Dear Editor:
I read a letter that appeared in the Jan. 27 edition and this individual stated that they were a Christian, and that "From grade school on I was taught that every person that practices their faith and lives by its teachings will reach heaven. I know that some teach that only those who follow Christian faiths will see heaven. I don't now and never have believed that." I am confused by this contradiction of what Scripture teaches.
If you say that you are a Christian, just what does that mean? Webster defines it as, "One who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ." So, if you say you are a Christian you are stating that you believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ, according to Webster's definition.
From where do we glean the teachings of Jesus Christ? Is it from a dream I had last night after an evening of pizza and beer or from the KJV Bible? If it is from the former, then everyone can come up with any hair-brained idea of what Jesus teaches. If it is from the KJV Bible then we can determine what Jesus teaches just by reading what it says about the subject of entering heaven.
In John 14: 1-6, Jesus says, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
It is clear even to the most casual observer that Jesus, who happens to be the Son of the living God, indicates that in order for an individual to reach heaven, they must believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as their personal Savior.
This notion that everyone will reach heaven, is a lie right out of the pits of hell spread by Satan himself.