what makes sense: ask yourself how does God separate the average murderer-is one excused, two, etc. No it's not about numbers. Eternal damnation I would opine belongs to those who seek to usurp the power away from God or in other words, one who aspires to have all God's power, which includes treatment of anything God created. If such person does that, they're done. I call it the Faustian maneuver. In the film Dracula, Dr. Van Heflin, tells his comrades that Lucy (now transformed into a vampire) dwells outside the realm of God. Meaning anyone that bad, is indeed that bad.

 

[reddogs]

This same poll in being posted in other Congregational Forums. Your vote is deeply appreciated.

I think Enoch and Job will make it......

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

I think Enoch and Job will make it......

As will faithful Maniilaq...

 

[Shibolet]

This same poll in being posted in other Congregational Forums. Your vote is deeply appreciated.

Yes, if they are astronauts. Okay, I am kidding! What heaven are you talking about? Jesus said that heavens or the Kingdom of Heaven is akin to a peaceful state of mind which we are rather expected to let it come into ourselves if you read Luke 17:21. If this is what you mean, not only Christians but also non-Christians all have that chance. That's what we were all born for; to achieve that state of mind.