Non-denominational view of how to get to heaven.

[cuja1]

I feel like I have finally figured out what I believe it takes to get to heaven and I was wandering what others think. John 3:16 states that for God so loved the world that He gave his only son that who soever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. This verse is often used to tell people how to be saved, but I have come to believe that this is more of a summary.

It is not if you believe in him, it is if you daily deny yourself pick up your cross and follow him. And the denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following him could be expanded into an unending exhaustive detail about daily trials and tribulations dealing with sin etc.

Is that pretty much the non-denominational view?

 

[Tangible]

Could be. It's man- and works-centered. It sounds like pietism to me.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I feel like I have finally figured out what I believe it takes to get to heaven and I was wandering what others think. John 3:16 states that for God so loved the world that He gave his only son that who soever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. This verse is often used to tell people how to be saved, but I have come to believe that this is more of a summary.

It is not if you believe in him, it is if you daily deny yourself pick up your cross and follow him. And the denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following him could be expanded into an unending exhaustive detail about daily trials and tribulations dealing with sin etc.

Is that pretty much the non-denominational view?

Could be. I am certain there are non-denominational churches that share that view. There are also others that reject it. Non-denominational has become a catch-all for those churches that fail to align themselves with various denominations and/or are too small to add to an already- lengthy list of denominations.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I feel like I have finally figured out what I believe it takes to get to heaven and I was wandering what others think. John 3:16 states that for God so loved the world that He gave his only son that who soever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. This verse is often used to tell people how to be saved, but I have come to believe that this is more of a summary.

It is not if you believe in him, it is if you daily deny yourself pick up your cross and follow him. And the denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following him could be expanded into an unending exhaustive detail about daily trials and tribulations dealing with sin etc.

Is that pretty much the non-denominational view?

Is there a reason you believe "getting into Heaven" is the point of being a Christian?

I guess for me that seems almost backwards. Salvation =/= going to Heaven, but rather salvation is God coming down to rescue us, which is an act of unmerited and unconditional grace. This He has done by the Incarnation, the Son and Word united Himself to our humanity, and by death and resurrection redeemed it. "Heaven" is simply "where" God is, and if Christ has reconciled us to God then we are with God, and ultimately that means when Christ returns to renew and restore creation, that means a resurrected life here forever on planet Earth with God.

However all that aside, the goal of the Christian life isn't "getting into Heaven"; rather it is God who has met us here in the Person of Christ, saving us, who then says, "I have saved you, I have forgiven you, now go and live" and upon which we now seek to live in the obedience of Christ, living in the shape of the Cross, not for our own salvation (which has been accomplished on Mt. Calvary once and for all), but to be bearers of God's Word--the Gospel of what God has accomplished by His Son--to the world, and in faith striving toward good works so that our neighbor might be fed, clothed, have drink, and be taken care of because this is the will of God.

The good works merit nothing, the life of living crucified is not earning us points with God, it does not bring us closer to God nor closer to "Heaven"; God has already become close to us by the Incarnation itself, and that's the Good News. Living crucified is out of fealty to our Lord, it is faithfulness to the Crucified Christ, who calls us to imitate Him in this world of suffering and evil. Not that we might gain what has already been freely given, but that we might live as Christ for the sake of our neighbor who suffers.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Albion]

Is that pretty much the non-denominational view?

I take it you mean that it's something any Christian should appreciate, not that only those churches which style themselves as 'non-denominational' would agree with it?

 

[cuja1]

I guess when I say non-denominational I mean those who believe the Bible is the infallible word of God and seek to interpret it in a manner that they wholeheartedly believe is true and don't seek to interpret it to mean what THEY WANT it to mean.

ViaCrucis:

perhaps the whole question should be rephrased. What I really want to know is what does it take to not go to hell.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I guess when I say non-denominational I mean those who believe the Bible is the infallible word of God and seek to interpret it in a manner that they wholeheartedly believe is true and don't seek to interpret it to mean what THEY WANT it to mean.

That describes all Christians everywhere in all denominations and theological traditions. Nobody intentionally tries to interpret the Bible to make it say whatever they want it to say, nobody goes out of their way to commit eisegesis.

ViaCrucis:

perhaps the whole question should be rephrased. What I really want to know is what does it take to not go to hell.

God's love for you, shown and revealed perfectly in and through the Crucified and Risen Jesus, who has destroyed the power of sin, death, and hell.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[cuja1]

That describes all Christians everywhere in all denominations and theological traditions. Nobody intentionally tries to interpret the Bible to make it say whatever they want it to say, nobody goes out of their way to commit eisegesis.



God's love for you, shown and revealed perfectly in and through the Crucified and Risen Jesus, who has destroyed the power of sin, death, and hell.

-CryptoLutheran

All right I'll buy that since I can't say I personally know what's in a person's heart. I go to First Church of God, I don't know what denomination it is, I assume it's non-denominational.

I'm not sure if the last part of your post was an answer about my question or if your saying ... no, I don't understand what your talking about. God's love is what keeps me out of hell?

 

[bbbbbbb]

All right I'll buy that since I can't say I personally know what's in a person's heart. I go to First Church of God, I don't know what denomination it is, I assume it's non-denominational.

I'm not sure if the last part of your post was an answer about my question or if your saying ... no, I don't understand what your talking about. God's love is what keeps me out of hell?

Actually, there are a lot of denominations which call themselves, Church of God. Some are associated with the place of their origin as in the Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee. Many, if not a majority of these denominations are Pentecostal.

It is a bit like the Church of Christ which can be either Congregational or Campellite and which include some groups which claim to be non-denominational.

Once you can categorize a group of churches either by doctrine or by its history, you have a denomination, whether or not that group of churches is willing to accept that term. The largest non-denomination is probably the Roman Catholic Church which stoutly insists it is not a denomination.

 

[cuja1]

Ours is out of Anderson Indiana. I don't recall ever hearing what denomination we are.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Ours is out of Anderson Indiana. I don't recall ever hearing what denomination we are.

I'm guessing it's Church of God (Anderson), a denomination within the Holiness tradition that came out of Wesleyanism in the 19th century. According to Wiki, it considers itself anti-denominational.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

I'm not sure if the last part of your post was an answer about my question or if your saying ... no, I don't understand what your talking about. God's love is what keeps me out of hell?

I was answering your question.

Though my concern with the question, "What keeps me out of hell?" is that it is a deeply skewed perspective concerning Christianity.

Scripture has remarkably little to say about Hell, and perhaps even less to say about Heaven. But it speaks abundantly about the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. That salvation isn't about "going to Heaven" or "not going to Hell", but rather about God coming down to rescue us from our sin, and from death. God became flesh, united Himself to human nature, in order to redeem, restore, and reconcile humanity to Himself. God came down to us, to heal us, to restore us, to set things right between us and Himself. And all of this happened in Jesus Christ.

Our salvation isn't about reaching up to God, but rather God coming down to us. That's what grace is.

It's not just that we can't earn brownie points with God, more important is that we don't have to. God is not up above tallying a score. Rather, God is the One who loves us, unconditionally, and shows this by sending Jesus Christ, and Jesus reveals to us who God truly is: God is the Good Shepherd who seeks high and low for the one lost lamb; God is the Father of the prodigal, who comes running after the lost son and throws a party on his behalf. God is the One who prefers the company of tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, and the undesirables of society over the luxurious company of the wealthy, the well-off, and the religious elite.

That is who God is, that is what Christ reveals to us.

That's why we can trust Him, that's why He is a Good Savior. He's a Friend of sinners. And we are very strong sinners indeed.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Epoisses]

I was answering your question.

Though my concern with the question, "What keeps me out of hell?" is that it is a deeply skewed perspective concerning Christianity.

Scripture has remarkably little to say about Hell, and perhaps even less to say about Heaven. But it speaks abundantly about the salvation we have in Christ Jesus. That salvation isn't about "going to Heaven" or "not going to Hell", but rather about God coming down to rescue us from our sin, and from death. God became flesh, united Himself to human nature, in order to redeem, restore, and reconcile humanity to Himself. God came down to us, to heal us, to restore us, to set things right between us and Himself. And all of this happened in Jesus Christ.

Our salvation isn't about reaching up to God, but rather God coming down to us. That's what grace is.

It's not just that we can't earn brownie points with God, more important is that we don't have to. God is not up above tallying a score. Rather, God is the One who loves us, unconditionally, and shows this by sending Jesus Christ, and Jesus reveals to us who God truly is: God is the Good Shepherd who seeks high and low for the one lost lamb; God is the Father of the prodigal, who comes running after the lost son and throws a party on his behalf. God is the One who prefers the company of tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, and the undesirables of society over the luxurious company of the wealthy, the well-off, and the religious elite.

That is who God is, that is what Christ reveals to us.

That's why we can trust Him, that's why He is a Good Savior. He's a Friend of sinners. And we are very strong sinners indeed.

This is well put and I definitely agree.

I would be curious to know if you feel the sacrifice of Christ saved all of humanity or just made provision for all of humanity to be saved? When I say this I am not speaking of universalism but of the words of the apostle Paul-

‘Therefore as by the offence of one(Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one(Christ) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.’ Rom. 5:18

I like looking at this from different angles. How do we escape the punishment of hell? Are men lost because of their lives of sin and disobedience (for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). Or is it because of a life of unbelief where the gift of salvation is refused. God can’t force us to accept the gift.

 

[ViaCrucis]

This is well put and I definitely agree.

I would be curious to know if you feel the sacrifice of Christ saved all of humanity or just made provision for all of humanity to be saved? When I say this I am not speaking of universalism but of the words of the apostle Paul-

‘Therefore as by the offence of one(Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one(Christ) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.’ Rom. 5:18

I like looking at this from different angles. How do we escape the punishment of hell? Are men lost because of their lives of sin and disobedience (for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). Or is it because of a life of unbelief where the gift of salvation is refused. God can’t force us to accept the gift.

Jesus doesn't "make provision" for us to get saved, Jesus objectively saves us on the Cross.

Thus each and all of us can only say that we were saved two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[bbbbbbb]

Jesus doesn't "make provision" for us to get saved, Jesus objectively saves us on the Cross.

Thus each and all of us can only say that we were saved two thousand years ago on a hill outside Jerusalem.

-CryptoLutheran

I agree wholeheartedly. Our church has a hymn with the following verse:

"Done is the work that saves
Once and forever done.
Finished the righteousness
The clothes the unrighteous one."

 

[PastorTeacher]

I feel like I have finally figured out what I believe it takes to get to heaven and I was wandering what others think. John 3:16 states that for God so loved the world that He gave his only son that who soever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. This verse is often used to tell people how to be saved, but I have come to believe that this is more of a summary.

It is not if you believe in him, it is if you daily deny yourself pick up your cross and follow him. And the denying yourself, picking up your cross, and following him could be expanded into an unending exhaustive detail about daily trials and tribulations dealing with sin etc.

Is that pretty much the non-denominational view?

In large I would consider myself to be non-denominational. It is easier for some people to understand than telling them I am a dispensationalist. To your comments about salvation; I believe that we are saved by Grace and not of works (Eph. 2:8-9). When you add daily denial of self and picking up your cross and following Him, to the Grace given salvation through Christ, then it seems to become a salvation based on works. Don't you think? However, the denial of self and following Christ is plays a crucial role in the moment-by-moment walk with Christ. It is not for salvation but for spiritual growth. The time consuming forward momentum advancing to becoming like Christ in His humanity for the glorification of the Father. I hope this helps.

 

[PastorTeacher]

This is well put and I definitely agree.

I would be curious to know if you feel the sacrifice of Christ saved all of humanity or just made provision for all of humanity to be saved? I believe that through Christ man has the "provision" needed to reconciled back to God. While not everyone will be saved, Christ did provide salvation for all. The key word of Rom. 5:18 is "gift". If I offer you a gift, you can choose to accept it or not. It is not forced upon you but offered. Same with salvation. It is a gift offered to all, but we have to choose to accept it.
‘Therefore as by the offence of one(Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one(Christ) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.’ Rom. 5:18

I like looking at this from different angles. How do we escape the punishment of hell? Through faith in Christ. Are men lost because of their lives of sin and disobedience (for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). Or is it because of a life of unbelief where the gift of salvation is refused. Men are lost because of the sin nature imputed to us at the moment of our physical birth. Through Adam came death and sin (Rom. 5:12). That sin is what separates man from God. In order for the love and justice of God to be satisfied in the reconciling of man back to Himself we had to have someone capable of saving us and that someone is Christ Jesus. So man is lost because of Adam's original sin, but man continues to stay "lost" by the rejection of Christ Jesus.God can’t force us to accept the gift. You are correct.

I hope you don't mind me joining the conversation. Just wanted to give my beliefs on this topic.

 

[wordsoflife]

One major error that I've noticed concerning "non-denominational" Churches is that they do not actively participate in the sacraments. We regularly take communion at my Church where we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ. Jesus said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you." This does not regularly take place at non-denominational Churches. This act is a great aid to our Faith in Christ which is of coarse how we get to heaven.

 

[PastorTeacher]

I agree with you wordsoflife. I've been to a few "non-denominational" churches and I have also noticed that there seems to be a lacking of the taking of communion. I believe that every church should have communion at lest once a month.

 

[OliverC]

Forgive my ignorance, but could the communion be on par to being saved by works i.e. we are acting to save ourselves?