Quote Originally Posted by jcb View Post
To call God "all forgiving and all loving" *alone* ignores the fact that he is also holy and righteous, meaning he cannot have anything to do with sin. He can't ignore it, or He wouldn't be God.

1. God is holy and righteous = he must punish sin
2. God is loving = he sent Jesus to become that sin and bear the punishment for all of us

As to "with all the evil people in the world that I would not be grouped in with them" - the Bible is clear that no one is without sin. No where in Scripture will you find the idea that, when we're judged, God places our good stuff we did on one side of a balance beam and the bad stuff we did on the other side of the balance beam, and if there's more good than bad, we go to Heaven. That's just not a Christian belief.

What God does measure is faith. In Him and in Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. You're exactly right when you say "I also don't beleive that it is as simple as asking for forgiveness." It's not a simple thing. And I believe one of the biggest myths out there is the belief that if you say this certain prayer, and really mean it, you're saved. God does the saving and He chooses how and when.

As to your last statement - "I am not asking God to forgive me only to accept me as I am" - again, this is a modern, societal belief not anything scriptural or anything Christ would have said. God *can't* accept you as you are because you're a sinner - as I am. It is only through accepting Christ that we become God's children.

Like you, I like this type of discussion and it's nice to see it mostly civil.
So lets say I know I'm going to die. Can I ask for forgiveness on my deathbed and be accepted into Heaven. Personally I would hope thats not the case. I realize that in the eyes of God I am a sinner. Again I would rather be judged on how I have lived my life. I don't think that anyone is perfect and I also dont think that just asking for God to forgive is enough. And according to what you are saying he sent Jesus here to take the punishment for us. If so then why should I worry about anything? Not trying to argue but again this goes against what it being said supposedly by God.