Christ preached about a coming kingdom, but he asked his disciples to practise righteousness, love and to avoid sin. Now if a muslim or a hindu does these or if an aetheist,or any other [b]unbeliever[/b] practices these things, can we rightly assume that they will not make the knigdomof God? Let me know your opinions with researched reasons, no insults or pettiness.

Evrythng in life has a guide to operation in form of manuals/handbook.I bought a brand new car in 2002 Honda Accord i was given owners manual that stated do&donts i didnt follow it to the latter i ended up selling d car in 2007 When it developed fault.I believe same applies to electronics&mechanical devices&human life.D path to heaven is contained in d life manual,if we obey it,Heaven is assured

toba,

Does your earthly faith or religion matter?

Marlbron:


Christ preached about a coming kingdom, but he asked his disciples to practise righteousness, love and to avoid sin.

Now if a muslim or a hindu does these or if an aetheist or any other unbeliever practices these things

can we rightly assume that they will not make the kingdom of God?

Let me know your opinions with researched reasons, no insults or pettiness.

@Marlbron

The Kingdom of God is already here

Think of it this way, it is similar to having American soil in Naija (i.e. by virtue of an embassy)

An American citizen in an American embassy is on American soil

and no longer subjected to the host country's law inasmuchas such individual remains within the confines of the embassy

However an observation.

Without accepting Christ, is it possible to practise righteousness, love and to avoid sin should have been the question

Anyway I tell you this truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again

Marlbron:

toba,

Does your earthly faith or religion matter?

No it matters less.Between Jesus&mohammad who preached/practised any religion?
Now tell me who amongst d two is worthy of emulation?

the promise of the kingdom is for the _{[/sub]whosever[sub]} will obey xtian,pagan,muslim,etc whosoever

okenwa:

the promise of the kingdom is for the _{[/sub]whosever[sub]}  will obey xtian,pagan,muslim,etc whosoever

Yes&no. I dnt understand how a pagan/atheist would believe anythng about God

toba:

Yes&no. I dnt understand how a pagan/atheist would believe anythng about God

1 John 2:29

If ye know that he is righteous ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Let me give you a real life example. Mandela is not a Christian. Does or has he not enjoy(ed) the goodwill of the Almighty? he is the most reverred man living on earth. How many religious leaders are better than him? Do you think he will not enter the knigdom of God?

toba:

Yes&no. I dnt understand how a pagan/atheist would believe anythng about God

1 John 2:29

If ye know that he is righteous ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Let me give you a real life example. Mandela is not a Christian. Does or has he not enjoy(ed) the goodwill of the Almighty? he is the most reverred man living on earth. How many religious leaders are better than him? Do you think he will not enter the knigdom of God?

Marlbron:

1 John 2:29

If ye know that he is righteous ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Let me give you a real life example. Mandela is not a Christian. Does or has he not enjoy(ed) the goodwill of the Almighty? he is the most reverred man living on earth. How many religious leaders are better than him? Do you think he will not enter the knigdom of God?

U can answer ur self.Who owns d kingdom of God? If u fail to honour d owner of a house would he allow u to enter his house?

@Marlbron

The Kingdom of God is already here

Think of it this way, it is similar to having American soil in Naija (i.e. by virtue of an embassy)

An American citizen in an American embassy is on American soil

and no longer subjected to the host country's law inasmuchas such individual remains within the confines of the embassy

However an observation.

Without accepting Christ, is it possible to practise righteousness, love and to avoid sin should have been the question

Anyway I tell you this truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again


e3,

you make very powerful point ie the kingdom of God is already with man. may I ask you to open another thread with that topic? I'd gladly contribute.

The requirement to be born again was on the assumption that you have not been practising the basic injuctions of love, truthfulness etc. but there are people on earth now, that are already practicng all of these and they are not christians. Chist's death on the cross was I believe for all mankind - moslems, christians, Hindus etc. His death has resulted in the rapid progress of mankind these 2000years.  Recollect that Abraham became a friend of God without being born again, he carried out an act of faith by obeying the instruction to sacrifice Isaac. Now Abraham, David, Jacob, Moses, Elijah were from bibilical accounts murderers, fornicators etc - however,  we Christians regard them as numero uno in the kingdom.

Marlbron:

Christ preached about a coming kingdom, but he asked his disciples to practise righteousness, love and to avoid sin. Now if a muslim or a hindu does these or if an aetheist,or any other [b]unbeliever[/b] practices these things, can we rightly assume that they will not make the knigdomof God? Let me know your opinions with researched reasons, no insults or pettiness.

the bible says all our righteousness are filthy rags Isaiah 64:6 meaning no matter what we do, we cant save ourselves and make heaven since by default we are sinful. for us to make heaven there must be the shedding of blood Hebrews 9:22 meaning there must be a sacrifice that will stand between God and us and for us that perfect sacrifice given by God in the person of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. a perfect example to my explanation is this, Cain and Abel both sacrificed to God but God honored Abel's because it was the right sacrifice needed to stand between God and man after sin.

toba:

U can answer your self.Who owns d kingdom of God? If u fail to honour d owner of a house would he allow u to enter his house?

toba,

It appears you did not read me well. I said Mandela is not a Christian. Does that mean he does not honour or believe in a creator?

1 John 3:7

"little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous"

@Marlbron

Are you familiar with these phrases of progression (i.e. from near - hand - within)

"Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near . . ."

and then seven chapters later in Matthew

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand . .  "

and here is a scripture to mull over

Luke 17:20-21 KJV:


²⁰And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come,

he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

²¹Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you

Marlbron:

toba,

It appears you did not read me well. I said Mandela is not a Christian. Does that mean he does not honour or believe in a creator?

1 John 3:7

"little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous"

if mandela believes in God good for him.Im not interested in Religion,but im interested in this thread to show pple what they need to do to get to Heaven.The path to thread is stated in d lifes manual&if followed Heaven is assured.U need to believe in d owner of Heaven to get there

na2day?:

the bible says all our righteousness are filthy rags Isaiah 64:6 meaning no matter what we do, we cant save ourselves and make heaven since by default we are sinful. for us to make heaven there must be the shedding of blood Hebrews 9:22 meaning there must be a sacrifice that will stand between God and us and for us that perfect sacrifice given by God in the person of his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. a perfect example to my explanation is this, Cain and Abel both sacrificed to God but God honored Abel's because it was the right sacrifice needed to stand between God and man after sin.  

You still have not landed.

Are you confirming the known fact that Christ shed his blood for all humanity? We know that. but after he shed his blood he got men to God.

John 14:21

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 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

e36991:

@Marlbron

Are you familiar with these phrases of progression (i.e. from near - hand - within)

"Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near . . ."

and then seven chapters later in Matthew

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand . .  "

and here is a scripture to mull over

e36991.

Am really amazed at your understanding. You are absolutely spot on. Christ came to inform the world about the coming of the kingdom. He went further to warn that the kingdom will come without your knowing- so no drama of somebody dropping from the sky and others flying up to the sky to meet him. Let me direct you to this scripture,


Luke 17: 22

22 And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. 23 And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. 34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. 35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

The confusion in christiandom is the part where he says "taken and left".People assume that to be taken means flying to the sky, whereas it means admission into the kingdom and of course comcomitant destruction of the evil or unworthy people. It is clear that the son of man will be already on earth doing his work, but will be ignored or derided by people untill the time he reveals himself to the whole world. The most part of the revelation of john brings it out so well. The Noah example shows that mainstream religion is ofcourse. Noah was not mainstream but God found him worthy. people laughed at him when he talked about the impending doom for more than 120 years!

Marlbron:


. . . The requirement to be born again was on the assumption that you have not been practising the basic injuctions of love, truthfulness etc.

but there are people on earth now, that are already practising all of these and they are not christians.

Christ's death on the cross was I believe for all mankind - Moslems, Christians, Hindus etc.

His death has resulted in the rapid progress of mankind these 2000 years.  

Recollect that Abraham became a friend of God without being born again, he carried out an act of faith by obeying the instruction to sacrifice Isaac.

Now Abraham, David, Jacob, Moses, Elijah were from biblical accounts murderers, fornicators etc
- however,  we Christians regard them as numero uno in the kingdom.

@Marlbron

You are making a few assumptions to many . . .

Note that Jesus was hinting that to see the Kingdom of Heaven one must have been born again

(i.e. for one to see or perceive Kingdom of God and/or its power indicates a kind of spiritual birth)

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

The Gospel is preached all over the whole so what is the excuse for not believing in the person and principles of Jesus Christ

Believing in the principles of Jesus Christ and not believing in the person of Jesus Christ as Muslims, Hindus etc do is mutually exclusive

You cant have one and not the other . . .

If Abraham, David, Jacob, Moses, Elijah from biblical accounts were murderers, fornicators etc and God used them, then we all have a chance

True Abraham was a friend of God but all through Jesus potentially can become sons of God

The scripture below gives some meaning to the death of Jesus Christ

Romans 10:9-18 AMP:


⁹Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth)

that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God),

and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

¹¹The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.

¹²[No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].

¹³For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.

¹⁴But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]?

And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁵And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent?

As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]

¹⁶But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?

¹⁷So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

¹⁸But I ask, Have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says]

Their voice [that of nature bearing God's message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.

The Gospel is preached to the Mandelas of this world so what is the excuse for not believing in the person and principles of Jesus Christ

here we go again, blah blah blah. "heaven is only for Christians", heaven is only for moslems"," no matter how good you are if do not believe in jesus you will go to hell" blah blah blah.
everyone is busy defending his turf and leaving the real gist. how many people are really ready to do what it takes to enter the kingdom of God. this kingdom is here and now and you do not have to die to visit any of the heavens of God and come back tell about it because you are soul made in the image and likeness of God. how do i put in words the discipline it takes , the pure love for God and life that you must have. the kingdom of God is for the bold and adventurous soul. are you ready to make the journey?

Marlbron:

You still have not landed.

Are you confirming the known fact that Christ shed his blood for all humanity? We know that. but after he shed his blood he got men to God.

John 14:21

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 13:34-35

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

do u know the commandments of God? Jesus himself said, i am the way the truth and the light, no man (including the self righteous) comes to the father but by me. implication, if u dont accept Jesus as ur Lord and personal savior and handing him over the affairs of ur life, nothing for u QED!

You cant be saved by works of righteousness but by faith in Christ. There is no salvation in any religion.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Joagbaje:

You cant be saved by works of righteousness but by faith in Christ. There is no salvation in any religion.

Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jo,

the saving was for all humanity; moslems, hindu, xtians!

na2day?:

do u know the commandments of God? Jesus himself said, i am the way the truth and the light, no man (including the self righteous) comes to the father but by me. implication, if u dont accept Jesus as your Lord and personal savior and handing him over the affairs of your life, nothing for u QED!

God is Love, Jesus is also Love. You cannot believe in him if you do not practise love. so one who practices love is already at one with God and Jesus

Marlbron:

Jo,

the saving was for all humanity; moslems, hindu, xtians!

God is Love, Jesus is also Love. You cannot believe in him if you do not practise love. so one who practices love is already at one with God and Jesus

at least there is one thing i have gather so far, u just wanna argue

na2day?:

at least there is one thing i have gather so far, u just wanna argue

Why, Joe? Is God not Love? Does he not like righteous people?

He that is not against us is for us. Believing in Him is not just saying so or preaching it, but he nows you if you practice his injuctions.