Am I going to hell?! (church, sinners, Holy Spirit, worship)

[C&N]

I work on sundays
I swear sometimes (i try to keep it down but it just happens sometimes)
I do not go to church cause its boring, i only go at easter and christmas
I covet my neighboors pool and i jumped in it a few times while they were on vacation.

[KirbyFan101]

No-one here speaks for God.

How do you expect for anyone here to tell you whether you are going to hell or not?

[jimbob]

Why don't you ask God. Better yet, go to confession, then you won't have to worry if you are going to hell, as long as you are sorry. you should also start going to church more, sure its boring for a while, then you start to like it. good luck.

[James the Persian]

Originally Posted by C&N

I work on sundays
I swear sometimes (i try to keep it down but it just happens sometimes)
I do not go to church cause its boring, i only go at easter and christmas
I covet my neighboors pool and i jumped in it a few times while they were on vacation.

I find it strange, if you are Orthodox, that you would even ask this question. We shouldn't judge others as we are all sinners. As to your specifics. I swear sometimes too (more than I'd like). I work on Sundays fairly often, but Sunday is not the sabbath and we are not called to keep the OT law, so I don't believe anyone will be condemned for that. I similarly doubt that your attitude toward your neighbour's pool will bring damnation on you, particularly if you are sorry. Not going to the Liturgy is a bigger problem. Given that communion is the essence of Orthodox unity, not going to the Liturgy and partaking of the Eucharist is to wilfully excommunicate yourself from the Church. You should confess and take the Eucharist as often as you are able. The Liturgy is not meant for our entertainment but for worshipping God and becoming one with Christ. Having said this, your situation is not uncommon, particularly among nominal cradle Orthodox. Frankly, such people are missing the point. Orthodoxy is not simple belief but a way of life. If you do no at least try to live Orthodoxy, then you can be Orthodox in name only.

James

[C&N]

Ouch... I got told

[michel]

Originally Posted by C&N

Ouch... I got told

Well, you did ask; anyway, the ball's still in your court.

[Sabio]

Originally Posted by C&N

I work on sundays
I swear sometimes (i try to keep it down but it just happens sometimes)
I do not go to church cause its boring, i only go at easter and christmas
I covet my neighboors pool and i jumped in it a few times while they were on vacation.

C&n

It appears from your questions that you are feeling some amount of conviction from the Holy Spirit reagrding the way you are living your life. The issues that you mentioned are probably not the "real issues", huh?

I would suggest the same as some of the other who have already responded to you. Seek God, use this scripture and then decide if you are in need of repentence.

Sabio



Psalm 139:

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

[fromthe heart]

It seems to me that if you are that concerned you already know what changes you need to make in your life. It's hard to not live with the world and to live apart from worldly things in our lives...we can't take the easy way and should stay strong in our faith because it IS what sustains us. If you have been saved and baptised the rest is in your works that you will one day stand before God and answer for. Only you know what is wrong for YOU in your life and only YOU must make the correct changes to assure you won't be standing before God with so much sorrow on your face.

Respectfully meant...

[LongGe123]

When I read the title of your post I thought you were going to say you killed someone or something significant at least! Naturally of course I don't believe in Hell but still the idea that you'd be punished eternally for these minor things is frankly laughable. If you spend your life worrying about these trivial things you're going to ruin life's great fun!

The reason I have forsaken the religious path is because there's just too much focus on all these different world's beyond the grave. If we spent more time focussing on the problems of our own world instead of attributing things and linking things to religious thought then maybe we'd make some progress in resolving serious world issues.

[Victor]

IacobPersul, took the words right out of my mouth. We don't even claim to know our own eternal destination. Let alone someones elses. No matter how obvious.

The Least
~Victor