I am always reluctant to apply the rough side of my tongue to a contribution from a brother in Christ, but in this case I can't help but react strongly to what I view as egregious doctrinal error.
Tell me, what do you do with John 3:16 and the myriad of accompanying Scripture stating that he who believes on Christ Jesus will be saved? What about Eph 2:6-9. Saved by grace through faith and not of works lest any man should boast -- it is the free gift of God.
Admittedly I haven't read the book, nor, given the excerpt, am I likely to, but the suggestion here is salvation by works, however delicately phrased.
Maranatha,
BobPaul N. F. (17 May 2013)
"My Dream of Heaven"
My Dream of Heaven ( Please note the very last sentence.)
The book that I once mentioned before, "My Dream of Heaven", is very excellent and will give a person some idea of what heaven
is like and what is expected of us to enter.
It was written over a hundred years ago by Rebecca Ruter Springer. "It is not a book of fiction for interesting reading to 'while away' time",
as Rebecca Springer said.
These are the words of the Rev. Billy Graham about the book. "My Dream of Heaven --- captures Biblical truths with emotional impressions."
Rebecca Springer tells of meeting her dear friends and relatives. She also tells when meeting Jesus, whose great love and kindness had such very great affect on her and others in each of their meetings with Jesus. She saw HIM often. Such wonderful descriptions of these encounters with HIM, can't help but bring one much closer to Jesus.
I'll end with two very short excerpts from the book which I first saw in another Christian book that led me to obtain My Dream of Heaven.
(Rebecca in Heaven is talking to her brother who has a long and close contact with Jesus.)
"Ah , yes"! said my brother, "that is just it. How little we know! If only we could realize while we are yet mortals, that day by day we are building for eternity, how different our lives in many ways would be! Every gentle word, every generous thought, every unselfish deed, will become a pillar of eternal beauty in the life to come. We cannot be selfish and unloving in one life and generous and loving in the next. The lives are too closely blended---one but a continuation of the other.
What strange ideas we mortals have of the pleasures and duties of this blessed life! We seem to think that death of the body means an entire change to the soul. But that is not the case, by any means. We bring to this life the same tastes, the same desires, the same knowledge we had before death.
IF these were not sufficiently pure and good to form a part of this life, then we ourselves may not enter."
Yours in Christ,
Paul N. F.