Quote:
You:"What will send us to heaven/hell? That much is relatively simple - our actions on this earth."
Bible:"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
"That if thou shalt confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
(Romans 3:28)
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Romans 3:23 - No contest there. We have all sinned. That's what grace is for.
Romans 10:9 - This scripture seems to say that we need only believe and call upon the name of christ to be saved. This is an oversimpification. If you truely believe in christ, you will also preform the subsidiary works that are requisite i.e. commandments, ordinances, repentance etc.
Romans 3:28 - This scripture is often used to make your point, but it is always used out of context. The topic being adressed with this scripture is the fufillment of the law of moses. It is a switch from a rigid law like counting steps on the sabbath to keeping the spirit of the sabbath day holy. The point in this scripture is a switch from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law. Watch for taking scriptures out of context. Doing so can twist the meaning. And remember that faith requires actions. You don'e have faith if you just say you believe. Faith requires acting on the belief.
Let me quote James 2:17-18
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
This clarifies, that we need more than just faith. We need both faith and works.
Quote:
You:"...we can grow up to be like our father - literally, we can become gods, with the same powers
and priveledges as out heavenly father."
Bible:"Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ." (Matthew 23:10)
(master, not equal)
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Of course Christ is our master. When you were 10 your father was your master. You can however grow up and be equal to your father - maybe even surpass him.
Quote:
You:"The point of perfection one has attained is not nearly as important as one's intentions, and
making ones best effort."
Bible:"Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20)
(by thier FRUITS, not by their attempts at bearing fruit)
(plus, ever heard 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'?)
"The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." (Psalms 94:11)
(THOUGHTS of man are vanity)
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How true is an intention that is not acted on? We will never be perfect in this life, our fruits will never be perfect, but as we do our personal best, our fruits will be positive. What I was trying to express, is that we all have different abilities and strengths - different capacities to become perfect. What is important is moving in the right direction and giving it everything we have. If we are doing this our fruits will be good.
Our thoughts are naturally vain, but one of our mortal challenges is to try to overcome that.