Posted by Simus on February 23, 2006, at 0:40:04
In reply to Re: Lynn, An answer. Long., posted by deirdrehbrt on February 22, 2006, at 22:53:30
I am touched by your openness and honesty. I will try to bare my heart with you as you have with me.
(Dr. Bob, may I preface the following with the statement "it is my belief..."?)
God, as I know Him, IS love. He just can't Himself. He loves people. It isn't what He does, it is Who He is. But He is also pure, and for this reason, sin separates people from Him. Knowing the sinful nature of people after the fall of Adam, out of love He prearranged a "once-and-for-all" atonement for sin, Jesus, His beloved Son, Whose death and resurrection would be the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. Jesus opened the door back up for man to fellowship with God the Father. That's why Jesus said He was the way to the Father--because He knew He would pay the ultimate price to bridge the gap caused by sin, once and for all.
Do I believe that a non-Christian can get into Heaven? Understanding the nature of God and His vast goodness, I believe that He will "open the understanding of" everyone before it is too late so that they may choose to live with Him in Heaven, or reject Him for eternity. So yes, I believe that everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus will be saved. Please don't tune me out yet. Stick with me for a moment longer. I wish I could explain this more eloquently, but I will do the best I can with what I have. I wish I could just hand you my heart so you would know what I know and feel what I feel. Knowing Jesus as I do, I can't imagine anyone truly knowing Him and still rejecting Him. He is the only one Who knows me so completely yet loves me in spite of all my shortcomings. No human has ever given me that kind of love and acceptance. No "religion" has ever done that for me. In my darkest hours, I feel His peace wrap around me like a warm blanket. He gives me words of encouragement when I just don't think I can go another step. When I am at the end of my rope, He sings songs to me that drop me to my knees in tears of love. I don't want to cram religion down someone's throat. I am trying to say, perhaps somewhat awkwardly, that I would wish for all people to get to know Jesus the way I do, and if they did, He would capture their hearts forever. If anyone doubts His existance, as I did at one time, I just wish they would say, "Lord, if you are real, come and show yourself real to me like you did to that lady on PB." Anywho...
About the whole acceptance thing, I have noticed that one thing Christians sometimes have a hard time with is "loving the person, hating the sin." Christians also occasionally forget that being judgemental, gossiping, etc. are sins too. I have a laundry list of things I take before the Lord and want to be free of, but it is almost always a process I have to go through. For instance, I have to let go of unforgiveness on a daily basis, sometimes hourly, depending on how deeply I was wounded by someone. And I don't consider myself better than someone else because my sins are "lesser" than someone elses. Sin is sin.
So there it is. My faith. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for receiving.
Peace be with you!
poster:Simus
thread:611474
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20051105/msgs/612323.html