If you ask most christians what you need to do to make heaven, they will tell you that you must be born again and if you ask them what it means to be born again they will tell you that it means you must accept Jesus Christ as your and Saviour. whilst this is not entirely wrong, it is clearly off the mark. Let us examine Jesus words as regards making heaven.

Matthew 25:31-40

The Final Judgment
31 “When the Son of Man comes as King and all the angels with him, he will sit on his royal throne, 32 and the people of all the nations will be gathered before him. Then he will divide them into two groups, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the righteous people at his right and the others at his left. 34 Then the King will say to the people on his right, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father! Come and possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you ever since the creation of the world. 35 I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, 36 naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 The righteous will then answer him, ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ 40[b] The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’ [/b]

From the above we can see the way Jesus says we can inherit his kingdom and there is no mention of accepting him as your lord and saviour there.

.The parable of the good samaritan is another in which Jesus clearly teaches about how to inherit eternal life again the popular church teachings on this are clearly absent.

Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 A teacher of the Law came up and tried to trap Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to receive eternal life?”

26 Jesus answered him, “What do the Scriptures say? How do you interpret them?”

27 The man answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind’; and ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”

28 “You are right,” Jesus replied; “do this and you will live.”

29 But the teacher of the Law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus answered, “There was once a man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when robbers attacked him, stripped him, and beat him up, leaving him half dead. 31 It so happened that a priest was going down that road; but when he saw the man, he walked on by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also came there, went over and looked at the man, and then walked on by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan who was traveling that way came upon the man, and when he saw him, his heart was filled with pity. 34 He went over to him, poured oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them; then he put the man on his own animal and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Take care of him,’ he told the innkeeper, ‘and when I come back this way, I will pay you whatever else you spend on him.’”

36 And Jesus concluded, “In your opinion, which one of these three acted like a neighbor toward the man attacked by the robbers?”

37 The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who was kind to him.”

Jesus replied, “You go, then, and do the same.”

This parable is quite instructive, i know most of us have read it before but i really want us to take a second look at it and reflect on the teachings of Christ here.

The verses below makes us understand that not everybody that accepts Jesus as his/her Lord and saviour will enter the kingdom of God.

Matthew 7:21-23

I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do. 22 When the Judgment Day comes, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord! In your name we spoke God's message, by your name we drove out many demons and performed many miracles!’ 23 Then I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked people!’

God's greatest commandment to us is to love God and to love our fellow man.

Truth is you can't do any of the listed without being born of the Spirit.

starlingslimnet:
Truth is you can't do any of the listed without being born of the Spirit.

I don't know what you mean by 'born of the spirit' but there are people who are not christians that can do this.

Jesus is the way the truth and the life.

John 14:6

6 Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me.

Clearly Jesus is the way to father but contrary to what we are constantly told in church, it is more important to do the will of the father and obey his commandments than to just be a follower of christ. However to be a real follower of Christ you would necessarily obey Jesus commandments the greatest of which is love.

From Jesus own very words he has told us he would admit us into the kingdom of God if we obey his commandments and do good to others and not if we are just his followers. Most churches today emphasize being a follower of christ over obeying his commandments to Love and do good to others. Clearly most churches are on the wrong path.

None of those things gets your name in the Book of Life! Remember Jesus said those on the right are His sheep? Meaning they were His and were saved and knew Him as their Shepherd and their lives radiated love. The chapter just shows that faith reveals itself by works meaning we cannot claim to believe in Christ and live contrary lives- such faith is vain!

It stands
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Scholar8200:
None of those things gets your name in the Book of Life! Remember Jesus said those on the right are His sheep? Meaning they were His and were saved and knew Him as their Shepherd and their lives radiated love. The chapter just shows that faith reveals itself by works meaning we cannot claim to believe in Christ and live contrary lives- such faith is vain!

It stands
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Can you define what it means to be born again? Kindly back up your answer with scripture, thanx.

Annunaki:


Can you define what it means to be born again? Kindly back up your answer with scripture, thanx.

To be born again is to be born of the Spirit/converted/saved:

1. Born of the Spirit
5 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.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

It is a process where the previously dead (i.e separated from Life in God) spirit receives Life once again through God's Holy Spirit in response to saving faith in Jesus Christ

Just as the severance from God resulted in a life that was ,'only evil continually'(Genesis 6:5), upon reconciliation by the Spirit and cleansing from the past, such a person walks in Newness of life.

Titus 3:5b,6
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

2. Acts 16:31-34,, 2 Corinth 5:17

MrPristine:


I don't know what you mean by 'born of the spirit' but there are people who are not christians that can do this.

None my brother...I repeat none.

Or are you taking it literal? I mean "When am hungry you feed me" Did you take the "feed" literal giving of food? If yes then you might want to consider John 21:15 where Christ said to Peter "Feed my lambs"

Scholar8200:
None of those things gets your name in the Book of Life! Remember Jesus said those on the right are His sheep? Meaning they were His and were saved and knew Him as their Shepherd and their lives radiated love. The chapter just shows that faith reveals itself by works meaning we cannot claim to believe in Christ and live contrary lives- such faith is vain!

It stands
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

The bolded above is your own mis interpretation of scripture, the verse did not say 'his' sheep rather it said 'the' sheep. Jesus clearly said it is the righteous that are the sheep. He made no mention of those that believe in him.

starlingslimnet:
None my brother...I repeat none.

Or are you taking it literal? I mean "When am hungry you feed me" Did you take the "feed" literal giving of food? If yes then you might want to consider John 21:15 where Christ said to Peter "Feed my lambs"

Yes it's literal, feed in both context means "to take care of". Unfortunately these days most church leaders don't take care of the flock rather they fleece them.

MrPristine:


Yes it's literal, feed in both context means "to take care of". Unfortunately these days most church leaders don't take care of the flock rather they fleece them.

How do you take care of the flock, giving them rice and beans?

starlingslimnet:
How do you take care of the flock, giving them rice and beans?

By meeting their material and spiritual needs.

MrPristine:


By meeting there material and spiritual needs.

And both the parables and John was basically Spiritual needs.

MrPristine:



The bolded above is your own mis interpretation of scripture, the verse did not say 'his' sheep rather it said 'the' sheep. Jesus clearly said it is the righteous that are the sheep. He made no mention of those that believe in him.

Sorry for that! If we will consider the words of Christ and not just run away with one, we'll see that John 3:3 is equally essential.

Infact, the use of sheep and goat points us to a difference in nature being a pointer to the difference salvation makes! We may do good works but the Bible stands: by grace are you saved through faith Ephesians 2 but faith evidences itself by works meaning its saving faith before works not the other way round.

starlingslimnet:
And both the parables and John was basically Spiritual needs.

Nope Jesus met the material needs of his followers by feeding the multitude the apostles also met the material needs of the church by distributing the church collections amongst the poorer members of the church.

Acts 4:32-35


32 The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all. 34 There was no one in the group who was in need. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them, bring the money received from the sale, 35 and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.

Scholar8200:
Sorry for that! If we will consider the words of Christ and not just run away with one, we'll see that John 3:3 is equally essential.

Infact, the use of sheep and goat points us to a difference in nature being a pointer to the difference salvation makes! We may do good works but the Bible stands: by grace are you saved through faith Ephesians 2 but faith evidences itself by works meaning its saving faith before works not the other way round.

You seem to be arguing with the stance of Jesus on this matter based on your preconceived notions. I also gave the parable of the good samaritan which Christ taught to teach people the way to eternal life. If you consider that the samaritan was an unbeliever as opposed to the priest and levites who were the most ardent believers yet it was the man deemed to be an unbeliever that Jesus said would receive eternal life based on his good works. Read the parable again with this in mind and reflect deeply devoid of any preconceived notions you might have.

MrPristine:


You seem to be arguing with the stance of Jesus on this matter based on your preconceived notions. I also gave the parable of the good samaritan which Christ taught to teach people the way to eternal life. If you consider that the samaritan was an unbeliever as opposed to the priest and levites who were the most ardent believers yet it was the man deemed to be an unbeliever that Jesus said would receive eternal life based on his good works. Read the parable again with this in mind and reflect deeply devoid of any preconceived notions you might have.

The parable (oh yes it was a parable!.) of the Samaritan was given when a person asked who his neighbour was and not how to enter the kingdom! Nothing was mentioned there of Eternal life for the good Samaritan (afterall the Samaritan was a fictitious figure it being a parable.!!!)

But as regarding the Way to Eternal Life (as your topic reads), Jesus clearly said:

16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]
John 3:16-18

Also see:
But these are written (recorded) in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of God, and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [[d]through Who He is].
John 20:31

Scholar8200:

The parable (oh yes it was a parable!.) of the Samaritan was given when a person asked who his neighbour was and not how to enter the kingdom! Nothing was mentioned there of Eternal life for the good Samaritan (afterall the Samaritan was a fictitious figure it being a parable.!!!)

But as regarding the Way to Eternal Life (as your topic reads), Jesus clearly said:

16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([d]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
17 For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.
18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation—he incurs no damnation]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.]
John 3:16-18

Also see:
But these are written (recorded) in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Anointed One), the Son of God, and that through believing and cleaving to and trusting and relying upon Him you may have life through (in) His name [[d]through Who He is].
John 20:31

Obviously you don't understand the parable of the good samaritan, kindly go back to my OP and read again the parable. Verse 25 makes it clear that Jesus was talking about eternal life in that parable. Please read it patiently and with understanding.

Also with regards to John 3:16 belief in Jesus does not necessarily mean belief in his name but a belief in his teachings. Now most of his teachings was about doing good and living a righteous life. His greatest commandment to us was to love others and this is what matters most.

MrPristine:


Obviously you don't understand the parable of the good samaritan, kindly go back to my OP and read again the parable. Verse 25 makes it clear that Jesus was talking about eternal life in that parable. Please read it patiently and with understanding.

What you also need to understand is that you are to study a subject considering all that was said about it and not just running away with a verse/passage! Besides, the parable was given to illustrate who your neighbour is!

Luke 10:29,36
And he, [e]determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?

MrPristine:


Nope Jesus met the material needs of his followers by feeding the multitude the apostles also met the material needs of the church by distributing the church collections amongst the poorer members of the church.

Acts 4:32-35


32 The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all. 34 There was no one in the group who was in need. Those who owned fields or houses would sell them, bring the money received from the sale, 35 and turn it over to the apostles; and the money was distributed according to the needs of the people.

On this Christ said "Sell your possesion and give to the poor" and its different from "Feed my sheep"

MrPristine:
Also with regards to John 3:16 belief in Jesus does not necessarily mean belief in his name but a belief in his teachings. Now most of his teachings was about doing good and living a righteous life. His greatest commandment to us was to love others and this is what matters most.

My brother you lack understanding.

MrPristine:
Also with regards to John 3:16 belief in Jesus does not necessarily mean belief in his name but a belief in his teachings. Now most of his teachings was about doing good and living a righteous life. His greatest commandment to us was to love others and this is what matters most.

John 3:18
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in [size=13pt]the name[/size] of the only begotten Son of God.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Acts 9:15

And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all
Acts 3:16


We believe on His Name to be saved,

teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20

We follow His teachings by His Grace after we have truly believed and become disciples, not before!

Scholar8200:

What you also need to understand is that you are to study a subject considering all that was said about it and not just running away with a verse/passage! Besides, the parable was given to illustrate who your neighbour is!

Luke 10:29,36
And he, [e]determined to acquit himself of reproach, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?

36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?

Did you read verse 25 at all The question Jesus was answering with that parable was how to receive eternal life. Go back and read it and stop this futile argument for Christ's sake.

starlingslimnet:
On this Christ said "Sell your possesion and give to the poor" and its different from "Feed my sheep"

You are the one who seriously lacks understanding.

MrPristine:


You are the one who seriously lacks understanding.

Only time will tell.

Scholar8200:

John 3:18
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in [size=13pt]the name[/size] of the only begotten Son of God.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Acts 9:15

And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all
Acts 3:16


We believe on His Name to be saved,

teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20

We follow His teachings by His Grace after we have truly believed and become disciples, not before!

Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

The bolded sums it up for me, God's word takes precedence over his name.

MrPristine

Obeying or following or accepting to adopt instructions or commandments of someone, requires u to first know that person, believing or trusting that person, accepting the persons idea, before following that person.

Jesus has told us He's d way, truth n life, no one comes to the father but by Him.

How can u follow His instructions if u don't even believe or accept who He is.

Jesus Himself said go preach d gospel. When u preach the gospel, what do u tell people?
U tell the unbelievers about Jesus who died for their sin. U want them to know who Jesus is.

Now d first step in their repentance is accepting Christ, accepting His purpose for us all. After which u learn more about Him, and what He expects from u which is to Love God and love everyone irrespective of who they are. That is what d kingdom of God is all about.

Of kos u can Love everyone, but u will b breaking d other part of d law which says love God if u don't accept Jesus Christ.

The parables u gave are d various ways Jesus thought us to show love to people.

How then can we love God so we don't fall short. God Himself said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, Hear Him. Matthew 17:5

U can simply love God by obeying His instructions, serve Him and Him alone.

MrPristine:


Psalm 138:2
I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!

The bolded sums it up for me, God's word takes precedence over his name.

So you are more anointed than the apostles?

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.