Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?

[Andyk1987]

Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

You can become a Christian if you say the prayer above to God, but want happens if you are Jewish or Islamic and believe in God but don't believe Jesus was the Son of God and died for your sins?

What happens if you are a Mormon and believe some theology which isn't from the Bible? What happens if you have never heard the Bible or only heard a polytheistic religion and never the Christian or monotheistic message?

Tell me your thoughts.

 

[Gary777]

Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

You can become a Christian if you say the prayer above to God, but want happens if you are Jewish or Islamic and believe in God but don't believe Jesus was the Son of God and died for your sins?

What happens if you are a Mormon and believe some theology which isn't from the Bible? What happens if you have never heard the Bible or only heard a polytheistic religion and never the Christian or monotheistic message?

Tell me your thoughts.

I dont think the bible teaches that you automaticly goes to heaven when you die, just beacause you have said the above prayer. Does the bible even teach that theres is a prayer that can saves us? No, i think it clearly say that everyone that repents and belives will be saved. It also is clear that the only way to the father is trough jesus.

In my opinion, that means that a person who do not repent and belive in Gods sacrifice for our sins, will not go to heaven. Not even if he or she calls himself a christian!

But, there is this new version of universalism that raises today, (some call it "wider mercy" or "the gospel of inclusion"), that claim that God will ultimatly save everyone (or at least alle who seeks God despite they never belived in jesus). I don't think that is in line with the bible.

Mormons or JW or whatever christian sect, will not go to heaven, simply because they belive in justification trough their own works, rather than "grace trough faith only". That means that they still belive in their own power to be saved. (Some JW's may react to this, but i have first hand information from my own experiences with this). SOme other sects, that actually do belive in salvation trough faith only, will still not be saved, because they also teach and belive sone form of antinomianism. THat means that they don't preach repentance for their sins, wich is fundamental for a biblical faith. (i'm talking about sects like children of God/The Family etc.)

 

[apenman]

The sheep go to heaven, but the sheep are not defined simply by what we call a Christian.

 

[missionette]

this is wut i think. a God so perfect cannot accept anyone less holy than him...let me give u an analogy: If everyones task in life wus to physically jump to the moon, some would jump high(mormons, jehovah's witnesses, etc.), others would barely get off the ground(athiests, and others), but nooobody could physically jump to the moon...except for the perfect jumper(Jesus). the perfect jumper was the only one able to jump to the moon. his purpose wus to take others with him, so he did it for free!even if u hadnt heard about him, u had seen some of the flags he left on the moon(nature(beautifully created)). When the JUMPER got to the moon with his fellow jumpers(believers), they all had fulfilled their purpose.Some ppl didnt want the JUMPER'S help. either they were to proud and thought they could jump by themselves, didnt believe he could really jump so high, or they fell for someone who said they were equal to the JUMPER.

I know its really confusing, but God says this,"If u confess with ur mouth that jesus is lord, and believe in ur heart that Christ was raised from the grave, u recieve the gift of salvation".Ppl in other religions either dont believe he rose so that we can be saved(they think they can earn it), or they have not proclaimed that Jesus IS God! Im sry if it wus 2 long.
HeRe To HeLp,
Missionette

 

[HomeBound]

ALL PEOPLE WILL EVENTUALLY GO TO HEAVEN.

IT'S OUR HOME.

 

[tulc]

Good question!
I like what CS Lewis said:

Lewis expected that some non-Christians would be saved. "Though all salvation is through Jesus, we need not conclude that He cannot save those who have not explicitly accepted Him in this life." On the radio he announced: "We do know that no [one] can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him." In the children’s Narnia series, the lion Aslan is Lewis’s Christ-figure. In The Last Battle deceivers say: "[The god] Tash and Aslan are only two different names for You Know Who." Later they use the hybrid or compound name Tashlan to make their point. At the end of this last book in the Narnia series one of the outsiders, a Calorman named Emeth (which is the transliteration of the Hebrew word for "truth"), who has been a life-long worshiper of Tash, approaches Aslan. To this Tash-server Aslan says, "Son, thou art welcome." Emeth counters, "I am no son of Thine but a servant of Tash." Aslan rejoins: "All the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me." This is a clear indicator that for Lewis the non Christ-worshiper may be received into heaven. Similarly, in another fictional setting, Jane Studdock, an unbeliever, says to Ransom the Pendragon: "I know nothing of Maleldil [the Christ-figure]. But I place myself in obedience to you." To her acknowledgment Ransom replies:

It is enough for the present. This is the courtesy of Deep Heaven that when you mean well, He always takes you to have meant better than you know. It will not be for always. He is very jealous. He will have you for no one but Himself in the end. But for tonight, it is enough.

​

This issue raises the question of Christianity in relation to other world religions. Lewis said: "I couldn’t believe that 999 religions were completely false and the remaining one true." Similarly he stated: "We are not pronouncing all other religions to be totally false, but rather saying that in Christ whatever is true in all religions is consummated and perfected."

tulc(who has come a long way about stuff like this!)

 

[seebs]

this is wut i think. a God so perfect cannot accept anyone less holy than him...

Is the best parent one who can accept imperfect children, or the one who disowns them forever and kicks them out in the cold the first time they err?

 

[Simonline]

Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

You can become a Christian if you say the prayer above to God, but want happens if you are Jewish or Islamic and believe in God but don't believe Jesus was the Son of God and died for your sins?

What happens if you are a Mormon and believe some theology which isn't from the Bible? What happens if you have never heard the Bible or only heard a polytheistic religion and never the Christian or monotheistic message?

Tell me your thoughts.

If God has revealed to Mankind the way to be reconcilled back to him by what he has done through the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah, then who are we to throw that back in his face and insist that we can do it our own way, thank you very much?!

Although I can accept that God is bigger than conventional Christianity and can save people who exist outside of the context of Western Christian culture and society, I do not accept that there are multiple ways to be reconcilled back to God. The just shall [still] live by faith from first to last (Hab.2:4; Rom.1:16-17)


Either Truth and Reality are, like God, absolute or they are relative and it really doesn't matter?

Simonline.

 

[missionette]

Is the best parent one who can accept imperfect children, or the one who disowns them forever and kicks them out in the cold the first time they err?

U should have read the whole thing....and no God is loving.

 

[missionette]

Is the best parent one who can accept imperfect children, or the one who disowns them forever and kicks them out in the cold the first time they err?

And also.......u seem to be hard against me as a christian though u r sign says u r 1...? God is not cold, and u knew i wusnt saying that. Its usually the adults who seem to not like that i, a 12 yr old, am posting with confidence. already i have had ppl get angry bcus i "shouldnt" be able to know the stuff i know at my age......and to homebound:r u really a christian to believe that no one is going to hell?

 

[Donut Hole]

Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?

No, but you won't go to heavan even if you are a Christian. You rot.

What happens if you are a Mormon and believe some theology which isn't from the Bible?

You rot.

What happens if you have never heard the Bible or only heard a polytheistic religion and never the Christian or monotheistic message?

You rot.

 

[missionette]

No, but you won't go to heavan even if you are a Christian. You rot.



You rot.



You rot.

Thx 4 ur imput, but i think he wanted a christian's point of view on this topic, bcus, after all, hes a christian seeking christian answers

 

[tulc]

The just shall [still] live by faith from first to last

I guess it gets down to what "live by faith" means?
tulc(who thinks seebs is saying God is a good parent, and is a lot more forgiving then we sometimes think?)

 

[Donut Hole]

Thx 4 ur imput, but i think he wanted a christian's point of view on this topic, bcus, after all, hes a christian seeking christian answers

Oh, well then I would have thought it would have been posted in the "Christians only" part of the forums.

Don't you think?

 

[Simonline]

Is the best parent one who can accept imperfect children, or the one who disowns them forever and kicks them out in the cold the first time they err?

I think you're missing an important part of the picture...

The Biblical doctrine of Imputation and Impartation

The Scriptures teach us that death was introduced into the creation by Adam as a result of his sin (Rom.5:12-20) and God with regard to sin and condemnation has used this to condemn the entire human race by association [Adam's guilt is imputed to our 'moral accounts' and his fallen and rebellious nature is imparted to each and every one of us (though, on judgement day, we will only be held accountable for our own specific sin, not Adam's as well.)]. Just as in competition the individual competitor or team either attain victories (or suffer losses) on behalf of the community that they represent (be it either a school, a village, a town, a county, a state, a country or the entire human race) so in this case, Adam, as our representative, suffered the loss of being in that righteous relationship with God, because of his sin, the consequences of which, in turn, have been passed on to us.

This might, at first sight, seem incredibly cruel and unfair of God to do this but his reason for doing this is so that he can use exactly the same principle with regard to salvation in respect of Christ [In order for God to use the principle with respect to redemptive salvation he has also to use exactly the same principle with respect to moral guilt ('sin') and condemnation, otherwise God is violating his just nature and God cannot do that]. This means that salvation can actually be attained solely by Christ, but its benefits can be credited/imparted to us as the community (in this case 'the human race') that Christ represents.

If God did not use this principle then each one of us would individually, have to attain salvation for ourselves, which, for a sinner to try and do in the face of an absolutely holy and righteous God is absolutely impossible (and even that is the biggest understatement ever in the entire history of the human race!)

In other words, God has to condemn the entire human race ['in Adam'] in order that he might then be able to redeem them ['in Christ'] (Rom.11:32). This is what Paul is talking about in his letter to the Romans (Rom.5:12-20) and his first letter to the Corinthians (1Cor.15:20-23).

God could not leave the entire human race in a state of perpetual 'innocence' since it was necessary for us to 'grow up' morally speaking so that we would truly be 'in the image of God' in the fullest and most mature sense. For this reason humanity has to go through the experience of sin and all it's consequences (this is what human history is really all about - the whole of human history has a salvific [salvific = relating to salvation] dimension to it) in order to then experience the saving grace of God which is the means by which we attain spiritual maturity and take our place along side God as 'heirs with God and joint heirs with Christ' (Rom.8:17). How would we ever know of God's grace, mercy redemption etc. unless we had first experienced sin?

Simonline.

 

[Simonline]

And also.......u seem to be hard against me as a christian though u r sign says u r 1...? God is not cold, and u knew i wusnt saying that. Its usually the adults who seem to not like that i, a 12 yr old, am posting with confidence. already i have had ppl get angry bcus i "shouldnt" be able to know the stuff i know at my age......and to homebound:r u really a christian to believe that no one is going to hell?

Reminds me of another twelve year old who impressed older (but not necessarily wiser) 'theologians' (Lk.2:41-52 (1Cor.2:6-16))

Simonline.

 

[Simonline]

No, but you won't go to heavan even if you are a Christian. You rot.



You rot.



You rot.

All I can say is, which Bible do you read? If God is Love (1Jn.4:8) then, do you really believe that God would only save people who were fortunate enough to be born post incarnation and therefore could 'believe in Jesus' and 'pray the sinners prayer'?! With all due respect, your understanding of God is somewhat deficient.

Those who seek to live by the truth which God has revealed to them and who seek after the God of truth with all their heart shall surely find him and he will save them because they trust in him according to the limited truth which they know. Having found him, he will then lead them into further truth in order that they might come to a fuller understanding. The Scriptures declare that the just shall live by faith from first to last, not by faultless theology (Eph.2:8-10).

Simonline.

 

[Simonline]

I guess it gets down to what "live by faith" means?
tulc(who thinks seebs is saying God is a good parent, and is a lot more forgiving then we sometimes think?)

To live by faith is to place our trust in God according to the truth which he has revealed to us through his Word, whether in spoken, living or written form. If we place our trust in anything other than God, according to his own revelation of himself, then we risk trusting in the wrong thing and so being bitterly disappointed on Judgment Day when the Messiah finally reveals to us that all our lives we have been trusting in something other than the truth (Jn.4:24). Being sincere in our faith is no protection from the possibility of being sincerely wrong (with the ensuing dire consequences). This is why it is imperative that we earnestly and diligently study the Scriptures in order to know that we are approved by God, workmen who need not be ashamed because we rightly interpret [and live by] the Word of God (1Cor.2:6-16; 2Tim.2:15)

Simonline.

 

[Simonline]

ALL PEOPLE WILL EVENTUALLY GO TO HEAVEN.

IT'S OUR HOME.

KICKING AND SCREAMING IF NECESSARY!!!

I don't think so...and more importantly, neither does God.

Simonline.

 

[Cassiopeia]

Do you need to be a Christian to go to Heaven?
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to purchase a place in Heaven for me. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

You can become a Christian if you say the prayer above to God, but want happens if you are Jewish or Islamic and believe in God but don't believe Jesus was the Son of God and died for your sins?

What happens if you are a Mormon and believe some theology which isn't from the Bible? What happens if you have never heard the Bible or only heard a polytheistic religion and never the Christian or monotheistic message?

Tell me your thoughts.

Um just a notation here...while LDS (mormons) believe that you should do all you can to live as Jesus taught or your faith bears no fruit as evidence of your faith, they declare most firmly that man is imperfect and in need of the blood of christ and that it is through his sacrifice that man has the opportunity to make it back to heaven. LDS know full well they can't work their way to heaven. Think about it this way, faith without works is dead and work without faith is in vain. So, as to the OP, I believe that God is not only a just God but a merciful one. I don't believe he sent his son to die for us just to throw us away on a technicality. Do I have all the answers? Nope...but I think there is more to all this than just ...hey I believe in Christ so I am saved. I think there are people who follow their beliefs as faithfully as the Christians. That they shall be taken care of by their loving God. I think religious beliefs that is to say, man's interpretation of God's word, is being used to stir up fear in people's hearts in an effort to inlist more membership into their earthly organizations.