Are protestants able to go to Heaven?

[Sufjon]

going along with the idea of people fruits, what do you think about the people that belong to that church that protest the funerals. they say they are saved and that they are doing God’s will by spreading the news or whatever, but do you think that they are really saved? whats the difference between a hateful nonbeliever and a hateful “saved” person like them?

I think that perhaps every person comes to God in what manner they are able in accordance with the level of understanding they are able to achieve. I see people say and do a lot of things that seem very strange to me with the full conviction in their minds that it is the one and only way to God. Many times such people bring a lot of emotional suffering to people they come in contact with and even themselves. The Westboro Baptist Church is an extreme example of this sort of thing. I think they cause a good deal of anguish for the families of some of these soldiers. Part of the damage they do is the anger they cause in the hearts of the rest of us. Avoiding this anger is what we can do about it. I have to remember to follow my own advice.

As to the question as to whether they are “saved,” well I understand that there is a certain preoccupation with this for many people of certain faith traditions. Personally I wonder how anything can be lost. Perhaps some people just take a more circuitous path.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[mpjwit]

Hi all

It is my belief that all can be saved.

In answering the question can someone get to heaven, let’s look at who goes to hell

I hope we can all agree on the following…

Anyone who dies with unforgiven sin goes to hell…no exceptions
agree?

certainly not ALL Catholics are hellbound

Tracy, I am so sorry you heard a baptist bus driver yelling toward a catholic church …

yell out the window " Get saved your going to hell!"

I promise you that ALL baptists do not believe this.

what is sin?
disobeying any 1 of the 10 commandments

or as the bible declares…

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this ***will not inherit ***the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:19-21

***IF ***we ALL had to live up to these standards, no one would get to heaven.

Thank God for…

as publisher said

the grace and mercy of God in Christ…

the only way to be forgiven of sin and be saved is by a sincere contrite confession and repentance before God and the belief and faith that ONLY in Jesus’ death on the cross
and though His precious blood He shed our sins are forgiven
agree?

That said, now enters the argument

once saved always saved
and
are we saved by faith alone?

excellent quote Tracy…

Faith is NOTHING without good works.
James 2:14-24

What good is it , my brothers if someone says he has faith (but) does not have works? Can that faith save him?

absolutely…Look at the thief on the cross, the one who expressed faith in and confessed to Jesus is in heaven,
there was no time to do good works

however you are absolutely right in saying

You can’t buy a ticket to Heaven.

and as for

being once saved always saved. Yes, that is false.

One should be saved everyday. Not after saying a sinner’s prayer and be free to roam and sin and do immoral things
and think you have a free ticket to Heaven because you said a prayer saying you accept God into your heart.
Being saved is MUCH more then that.

absolutely agree it is false as area said

when the person who call themself as a “save” person does not show the fruit of the spirit living in him/her.
Which mean, they are*** not ***truly “saved” individual to begin with…

Amen

A ‘save’ person would show 180 degree turn from his/her life style. He/she is not faking his change of ways .

God knows a saved person’s heart. he/she desires to do a 180, but the flesh is weak and satan is hard at work.

when we submit to God, we let His transforming power change our lives
He is the potter we are the clay. until the day comes when we are the person that God designed us to be, there will be sin in our lives
hence the need for daily confession and repentance

as Della said…

It is perfectly possible for any believer to fall into serious sin and so disconnect himself from God.

God isn’t so cruel as to let us enter eternal life with unforgiven sins on our souls.

He then would be an unjust God

cont…

 

[mpjwit]

cont…

he commands us to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.

but as much as one desires to be perfect we can not be…those imperfections, as little as they are, prevent us from entering heaven.
Again, thank God for His loving saving grace

This is a life-long, daily cleansing from sin, a “washing of the feet” and a restitution for the harm our sins have caused.
Anyone can be saved who avails himself of the grace of God,
but that availing is a daily thing not a once in a life time event.

Amen

Eternal life begins in this life as a promise not a guarantee.

When God makes a promise, consider it a guarantee, God keeps His promises.
God’s promise of salvation is only guaranteed to those who accept and realize the responsibility of what it means for someone to declare they are saved

I agree with

“only God knows” as to who will be saved,
but it does bother me when others assume to answer for Him offering assurances that really aren’t their’s to give.

… I can not and will not tell anyone whether or not they are saved or not, that is between them and God.
however, since God knows ones own heart, I do believe that anyone can have assurance of their own salvation should they die right now …
including you heart4home

by the way …I love your name

Good question Robert

I agree that “believing” in Christ is the way to eternal life. But the phrase is pregnant with the question, "
What does it mean… "to believe?" This is the question that I think lies at the heart of the OP’s struggle.

the answer to your question I believe has been posted which I summarized.

as area quoted…

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

and Tommy said…

The only people who cannot be saved are those who refuse the free gift of Salvation for sins offered by Jesus Christ on the cross.

God is Loving, Merciful, and Good. All light and life are found in Jesus. Without Jesus, we are nothing…

Tommy

’

there’s really no way to tell the difference between a “nice” nonbeliever and a “nice” saved person.

Peace,
Robert

I believe that there will be a lot of nice people in this world who are headed for eternity in hell due to the fact that they refuse to believe John 3:16 and John 14:6

that is why I agree with

God is not boxed in by “religion”, so I think once in heaven, there will be only LOVE, not “religion” and titles and labels.
On Earth, we have labels and titles, but God is bigger than that.
Don’t alienate people.

even on earth God does not care what religion we belong to, He only cares where our heart is

He desires a loving relationship not a religious practice

so the answer to the question…

Are protestants able to go to Heaven? Can they be saved?

so, if i believe that there is a CHANCE that the church was founded on peter and that the church COULD
be the one true church but i have trouble accepting some of the teachings, does that mean that i will go to hell?

DJE … Since the bible declares…

…God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4

here are the promises of God expressed in the bible to anyone who desires to be a child of God and live for eternity with Him.

youtube.com/watch?v=BKmdIdQg3Ks

peace and love in Christ
mpjwit

 

[lampstand]

The Mercy of God is very great. Our Lord did say there were sheep from other folds whom he would save.

 

[Robert_in_SD]

I saw some videos of priests on cnn and larry king and they were saying some pretty wrong things about christianity. i just want to make sure…the catholic church DOES teach that Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation, right?

Yes. Absolutely. The nuance is in how Jesus saves. Can a muslim/hindu/etc be saved? Yes, but not because s/he is a good muslim/hindu/etc. Rather s/he is saved through Jesus Christ.

Peace,
Robert

 

[Robert_in_SD]

Good question Robert

the answer to your question I believe has been posted which I summarized.

Thanks for the response mpjwit. But I don’t think you really grasp the issue. I can (and do) read the bible like my non-Catholic christian brothers and sisters, and I see what Jn 3:16 says. But it does not say anything about “a loving relationship not a religious practice.” I see no dicotomy here. I see a loving God wants both a loving relationship AND a community who comes together to worship and praise. And for that community and those individuals He has given a Church. It seems pretty clear to me that to “believe” in God implies more than just a declaration of intellectual assent or an emotional outpouring.

I think it is quite contrary to on the one hand declare that God wants/requires a personal relationship, then contend that all that is required is a one-time-only declaration of personal belief upon which one can assure himself or herself that they are going to spend eternity with God. It seems like the spiritual equivalent of a one-night stand as opposed to living a committed sacramental life.

Peace,
Robert

 

[pablope]

It would only be false only when the person who call themself as a “save” person does not show the fruit of the spirit living in him/her. Which mean, they are not truly “saved” individual to begin with.

A ‘save’ person would show 180 degree turn from his/her life style. He/she is not faking his change of ways.

So, question then, is what does a “saved” person do to remain saved? That he does not go back to his/her old sinful ways?

I will just give this for you to ponder (I will just give some verses but feel free to look up the whole section:

Romans 11:

17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. … 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

Hebrew 10:

26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

 

[carnes88]

There are plenty a Popes that made it a fact and in a BULL-Dogma that unless you are a member of the Catholic Church you can not make it to heaven. If you want i can give these Popes and their BULLS

Why limit to Protestants? It is also possible for Jews, Muslims, and other nonChristians to be saved. . .

IOW, what is the point of the question? Nobody ever said that ‘only Catholics are saved’. . .

Another poster summed it up pretty clearly. . .Catholics have the fullness of truth. Protestants have part of the truth.

Now, if I have a fully stocked pantry, I’m more likely to be able to cook a well-balanced, tasty and nutritious meal for my family.

If I have only a partly stocked pantry, I could still wind up with a well balanced, tasty and nutritious meal. . .but it would be harder work for me.

Of course, if I were a really good cook, I could take that partly stocked pantry and easily make a good meal. . .

and if I were a terrible cook, even a fully stocked pantry might not be enough for me to cook something edible.

But all things being equal. . .

If one assumes two people with average ability. . .

The person with the well stocked pantry is going to have an easier time producing a well balanced, tasty and nutritious meal than the person with the partially stocked pantry.

 

[mpjwit]

thank you for your reply Robert …

Thanks for the response mpjwit. But I don’t think you really grasp the issue.

I believe I have.

I can (and do) read the bible like my non-Catholic christian brothers and sisters, and I see what Jn 3:16 says. But it does not say anything about “a loving relationship not a religious practice.”

Robert, as a child, we all had a choice to honor our parents or not, right?

if you are a parent. I am sure you love your kids unconditionally, correct?

Whether or not they honor you, you still will love them.

you may need to discipline them at times, but you do so out of your love for them

Is there anything your children can do which would cause you NOT to love them
I hope your answer is no.

Robert, as a child, all the things I did to honor my parents was out of respect and appreciation for the love they gave me.
***There is nothing I did ***for my parents to try to earn their love.

They willingly desired to give me their love,

it was only natural for me to have that desire to show them how much I appreciated their love for me.

One way I did that was to give my love back…
one way to make myself available if they needed me.
or
helping around the house without them having to ask me to do first

Then, when I said “I love you” to mom and dad they believed me.
more so than if the only time I did something was because they told me to do it.

Robert, God expressed His love for us in John 3:16 and how much He gave and promised us to show His love for us.

By believing this, I also believe…

as Della said…

It is perfectly possible for any believer to fall into serious sin and so disconnect himself from God.

and I believe

Posted by TracyR

being once saved always saved. Yes, that is false.
***Being saved is MUCH more then that. ***

absolutely agree especially the last line I highlighted

Is a person saved if they show no signs of a changed life?

well said area…
area525

when the person who call themself as a “save” person does not show the fruit of the spirit living in him/her.
Which mean, they are not truly “saved” individual to begin with…

Amen

Area followed by stating…

A ‘saved’ person would show 180 degree turn from his/her life style. He/she is not faking his change of ways .

God knows a saved person’s heart.
If he/she desires to do a 180, the flesh is still weak and satan is hard at work.

However, when we submit to God, we let His transforming power change our lives.
He is the potter we are the clay. until the day comes when we are the person that God designed us to be, there will still be sin in our lives

hence the need for daily confession and repentance as Tracy said

One should be saved everyday.

that way is by daily sincere contrite confession and repentance and by the forgiving blood Jesus shed for us on the cross to express His love for us.

this is what
i am sure Tracy was suggesting…Tracy correct me if I am wrong

It seems pretty clear to me that to “believe” in God implies more than just a declaration of intellectual assent or an emotional outpouring.

I hope I illustrated how much we are in agreement on what you are saying here

I think it is quite contrary to on the one hand declare that God wants/requires a personal relationship,

God does wants a personal relationship.

then contend that all that is required is a one-time-only declaration of personal belief upon which one can assure himself or herself that they are going to spend eternity with God. It seems like the spiritual equivalent of a one-night stand as opposed to living a committed sacramental life.

I see your point Robert and I agree with you.

However, As I illustrated…If someone truly loves and appreciates another’s love for them, who in their right frame of mind would want to do anything that would not be pleasing to the other person?

God knows our hearts.
There is no way but one way that we, sinful man that we are. can stand up before God and be reighn with Him for eternity in heaven

and it is not as Tracy said

after saying a sinner’s prayer and be free to roam and sin and do immoral things
and think you have a free ticket to Heaven because you said a prayer saying you accept God into your heart.

I truly love and appreciate God for all He has given me so that I do not have to be punished for my sins and live in hell for eternity

Oh God, Thank you for your mercy and Grace. I desire to follow you every day of my life. I know there are times when I let myself fall to sin. Oh God I am sorry, forgive me. Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross so that my sins are forgiven. Strengthen my weak flesh. change me oh God into the person you want me to be

This is a prayer I find myself saying over and over again.

Is their anyone in this world who does not need to go before the Lord in daily confession and repentance?

 

[mississippiwild]

I have trouble believing in “Once Saved, Always Saved” I was raised up in the Church of God and I received Jesus as Lord and Saviour at the age of 12. I was rejected, taunted, and humiliated by people at School, and believe me, that left some deep scars. I let a root of bitterness and anger spring up. I left my home after my Dad kicked me out, than came back to my parents house with a college degree. I was totally obsessed with this desire to date this girl I had known from high school, and I found out that she was married to somebody else after she handed the phone to her husband when she heard my voice. I skipped from religion to religion and started using drugs. At several points, I have even apostasized from the Christian Faith. No way could someone say that one simple prayer will change your destination for he who “endures to the end shall be saved”. I’m thankful, though, for the Roman Catholic Church, the releasing therapy of confession, the blessed eucharist, the baptism we all share in common, The Holy Spirit receiving me into his church at confirmation, Receiving annointing oil for my sicknesses (Diabetes and Mental Challenges) , Holy priests (Even unholy ones- because the annointing of the spirit is with them regardless of the personal behaviors of these people- what I mean is a sacrement is valid regardless of who gives it) and Holy Matrimony (which I don’t share- look at Prayer Requests section to see why) Take care, and blessings upon you all.

 

[mpjwit]

There are plenty a Popes that made it a fact and in a BULL-Dogma that unless you are a member of the Catholic Church you can not make it to heaven. If you want i can give these Popes and their BULLS

Hi carnes …powerful statement

The only question i have is …

do you believe from the bottom of your heart…

unless you are a member of the Catholic Church you can not make it to heaven

So if you believe what you say is true, then don’t you also believe that ALL people who die non-catholic **will not **make it to heaven?

Carnes if you say yes, then you are confirming what i also believed growing up in the catholic church.

It was when I was in my early 40’s that I saw this verse

…God our Savior, who desiresALLmen to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4

I learned
that it is ALL people whether or not they were ever of the Catholic faith, are currently of the Catholic faith, or of the Catholic faith when they die.

 

[mpjwit]

God bless you mississippiwild for sharing your story…

I have trouble believing in “Once Saved, Always Saved”

I do to in the context that a lot of christians do not fully understand what salvation is all about.

I was raised up in the Church of God and I received Jesus as Lord and Saviour at the age of 12.

Praise God!! It was then that you realized that God, to illustrated His love for you, sacrificed His only begotten Son Jesus on the cross so that your sins can be forgiven…

Yes??

I was rejected, taunted, and humiliated by people at School,

I am sorry to hear this… but the reason I believe you faced persecution is because of your new found faith in Jesus.

Jesus himself was persecuted and He never did anything wrong

and believe me, that left some deep scars.

I am sure it did, and they hurt don’t they?

I let a root of bitterness and anger spring up. I left my home after my Dad kicked me out, than came back to my parents house with a college degree. I was totally obsessed with this desire to date this girl I had known from high school, and I found out that she was married to somebody else after she handed the phone to her husband when she heard my voice. I skipped from religion to religion and started using drugs. At several points, I have even apostasized from the Christian Faith.

Was there anyone from that Church of God who followed up with you during these times??
to be “by your side” and pray with you as you were facing these challenges ??

If not, I am sorry you experienced this and there was noone to encourage you through these trials you faced…tragic

No way could someone say that one simple prayer will change your destination

There is no prayer that will change anyone’s destination. But it is by truly believing the words of the prayer and submitting to them that will allow God to begin administering His tranforming power in one’s life

mississippiwild, I said the sinners prayer at age of 42.

I went home that day feeling totally forgiven and free. If I were to die right then and there I was going to heaven.

But then reality set in…I sinned…then I started to doubt

I thank God that the pastor who prayed with me in church that Sunday Followed up with me
and shared with me what happened that sunday.

It was not the prayer which saved me.

He helped me see why I need Jesus in my life. He not only forgiven me of my sins, but by me praying every day and submitting to the power of His holy spirit, my life will begin to change to the glory of God.

for he who “endures to the end shall be saved”

mississippiwild, I 100% agree with you.

Problem is we do not know when the end is coming.

Consider this…
you walk outside at this moment and an out of control car runs you over and kills you instantly,

if that happened, there is no more next hour or tomorrow to do good works
you completed your race as of this moment

As Paul wrote to Timothy

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

mississippiwild I experience the same therapy of confession you speak of. Again confession and most of what you mentioned was available to you all along within the Church of God,

I know because I am a member of A Church of God

It is a shame you just did not have anyone to see you through and pray with you.
I am happy for you that you found peace and home in the catholic church

How much more at peace would you be if you knew for sure that you would be in heaven if the unexpected suddenly happened, you died right now?

Thank you again for sharing, God bless you.

mpjwit

 

[BrushedByAngels]

Mat7:21 are hypocrite people. They say they follow Christ, but their action are far from doing the Father’s will…

Only God knows who is going to heaven. With that being said, I know an awful lot of liberal catholics that you gotta wonder about I know several Protestants who are practically saints and loving, giving, so many works in charity. Just by “being Catholic” doesn’t give you a free pass to heaven.

 

[Mickey]

I truly love and appreciate God for all He has given me so that I do not have to be punished for my sins and live in hell for eternity

God does not punish us for our sins. Did someone tell you this?

When we sin, we punish ourselves by alienating ourselves from God.

We cut ourselves off from His love.

 

[chrisetree]

Sorry , but God DOES punish us. It is our choosing to sin, but He executes the justice.

 

[chrisetree]

OP, people on this forum will tell you that protestants can NOT be saved, unless they convert to the RCC before death.

I totally disagree with this statement. The RCC recognizes a protestant baptism. So they can’t be all bad.

but this forum is unforgiving and suffers from tunnel vision. And if you express ANY negativity regarding the RCC you have a 99 % chance of being banned.

 

[mpjwit]

(name removed by moderator) thank you for your feedback.

Let me ask you a question…

Lets say you grew up in the wilderness with nothing around you but the plantation which surrounds you to survive on. After you were old enough to survive on your own, your parents left you there.
You have had no experience at all with any religion.

However, your parents did leave a bible for you to read.

I believe you can have a relationship with God.

even if there is no church to be found to attend

Welcome to the world of Adam and Eve and all those who had a relationship with God before the Jesus’ famous words “upon this Rock I build my church”

peace and God bless

mpjwit

 

[Della]

What about people who dont believe at all?

I hope this helps, from the Catechism of the Catholic Church :

Possible salvation of non-Christians: #s 846-848.

“Outside the Church there is no salvation”
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.337
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338

 

[mpjwit]

Yes, I know what Catholics believe…
That Jesus founded the Catholic Church on Peter whom He called “this rock”

I happen to believe that when Jesus said “upon this Rock” He was not referring to Peter as the one who is the rock.

If Peter was the rock,

why did he deny Jesus 3 times?
why did Jesus ask Peter 3 times “Do you love me?”

These are 2 of the reasons I do not believe that Jesus church was built on Peter

Having said that, I realize Catholics and I have different beliefs in many areas.

In no way am I attempting to prosleytise or lead Catholics away from the faith.

I am sorry if you feel like I am…certainly not my attempt

This is a non catholic area in which I hope we can discuss our different beliefs.

Above our differences we do believe in the same God and
In the same Jesus who died on the cross, rose from the dead and will come again

don’t we?

That my friend is the core of our faith and belief,
I would never attempt to encourage you or anyone from believing and having faith in Jesus Christ.

peace and God bless
mpjwit

 

[itsjustdave1988]

…We are all accountable for what we know…

We are also accountable for what we ought to know, but fail through neglect to come to know.