The Blue Board

As long as you have accepted that Jesus Christ is your personal lord and savior, then yes, one is truly saved. Man is fallible by nature because of what took place in the Garden of Eden and they are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

I adhere to all of the above. Although I do not go to church.

Maybe because the majority of people have something to live for & are not ready to go to the hereafter. Also I alway's feel bad for people that take their own live's. It's just sad to think that someone was going through something inside themselve's that they felt that was the only way out.

Sounds to me like that wouldn't be their problem, as they are simply trying to be with their savior. It would be God's problem and being the all powerful, all knowing, omnipotent deity that he is, I'm sure he'd figure it out.

I'm just saying in Mark 16:15, Jesus tells us to go out and share the gospel.

Not but 3 verses down from the one you are referring to, Jesus says that if you are saved and drink deadly poison, it will not hurt you at all. I think we can all agree that if a Christian drinks a liter of hemlock and chases it with motor oil, he/she is not going to live to tell the tale.

He also said that if your eyes should cause you to sin, that you should pluck it out, for it is better to enter the kingdom of heaven with one eye then to burn in hell with 2. I haven't seen very many 1 eyed Christians walking around.

So are Christians to cherry pick certain things that Jesus said and carry them out, or only the ones that they deem acceptable?

The Bible doesn't clearly define this. The Bible says Jesus makes the final judgement on who's in, and who's out.

No where in the Bible is it ever recommended to end your life prematurely. NOWHERE. So to say Christians should off themselves to go to heaven would be a direct violation of God's intention.

Lastly, Satan is in direct opposition to whatever God desires. Since God desires life - Satan desires death. He desires for you to kill yourself. Hence, by committing suicide, you are showing deference to Satan. Not a good plan.

Exactly, that is what i was trying to say. You are either miserable, or probably not living the right relationship.

What exactly is the acceptable sin threshold?

I believe that Gods first and foremost intention is for us to accept him, and the second foremost intention is to tell others. Being with him forever is the end product so to say.

and a lot of christians take it too far

I understand the logic behind what you're saying and, in theory, it sounds like a much better option. However, what you're suggesting is not what the Bible says. It reads very clearly,

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."

How exactly does one go about deciphering which verses to take literally and which to take figuratively?

Seems like you have an agenda with this question. Do you have some hate towards Christianity or are you just confused?

God places us all here for specific purposes. For me and my wife, we feel that God gave us the means to be adoptive parents to orphaned children. We want this to be the purpose for our lives. So, we don't kill ourselves because we find joy in helping children and showing them the love that God has shown to us. When we get to Heaven, we will be honored to spend time with God, but, for now, our life goal is to love those children whose parents have abandoned them. Likewise, for any person we come in contact with, we hope they see our hearts and how we have changed due to God's love for us. This life isn't about what we take with us. It is exactly about what we leave behind. I don't care about being a millionaire, owning all the things I want, and being liked by everyone. All I really want is to be perfectly content in what God has for my life. I am not a radical Christian or any other extremist. I am just an average joe who wants to do the right things.

Christians aren't perfect people nor should they cast judgement on those who have misguided lives. We are all capable of terrible acts that would make CNN on any given day. No one can say they are perfect. The difference is that I believe in God and He has been gracious to me. I make mistakes every day, but I continuously try to get better and be closer to the person that God would have me to be.

The suicide issue is different based on people's interpretations. I don't agree with suicide, but I know that all sins can be forgiven through Christ's death and resurrection.