People make a lot of jokes about hell, but it's no laughing matter. Life here, is a picnic, compared to hell. In fact, nothing can compare to it.
Only the unknowledgeable, would laugh. Jesus calls them fools. You must consider, what you decide to do today, will stick with you through eternity. Those who reside in hell, are there because of choice, and if they could, they would come back, warn you and beg you to take your soul seriously, because that's the worst place one could ever end up, and God wants no one to go there nor experience it. Jesus' whole mission was to save us. He pleads with us, not to gamble with our own soul! The Bible says that so many have neglected their own souls, that Hell has had to enlarge itself! Please don't be one of those statistics who gambled with their own soul.
Isaiah 5:14 - Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth WITHOUT MEASURE: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
This verse is referring to those who have mocked, cursed, laughed at, spit upon, and thought they knew better than God, rejecting the only person that could have saved them. They wanted nothing to do with him or salvation.
He never made hell for people. Sin is in our nature. We might say, well, I never would have sinned and separated myself from God, but from the looks of this world, we can clearly see that's not true. Jesus said we all have sin and if we say we don't, then we are lying to ourselves, others, and Him. He also said that a fool will say in his heart, "There is no God." So now that we know we have sin and it needs to be paid for, that calls for a decision to keep sinning and separating ourselves from God, or allow His plan of salvation to save us. God said that's the only plan that will work. He warned us that there is no other way. He said we can try another way by trying to save ourselves by good works or whatever, but He warns, that won't work. Not ever. Eternity is an awfully long time to get it wrong. And who would know better how to escape hell, than God? Life is not a game and if we play Russian roulette with our souls, we'll lose every time.
Jesus paid an awful price on the cross, to pay for our sins. He knew we couldn't save ourselves, so he volunteered to pay for our sins.
God is fair. Sin is not, and it keeps us condemned and separated from God the Father, until we confess our sins to Jesus, so He can save us. What He asks us to do, is so simple....pray and invite Him into our hearts and lives as our Savior, so He can save us. He won't turn you away. He keeps His promises to us. Salvation is never about our performance. It's about God's wonderful Grace and His promise to save us and KEEP us. So we don't have to earn our way to heaven. God already loves and accepts us just as we are. It's your move. Your decision, but plan carefully, because there's no second chances. Once we cross over into the spiritual realm, there's no turning back and no changing our minds. There's not one substitute that could stand in Jesus's sinless place. The only safe place we have is in Jesus. Jesus said to come to him today, not put this decision off.
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@Entwistle that is certainly possible, yes, as we experience different emotions, but that has nothing to do with the real hell and is no comparison to what hell really is.
@LadyGrace They are just mental states. Some people may hear my music as Heavenly,others hear it as Hellish..both opinions come from the mind. Same goes for all things.
@Entwistle Say what you want, but Jesus didn't come all the way to heaven because they were simply mental states of mind. Those in hell absolutely know it's not just a state of mind, but a real place.
@Entwistle That's not what God said in His Word and He didn't die on the cross for no reason and do all that suffering because there WASN'T a hell. In fact, so many people are going to be in Hell by their own choice, that hell has had to enlarge itself. Isaiah 5:14. And I doubt you watched the video. Hell is an actual place and it is described in great detail in the Bible. If people were not in danger of going to hell, Jesus would not have come to this earth to warn people that their soul is in danger because of the condemnation sin placed on them. He came to tell us how to avoid hell.
@Entwistle I am so sorry you feel that way. I love you and care about you and I want to see you in heaven, but you insist there is no hell, so God cannot help you. He cannot help those who will not acknowledge that they need salvation, as we all do.
@Entwistle Thanks for answering that. Have you ever read the teachings of Jesus? I am finding it contradictory that according to Buddhism, there is no such thing as sin, yet....The Dhammasangāni regard the following five acts – matricide, parricide, slaying an Arhat, slaying a Buddha, and causing division among priesthood, to be five unpardonablesins. Then goes on further, to contradict himself, saying that Buddhists admit cases where committing an act which is generally considered to be sinful, has not been looked upon as sins. That's an oxymoron. One can't have it both ways. Sounds like he doesn't know what he believes. God doesn't look at sin the way we do. We need to be truthful and call it what it is. God doesn't categorize sin, like we do. Sin is sin, no matter what the sin is. And Jesus said that all sin separates us from God the Father, until we repent of it. If we say we have no sin, we are liars.
@LadyGrace Volitional actions with intention reate karmic responses in Buddhist teachings. Two people could perform the same act and receive different karmic results..due to the intention,motivation that made them decide to act. There are of course bad and good actions in Buddhas teachings. No Hell or Heaven or even Buddha exists outside the mind though. All things are mental formations. Mere labels.
There's no need for a god nor any need for salvation. Happiness,Hell,Heaven are all mental states.
It is a fact that we all have a sinful nature. If we claim that we never sin, then we are deceiving ourselves and telling ourselves a lie. If we say we have no sin, then we are liars. We can clearly see the results of the impact, that sin has on this world, when we see or hear about murders, theft, adultery, lying, stealing, cheating people, etc. These tell us exactly why we need a Savior. The receivers/victims of those atrocities, will quickly tell you that those are not merely "mental states". They are evil desires, acted out on other people. No amount of positive thinking will eliminate them. That's like living in a bubble, and pretending nothing ever bad happens in this world. Buddha talks of karma, but karma is a copy off of what Jesus said about our sins always find us out and we always reap what we sow! The very nature of sin, is that it always brings the consequences of death and destruction. That needs to be remedied before our souls can step into a holy heaven, and hiding our heads in the sand, pretending there is no such thing as sin, is both foolish and eternally destructive. Furthermore, we cannot forgive ourselves of our own sins. That's a given. That's why we need a Savior. His name is Jesus. Not one person in the universe is more powerful than He and certainly Buddha is not more powerful than Jesus, that he can forgive us of our sins. Especially when he doesn't even acknowledge he has sins and Jesus said that if we say we are not sinners, then we are liars. He also said we cannot earn our way to heaven by good deeds, as salvation has nothing to do with our performance. It has everything to do with God's promise to save us.
Buddha Dharma Education Association states "The idea of sin or original sin has no place in Buddhism." Zen student and author Barbara O'Brien has said that "Buddhism has no concept of sin." What's this? Then turns around and speaks of the 5 unpardonable sins! Buddhism contradicts itself. Walpola Rahula also disagreed with the notion of sin, saying "In fact there is no 'sin' in Buddhism. However, they tragically fail to see and acknowledge that we're all in the same spiritual boat....all have the sin nature and capability of sinning, and in fact, do sin, and have sinned. We can definitely see that in our world today, which again, tells us why we need Jesus as Savior.
This world needs to see sin for what it is and address it, if we want to have heaven as our eternal and final resting place. Sin, in itself, demands punishment. God is fair...sin is not! It is not God that condemns us. Jesus came to save the world, not condemn it. It is sin that has placed a death sentence on all, until they repent. Sin always brings condemnation with it. It keeps us separated from God, until we repent of our sins, so that Jesus can forgive us and restore us to right fellowship with our Father in Heaven, once again. Do nothing, and our souls remain seperated from God for eternity. We must never neglect our soul.
Jesus took the punishment for our sins, upon Himself, paying for them on the cross.
Without the shedding of pure, SINLESS, sacrificial blood, there IS NO REMISSION OF SINS.
"Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22
This was Jesus' sacrificial gift to the whole world, that none other could give to us! Not Moses, not Buddha, not the Dalai Lama, nor any other person on this earth, as they all have sins of their own and lack the spiritual power to erase our sins.
@Entwistle What world are you living in? People get stabbed and shot and so their body suffers, not just their mind. Tell that to the many cancer patients whose bodies are wrecked with cancer and are suffering, not just their minds.
