I may have answers that differ from the above, but I will give scripture references to show where I'm coming from.
-Too what purpose does hell serve God?
Hell is a place that was created for the devil and the angels that followed him in rebellion. It was not originally intended for man. But, you either fall into the categories of being a follower of God or a follower of the devil. There is no inbetween. If you are not a follower of God, you will spend eternity in the same place as the devil.
Mt. 25
41 Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels
Mt. 12
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Luke 9
50 But Jesus said to him, Do not forbid
him, for he who is not against us is on our side.
-What is heaven if my loved ones and family is not there?
That is entirely possible, which is why, as Christians, it is our desire and our responsibility to ensure that our loved ones hear the truth of Jesus Christ, and that we encourage them to believe. A famous preacher once said that when we get to heaven we will be surprised at who we find there, and even more surprised at who we don't find there. However, regardless of who we see or don't see there, God has promised that heaven is a place without sorrow and tears. It will be a place of rejoicing, and so glorious that we won't even remember our former lives. We can't even imagine how wonderful it will be.
Is. 65
17 For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;
For behold, I create Jerusalem
as a rejoicing,
And her people a joy.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
And joy in My people;
The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her,
Nor the voice of crying.
1 Cor. 2
9 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
-Why shall i strive to join any religion if i only feel its too be good and because i fear in something so stupid as hell?
Fear is a great motivator. Jesus spoke and warned us about hell more than he spoke about heaven. It is real.
Mt. 10
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
But...God loves us and has no desire to send anyone to hell, which is why he sent His Son.
Rom. 5
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only
that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
And rejoicing in God because of what He has done for us, it should become our natural desire to please Him.
-WHY DO RELIGIONS SEGREGATE??? Catholics,Christians , Jews ( The chosen people)
It was not Jesus' original plan. He wanted us all to be united in him. But men being men, all are consumed with their own desires and ideas, and so, divisions arose. I would have to say that it is in part due to the efforts of the devil to cause strife in the church and work against what God is trying to create.
James 3
13 Who
is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct
that his works
are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but
is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking
exist, confusion and every evil thing
are there.
2 Peter 2 deals exclusively with false doctrines that have arisen to pollute the gospel.
2 Peter 2
1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them,
and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words;
-On that note they do not believe in Christ yet they are Gods chosen?
The Jews were "Chosen" for two purposes: 1) To be the people whom God revealed Himself to the world. His Word, the Bible, was delivered through them. And He revealed a lot about His character through His dealings with them. 2) It was through them that He sent the Savior, His Son.
Yes, they did not accept Jesus, and he lamented that fact often.
Mt. 23
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under
her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say,
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!
God is not done dealing with the Jews yet, but he has "put them on the back-burner" so to speak. Because of their rejection of Jesus, the gospel message went out to the rest of the world.
Rom. 11
7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written:
God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation
has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall
is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
-Even if i believe yet i treat others terribly why do i deserve salvation?
No one deserves salvation, it is the gift of God to those who believe. If one has a genuine repentance and belief in Jesus, they become a new creation, and having the Spirit of God in us, new desires to please God become more important than the old desires. That's not to say that the old desires completely go away, we are constantly at war with them.
Rom. 7
18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but
how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will
to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not
to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not
to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
But because of our belief in Christ, God no longer places us under condemnation when we error.
Rom. 8
1 T
here is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
The Spirit of God helps us in our weaknesses.
-We keep faith when we are in fear of our lives yet we keep doing bad things we can not accept the fact of an unconditional loving God that is why we believe GOD must have rules he must!
God's salvation has never been unconditional. It has always been the case that it was granted to those that obeyed Him in faith. The rules/laws/commandments were given, not that they can save us, but so that we would know what God considered to be sin. Because the old system/covenant of sacrificing for sins was imperfect, God instituted a new system/covenant.
Rom. 7
7 .... I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said,
You shall not covet.
Rom. 8
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God
did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Heb. 7
18
For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is thebringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
20 And inasmuch as
He was not
made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
The LORD has sworn
And will not relent,
You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek),
22
by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23
Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26
For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who isholy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the peoples, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law,
appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
I dont mean to spread hate or push my believe on ANYONE! these are some of the few questions that keep me away from ever stepping inside a church
I feel i only go there to be good and i feel more spiritual now then i ever did before when i went to church
Please help answer some of these questions i dont know where to post
Going to church cannot make you good and it cannot save you. You have to come to that point in your life where you recognize that you need a Savior, and believe in Jesus. Until you do so, those old sinful desires will rule in your life. Keep seeking and keep asking questions. God has placed a desire to know Him in all of us, yourself included.
Certainly we will be happier if we can accept ourselves, and accept our own imperfections, but it is not necessary before we love and accept anyone else.
