All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
John 3:16
It says that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, so whoever believes in him will never die, but have eternal life. So does that mean that EVERYONE who loves God goes to heaven? Even those the church has shunned, such as gays, lesbians and transgenders?
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Permalink Reply by Theresa on
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Dear Chippy,
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (I CORINTHIANS 6:9-11).
Yes, whosoever believes on the name and the blood of Jesus, accepting Jesus sacrifice for them, will have eternal life and if they are truly saved, there is no way they could go on with a lifestyle that is not pleasing to God. I do not believe it is the church that shunned them, I believe it is their own sins that seperated them from Holy and Righteous, Loving God whose Spirit lives on the inside of believers:)
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Permalink Reply by Chippy on
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As much as I love God, I can't help but to dispise the church. It seems like they are more about singling out people, than they are spreading the love of God. I believe you can be a gay Christian. I think as long as you love God, you can enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Chippy:)
I believe you love God because not to love Him is stupid:) the thing is I believe too that love and honor go hand and hand, you can not seperate the two. If we love God, we will honor what He says.
I do not agree with you on despising the church, I wish you do not feel this way. You are saying you can be a Christian and gay at the same time and enter heaven and I say the person who is living this lifestyle lacks true peace and joy and there is no way they are experiencing the fullness of God's love and presence in their lives.
Jesus says in Mattew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. There is no rest whatsoever for a person with this kind of lifestyle, they will not rest unless they come to the true giver of rest and His name is Holy.
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Permalink Reply by DR on
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Have mercy on her. She's a new Christian. While I agree with your assessment, you're not going to gain much ground Bible bashing without the Spirit.
Chippy, I would love to discuss these things with you. Let me add you.
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Permalink Reply by deedee310 on
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HI Chippy,
It's great that you are beginning to develop a relationship with God and that you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I myself am just beginning a walk with Jesus Christ. I am slowing but surely learning to trust him and allwo him to be Lord and Savior in my life. First of all, none of us are without sin... we all have something that we are struggling with and no sin is greater than the other. I myself read the word of God and I listen to different sermons and I am know some of the things in my life that I need to change. My personal belief is that as we continue to walk and grow with God, he will deliver us from our unrighteous ways and lifestyles in his time. He knows our hearts and he knows whether or not we are sincere about him. I believe once we surrender ourselves to him, he will take anything away from us that is displeasing to him. I don't think it's anything that happens overnight either, I think God takes his time molding and shaping us into the way he wants us to be.
I continue to pray to God everyday and tell him that I know that I am wrong and I am willing to allow him to set me free.
People can be very judgemental, even in Churches. Sometimes some church goers can develop a self-righteous attitude as if they are "holier" than others. I have experienced that myself in my life... I got pregnant out of wedlock and the people in the church were "shunning" me as well. Ignore it, try to find yourself a good pastor or minister that can help you through your struggles, and that you can talk with. A geniune pastor will be able to provide you with great insight about the word of God.
There are so many good people here on this site that can help you, that you can talk to about God and help you through. I personally met a few on this website who are absolutely awesome, that has helped me during my struggles.
None of us are qualified to say who is going to heaven/hell... Only God judges and determines who goes where once we pass this life because he truly knows out hearts. I'm starting to see that once we truly begin to seek God in our lives, he will show us which paths to take.
Much Love
DEE
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Ephesians 2:8-10.
I agree with you, Dee. That's why she needs all the love and fellowship she can get. I know when I first came to Christ, I stumbled around a bit. Probably still do. :) But He's good, as long as we keep our eyes on Him and trust Him.
Chippy, part of believing in Jesus is believing His Word. He said that no law shall drop out of God's moral law (Matthew 5:17-20) and that includes homosexuality. But through Him, they have an escape. Its also been my experience, like Dee says, that as long as we keep our eyes on Him, He'll change us.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
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Permalink Reply by felixpadua on
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no don't delete. let it flow till you get cleared up!
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Permalink Reply by Jenny on
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Hey Chippy,
The verse we need to first take a look at is; Mat 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'
Mat 7:23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'
These verses clearly stats that there will be people that believe that they are servants of God but when it comes to the judgement Jesus will say "depart from me, I never knew you"
We need to take a good look at the words lawlessness and love.
Lawlessness - There must be a law in order to practice lawlessness.
So what is this law?
Exo 24:12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."
Jas 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you do well;
Jas 2:9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Jas 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
So is the law the "ten commandments", or "Love your neighbour ..... and love God ......" ?
Well, what does love mean?
Today the word love is often missued, we need to go back and get the bibles definition of what this often used word 'love' means ...
Deu 7:9 "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
Deu 10:4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the LORD had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. ... Deu 10:12 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
These are only a selection of the many verses that clearly state this point.
To Love God is to keep his commandments.
So the answer is YES, all those who LOVE God will enter his kingdom
Therefore; All those who keep his commandments will enter the kingdom of God.
Gays, lesbians and transgenders are not loving God, for they are not keeping his law.
I hope this helps to clear up the mystery.
God Bless,
Jennifer
Exo 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exo 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
Exo 20:5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Exo 20:6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exo 20:7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Exo 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Exo 20:13 "You shall not murder.
Exo 20:14 "You shall not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 "You shall not steal.
Exo 20:16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Exo 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
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Just another quick verse to support my point;
1Jn 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn 2:5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
The Bible is so clear on the matter, yet so many people are still decieved and carry on living in transgression of the Lord, believing that they are saved.
Some have not seen it, and others ignore what is written just because they are too comfortable in their own daily lives to make a sacrafice of their own for Jesus. But I tell you, the rewards and blessings that come with keeping his commandments and living for God outweigh by far the wordly life.
Mat 7:13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
Mat 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Too many are decieved and blinded by the pleasures of this world. It becomes too difficult for them to keep Gods commandments, so they find excuses and justifcations to not do keep them accordingly. They follow the majority, attend church for an hour once a week, then continue with their daily lives.
Pray about it, search scripture, and let your heart find the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
No one has all truth, No church or Doctrines of churches have the full truth of God. We can only trust his word, and not the words of man.
Only by seeking may we come closer to his truth.
And continue testing and challenging beliefs with an open mind.
Psa 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.
Mat 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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Hi Chippy,
When we read God's word it is very easy for a sinful, self-righteous human race to judge others. However, God's word is very clear in that we are not to judge others....as we judge, we too will be judged. We are told to Love others, and treat others as we want to be treated. We could likely all do a better job of this. When we look at people, ALL PEOPLE.....we need to realize that God loves them, and pray for God's grace and mercy towards them. It's only by God's spirit that we can do this.
This type of forum topic will always become heated. By asking this question, you are asking fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to give their opinions.....which can easily be misinterpreted. Only God is the Judge. My answer to this question may have been very different a year ago....Now, I would have to say, that it is between that person and God. I'm not going to justify sin, I know what scripture says.....but only God knows our hearts.
Jesus does tell us that we will know them by their fruits.
If someone knowingly and willingly continues in any sin, what kind of fruit does that show?
Jesus wants us to be free. The truth of scripture is difficult for many people....because the light of Christ exposes the sins of us all, and the need to repent hits us all square in the face. It is quite often easier to want to rewrite God's word to suit our own needs and egos.....to try to make it easier to digest, and justify our own sins. Please don't do that! Revelation 22:18,19.
Homosexuals are often singled out.....but, sin is sin in God's eyes. Jesus tells us all: 'repent and believe'. To 'repent' is to have a complete change of heart and mind regarding our own sin. That sin which we once loved, we now hate. We see it as God sees it, and it repulses us. Therefore, we begin to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives as the Holy Spirit resides in each true believer. A true believer will lovingly and unapologetically defend the truth of scripture. Jesus promises us persecution because we stand up for Him.
This is a difficult topic. Each of us must check our own motives and make sure we are not trying to justify sins, if we are, we are only hurting ourselves.
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