Comment from adewpearl

Excellent

So, if all Christians are saved even if they, like this guy admits, didn't lead very compassionate, generous lives, what happens to non-Christians who DID lead compassionate, generous, ethical, moral lives? A very interesting conversation. I like this guy, who takes honest responsibility for not having been a very exemplary world citizen. Brooke

 Comment Written 11-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 11-Jun-2013

The Bible repeatedly states that anyone going to Heaven does not earn that right by his/her own good deeds. For one thing, if that were true, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross would be rendered superfluous! That cannot be, since God Himself sacrificed His own Son to pay the sin debt of each person.

The Bible also tells us repeatedly that all have sinned, from the most moral to the least righteous. I understand that this is a troublesome teaching for "good" people. However, our goodness by contrast with the absolute perfection of holiness that God is, will help us see our need of salvation. Isaiah 64:6 puts that concept this way: "All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

And the Bible repeatedly states that we can be saved from sin's penalty and power by trusting in Christ. As soon as we place our trust in Him we are saved forever. Jesus said in John 5:24:

â??Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." (Please note that the person who believes HAS [present tense] eternal life!

Of course God wants us to grow in our understanding of Him and by His power, live for Him. But since this salvation is a free gift earned by Christ and ours by faith, it remains ours forever and is not dependent on our maturing as Christians.

As my protagonist learned to his surprise, God is true even when we are not true to Him. Yet rewards, which are given for faithful service on earth may be lost due to sinful negligence on the part of we Christians.

Summing up, we must become children of God by being "born-again" (John 3) into His family. This is a spiritual birth as a result of believing Christ's word about Himself and His mission in the world: to die for our sin, be raised from the dead, and to take us to Heaven.

After being born into the family, we are called to worship and serve our Heavenly Father. Our servant-hood will be evaluated but our relationship as children is eternal. Sorry to be so long but I hope this answers your question. Best regards always, Dennis

Comment from EMB

Excellent

As a story, this was pretty good, even though such a conversation in such a place has probably been done more than any other combination of talk and location. But I can see you getting some flack over certain parts of the conversation, but stay strong, bro. :)

 Comment Written 10-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 11-Jun-2013

Thanks! Your encouragement is appreciated. Anything I experience pales in significance compared to what Christ endured, for sure. Frankly, I expect and embrace "flack" when writing about Christianity.

Comment from Lady Bev

Excellent

Sometimes, when reviewing, I would like just have a "like" (or a "love") button ... similar to what they have on Facebook!

This is great!

 Comment Written 10-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 11-Jun-2013

Thank you, Lady Bev!

reply by Lady Bev on 11-Jun-2013

:)

Comment from jjstar

Excellent

Wow, Dennis. This is a very thought provoking piece--one I know that we all think about from time to time. I know, I know, it should be in the forefront of our minds every day. I feel relieved to think that He has a long memory and even our tiniest good deeds in His name will be considered when it comes time to be rewarded.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I almost felt as if I went to church this morning.

 Comment Written 09-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 09-Jun-2013

OK! Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope the piece made clear that salvation or right standing with God is a gift earned and paid for by Jesus. After we receive that essential gift we then and only then qualify to serve Him. Faithful service will be rewarded generously. Thus this kind of service is not a good deed that buys entrance into Heaven. :) Appreciate you taking time to review! Dennis

Comment from cheyennewy

Excellent

Hi Deniz,

You have penned a thought provoking story and one I enjoyed reading. Who knows what Heaven will be like or hell for that matter? Humans make many mistakes during their life on earth but it is comforting to know He died for our sins. Well done...blessings, chey

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

Hi Chey, thanks for reading and commenting. Since we believe the truth of Christ dying for our sins, why wouldn't we investigate and come to trust the other things written in the Bible? It does describe Heaven and Hell and claims to be the truth of God about every subject it deals with. :) Dennis

Comment from MissMerri

Excellent

This is so well written, Dennis. I couldn't find a single word or punctuation mark that seemed out of place. I think you've given your readers a great deal to think about in this fictional piece. I see you are quite accomplished at writing fiction that uses dialogue only to tell the story, but I was never sure who the "welcome committee" was in heaven. Was it an angel, or St. Peter, or someone else? Your point of view is most interesting and sounds like "eternal security" which is not at all difficult to believe, if one believes in predestination. I'm still trying to figure all this out, and not doing a good job of it. Most of all, I really liked your emphasis on doing right because we love God and want to please Him... not because we want a reward. I heartily agree with that. A most interesting and thought-provoking story, and certainly well-written. Thank you for sharing it.

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

Thank you for reading and commenting. I truly appreciate it!

I believe that two basic Biblical truths are misunderstood by many. #1. is that salvation is a gift and can never be earned. Christ offers it, having paid for all our sins and we by faith simply accept the gift of God. Jesus said in John 5:24 â??Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

Please notice that the person who believes Jesus "has eternal life". "Has" is in the present tense so we can rest securely and even rejoice that we are indeed bound for Heaven according to the Word of One who cannot lie.

So salvation is a gift but the second truth is often confused with that truth. The second truth is that Christ does want us to serve Him and that there will be rewards for those who faithfully do.

Salvation = free to sinners who believe, paid for by Christ

works or service = rewarded when done by His power under His direction

Hope that helps. On another note, eternal security is not dependent on predestination, but rather is a term concerning the end result of trusting in Christ. God bless, Dennis

Comment from Writingfundimension

Excellent

You make some very interesting points in this well-written piece, D. I liked the visual of those who won the crowns offering them at the feet of the Lamb. Very well done! Warm regards, Bev

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

That visual is not fiction but comes from the scripture itself as you probably realize. Thanks for reading and commenting, I appreciate it. Dennis

reply by Writingfundimension on 08-Jun-2013

You're welcome! :0)

Comment from Gladness

Excellent

This could be a good skit. I wonder who the new arrival is talking to, and what his life was like. Author note at end are appreciated.
Anita

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

Thanks Anita, I appreciate your comments. I decided not to name the
welcome committee for fear of taking away from what I really wanted to emphasize. I note you assume him/her to be a man? LOL

Comment from christianpowers

Excellent

Hi D,

Written well, but seems more fictional to me than my 'Space Hero' story. You know, the one where the talking fish kills the space pirate and eats his girlfriend.

My impression of what happens is indescribable (if that's a word). Basically, I believe if there is a God and an afterlife it will be something the human mind cannot comprehend. Imagine an Ant trying to envision what becoming human would be like. First off, ants can't even process information beyond their senses, so that would be impossible for them. But, let's say there's this genius ant, and he was gifted with the ability to imagine. That ant wouldn't know what a human looked like. The only contact an ant could possibly have with our species would be feeling the texture of our clothing as it crossed a sleeve or the texture of our shoes as it brushed an antenna along the leathery surface. So, that gifted ant might imagine it would grow and become a large moving surface. Then he'd imagine this surface must be a giant ant, with antennae, lots of legs and a segmented body. Finally, the ant would believe becoming human would enable him to do all his ant duties very well. He'd be able to lift crumbs the size of cookies, make holes ten times bigger in the dirt, and serve a queen that was ten times larger than the queen he serves... And, of course, he'd live forever in a wonderful ant hole with all his fellow ant workers, just working forever to please the queen.

Hmmm, now that I think about it. Maybe there's not much difference at all between that ant and our gifted prophets. This is a good analogy. I don't think either of them know what the hell they're talking about.

My faith is one of faithlessness, and I have no proof for my assumptions, only logic. All I can do is hope there is something more than oblivion after we finish our lives on Earth, and know that whatever awaits us, if anything, will be something completely different than anyone has ever uttered, something inconceivable. It's not prophecy. It's just wishful, yet logical, dreaming.

Thanks for getting me thinking again.

Christian

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

My dear friend, whom I had in mind when I wrote this piece, your logic stinks. Some of the best men who have ever lived claim that Jesus rose from the dead.

You believe (I assume) other historical documents written by lesser men: so why would your vaunted logic not take their eye-witness experiences into account?

You also assume that God is unable to communicate with His creatures! What part of "unable" fits in a description of God?

So here you are; you don't know where you came from, you don't know why you are here, and you don't know where you're going.

Yet you claim this is logic? LOL Ignoring God's revelation of His beloved Son is not logical, it's insanity, especially when your ticket can be punched at any time.

So I want to ask you to take the 21 day challenge and see if your frail, faulty and foolish logic can hold you in its grip.

Here it is; there are 21 chapters in the Gospel of John. Read a chapter a day and answer the same four questions for each chapter. Here's a link to the Pocket Testament League that offers this challenge : http://www.ptl.org/resources/21dc.php

You might have to join the League but it's free. How about it? Can your highly esteemed "logic" hold up against a steady exposure to Christ and His Word? Dennis

reply by christianpowers on 08-Jun-2013

Hi D,

Sorry, it seems such a waste of time for me. (I only have a finite amount left, and I've already spent so much on that useless pursuit). Plus, I've read the gospel of John and often enjoyed his take - the whackiest of all gospels - where he refers to himself as 'the disciple Jesus loved most'.

No. I'm done with trying to sift through the works of delusional men to find the words of God.

Tell me, D. Why doesn't God just show himself? Why's it all such a big secret? I don't think He's unable if he exists, I think it's by design. I just don't pretend to know His mind like the pretenders in your religion do. I just wait, and watch, knowing all of you are WRONG.

There may be Hell to pay in the afterlife, but I don't think the bible thumpers will be exempt. I think we're all in for a surprise if there's an afterlife, like waking from a dream and thinking, "Wow, that was silly!".

Or it will simply be over... eternal oblivion, and that's okay, too.

You see, my friend. The story of Jesus, while poignant, and inspiring, is a great fiction, a lie perpetrated to control minds and ease the fears of multitudes. It's not necessarily a bad thing in the latter respect, but it's still a lie.

No tangible, historical evidence of a man named Jesus living in the time and place he was supposed to live has ever been discovered.

On top of that, many religions that predate Christianity share similar stories with all those Christian stories in the Bible, including the story of Jesus' life.

Horus, for one, an ancient God of Egypt, was killed for the sins of the world and rose from the dead three days later.

Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess, was hung upside down on a cross, and rose from the dead three days later.

Both these deities, worshipped with awe and reverence by ancient civilizations, predate the story of Jesus by thousands of years.

The Catholic church, realizing how popular the Goddess Ishtar still was in Roman times, even named their Christian holiday 'Easter' from Ishtar, because here worshippers called her Ishtar, the riser, because she rose from the dead, and defeated death to show her worshippers they would live forever if they just believed in her.

Should I follow Ishtar or Jesus, D? There's a lot of the same type of evidence that Ishtar existed, too. Or did she cease to exist once Jesus was written about?

Lastly, why doesn't God just remove all doubt and appear to us. Why doesn't he just blow that damn horn and proclaim his sovereignty over us? Do you really believe faith is some kind of tool needed by such a powerful God? To me it smells, Dennis. The whole damn story just smells.

I never wrote all this to you because I don't want to shake the faith in others. I was truly happy when I bought into it all, the love, the faith that I'd live forever in the light of the Lord, but that's all gone now. Now I have to deal with the truth, and I'm only passing this on to you to tell you that it's okay. Stop trying to win me back. It's not going to happen because I've researched this for years, and this is my conclusion.

I'm Agnostic. I can't say whether God exists or not, but I do know that it's not the God the bible teaches. It's something else... if it is anything at all.

Chris

Comment from Roxanna Andrews

Excellent

Yes,this is siomething that I worry about. Have I done enough. I never think I have. Only The Lord knows. This is well done,interesting and hopefully gave a lot of food for thought. Rox.

 Comment Written 08-Jun-2013

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reply by the author on 08-Jun-2013

Hi Rox, you voice a fear that many Christians have. However, Jesus paid our complete sin debt once and for all. He said from the cross, "It is finished!" He was saying the the sacrificial aspect of His ministry was complete. Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

As to serving Him after being saved, we look to the aid of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit who feeds and leads the people of God.
He does this through the scriptures. Jesus could have done ministry in and by Himself but He chose to do everything through the power of the Spirit. So should we, to God's glory. God bless you, dear sister in Christ, Dennis

reply by Roxanna Andrews on 09-Jun-2013

Thanks for the encouragement.