Asking about Christianity

[Haadi]

I posted a thread not long ago entitled “asking about Jesus” where I got answers to my questions about Jesus according to Christians.
I appreciate all the answers that I received…and I’ll be also posting another thread “asking about the Bible” in the future,* if you don’t mind.*

please note this topic is about Christianity and ***not ***Islam,

Salvation

How do you lose your salvation. Meaning, what are the things that keep you saved and what are the things that make you lose your salvation ?

Sins

Do you get punished for sins ? purgatory maybe ?

Do you have to confess for every sin you commit ? what if there is no Church in your area ?

I’ll ask more questions soon.

 

[Reuben_J]

Salvation

How do you lose your salvation. Meaning, what are the things that keep you saved and what are the things that make you lose your salvation ?

HI. Welcome to the Forum.

I give you a very general answer from Catholic perspective until someone can come with a deeper insight. We are saved by believing in Jesus. Believing in Jesus entails us to live a life according to what please him which is essentially following his teachings. When we do that we love him. By doing this not only we avoid sin but we do what is required – that is to do good.

WE lose our salvation when we commit major sin and stop repenting. When we do that we are just like the unbelievers and that displease God. Then what Jesus did for us (on the cross)is of no use since by our action (of sinning and not repenting) we refuse this (gift) of salvation.

Sins

Do you get punished for sins ? purgatory maybe ?

There are two categories of sins depending on their severity. We call them mortal and venial sins. If mortal sin (major sins) is committed without repenting for it we will lose our salvation and may be destined not to heaven but to hell. Venial sin (small sin) does not lead us to hell as they are not major enough to deserve that.

Purgatory is a state before we enter heaven where we need to be purged of any stain of sin.

Do you have to confess for every sin you commit ? what if there is no Church in your area ?

Yes, we have to especially for mortal sins. We have to confess them to a priest. He can be a visiting priest if there is no church in your area. If you cannot do that you still have to be repented of your sin and do the necessary penance and restitution. Penance is an act of repentant, example - doing good work or saying prayers, and restitution is an act of making good the sin you have committed, example - returning the money you stole. You still have to do these even after you confess to a priest.

God bless you.

 

[Haadi]

Excellent reply Reuben,it should clearify some misconceptions , thank you.

Are Christians sure that every repentance is accepted ?

Are pious (devout) Christians rewarded the same in Heaven as the not-so righteous Christians ?

 

[dzheremi]

How can we be sure that repentance is accepted? It is not really a terribly relevant question, because repentance does not end with a sort of “green light” to go on as you were. In fact repentance does not end, period. While we can know that we have been absolved of sin by the priest, we cannot know in advance how far we will advance in our battle to conquer the passions that cause us to sin in the first place. So repentance is the refuge and the means of reintegration into the body of Christ for everyone. Popes and priests also go to confession. I quite like this explanation from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website (all emphases and truncations mine):

Repentance is indeed an act of reconciliation, of reintegration into the Body of Christ, which has been torn asunder by sin. For “if one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Corinthians 12.26). “Therefore, confess your sins to one another … that you may be healed” (James 5.16). …] “Justification” in the New Testament does not mean a transaction - a kind of deal; and repentance defies mechanical definition. It is a continual enactment of freedom, a movement forward, deriving from renewed choice and leading to restoration. The aim of the Christian is not even justification but a re-entry by sinner and saint alike into communion in which God and man meet once again and personal experience of divine life becomes possible. Both prodigal and saint are “repenting sinners.”

Repentance is not to be confused with mere remorse, with a self-regarding feeling of being sorry for a wrong done. It is not a state but a stage, a beginning. Rather, it is an invitation to new life, an opening up of new horizons, the gaining of a new vision. Christianity testifies that the past can be undone. It knows the mystery of obliterating or rather renewing memory, of forgiveness and regeneration, eschewing the fixed division between the “good” and the “wicked,” the pious and the rebellious, the believers and the unbelievers. Indeed, “the last” can be “the first,” the sinner can reach out to holiness. Passions are conquered by stronger passions; love is overcome by more abundant love. One repents not because one is virtuous, but because human nature can change, because what is impossible for man is possible for God. The motive for repentance is at all times humility, unself-sufficiency - not a means of justification for oneself, or of realizing some abstract idea of goodness, or of receiving a reward in some future life.

So instead of asking “was my repentance accepted?” (because Christians know that when they are absolved of their sins by a priest, that priest is exercising the authority given to him by the One in whom all authority rests!), a Christian might ask themselves: “Okay, I have been to confession and expressed my sincere contrition for my sin…I am at the first stage, so how will I live in my new life?” This continual process is a reflection of spiritual growth. Sometimes we go backwards, sometimes we stick in a rut, sometimes we go forward…but generally, we don’t worry whether our repentance is accepted. To “go forth and sin no more”, as Jesus told the woman to be stoned in the Gospel of John, is a clear and simple instruction. Why worry about anything else when that says it all?

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Excellent reply Reuben,it should clearify some misconceptions , thank you.

Are Christians sure that every repentance is accepted ?

Are pious (devout) Christians rewarded the same in Heaven as the not-so righteous Christians ?

Dzheremi answered the first part of the question. I’ll have a shot at the second part.

I think there are levels of reward in heaven. Christ spoke about good and lazy servants. The good servant was given even more talents, whereas the lazy servant had his talents taken away from him.

This is partly what happens when the Church canonises a saint. That person is recognised as an exceptional servant. Consequently he or she will receive far greater talents in heaven, including the ability to intercede with God on our behalf. The church gets the authority to do this from Christ - “What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. What you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven”.

In the end though, the only thing that will count is getting to heaven, regardless of sanctity levels. In the final analysis, we’re all going to finish up in either heaven or hell. People in Purgatory get to heaven eventually, so there’ll come a time when Purgatory is empty, and each and every one of us will be either in heaven or in hell. That includes you and me.

Heaven is perfection, hence the Church’s emphasis on repenting for sin, which also includes changing the behaviour which leads to (in the case of our thoughts) or results in (in the case of our actions) the sin. Christ told a parable where a bloke was found at the heavenly banquet wearing dirty clothes, which represented unconfessed and unrepentant sin. He was promptly kicked out - permanently.

 

[Reuben_J]

Excellent reply Reuben,it should clearify some misconceptions , thank you.

Are Christians sure that every repentance is accepted ?

Are pious (devout) Christians rewarded the same in Heaven as the not-so righteous Christians ?

You are welcome.

Your questions are answered already by the two posters. They have gone to such a length to give you comprehensive explanation. I hope you understand them. If you are new to Christianity then simple answer would be more helpful but anyway if there is any more questions please feel free to ask.

Just to add to what been explained – theoretically we know that our repentance is accepted if everything is done accordingly. However, there are many instances when confession or repentance falls short of the ideal that’s required. For example, a penitent (the person who confesses) is not truly repented enough; or he is not sincere enough that he may commit the same sin again. This is only human weakness but nevertheless the confession is not perfect and God forgives ‘what have been truly repented of’.

Thus the poster dzheremi mentioned about ongoing repentance with the objective of an end result where we are truly healed of that particular weakness of sin. Despite all this, God is merciful and moreover Jesus had died on the cross, the sum total of this is a grace where we are ‘helped’ to change and eventually become perfect. Again, the road to perfection may not be realized on this earth, that’s why the need for purgatory where we are truly purified and therefore can enter heaven where only the perfect can go.

The reward is the same when we enter heaven; it is the same place for everybody. The only difference for the pious and the not-so-pious is the time taken to reach there. You can go straight there or you might get stuck in purgatory for a while.

God bless.