Thomas Jefferson's Interview With God

Do you know why people go to hell? Because they have broken God's commandments, His moral law. Its not about who they worship, or how. There is one way to not go to hell, and that is to repent (completely turn the opposite direction) of your sins, and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, but by me."

A deist, does not have Jesus. They have not repented and put their trust in the Savior, and therefore do not have the blood covering of their sin. Without that covering, they face the wrath of God, for the Bible says we are at emnity with God in our mind, through wicked works. No thief, no adulterer, no blasphemer will enter the kingdom of Heaven. All liars will have their part in a lake of fire. The fact is, all of us have done all of these things. There is none righteous, no, not one. Thomas Jefferson is not good enough to make it to heaven on his own, without the saving blood of Jesus Christ.

"...for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, that no one should boast... -Ephesians 2:8-9

These verses clearly say that we are saved by faith in Christ and by the grace of God, not through works. No one is good enough to get to heaven on his own merit. Only Jesus was without sin.

I dont deny that salvation is a free gift. But I refuse to believe that Christ requires lip service only, without obediance.

Matt. 7: 21 he that doeth the will of my Father.

Matt. 7: 24 (Luke 6: 47) heareth these sayings . . . and doeth them.

Matt. 23: 3 whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do.

Matt. 23: 23 (Luke 11: 42) these ought ye to have done.

Matt. 24: 46 (Luke 12: 43) Blessed is that servant whom his lord . . . shall find so doing.

Matt. 25: 40 (D&C 42: 38) as ye have done it unto one of the least . . . ye have done it unto me.

Luke 6: 46 why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not.

Luke 8: 21 which hear the word of God, and do it.

Luke 10: 28 this do, and thou shalt live.

Luke 10: 37 and do thou likewise.

John 3: 21 he that doeth truth cometh to the light.

John 7: 17 If any man will do his will.

There is no conflict between Ephesians 2:8-9
and the scriptures you quote.

Salvation is required to be in a right (forgiven) relationship with God.

If I person trully accepts Christ and his forgiveness, that person had to see that they needed forgiveness first. Why did they need God's forgiveness? Because ALL sin and disobey God. What are the Greatest Commandments?
To Love God with ALL of your heart, mind, and strength AND to Love others.

So there is the problem, ALL people including Thomas Jefferson will NEVER be able to Love God correctly because everyone will choose to serve themselves first at some point. Even a small little lie is enought to separate you from God, because that person is choosing to lie over obeying God.

This is why Christ is the straight and narrow path to God. His blood paid for the sins of all who repent and accept his divine atonement for their sins. If you reject Christ's divinity, you reject your need for a Savior, and thus you are NOT saved from your sins. Hence, the wages of sin is eternal death.

The above is Christianity 101. The Good News, God has paid for ALL of your sins, all you need to do is admit you are a sinner, accept Christ's perfect payment for your sins as your Saviour, and because you are grateful for the gift of eternal life in Heaven, you respond by following your new love, Christ (who loved you first and was willing to death a horrible death to save you from hell).

Dear Brett,

I fully understand your Christian sentiments, however, it is not truly for us to know with 100% certainty which persons are either already in Hell, or shall eventually go there. God is the ultimate Judge of both the living and the dead, and His Mercy, unlike ours, is infinitely plentiful and unfathomable.

Jesus Christ certainly taught us to be tolerant, and also said that there are many mansions in Heaven. Are there perhaps enough mansions for many, and not just for evangelical Christians?

You are COMPLETELY missing the point. There are not mansions for many except those whom Christ knows. Those who have repented of their sin, and have trusted in Christ completely to be their savior. Jesus did NOT teach us to be tolerant. He taught us to love, and reach out to people, but He did not teach that sin is acceptable. He came to save sinners, but He told them to go and sin no more. Sin is sin is sin is sin. Sin damns you to hell. We are all under the condemnation of the Law, except those who have sought refuge in the God/man who fulfilled the Law and conquered sin and death.

His mercy is plentiful, but that does not mean it is all-encompassing. He is patient for a season, but the wicked store up wrath for themselves. No creature is hidden from His sight. All are naked and exposed to the eye of Him to which we must give account.

There is no 'hoping' that God will go easy, and judge a certain group of people a certain way. He will judge all of those under the Law by the Law. And He says, be perfect, as your Father is perfect. Therefore, anyone who has broken even the least of these has broken them all. All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. The only hope for any of us is to not be under that judgement. And the only way to do that is through the Lamb of God.

Dear Chris,

Thank you for your comment.

You wrote: " Jesus did NOT teach us to be tolerant. He taught us to love, and reach out to people, but He did not teach that sin is acceptable."

I fail to see how one can have love for others without tolerance. Tolerance leads to understanding, which leads to compassion, which ultimately leads to love.

I find it difficult to understand how you can possibly believe that Jesus did not teach us to be tolerant. What did He teach us then - to be racists, or bigots? Did He teach us to be intolerant?

You also wrote: "His mercy is plentiful, but that does not mean it is all-encompassing. He is patient for a season, but the wicked store up wrath for themselves."

If you honestly believe that Jesus Christ's mercy is not all-encompassing, then you and I do not believe in the same Jesus Christ. Christ's Sermon on the Mount even clearly states that those who are merciful are blessed: "7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." - Matthew 5-7 (King James Version)

Mercy and tolerance are deeply connected. Those who are intolerant can ultimately have no real mercy or love for others.

Paul wrote:

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.


ACTS 16:25 through 16:31


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My friend is there an earthquake in your life? Is your sword drawn that you might end it? Fear not, we are all here. The LORD only asks that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ will take it from there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Susan,
Please stay away from posting your beliefs on Christianity. Feel free to blog about any other subject but stop displaying your ignorance of the bible even if it is in the cute format of a play you created. It is more than tiring to read about the opinions of what salvation should be from people who don't read the bible or don't believe it. The consequences are as serious as they could ever get and to be a part of disseminating erroneous teaching about salvation should make you tremble. "Does the thing made tell him who made it, What have you done?"

"Please stay away from posting your beliefs on Christianity. Feel free to blog about any other subject but stop displaying your ignorance of the bible even if it is in the cute format of a play you created."

Sounds like the typical Sunni Christian rhetoric that has run rampant on here on TH. You wouldnt happen to be a Huckabee suporter would you?



"It is more than tiring to read about the opinions of what salvation should be from people who don't read the bible or don't believe it."

Susan is showing you that she reads and believes in the Bible.

....the Presidential race or you posting the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over......

This blog entry is so ignorant of history and theology that you should be ashamed to have posted it.

Are you Catholic? Do have ANY concept of what the Popes and Councils have declared over the centuries? Do you have any idea what the RCC STILL teaches about eternal torment and entrance into heaven?

The Catholic Church still teaches that IT is the "only ark of safety outside of which there is no salvation." It still teaches that missing Sunday mass or missing a "Holy Day of Obligation" without absolution and Penance buys a ticket to eternal torment for its adherents.

The Southern Baptists don't believe that about their church. If they did, you'd skewer them.

Vat II affirmed EVERYTHING in Trent (including all the anathemas) and declared that anyone knowingly "leaving or refusing to enter in" the Catholic Church "cannot be saved."

Muslims are saved via the Catholic Church in a "mysterious way" through a combination of sincerity and ignorance. However, if a Catholic leaves the church yet retains all faith in Christ and His work "hence, he cannot be saved."

And that just barely scratches the surface. Townhall doesn't have the bandwidth. Leo XIII declared that the declarations on salvation and damnation can never be modified.

Popes declared for centuries that only those in the Catholic Church ("no matter how blameless in other aspects") will be saved. Salvation required that one must be "submitted to the Roman Pontiff" for salvation.

Do yourself a favor and stop with these silly, grossly ignorant posts. I hate to be so harsh, but there is no starting point for addressing the points attempted.

Be careful when you propose to speak for God by concocting things He never said. That is dangerous ground on which to tread.

As a writer, I am very proud of my post entitled "Thomas Jefferson's Interview With God." I wrote it to make a point about religious intolerance. I feel greatly rewarded when people are challenged by what I have written, because in that challenge there is a small possibility that the seed of intolerance, which, unfortunately, has been planted in the minds of so many, might die and be reborn into a new seed called tolerance.

This post was not meant to be a treatise on history or theology. In fact, it is a fictitious play with a touch of humor, which, obviously, you have failed to notice.

I'm sorry to inform you of the fact that the Southern Baptist denomination does not have the historical veracity that is inherent in the Roman Catholic Church. Jesus said that the gates of hell would not prevail upon his Church, the church he originally started, which is the Roman Catholic Church, and not any Baptist church.

Also, if you really want to read about religious intolerance, then I would suggest that you read up on the Southern Baptist's well-known historical stance against our Afro-American brothers and sisters. Perhaps you are unaware of the cruel treatment that Pentecostal Christians historically received at the hand of merciless Baptists, who could not stand the fact that Pentecostal denominations fully accepted non-white people into their churches.

Your scathing words of hatred betray your self-righteous attitude, and your misunderstanding of the loving words of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, who taught us to have the qualities of compassion, mercy, and tolerance.

My point concerning the SBC is that you would attack them mercilessly if they came out and stated that they ALONE controlled ALL the graces -necessary for salvation-. For the record, I am not a Baptist.

According to scores of Popes and Councils, Jefferson and Mitt WILL meet in hell.

I don't want to trade atrocity stories because that misses the point. Any 'atrocities' of the SBC pale in light of the torture chambers and death squads of the RCC. The SBC and other Evangelical organizations do not claim infallibility nor do they claim that their teachings are never to be amended. I am free to say they were wrong.

If you want to read of intolerance, I suggest you read the Popes and Councils. You may also want to study 'On the Burning of Heretics.' While you're studying Jefferson, why not read what John Adams had to say about Rome?

I know what Christ said and He never commanded that Peter take believers and strangle them, burn them at the stake and then demand that governments bow their wills and armies at the behest of the priest. These are the 'infallible' and 'unchangeable' decrees of the bishops to whom you are commanded to 'bow will and intellect.'

The SBC claims no power over the eternal fates of souls. Rome claims it has ALL power over the fate of souls. It claims the power to damn souls to eternal fiery torture. It controls grace, absolution and access to God.

Does the SBC claim that if one fails to enter in or willingly leaves the SBC that he 'CANNOT BE SAVED'? Does the SBC demand that it be the religion of the state 'to the exclusion of all other forms of worship'?

You are free to believe ALL their claims, but to turn around and attack Evangelicals for believing in their doctrines on salvation is laughable. I'm free to say that the SBC was, is and can be wrong. You have no such liberty. You don't even know what your church teaches - just as Adams charged.

Evidently you are not familiar with my writings about the Christian martyr William Tyndale. I suggest that you read the following post, including all posts listed in the "My Related Posts" section.

Mitt Romney, Mormons, and One Martyr
http://conservativewordsmith.blogtownhall.com/default.aspx? mode=post&g=a24bf3bf-47a9-4823-a56b-93f4bfbb95cc

The extremely well-educated William Tyndale is one my heroes (my CD project is called 'Remembering William Tyndale').

Tyndale's support of religious freedom obviously did not mean that he supported all that any religion pronounced. In fact, he viciously attacked Romish superstitions. Supporting 'freedom' of religion does not mean 'approval' of all belief systems.

I am vehemently and unequivocally in support of religious freedom. That is why, like John Adams, I take Rome seriously when it places itself above the civil authority and demands the state submit its will to the church.

If I were a follower of David Koresh, I think it would be appropriate if I were asked if I supported the things he said, wrote or taught. I say the same of Mitt Romney in regard to Joseph Smith and Brigham Young.

I support no sect, I posit no creed.

Religion is a CHOICE. If Mitt CHOOSES to align himself with the likes of Smith and Young, he should rightly be asked some pointed questions and he should be proud to answer.

Mitt can be a Mormon all he likes. I support his right to worship soda machines if he wishes... but that does not mean that I should disregard his CHOSEN religious affiliation when casting my vote for a secular office.

Would you vote for Pius IX in light of 'The Syllabus of Errors'? Would you vote for Gregory XVI in light of 'Marari Vos'? Tyndale would never do so. You are comparing apples and oranges.