it is a lie
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I agree that we need to turn to the Lord and that we need to hate sin, but I don’t think the Lord condemns us and sends us to hell. I believe hell is just the natural consequence of sin. We need the Lord to save us from that, and we need to stop sinning so the Lord doesn't have to keep saving us over and over.
How could a loving God send people to hell? That’s a commonly asked question. The question itself reveals a couple of misconceptions.
First, God does not send people to hell. He simply honors their choice. Hell is the ultimate expression of God’s high regard for the dignity of man. He has never forced us to choose him, even when that means we would choose hell.…
No, God does not “send” people to hell. Nor does he send people to hell. That is the second misconception.
The word “people” is neutral, implying innocence. Nowhere does Scripture teach that innocent people are condemned. People do not go to hell. Sinners do. The rebellious do. The self-centered do. So how could a loving God send people to hell? He doesn’t. He simply honors the choice of sinners.
When Christ Comes
Lucado, M., & Gibbs, T. A. (2000). Grace for the moment: Inspirational thoughts for each day of the year (182). Nashville, TN: J. Countryman.
First, God does not send people to hell. He simply honors their choice. Hell is the ultimate expression of God’s high regard for the dignity of man. He has never forced us to choose him, even when that means we would choose hell.…
No, God does not “send” people to hell. Nor does he send people to hell. That is the second misconception.
The word “people” is neutral, implying innocence. Nowhere does Scripture teach that innocent people are condemned. People do not go to hell. Sinners do. The rebellious do. The self-centered do. So how could a loving God send people to hell? He doesn’t. He simply honors the choice of sinners.
When Christ Comes
Lucado, M., & Gibbs, T. A. (2000). Grace for the moment: Inspirational thoughts for each day of the year (182). Nashville, TN: J. Countryman.
P
Hi, Caroline. 
I'm not disagreeing with this. But I was interested because I think I'm going through a process of having my theology...reformed.
Can anyone really decide one day,
"hey! this seems like a great day to turn from my sins and rebellion against God!"
unless the day (or moment) before that, the person thought,
"whoa! I am in full blown rebellion against God! I am a sinner!"
And from whence did that realization come?
I suspect what happens to us is that God gets a huge dump truck full of grace and pours it over us, more and more and more till He opens our understanding to His truth, and we are able to agree with Him as to the truth of the matter.
I wouldn't be surprised to find this is still happening in my life, and will continue to happen till I go Home.
grace and peace to you, and to us all,
ellie
I'm not disagreeing with this. But I was interested because I think I'm going through a process of having my theology...reformed.
Can anyone really decide one day,
"hey! this seems like a great day to turn from my sins and rebellion against God!"
unless the day (or moment) before that, the person thought,
"whoa! I am in full blown rebellion against God! I am a sinner!"
And from whence did that realization come?
I suspect what happens to us is that God gets a huge dump truck full of grace
and pours it over us, more and more and more till He opens our understanding to His truth, and we are able to agree with Him as to the truth of the matter.I wouldn't be surprised to find this is still happening in my life, and will continue to happen till I go Home.
grace and peace to you, and to us all,
ellie
hi Ellie and I agree with you that God's saving grace works on our spirits bringing us to faith in Christ and repentance and the process may take time and the process continues till the day we die but only once the process has started can a person be called saved/ born again/ true believer/ disciple etc
M
Carolineh: "many sinners tell me...I do not choose hell....God is a loving God who does not send anyone to hell so He will not send me there and I do not choose to go there so I will get into Heaven..He loves me unconditionally so I do not need to repent"
So, then...what do you tell them? Do you tell them that it is not God's choice and that He does not 'send' anyone anywhere, but rather ALLOWS them to GO where they decide to go by either participating in rebelliion (hell) or righteousness/obedience, repentance, holiness (heaven). Do you tell them that BY SINNING, THEY are CHOOSING to go to hell? And not that it is God's will, desire, or choice that they GO to hell, but that He, because He is a Righteous and Just God, must LET them go to where they have chosen to go?
Just wondering...
Maggie
So, then...what do you tell them? Do you tell them that it is not God's choice and that He does not 'send' anyone anywhere, but rather ALLOWS them to GO where they decide to go by either participating in rebelliion (hell) or righteousness/obedience, repentance, holiness (heaven). Do you tell them that BY SINNING, THEY are CHOOSING to go to hell? And not that it is God's will, desire, or choice that they GO to hell, but that He, because He is a Righteous and Just God, must LET them go to where they have chosen to go?
Just wondering...
Maggie
Actually I tell them that only those who are perfectly loving and obedient towards God will get to Heaven and only Jesus has been perfectly loving and obedient towards God so only through Jesus can they receive forgiveness for their sins if they turn to Him in love and turn from their sins..this does not mean to say that God does not cause a sinner to turn to God in love and turn from their sins...it means that they need to show that God is working in them to bring them to repentance or they remain in their sins
T
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his
image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
The anti-christ and the false prophet will have an issue to disagree with you, in the near future.
Mat 13:29-30 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. (30) Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the
reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the
wheat into my barn.
Gather them up and burn them. Not exactly exit stage left procedure is it?
S
Question how can you not sin if your around someone who is literally screaming in your ear and ppl are literally doing things to taunt you sent by demonic forces. it could be an assignment sent to you from Satan to mess you up. and you have no support encouragement what can you do your only human? itll be hard to not anger and kind of resent all you can do is pray and try.
It's amazing to me, I think some people think once a person is saved that they are sinless and perfect and this is not so. You are still human and once saved, a process starts. God starts to work within the person to help them in repentance and this process can take a little time or a lifetime. Everyone is different and works through their sin differently, but God is there to guide and to help. Most people will stumble and fall along the way but God's grace is sufficient.
I know this is going to be completely geeky of me, but there's a line in Batman Begins that has always stuck in my mind. In the movie, a young Bruce Wayne falls into a cave, his father comes down to rescue him and tells him, "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." That phrase is repeated by another character, Alfred, to which Bruce says "You still haven't given up on me?" and Alfred responds "Never".
Basically, I don't think God will give up on those who have accepted him as Lord. "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." — Psalms 37:23-24.
Also, remember the words of Jesus:
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." -- Matthew 18:12-14
Even those who present themselves as being perfect, if you truly examine them, you will find that they have sin and this is the whole point of Christianity, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Therefore none are good enough for God, which is why we need Christ to cover us with his grace.
I know this is going to be completely geeky of me, but there's a line in Batman Begins that has always stuck in my mind. In the movie, a young Bruce Wayne falls into a cave, his father comes down to rescue him and tells him, "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." That phrase is repeated by another character, Alfred, to which Bruce says "You still haven't given up on me?" and Alfred responds "Never".
Basically, I don't think God will give up on those who have accepted him as Lord. "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with His hand." — Psalms 37:23-24.
Also, remember the words of Jesus:
“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish." -- Matthew 18:12-14
Even those who present themselves as being perfect, if you truly examine them, you will find that they have sin and this is the whole point of Christianity, that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Therefore none are good enough for God, which is why we need Christ to cover us with his grace.
i am a sinner every day,,,i should that i preach without falter,,,but each day i grow tired,,i do not know the exact second i do it,,,but the sun each day comes up,,and i open my eyes,,,"huuuh!!!",,,,and i know that i slept through some work that i should have done,,,"dear lord,oh the others you send,the ones that preach when i sleep,,hold them fast lord",,,,,,,,"oh,,,the flesh of me lord,,,who watches over these when i am awake?or when i am asleep?,,as when i was a baby,,in the beginning of the day of me,i was unlearned and you watched them,,,and the day of me grew noon,,and i thought i knew a thing,,,i screamed it,but none heard,,i thought to write it in the sand and spent the rest of the day of me crawling along,,i drew it all out in the sand with my finger.,,,it is at the end of the day of the man of me,,,and in my mind i was proud of the man of me,,huuuuh!,,but what!!!,,i had crawled along in the sand,to write you the letter from the man of me,,my knees were clumsy,,,and the words my fingers wrote i dragged the feet of me over,,and you were all collected up behind me forever,,your foot prints were all i could see,,,,and you said "what did it say?",,,,,,,,and i said "i am at the nighttime of the day of me,,,and i am tired and i will sleep the sleep,,,",,,,and you said "the letter,what did it say?",,,,,well,,,,there is a god,,and he will watch you when i am asleep,,,who is he you say?,,,the same lord who watched us when i was awake,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
I think we have to study the entire sacrificial system as it shows the sin that it atones for, as well as the explanation of sin after Christ fulfilled and made complete what the sacrificial system was a shadow of.
When God explained Christ to us and what Christ did for us in relation to forgiveness, he expected that we had learned all about what he gave us as a forerunner of Christ, explaining what we were to be forgiven for.
For instance, there is a ceremony for unintentional sin. After the fall, we are born in sin. God wants us pure and clean to be with Him forever, God sent grace and forgiveness so we can accomplish that. God wants us to strive towards that always as our lifetime goal.
When God explained Christ to us and what Christ did for us in relation to forgiveness, he expected that we had learned all about what he gave us as a forerunner of Christ, explaining what we were to be forgiven for.
For instance, there is a ceremony for unintentional sin. After the fall, we are born in sin. God wants us pure and clean to be with Him forever, God sent grace and forgiveness so we can accomplish that. God wants us to strive towards that always as our lifetime goal.
none of us are good enough in to precure our own salvation and even after we turn to God in love through Jesus and turn from our sins, we will continue to fall into sin but that will be forgiven more than seventy times seven when we repent but those who choose a lifestyle of sin are showing that they remain unrepentant and therefore have no salvation through Jesus