/christian/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

Then don't worry about heaven, and worry about your sins offending God who is worthy of all your love! In other words, what those of the true faith call "perfect contrition".

Seems simple. If our Lord judges me for hell, who am I to say our Lord is wrong? God made me and I am God's

You're seeing things wrong in a couple ways.

>So it seems that life on earth is just preliminary stage, just a test.

It may seem that way but that's not a biblical understanding. Man was created for fellowship with God, but sin entered the world. With free will, man (corporately, and each man Rom 3:23) left fellowship with God, but God in grace extends forgiveness through the sinless God/man Jesus, who conquered death.

We are also created innately with knowledge of God (Rom 1:19-20). Everyone who goes to hell goes there because of their active rebellion against God and in spite of His grace.

>If I assert faith in a doctrine of questionable veracity before I die on earth, then I've passed the test and reach the goal.

>imply because you didn't "say the words

It's not magic words, it's believing on Jesus as Lord. Faith in this context doesn't merely mean mentally agreeing to a doctrine like you might know 2+2=4 or subscribe to premillenialism.

It helps to think of the Lord as a king and you're welcome in his kingdom or not based on your willingness to honor Him as king.

All analogies are flawed though.

The veracity is also unquestionable. I know just as well as I know I'm breathing that God is creator and that Jesus has redeemed me.

>heaven and hell. I always end up coming back to this thought, and here it is: a 60-100 year lifetime on earth absolutely pales in comparison with anything eternal

That's an objection that birthed universalism. Your qualm comes from an assumed presupposition that eternal damnation isn't just given a finite period to come to faith. This isn't true, and it helps when you understand that we all deserve eternal damnation before holy God but we are saved by grace.

This is less related but the timeline isn't a normal lifespan then infinite time in today's heaven, there will be a literal resurrection of the dead and a literal new heaven and new earth. It can happen any day.

>>835877

>So why is our time on earth a make-or-break moment for an infinite existence?

Perhaps you're imagining the infinite as a length of time exceeding all lengths, this is the wrong conception.

Regarding why God acts thus and not otherwise, how could I know? All I know is that the Lord said that the disease of Lazarus is for the glory of God may be made manifest, and that this I take to heart.

>>835879

>>835880

>>835881

Thanks guys

>>835877

>I can't wrap my head around heaven and hell.

Is this a problem with accepting it?

The Apostle Paul said,

>But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

>Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

>But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

And also,

>without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

—

>a 60-100 year lifetime on earth absolutely pales in comparison with anything eternal. So why is our time on earth a make-or-break moment for an infinite existence?

I can't tell you why and it is not given for us to know but rather given to us that we should trust God in this matter. Like Solomon prophesied:

>Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

>For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

—

>If I assert faith in a doctrine of questionable veracity before I die on earth, then I've passed the test and reach the goal.

Simply asserting faith is not the same as having it. If you wanted it you would be asking God to open your eyes and it wouldn't be a matter of trying to prove something to another human being

>If you don't perform the correct action, your parents torture you for the rest of your life, never let you leave the house or live your proper life, etc.

What if the punishment for our sins is just unto death? What if we are so inferior to the Master that he is keeping us alive, giving us life all our lives after having created us through intricate processes while many of us in every way deny his Lordship in our lives. As the Bible says about the Lord, "the work of a man shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways."

If it's the case that some people want to deny him now despite this being the case, what would it be like if they stopped receiving life and goodness at some point? Does God have the right to justly decide who, when and where and what things He will provide? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? Is there not enough evidence of all of this, or have people rather denied and turned away from what should rightly be powerful evidence as mere commonplace, taken creation for granted and denied his word in the moment when it convicts them of the truth?

As Jesus says in John's gospel: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

So then we see that those that reject God's word will be judged by the same.