Will I Go to Hell Because I'm a Lesbian?
Is it true that I will go to hell because I am a lesbian and how can I know for sure?
No, I don't believe that the Bible says lesbians are going to hell because they are lesbians. The Bible makes it clear that the God of the Bible is not a cross between Grandpa and Santa Claus. God's attributes - things that are true about God - include:
1. Holiness
2. Wisdom
3. Sovereignty
4. Eternality
5. Mercy
6. Faithfulness
7. Love
8. Righteousness
9. Wrath
10. Truth
The God of the Bible is described by all of these attributes and therefore, He cannot simply ignore sin - our sins must be paid for.
The God of the Bible loves us and wants to save us from our sins. Because we sin and rebel against God, no matter how good our intentions, we are not good people - at least we are not good enough to get into heaven based on our own goodness.
Jesus paid for our sins and God accepted His payment
God demands that sins must be paid for yet we are not good enough to pay for our own sins. Because God loves you with an everlasting love, He sent Jesus to take your place, to pay for your sins (and mine!) so we could get saved and have fellowship with God.
We KNOW God accepted the payment Jesus made for our sins because God raised Jesus from the dead - that proves that Jesus' payment was exactly what God required. Does that make sense to you?
Now, the ONLY thing you need to do to be saved is to accept the payment Jesus made for you.
What Jesus says about Hell
Hell is mentioned a total of 54 times in the King James Bible, 31 times in the Old Testament and 23 times in the New Testament.
Isn't it interesting that it is Jesus who mentions hell 16 of the 23 times in the New Testament (15 times in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke and once in Revelation 1:18)?
That Jesus mentioned hell 16 times let's us know that the subject of hell is serious and very important to Jesus. The most famous story on hell in the Bible is in Luke 16.
There is only one reason people go to hell when they die. That reason is:
They did not trust Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin.
No one goes to hell for being lesbian or gay or for being in a lesbian or gay relationship. People go to hell because they thought their righteousness (good works or good intentions) were enough to get them into heaven.
In John 3, you can read it here, Jesus talked to a very famous, very good, very religious man named Nicodemus. Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again. According to Jesus, if Nicodemus didn't get born again, he could never see the kingdom of God.
If you want to know for sure that you are born again/saved and going to heaven when you die, I invite you to take the Good Person test. Along with the test, you can watch a 4 minute video which explains about trusting Jesus.
The purpose of this website is to explain that God does not condemn lesbians and gays the way some Christians say He does. God wants to save us just like He will save anyone who calls on Him. Click any button on the NavBar and begin exploring the wonderful good news God has for lesbians and gays.
I recommend these Links to help explain how much God loves you and what Jesus did in dying on the Cross for your sins. God wants to save you and adopt you into the family of God, Ephesians 1:5. All He is waiting for is for you to say Yes.
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The bible says: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Being a Christian, a child of God, does not mean you are no longer human. We will still struggle with sins and continue to commit them until the day we are given our glorified bodies . While the verse above does say that adulterers, homosexual offenders, etc. will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Heaven and the New Earth), it also says "that is what some of you WERE. But you were WASHED...". You may have committed sins worthy of Hell (we all have), but you can admit your wrongs, repent and turn away from them. God is looking for us to admit we are sinners and admit that we need help in order to be saved. He wants a heart that lovingly obeys His commands. He knows we will fail from time to time, but He will also give us the strength we need to overcome all obstacles and temptations.
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13
The major tenets of every major religion pretty much boil down to the same thing (in an admittedly hyper-simplistic paraphrase): "Don't be a dick."
I think Christianity boils down to submission to God since you can still go to hell by being a good person.
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Acruz
real estate
To break the cycle of life and death you have to free yourself from earthly attachments. Praying to someone who died in Israel 2000 years will get you no closer to that freedom then bowing to Mecca a few times a day will...
At least that is what I could say if I was a Buddhist.
I'm sure that a Muslim could say something similar, as could anyone from any religion ( their path is wrong and our path is right because our holy man / book says so ).
The funny thing is that they are all probably half-right.
"...our path is right because our holy man / book says so."
The major tenets of every major religion pretty much boil down to the same thing (in an admittedly hyper-simplistic paraphrase): "Don't be a dick."
Maybe there is something to that for all of us to learn from, even if we discard the dogma.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
SolarSanitizer said: "The funny thing is that they are all probably half-right."
I would strongly speculate that ALL the religions of the world CAN'T be right. So our (most basic) available choices are that either one is right, or they are all wrong. Occam's razor implies using the simplest explanation: they are ALL WRONG.
The most likely answer would not be "They are all wrong." It would be:
"Not all of them can be 100% right, only one can be 100% right, but since it is highly unlikely that one religion is 100% right, we must assume that some are right in some ways, and others are right in others."
However, you erred in the beginning of your argument when you took my statement out of context. It is, actually true that religions, generically, profess good will toward man and kindness as the best policy.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
All religions claim some form of divine inspiration; and most at their core claim to be guided by a deity, as well as claiming to know the truth and all right. To be only 99% would imply they have not been divinely led.
But I'm really not about arguing percentages on this. ALL religions claim to be right. They don't claim to be party right, they claim to be all right. They simply cannot ALL be right; thus the simplest explanation is that they are ALL wrong.
Since not all people are right, all are wrong.
Since not all laws are right, all are wrong.
Since not all politicians are right, all are wrong.
I could go on, but won't. You either get the point, or you don't.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
Most people don't claim to be "all right about everything" the way most religions do.
If you met someone who claimed to be always completely right about everything they spoke on; and then you found a single glaring mistake in something they said - wouldn't you begin to question the validity of EVERYTHING they said?
I'd question the validity, sure. But we take things on an individual basis.
If you argued with a person about a certain subject and you conceded a point, would that make your entire argument automatically suspect? I contend that the answer has to be a resounding No. Because if that were the case, nobody would ever concede a point.
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.