Do you know that 70% of Americans believe there is more than one way to get to heaven? I saw this story on the local news last night and was SHOCKED! 70%! 57% of evangelicals believe there is more than one way. 57%! According to the story, 92% of Americans believe in God, but of those 92%, 70% believe there is more than one way to get to heaven. This brings up so many points for me.
Just yesterday, I had kind of a debate in my head over the term "believers". I was going to send someone a question about a situation I was dealing with, and I knew they would ask me if the person I was inquiring about was believer. For me, that's tough to answer about some people. I have people I am close to who are believers. They believe in God, they believe that Jesus died for our sins; however, they aren't necessarily Christ-followers. James 2:19 clearly says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder." You see, it's not enough to just believe. James 2:20 goes on to say, "Faith without works is dead." We must act out what we believe! That's why I guess I prefer "Christ-followers". Is that nit picky? It is. SORRY!
Back to the subject at hand...the 70% of Americans who think they can get into heaven just because they were nice a couple of times or because they're not as bad as that guy who killed 10 kids... That is a dangerous way to live. The Bible clearly (clearly my word of the post, huh?) states that there is only one way to get to heaven...
You don't get there by being "good". None of us are good.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Here is a great site that has lots of verses clearly (there it is again!) showing that Jesus is the ONE and ONLY way to heaven.
Acts 4:12 says, "And there is salavation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
I hope and pray that you don't fall into that 70%. If you do, it's not too late. Repent. Ask Jesus to forgive you. Then ask Him to come live inside your heart. Find a great church, and submerge yourself into His Word. I can promise you it will change your life. It did mine. Just ask anyone who knew me in high school or college. Thank God for the mighty work He did in me! I'm nowhere close to where I want to be, but PRAISE GOD I'm not where I was!
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6 comments:
Awesome post, Annie!! 70% that seems crazy high!!
hello, you don't know me, but I was "blog hopping" and came across yours. Although I was raised Christian and do not entirely disagree with what you are saying, I have to play devils advocate for a second.
I took this quote from that article:
"What most people are saying is, 'Hey, we don't have a hammer-lock on God or salvation, and God's bigger than us and we should respect that and respect other people,'" said the Rev. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.
I like to look at the 70% as finally accepting other's ideals and learning to tolerate them.
I actually think that tolerance is a good thing. I appreciate you for trying to save everyone...
but I don't believe in hell.
here's my reasoning:
God loves each and every one of His children... each and EVERY ONE! even those that don't beleive in him. But we are all his children. I just have a hard time beleiving that anyone could send their own child to eternal damnation...
but that's just me.
There are lots of people out there who are stongly devoted to their religion of choice and I don't think they are wrong for it. Buddhists are some of the most devoted people I know, way more than lots of "Christians" that I know. I don't think that any one religion has it ALL right.
I don't think any of us will know until we meet Him/Her and then we're all gonna look back and say "huh! that was what we missed!?!" and we're gonna feel really silly for all the politics and drama between sects of Christianity and the Holy Wars and the general intolerance...
SORRY, I totally went off on a tangent. Just felt I needed to speak from the other side.
It's nice to blog-meet you! I hope you have a wonderful day blessed with peace and happiness! And don't take anything I said too personally, I mean nothing against you and I'm actually in awe of your strong faith...
great post! Head over to my blog, you've been TAGGED! :)
Janie
Great post! I have had this discussion with a good friend of mine about family members. They know Jesus died on the cross for our sins, they believe in God but that does not determine your eternity! We even looked at that verse from James. I have heard those astronomical numbers before and am still amazed. The problem is so many people believe in God but don't follow him and call themselves Christians. This is where many people start calling Christians hypocrites because they say one thing but live another. We all make mistakes but to recognize that, ask for forgiveness and make changes in our lives to be more like Christ is the only way to grow closer to Him. I pray that people will look at me and see someone who, though not perfect is trying to be Christ-like so that I don't do any damage for Christ in others lives.
Hi Tricia! First off, let me thank you for your honesty and for the respectful way that you shared your opinion. I really admire that. It would have been much easier for you to leave an anonymous comment, so thank you for your boldness and respect. It means more than you know. I'm going to share my heart with you, and I hope it comes across the way I'm intending...with complete love and respect for you and where you are with this.
When you said that you believe God loves all his children, even those who don't believe in Him, I would have to 100% agree. He absolutely does. I am amazed by this love. AMAZED! Because of this great love that He has for ALL of us, "He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Can you imagine what that must have felt like? I don't know if you're a mom, but I do know that, as a mom, I couldn't watch my either of my boys go through what Jesus went through for us. To see my boy falsely accused, ridiculed, tortured, spat upon, and hung on a cross...for people who didn't deserve it, didn't appreciate it, people who would fail again and again. I cannot even begin to fathom what that must have been like for my heavenly Father. I couldn't do it. Could not. OUR heavenly Father let His son die on the cross (after being tortured) for us. Does that mean that He didn't love Jesus? No, He just loved us so much that He was willing to watch His son suffer for us. He then gave us a choice. Accept Jesus, have a relationship with Him, and you will have eternal life in Heaven as a reward. If you don't, you will spend eternity in hell.
We don't go to hell because of God's lack of love for us. We go because that is what He told us from the beginning. God is not a liar and cannot go back on His Word. Jesus gave His life, the least we could do for Him is to give Him ours.
Romans 10:13-14 says, "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But who can ask them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells him?" Romans 10:13-14
Because God loves us, He is "patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
How cool is that?!
I'm sure many people would love to believe that everyone gets to go to heaven, simply because of believing there is a God; however, according to His Word, it doesn't happen that way. That would mean that during our lives, we need only to focus on ourselves. That is not why we were created.
"Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression, he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God." (Genesis 1:26-31; 3:1-7 romans 5:12-21
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ;His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22)
According to the Bible, after living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to hell where they will be eternally tormented with the devil and fallen angels. (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelations 14:9-11,20:12-15, 21:8)
Specifically as for us all going to heaven, Matthew 7:13-14 clearly addresses that. It says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
That, alone, tells me that everyone doesn't get to go to heaven. We must accept responsibility for our actions.
I believe all this because 2 Timothy 3:16 tells me, "The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us to do what is right."
Tricia, God has truly changed my life. He really has. I would love to tell you my whole story. I think it's pretty amazing to see where God has brought me from where I was. My change could have happened no other way. Because of what He has done in my life, I stand in awe of Him.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I really genuinely hope to meet you one day. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for you to visit my church with me one day. I think you live in the same area, and it would mean the world to me if you did visit with me. Of course, I wouldn't want to pressure you in any way, I would just love for you to check it out and to form you own opinions about it. It has totally changed my life. I know you're doing a lot of soul searching right now, and I think it could help. What do you have to lose? I'll even take you to lunch. It would be my pleasure! (PLEASE don't think I'm patronizing you because I absolutely am not. I'm being totally genuine here).
Again, I appreciate you and your openness and honesty!!! :)
Blessings to you!!!
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take care and thank youa again!
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