How will I be chosen for heaven?

[hipster]

So let's get this straight - Are we all in agreement that you do not have to be a Christian or even believe in God or Jesus and the Bible in order to be able to enter heaven as long as you have followed Gods 'rules' ie a person can be wholly good without even being aware of Gods existance.

A simple God with simple rules - however life is not simple and God should know this - it must be a nightmare or does he work out the Judgement like a super computor, zapp your judged! It's baffling!

I don't see how it would work? Perhaps he/she has helpers ,there's a lot of evidence to be taken into account - prosecution and defence teams would have to be employed I presume.

That is how you judge people isn't it, you have to take into account circumstantial evidence?

If it doesn't it not the kind of God i would wish to follow.

Once again this matter of forgivness is tricky - it seems to imply 'do what thou wilt' as long as you beg for forgiveness you're in with a chance, this could lead to all kinds of improper behavour, and one mans forgivable offence is anothers henious crime.

How does God judge who to forgive and who to forbid?

My dog always forgives me - is God a dog?

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Firstly when you get before God will you say Lord, Lord, and Jesus wil say, sorry, who are you, do I know you. I don't remember ever meeting you when you were alive!

Are you implying that God won't know his own children when they come before Him?

Even when we lose our faith in God, God does not lose His faith in us.

The God you just described in that sentence is a mean God. A hurtful, spiteful God. Is that the God that you have been taught at church?

 

[Sam Gamgee]

So let's get this straight - Are we all in agreement that you do not have to be a Christian or even believe in God or Jesus and the Bible in order to be able to enter heaven as long as you have followed Gods 'rules' ie a person can be wholly good without even being aware of Gods existance.

I'm not sure if we are all in agreement on this.

I certainly agree with you, but I don't think you can say that we are all in agreement.

Many Christians feel (and this is not a slam on Christians, just an observation) that God is a vengeful God, that God judges our every action. Also, many Christians believe that you must know God and the Bible to be saved. So, those African tribes in the jungles who have never heard of the Bible will never go to heaven, no matter how righteous they are.

Now, other Christians believe in a loving God, a God that continues to forgive us our sins if we ask for forgiveness. I happen to believe that anyone can go to heaven as long as that person lives by the parables and lessons of the Bible.

 

[Wakeup2god]

Are you implying that God won't know his own children when they come before Him?

Where did I say that Sam?

You said yourself

God will judge our life... the choices we have made and the things we have done.

That's why it's called "judgement day"

Those who have been given the opportunity to make a choice like our friend hipster shall be judged. If they havent accepted Jesus then they haven't accepted God.

The whole question of entering heaven obviously depends on what you believe in the first place. I believe in Jesus and the God of the bible, not sure what anyone else believes.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Where did I say that Sam?

You said yourself

Those who have been given the opportunity to make a choice like our friend hipster shall be judged. If they havent accepted Jesus then they haven't accepted God.

The whole question of entering heaven obviously depends on what you believe in the first place. I believe in Jesus and the God of the bible, not sure what anyone else believes.

ok.

I must have misunderstood what you meant in your previous post.

 

[.Mikha'el.]

How does God decide whether one is worthy of a place in heaven or a place in hell?

As I understand it, if one accepts Jesus as the Messiah, and makes a reasonable attempt to live according to His Word, one is saved.

 

[Harlan Norris]

How does God decide whether one is worthy of a place in heaven or a place in hell?

All that anyone can do is read the scripture to determine this. Frankly no one is worthy. That's why we need Jesus. When Jesus was on the cross between the other two malfactors. One of the others asked Jesus to remember him when he entered his kingdom.Jesus told him that on that day he would be with him in paradise.What were the qualities that saved this man? I think that first, he repented. He said to the other. We suffer rightly for our deeds. Then he acknowleged that jesus was without blame,by saying this man has done nothing amiss.Then he acknowleged that Jesus was God and was able to save him by asking Jesus to remember him, when he entered into his kingdom.If we honestly do these things, we will be saved, same as the good thief.

 

[edie19]

How does God decide whether one is worthy of a place in heaven or a place in hell?

No one is worthy of a place in heaven - we're all sinners and deserving of God's wrath.

God, through His mercy, sent His Son to redeem His people. Jesus the Christ (and Him alone) fulfilled God's law perfectly. He bore God's wrath at the cross and because of that act God's chosen are justified.

From the Canons of Dort part 1 (although I didn't copy the entire portion):

As all men have sinned in Adam, lie under the curse, and are deserving of eternal death, God would have done no injustice by leaving them all to perish and delivering them over to condemnation on account of sin, according to the words of the apostle: That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God (Rom. 3:19). And: For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). And: For the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

But in this the love of God was manifested, that He sent his only begotten Son into the world, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life (I John 4:9; John 3:16).

The wrath of God abides upon those who believe not this gospel. But such as receive it and embrace Jesus the Saviour by a true and living faith are by Him delivered from the wrath of God and from destruction, and have the gift of eternal life conferred upon them.

That some receive the gift of faith from God, and others do not receive it, proceeds from God's eternal decree.
Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, He has out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of His own will, chosen from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault from their primitive state of rectitude into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom He from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect and the foundation of salvation. This elect number, though by nature neither better nor more deserving than others, but with them involved in one common misery, God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call and draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His Son, finally to glorify them for the demonstration of His mercy, and for the praise of the riches of His glorious grace; as it is written: Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:4, 5,6). And elsewhere: Whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified (Rom. 8:30).

 

[BarbB]

..

 

[CaiperLane]

How does God decide whether one is worthy of a place in heaven or a place in hell?

Who Will Be there? God will be in heaven of course, as its primary focus. With Him will be all the Old Testament saints (believing Israelites and believing Gentiles), the church (Jew and Gentiles alike who trusted Christ for salvation), those who put faith in Christ during the great tribulation, Jesus Christ in all His glory, and the multitude of good angels (Revelation 5:11-14; 7:1-17; 20:4; 21:12,14,22).

Why Would a Good and Loving God Condemn People to Hell? We must not underestimate the seriousness of rejecting God. It is not merely a matter of doing something a little wrong and then having God overreact. The sin we commit by rejecting Him is a monstrous crime (Romans 1:18; Colossians 1:21; Hebrews 10:29-31). It is a crime so great that the only way God could rescue us from its penalty was to sentence His own Son to die on our behalf (Colossians 1:15-22; Hebrews 9:11--10:18). It is only as we realize the significance of Christ's death for us that we begin to realize the immensity of our guilt before God.


Who Will Be There? Will only the worst of humanity be in hell? Will people like Hitler, Judas, Jezebel, child molesters, murderers, rapists, and drug peddlers be the only ones condemned? No.


Most people like to believe they are not bad enough to go to hell. They like to think that when God balances their good deeds against their bad, the good will outweigh the bad and they will go to heaven. But that's not what the Bible says. It tells us that everyone has fallen short of God's entrance requirements (Romans 3:23). No one has the proper passport to get through heaven's gates on his own.

Only those who have personally trusted Christ for their salvation will escape hell. Those who heard the gospel but scoffed at it, as well as those who never searched out the truth their consciences spoke to them about, will be there. The citizens of hell will be those who have taken the broad road, the road that deceives travelers into a false sense of security (Matthew 7:13). Satan himself will be the host of hell. He will be joined by his cohorts: Antichrist, the false prophet, and all his demons. It will be a gathering of the "Who's Who of Evil."

God leaves no doubt about our condition. While we set our standards of right and wrong by society's values, God’s standard is His own holiness. How do we measure up? "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). It is only fair that God demands holiness; that is how He first created mankind. We have rebelled against Him as a race and as individuals.

Our pathway away from God has brought its consequences. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23a). The Bible compares sin to a cruel slave master. There is no mercy in suffering, no freedom from bondage, no lasting joy, no hope for the future. Most frightening is the final consequence of sin. The Bible warns that without God’s salvation, death is the doorway to eternal punishment (Hebrews 9:27).

It is from this that we need to be saved. From our own sin. From its bondage. From its consequences. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3).

God is holy and God is love. His holiness demands that our sin be punished in full. His love provides a way for us to be saved from this punishment. How is this possible? Someone was willing to suffer what we deserve. Our substitute had to be a sinless man, able to suffer the full wrath of God against our sin. The only one able to take our place was God’s Son.
The greatest display of God’s love unfolded as His Son left heaven to become a man. Born of a virgin 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ lived with His creation. He was unable to sin, yet He showed compassion to sinners all around Him. Men hated Christ because His holiness exposed their sinfulness. They decided to remove Him by crucifying Him. He willingly allowed them to nail Him to a cross of wood outside Jerusalem. They suspended Him so they could sit and watch Him die. The climax of God’s plan of salvation had arrived as God covered the earth with darkness. The Bible tells us that for three hours He laid on His Son the full punishment we deserve to receive for our sin. The darkness was broken when Jesus Christ called out with a loud voice, "It is finished". He had accomplished the mighty work, God’s great plan of salvation.

After three days in death, Christ Jesus rose from the dead. This is evidence to all who saw Him and to all who read God’s word that Christ’s suffering completely satisfied His father. He was victorious over death itself – the ultimate consequence of our sin.

God’s plan of salvation brings us into the good of Christ’s suffering, death, and victory. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).