What do you guys believe about getting into Heaven?

[yellow8yellowM]

Excellent question, my friend!
If the post is referring to the Physical Heaven, where the physically resurrected body of Jesus is, I believe one must be perfect at living in unity with the Jesus’ Greatest Commandments, which I personally interpret as: Always freely being and spreading the means to freely be perfectly patient, kind, and motivated with all the body, spirit, thoughts, and will equally towards others and the self for the experience of greater happiness with an unbreakable peace.

Thoughts?

Please, forum elders, let me know if I am wrong, but this is not Catholic teaching. In order to get into heaven, you must die in a state of grace (free from mortal sin). Any and all mortal sins that were forgiven do not keep you from entering heaven.

That being said, we should all strive to act according to jochoa’s post. In the case that we stray from that, we can rest assured that Jesus will be merciful if we ask forgiveness.

 

[Hiswillbedone]

Why are there are all sorts of different answers to the most important question a person could ask on here?

I am not Catholic but the Bible will clear all this up for us if we let it. The most important verses are John 3:3-7 which say:

(3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(4) Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
(5) Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
(6) "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(7) "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’

Being born again happens when we believe that Christ is the Saviour and we go to Him with a truely surrendered heart and repent of all our sins, asking Him to be the Lord of our life. Baptism is taught to come after this but for me it came before and I did it again after just to be sure…ha In the book of Acts people do get baptized after believing and placing faith in Christ.

These three verses are part of a whole list of verses that may help:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Check out the entire list here: cwof.com/saved.html

 

[fhansen]

Why are there are all sorts of different answers to the most important question a person could ask on here?

I am not Catholic but the Bible will clear all this up for us if we let it. The most important verses are John 3:3-7 which say:

(3) Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(4) Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
(5) Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
(6) "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
(7) "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.’

Being born again happens when we believe that Christ is the Saviour and we go to Him with a truely surrendered heart and repent of all our sins, asking Him to be the Lord of our life. Baptism is taught to come after this but for me it came before and I did it again after just to be sure…ha In the book of Acts people do get baptized after believing and placing faith in Christ.

These three verses are part of a whole list of verses that may help:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Check out the entire list here: cwof.com/saved.html

It’s never about a one-time act of belief-it’s more than that; it’s about love, how we’ve allowed the gospel to change us with the help of grace. Read Matt 25:31-46 to get an idea of what that “looks like”, on what basis God determines our eternal status, and also the Parable of the Talents to see what’s expected.

 

[cranster]

Normally, that’s me!

OP, some time ago St.Leonard of Port Maurice gave a sermon on the topic of how many are saved and how many damned. He concluded very, very few are saved. This, he reasoned, is because so few avail themselves validly of confession, because so few are genuinely penitent.

So it’s “simple” to get into Heaven, it’s just not “easy.”

I will say from personal experience in using the confessional as a sort of purification between a recurrence of the same mortal sin that my unchanging behavior led my confessor to say, since this is a behavior you are not serious about stopping it’s probabaly time for you to question whether you are making a valid confession, a valid confession is one in which every effort is made to stop sinning, and not a way to clear your conscience between commission of the same sin. That got my attention, and makes it not difficult to believe what old St. Leonard said is probably true.

 

[Zeno11]

One must also make up for all one’s sins and be free of defects and imperfections before they can get into heaven. Assuming they died in the state of grace, they must go to Purgatory first to be purged of these things.

Now this bit I just don’t get. We can NEVER ‘make up’ for our sins - that’s why Jesus had to offer Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If we then also have to suffer in purgatory, doesn’t that deny that Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all a perfect offering for our redemption from sin? I understand that if you repent, confess and are in a state of grace when you die, then you go to heaven. The Bible says that our sins, once forgiven, are forgotten by God, that they are ‘as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12)

So what is purgatory all about? Where did this idea come from? And where is the Biblical support for it? When did this become a dogma of the CC? These are questions I cannot answer when Protestant friends discuss it,so any insights welcome.

 

[yellow8yellowM]

Now this bit I just don’t get. We can NEVER ‘make up’ for our sins - that’s why Jesus had to offer Himself up as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If we then also have to suffer in purgatory, doesn’t that deny that Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all a perfect offering for our redemption from sin? I understand that if you repent, confess and are in a state of grace when you die, then you go to heaven. The Bible says that our sins, once forgiven, are forgotten by God, that they are ‘as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12)

So what is purgatory all about? Where did this idea come from? And where is the Biblical support for it? When did this become a dogma of the CC? These are questions I cannot answer when Protestant friends discuss it,so any insights welcome.

I would recommend reading the section on purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It has references to scripture and to ecumenical council documents, I believe, which are all online and free.

Think about it with this analogy:
When you sin your soul is bleeding. Confession stops the bleeding, but there is still a scar from that sin. In order to get to heaven that we must enter unblemished, without scars. That is what purgatory is for.

Purgatory is also for removing remaining venial sins, which we constantly commit. There is nothing we can do about this because of the effects of original sin. Purgatory is a great gift to us because otherwise so few of us would die in a perfect state and be able to go straight to heaven.

 

[pablope]

Why are there are all sorts of different answers to the most important question a person could ask on here?

I am not Catholic but the Bible will clear all this up for us if we let it. The most important verses are John 3:3-7 which say:
url]

But the difference is in the interpretation of the verses…which you would interpret according to the tradition you inherited or learned from:

calledtocommunion.com/2009/07/ecclesial-deism/

‘Tradition’ becomes whatever one agrees with in the history of the Church, such as the Nicene Creed or Chalcedonian Christology…What makes it ‘authoritative’ for Mohler is that it agrees with his interpretation of Scripture. If he encounters something in the tradition that seems extra-biblical or opposed to Scripture he rejects it. For that reason, tradition does not authoritatively guide his interpretation. His interpretation picks out what counts as tradition, and then this tradition informs his interpretation.

 

[pablope]

I’ve heard some Protestants say that the only requirement of getting into Heaven is to believe in Jesus and God and accept them as your saviour, and that your actions don’t really mean too much as long as, at the end of the day, you repent. Do Catholics believe the same thing, or is it harder to be forgiven for sins you’ve committed? I’ve heard that you guys take people’s actions a lot more seriously.

This article explains the Catholic and Protestant understanding and contrasts them:

chnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/salvation.pdf

I’ve heard that you guys take people’s actions a lot more seriously

vivacatholic.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/infused-righteousness-versus-imputed-righteousness-which-one-entitles-us-to-enter-heaven/

Imputed righteousness means we use Christ’ righteousness accepted by faith alone to cover our unrighteousness – in other words we do not contribute anything and we are declared righteous. It is like Christ covers our dirty robe (the dirt represents our sins) with his spotless robe and He needs to do it only once. Infused righteousness, on the other hand, means God through Christ helps us to become righteous. Note that the source of righteousness is God, not us, yet the outcome of justification is we become righteous. Using similar analogy of dirty robe representing our sin, in infused righteousness God through Christ helps us to clean our dirty robe. This needs our cooperation and it is an on-going process. Our dirty robe is first washed clean through (Sacrament of) Baptism. Whenever we make it dirty again through sinning, God through Christ helps us to clean it through (Sacrament of) Reconciliation. When we die with our robe still stained with venial sin then purgatory will cleanse it. Imputed righteousness concept cannot go inline with purgatory – purgatory makes what Christ did (covering our dirty robe) insufficient.

Which righteousness entitles us to enter heaven? In Matthew 25:31-46 the sheep are welcomed into heaven while the goats are sent to hell Verse 46 boldly says that the righteous will go to eternal life. Are they declared righteous or made righteous (hence are righteous)? Verses 35 and 36 tell us that they did righteous acts, i.e. they did not use Christ’ righteousness to cover their unrighteousness or to make their unrighteous things appear righteous (before God). 1 John 3:8 defines righteousness as “He who does right is righteous, as he [Christ] is righteous”. Certainly to believe in Christ is one act that leads to righteousness – but it is not the only one. The phrase “He who does right” implies our cooperation. The goats are condemned to hell because they did not do righteous acts or they are not unrighteous (1 Corinthians 6:9). They are not declared unrighteous but they are indeed unrighteous.

 

[Zeno11]

I would recommend reading the section on purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It has references to scripture and to ecumenical council documents, I believe, which are all online and free.

Think about it with this analogy:
When you sin your soul is bleeding. Confession stops the bleeding, but there is still a scar from that sin. In order to get to heaven that we must enter unblemished, without scars. That is what purgatory is for.

Purgatory is also for removing remaining venial sins, which we constantly commit. There is nothing we can do about this because of the effects of original sin. Purgatory is a great gift to us because otherwise so few of us would die in a perfect state and be able to go straight to heaven.

This still doesn’t make sense to me. Our venial (and mortal) sins are forgiven when we confess them, and as i quoted already, God then graciously forgets them…so why are we still bearing scars?

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Purgatory is “a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions."

I don’t understand this either. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only thing, ever, that ‘fully paid the satisfaction’ due to our errors. Isaiah 53:5 declares, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed."

Jesus suffered for our sins so that we could be delivered from suffering. To say that we must also suffer for our sins is to say that Jesus’ suffering was insufficient. To say that we must atone for our sins by cleansing in Purgatory is to deny the sufficiency of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus (1 John 2:2).

Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2).

I know what the Church teaches, but I cannot reconcile it with Biblical teachings. When did the notion of purgatory become a Catholic dogma?

 

[pablope]

This still doesn’t make sense to me. Our venial (and mortal) sins are forgiven when we confess them, and as i quoted already, God then graciously forgets them…so why are we still bearing scars?

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Purgatory is “a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions."

I know what the Church teaches, but I cannot reconcile it with Biblical teachings. When did the notion of purgatory become a Catholic dogma?

From Day One! From our jewish roots.

Here is an article by Scott Hahn that is comprehensive and answer your questions about Purgatory…the Biblical refernecea and including the common protestant objection that Purgatory is not needed:

catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0091.html

Nobody is going to say, “Christ has died on the cross; therefore, we don’t need faith.” Of course we need faith. Well, if we need faith, is it because Christ’s work isn’t finished? After all, He says, “It is finished.” Why do we need faith? We’re all saved. Nobody says that. Even non-Catholics say, “We have to have at least faith.” Well, if we have to have anything besides the cross of Christ, if we have to have personal faith, and that doesn’t undermine the work of Christ, then we have to ask, why? Well, it’s because the Holy Spirit gives us faith and then hope and then charity and the capacity to sacrifice and suffer. And how crucial it is that we willingly cooperate with that grace.

I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body that is the Church."

Now does he mean that Christ died a little too quickly? He needed a few more hours? No. It means that Christ’s suffering and death must be reproduced and filled up in the Church and if some are slacking off, that means others must become more like victim-souls, willing to bear a greater burden, willing to shoulder with love, as Galatians 5 speaks about the love, “Love bears one another’s burdens.” We do that just as 1st John 5 speaks about how we can pray for others and get them back on track after their venial sins have been committed. So likewise we can suffer on behalf of others. That’s what fathers and mothers do all the time. And God calls us to do that in the supernatural family, as well, on behalf of our brothers and sisters and our spiritual children, as well. That’s what Paul takes for granted when he makes such an outlandish statement. Outlandish only for those who do not recognize the essential need for suffering.

Now what does this mean, that Christ has not paid for our sin? Of course not. It doesn’t mean that. Christ has paid once and for all for our sin. His death is the ultimate satisfaction and price for our redemption, but His life and His death must be lived out in us. That’s why we need to pick up our cross, and we need to imitate Christ. Did you catch that? We don’t suffer because Christ’s sufferings weren’t enough. We suffer because Christ’s life must be reproduced in us. It is finished. It is accomplished, but now it must be applied. The work of the third person of the Holy Spirit is New Testament history, is personal history.

 

[jenwha]

As a new Catholic, I do and I don’t understand Purgatory either, for what was just mentioned.

As it was explained to me, even though you sinned and are forgiven your sins, there are still consequences for those sins and that is Purgatory. To be forgiven is one thing but to be forgiven does not mean no consequences.

However, I don’t understand either as it seems to imply that Christ’s sacrifice was not sufficient. I have yet to have a Catholic explain that point to me.

 

[pablope]

As a new Catholic, I do and I don’t understand Purgatory either, for what was just mentioned.

As it was explained to me, even though you sinned and are forgiven your sins, there are still consequences for those sins and that is Purgatory. To be forgiven is one thing but to be forgiven does not mean no consequences.

However, I don’t understand either as it seems to imply that Christ’s sacrifice was not sufficient. I have yet to have a Catholic explain that point to me.

See post #30:catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0091.html

Now what does this mean, that Christ has not paid for our sin? Of course not. It doesn’t mean that. Christ has paid once and for all for our sin. His death is the ultimate satisfaction and price for our redemption, but His life and His death must be lived out in us. That’s why we need to pick up our cross, and we need to imitate Christ. Did you catch that? We don’t suffer because Christ’s sufferings weren’t enough. We suffer because Christ’s life must be reproduced in us. It is finished. It is accomplished, but now it must be applied. The work of the third person of the Holy Spirit is New Testament history, is personal history.

 

[Church_Militant]

As a new Catholic, I do and I don’t understand Purgatory either, for what was just mentioned.

As it was explained to me, even though you sinned and are forgiven your sins, there are still consequences for those sins and that is Purgatory. To be forgiven is one thing but to be forgiven does not mean no consequences.

However, I don’t understand either as it seems to imply that Christ’s sacrifice was not sufficient. I have yet to have a Catholic explain that point to me.

Maybe this article of mine will help a little. Biblical and Jewish Traditional Beliefs About Purgatory

 

[jenwha]

Thank you, that link helped.

One of the reasons I investigated joining the CC was because being raised Protestant I could never understand that there was not another place then just Heaven and Hell. It seemed way too black and white for me.

But because I was raised Protestant, I still have some lingering Protestant leanings and I figure it will take time to learn about and accept all Catholic dogma.

I was told in RCIA that Purgatory might not be a real, literal place. Is that true? Do we know anything about it? I had thought I had heard before it was a place of great suffering. Do people spend thousands of years there or don’t we know?

Scary.

 

[cranster]

Thank you, that link helped.

One of the reasons I investigated joining the CC was because being raised Protestant I could never understand that there was not another place then just Heaven and Hell. It seemed way too black and white for me.

But because I was raised Protestant, I still have some lingering Protestant leanings and I figure it will take time to learn about and accept all Catholic dogma.

I was told in RCIA that Purgatory might not be a real, literal place. Is that true? Do we know anything about it? I had thought I had heard before it was a place of great suffering. Do people spend thousands of years there or don’t we know?

Scary.

I think it’s more a state of purification than a place. Until the final judgement our bodies won’t be resurrected so we will exist as spirits until then. As spirits we will no longer occupy space so it won’t be necessary for purgatory to be an actual place, but then it could be, I don’t think anyone knows for sure. Purgatory is the state of total purification. All inclinations toward sin, and self have to be removed. Just like the impurities are removed from gold through fire so will our imperfections be removed. We have to be totally purified to withstand being in the direct presence of God.
This is one of the best explanations of purgatory I’ve come across
ewtn.com/library/spirit/catpur.txt

 

[Church_Militant]

Since Purgatory exists outside of time and space, just as Heaven and Hell do, then the concept of time, i.e. “thousands of years” would not exist, right?

I often think that we might gain some insight into Purgatory from the following Old Testament passage. (Emphasis mine)

Isaiah 6:1] In the year that King Uzzi’ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple.
2] Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3] And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4] And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
5] And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
**[6] Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
****7] And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” **
8] And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

 

[dchezik]

It has always puzzled me that the path to salvation wouldn’t be made unequivocal and crystal clear, given the consequences. Here are some confusing ways to heaven from various sources:

"Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
[Hard to know how to be “born of water and the spirit.”]

(6) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
[Ok, that makes sense so how does this tell us what to do to be saved?]

(7) “Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.”
[Sorry, I was so dense. If you would speak in plain language rather than metaphors and just say what you mean in unambiguous speech, maybe I’d understand how I can avoid hell and go to heaven!]

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
[What does “received him” mean?]

“He that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
[These seem a little contradictory to me.]

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
[Good thing that there is such a thing as “baptism by desire.” Hard to know if it really took place or how bad you want it. Also, what happens to someone who believeth but isn’t baptized and doesn’t want to be?]

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

To get into Heaven, one must be baptized and free of mortal sin. – Catholic Forums

[The jailer] “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31)

Maybe a good thing would be to marry a believer? Then you get in under “thy house” clause.]

Hope someone can unify all this! Thanks!**

 

[fhansen]

It has always puzzled me that the path to salvation wouldn’t be made unequivocal and crystal clear, given the consequences. Here are some confusing ways to heaven from various sources:

"Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
[Hard to know how to be “born of water and the spirit.”]

(6) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
[Ok, that makes sense so how does this tell us what to do to be saved?]

(7) “Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.”
[Sorry, I was so dense. If you would speak in plain language rather than metaphors and just say what you mean in unambiguous speech, maybe I’d understand how I can avoid hell and go to heaven!]

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
[What does “received him” mean?]**

“He that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
[These seem a little contradictory to me.]

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
[Good thing that there is such a thing as “baptism by desire.” Hard to know if it really took place or how bad you want it. Also, what happens to someone who believeth but isn’t baptized and doesn’t want to be?]

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

To get into Heaven, one must be baptized and free of mortal sin. – Catholic Forums

[The jailer] “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31)

Maybe a good thing would be to marry a believer? Then you get in under “thy house” clause.]

Hope someone can unify all this! Thanks!
Disorder and disharmony-and sin- result when man is not united with God-when mans’ and Gods’ sprit are not in* communion.* When they are in communion man possesses his full integrity and justice is served; then man not merely believes in God but he loves Him with his whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. When he truly loves God, he obeys out of that love, because he wants to. If he recognizes the voice of God in the gospel, the words and “face” of God in the person of JC, then he’ll wish to obey Jesus’ commands as he finds them there.

All this is said to be in accord with the New Covenant whereby God becomes the God of man again, after becoming separated from him at the Fall when man effectively rejected God by rejecting His authority, losing or destroying faith/trust in, let alone love for Him. This constituted a breach in the natural order, meant to be reconciled by Jesus’ sacrificial Atonement, performed in order to demonstrate in no uncertain terms Gods’ existence, His trustworthiness, His *humility, *even-IOW of His uncompromised love for man-even if it meant willfully undergoing a humiliating and excruciatingly painful death to convince us that we’re the ones out of sync with the natural order of things while He’s always loved us nonetheless. Man’s justice is not complete until he consciously obeys God out of recognition of His goodness, i.e. out of love.

 

[pablope]

Thank you, that link helped.

One of the reasons I investigated joining the CC was because being raised Protestant I could never understand that there was not another place then just Heaven and Hell. It seemed way too black and white for me.

But because I was raised Protestant, I still have some lingering Protestant leanings and I figure it will take time to learn about and accept all Catholic dogma.

I was told in RCIA that Purgatory might not be a real, literal place. Is that true? Do we know anything about it? I had thought I had heard before it was a place of great suffering. Do people spend thousands of years there or don’t we know?

Scary.

I think it may be from our feeble minds/thinking…purgatory is the process of purgation or purification…we have been conditioned to think of a process…in term of time, space and place…that may be why sometimes, there are those who associate purgatory with time and place.

 

[Hiswillbedone]

It has always puzzled me that the path to salvation wouldn’t be made unequivocal and crystal clear, given the consequences. Here are some confusing ways to heaven from various sources:

"Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
[Hard to know how to be “born of water and the spirit.”]

(6) “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
[Ok, that makes sense so how does this tell us what to do to be saved?]

(7) “Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again.”
[Sorry, I was so dense. If you would speak in plain language rather than metaphors and just say what you mean in unambiguous speech, maybe I’d understand how I can avoid hell and go to heaven!]

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
[What does “received him” mean?]**

“He that calleth upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

“Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 7:21
[These seem a little contradictory to me.]

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
[Good thing that there is such a thing as “baptism by desire.” Hard to know if it really took place or how bad you want it. Also, what happens to someone who believeth but isn’t baptized and doesn’t want to be?]

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

To get into Heaven, one must be baptized and free of mortal sin. – Catholic Forums

[The jailer] “brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31)

Maybe a good thing would be to marry a believer? Then you get in under “thy house” clause.]

Hope someone can unify all this! Thanks!

Ironically, the simplicity of the gospel is what makes it so complicated. I do not know how to help you understand except to tell you my own experience of being born again.

When I was 19 I went to a Christian play and at the end the pastor gave an altar call where he called all who wanted to make Christ the Lord of their lives and receive salvation. I was convicted tremendously and went up and said the “sinners prayer” to give my heart to Jesus and ask Him to be the Lord of my life. After this I had a great desire for the Word and read it quite a lot. I had no real change in myself or my life. I still had the same old sins in my life.
I spent the next 13 years going back and forth between doing all the things a Christian is suppose to do (prayer, studying Scripture, church, etc.) and living a life of sin which included sex, drugs, alcohol, cussing, selfishness, etc. etc. I said the sinners prayer countless times asking for salvation but nothing ever changed. I couldn’t understand this and strarted thinking that God was either an absentee land owner or He wasn’t real and I doubted the whole thing very strongly. Then my life began to fall apart. I was seperated from my family, broke, had an illness that doctors couldn’t diagnose, was facing jail time and I had a husband who was mentally and verbally abusive to me and my kids. I had come to the end of my rope and had nowhere to turn and I went into my bathroom one day and cried out to God. I don’t know everything that I said but I told Him that I hated my life and I didn’t like who I was or who I was becoming. I wanted to change. I wanted life to be like it was when I was a kid and everything was pure and innocent. I also confessed that I knew in my heart that Jesus was the Son of God who came to die for the sins of the world including my own. I asked Him to forgive me and to help me. No angels came and sang a song and I didn’t feel any different when I left my bathroom, but over the next 3 days I was delivered from addiction to cigarettes. I started noticing that something was different but I didn’t know what it was. On the third day I was compelled to go dig my dusty old Bible out and as I was going I realized what had happened to me. It dawned on me like the most glorious light I had ever seen!! I was born again and God had come to live inside me! I was different. After that I didn’t want anything evil to touch my eyes or ears. No tv, no cussing, no rock music, nothing. I spent hours praying. I couldn’t get enough of being in His prescence and praising Him and loving Him and receiving His love. The world looked different now too. Nature came alive!! Everything around screamed of LIFE! Everything was precious and glorious and joyous. I was beaming constantly and went about my daily life on a constant high. I* was* high!! I was high on the Most High and I haven’t been able to get enough of Him since!! The sin is gone, except for occassionally which I can go to Him and confess it and repent of it and I know that it’s forgiven because the Scripture says that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us ours sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I do follow the commandments He gave us but not in my own strength and effort, but in His. He lives in me and lives through me.

Christ is real my friend, but He’s not in a church you can see.

He said Himself, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed the kingdom of God is within you.” 1 John 1:9

Deep inside yourself you know that Jesus is God. Let that truth come up out of you and confess it with your mouth and repent of all your sins and he will give His Holy Spirit who will make you brand new. He’s right there with you now as you read this. Don’t be afraid to go to Him. He’s wating for you.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13