Limbo

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If you know anything about Christianity, then you must know that it is a religion of love. To follow Christ is to love your fellow man. It has nothing to do with mortal sins.

actually Christ spoke many times on sin. He always forgive those that wanted forgiveness and he told them to stop whatever sin they were doing. To follow Christ is to beleive he is Gods son, our Savior and to repent of sin and make him Lord.

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Yes, but Christians do commit sins. Even Christians who love their fellow man, on occasion do cause harm to others. I'm wondering about the repercussions to those fellow-man-loving Christians who, in a moment of weakness, cause harm to others. Are they automatically forgiven? Does that mean they get a pass for any sins they commit? Do they have to ask for forgiveness before it is given? What if they die before they have asked for forgiveness? How is a Christian who harms another different from a non-Christian who causes harm? Why would one go to heaven and the other go to hell? Or do some Christians go to heaven and some not?

Yes Christians do sin, we aren't perfect yet. When we sin, we are to repent. That means we are to ask forgiveness and we are to stop doing that sin.When a person becomes born again, they receive the Holy Spirit and by that Spirit we are sanctified, which means that even if we do screw up, we don't become unsaved. But knowing this doesn't give christians the license to sin, we are to follow Christ and die daily to sins. If a person is truly a christian, when they sin they will feel conviction from the Holy Spirit in them, and repent. And all christians go to heaven when they die.

neo here are some verses on christians going to heaven.
Phil 3:20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

John 14:2,3 In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. And if i go and prepare a place for you, i will come again and receive you.

here are two on the immediate departure of christians to heaven.
2Cor 5:8 we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Luke 23: 42,43 Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him," Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

Does "repent of sin" mean not ever sinning again? (That seems to be impossible.) Or does it mean commitment to avoid sin as much as possible in the future? (That seems possible.)

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What concerns me is the idea that people who are not Christians cannot go to heaven, even if they have led a virtuous life. I'm thinking of someone like Gandhi, or the Dalai Lama, etc. I hope you realize I am not one of these people who is trying to criticize and poke fun at Christians. I am honestly trying to understand what you believe. I may disagree at times, or question what you say, but I am not out to make light of your beliefs.

Christ said noone is good. everyone sins and needs Christ as their Savior. THe only way to get to heaven is by making Jesus Lord.noone can be truly good enough on their own to get to heaven. It has to be through Christ.
All of those verses i gave are for christians. Christ, in his teachings is specific many times that one has to be born again ( a christian ) to go to heaven. What would be the point of Jesus coming to earth and dying, if everyone could be saved without making Jesus their Lord?

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My questions are based on my concern that excluding non-Christians from heaven is a concept that I simply cannot reconcile with a loving God. That is why I question you on this topic.

Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins. In the old testament a blood sacrifice was needed to forgive sins. Priests would do animal sacrifices to cleanse the peoples sins every year. But that wasn't enough. God sent Jesus to be a blood sacrifice for all mankinds sins. He willingly gave his life on the cross for all our sins. The shedding of his blood is enough for us to be forgiven of our sins once and for all. There is no need anymore for animal sacrifices done yearly. But, Jesus' sacrifice doesn't negate the fact that each individual has to come to him and ask for forgiveness. God is a loving God but he is also a HOly God and cannot allow sin into his presence. Everyone is a sinner and the only way to be cleansed from sin is by Making Jesus your Savior and getting forgiveness for sins.



And don't worry about asking questions. It doesn't offend me in the least. I know your not being rude.

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Does "repent of sin" mean not ever sinning again? (That seems to be impossible.) Or does it mean commitment to avoid sin as much as possible in the future? (That seems possible.)

to repent of a sin is to ask for forgiveness and try to not do it again.

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What concerns me is the idea that people who are not Christians cannot go to heaven, even if they have led a virtuous life. I'm thinking of someone like Gandhi, or the Dalai Lama, etc. I hope you realize I am not one of these people who is trying to criticize and poke fun at Christians. I am honestly trying to understand what you believe. I may disagree at times, or question what you say, but I am not out to make light of your beliefs.

Christ said noone is good. everyone sins and needs Christ as their Savior. THe only way to get to heaven is by making Jesus Lord.noone can be truly good enough on their own to get to heaven. It has to be through Christ.
All of those verses i gave are for christians. Christ, in his teachings is specific many times that one has to be born again ( a christian ) to go to heaven. What would be the point of Jesus coming to earth and dying, if everyone could be saved without making Jesus their Lord?

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My questions are based on my concern that excluding non-Christians from heaven is a concept that I simply cannot reconcile with a loving God. That is why I question you on this topic.

Jesus came to earth to die on the cross for our sins. In the old testament a blood sacrifice was needed to forgive sins. Priests would do animal sacrifices to cleanse the peoples sins every year. But that wasn't enough. God sent Jesus to be a blood sacrifice for all mankinds sins. He willingly gave his life on the cross for all our sins. The shedding of his blood is enough for us to be forgiven of our sins once and for all. There is no need anymore for animal sacrifices done yearly. But, Jesus' sacrifice doesn't negate the fact that each individual has to come to him and ask for forgiveness. God is a loving God but he is also a HOly God and cannot allow sin into his presence. Everyone is a sinner and the only way to be cleansed from sin is by Making Jesus your Savior and getting forgiveness for sins.

don't believe Christ said that noone is good. He may have said that we have all sinned, but that is not the same thing. I think it is too harsh to say that people who have done their best to live a virtuous life are "not good". The worst you can say is that they are not perfect. They are not completely without sin. My belief is that everyone needs to experience a personal spiritual transformation and be cleansed of sin by submission to a higher power, however they conceive of it. Jesus was so identified with the Father, or God, or Higher Self, or Divine Spirit, that when he said, "Noone comes to the Father except through me", Jesus didn't mean him personally, but the Christ Consciousness or the liberated state of pure consciousness free of ego. That has been much misinterpreted by Christians, in my view. Christ's teachings are a path to God. It is not the only one. Christ came the earth to spiritually uplift humanity and to bring a message that was needed, particularly at that time and place. His role in that life was to submit to a crucifixion -- a profound sacrifice, to be sure -- and to purify those that he taught through his submission. There have been many spiritual teachers throughout history that have come to awaken the spiritual potential of humanity. Everyone can be saved, but they must submit completely to the spiritual process in some form. I believe there are liberated souls in every religion, perhaps even atheists, who will attain heaven. This is a point in which I believe that Christians are profoundly mistaken. I hope these words don't offend you, but I have to say what I think.

...[Christ] specificially said He is the only way to God and the only way to eternal life.

...many will take the new testament and twist it. Christ said if you reject him you go to hell. HE said you have to repent and believe in him and follow him. There are no other roads to salvation. Christ said that also. You can disagree with christianity and that's ok, everyone has a choice. BUt you can't take Jesus' own words and say they mean something different. He was really clear on what he taught, that is why the pharisees hated him.

limbo is not scriptural...babies who die go to heaven.

maporsche back on page 2 i posted this:

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limbo is not scriptural...babies who die go to heaven.

classic evidence of this is in kings. King Davids infant son was sick and david went into mourning, but when his son died, he stopped mourning. all the people were confused as to why he quit mourning when his son died and he told them " he (my son) can't come back to me but one day i will go to him."

the bible says God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. HE doesn't change. In the old testament the jews faithfully believed in the promise of CHrist. all of the prophets wrote on him and so did david. so eventhough they were under the first covenant(the law) they still had a belief in the coming of the Messiah. So its irrelevant that this instance of Gods mercy towards unborn children was under the first covenant. God is a merciful GOd and he doesn't condemn anyone without first giving them a chance to choose him. and babies cant choose bc they don't know. there is nothing scriptural to point toward the view that babies go to hell , or even limbo. NOw there are some hypercalvinists(that i believe are truly wrong) that believe only elect babies go to heaven but they have no scripture. A good book on this subject is "Safe in the arms of GOd" by john macarthur. he gives many scriptures to support the view that all babies that die go to heaven.

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That was before Christ came though right (both books of Kings are in the OT), and thereby before you had to accept Christ as lord and saviour.

Is there anything in the NT that supports what you're saying?

the bible says God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. HE doesn't change. In the old testament the jews faithfully believed in the promise of CHrist. all of the prophets wrote on him and so did david. so eventhough they were under the first covenant(the law) they still had a belief in the coming of the Messiah. So its irrelevant that this instance of Gods mercy towards unborn children was under the first covenant. God is a merciful GOd and he doesn't condemn anyone without first giving them a chance to choose him. and babies cant choose bc they don't know. there is nothing scriptural to point toward the view that babies go to hell , or even limbo. NOw there are some hypercalvinists(that i believe are truly wrong) that believe only elect babies go to heaven but they have no scripture. A good book on this subject is "Safe in the arms of GOd" by john macarthur. he gives many scriptures to support the view that all babies that die go to heaven.

. . . So I guess your statement of "God is a merciful GOd and he doesn't condemn anyone without first giving them a chance to choose him." would also apply to anyone who has never heard of Christianity or has been brainwashed their whole lives into thinking that it was false.

John 5:28, 29 refers to a time when all who have died, including all who have never known God, will be entitled to a resurrection during which they will be taught and judged according to their deeds