The bible is the literal word of God. When it speaks of heaven and hell, they are literal places.
The good news is sinners can go to heaven. You do not have to stop sinning to go to heaven, or even be willing to stop sinning.
Eternal life is a free gift you receive by trusting in Jesus Christ to save you. You do not have to be a good person, or do any good deeds or works. It is completely free paid for by Christ's death.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." - Romans 3:28 KJV
"You do not have to stop sinning to go to heaven, or even be willing to stop sinning"... this I believe is where a lot of Christians err, and become accepting of things like fornication, adultery, drunkenness, sodomy, etc.
You SHOULD stop sinning, but if you believe you MUST stop sinning to receive eternal life, then you do not understand grace or the gospel.
Many false teachers preach that you must stop sinning to receive eternal life. The problem: no one has ever stopped sinning. This changes the free gift of God into something which must be earned.
I am not going to heaven because I promised God I would "stop sinning". I am going to heaven because Christ died for my sins and I accepted his free gift of eternal life!
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
I'm not saying you can stop sinning... although you can do some damage control and sober up in certain areas, to say the least. But my issue is people have become accepting of those things. Take for example gay marriage, ask a Christian for their stance on this and you will understand what I mean.
The bible is the literal word of God. When it speaks of heaven and hell, they are literal places.
The good news is sinners can go to heaven. You do not have to stop sinning to go to heaven, or even be willing to stop sinning.
Eternal life is a free gift you receive by trusting in Jesus Christ to save you. You do not have to be a good person, or do any good deeds or works. It is completely free paid for by Christ's death.
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." - Romans 3:28 KJV
"You do not have to stop sinning to go to heaven, or even be willing to stop sinning"... this I believe is where a lot of Christians err, and become accepting of things like fornication, adultery, drunkenness, sodomy, etc.
You SHOULD stop sinning, but if you believe you MUST stop sinning to receive eternal life, then you do not understand grace or the gospel.
Many false teachers preach that you must stop sinning to receive eternal life. The problem: no one has ever stopped sinning. This changes the free gift of God into something which must be earned.
I am not going to heaven because I promised God I would "stop sinning". I am going to heaven because Christ died for my sins and I accepted his free gift of eternal life!
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
I'm not saying you can stop sinning... although you can do some damage control and sober up in certain areas, to say the least. But my issue is people have become accepting of those things. Take for example gay marriage, ask a Christian for their stance on this and you will understand what I mean.