Bad NOR good people can go to heaven. Only saved people do. Naturally we are all bad because of sin. It's the same sin that is natural to us. So, if we accept Christ as Savior, we are saved. That's the whole point on going to heaven. Are we saved or not? The question is not whether we are good or bad. God bless you. :)

Peru is right.... If we accept Christ as savior and love Him as our God then we won't be doing bad things right?

Well, I wouldnt say that we are all bad because of sin. There are alot of good people too. If we believe in Christ and accept him as our savour doesnt mean we are saved. God commands us to be baptised too. Chirst even says that if we are not baptised we cant be saved. After baptism, we still need to walk in Christ. Paul even tells us that. Most of Paul's letters are on how we should be.

The point of the bible is not heaven going, but waiting for Christ to return to set up his father's Kingdom on earth. The bible doesnt say we go to heaven, there is no reason for that. Remember that our soul is not immortal, AND the bible's "soul" and "spirit" is different that what the world's "soul" and "spirit" is.

King Solomon writes that there is NOTHING separate from the body. God takes our breath from us. God gives us our breath and takes it. That's it.

What is the point of going to heaven when Christ is going to return to earth to set up a Kingdom for us??? When Christ comes back, he is only coming down with his angels. First thing he is going to do is raise the dead and judge them. THAT is the first judgement.

If we do go to heaven or hell, there has to be somekind of judgement from someone to tell us that we are going there. And we know that's not the case.

The bible tells us that "no one has ever gone to heaven accept Christ." Yet people believe that they go to heaven.

The bible tells us that "no one can see God, He is in unapproachable light." Yet people belive that they will walk with God in heaven.

We really need to read and try to understand what the bible tells us.

The apostles asked Christ, "how should we pray?" Christ answered them saying.....
"Our Father, who art in Heaven
hallowed be thy name
thy Kingdom come (meaning a coming Kingdom)
thy will be done (meaning that's God will)
on earth as done in heaven (meaning it will be on earth)

what we SHOULD look forward to is the coming Kingdom, not heaven going.

SO HOW DOES SOMEONE GET "SAVED"?

Someone who is saved is thru baptism. And that is the only way. Christ even tells us that. God commands us to do that.

Baptism must follow a knowledge of God's will and purpose. It is burial or immersion in water alive after believing in Gospel and is necessary for the remission of sins and relationship in Christ.

Belief is a first essential to salvation, for to become related to the promise of God, we must understand them, and their relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ.

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."

"Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

"But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done."

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Notice that everyone "learns" first before baptism.

Keep in mind that when we do get baptism, our sins are forgiven up to that point. Our old body dies and we start fresh in a new person. THEN we MUST follow Christ and walk in his name. If and when we do sin after baptism, we must pray to God for forgiveness.

"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be "blotted out", so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,"

"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and "wash away your sins", calling on the name of the Lord.â"

baptism is the only way to be saved. Christ says this. So why wouldnt we do this?

just want to add this in.....

Just believing wont get you saved. Jesus DID say, he who believs in me will be saved. What he meant by that is, that he is the only way to salvation. Believing in any other god or idol wont save you. He's telling everyone that thru him, there is no other way! And he's right.

Knowing God's word and plan is everything. People need to know why we are here, why are we breathing, the meaning of life. There is a reason why God made us higher than the animals. There is a reason why God gave us a brain to accept knowledge and to learn. We are here for one reason only, to learn and accept the word of God.

And the great thing about the bible is that it tells us what happens to us if we dont accept God's word. We are no better than the animals. We are like a dead rat. They have one breath. They will not get raised. It is over.......

God's purpose is to someday be manifested in everything and be in all and in all. And that will be in the Kingdom. Christ says that when we are accepted into the kingdom, we will be like the angels, perfect, sinless and God will be manifested in us. God wants His creation to be in the Kingdom, but He knows everyone wont. He knows we are sinners and most will fail. "Many will be raised, few will be chosen."

For those of us to chose not to be saved, we will perish like the animals..........

MOORE, YOU SHOULD START A CULT. YOU ARE REALLY CONVINCING AND KNOWLEDGEABLE AND WOULD MAKE A GREAT CULT LEADER. I'M KIDDING, OF COURSE.

SO HOW DO YOU LOSE YOUR SALVATION AFTER YOU ARE BAPTIZED?


SIN, AND THEN POOF THERE IT GOES, AND THEN REPENT, AND POOF, THERE IT IS AGAIN, AND THEN SIN, AND POOF IT'S GONE, THEN REPENT, AND POOF YOUR SAVED, AND HOPEFULLY, YOU'LL HAVE REPENTED AND NOT SINNED AGAIN BEFORE YOU DIE OR THE LORD RETURNS?

nahhhhhh, I'll pass on the cult leader thing. LOL dont like that word anyway.

Can people lose their salvation after baptism???
Absolutely!

If we got baptised and if we were automatically "in", how bad to you think the world would be now? It would be alot worse than what it is. Knowing that you could still go out and sin, murder, rape, hurt people and still be in the Kingdom? Total chaos!!!

Most of Paul's letters are how we and the church should be like, how we should follow in Christ's name. And that is what God is looking for. God wants to know who will follow him, He wants to know who will make an effort to go out and seek His word. when Christ returns, he will pick the sheep from the goats. Sheep will be on his right, goats will be on his left.

There will be no chance for the kingdom if we still continue to sin and dont follow His commandments. God commands us to live our lives a certain way. Why would we not follow them?

Paul tells us that we need to examine people for baptism. Why? So it can be a valid baptism, meaning, we must know if that person is serious about getting baptised. Is he or she still going to do the same things did before? Paul also says that we must know the "truth". He doesnt say, know the bible, he says know the truth about the bible. John also says that too. This is very important.

Belief MUST come before baptism. Mark 16 v 16.
Some people teach that baptism is 'optional' and not necessary for salvation. This can hardly be the case as both Jesus and the Apostles commanded baptism for all believers!

"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women."

SO THERE IS NEVER ANY ASSURANCE OF SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST? WE ARE ALWAYS ONE "MAJOR" SIN AWAY FROM HELL?

well, there is in a way compared to people who are not baptised and those who have never heard the word of God. The bible DOES talk about those groups of people.

If you are baptised ,you have a chance for the Kingdom.
If you not baptised, you wont be in the Kingdom.
If you have never heard of God's word or dont want to hear it, you wont even be raised. Keep in mind that everyone will not be raised. The scriptures tell us that the Babylonians will not be raised because they didnt want to hear about God. There are a few more verses like that too.

Many (not all) will be raised, but few chosen.

God will not bring every human being to individual account. The vast majority of mankind fall into the group described in Psalm 49 --

"Man being in honor abideth not; he is like the beasts that PERISH . .Like sheep are they laid in the grave . . Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away . . He shall go to the generation of his fathers .. . They shall never see light . . Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like the beasts that PERISH."

"As many as have sinned under law shall be judged by law . . in THE DAY when God shall judge the secrets of men according to my Gospel" Romans 2:12-16

TRADITIONAL CHRISTIANITY HAS TAUGHT - and continues to teach - the concept that all mankind are rewarded (or punished) immediately at death by being sent either to heaven or hell; and then, thousands of years later, being brought back to re-enter mortal bodies and stand before Christ for judgment to see what their reward (or punishment) should be!

However, the Scriptures do give a clear simple picture, telling us that the dead know nothing, but sleep unconsciously in the grave, awaiting Christ's call back to life by bodily resurrection to be judged, and THEN rewarded. This is beautiful, harmonious and fitting.

Gzus, the way to be saved is by accepting Christ as Savior. When one gets baptized, it's a public proclamation of one's acceptance of Christ. Baptism is very important, yes, but it's not a requirement to be saved. When a person accepts Christ, they automatically are saved. The Holy Spirit is the sealant that assures our salvation.

What do I mean by that?

A Christian with the Holy Spirit will automatically do what the Lord wants. God bless you, GZUS and read the Bible and learn what God has to say.

ReiRu, when we are saved, we will still sin and do bad things. That's human nature. However, when we are saved, we will not be judged under the law as unsaved people are. Our bad things are wiped clean by Christ's blood. So, as humans, we will sin and do wrong things, but we are forgiven. Does that mean by knowing that, should we continue to do these things? No, but rest assured as people grow in their walk with the Lord that they grow stronger and the Holy Spirit teaches them and won't allow them to do the wrongs that they used to do.

I'd be more than willing to talk to you further on this. Feel free to visit me on my messages. God bless you. :)

Baptism is NOT a public proclamation at all. And it is the ONLY way! Christ even says that. And it's not an requirement??? How can you even say that??!!!??

"Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22) in the sense that the promises concerning salvation were made only to Abraham and his seed. We can only have those promises made to us if we become in the Seed, by being baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:22-29).

We are "baptized into Christ" (Gal. 3:27), into his name (Acts 19:5; 8:16; Matt. 28:19).

Jesus therefore CLEARLY commanded his followers: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel (which is contained in the promises to Abraham - Gal. 3:8) to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Jesus is telling us that, IF YOU DONT GET BAPTISED, YOU CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM."

How clear is that??????????? I"ll take Jesus's words............

moorea944, this will be my only post to you from here on out. If you don't like what I believe, that's your problem. I'm tired of arguing with you. O.K.? Do you understand that? Baptism to be saved is works and NOT faith. Understand? The way to be saved is through faith alone. If Baptism were not a public proclamation, why do like over 90 percent of Christians go to church to be baptized?

John 14:6--Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This passage spells out in detail that accepting Jesus is the only way to get to heaven (aka the Kingdom).

Knowledge isn't key here, but heart knowledge does matter. That is something seemingly seriously lacking in post #14. So, bye and I know 100 percent for certain you will spit out another reply. Go ahead, but I'm tired of this going back and forth on the issues here because WE ARE GOING NOWHERE TO REACH THE LOST LIKE THIS. I stress that because other people read these posts too and they look up to us to have the heart knowledge and to encourage one another like what Christians have ought to do. Yeah, the Bible says encourage one another. Bye...