Forgiven or not?

Here is the dilemma: Jesus says that you are forgiven for your sins. He also says that if you do not repent, you can't get into heaven. You can't enter heaven unless you have the faith of a child. He gives a list of things that you must and must not do, but then dies for you on the cross, absolving you of all guilt for your sins, and now to enter the pearly gates, all you have to do is ask, and you shall receive! Have you ever told a child "No" and had them listen to after just 1 time? How many times have you said "No"? Once? Twice? 7 times 77? Confused? Of course!

Why would Jesus tell you all of these things that you normally do, or are tempted to do, or perhaps occasionally do will prevent you from entering heaven? Yes, it is a sin to commit adultery, or to fornicate, but to tell a guy "Hey, if you even look at Britney Spears and think about sex, you have SINNED and can't get into heaven!" is like putting a drop of water on a dehydrated sponge and telling it not to absorb it. It is impossible.

If it were possible for a human to live like Jesus instructed us we should live, what would we need Jesus for? The message from God is that you can't be God, you can't even understand how to pronounce His name, and you can't comprehend His plans. If you could, you would be God. So, to fix this for you, since I have given you guidelines that in some respects are impossible to follow, I am sending a scapegoat for you to take one for the team, and die for your sins.

This doesn't mean you are free to run around sinning, fornicating, cheating on your wife or husband, killing, lying to Congress or your neighbors, and then stealing his Maserati. It does mean that if you fall, Jesus will pick you up. If you fail, Jesus will fix it for you. In fact, it is already fixed, and you have already been picked up. He just asks you to recognize it, and it is so.