Salvation requirements

[Robert902]

You are on the road to perdition! If you sin, you are no longer “in Christ” and if you are not “in Christ” you will not be saved.

4 Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." 1 John 3:4

8 He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning." 1 John 3:7-8

Guess what happened to the debbil?

As one of God’s elect or chosen I am in Christ. When God looks at me He sees me as though looking at Jesus. Jesus blood covers my sins. I am a new creation, and everything is new.

According to you, if a Catholic sins and doesn’t confess his sins before he dies, he is headed for hell. And we can be in and out of Christ.

The Apostle Paul admitted to being a persistent sinner. Jesus died for our sins…past present and future. The Bible says that “while we were in our sins” Jesus died for us.

 

[jmcrae]

As one of God’s elect or chosen I am in Christ. When God looks at me He sees me as though looking at Jesus. Jesus blood covers my sins. I am a new creation, and everything is new.

Actually, Christ’s blood washes your sins away. Not merely covering them up. God does not deceive Himself into thinking you are pure and without sin - you really are pure and without sin.

The Apostle Paul admitted to being a persistent sinner. Jesus died for our sins…past present and future. The Bible says that “while we were in our sins” Jesus died for us.

Yes, but then He brought us out of our sins. If we go back into our sins after Christ has brought us out of them, what help is there for us? St. Paul says that such a one is no better than a dog that returns to its vomit. Fortunately, Jesus understands our weaknesses, and gave us the Sacraments to help us - especially Confession and the Mass.

But you cannot remain in sin, and think that you are in Christ. Sin and Christ are total opposites.

 

[Robert902]

Nobody goes to Hell who wasn’t already on their way there. That being said, if you commit a mortal sin shortly after going to Confession, then something is seriously the matter with your spiritual life, and yes, you would go to Hell.

Christ is the only one who could die on the Cross for our sins, yes. (The priest in the Confessional is not dying on the Cross for my sins, believe me.)

But He Himself appointed the Apostles and their successors (our Catholic Bishops and priests) to hear our Confessions and to grant us the Absolution. John 20:23 says, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

When Christ enjoins the apostles to forgive sins, He does not convey to them what is peculiar to Himself. It belongs to Him to forgive sins. He only enjoins them in His name to proclaim the forgiveness of sins.
Nowhere in the Book of Acts or in the Epistles do we find any instance of an apostle remitting the sins of anyone. They do go everywhere though proclaiming the forgiveness of sins.

 

[jmcrae]

Nowhere in the Book of Acts or in the Epistles do we find any instance of an apostle remitting the sins of anyone. They do go everywhere though proclaiming the forgiveness of sins.

Well, obviously, such conversations would enjoy the privacy of the Confessional. It would hardly do for an Apostle to record the contents of someone’s confession, or even the fact that they had had to go to Confession, in a public letter to the whole Church, would it?

There are plenty of general references to the ministry of Reconciliation, and to the need to repent and confess one’s sins. They would not have written down a blow by blow account of how to go to Confession in the Bible, since the people would have learned that from their priests directly.

 

[guanophore]

Each one (The 7 churches in the Book of Revelation) is a composite picture of the church. Philadelphia was the missionary church that was getting out His word, and He didn’t condemn it. He has no word of condemnation for Laodicea, the apostate church.

Is this how you are answering my question? I am asking you what you think it means to have the lampstand taken away.

The water symbolizes the blood of Jesus, the sprinkling symbolizes the washing away of our sins by the blood of Jesus, and the immersion represents death.
Jesus commanded many things, but that doesn’t mean that those things are required for our salvation.
Being baptized is an act and a sign of obedience. Everything necessary for our salvation has been provided by Jesus death on the cross. Jesus came to earth to set an example for us. Jesus was baptized as an example for us to be baptized. He sure didn’t need baptism to be saved.

I can agree with you on that. But why did St. Peter write that baptism saves?

The sacraments ARE the means of grace, as well as external signs of inward realities.

So if we ignore the sacraments, God will withhold His grace?

God does not need sacraments in order to pour out HIs grace, and He is not bound by them. However, He did provide them to us as gifts, and avenues of grace, and failing to stand under the spout where the glory comes out will make it more difficult to get bathed.

The bible tells us to be “fruit inspectors”. I wasn’t judging, I was only pointing out that many Christians/Catholics think that the sacraments/rituals/ceremonies save them.

I think this is a judgemental statement. I am also not sure at all that it is true. Why would Catholics think that? The Bible doesn’t teach that, and the Catholic Catechism does not teach that. Instead, what is taught is that we are saved by grace, through faith. Sacraments are the means through which God has ordered that we receive these graces.

Only God can judge them. I’ll say it again…many Catholics/Christians think that the ritual/ceremony/sacraments save them. People connect only to the institution through the mechanical works rather than to the living Christ.

I think you are judging, Robert. Although it may be that you are correct (especially in your own case) about the sacraments being empty of faith, I do not think this is the case for the majority of Catholics. Rather, the sacraments facilitate teh connection to the living Christ.

 

[Robert902]

Nobody goes to Hell who wasn’t already on their way there. That being said, if you commit a mortal sin shortly after going to Confession, then something is seriously the matter with your spiritual life, and yes, you would go to Hell.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Christ died for us while we are still sinning, is what this scripture says. That was the whole point of Christ dying for our sins. We can’t stop sinning! We are perpetual sinners. Praise God that His son died for us while we are still in our sins. Where sin abounds, God’s grace abounds even more.
Jesus died on the cross for [all] our sins: past, present and future.

Christ is the only one who could die on the Cross for our sins, yes. (The priest in the Confessional is not dying on the Cross for my sins, believe me.)

But He Himself appointed the Apostles and their successors (our Catholic Bishops and priests) to hear our Confessions and to grant us the Absolution. John 20:23 says, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was “rent”. Which means that we now have access through Jesus to God. We can now confess our sins directly to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. “There is one mediator between man and God, and that is the man Jesus.”

 

[Robert902]

You can, inspired by God’s grace make an act of perfect contrition which means a prayer to God expressing your sorrow out of love for him. Then you wouldn’t go to hell; you would go to heaven (or to purgatory first and then heaven)

This is just my opinion now, but I think one needn’t worry about dying before getting to a confessional or things like that because ultimately it is all in God’s hands. Ultimately, salvation, in my personal belief anyway, depends not on man’s efforts but on God’s mercy and love which is boundless – his mercy is not bounded by his justice, nor is his love bounded by his wrath; God is love itself. Mary is the mother of mercy; she has a merciful heart towards all, even those who do not acknowledge her (and so in some traditional prayers Catholics ask her to pray for those who don’t have recourse to her) – but in my view God’s mercy is greater for Mary’s merciful heart has its source in God’s merciful heart. Our salvation is in the hands of Love.

Let’s not add to the written word of God. The verse I think you are referring to says in the English translation “one mediator” not “one and only.”

I beg to differ. One is a singular word. One means only one.

ewtn.com/devotionals/prayers/contrit.htm

or something similar or something with a similar theme

God bless you in your walk with God, Robert. If you can and feel moved to, say a prayer for my walk as well.

 

[Robert902]

I take it the person was already actually alive, right?

Yes he was alive. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter eternal life. And Jesus told him what he needed to do to enter life. That’s sort of odd isn’t it?

So, Jesus could not have meant anything other than eternal life, which is the only kind of life that we aren’t already born with.

You can be alive, but not experience life as a Christian. Everyone who has a pulse is alive, but a born again Christian certainly has a fuller and richer life than someone who doesn’t know Christ. The ten commandments can’t save you, but trying to obey them certainly will allow you to “enter life” as a Christian.
The only man able to not violate the ten commandments was Jesus.
The rich young man was guilty of violating the first commandment.

 

[Robert902]

Is this how you are answering my question? I am asking you what you think it means to have the lampstand taken away.

To have a lampstand taken away would be to have a church taken away.

I can agree with you on that. But why did St. Peter write that baptism saves?

Which book, chapter and verse are you referring to?

The sacraments ARE the means of grace, as well as external signs of inward realities.

God does not need sacraments in order to pour out HIs grace, and He is not bound by them. However, He did provide them to us as gifts, and avenues of grace, and failing to stand under the spout where the glory comes out will make it more difficult to get bathed.

I think this is a judgemental statement. I am also not sure at all that it is true. Why would Catholics think that? The Bible doesn’t teach that, and the Catholic Catechism does not teach that. Instead, what is taught is that we are saved by grace, through faith. Sacraments are the means through which God has ordered that we receive these graces.

I think you are judging, Robert. Although it may be that you are correct (especially in your own case) about the sacraments being empty of faith, I do not think this is the case for the majority of Catholics. Rather, the sacraments facilitate teh connection to the living Christ.

Just because I have an opinion, does not mean that I am judging. My opinions are based on my experiences being a Catholic for many years. I am entitled to express these opinions in these forums. And I think that you are labeling me as being judgemental to try and shut me up.
I am entitled to express my opinion here, as are you. If my opinions bother you, please feel free to not read them.

 

[jmcrae]

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Yes - this is why it is possible for a sinner to go to Confession.

Christ died for us while we are still sinning, is what this scripture says. That was the whole point of Christ dying for our sins. We can’t stop sinning! We are perpetual sinners.

Of course we can stop sinning. Otherwise, what would be the point of the commandment to confess our sins, repent (which means to turn away from our sins), and begin to do good works?

Praise God that His son died for us while we are still in our sins. Where sin abounds, God’s grace abounds even more.
Jesus died on the cross for [all] our sins: past, present and future.

Yes, Christ’s death on the Cross washes all of our sins away. But not automatically. We must make the conscious decision to enter into Christ’s life, death and resurrection (which we do through the Church, which is, essentially, God’s machine for making us into Christians) and we make the decision to confess and repent of our sins. The sins of the future will be forgiven when we confess and repent of those sins, after we have committed them. But it is better for us not to commit them, in the first place.

When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was “rent”. Which means that we now have access through Jesus to God. We can now confess our sins directly to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. “There is one mediator between man and God, and that is the man Jesus.”

What it means is that God is no longer confined to the Temple, or to the Jewish people. Christianity is the first religion that was made available to all races and nations. It is the first religion where there is a Tabernacle in every parish church - where I can go to visit God in person within walking distance of my home, instead of having to travel all the way to Jerusalem.

And yes, we can confess our sins in person to Christ, when we go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and we can hear His human voice through the person of His priest, who (far from being a barrier to Christ) is actually much more like a window or a bridge through which or over which we can see and hear Christ with our human eyes and ears, because of the fact that, in the Sacraments, the priest is acting in persona Christi. :extrahappy:

 

[TC_CEG]

Hi Robert,

I can see that you see Catholicism contrary to what you see in scripture. I think many of the respondents have provided scripture verses that support their position but it conflicts with what you believe. What would it take for you reconsider the Catholic position? I guaranty that there are many verses to support each viewpoint (and a few others, I might add. Did you know that there are non-Catholic Bible Christians who believe similarly to Catholics regarding salvation?) - but only one can be right. How can we make sure we don’t make a serious error about such an important issue? There must be a better solution than relying on our own personal perspective. How else would there be so many divisions among Christians on such important matters such as how one can be saved?

 

[mikeledes]

I posted these verses in another thread but they also apply to the topic of this thread.

Galatians 6:7-9

7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
9Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

1 Timothy 6:18-19

**18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
19storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. **

John 5:28-29

**28"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a **resurrection of judgment.

Matthew 25:34-36, 46

**34"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. **

WHY?

**35’FOR I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." **

Romans 2:6-7

6who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

John 8:51 (NASB)

**51"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." **

1 John 2:17 (NASB)

**17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. **

Revelation 2:26

26’He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;

2 Peter 1:5-11

5Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true (X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 FOR IN THIS WAY the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Revelation 2:10

…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life

These verses are pretty clear on “salvation requirements”

God Bless,
Michael

 

[clmowry]

So your 100% sure that in response to a question about “eternal life” Christ gave an answer about some other kind of life? Why?

Chuck

The fact that Jesus does not use “eternal” in reference to enter into life does not mean that that “life” is not a reference to eternal life:

If you want to ignore specific words and groups of words that’s up to you. But if Jesus had wanted to say eternal life instead of enter life I think He would have had the ability to do that.

 

[Robert902]

So your 100% sure that in response to a question about “eternal life” Christ gave an answer about some other kind of life? Why?

Chuck

The rich young man had put his wealth before god, thus violating the first commandment. He told Jesus that he had kept the commandments since his youth. Jesus told him to give everything away, which He already knew that this man wasn’t willing to do.
No one can keep the ten commandments. But by at least trying, we can “enter life” more abundantly. Jesus was pointing out to him that he hadn’t even entered life, let alone had he inherited eternal life.

 

[Robert902]

I posted these verses in another thread but they also apply to the topic of this thread.

Galatians 6:7-9

7Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
9Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

1 Timothy 6:18-19

18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
19storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

John 5:28-29

28"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

Matthew 25:34-36, 46

**34"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. **

.

WHY?

**35’FOR I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." **

Romans 2:6-7

6who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

John 8:51 (NASB)

**51"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." **

1 John 2:17 (NASB)

**17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. **

Revelation 2:26

26’He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;

2 Peter 1:5-11

5Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true (X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 FOR IN THIS WAY the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Revelation 2:10

…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life

These verses are pretty clear on “salvation requirements”

God Bless,
Michael

Not all of the verses that you have used are talking about salvation alone. Christians will be judged at the Bema seat judgement, where they will receive rewards for what they have done.

According to this scripture (Matt. 25:34), our inheritance has been prepared [by God] for us before the foundation of the world. So as Christians we can be confident of our salvation. We can’t lose it, we can’t earn it, it’s a gift.

 

[mikeledes]

Yes he was alive. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to enter eternal life. And Jesus told him what he needed to do to enter life. That’s sort of odd isn’t it?

So, Jesus could not have meant anything other than eternal life, which is the only kind of life that we aren’t already born with.

You can be alive, but not experience life as a Christian. Everyone who has a pulse is alive, but a born again Christian certainly has a fuller and richer life than someone who doesn’t know Christ. The ten commandments can’t save you, but trying to obey them certainly will allow you to “enter life” as a Christian.
The only man able to not violate the ten commandments was Jesus.
The rich young man was guilty of violating the first commandment.

Since you still insist, Robert, that the “life” being referred to by Jesus is not eternal life, let’s compare Scripture with Scripture.

Luke 18:18-20
18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’"

Luke makes it clear that Jesus was directly answering the rich young ruler’s question on eternal life and that the “life” mentioned in Matthew is a reference to “eternal life.”

Secondly, take a look at the follwing verse:

Matthew 18:9

9"If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

Based on the context (i.e. judgement day) “enter life” is a clear reference to eternal life. The expression “enter life” is always used as a reference to eternal life. Compare that with Matthew 25:46

46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Also, Jesus Himself said:

John 8:51

**51"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." **

God Bless,
Michael

 

[mikeledes]

.

WHY?

35’FOR I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Romans 2:6-7

6who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:
7to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

John 8:51 (NASB)

51"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death."

1 John 2:17 (NASB)

17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Revelation 2:26

26’He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS;

2 Peter 1:5-11

5Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,
6and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness,
7and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true (X)knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.
10Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 FOR IN THIS WAY the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Revelation 2:10

…Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life

These verses are pretty clear on “salvation requirements”

God Bless,
Michael

Not all of the verses that you have used are talking about salvation alone. Christians will be judged at the Bema seat judgement, where they will receive rewards for what they have done.

According to this scripture (Matt. 25:34), our inheritance has been prepared [by God] for us before the foundation of the world. So as Christians we can be confident of our salvation. We can’t lose it, we can’t earn it, it’s a gift.

And yet the verses I quoted, Robert, talk about receiving eternal life, particularly Romans 2 and Galatians 6. You sow goodness and you reap eternal life.

God Bless,
Michael

 

[guanophore]

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for us while we are still sinning, is what this scripture says. That was the whole point of Christ dying for our sins. We can’t stop sinning! We are perpetual sinners. Praise God that His son died for us while we are still in our sins. Where sin abounds, God’s grace abounds even more.
Jesus died on the cross for [all] our sins: past, present and future.

Clearly you are getting some sort of readers digest version of religious formation, Robert. If we cannot stop sinning, then Christ died for nothing!

Or, are you saying you have not been baptized, and therefore, do not have a new nature?

Rom 6:2-4
How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

1 John 5:18-19

18 We know that any one born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one."

Christ is the only one who could die on the Cross for our sins, yes. (The priest in the Confessional is not dying on the Cross for my sins, believe me.)

But He Himself appointed the Apostles and their successors (our Catholic Bishops and priests) to hear our Confessions and to grant us the Absolution. John 20:23 says, Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

When Christ died on the cross, the veil in the temple was “rent”. Which means that we now have access through Jesus to God. We can now confess our sins directly to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. “There is one mediator between man and God, and that is the man Jesus.”

 

[Robert902]

mikeledes:
Since you still insist, Robert, that the “life” being referred to by Jesus is not eternal life, let’s compare Scripture with Scripture.

Luke 18:18-20
18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
19"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’"

Luke makes it clear that Jesus was directly answering the rich young ruler’s question on eternal life and that the “life” mentioned in Matthew is a reference to “eternal life.”

Secondly, take a look at the follwing verse:

Matthew 18:9

9"If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

Based on the context (i.e. judgement day) “enter life” is a clear reference to eternal life. The expression “enter life” is always used as a reference to eternal life. Compare that with Matthew 25:46

46"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Also, Jesus Himself said:

John 8:51

**51"Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death." **

God Bless,
Michael

Matthew 19:17 “So He said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
So you are telling me that I must substitute the words eternal life for the words enter life in this verse? That means that if I want eternal life I need to keep the commandments. That would mean that I would be just like Jesus…perfect.

Believers will not be judged for sin, according to 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 8:1, Romans 8:33,34.

Believers will be judged for their motives at the Bema seat judgement. 1 Cor. 3:11-15 and 2 Peter 1:5-11.

The believers judgement (Bema seat) is not judicial (for sin) but it is that every believer “may be recompensed” (paid back what is due).

God Bless,
Robert

 

[Robert902]

Clearly you are getting some sort of readers digest version of religious formation, Robert. If we cannot stop sinning, then Christ died for nothing!

Have you stopped sinning?