Free gift.

[Little lunch]

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I just read the thread title.  The contents of the original post is irrelevant.  I will PM you my address so you can send me the free gift.

PM me your address, and I'll leave you a present by your front door. No strings attached.

Is it bunjee jumping gear?

[SteveII]

I hear this from time to time. Grace is a free gift. All you have to do is accept Jesus into your heart. Except accepting Jesus into your heart usually means changing your life by abiding by a set of rules. When someone says "You need Jesus", they're implying you're living your life wrong. But if becoming a christian means making a drastic change in your lifestyle, then it's not really a free gift. You can't just tell Jesus you'll take the gift, and keep living in "sin", so why do people call it free?

You are confusing two things: 1. Accepting Jesus in your life and the reasons you might want to do that and 2) the change of heart that follows that makes you want to live like Jesus. It is not how you characterized it: 

IF I accept Jesus
THEN I must change

it is more like

IF I accept Jesus and pursue the relationship
THEN I will want to be more like him

Most everyone can agree being more like Jesus is a good thing.

[The Industrial Atheist]

Because if they tell you how it really is, you'd say no in a heartbeat.

Damn near everything is a "sin."

[Foxaèr]

You are confusing two things: 1. Accepting Jesus in your life and the reasons you might want to do that and 2) the change of heart that follows that makes you want to live like Jesus. It is not how you characterized it: 

IF I accept Jesus
THEN I must change

it is more like

IF I accept Jesus and pursue the relationship
THEN I will want to be more like him

Most everyone can agree being more like Jesus is a good thing.

1. Does entering into a relationship with another human person mean that I must change to be more like that person?

2. In what way does Jesus reciprocate in the relationship that can be compared to two humans reciprocating in a relationship?

[Angrboda]

are you going to set it on fire first so he'll have to stomp on it

[Whateverist]

I hear this from time to time. Grace is a free gift. All you have to do is accept Jesus into your heart. Except accepting Jesus into your heart usually means changing your life by abiding by a set of rules. When someone says "You need Jesus", they're implying you're living your life wrong. But if becoming a christian means making a drastic change in your lifestyle, then it's not really a free gift. You can't just tell Jesus you'll take the gift, and keep living in "sin", so why do people call it free?

You are confusing two things: 1. Accepting Jesus in your life and the reasons you might want to do that and 2) the change of heart that follows that makes you want to live like Jesus. It is not how you characterized it: 

IF I accept Jesus
THEN I must change

it is more like

IF I accept Jesus and pursue the relationship
THEN I will want to be more like him

Most everyone can agree being more like Jesus is a good thing.

Why sure.  What could be better than a world in which everyone sets aside whatever it is that makes them distinctive in order to create a world of perfect sameness.[/sarcasm]

[Chad32]

are you going to set it on fire first so he'll have to stomp on it

I'm glad someone got that joke.

[possibletarian]

are you going to set it on fire first so he'll have to stomp on it

I'm glad someone got that joke.

I used to stick a banger in it for good measure, it was normally cow pat we used.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

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I hear this from time to time. Grace is a free gift. All you have to do is accept Jesus into your heart. Except accepting Jesus into your heart usually means changing your life by abiding by a set of rules. When someone says "You need Jesus", they're implying you're living your life wrong. But if becoming a christian means making a drastic change in your lifestyle, then it's not really a free gift. You can't just tell Jesus you'll take the gift, and keep living in "sin", so why do people call it free?

---

You are confusing two things: 1. Accepting Jesus in your life and the reasons you might want to do that and 2) the change of heart that follows that makes you want to live like Jesus. It is not how you characterized it: 

IF I accept Jesus
THEN I must change

it is more like

IF I accept Jesus and pursue the relationship
THEN I will want to be more like him

Most everyone can agree being more like Jesus is a good thing.

Be like Jesus = http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_tea...5_29a.html  13 pictures

[Godscreated]

 It is free and the Bible teaches this with no doubt. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation, to gain it is to believe in Jesus and that belief includes the desire to allow God to change you. There are no rules to abide by that will gain you salvation, it can't be bought only given as a gift. It come through God's love a love no one merits. The love of God has always been there for the unbelieving, it is you who has to receive it into your life through your belief in who Jesus is and in so doing you have chosen to be changed, that change is a part of believing in who Jesus is. Even after a person accepts Christ there will be sin in the person's life for none of us can be perfect as God is perfect, but God will continue to work with the person so that much of the sin is eliminated from the person's life.

GC

But what if I believe in Sithrak, the Blind Gibberer and the never-ending torment that the Book of Dismay promises all?

Stay alive for as long as possible.

 The free gift is the best choice and for me the only logical one.

GC

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 It is free and the Bible teaches this with no doubt. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation, to gain it is to believe in Jesus and that belief includes the desire to allow God to change you. There are no rules to abide by that will gain you salvation, it can't be bought only given as a gift. It come through God's love a love no one merits. The love of God has always been there for the unbelieving, it is you who has to receive it into your life through your belief in who Jesus is and in so doing you have chosen to be changed, that change is a part of believing in who Jesus is. Even after a person accepts Christ there will be sin in the person's life for none of us can be perfect as God is perfect, but God will continue to work with the person so that much of the sin is eliminated from the person's life.

GC

 Hmm... Thats probably why I don't enjoy receiving gifts. Gods gift sounds freakin awesome until you read the fine print.

There is no fine print to it, it's all laid out in the scriptures bold and beautiful.

His free gift has MAJOR consequences if you gracefully decline. Im good God. No thanks.  I smell a rat. The most disappointing part of gods free gift is the automatic focus shift from reality to a land of milk and honey. As a former born-again, I was focused on la la land after death as this life felt like a preview to the main attraction. Looking back,  it was not only a waste of my time but more so a waste of my mind. Enjoy the gift if you'd like to receive it, but know that it often comes with years of brainwashing and judgment. Gotta go be evil heathen now but know that now I enjoy this life because its precious.

  I also enjoy this life because it has become more precious because Christ is in it. My future is secure and I have an eternal life of peace and beauty to live. You on the other hand are not going to be happy with the next life unless you change. You could not have been born again if you had you would have come to know God is real and that means the knowledge of Him would eliminate your atheistic belief. I've never been brainwashed nor judged, my church is a Christ filled loving church that serves God for the betterment of people.

GC

---

 It is free and the Bible teaches this with no doubt. There is nothing you can do to earn salvation, to gain it is to believe in Jesus and that belief includes the desire to allow God to change you. There are no rules to abide by that will gain you salvation, it can't be bought only given as a gift. It come through God's love a love no one merits. The love of God has always been there for the unbelieving, it is you who has to receive it into your life through your belief in who Jesus is and in so doing you have chosen to be changed, that change is a part of believing in who Jesus is. Even after a person accepts Christ there will be sin in the person's life for none of us can be perfect as God is perfect, but God will continue to work with the person so that much of the sin is eliminated from the person's life.

GC

Like I said, it's not free if there's an expectation to change. Being worthy or not has nothing to do with something being free. I can give someone my truck, whether he deserves it or not, but if I expect something in return, like him living his life the way I want him to live, then it isn't free. free means no strings attached.

  The change is part of the gift, you can't make the change by yourself, only with God working in your life will the change come. You see you want to argue for having you cake and eating it, too. That isn't a valid argument in this case, there is much in the gift when you receive it and with that knowledge you can either reject it and suffer the consequences or you can accept it and gain the reward of eternal life with God.

GC