Can you tell me how to go to Heaven

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Interesting thread.

This sounds like a very important question.

If God really desires for us to live eternally with Him, it would seem to me that there should be one clear common answer. I wouldn’t think that God would be obscur in the answer to this question.

Instead I am seeing from those who claim to belong to God’s one true church 3-4 different answers so far.

These answers all consist of stuff that you have to do. But the stuff you have to do seems different in all of these answers.

Hmm. Something is not quite adding up here.
 
With_Questions said:
Interesting thread.

This sounds like a very important question.

If God really desires for us to live eternally with Him, it would seem to me that there should be one clear common answer. I wouldn’t think that God would be obscur in the answer to this question.

Instead I am seeing from those who claim to belong to God’s one true church 3-4 different answers so far.

These answers all consist of stuff that you have to do. But the stuff you have to do seems different in all of these answers.

Hmm. Something is not quite adding up here.
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My answer and Steadfast’s are not that different. I just say it one way and he says it another. Believe and repent.

Now, to a Catholic, if you believe, you do. If you do not do, you do not have faith. Non-Catholics would not disagree, but they are scared to say it like that, lest it look like a works’based salvation
 
I don’t need to tell you, Christ and his Apostles do it so perfectly!

"Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.” John 3: 5

“He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”” Matthew 19: 17

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” John 6: 51

“Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours” 2 Thess 2: 15

" Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” Matthew 16: 24-25
 
ralphinal said:
My answer and Steadfast’s are not that different. I just say it one way and he says it another. Believe and repent.

Now, to a Catholic, if you believe, you do. If you do not do, you do not have faith. Non-Catholics would not disagree, but they are scared to say it like that, lest it look like a works’based salvation
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I would also answer repent and believe.

But I do have to ask why the answers are not unanimous: repent and believe.

Instead I seem to be reading laundry lists of stuff to do. The problem is that everybody’s laundry list is different.

Why am I not getting one and only one answer to this question? This question to me is very important and would not seem to be something that God would be ambiguous about.
 
With_Questions said:
I would also answer repent and believe.

But I do have to ask why the answers are not unanimous: repent and believe.

Instead I seem to be reading laundry lists of stuff to do. The problem is that everybody’s laundry list is different.

Why am I not getting one and only one answer to this question? This question to me is very important and would not seem to be something that God would be ambiguous about.
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What does it mean to you to believe?
 
How ironic…

I was just thinking that with one exception, all the answers given were variations on “repent and believe”
 
Steadfast said:
How ironic…

I was just thinking that with one exception, all the answers given were variations on “repent and believe”
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That believe might be a bigger word than some realize.

You are correct, that is the common theme.
 
ralphinal said:
What does it mean to you to believe?
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From my trusty on-line dictionnary:
intransitive verb
1 a: to have a firm religious faith b: to accept as true, genuine, or real
2: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something
3: to hold an opinion : think
transitive verb
1 a: to consider to be true or honest <you wouldn’t believe how long it took> b: to accept the word or evidence of <couldn’t believe my ears>
2: to hold as an opinion : suppose
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Probably intransitive (1,2) and transitive(1) suffice.

Although I must admit I have totally forgotten what intransitive and transitive mean. Miss Caleando must be turning in her grave on that one and wanting to whack me like she did in 8th grade grammar.
 
With_Questions said:
From my trusty on-line dictionnary:

Probably intransitive (1,2) and transitive(1) suffice.

Although I must admit I have totally forgotten what intransitive and transitive mean. Miss Caleando must be turning in her grave on that one and wanting to whack me like she did in 8th grade grammar.
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Alright. Now, what would you say believing in Jesus would mean?
 
ralphinal said:
Alright. Now, what would you say believing in Jesus would mean?
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Well first of all I looked up in the online dictionnary and learned that the difference between intransitive and transitive is that intransitive lacks the direct object while transitive uses a direct object.

I do remember enough 8th grade English to know what a direct object is, and “believe in Jesus” is the form that lacks the direct object.

Therefore take definitions 1 and/or 2 under “intransitive”, then add the prepositional phrase “in Jesus” and you have it.
 
With_Questions said:
Well first of all I looked up in the online dictionnary and learned that the difference between intransitive and transitive is that intransitive lacks the direct object while transitive uses a direct object.

I do remember enough 8th grade English to know what a direct object is, and “believe in Jesus” is the form that lacks the direct object.

Therefore take definitions 1 and/or 2 under “intransitive”, then add the prepositional phrase “in Jesus” and you have it.
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Let’s see here
1 a: to have a firm religious faith b: to accept as true, genuine, or real
2: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something
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So it is to have a firm religious faith in Jesus. to accept him as truthful and what he said as true, genuine, and real. To have firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, and ability of Jesus.

Sound ok to you?
 
ralphinal said:
Let’s see here

So it is to have a firm religious faith in Jesus. to accept him as truthful and what he said as true, genuine, and real. To have firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, and ability of Jesus.

Sound ok to you?
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Sounds good to me.
 
ralphinal said:
Great. So now, would you agree that if you accept what he said to be true and real, efficacious, and good, believing in him should lead you to follow what he taught?
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Yes, but…

“Following what he taught” is a lifetime process that only starts when the believer receives the gift of eternal life.

On day one, the new believer will only be doing this in very rough form.

“Following what He taught” is a growth process that takes a lifetime to get down. And during the course of a lifetime there may be periods where the believer is struggling and failing over some of this. And at the end of the lifetime, we probably will not have this one totally nailed down yet.

So I would not put “following what He taught” as a part of the answer to the question “How do you go to Heaven”. Nobody that I know does this perfectly anyway. I would put repentance there however. Repentance means a turning from sin and a turning to Christ. Repentance is what happens on day 1.

“Following what He taught” starts on day 2 (or day 1.01 if you want to nitpick) and is a logical outgrowth over what happens at the beginning. It continues throughout a lifetime and is something the believer gradually grows into over the span of his life.
 
ralphinal said:
Be baptised.

Follow Christ’s commands.

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and stregnth,

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Forgive those who harm you,

Pray for those who hate you.

Repent when you sin.

Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus.

Have hope and faith in God above.
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Say you die before you get to do any of those things?
 
With_Questions said:
Yes, but…

“Following what he taught” is a lifetime process that only starts when the believer receives the gift of eternal life.

On day one, the new believer will only be doing this in very rough form.

“Following what He taught” is a growth process that takes a lifetime to get down. And during the course of a lifetime there may be periods where the believer is struggling and failing over some of this. And at the end of the lifetime, we probably will not have this one totally nailed down yet.

So I would not put “following what He taught” as a part of the answer to the question “How do you go to Heaven”. Nobody that I know does this perfectly anyway. I would put repentance there however. Repentance means a turning from sin and a turning to Christ. Repentance is what happens on day 1.

“Following what He taught” starts on day 2 (or day 1.01 if you want to nitpick) and is a logical outgrowth over what happens at the beginning. It continues throughout a lifetime and is something the believer gradually grows into over the span of his life.
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I do not completely disagree, however, can you say that you believe in Jesus and never once try to do what he taught?
 
Fisher said:
Say you die before you get to do any of those things?
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well, it is not up to me, is it.

Let’s say that you are a non-believer who has not been baptised. YOu end up deciding that Jesus is God. You are killed before you can be baptised in Water and the Spirit, as called for by Jesus. However, since that was your desire, we hold that you make it.

Let’s say after you are baptised, you are killed. No problem, for as 2 Peter says, Baptism removes your sins. You make it.

I can go on…
 
ralphinal said:
well, it is not up to me, is it.

Let’s say that you are a non-believer who has not been baptised. YOu end up deciding that Jesus is God. You are killed before you can be baptised in Water and the Spirit, as called for by Jesus. However, since that was your desire, we hold that you make it.

Let’s say after you are baptised, you are killed. No problem, for as 2 Peter says, Baptism removes your sins. You make it.

I can go on…
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2nd Peter ?
do you mean 1st Peter 3:21
 
ralphinal said:
I do not completely disagree, however, can you say that you believe in Jesus and never once try to do what he taught?
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Well the Bible does say that faith without works is dead. So I would say that that normally I agree that is a contradiction.

However, I do believe in the possibility of deathbed conversions. For example the thief on the cross never had the possibility of growing into “doing what He taught”.

The important point is that the good works start on day 1.01 as it were.

Eternal life does not start with one performing some grand and glorious good deed that so impresses God that He grants him eternal life. Nor is it a matter of God grading on some curve where the relative goodness of my life must be above some unknown cutoff point.
 
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