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I often wonder, that if God is more interested in what we do with our hearts and our hands and is less interested in what we profess to believe. |
God is interested in what we believe as we should believe in his son as the path to heaven.
While belief is there anyone can go back to their sinful ways and still think they are going to the promised land. This is why I believe that deeds are way more important. If we accept Christ and live by his word we have to show that we are better for it. I believe that your deeds will show your true self. Remember actions can say a lot more than words.
In my opinion, a lot of people have misinterpreted the word Faith (Myself included) to mean just a state of mind and a profession of belief.
I believe it to be more of a state of action based on your state of mind.
Matthew 7:21
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21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. |
I can see where your coming from on the faith part. But I believe that faith and deeds are different. It is your faith that gets you to go out and spread the word. It is your faith that gets you out of bed to help a friend or stranger in the time of need. It is your faith that shows to others in what you believe. But this faith can only get you so far.
It is your deeds that you do on a daily basis in your actions with the public and the people you walk past, or the people you see on a daily basis. It is how you deal with life as you live it that shows your true character. You can have all the faith in the world and help people in all aspects of your life and do all the good you can think of. But if your deeds in all you do are more in self interest or your deeds when no one sees you is black of heart then your not going to get far once your dead.
Everyone knows in their heart whether they are doing something good or bad. You can see it in the reactions you get from others. It is those deeds in my opinion that will lead you or not into the kingdom of heaven. Faith alone will only get you so far.
I think the idea is that just good deeds will not get you in heaven as it was I the old testament. Also no good deed goes unseen. Faith in the Lord opens the door but is not enough to do more then get your past the threshold. So by acting on your faith and believing in the lord to step past your normal boundaries do God's deeds you gain fully all the land of heaven.
If you are called to wake and pray even though you know not why and do it your rewarded. You might not be punished for not doing it but you will not reap the rewards that follow completing an act of God's will. One big one to me is the deepening of your relationship with him.
This is just out of personal curiosity that I ask.
Assume that you have three individuals: one who is a Christian, One who is a Muslim and one who is a Jew in the following situations
The Christian believes in Christ but lives a rather sinful life of prostitution and substance abuse. He goes to church every week but lives a life outside of his outwardly happy family life. On the outside he appears to be a good church goer and a Family man but has fits of anger where he lashes out at his wife and cheats on his spouse assuming that he will be forgiven of these sins.
Suppose you have a Muslim, who has not accepted Christ in his life, is a good Family man who loves and treats his wife with respect. He treats others with love and gives all of his allegiance to Allah. He is not perfect but he has decided, his path is correct for him and attempts to the best of his abilities to follow these dictates.
Now you have a Jewish Woman, who has dedicated her life to serving Jehovah as she finds him in the Torah (the Old Testament). She keeps the Sabbat holy, and gives to her local charities. She is active in a local Jewish Charity that helps relocate Jews to Israel and feels that she is doing God's work.
In this Hypothetical situation (which really is not so hypothetical): does the actions of the latter two individuals affect there standing in the afterlife? Does the actions of the first (if one believes that one must believe in Christ) matter since he believes Christ will save him. Will a "Good" Muslim or Jew go to hell and a "sinful" or wicked Christian go to heaven, just because he believed God would save him in his sins?
This has always been one of my hang ups with the "just believe" theory of heavenly rewards.
Is there not a place prepared for good people who did not accept Christ in this life (those that lived before Christ, or because of cultural prohibitions cannot convert, or those who never accepted Christianity), but have lived honorable lives? It seems very harsh to forever condemn 95% of the Earth's entire population of people from Adam until now because they did not believe a certain way. This is why I believe, feel, think , that God must have prepared places for those individuals who did not or could not accept Christ, who cannot abide the presence of God but are nonetheless rewarded with some peace in the afterlife.
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John 14: 2 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. |
In my thoughts that poor christian fella is not likely to make it through the heavenly gates as he believes and knows of God and Christ but chose not to follow the ways.
I do appologize for this as I am trying to learn the bible scriptures as too often I read things and struggle to recall where. (I am beginning t think this is me fighting my own sinful nature as it does not want the word of god in my mind.)
I do believe that the other two have a place in heaven as I recall soemthing about those who do good deeds will be smiled upon. I also think the old testament is just as relevant today as they day it was given. Some thing Jeseus's sacrifice replaces such as the old atonement of beasts and crops for sins. But the old standards still are very important to God and he will still look at you deeds and compare them to the old testament.
Also God will forgive those who make atonement and sin no more. God at some time if you continue in a repeating sinful nature will take retribution on you. That is a promise he made.
If one knows God and chooses sin that person is the most vile in Gods sight.