Question: The true Gospel states that man is a sinner and not able to save himself. Every man and woman will certainly end up damned (hell) because of their sinfulness. God is Holy and must punish every sin with a just punishment. Everyone sins while they are alive, until the day they die (1 John 1). Everyone is doomed to go to hell ... But God is love and do not want anyone to go to hell and damnation. Therefore He made the good plan to save us by becoming a man and dying in our place on the cross at Calvary. And everyone who believes that He died in their place, is saved by Grace alone. So the Bible states this: "... And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." If you accept the sacrifice that He has made on our behalf when He died on the cross, then He saves you from the curse that is locked up inside of you, your inability to stop sinning. One has to but call on Him, and He will hear and save you. By faith alone anyone can be saved. Upholding the law is not a requirement for being saved, but only faith is, true saving faith. True saving faith is to trust Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, totally disregarding your own ability to be good. Finally, the Lord Jesus said that we must love our fellow men and God. In doing this, we often fail, even having believed. But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, even until the day we die - by faith.
Answer: We greatly applaud your recognition of the Gospel, the need of humankind, the plan of God for redemption, and the futility of human works in attaining salvation. But we think that you might find it useful to review the matter of an eternally burning hell. We firmly believe that immortality is only found in Christ, who transmits it to believers as the free gift of grace from God. Those who do not accept salvation will not live forever. They will be punished according to their works and cease to exist.
We also are concerned that the belief in human sacrifice to the ancient solar deities has influenced Christianity, mainly through the medium of the mystery religions that were prevalent in the Roman empire during the time of the rise of Christianity. While the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is certainly the central act of redemption and necessary to our salvation, the atonement for sin is made through Christ's high priestly intercession in the heavenly sanctuary. This is one of the primary points that distinguishes the true faith of Christ from pagan mystery cults which continue unfortunately today in what parades itself as Christianity. We have a living, resurrected, ascended Saviour who blots out our sins and makes us ready for his soon coming.
For the issue of hell, we recommend reading lesson 39 of the Bible study lessons course in the eCourse section. For the issues of salvation, the articles Righteousness by Faith, and 1844 and the 2300 Days Made Simple can be useful.
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written by Jose de Leon vitug 111, March 09, 2009
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written by Jose de Leon vitug 111, March 09, 2009
7) Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they chose the places of honor, saying to them,
" When you are invited by any one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; 9) and he who invited you both will come and say to you, `Give place to this man,' and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10) But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, `Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. 11) For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 12) He said also to the man who had invited him, " When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. 13) But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, 14) and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." -
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