Heaven is the Christian reward of a holy life. If you ain't a Christian you ain't going to heaven. It is harsh but it is also true. No apologies. It is as harsh as if you get shot in the head, you will die.

so many Pastors on the Land.............

dejiolowe:

Heaven is the Christian reward of a holy life. If you ain't a Christian you ain't going to heaven. It is harsh but it is also true. No apologies.
<snip>

absolute statements like this baffle me. No one is even 100% sure if there's an 'heaven' to go to, talkless of who will end up there.
God made so many different kinds of people. Why would he allow only one way to serve him?

dejiolowe:

It is as harsh as if you get shot in the head, you will die.

Not true, depends on where the bullet lodges or if it penetrates the skull, many have survived, a recent case was singer Marc Cohn
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4133832.stm

Non christian will go to heaven if they believe in God and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ

@nuru
How do u know the real teachings of Jesus?

Nuru seems like the only muslim that believes in Jesus on this forum.

He is a muslim , isnt he? I don't mind his contributions though cos its more civil than most i've read

@ Nuru..... how ould you be a non-christian and think you can worship and keep his teachings, looks, its not a matter of the outside but the inside (They that worship HIM m,ust do that in Truth and Spirit)

Islamic Jesus aint same as biblical jesus.

Islam denies His divinity...so to me they are talking of 2 diff people.

guess there re two different walls here...........

Let me say that the believe in Christ Jesus in non-negotiable. What are his true teachings. You would get a glimpse of it if you carry out this simple excersise. Take a copy of the Bible and extract out any statement directly credited to Jesus. Leave out all the stories and the paraphrases. Pick out his direct quotations and weave the statements into a single document. Read carefully and ask yourself on each point, do i believe this, do i practise this, do i emphasise this. By so doing, you would not but catch a glimpse of True Jesus and his Gospel. Please do this and report your findings to the forum.

hmmmmmmmm.... Mr, u really re making it all experimental

In life, whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. If one wants to believe Jesus, I think one should know what to believe. A little reading will make one appreciate him the more.

everyone is entitled to belief, but ur belif does not make room for an assurance of you making heaven........

I am assured of Paradise and Salvation going by the Teachings of Jesus. Have you read Mark Ch 12 Vs 28 upward.

twill be nice telling us what the passage says.............. .......I no get bible.....

Nuru pls are u a muslim or Christian?

smelling the rat........he seems a Muslim....

I am a muslim because Jesus was and is one

Jesus is neither a muslim nor a christian.

Which non-Christians go to Heaven, if any? Situations to consider:

a. Universalism: God loves everybody and saves everybody, whether they cooperate with Him or not.
Objection 1: Then why evangelize?
Objection 2: If God gave people the freedom to reject Him, why would he take it away again? If He planned to take it away, it isn’t really freedom.

b. People who cannot hear or respond to the Gospel.
0. Those who knew God but died in Old Testament times.
They are saved by Christ, same as us. Noah, Abraham, etc., are Christ’s firstfruits. The whole Epistle to the Hebrews is about this.
1. Those who die as infants or are severely mentally deficient.
The Bible says little or nothing, but most Protestants believe that such people are not fully accountable for sin, and hence are not separated from God in the first place. Catholics used to believe that they have inherited sin from Adam and will spend eternity in a state called limbo ("the edge", where they lack the joys of Heaven but are not punished for sin. Latest teaching of catholic church is that they are not separated from God and go to heaven.

2. Those to whom the Gospel is never preached, or who, due to prior prejudice or misinformation, are unable to understand it when they hear it.
Be careful what you say about this case.
"God wouldn’t punish them for rejecting Christ" – no, He never punishes you for rejecting Christ. He punishes you for your own sins, not the sins you have not hat the opportunity to commit, and that’s quite enough!
"God will save everybody who has no opportunity to choose whether to accept Christ" – well, then, let’s arrange for Christianity to die out, so then nobody will hear the Gospel and everybody will be saved!
See also the next 2 cases.

3. Those who live a life of good works while practicing some other religion (or none).
Remember that good works do not save you. Enough said. But see the next case:

4. Those who seek God’s mercy while practicing some other religion (or none). This is the interesting case.
Two clear Biblical teachings:
1. Salvation is made possible by the death of Christ on the cross. Apart from Christ and what he did, there is no salvation. (Acts 4:12, John 14:6; Lk 10:22)
2. Non-Christians can, at least in principle, perceive God’s righteousness and their need for His mercy. (Romans 1:18-20, 2:14-16; Acts 17:28)
Whatever we conclude will need to be faithful to both of these teachings.

My opinion is the following (and you are welcome to disagree):
a. It is possible for a non-Christian to realize his need for God’s mercy and seek it.
(Note: Although I think this is possible, I do not think it happens routinely. Missionaries report finding occasional cases of it.)
b. In my opinion, God will not turn away people who seek His mercy, even if their understanding of Him is vague and they lack historical knowledge of Christ. (Some of God’s people in the Old Testament knew little about Him and His works; one example appears to be Melchisedek.)
c. We should never rely on Christ to save people who have not heard the Gospel. We have our marching orders.
d. The Bible gives no statistics on how many people go to Hell. It does, however, clearly teach that it is possible to do so, and that evangelism is urgently needed.
I run as close to universalism as I can – which is not very close, because I’m constrained by the Bible.

nuru:

I am a muslim because Jesus was and is one

Am beginning to think u r confused.

no clear mind talks like that anyway, maybe nuru wants to explain how Jesus became a moslem.....when pubh was not even in existence when he was on earth, oh was he a moslem at heart? and dont tell me its because he washed his disciples feet.

well as for me......... he was very much talked bout in my Bible..... and his FATHER testified to his good works..... so definately..... our Lord Jesus Christ was a christian, I don't know bout your religion...

I will by God's grace show you certain verses of the Bible that will prove that Jesus was a muslim in subsequent postings.

I cant wait.....

Me too

Jesus doesn't belong to any religion. Don't you people get it?

will y'all face d bull and answer questions...........whats all the thot of Christ a christian and a non christian.......... d question is:- Can a Non-Christian Go to Heaven? not what y'all are biting for.......

I agree with you but sometimes you have to digress a little to prove your point, so let them bring it on

Below are statements by four highly placed and highly read Christians, that I personally respect, making statements that non-Christians can go to heaven. Of these four, Billy Graham is probably the most well known evangelist in the world in the past few decades and it can be argued that as far as can be seen no one living presently has done more than him (publicly) to "win souls for Christ". The others are all respected by millions of Christians worldwide; I even included a Nigerian because of the audience of this forum.

I think if people like these can say it is possible for non-Christians to go to heaven, people who argue otherwise should think twice and take time to think about other possibilities.




1. Robert Schuller & Billy Graham Interview (Sorry I can’t find a link for the interview on its own without misguided negative comments)



Reported by The Christian News October 20, 1997

"Schuller: Tell me, what do you think is the future of Christianity?

Graham: Well, Christianity and being a true believer--you know, I think there's the Body of Christ. This comes from all the Christian groups around the world, outside the Christian groups. I think everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they're conscious, of it or not, they're members of the Body of Christ...I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first council in Jerusalem, when he said that God's purpose for this age is to call out a people for His name. And that's what God is doing today, He's calling people out of the world for his name whether they come from the Muslim world, or Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the Body of Christ, because they've been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don't have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think they are saved, and they're going to be with us in heaven."

Schuller: What, what I hear you saying, that it's possible for Jesus Christ to come into human hearts and soul and life, even if they've been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you're saying?

Graham: Yes, it is, because I believe that. I've met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations, that they have never seen a Bible or heard of Jesus, but they've believed in their hearts that there was a God, and they've tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived."

Schuller: I'm so thrilled to hear you say this. There a widness in God's mercy.

Graham: There is. There definately is"



2. Archbishop of Canterbury says Non-Christians Can Go to Heaven



3. Pope says Non Christians Can Go to Heaven



4. Cardinal Arinze says it is possible to get to heaven without accepting Jesus.

During a group discussion of religious leaders from around the world, held at the Thanksgiving World Assembly in Dallas, Texas, in March of 1999, Cardinal Francis Arinze, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, is quoted as follows:

"(A document from the Second Vatican Council) says that God's grant of salvation includes not only Christians, but Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will. That is, a person can be saved, can attain salvation, but on condition that the person is open to God's action. ..." ...

Robert Ashley, news director at Dallas radio station KHVN-AM, asked Cardinal Arinze: "So you can still get to heaven without accepting Jesus?"

Cardinal Arinze answered: "Expressly, yes (he laughs with the audience)."

Source: 'If God himself gave freedom', article © March 20, 1999, by Brooks Egerton, staff writer of The Dallas Morning News, third edition, page 1G.




PS apologies: now edited to fix codes for links!

The last 3 people u mentioned aint born again. They are catholics except for the archbishop who is an anglican (but a catholic at heart since the church of England was formerly under the papcy and there has been no critical change after the anglican took over). They practise a religion called "christian religion". They obviously aint living the supernatural life that christ Jesus prepared for us to live. They see themselves as no different from unbelievers so i don't expect more from them.

As per Billy Grahams interview. Check out how many times he says "I think". He doesnt know. Any knowledge against scriptures is not from God. I do not care how many souls he has won.
William Braham did the same. In fact he read peoples mind. He was that gifted but when he started teaching against scriptures, he was crushed to death.

These people might lead the church but they do not OWN the church. They do not have more authority than the our lord and savior Jesus. When Billy wins souls, he tells them thats the only way to make heaven so why would he now contradict himself. I still need a credible link to that interview.