Heaven

Do ChristiansThink Other Religions Can Go to Hell?

July 10, 2014 1Comment

It is a good question. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the father, except through me”. So, what about other religions? Do their followers simply “go to hell”? Secular society says that religion is a private matter. Furthermore, secular society says that it is none of our business to worry about other people’s salvation. However, I think we would be poor ambassadors of Jesus, if we did not worry about other people’s salvation.

Here is a rough breakdown of religious demographics. There are approximately 7 billion people on the Earth. There are about 1 billion Catholics and about 1 billion Protestants. Therefore, about 2/7 of the earth’s population believe in Jesus. What about the other 5 billion people? If they do not believe in Jesus, do they go to heaven?

Whew. Tough question. Many mainstream churches dodge this question like the plague. And I know why. It is a difficult topic with no politically correct answers. I could literally spend years analyzing evidence on this topic, but I am going to focus what I consider to be the two most important factors: 1) Jesus’ statement about the way, the truth, and the life and 2) God’s love.

1) Jesus said that he was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one went to the father, except through Him.

This sounds like a very exclusive statement. It sounds like he is saying that the only way to heaven is through Him. If I focus on this statement alone, I am led to believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. However, one of the most important themes of the Bible is God’s love.

2) God so loved that world that he gave his one and only son as a sacrifice for our sins. If he loved the world that much, will he really allow 5 billion people to perish? This is a tough one for me. I am not talking about people who openly and unapologetically reject Jesus. That is their choice. I am talking about people who were raised in different cultures, where Jesus is not known. I sometimes wonder if had been born elsewhere, such as the Middle East, would I still be a Christian. Would someone perish simply because he/she was born where Jesus is unknown or where it is forbidden to know him?

Again, a tough question. I do not know the answer. I firmly believe that Jesus is “the way”. I will share my faith and beliefs with anyone who is interested. If someone is open to conversion, then I am open to helping them. However, who am I to pass judgement on 5 billion people? There is only one person qualified to do that, and his name is God. Jesus said the two most important commandments were to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our “neighbors” include people with other religions. Instead of judging them, we are supposed to love them.

I think sometimes as Christians, we try to ram conversions down the throats of people with other religions. I think the best strategy is to simply live a Jesus-life around those people. If we set good examples, people will see the power of Jesus, and they will follow him.

Uncategorized

I Wanna Be in the Club or How do I Get into Heaven

September 6, 2013 0Comment

I felt like the Big Guy Upstairs has told me to write a “How to guide” or a “Frequently Asked Questions” post for God-seeking people. He also told me to add a heavy dose of grace to the post. I have to admit. I feel somewhat unqualified. Nevertheless, God has used unqualified people throughout the Bible. Moses was not only a fugitive, but he was also cowardly, when God first asked him to lead his people out of Egypt. Jonah tried to run and hide from God, when God asked him to go to Nineveh. I guess that I sort of ran from God when he asked me to write this post. I sort of ran from him when I immediately told myself that I was unqualified. I also sort of ran from him because I kept procrastinating. When God asks someone to do something, it generally turns out better, when that person makes it a priority. Since he IS the creator of the universe, I probably should not drag my feet when he asks me to do something.
So here it goes. I guess the biggest question is “How do I get into Heaven?”
You get into heaven by GRACE and grace alone. Grace is so simple and so complex at the same time. A Google search defined grace as “the free and unmerited favor of God”. It is free, meaning that it does not cost anything. It is unmerited, meaning that we do not deserve it and cannot earn it. So, defining grace is pretty simple. However, understanding Grace is not so simple. In our world, everything is transactional or give-and-take. For example, we exchange work for money. We exchange school work for good grades, diplomas, degrees, etc. We exchange money for groceries, clothes, car, etc.
We do not have anything that we can exchange for Grace. All of the good works in the world cannot buy a ticket into heaven. Now, don’t get me wrong. Good works are part of a Godly life and the Bible clearly states that people will be “judged” according to their works. However, that judgment does not determine whether or not you get into heaven. It means God will ask you about your works. He will not kick you out or let you in because of them, however. I agree that the whole “judged according to your work” thing is confusing. I’ll be glad to try to explain it further, if anyone asks.
So, the next question is “If Grace is free and I cannot earn it, then how do I get grace?”
You get grace through Jesus. All you have to do is ask for it. Countless people have punched their ticket into heaven with a modest prayer such as this: “Dear God, I am thankful for your son, Jesus. I believe that you sent him to earth to save us, and that he died for all of mankind’s sins. I ask Jesus to live in my heart so that I can humbly accept his grace and forgiveness.”
If you prayed that prayer, then you are in the club. He punched your ticket to heaven for you. You are forgiven for all of your misdeeds: past, present, and future. Once you are in the club, there is nothing that you can do to get kicked out.
So, the next question is “I’m in the club, what’s next?”
I will try to answer that question in the next blog post….

Heaven

Do ChristiansThink Other Religions Can Go to Hell?

I Wanna Be in the Club or How do I Get into Heaven

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