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by bradley sloan on November 21st, 2005

bradley sloan

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If you smoke cigarettes, drink, and don't go to church, but still have a personal relationship with God and pray, can you get into heaven?

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Answers. 28 helpful answers below.

  • by Ezra Dool on December 22nd, 2005

    Ezra Dool

    I love this question...
    Yes, read the story of Jesus and how he died once and for all. The reason you ask the question is the guilt you feel. If you have a personal relationship with God and your faithfully pray that he will make the best changes in life the guilt will go away. Takes time and prayer, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. When the guilt goes away then the urge goes away to. I know from experince. If he wants you at a church you'll end up there, Let him direct you.Read the Bible and the words will lift off the page and coach you the right way...
    Jesus didn't die for the saints, he died for the sinners.
    "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
    -Romans 12:12

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  • by wfbrad on December 23rd, 2005

    wfbrad

    The only way into Heaven is to ask Jesus into your heart, and to save your soul. If you have done that, then you are going. You are expected to change your habits after you get your ticket, but God knows you are not perfect.

    Smoking and drinking are wrong because of this verse, and a few others, but for brevity, only one I'll mention.

    Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

    Holy means reserved for God, acceptable to Him, means as healthy as you can keep it. Smoking and drinking are harmful to your body, so you should not do them. Now as for avoiding church, that is a little more important for a Christian.

    Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

    1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

    We should be in Church. We assemble together to learn of our Lord, and to fellowship with other believers. If we love other believers, then John says that is evidence you've passed from death to life. If we love someone we want to see them, and spend time with them, right? Be where they are, IN CHURCH!

    But to your question, will all these keep you put of Heaven? I don't believe that they will. When you ask Christ into your heart, your sins become covered by His blood. His blood covers all sins, as long as you repent and ask forgiveness from Him. He knows what hold say tobacco has on a man, and is patient with us. You should quit as soon as possible, and give God the glory for it, but it does not bar you from Heaven.

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  • by Kelly on October 9th, 2009

    Kelly

    Read 1 Corinthians 6:9,10.Jesus said lest ye repent,you shall all likewise perish.Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God.Where do you hear the word of God?If you don't like to be around God's people,then why would you want to be around them for eternity.Find a bible believing church and not a fancy big church that just wants to entertain you.

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  • by sierra_ann on August 1st, 2006

    sierra_ann

    Once you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior [not just Savior, but both. That's a different question, though.], you're fine. There is only one unforgivable sin and it is none that you mentioned. The only thing you need to worry about is to keep your relationship with Him and not wander away.

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  • by Anonymous on July 14th, 2006

    Anonymous

    Man looks at outward appearances, but God looks at the heart.

    Love is God's standard; what is your "personal relationship" with Him?

    If you knew that you could get into heaven, no matter what, would you still worry about doing things that are contrary to God's will for your life? If not, you do not love God.

    Would it bother you enough to change your behaviour if certain "sinful" habits of yours discouraged or impeded others from developing or sustaining the relationship you feel you have? If not, you do not love those whom God loves, and the love of the Father is not in you.

    If you have no respect for God why would you want to go to heaven? Is it possible that you just want to stay out of hell?

    It's no use deceiving yourself - God knows.

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  • by GeneralPatton on July 13th, 2006

    GeneralPatton

    If the holy spirit speaks to you listen. It is not always that easy, but it must be done that way. If you are tempted to do these things, consider this, Jesus fasted for forty days, the devil tempted him to eat and Jesus sayed man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that cometh out of the mouth of God.Consider this he was beaten, our savior, our Christ was beaten for our sins, that we may be forgiven. So when you look at that beer can or ciggerette, remember Christs temptatin was greater.
    Just because we say "I accept you Jesus", that doesn't mean you are free and that he will accept you, Judas accepted Jesus, and yet he sold him for money(a great temptation), but he did not fully give his life to Christ. Judas gave room for temptation, and thats why he did what he did. So do not be fooled into believing your gonna see the King if you have been against him.
    Now, if you accept him and say "Jesus you are the truth the light, have control of my life, I surrender all," and then you walk outside and are killed, for example, by a bullet, then you will make heaven. You will make heaven because you promised God you are commited, but were killed too early to be tried by him.
    I hope you understand. Godbless.

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  • by Answers101 on July 2nd, 2006

    Answers101

    The only way through Heaven is by accepting Jesus as your Saviour. Good works alone will NOT get you into heaven. If that were the case, then Jesus would NOT have needed to save us from our sins and eternal torment (i.e., hell).

    If you have openly accepted and invited Jesus into your heart, then yes, you will go to Heaven; despite, being a drinking, smoking, non-church goer.

    I will go to Heaven because I accept Jesus as my Saviour and I'm definitely far from perfect. I make mistakes on a daily basis.

    However, keep in mind, that having faith in God means wanting to please Him, which means, wanting to do the right thing even when you DO NOT want to do it.

    How do you do the right thing whenever else is tempting you to do the wrong things?

    Pray to God, seek His guidance and read the Bible daily and think good thoughts and view yourself as God, our Heavenly Father sees us and Jesus, our Saviour sees us, which is as His children when we accept Him into our lives as I have done.

    It doesn't please God when we harm ourselves and refuse to go to church.

    We go to church weekly, if not daily, in some cases, in order, to gather together with others of the same church body, that is, us as Christians.

    Drinking, & smoking is not only unhealthy, but can also lead to liver disease, heart problems, if not, a heart attack and lung cancer, amongst other things.

    If you really want to do your best, then I would suggest seeking God's counsel and praying to God in Jesus' name and asking Him to help you overcome your vices.

    Little by little and day by day, you'll eventually find that your desire to drink and smoke will dwindle. It won't be easy, but then again, anything worth something will take hardwork, diligence and patience.

    Bottom line: None of us are saints, but doing your best is what God expects each and every one of us to do and when we do mess up, then God is always opening His hand to those of us, who are willing to ask for His guidance and forgiveness!

    So, to answer your question, in a nutshell, all you have to do is say to Jesus that you accept Him as your Saviour and you believe in all your heart and soul that He was resurrected on the 3rd day and ascended into Heaven to sit on the right throne of God and that you believe that He died for your sins, and He will come into your life. :0)

    Best of luck to you and keep on smiling because smiling keeps you happy!

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  • by Anonymous on November 22nd, 2005

    Anonymous

    Do not worry. Your question is faith based and no rules apply. Actually you can make up your own rules. Whoes to argue. You win every time.There plenty of smokers,drinkers and folks who never stepped foot in a chirch in heaven,and yes there even a few who could not spell. If you believe ther is a heaven cigarettes and drinking will get you there faster and pay less taxes to boot.

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  • by gradyjones on October 12th, 2009

    gradyjones

    Yes you can!! Everyone sins and none of us would qualify to get into heaven on our own. We are all guilty of something. But Jesus died for your sins so that you could go to heaven, accepting him as Lord and Saviour will not only cleanse all of your sins for your future in heaven but it will open your heart so that he can help you everyday on earth. I smoked for 14 years, I was on the patch for one year, and used commit lozenges for 2 years, and still couldn't quit! I was even addicted to the patches and lozenges! After accepting Jesus into my life, he began to work on me. I prayed for him to take away my desire to smoke, then I quit cold turkey knowing that whatever I may experience he would get me through it. And he did, surprisingly, I got through it fine. Its been a year and half since I quit. I have never felt better in my life. I know you didn't say you wanted to quit smoking, but I just wanted to share my experience with you in case you considered it in the future. Jesus love you and wants the best for you, always!

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  • by Anonymous on October 9th, 2009

    Anonymous

    Yes, you can keep on drinking and smoking and never darken the door to a church and still have a personal relationship with GOD, i.e., accept Him as your savior.
    The trouble is, though, that by not weaning yourself from the evils of cigarettes and liquor or any other addiction, you are depriving yourself of a much better/higher/more joyful relationship with Him.
    Your body is to be a temple unto Him, but it will be a soiled temple.
    He still loves us, though, in spite of our weaknesses, faults and failures.

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  • by DiSTurBiA on January 30th, 2008

    DiSTurBiA

    whats wrong with smoking and drinking?

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  • by Anonymous on April 2nd, 2006

    Anonymous

    I thought your body was the temple of the lord?

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  • by chetnand on November 25th, 2005

    chetnand

    Smoking cigarettes and drinking has nothing to do with ur relation to heaven.Your body is a hardware and ur subconscious mind is ur operating system;ur concsious mind is the application and utility software;all this is designed by a much superior and intelligent species whom we call GOD.Your hardware has not been designed to inhale smoke and carbonmonoxide;if the hardware gets faulty ur software will not respond and become meaningless.Imagine u have a very useful and important software on a floppy or a CD. you will not be able to use it unless u have a proper hardware for it.By smoking cigarettes and drinking u will be spoiling ur hardware which will render ur software useless.Further u go to church to pray.What is prayer.when any machine has some operational or functional problem what do u do. u immediately contact the manufacturer and ask for help.similarly when ur hardware or software encounters any problem u go to the church and try to establish contact with the manufacturer thru the act of prayer.
    Prayer is in fact an Email to ur service provider/manufacturer.Remember ur manufacturer has a very massive Inbox and that is why only very well written/sincere emails are answered.Moreover he has also got a powerful spamguard in place.so my dear friend u should not mix up two things. you should quit smoking in order to safeguard ur hardware as system specifications do not permit that and u should continue going to church and pray and try sending an email which does not land in BULK folder

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  • by sleeppro on November 23rd, 2005

    sleeppro

    Is all that smoking and drinking worthy of you going to Heaven? True Christians know you don't have to go to church to be saved. You do have to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and through Him with God, to be a Christian is to try and be as He was, and He was pure and perfect. We as humans can never be pure nor perfect, but we can try and do our best while on this earth. Live by His word, The Bible. I know there are some out there who are Athiest/Agnostic and don't believe in a God or that a personal relationship is possible with God. I do, obviously!, and prefer to live up to the word of God. At 47 yrs of age I excepted Jesus as my Savior just over 4 yrs ago and my life is so much more now that I have a personal relation with Him. I wish I had done so many years before, but what counts is that I did. If the Athiest are right-fine what did I lose? But if God and Heaven are true (I honestly do believe this,) then I have gained so much more.

    God Bless, <:))))<><

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  • by Factotum on October 12th, 2009

    Factotum

    Drinking too much and smoking are not sins in and of themselves. The church/non-church deal isn't really something I can properly address - it depends largely on the individual religion and it's particular spin on the the Bible.
    .
    As far as I know the Bible doesn't command people to go to church but does encourage people to pray together. So there's that.

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  • by Strength on October 12th, 2009

    Strength

    If you are worried about getting into heaven then that isn't good. I don't think drinking and smoking is a big problem but if you decide to change your lifestyle habbits and give them to god then you might find yourself feeling closer to him.
    Jesus died to forgive your sin and so don't be so hung up on sin. Although you should strive to obey his commands if you love him.
    Don't just believe in a God because you want to go to heaven. Believe because you love him with all your heart. If somebody loves the Lord with everything..well..as much as they can love..then they will give up anything. Look at Jesus' desciples. They were not hung up on sin and stuck one foot in and one foot out.
    You gotta ask God to fill you with the spirit and then you will have a spirit of courage and power. Let go of the things that hold you back. You don't need them.
    If something makes you feel guilt then stay away from it.
    Yes you will probably be going to heaven if you have given your life to god . But wouldn't you want to give more with your life. After all, Jesus died for you.
    What will you do for him?
    ..
    :)

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  • by thatsJustme on January 13th, 2010

    thatsJustme

    the Bible states those of unsober minds,drunks,drug addicts, can never enter HEAVEN....smoking is as obesity is, bad for your health....

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  • by Twisted Taco on February 1st, 2010

    Twisted Taco

    Hmmm... I think it's the donating 10 bucks in church part that gets you in the door

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  • by Legend In Your Own Mind on January 11th, 2010

    Legend In Your Own Mind

    Well it better remain a private relationship thing because a public relationship would be a theocracy, but either way it's silly to even think you can have a relationship with invisible, thin air and the idea that there is some magic being there who may or may not give a rats ass one way or the other...
    God is merely a figment of imagination, nothing more.. Do you have a personal relationship with the big blue tree made of cake icing? The invisible flying unicorn? The spaghetti monster?

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  • by socalmrs on December 21st, 2009

    socalmrs

    How would you describe your relationship with God? A relationship, to me, suggests that you have a friendship with God. If so, like any friend, you know who they are as a person, what their likes and dislikes are, what they find acceptable and what they find unacceptable. It is possible to be friends with God because people like Moses & Abraham were described as God's friends in the Bible. So as God's friend, do you think that God approves of you hurting your body (the gift He gave to you) by defiling it by smoking and overdrinking? (I assume you mean overdrinking because the Bible doesnt speak against drinking in itself but it does speak against overdrinking and drunkenness) Please read 2 Corinthians 7:1 and think about what God might be trying to tell you about Himself and how your habits affect your relationship with Him.

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  • by ethicalbro on December 12th, 2009

    ethicalbro

    I certainly hope so.

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  • by Sharon P on February 22nd, 2009

    Sharon P

    Of course not you silly goose! There is no heaven and there is no god and there is no jesus.... Get the idea. So go ahead and have a cigarette and a beer and find something fun to do on the weekends. Enjoy your life.

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  • by schmee2369 on October 9th, 2009

    schmee2369

    Yup. I smoke cigerettes...(and on occasion drink) and I do not go to church.

    God never says dont DRINK, he says dont get drunk.
    Why?...(comn) look at drunk people, their stupid and make bad decisions.
    Smoking...well, you know its gonna kill ya...and its your choice, but I dont think its in the way of what you do...how you love, it doesnt disturb your faith...or charity.
    ....And church, well just people can be a church....a building isnt "a church" its the congregation. Which can be 3 people in a living room chatting about God, and just having a convo.....

    I think you will see there are people who never smoke, never drink...and attend church every single sunday and wendsday and holiday...that wont be entering the "pearly gates"

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  • by Friartuck on December 10th, 2009

    Friartuck

    Jesus drank. So did his followers. There's no taboo against smoking anywhere in the ol' bibble. Also no rule about going to church.

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  • by LindsayJ. on October 12th, 2009

    LindsayJ.

    yes bt i believe God is much moe concerned with if you are the best person you can be.

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  • by Thriftymaid on October 12th, 2009

    Thriftymaid

    yep

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  • by Anonymous on October 12th, 2009

    Anonymous

    God - or whatever you wish to call him/her - ain't fussy whether you drink or smoke. That is your choice - a possible 'harmful to your body' choice. Church has been created by man, by religion, not by God. The bible was written by MAN. You just go by your conscience, treat others how you would like to be treated. God has a wondrous sense of humour, and if you cock it up in this life, then try a bit harder in the next one! There is no hell, no purgatory, no limbo, just further dimensions we reach through experience in life. Don't sweat the small stuff - and it is all small stuff.....

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  • by jshm22 on October 12th, 2009

    jshm22

    I don't think you should be thinking about heaven. If you don't work, don't claim benefits, and have no people to support you then you cannot expect anything other than a sorry state regardless of how you view yourself.

    Similarily if you drink and smoke not only are you wasting money but also life which you could spend in doing something useful to both yourself and the community, the church is there to remind you of that.

    People just get stuck on bullshit dogma that they forget that the first thing you do every morning is wake up, if your waking up and can't think properly because of the night before then you know you should seek medical help. Forgivness is earned not handed over.

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