Please read
this all the way through, I was one of you for over 30 years. I became a
Christian on my 23rd birthday. Over a period of 20 years I went to
Bible College for 3 years, I read and studied the Bible (for my own reasons usually
to prove my point), Charlene and I tithed, we were children and adult Sunday school
teachers, we were home group leaders, we supported missionaries in Mexico and
in YWAM, I taught Bible studies, I spoke from our pulpit when our Pastor was
away, I went on a church planting trip to Russia, I was on the board of our
Church for a few years,. We were busy and happy Christians.
But, I was
not fully surrendered to GOD, I had secret sin, I served GOD the way I wanted
as much or more that the way He wanted. This led to 17 years of walking away
from GOD, leaving the church family that we loved and who loved us, of my going
deeper into sin, of our marriage almost being destroyed, of health issues for
Charlene. 6 years ago we started going to a small church where our old pastor
was teaching, we liked the church and we kept going. I repented of my sin to
GOD and Charlene and started seeking to serve GOD.
This is the
warning: For all of that 37 years I prayed, I read and studied the Bible, I was
used by GOD to teach and minister to others but as stated above there were
times that I acted upon my own agenda instead of GOD’s. Was I a saved – born again
believer? Yes I believe I was! Did GOD use me for His purpose? Yes He did when
I agreed or allowed Him to! Was it possible for me to be excluded from Heaven? Yes,
not because I had secret sin or even because I did not always do what I knew
GOD wanted me to do. But because out of not yielding my life (the one that
Jesus purchased back to GOD) I had rebellion in my heart. The rebellion led to
the secret sin and not always doing what GOD wanted me to do. Rebellion is lawlessness
and is what leads to not entering into GOD’s Eternal Heavenly Kingdom! “Not
everyone who says to Me (Jesus), ‘LORD, LORD,’ shall enter the Kingdom of
Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in
that day, ’LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in
Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to
them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
After 40
years of being a Christian and reading and studying the Bible one day these
verses jumped out at me and made me realize that many in the church were in
this position, then it dawned on me that I was one of those who could be left out
of heaven. This leads to a discussion on salvation that I am not going to start
at this time since it will be more of a booklet than a paper.
So how can a
Christian be left out of Heaven? There are many parables in Jesus’ teachings that
emphasis this teaching, Matthew 17:24-27, chapter 25; Luke 9:57-62, 11:37-54, chapter
12, 13:22-30, 14:25-33 and there are many more. Some of these are hard to take
because Jesus is calling for our full surrender to GOD. The Bible is clear that
GOD wants our full undivided life. So how does that work and why.
The why
first: GOD created everything that exists, the earth, sky, seas, universe, etc.
They are His because He made them. GOD formed man from the dust of the earth
and breathed His breath of life into him, then GOD gave that man dominion over
all that He had created in the earth to care for and use. That man, Adam, the progenitor
of all humanity then took and gave that dominion to Satan, a fallen angel who
had rebelled against GOD. How did Adam do that, he disobeyed the only law GOD
had given him, to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. Before Adam’s decision to disobey and be lawless there was no sin or
death in the earth. Since Adam gave his dominion to Satan there has been
continual sin and death and it will continue until Christ Jesus Returns.
The how:
Jesus the Son of GOD was born as a human from a virgin mother, no earthly
father was involved because the sin nature of humanity would be passed on. GOD
created His only begotten Son in the womb of Mary and Jesus Christ was born the
son of man and the Son of GOD. He then lived a sin free life overcoming or
resisting every type of temptation that humanity faces, He then in obedience to
His Father went to the cross and died in our place for our sin. He became sin
for us and was separated from His Father which is our eternal punishment. He
then defeated death and hell taking the keys of their dominion and by the power
of His Holy Spirit He rose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of His
Father in Heaven where He waits for His Church to complete His work of
salvation on the earth (the great commission). When we ask GOD to forgive us
our sin because of what Jesus did and confess to others that we have given our
life to GOD we are born again; saved by grace; redeemed.
What do
these terms mean? Born again – we are no longer children of humanity and the
world, we are now children of GOD, joint heirs of His eternal Kingdom with
Jesus. Saved by grace – we did not do anything to deserve or earn our salvation
other than to ask GOD in Jesus name to forgive us and save us. Redeemed – Jesus
purchased us from the devil back to GOD by His blood.
So the how
is that we no longer belong to the devil, we never have belonged to our self
because Adam gave us to the devil in his lawless act of rebellion over GOD’s
one command. We are now the possession of GOD as we were intended to be from
creation. Since we are the possession of GOD reinstated as the inheritors of
His eternal Kingdom we no longer have the right to disobey GOD (we have the
freedom of choice, but not the right), as our creator and Heavenly Father He
expects us to obey and serve Him. As Jesus taught His disciples and later
prayed Himself, “Father, not My will but Yours!”
If you do
not want to be with those to whom He says, “I do not know you, you lawless one,
you are not allowed in My Kingdom.” Then stop living according to your own will
and desires and start obeying GOD in everything you say and do.
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