If God was Truly Loving, He'd Let Everyone Into Heaven

Christians would agree that the above statement is wrong, so would most Muslims and Jews, from what I understand of their religions, which admittedly, is limited. Yet, yesterday I had a very interesting talk with a friend in seminary. He finds it difficult to reconcile these ideas of God being loving and accepting, and at the same time condemning people to Hell because they did not choose Him - to be fair this friend also does not believe in Hell.

The most worrying thing for me about this is that this particular friend calls himself a Christian, and as such believes he is going to heaven. This is more worrisome to me than someone who isn't a Christian, because they know they aren't going to what we would refer to as Heaven, and they are fine with that, in fact they don't want to be there.

As another friend said, Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven," clearly says that not even all those who call Jesus "Lord" will be going into heaven - how can someone say everyone will be going to heaven, and have any biblical support for such a belief? My friend, a former athiest, continued to say that it is not loving of a God at all to say "well you hate me, rejected me and want nothing to do to me, but now you're going to have to spend all of eternity with me." To her, such a God would ultimately be sadistic.

The interesting thing is that these two friends of mine are operating with different assumptions. My seminary friend is assuming that if there is a heaven, for how can there be a heaven if no hell, then everyone would want to be there, and that a loving God would allow everyone in. Whereas my former atheist friend is operating with the belief that if God was truly loving, He would allow her the choice, which He did, and if she chose to spend time with Him, then good for her, but if she chose not to spend time with Him then good for her as well. A loving God would allow her that choice, and not force her to change it.

Do you believe there is a heaven? Would you want to even be there? Do you think that everyone will be going to heaven, regardless of their beliefs?

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A Little Thought: Be Blessed, Not Just Lucky

I recently got into a relationship with this really cute girl. And though I could tell you how it happened, I won't do it now.  What I actually thought was important enough to share with all of you is one of the many things I've learned from my girlfriend in the short time we have been together.

I know that all I have can be attributed to God, that I'm nothing without him, but my language doesn't always reflect that.

She always corrects me when I declare that I am lucky. She reminds me that I'm not simply lucky - I'm blessed.

Like I said, my language doesn't always reflect God's presence in my life.  It's as if I'm saying that the good things in my life were from random chance and circumstance.

After being corrected a couple of times, the why behind the correction began to bug me.  I began to make a conscious effort to have all of my being reflect God - and I started to make sure to say that I'm blessed.  And I have been.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I've had some huge, earth-shattering experience, but I will tell you this: it is important that, in everything we do, we reflect the awesomeness that is God.

If someone who wasn't Christian heard me talking about how lucky I am, I would have lost an opportunity to be a light of Christ to the world.  Little things always add up and turn into bigger things.  If I go around instead saying how I'm so blessed, I'm at least pointing at God.

Everything we do should point to what Jesus has (and continues to) done in our lives.  Unfortunately, I am also a human being, so I do a lot of stupid stuff that points to nothing.  I have not given up hope that God is working in me and through me --  and you shouldn't either.

Do you consider yourself as being lucky or blessed? Apart from acknowledging God's blessings, how else can we demonstrate our God's work?

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What Scripture Says About Heaven and Hell

By Will Green

There may be Biblical evidence that a lot more people will be with God forever than be separated from God.

First of all, there is the doctrine of the age of accountability (link). This doctrine is that people who die before an age where they can make an informed decision about Jesus automatically go to heaven. This also includes people with a mental disability or some other disability that prevents them from making an informed decision about Jesus (there's 'state' as well as 'age' of accountability).

This could be broadened to include people who never hear about Jesus or who hear but not in a way that allows them to make an informed decision about Jesus (but if you say this, then there needs to be a reason why God wants us to tell people about Jesus, which is a problem for this view).

If you broadened it in this way, then most people who have ever lived will be in heaven, because until modern medicine the infant mortality rate was about 50% (source) and there have been a lot of people who have never heard the gospel.

Secondly, we must remember that after this age (which ends when Jesus returns) there is an 'age to come', where almost everyone will be Christian:

Isaiah 2:2-4: "In the last days, the mountain of the LORD's house will be the highest of all--the most important place on earth. It will be raised above the other hills, and people from all over the world will stream there to worship. People from many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of Jacob's God. There he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For the LORD's teaching will go out from Zion; his word will go out from Jerusalem. The LORD will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore."

How many people will live in this age to come? Perhaps billions.

Thirdly, the good angels are happy forever and some interpret Revelation to say that 2/3rds of the angels stayed with God (Rev 12:4). Now, if there are billions of angels, then that is a large number of people who will be happy with God forever.

But what about verses like Matthew 7:13-4?:

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Maybe this verse is saying that it's a narrow gate to heaven for people who a) become adults that b) can make an informed decision about the gospel. That is, our group, where the decision to accept Jesus is fraught with uncertainties and difficulties not present with the other groups. It could be that our group has the lowest proportion of people in that group going to heaven (compared to people outside the age/state of accountability, people in the age to come, and angels). If this speculation is accurate, then it raises the question of why we are in this group!

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Shake Off Your Guilt!

By Bonnie at Faith Barista

The Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Why would we be motivated by feelings of guilt rather than grace?

Some people dream of gold paved streets and flying around like Peter Pan when it comes to enjoying heaven one day. One of the eternal amenities I’m looking forward to is living in a dust-free zone.

I was really young when I got my back pricked in a matrix like sequence. That was nothing compared to the fire that broke out on my skin in rows as the lab technician dropped bombs of allergens into each micro-pinhole. In less time it takes for a bagel to get toasted, I sported a painful set of reddened dots that made me walk around like the hunchback of Notre Dame.

That’s how feelings of guilt make me feel.

Guilty feelings are free agents that float around like dust. They are hard to avoid over extended periods.  Just like dust appears from nowhere but can be found anywhere, feeling bad about something I did, didn’t do or did wrong easily clings to my conscience.

I beat myself up.
I replay my mistakes.
I waste enormous amounts of energy re-enacting how I could have done it differently.

I feel bad.  I feel that I am bad.

I try to shake off those feelings of guilt, but they can ferociously settle right back. No matter how hard I try.

That is my problem with feeling guilty — I try to get rid of them.

Why It’s Hard To Let Go of Guilt

One of the reasons it’s hard to let go of our guilty feelings is that it feels safe. We are our own boss and we can solve our own guilt. We can pay for our mistakes or live with them and owe nothing to no one.

We’re used to dealing with guilt the same way we handled our imperfections before we met God:

- Hide or pretend they didn’t bother us.

- Used fear or punishment to motivate our corrective actions or behaviors.

- Rebel against anyone or anything that tried to control us.

- Get depressed, live with regret.

We may be motivated by guilty feelings out of habit, as a learned response and also as a preferred choice.

Beautiful and Hard Grace

As Christians, we changed.  We received a new nature.  We became loved, someone Jesus paid for our wrongs with His sacrifice. We are forgiven.  Our new life motivates us to live under continual grace.

Grace is beautiful and free, but it is hard for us independent-prone people to practice. It’s even harder to believe something so unconditional and lavish would actually endure and not go away.  It is difficult to live under grace because it means we can no longer make-up for our mistakes. God calls us to simply accept His forgiveness and live in gratitude to Him.

Giving thanks requires more faith than merely speaking this phrase during the month of November.

Giving thanks means I have to let go of trying to fix the past -- and start focusing on the changes God wants me to make in the future.

Being thankful calls me to live as beloved and favored child through my Heavenly Father’s eyes -- rather than holding an angry or frustrated attitude towards my imperfections.

Gratitude stops being used as generic church lingo and becomes a heartfelt, confident prayer — as I stop trying to meet other people’s standards and start responding to God’s love and acceptance.

Guilty Feelings Do Not Come From God

Before we belonged to God, the Holy Spirit was used to convict us of sin (John 16:7-17).  But, once the Holy Spirit started living inside of us, Jesus said it was given to us as a gift–

– As a Helper.
“I will send the Helper to you… When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”  John 16:7-17

– To lead us in the truth and freedom from the Law (not accuse us of our wrongs).  John 16:14, Gal 5:16
“It is for freedom that Christ set us free.  Therefore.. do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.” Gal. 1:1,16-18

– Helps us in our weakness and prays for us when we can’t (who does not condemn us or punish us).
“…the Holy Spirit helps our weaknesss.. the Spirit Himself interceeds for us with groanings too deep for words.  He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Rom.8:16, 26, 27

Just as dust is a continual allergen, feelings of guilt can threaten our well-being. The truth is that guilt doesn’t have a place in heaven. Grace, on the other hand, lives on into eternity. It’s mind-boggling we are given a choice to choose. It is an inspiring and motivating gift we’re given to open everyday. Or not.

“Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry,
but because your sorrow led you to repentance.
For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,
but worldly sorrow brings death.”
The Apostle Paul,  2 Corinthians 7:9-11

What has encouraged you to shake off feelings of guilt?  What do you think causes us to operate out of guilt rather than grace?

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