How do I get all of my bad images, memories, and things I did when I was around one guy before being married, out of my mind from this world, in order to go to Heaven?

Hello J___:

I'm not a Christian, but from what I understand, you don't have to forget the past in order to get to heaven. You have to be forgiven for it.

The truth is, you can't forget something you remember.

excon

Excon is correct. The key isn't forgetting, it's being forgiven. And God gives that freely because of what Jesus did for you.

I did lots of unsavory things when I was younger, and I WAS a Christian at the time. But I know I've been forgiven, so I just do my best to learn from my mistakes and carry on, knowing God accepts me in spite of myself.

The bible never says that sin does not have consequences. There are things I will never forget that I have done... but sometimes that just makes the salvation from God so much more precious.

Psalm 51:3
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

These things will leave us when we leave this world. But don't let the Devil (the accuser of the brethren) let those sins hold you back to who God is calling you to be today. When he reminds you of your past, remind him of his future. There is a difference between remembering what you have been saved from and letting that thing hold you in place.

Your question had some odd wording to it, also. I hope you don't think that you have to forget your sins in order to go to Heaven. That ticket to Heaven was paid for ONCE AND FOR ALL at the cross by Jesus. If you have confessed your sins to God and asked that the Blood of Jesus cover over them... you are saved, no matter what the devil may REMIND you off. I suggest you tell him to take a hike.

We learn from our mistakes, We see what great sinners most of the religious leaders in the bible were at one time, It is from sin that we turn and repent,

What we did before is not who we are, it is who we are after we have accepted Christ

You've asked a rather complicated question, in my opinion. But the fact that it's posted here, in "Chritianity," indicates that you expect a religious answer. If I understand your question correctly, you wish to wipe your "slate" clean. I think the other answerers have got this part right. Memories of past deeds, though they can be disturbing, do not determine your spiritual future. The really important thing is to be accepted and to be forgiven by God. At this point I part company with dwashbur, hauntinghelper, and Fr_Chuck. They seem to hold doctrines about salvation that are not true to the Bible.

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Fr_Chuck:"... it is who we are after we have accepted Christ."

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Fact is before we are saved, our heart is not right with God.(Jeremiah 17:9) Because of that condition we cannot accept anything from God. (1 Corinthians 2:14)_____________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ___________

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hauntinghelper: "That ticket to Heaven was paid for ONCE AND FOR ALL at the cross by Jesus. If you have confessed your sins to God and asked that the Blood of Jesus cover over them...you are saved, no matter what the devil may REMIND you off."

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posted by HSB 1/12/11: "The concept of salvation (and / or forgiveness) simply for the asking is NOT TRUE. We would like it to be true. But that does not make it so. Now it is true that there are verses in the Bible, especially the New Testament that seem CRYSTAL CLEAR. And if we read ONLY those verses, and not a lot of other stuff that the Bible also says, then YES we can CONVINCE OURSELVES that salvation is to be had JUST FOR THE ASKING... But the Bible also tells about STRONG DELUSION that God will send. People thinking that they are saved, but actually are NOT. Talk about horrors! "

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dwashbur: "God gives that freely because of what Jesus did for you."

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Here dwashbur seems to say that you (J___) are saved. Let me quote another well respected member.

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posted by arcura 2/2/10: "I can not tell anyone that they are save, only Jesus can do that. He IS the final judge."

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Let me guess. You have to count the number of days the children of Israel were in the desert, divide that by the 12 tribes and I get the number of times I have to repent before I can become saved and join your Harold Camping cult? No thank you. I prefer to rely on what the bible plainly teaches.

Romans 10:8-10

8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”[a] that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

It's THAT simple

1 John 2:1
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

We serve a merciful God... you would be wise to return to the simplicity that is Jesus Christ.

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hauntinghelper: "No thank you. I prefer to rely on what the bible plainly teaches."

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All well and good. It's absolutely your privilege to do as you see fit.

My question is, what does one do with the things the Bible teaches that are not so plain?

Let me guess. Just ignore them... But in that case you certainly are NOT following the whole Bible. Just bits and pieces here and there that seem plain to you. Again your choice, and your right.

Who said I (we) simply ignore things that are not so plain? There are things that are not so easy to understand... and there are some things we have to leave with God and just trust Him. Just because He makes us AWARE of some things... does not mean that, as humans, we are meant to fully understand His reasonings. It certainly does not take away from someone's understanding of salvation simply because they do not understand, as an example, the priesthood of Melchizedek.

No wonder you get strange things out of the bible. You read too much into what people say. So, how does one come to salvation if, factually speaking, before we are saved our heart it not right with God and because of this we cannot accept anything from God? Not even salvation?. Because that is really the only point you seemed to be making by that statement.

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9 "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

It's THAT simple

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Actually it's not that simple at all. If we base our understanding on only those verses, then it seems we only have to confess Jesus and believe in our hearts, and... presto... we're saved. It looks like the choice is ours, the initiative is ours, and the decision is all ours. God just provides the "covering" and all we have to do is help ourselves, like in a cafeteria. That's what most of professing Christianity believes, apparently. But if, by God's grace you're able to delve a little deeper into the mysteries of the Bible, you'll see quite a few other passages that put the kibosh on that simple minded concept.

For example:
[1] Ephesians 1:4,5; John 15:16 - God chooses His people. They do not choose Him.
[2] 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - Defines faith as work. Our works (faith) cannot save us. Galatians 2:16.
[3] Exodus 31:13 - God alone does ALL the work of sanctifying (saving). Putting even the slightest trust in our own works gets us damned. Numbers 15:32-36.
[4] 1 Corinthians 2:13 - The rule (command) is to compare scriptures. If we do not have harmony among the various scriptures... we do not have truth. There is spiritual meaning that goes beyond the grammatical and historical context. Matthew 13:35.
[5] Daniel 12:4 - Near the end of time much new knowledge from the Bible shall be revealed. But... only to those who are watching. Mark 13:37.

To the OP, please don't let headstrongboy scare you. His ideas are very hard to stomach by everyone on this site. Go with the majority on this one.

If you are true to your beliefs, true to whichever God you pray to, then your past doesn't make a difference. How can it? No human being leads a sinless life. Every single human on this earth has sinned. If we were judged on our acts alone, everyone would go to hell.

You've acknowledged your past mistakes, so forgive yourself for them. Don't forget them, but learn from them, and know that your God has forgiven you. Now you have to forgive yourself. :)

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[1] Ephesians 1:4,5; John 15:16 - God chooses His people. They do not choose Him.

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Later in Ephesians 1:13, 14:
"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

The end of the passage is my favorite:
19 "and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

20 "which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

21 "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the ones to come.

22 "And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

23 "which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Thank you for sharing that passage, HSB, that I might read it in full and understand it in full.

To J__: I sympathize all too well about the desire to forget things I've done in my past. Those memories will never leave you and the most important thing YOU can do is forgive yourself, and not let your past get in the way of your Christian future. If you continue to think of yourself as unworthy, then you'll never live up to your full potential (Christian or anything else).

Good Luck to you!

The Apostle Paul said it best...

Forgetting those things which are behind, I press on...

You can't completely forget things but you can lay them at the foot of the cross and move on.

But remember Jesus himself said.

I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me. John 14:6

Good works and forgetting the past isn't how we get to heaven.. it is through the finished work of the Lord.