Okay, In the Bible, so many times you come accross something that goes ... or you will by no means eneter the kingdom of Heaven (i used ... cuz i didnt want to go bla bla bla, cuz thats disrepectful )
So, I was just wondering if you could help me bring these all together so that we know what we have to do as Christians to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven ;)
Thanks and God Bless You....
Comments
"Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God"
1 corinthians ch 6 v 9-10
[glow=red,2,300]LOVE:::: [/glow] most important thing
- "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love,as Christ also has loved us" Ephesians 5:1
-“But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” Matthew 5:44
-“Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 23: 37, 39
.CARRY THE CROSS
“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” Matthew 10:38
FAITH
-"Have faith in God".Mark 11:22
-"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding...in all your ways aknowledge Him and He shall direct your path
-We walk by faith, not by sight
-the three most important things...love, faith, and hope
REPENTANCE & CONFESSION
-"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever CONFESSES and forsakes them will have mercy" Proverbs 28:13
--"If we CONFESS our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1John1:9
- "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" Luke 13:3
In St. Basil's liturgy, we say" For none is pure or without blemish even if His life on earth is a single day"..so all of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God, but because of His great love, He gave us, His beloved children, another chance, so we shouldnt lose the chance, but use it to enter the kingdom of God. So we must repent ..and be in a continous process of repenting from the sins that we do, because nothing is worth losing Christ, losing the eternal glory that we want to share with Him.
So, if we truly desire from our hearts to obtain the kingdom of God, that means that we chose the difficult path, and we know that the gate is narrow and only few will enter, so we must try to be of those few that will. So we know its difficult to reach there, but its all worth it in the end, and remember that He will be with us every step of the way ..If we follow Him and follow His commandments..and keep His words always in our hearts
If He is inside us, and dwells in us..then we shouldnt do anything to upset Him....lie, steal.....anything "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:8
i can tell u wat not to do:
"Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God"
1 corinthians ch 6 v 9-10
yes i c ur point and i c MarMar91 point
so can som1 answer is there a way u can overcome this especialy if ur a thief like confession.........but is that sain if u r a thief u have 99% of inheriting The Kingdom of Hevean
oh btw im just askin for my nowledge .....and i not sayin i am thief ...of corce im not...using 'thief' is a example...
ooo and im also NoT questioning the Bible
just in case sum ppl have the wrong idea
oks thanks all and GBU
so, what about the ten commandments as well ;)
John 14:21 - He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
John 12:25 - He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
1)But no man can tame the tongue for it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison (James 3:8)
2)Whomever guards the mouth and tongue keeps his soul from trouble (Proverbs 21:23)
3)Bless those who persecute you and do not curse (Romans 12:14)
4) Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles (James 3:5)
THE WHOLE ENTIRE JAMES CH. 3 IS ABOUT TAMING THE TONGUE...
GOD BLESS ALL! :-*
GOD BLESS ALL! :-*
GOD BLESS ALL! :-*
These two wing are what the Orthodoxy call them
1- Faith, including practising the Holy Sacraments.
2- Good works, aquiring virtus.
yeah i heard that you do have to pass through 7 gates.
who told u that??
I feel it's unfortunate that we focus so much on how WE can obtain the Kingdom of Heaven, as opposed to loving God.
PrincessMary noted the following verses:
“Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 23: 37, 39
The bible tells us to Love Christ because he loved us first.
How many of us, if they knew they were not going to heaven, would still work for Christ? Would still try to please him? Would make sacrifices for him?
That's where we need to be. Love is unconditional. Christ loved us while we were sinners. Our love of Christ should also be such--not conditioned on obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven.
As we grow in the genuine LOVE of Christ, you will find yourself following in line with all his commandments (Because you love him); you will find yourself loving others, and doing all the things Christ told you, doing everything you can to please Him.
It is out of LOVE that we follow the commandments. It is out of LOVE that we look to serve and please the Lord Christ. So much so that even if we were not to make it to heaven you would be content knowing that at least you spent your life here working for the right person.
Out of LOVE comes our inheritance. My mother loves me. She loved me before I existed. She loves me still. I also love my mother and as a product of this love comes forth my actions of love towards her. When she passes away, she will leave me my inheritance, because she loved me and I loved her. I did not love her with that inheritance in mind. I loved her simply because. That is what we should focus on--true Love of Christ.
We should focus on loving Christ. Out of that love of Christ, we will long to be with him HERE and in HEAVEN. And that is what will happen, god willing.
Welcome aboard!
I know that your love to the Lord is sincere and you wrote the above words out of your conviction. But because this web site is open to non Orthodoxy, who are foreign to the teaching of the early church, I would like to add to what you have said.
Just to stress that the only thing that will qualify a person to enter into the Kingdom of God is love, is to minimize the other very important issues.
1- Baptism:
“Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John3:5-6
2- Holy Communion:
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you;
he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:35-36
3- Works, good virtues, love, humility, patience, kindness..........
A- “ The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent takes it with force. “
B- And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. Mark:8:35
C- “ but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified..” 1 Cor.9:27
D- “always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” 2 Cor 4:10
E- “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. “ Phi. 1:29
F- “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7-8
G “ In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. “
Heb. 12:4
May God bless you
Let me add to the previous post by explaining the singificance of the CHURCH as the means to attaining salvation through the Blood of Christ.
If you read in Revelation, you hear about the "wedding of the Lamb."
Salvation can be understood as a wedding. The Father above sent his Son to earth to give us salvation by the shedding of His blood. After this Son shed his bled, he established a means for all of us to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Once the penalty for Adam and Eve's sin was paid by Christ, we were granted the opportunity to receive our inheritance.
But, you see, to receive an inheritance we must be related to the Father. How does this happen? Through marriage to the Son, which makes us children to the Father and fellow heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do we marry the Son? The Lord Christ always speaks about the Church which He instituted as his "Bride," all throughout the Bible. By becoming genuine members of the Church we become the "Bride" of Christ.
And just like in regular marriage here on earth with the Orthodox Christians, it is the Holy Spirit that unites the Bride (the Church) and Christ (the Bridegroom). How? Through the Sacraments of the Church. Sacraments are mysteries overseen by the Holy Spirit which are made manifest through some visible means. The Holy Spirit is involved in Baptism, which is the initiation of any Christian into the Church. Holy Communion is the changing of Bread and Wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, overseen by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit oversees repentance and confession, marriage, ordination, unction of the sick, chrismation, etc...
So you see, the Holy Trinity is involved in our salvation in a very direct way. To become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is necessary to become the Bride of Christ. The Lord set for us the means of becoming his Bride by allowing all who seek him by ascribing to the Church. The union between the members of the Church are united with Christ by the Holy Spirit through the Church's sacraments.
This is why the CHURCH is so PIVOTAL to anyone seeking CHRIST. Christ is only marrying one Bride, which is the Church that He established nearly 2000 years ago. Without ascribing to the right Bride, we will miss the opportunity Christ has given us. Thus, the right Church--which I consider to be Apostolic Church (Orthodoxy)--is very important.
It is also important to be a member of a church that administers the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments), because it is through these Holy Mysteries that the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ.
After being shut by Adam and Eve's sin, the doors of heaven were opened to us through the Lord Christ's sacrifice on the cross and the shedding of His precious blood for our sake. He left for us the means of uniting with Him, and that is the CHURCH. Which Church did he leave for us nearly 2000 years ago? Orthodoxy sums that up pretty well.