If my sins are all cleansed by believing in Christ, then why am I still sinning [and offending Him]? Believe me, I’d love to be like an RC saint [not that they were sin-free, but they were very good people], and sometimes I can imitate one for about twelve seconds, if I’m at Mass and not looking at anyone but God...
As saints go straight to heaven; the rest of us putrid peeps [like myself] do our stint in purgatory, and we pray like mad it’s not much more than a few centuries [of earth time]...
Getting to heaven is not easy! Work and toil and suffer and pray and fast and pray some more. And then, maybe .....
Excellent question. Paul asked the same question and his answer was found in Christ. He too struggled with sin. He wanted to do the right thing but realized his body was doing something else. His question and answer was:
...Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin (Romans 7:24-25).
As saints go straight to heaven; the rest of us putrid peeps [like myself] do our stint in purgatory, and we pray like mad it’s not much more than a few centuries [of earth time]...
If you are a believer in Christ YOU ARE A SAINT.
The New Testament in more than more passage addresses believers as saints (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Eph 4:12; Philippians 1:1 as examples). These believers were just like you, me, and Paul. They struggled with the day to day temptations yet believed that Christ had died for their sins and had nailed them to the cross (Colossians 2: 13-14).
As a believer in Christ you go to Heaven. There is no post-death cleansing needed as Christ has done that at the Cross. If His one-time sacrifice for all sin is insufficient for forgiving all of our sins, then what remains to take them away?
Paul addressed this in Romans 4:7-8. He notes that our lawless deeds have been forgiven and our sins have been covered. He further notes: blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account!
Getting to heaven is not easy! Work and toil and suffer and pray and fast and pray some more. And then, maybe .....
You're correct in a way. The Christian life is sometimes not the easiest in the world. We're swimming upstream if you will. If we are following Christ we are in opposition to the world. This will often bring ridicule upon us from the world. We may forgo activities others engage in and think we're missing out (when really we're not).
I think of those believers in Iraq, North Korea, Syria, etc. They are having the real hard time of being a Christian. We haven't seen that level of persecution here in the states....yet.
However, if we're relying upon what we do, getting to Heaven is not only hard, it's impossible.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
There are no works good enough to get us into Heaven. None.
The only 100% guaranteed way to Heaven is through faith in Christ. Just as Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6 and Galatians 3:6) if we believe in Christ we are declared righteous.
But to be clear that being a follower of Christ doesn't mean you just sit on the sideline if I can use a football term.
We are expected to conduct our lives in accordance with HIS will....not ours. We are expected to produce fruit for the Kingdom (Galatians 5:16-25).
The Good News is that we aren't doing this on our own. We have the Holy Spirit as our Helper to guide us into all truth and Who is continually praying for us. (John 14:16, Romans 8:26).
Why can the believer be certain of all of this?
John 6:37-40
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 40“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
If you have any questions on this or anything you would like to discuss in private, please freepmail me.
I hope this helps answer your questions.
“Getting to heaven is not easy! Work and toil and suffer and pray and fast and pray some more. And then, maybe .....”
Getting to Heaven is easy, just stop trying, stay focused on Loving God with all your being, and allow it to happen.
Going to Heaven takes two things. First we must be focused on where we want to be, our destination. That is the first and most important commandment, i.e. “Love God.” Second, we must find and remove the obstacles to Love in our souls that become our anchors or ballast, preventing us from doing commandment number one. That is the reason for commandment number two, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The “dying daily” part is actually the letting go of our anchors in this realm in order to tune our consciousness toward God. It’s also the getting rid of the old wineskin and old cloth as when we are full of our old selves we have no room for God.
Those two commandments together are the secret to entering Heaven.
It sounds so authentic it MUST be true!!
Matthew 11:30
"For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."