|
I think that anyone, especially someone who calls themselves a Christian, who is doing good out an attempt to "get into heaven" really has a fundamentally flawed understanding of how salvation works, and more importantly the character of God. The idea isn't do good so that God will reward you. Anyone who has read the bible thoroughly will see that that is not the way he works. Half of the Psalms are about asking why the wicked prosper and the good suffer. There really is nothing someone can do to earn a place in heaven.
The idea is that God punished Jesus for the evil you do in this life, and because of that you are cleared. There isn't any reason to keep you out of heaven because from a legal standpoint you are pure. The reason we do good is not so we can earn some divine favor either in this life or in what comes next, but because we love the one who payed for our debt. It's not a "I've got to repay Jesus for dying for me," and it's not a "I've got to be nice to this person or God will beat me,". What it's actually suppose to be is hard to explain. It's a very humble but very secure asking what God would have you do. It's understanding that you can't do anything on your own, but that God can use you to do something good.
__________________
The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.
- G. K. Chesterton
There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions.
- G. K. Chesterton
|