According To Christianity, What Must One Do In Order To Get To Heaven?
I have found these things so far – what do you think?
Say the right things.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified. — Matthew 12:37
Do the right things.
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life. — John 5:29
For you render to each one according to his works. — Psalm 62:12
I the Lord … give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. — Jeremiah 17:10
When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness … and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul. — Ezekiel 18:27
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Matthew 16.27
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. — Matthew 25:34-36
Who will render to each one according to his deeds. … For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. — Romans 2:6, 13
For we must all appear before the jugment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. — 2 Corinthians 5:10
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. — 2 Corinthians 11:15
The Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work. — 1 Peter 1:17
I will give unto every one of you according to your works. — Revelation 2:23
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. — Revelation 20:12-13
Believe the right things.
A man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. — Romans 3:28
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. — Romans 5:1
A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. — Galatians 2:16
For by grace are ye saved through faith. — Ephesians 2:8
Do and believe the right things.
Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:17
Believe in Jesus.
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. — John 3:16
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life — John 3:36
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. — Acts 16:31
Be born again.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. — John 3:3
Hear the words of Jesus and believe in whoever sent him.
He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life. — John 5:24
Be born of water and the spirit.
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. — John 3:5
Be washed by the Holy Ghost.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. — Titus 3:5
Be converted and become like a little child.
Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 18:3
Believe and be baptized.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. — Mark 16:16
Call upon the name of the Lord.
Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. — Acts 2:21
Confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. — Romans 10:9
Follow the commandments (at least some of them).
If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. — Matthew 19:17-19
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life. — Revelation 22:14
Keep the commandments (at least some of them), give all your money to the poor, and follow Jesus.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? … Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
…thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.– Luke 18:18-22
Keep the commandments and the faith of Jesus.
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. — Revelation 14:12
Endure to the end.
He that endureth to the end shall be saved. — Matthew 10:22, 24:13, Mark 13:13
Wait until you die and then get baptized.
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? — 1 Corinthians 15:29
Don’t judge other people.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. — Matthew 7:1, Lk.6:37
Have lots of babies.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing. — 1 Timothy 2:14-15
Don’t defile yourself with women. (Be a virgin male.)
…the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. — Revelation 14:3-4
Be given by the Father and come to the Son.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. — John 6:37
Be chosen (predestinated) by God.
For many are called, but few are chosen. — Matthew 22:14
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate … Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.– Romans 8:29-30
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth. — Romans 9:11
He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us … according to the good pleasure of his will. — Ephesians 1:4-5
Be poor, not rich.
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. — Matthew 19:23-24
But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. — Luke 6:24
Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. — James 5:1
Be more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees.
Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 5:20
Eat Jesus’ body and blood.
Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. — John 6:53-54
Just ask.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.– Matthew 7:7-8
All you need is love.
Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God. — 1 John 4:7
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. — Luke 10:26
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Your question is a good one, in that it addresses a topic of utmost import. It is an answerable question, although a bit challenging because of how you presented it. You have cited many verses. Many of the verses you cited were taken alone, when that actually obscures the meaning of the verses in question. It would be extremely cumbersome for all invloved, writer and reader alike, were I to go through and deal with every verse you listed. With that in mind I will speak to the spirit of your question and not attempt to make an answer for every single verse/passage listed, correctly used or otherwise. Here goes:
Man is saved by grace throuth faith. That is it in a nutshell, but I will expand on that. Your question seems to imply that there is some confusion within the text of scripture as to just what it is that saves a man. This is not so. The scripture talks about many things like works, faith, proper speach etc.. and ties them to salvation, but when you study the word you see that all these external things are outcroppings of the faith that God saved you with in the first place. Ephesians 2:10 makes this crystal clear: “for we are his(God’s) workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”. Now this verse could be misconstrued to mean that we are saved by some type of righteousness of our own, but it comes right in the middle of a passage(indeed an entire epistle) that stresses over and over again that we are saved by God’s grace, for God’s glory, because of God’s mercy, according to God’s plan. All the other stuff i.e. right speach, right action, right belief, endurance etc.. are products of that saving faith through God’s grace and could be said in a manner of speaking to justify, ala James 2:24, but it is God who justifies the wicked. There are some things that I have not mentioned, that were in your question, but you misused a few bible verses so badly I wouldn’t even know where to begin. As to predestination, that is part of God’s plan and the scripture makes it clear that God “has mercy on whom I will have mercy”. I make no pretention to fully understand predestination, and I struggle with it a lot, but it is there so I believe it. I will leave the rest of my answer in an e-mail to you.
What you’re asking for is a book, Skeptic :p. I don’t think I can give you a very good answer here, and I’m tempted just to give you a link. But I have fought that temptation and won. According to the *historical* form of Christianity (viz. as represented by those Churches in the East and West who trace their origin through Apostolic Succession), all of the things mentioned you mention are nessessary for *most* people to enter paradise. Let me give you an example:
A man is drawn by God’s grace, and using the free will God gave him, he responds to it, and cooperates with it, seeking after God. In doing so, God is pleased with him, and the grants the man the gift of faith. The man recieves the gift willingly, and this pleases God. At this point, if the man has perfect contrition for all his past sins, and desires the grace of baptism, he is justified, and counted as baptized. However, since he cannot know if he has perfect contrition and faith, God provides the waters of baptism, through which the man is “born again”. At this point he is freed from original sin, and brought into the New Covenant. God calls him to perfection, but it is likely he will still sin. In this case, God will reach out to him with more grace, calling him to repentance, and the sacrament of reconcilation. If he cooperaties with this grace, God is pleased, and crowns his own work in the man.
Good works *prompted by God’s grace* tend towards sanctification, since they call us to direct our attention outward. Works of the law or works of the flesh do not do this. Only God truly knows which works are those which he has worked in us, and so we must always remain humble.
Ultimately, in order to enter heaven, we must be perfect. If those who in this life die in God’s friendship have not attainted to perfection, God will purifiy them in the next (what is called in modern theological terms, “purgatory”). They will be made perfect, and accepted into heaven.
kneel down and pray to jesus
“lord forgive all my sins whatever i did inmy life
through my tongue bad words
eyes bad scenes
and confess all ur sins
ask jesus for forgiveness and invite jesus to come to your
heart then spend time in prayer and reading the word
ask jesu s to give the divine wisdom and divine knowledge
to understand the w0rd and and ask jesus to come my
father and talk withe me ur son
definetely jesius wil talk withu
[prophecy ””’ rememb er one da y u will become a mighty prophet of jesus christ and wiill be mightly used by jesus ljl
for the expansion of the kingdom
jesus says one day i will use u mighty in ur own country and
before ur people
so read bible and dont forget to praise
the more u praise jesus the more jesus will fill u with his own
holy fire forever amen
johnson_warrior2002@yahool.com
Question or scripture?
They wont go to heaven if they keep hitting the abuse button unnecessarily
i dint read ur details… but not only for christainity, its for all religion, they hav to die first.
That’s too much rule for me. I live under my free will and I am still a good person. I choose to do good for me, not for god’s liking.
The Right to Enter Paradise
Death is inevitable. The thief on the cross knew when his would occur, but we can not predict our own. After his death, the crucified criminal went to live in paradise with Jesus. Some of us will also live eternally in God’s presence. But others will experience everlasting torment, forever separated from Him.
If we receive Jesus as our Savior, our penalty for sin is paid. We are adopted into God’s family, and Heaven is our eternal home. If we reject Jesus, we remain alienated from the Lord and under condemnation for our sin. We are destined to experience eternal judgment. God won’t accept any of man’s excuses because there is no acceptable defense for unbelief. (Acts 4:12)
Become part of God’s family today. Acknowledge your sinfulness, and express your faith in these words:
“God, I have sinned against You. (Romans 3:23) I’ve followed my own way and refused to give You the right to rule in my life. (Romans 3:10-12) I recognize I am separated from You and cannot rescue myself. I do believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I accept the truth of the Scriptures? that His death on the cross paid my sin-debt in full. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) And I ask You to forgive me of my sins. (1 John 1:9) By faith, I receive You, Lord Jesus, as my personal Savior from this moment on.”
If you just spoke those words to God, then, like the thief on the cross, you have received salvation? a gift of God’s grace. The heavenly Father welcomes every person who comes to Him through His Son, regardless of background, age, or current situation. Through Jesus, the right to enter paradise is yours!
We need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Salvation is only by the mercy and grace of God because He loves us unconditionally. He is love but He is also Just. So as He loves us no matter what, He will keep His word too. But as a part of accepting Jesus as our Savior, we need to follow His example to show that we have received Him.
Once intimacy with God has established, it grows. The full release of God’s love does not happen in a one day.
It is very simple.`” Christ said; you love each other as I have loved you” ( can any body dis prove that, it is not the core and essence of Christianity- is there something else)
Bill, these things seem like zillions of different ways to “get into heaven” because you want there to be discord and zillions of different ways to get into heaven. And because others have wanted discord too, many different takes have arisen among different denominations (mostly the protestants in the reformation and the sects who arose in the late 1800’s who claim to be Christian – Jehovah’s witnesses – but are not).
The known way to get into heaven: Sequela Christi. That involves believing in (not just about) God (revealed as Father Son and Holy Spirit and what that entails in the mysteries of the life of Christ), modeling one’s life after Jesus, looking to do the Father’s will, loving God and neighbor as self, denying one’s self and taking up one’s cross, etc, etc, etc (just call me the King of Siam).
Does this mean God is limited to saving only those who are Christians and who follow Jesus? No. God, being merciful can save (in ways known only to him – and always through the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus ) all those who, living according to their conscience, truly seek God and what is good. (There is the scriputure passage which reminds us, “whoever is not against you is for you,” and I personally think God feels the same way).
Unfortunately, too many people think of “how can I be saved” as the kind of question one should receive a set of instructions for. So that, afterwards, they can follow the instructions and say “See God, I’m so good, give me my reward of heaven.”
But God in his mercy does not give of himself and the gift of union with him to people based on merit (remember the good theif who goes to heaven in Luke). Rather, God shows His love in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). The Roman liturgy during the Easter Vigil sings “Father, how wonderful your care for us, how boundless your merciful love. To ransom a slave you gave away your son!” (Easter Exultet).
So, Bill, it is not what we do that gets us into heaven. Yet again and again, we hear Jesus admonishing people to mind their works. Why? Because it is a matter of stewardship. Once one has accepted the gift of God’s love and mercy, if one does not allow God to change one into an instrument of his love and mercy, then one is liable. In other words, How can one really think they have accepted God’s love and mercy if when it comes time for them to be merciful, they fail to do so? That’s why works matter, not as a way to earn merit to get into heaven, but as an expression of one’s return, one’s thanks to God, one’s living out the very same love that God has shown us (ie being transformed, divinized by God’s own love coming to fruition in that person’s life through their actions – that it not remain all talk).
I could go on, but I think this is enough for now. Again, just some food for thought.