Is, "I'm a good person" good enough?

[Holly3278]

I have the same problem as the OP except that a couple of people in my family are either agnostics and don’t know if Heaven exists or not or they believe in some sort of other spiritual eternity that they will go to for being “good” on earth. I don’t really know how to approach them either.

I have been thinking about ordering some of the God’s Love For You brochures. I think those would be good for people who do not already have a Christian faith.

 

[LilyM]

Where did He say that more was required for salvation?

"Then those people will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty? When did we see you alone and away from home? Or when did we see you without clothes or sick or in prison? When did we see these things and not help you?’ "Then the king will answer, ‘I tell you the truth. Anything you refused to do for any of my people here, you refused to do for me.’ **“Then those bad people will go away. They will have punishment forever.” **

Can’t get much plainer than Matthew 25 there. What we do and don’t do can, at least in part, save or damn us - and that includes whether we do or don’t go to Church.

Not convinced yet? How about this beauty -

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If … he will not listen, take one or two others along… If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.’

—Mt. 18:15–17

Listening to the Church is indeed a matter of salvation and damnation, m’dear. QED. If we take this strictly we are not to even associate with one who doesn’t listen to the church!

 

[idrum677]

They often say they don’t commit crimes, are good spouses and parents, are friendly and nice to others, and are gainfully employed and don’t need to be active in a church to go to Heaven.

Good people do not go to heaven. Holy people do.

 

[John_AH]

My take is God wants 100% (perfection). Yes it is impossible by are own means but it is possible with the Holy spirit.

How do we know if we are giving 100% is the real question?

I believe if life is not hard then you are doing something wrong or not giving 100% (or least trying to get there).

Like I said in another post,
Most people believe that to be a priest or a nun is the hardest thing to do in terms of sacrificing or commitment but I think they fail to realize that they too should be making that full commitment/sacrifices (married or not).

In other words no matter what vocation you have it is all not just 10% of your pay or a couple of hours each day or church once a week, or a prayer once a day. It is never ceasing to pray, never stop acting in Love, it is trying to get close to God with Mind, body, and soul.

In short
It should be every single action and word devoted to God.

Like Pope JP2 said “we are all called to be Saints”. I personally like Jesus’s quote “I came not to be served but to serve”.

God’s Humble servant,
John A.H.

 

[MysteriorumDei]

Perfect is the enemy of good.

Really?
Voltaire: “The perfect is the enemy of the good” (La Bégueule)
Jesus: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48)

I wonder which one is right? I’m betting on the Son of God, not the Deist/pantheist, anti-Christian Freemason.

 

[Fidelis]

Originally Posted by LilyM

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:36)

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? **So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. **
Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.
Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that **faith without works is useless? **
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? **For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is DEAD. **(James 2:14-26)

 

[stbruno]

I recently read an article about the family that rarely eats together. This family is struggling to be a family…they have little contact with each other. In fact, someone started an unofficial unscientific survey, asking members of divorced families, how often they ate together. An overwhelming majority said they didn’t eat together.
On the other hand, the intact families admitted that they ate together regularly. Maybe not every day but at least 75-80% of the time. They relished and looked forward to those times together.

Same relationship could be said about a healthy spiritual life. If you want to be spiritually nourished, you need to eat together with your parish family regularly. That’s the power of church together over individual prayer. We are strengthened and nourished by the bread of life the Eucharist that we all receive together at every mass. Strengthened to be that body of Christ, one true family. Good enough is not good enough for me…I am called to holiness and without the church to lead me, I would struggle.

 

[stinkcat_14]

All that He requires of us is to believe in Him. Doing more is not necessary, according to Him.

Just how much faith is required for salvation? If I just believe that he existed at one time, but I don’t repent and turn from my sin, is that enough?

 

[John_AH]

It is all about the word “believe”.

If we truly believed in Him then we would trust in Him, which means we would fully submit ourselves to Him. In which everything that he did we would follow. That little word “believe” is so much more than just knowing that He is there. If He is saying I am the light, the truth, and the way then you should be following him. It is about trusting and following not just knowing.

An example;
So if you believe in your leader to lead you into battle but as soon as you got there you realized that you didn’t believe in him enough to trust him to do what was right so you abandoned him. You have to ask yourself do you really believe.

I can’t say enough how much the Rosary brings these things so much clearer. Pray the Rosary as much as you can and he will reveal to you what it truly means to believe.

God’s Humble Servant
John A.H.