Raised Catholic and went to Catholic school when I was young. Not devoted to all the rules tho as the bible has a way of contradicting itself many times. I have come to the assumption that if you have God in your heart and live an honest, giving way without guilt, then you are already saved as God forgives all people from sin. If your church says you have to take a day for God, thats not right cuz all days are for him. If they tell you they need 10-20% of your earnings, thats not right. He dont need your money. Give it to someone who you think really needs it. If they tell you not to come to church in jeans then thats not right. Maybe you cant afford a nice suit. If you want to eat beef, eat it. Its just a ritual that was started a long time ago as part of a scheme to control people from extreme brutality and mortal sin. I will have to answer 1 day as all of us will but I know that all my personal sacrifices and care to help others will get me into Heaven. We all sin. Its asking for forgiveness that counts. Ask and you will be forgiven. There is a peaceful feeling when going to church but its not all the people. Its the faith.
the Protestant Bible teaches that you cannot be saved by works. Works is a Catholic invention, a tradition of men.
The Protestant Bible teaches about 15 things that you can do to receive rewards for,
IF you come to Judgement Day with your name found written in the Book of Life. If you show up there, and your name is NOT found in the Book, then all your good works count for EXACTLY NOTHING, you're gonna burn, be consumed, and remembered no more; which, if your wife's name is in the Book, is a really good thing for her.
Salvation is a long road, study your Bible. God says in many places, that we have to endure.
There is a man-made Protestant doctrine that says once saved/always saved. which is taken out of context, and not true. Paul marries Faith and Works, teaching that the Believers will walk out the REST of their lives in trials and temptations, but thru endurance, come to Judgement Day having done all they could to keep their name from being blotted out. Think about that. Paul says that it is possible for your name to be blotted out. This directly contradicts the once/always saved doctrine.
It is written that God will make it 10 times harder for a back-slid Believer to return to the fold. As you can see, God is merciful, in as much as the backslider's name was not instantly blotted out, but only made it harder for him to get back on the straight and narrow.
There are two instances tho which are instant and irredeemable; if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit, or if you take the mark of the beast; poof, your salvation is gone.. So again, these contradict the once/always saved doctrine. Don't think that you can make a declaration of Faith and then sin all week. That would be a stumbling block to your other brothers, and pretty soon you are all condemned.
A Believer's life is a long hard walk on a narrow road with a fiery mountain on one side, and a deep chasm on the other.
God demands a commitment.
It is written;Do not be a double-minded man. Let not such a man think that he will receive anything from God.
It is written; don't be lukewarm, Jesus will vomit you out.
It is written; if you do not confess Jesus among men, then neither will Jesus confess you to the Father.
It is written; that if you want to be forgiven, you must first forgive EVERYONE that ever pissed you off.
So, again; there goes your once/always saved doctrine.
Being a "good" man is commendable; but impossible, for it is written that there is none good, but the Father only.
No, our Protestant Bible is very clear, Salvation is an endurance test. It starts with Faith in the risen Jesus, and His atoning blood, and then the walk, which is made easier by upon baptism, receiving the Holy Spirit, following the Jesus-introduced pattern. And here again, we run into a man-made tradition. Jesus was not sprinkled, dribbled, or dunked in a pool flooded with bleach to kill everything in it.. He went to where cousin Johnny lived, and was immersed in living spring water.
No, read it again;
Matthew 3:13 |
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
it does not say Jesus went down to the Jordan river. River is not mentioned. Galilee is a place and Jordan is a place, and in this case a specific place.
Oh if people would just stop listening to their misled, lied to, or perverse shepherds, and just read the Word. Everything you need to know to endure to Judgement Day is written right there. Everything you need to do to be healthy and strong, like Caleb, is right there. The way to rewards, is right there. Out history is is in there. The history of the World is in there. and
How to Love God, in fulfillment of the Greatest Commandment, is right there.
BTW; good luck getting God's attention if your name is NOT written in the Book.
It is written; get away from me you workers of inequity, I never knew you. If you want something from God, you gotta come thru the chain of command, and be qualified. The only exception is when; the heathen, the pagan, or the Gentile, calls out to Jesus,in absolute honesty, " save me".
The bodies of the saints that went before you are dead and buried. Their animating spirit has returned to Him that gave it. The souls are in one of three places; 1) the souls of the martyrs are under the altar, in the abode of God, 2) the souls of the righteous are in a holding area called Abraham's bosom, 3) the souls of the wicked are in a different but near-by, holding area, on the other side of a great and terrible chasm.
These latter two are neither of them in "heaven", because at the end of days they are recalled from in the Earth.
Just read the Book.
Only the souls of the martyrs are already in "heaven" and conscious, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing, because they are continually crying out "how long". If Abel is in there, that's already over 6000 years of crying. I sure hope there is more to "under the altar" then just crying.
Enoch describes the holding areas of both the righteous and the wicked, who also are conscious. For the righteous, it is a beautiful and wonderful place. But for the wicked it is a terrible and horrible place, dark and fiery. But the part I like is that the souls in the dark place, can see the souls in the beautiful place, and in Abraham's case, even talk across the great fixed gulf.
So, if I die having endured, before Jesus returns; I will see my ancestors who died in Christ, with me, in this holding place.So I'm gonna see my Mum, and so on. And if I stand at the gulf, I may be able to glimpse my Dad and my two younger brothers who have already gone on before me. I don't know if I'm gonna be sad or not, but God calls them fools, because they believed not. They were fools in life, and are still fools in their prison. On Judgement Day, they will be cast into the fire, consumed, and remembered no more.
It's all in the Books.
