Evidence for God from Science

There are times where i think of hell and i ask myself am i saved from that place... and everytime i do think of this my heart petrifies in fear .. i look around my room and i see Ps3, iphone, electric piano, tv ( crappy tho), laptop, king size single bed ... and i think to myself "i have given away to my friends my psp ( which i was attached to like no tomorrow) and my xbox 360 since i never played it ... but am i the rich man who Jesus said that i must give away all the useless things in my life to go after the kingdom of God?"

I do have faith in Christ but do i have a firm loving relationship with him? sometimes i do see God's hand in my life especially after or when i read the bible, i wish i could see more of that.

To be honest i am just so scared, so utterly scared...

Sometimes i do wish i was born in places of poverty so that at least i would not have the fear of my possessions that it might be leading me to hell. ( maybe its a paranoia)

What must i do?! I'm so scared of getting it wrong ... i'm so confused. I still do things of the flesh like swear at times even when i try not to, shout at my sisters to stop being annoying..

ergh i feel so repetitive too. Don't mind me if i have just become some whiney voice.

Cet-to,

I am noticing that you are 18....I would say, save right now. Once you get out on your own (I guess I am assuming you are still with parents or in college?), life has a way of showing you ways to save/scrimp/give away.

I can remember, dimly though, those lovely years in high school where I can honestly say I had money....then college happened.....then life with a job, saved for a townhome. While I have equity in my house, everything in it, save the mattress, has been secondhand in some way. I bought one desk, an antique I found, new...(I have a secret crazy fondness for secret drawers and cubbies)

Obviously this is not to say that your thoughts have no validity. IN this day and age, we should always be wise consumers and think twice before purchasing, especially when we start saying things like "I need this"....do we really? I have learned this....

Right now I would say that you should practice wise use of the money you have. This might mean simply not "upgrading" on your games, or buying a smaller mattress the next time you get one. But I hardly think throwing a perfectly good mattress out just to buy a smaller one now to prove you are not the rich man is hardly wise stewardship of money. While you can think it now not worth it to buy a king size, you have it now and should use it.

Here's an example from my own life. I have, thanks to the fancy new flat screen TV's, been given several older tube TV's form family members. They work perfectly, they were free, and there is no reason to replace them. I know that if I scrimp and save I could buy a flat screen, but I am fighting the temptation. There is no reason now, it is not a need, and I will wait for the prices to lower (or I inherit one ). I drive an 11 year old Honda CRV and will probably buy a used the next time. (I did buy one new car in my twenties....).

It is a battle and a wise one to fight. But I would assure you that you have plenty of time to fight it. Start now with your planning, Christmas gifts, your donations, ...

Cet-to,

Assurance of salvation is something that many believers including myself have struggled with.

What is happening is you are examining your life and seeing stuff, and thinking, "is this keeping me from being saved."
Obviously this relates to the story of the rich young ruler. What we have to know is, "how does this account apply to our life?" Is Jesus telling this man he can not be saved? Because in several places Jesus makes it clear that salvation is by faith. Jesus doesn't tell Nicodemus to sell all he has, does he? So, what can we learn?

Notice the rich young ruler (RYR) didn't ask, 'how can I be saved?' He asked, 'how can I inherit eternal life?' How was he perceiving eternal life? I think it is clear that to him, eternal life was just another thing to add to the wealth he already had.

Let me ask you this. If Jesus, in the flesh, walked up to you and said that you could sell all your stuff and be 100% assured of salvation, would you? I mean 100%, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. who wouldn't? Anyone who knew they needed salvation would. Ah hah, and there is the key. Just considering this proposition you realize two things. You are a sinner, and you need saving. Once you put this in words like that, you start to realize this is not what Jesus was teaching. "Sell all you have and then you can get a certificate of eternal life." No sir, that's not it. You see the man had no idea what he was asking. Eternal life is the by-product of salvation. Did the rich young ruler realize he needed salvation? No. He wanted eternal life. Who doesn't. Even the most wicked person wants eternal life. But does wanting eternal life equate to knowing one's need of salvation? Nope. And so, Jesus exposed his self-righteousness when He presented him with a few commandments. The man says, 'Sure, I've kept all those since I was a kid." Really? Did this man see himself as a sinner needing saving? No. He saw himself as good, fit, and worthy of eternal life. Not a sinner, dead in his trespasses, desperate for forgiveness. Is that how you see yourself? Based on your post, you don't seem like the RYR too me. You seem concerned about your sin and need of saving.

Let's imagine for a second that the RYR didn't leave discouraged. Let's imagine that he didn't try to convince Jesus that he was a 'good' person. And instead, he fell down and wept, and admitted, "But Lord, I haven't really kept those commands. ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (Luke 18:13) Do you really think Jesus would have said, go sell all you have? Well, what did Jesus say? (Luke 18:14)

Sometimes i do wish i was born in places of poverty

All Christians come to a place of poverty. Spiritual poverty. How can one be saved unless they realize that they have nothing with which to inherit eternal life. Despite money, belongings, etc. they are destitute before God. Spiritually bankrupt. Jesus said that we need to believe his message. (John 5:24) Is His message not salvation for 'sinners?' So, if you trust Jesus as savior, then you also believe that you need saving. And that you are destitute, poor, a sinner.

Look at what the scripture says just a few verses earlier.
"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable:"
(Luke 18:9)
I don't think we can read the RYR out of the context of what was mentioned just a few verses back. Was the rich young ruler this confident in his own righteousness? The text leaves no question. (Luke 18:21)

The man leaves and Jesus gives the gospel. All he had to do was stay. (Luke 18:27) Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Obviously Cet-to, only you know what you have or haven't believed about Christ. Butl, even believers can slip back into these doubts about their own salvation. And the reality is there is no need for this. If you have believed on Him and His message (John 5:24) then you have eternal life. And when you doubt His promises, what you are really doing is saying, that you don't trust what God has already done for you. And we don't want to make God out to be a liar.

There is nothing wrong with evaluating yourself and whether you are being a steward with what you are given. There is also nothing wrong with doing such an inventory and realizing that your lifestyle is not in keeping with the calling you've received. But, the fact is, if you are saved, you are saved. You may not be living as if you are. And if you are not, the wise thing to do is to repent and live worthy of the calling you have received. (Eph. 4:1)

In fact, read Ephesians. Read it over and over. Let it permeate every fiber of your mind and heart. It is Christianity 101. It tells you who you are in Christ and what you already have. And then instructs you how to live it out.

CeT-To wrote:There are times where i think of hell and i ask myself am i saved from that place... and everytime i do think of this my heart petrifies in fear .. i look around my room and i see Ps3, iphone, electric piano, tv ( crappy tho), laptop, king size single bed ... and i think to myself "i have given away to my friends my psp ( which i was attached to like no tomorrow) and my xbox 360 since i never played it ... but am i the rich man who Jesus said that i must give away all the useless things in my life to go after the kingdom of God?"

I do have faith in Christ but do i have a firm loving relationship with him? sometimes i do see God's hand in my life especially after or when i read the bible, i wish i could see more of that.

To be honest i am just so scared, so utterly scared...

Sometimes i do wish i was born in places of poverty so that at least i would not have the fear of my possessions that it might be leading me to hell. ( maybe its a paranoia)

What must i do?! I'm so scared of getting it wrong ... i'm so confused. I still do things of the flesh like swear at times even when i try not to, shout at my sisters to stop being annoying..

ergh i feel so repetitive too. Don't mind me if i have just become some whiney voice.

CeT-To, the only advice I can give you is to pray a lot, AND Stop sin. We are commanded to be Holy as God is Holy. Lev 19:2 If you strive for that, I can assure you your life will be a lot smoother.

Hey guys, sorry for such a late reply. Thank you for your helping words.

To Zoe- to be honest most of the stuff that i have listed i have received them from parents from christmas & birthday, i rarely buy games and the bed i have my parents bought me it. I'm actually quite stingy with my money the only thing i usually spend it on is at small restaurants for lunch with my gf maybe like 2x a week max at times when we have breaks at uni between classes. Hahaha yeah i have one big fat old tv in my room too except mine is dodgey, every time i turn it on it goes all crazy and fuzzy until 3 min passes which then it gradually goes back to normal. You could say my parents spoiled me but in truth i hardly ever ask them for anything, they are the ones who decide to give stuff to me like for example my laptop is second hand and so is my tv in a way ( family used to use it before we got better tv). I think though that i might have a little problem with downloading pirated games on my iphone... it used to be on my psp but then i gave it away but it looks like my iphone sort of replaced it :S. Only reason i download games is cause i get so bored sometimes i need a little thrill or something ... i know it sounds something that the flesh would say..

To Jlay- thank you for your sobering words, jlay, and i did find it most interesting the way you explained the rich man! i don't think i have ever thought through that event in Yeshua's ministry, it has lifted up my spirit a bit thanks to that

To Gman- Yep agreed i need to pray more, i do pray in my daily life in my head and stuff but i think i also need to do some praying in my quiet room with the door closed. Thanx Gman