Question for Christians

[heron]

Lol, you're getting a whole raft of doctrines here! It's not that we're scarmbling for answers, but that each believer values a different angle of the same beliefs.

I see it this way:

Jesus offered Paradise (which I consider heaven) to the thief on the cross, for a very small acknowledgement. The man believed, the man's soul was saved.

But there are also verses on the kingdom of heaven, which I believe can be active in our lives at any moment.... at hand. Similar to a different space-time plane of reality. In order to have any involvement in this kingdom, and to see what's happening in it, you need to keep yourselves focused... respect its purity.
Luke 8:10

And unless one has decided to be renewed by Jesus, they can't see the kingdom.
John 3:3

If we want God to work through us, we don't clutter our lives with things that drag us down and keep us from our goals.

 

[Emmy]

Dear Jannah, Jesus died on the cross, to pay for our transgressions. If we accept His Sacrifice, and follow Jesus back to God, we will become Children of God, and will live with Him for eternity. Jesus told us to REPENT, to exchange our selfish and noncaring natures, into loving selflessly, and caring and forgiving ones. Jesus left us with 2 Commandments, 1st Love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. 2nd Love each other, as we love ourselves. Which also means to help and care and treat others, as we would do for ourselves and those we love. Jesus asked us, to become perfect, as God is perfect. That is not easy, Jannah, but Jesus wil help and guide us, and we will find, that to follow Jesus, will become easier, and easier. Many Christian men and = women can, and will testify to the truth of this, myself included. God`s Love in us, will flow freely to all around us. I say this humbly and lovingly, Jannah, and send greetings. Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[jrmronald]

Christ came to the earth for two reasons, one was to die and the
other was to bear witness to the truth. Christ death was not
a punishment but he gave His life freely so others could live.

If one lives his life as an alter Christi then he has truth in him
and will receive paradise after he is freed from his sins throught
the merits of Christ. The true Christ is truth.
jrm

 

[BigNorsk]

Thanks for your post. But it didnt really answer my question.

My question was that is it sufficient to believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) "nailed our sins on the cross"? In other words, does this belief remove our obligation of worshipping God and is sufficient to take us to paradise?

To put it simply, is there a concept of "worship" in christianity? Or is it all about belief?

Thanks again,

-Jannah

First a comment about the concept of belief. There is one Greek word that we in English kind of split into two, believe and faith. In English we can think of belief as a head knowledge that is separate from how we act or what we do, but that is really foreign to the concept of Christian belief.

Now we are clearly told that we are saved by belief or faith, and not by works.

Eph 2:8-9 NET.
(8) For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
(9) it is not from works, so that no one can boast.
So there is nothing like an obligation or law that we must do certain works in order to be saved. But understand that when we say belief we are not talking about belief like Satan would have belief, we are really talking about faith or faithfulness. So we do works, not in order to obtain salvation by because we want to from the love that fills us which comes from God.

Now worship fundamentally is to honor God. A Christian does not live under law, there is no obligation that you must conduct a ceremony and worship God so many times and in such a way. The greatest worship of God is to do his will.

Do we have ceremonies and worship services? Certainly, we do so not out of obligation to a law but because we love God and seek to worship him. There is no obligation as such, the worship of God again flows from our belief, our faith. We fundamentally worship God because we love God. How could you really believe in God and not worship him? I don't know.

Now Satan and the demons know God, it could be said they believe in God but that removes the faith from the concept of belief. They did not have faith in God, they chose to go their own way. So you have to get back to including faith with belief as a single concept.

We have a debt to the law, a debt that was indeed nailed to the cross. Now many over the years have accepted God's offer of grace, but then have turned back to law and obligations as a means to perfect God's grace. That doesn't work, nothing we do contributes anything.

Gal 3:1-4 NET.
(1) You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified!
(2) The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?
(3) Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?
(4) Have you suffered so many things for nothing? — if indeed it was for nothing.
The law does not perfect faith, faith perfects the law.

Hope you can understand that. Many people, including many who call themselves Christian, never manage to grasp it.

Marv

 

[YourChild]

well you know I have been questioning the same thing. Christmas is originally a pagan holiday and many know this but continue to celebrate it. they say it is an opportunity to celebrate and mention Christ to those that do not know Him. Yet I find it odd that on the weekend thats near Christmas, church attendance seem to drop. Some are busy with their families while others are caught up in activities that demands more time and attention because of this holiday (ie. letting your store open late hours)

So is it really good to celebrate Christmas? are people really hearing about the Gospel on Christmas and people become saved on Christmas? or are people just too caught up in activities and actually neglecting church during this holiday?

 

[YourChild]

yes I am aware of what you're saying here and I definitely agree with you. A little before last Christmas, i found out that the holiday was a pagan holiday. But before this I was already a part of a gift exchange with a family member. So I went ahead and bought a present for this person. But this comming up Christmas and any after, I am thinking that I will not be a part of any of it. Those that continue to celebrate Christmas say that this holiday is an opportunity to share Christ with others..they say churches get 'more crowded.' but even if it does, it doesnt mean anything if these people attend church on Christmas and stay home for the rest of the year. More than that, people seem to make a big fuss over santa clause when they should be putting their minds on Christ (assuming they are under the assumption that Christ was born on Christmas, which He wasn't).

 

[heron]

or are people just too caught up in activities and actually neglecting church during this holiday?

I am finding this more and more. People aren't just caught up, but they're stressed with the obligations. They feel guilt for not getting their cards out on time. They're angry about late package deliveries.

It's like weddings, where the celebration planning and event actually drive you away from your spouse.

Our choices to buy into the expected routines and traditions keep us from doing what we believe to be best. Our actions at this overloaded moment in time are not heading us toward heavenly realms.


Mic 6:8
O man, He has declared to you what is good. And what does Jehovah require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

 

[Jannah]

Thanks for your responses. I'm not convinced though. It absolutely doesnt make sense for one God who's worthy of worship to come down in the form of a human and then die for the sins of humanity, and then, on top of all that, expect people to believe that to achieve salvation!

To me, religious theology is supposed be very very simple. A concept that says that there is only one God who created humanity and you should worship Him alone to achieve salvation is logical and simple. Thats something even an illiterate farmer living in the middle of the forest can understand. In my opinion, there is only one religion today that claims to follow this theology; which makes me believe all the rest are corrupted by humans.

- Jannah

 

[Raul7]

Thanks for your responses. I'm not convinced though. It absolutely doesnt make sense for one God who's worthy of worship to come down in the form of a human and then die for the sins of humanity, and then, on top of all that, expect people to believe that to achieve salvation!

To me, religious theology is supposed be very very simple. A concept that says that there is only one God who created humanity and you should worship Him alone to achieve salvation is logical and simple. Thats something even an illiterate farmer living in the middle of the forest can understand. In my opinion, there is only one religion today that claims to follow this theology; which makes me believe all the rest are corrupted by humans.

- Jannah

None of the Prophets died for our sins, no soul shall bare another's load.

And a burdened soul cannot bear the burden of another and if one weighed down by burden should cry for (another to carry) its burden, not aught of it shall be carried, even though he be near of kin. You warn only those who fear their Lord in secret and keep up prayer; and whoever purifies himself, he purifies himself only for (the good of) his own soul; and to Allah is the eventual coming. (Quran 35:18)

Thus everyone's good deeds are for himself and himself alone, and all his transgressions are for himself and himself alone. It is logical in the sense that even as us being Muslims, we can still end up in Hellfire for our sins and if we never repented for them. Even if we do believe in God alone and all His prophets with Muhammad (peace and salutations be upon them all) being His last Prophet will not gaurantee us safety from Hell and a free-ticket into Paradise. Paradise is earned though good , sincere-deeds; such as prayer, fasting, charity, good manners, patience, etc.



If Jesus (pbuh) died for all our sins, why do you think he has a second-coming in the future? Why only him and not all the other prophets?

He [Jesus] is a Sign of the Hour. Have no doubt about it. But follow me. This is a straight path. (Surat Az-Zukhruf, 43:61)