It is not true that "All roads lead to God," as many people believe. For example, if you want to come to our house and we tell you that we live at 1234 Maple Drive, then to get to our house you would obviously have to come down Maple Drive until you reach house number 1234. There are many other roads out there you could take, but don't expect to find our house on any of them. In a similar way, to get to God's house (heaven) we have to follow the directions that He has given us in the Bible.
Some people have never had the "Good News" of Jesus presented to them and so they have never had an opportunity to choose to go to heaven. Some people call themselves Christians and go to church, but for one reason or another they have never actually received Jesus into their hearts and they are not truly saved. Some people are Christians but they have become complacent in their Christian lives and are living for themselves rather than living the way that God wants them to live. In this article I hope to address all of these groups of people so that as many people as possible will go to heaven when they die and so that as many people as possible will help others get to heaven as well.
Hope to see you there!
The Bible tells us that God loves each and every one of us. He knows each one of us by name and He treasures us. He wants all of us to be saved from the penalty of our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. However, He has left it completely up to us whether or not we want to have an intimate, loving relationship with Him or whether we would prefer to take our stand against Him and make ourselves enemies with Him. The choice is completely ours, God will not force us to do anything against our will. God has made it clear that He wants to adopt us as His children, but He has also made it clear what our punishment will be if we take our stand against Him by refusing to believe in His Son as our Savior and Lord. He has left it completely up to us to take whichever path we choose.
In the Bible God has clearly laid out the plan of salvation. By following His plan we become "Christians," adopted sons and daughters of God. We instantly receive salvation, meaning that we are saved from the eternal penalty of our sins, and Jesus (the Son of God) comes to live within us. The only way for us to be able to go to heaven is to follow His directions, His plan of salvation:
It is important to understand that we all have a sin nature and that the penalty for sinning is eternal death. We cannot become Christians and receive salvation if we don't believe that we are sinners in need of salvation:
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)Does this mean that I have sinned? Yes! Does this mean that you have sinned? Yes!"But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin" (Galatians 3:22)
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8)
As these passages show, all of us have a sin nature. "Sin" means "to miss the mark." All of us fall short of the perfect standard set by God because we disobey His will. Lying, stealing, cheating, pre-marital sex, adultery, getting drunk, dabbling in the occult, pride, greed, lust, envy, anger, etc., are all evil and offensive to God. When we do these things we are rebelling against God and following the desires of our sinful nature instead of following God's perfect will. This is what the Bible calls "sin."
No matter how good we think we are, we have all inherited a sinful nature from Adam and Eve. Sin is not simply a matter of doing bad things, sin is part of our very nature. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and because of that they became corrupt and "fallen" by allowing sin to take hold in their lives. This corrupt and fallen state of being was passed on to their children, their children's children, etc., and has been passed down to us. We are all "tainted goods."
Just as a person earns wages by working, a person also earns wages by sinning. The wages of sin is death:
"the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23)Everyone has earned eternal death because everyone has sinned."death came to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12)
If you were dying of a terminal disease and I took all of the diseased cells from your body and put them in my body, what would happen? I would die and you would live. I would die in your place. Jesus took all of our sins onto Himself and died in our place so that we can have eternal life.
Here's another illustration: The daughter of a traffic-court judge received a speeding ticket and appeared before her father in traffic court. She was guilty, so he had to uphold the law and fine her. But then he took off his robe, stepped down from the bench, took out his wallet, and paid her fine for her. He did this because he loves her so much.
Since God is completely righteous, He has to punish sin. However, Jesus has already paid the penalty for us because He loves us so much:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)As you can see, Jesus loved you enough to take your sins onto Himself and to die in your place so that you would not have to endure the wrath and punishment of God. Since we all have a sin nature, we have nothing to offer God for our salvation, there is nothing we can do to earn the right to eternal life, there are no good deeds or religious ceremonies we can perform to save ourselves."the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)
"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2)
Since God is holy and fair and just, He has to punish all sinners, and as we saw earlier the penalty for sin is death. If He only punished some sinners and not others then He would no longer be fair or just. Therefore He must punish all sinners.
Do you see the dilemma? God loves all of us (John 3:16) and wants everyone to be saved and to know the truth (1 Timothy 2:4) so that we can spend eternity with Him. However, since we have all sinned He has to punish all of us by death and eternal separation from Him.
To solve this dilemma, Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself of His glory and came to earth as a man:
"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9)Jesus Christ is 100% man and 100% God. He came to earth in order to live a perfectly sinless life and then to bear all of our sins on the cross:"In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:1-3,14)
"Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Romans 9:5)
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)Jesus did not sin during His lifetime on earth and therefore He was in the unique position to take all of our sins onto Himself and to bear our punishment for us. Since He is infinitely righteous, His death atoned for an infinite number of sins, past, present, and future. He did not deserve any punishment, yet He voluntarily died in our place to take our punishment for us. This makes it possible for us to stand before God spotless and cleansed of all our sins. After three days in the grave He was brought back to life, and He is alive now and forevermore:"But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." (1 John 3:5)
"Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."" (John 20:27-28)No matter how "good" we think we are, we are all sinners. However, it doesn't matter how many sins we have committed or how bad they were, when we believe in and trust in Jesus alone and His death in our place on the cross then our slates are instantly wiped clean as if we had never sinned at all! All of our sins are instantly transferred to Jesus' bank account (so to speak) and His full righteousness is transferred to our account. This is called "justification by faith" (the word "justified" means "just as if I'd never sinned")."For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14:9)
"I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!" (Revelation 1:18)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)The instant we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died for our sins, and we confess that He is our Lord and Savior, we automatically receive salvation and we will go to heaven when we die."Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36)
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31)
Jesus Christ is the only way for us to be allowed into heaven:
"These are the Scriptures that testify about me [Jesus], yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:39-40)We can see from these passages that the only way to be saved and go to heaven is through Jesus because of His finished work on the cross. There is no-one else who can provide a way for us to get to heaven."I [Jesus] am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9)
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."" (John 14:6)
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Salvation does not come through any good works or good deeds or good intentions or volunteering at church or any kind of penance. Salvation does not come through church membership or through growing up in a Christian family and attending church all your life. Salvation does not come through any other religion or spiritual beliefs. Salvation does not come through any religious ceremony such as baptism, confirmation, communion (also called the Lord's Supper or the Eucharist) or any other rite or ritual or ceremony. Salvation comes to us only through the grace of God (the word "grace" means "unmerited or undeserved favor"). There is nothing we can do, nothing we can offer God, that can make us deserving of salvation, it is the undeserved gift of God:
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)Since salvation is by faith alone, if you do any of these other things in order to be saved then you are telling God that you do not have faith alone because you are attempting to add something else in addition to Christ's sacrifice. If a person does not have faith alone for salvation then his or her salvation is in question. Before you read on, please make sure that you fully understand that salvation is only through faith in Jesus alone and His finished work on the cross.
Dear friend, my heart's desire is to be able to meet you in heaven. If you disagree with anything I have said concerning salvation then I invite you to read my articles called:
Jesus has done everything that is needed for us to be able to go to heaven. All we must do is to submit in faith to the Lordship of Christ (being willing to be obedient to Him in all things) and to trust by faith that He will take us to heaven. If you believe in your heart that salvation is by faith alone then please take a moment to verbally confess that you are submitting to Jesus as your Lord and Master by praying the following prayer. Even if you believe that you are already saved, please pray the prayer out loud anyway. It doesn't hurt to re-dedicate yourself to Jesus through this kind of prayer, and as I will show a little later it is possible that there are many people who believe they are Christians when in fact they have never received salvation. They believe with their heads but it hasn't gotten down into their hearts to change their lives. Lordship requires obedience! People who think they are Christian but who have never really received salvation are bound for hell and don't even realize it, and I desperately do not want this to happen to you, dear friend!
"if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)If you are ready, please pray the following prayer out loud:
"Father, in the Name of Jesus I ask You to forgive all my sins. Jesus, come into my heart and live in me. Make me the kind of person that You want me to be. Thank You for forgiving my sins and for coming into my heart and saving me. Amen."If you have believed these things in your heart and you have verbally confessed Jesus as your Lord and Master by praying the above prayer then you are saved and going to heaven!
Now, where is Jesus? If your answer is that He is living in your heart, you are absolutely right!
I'm looking forward to meeting you when we get Home, my new brother
or sister!
When you became saved (whether it was a moment ago or many years ago) you may not have felt any different. Our salvation is not based on our feelings, it is based on Biblical facts. We accept on faith that we are now saved. Notice that faith is not a feeling, it is not an emotion. Faith means doing something. Being saved by faith means that we trust that Jesus will take us to heaven. It means we have submitted ourselves to Jesus as our Lord (the word "Lord" means "Master" or "Owner"). This means that we must now do the things that Jesus would have us do. Read closely what James says in the Bible about the connection between faith and actions, and consider these passages carefully:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" (James 2:14)The purpose of this article is to show how we can know that we are going to heaven, and James has given us the key: He says that we must live our faith, we must put our faith into action. Actions speak louder than words, and our actions demonstrate what is in our hearts. If we have been calling ourselves Christians but we have been living self-centered lives then we would be wise to take these words from James as a wake-up call and begin living Jesus-centered lives instead. When we get to heaven there will be no more opportunities for rationalizations, excuses, or self-deception, so let's be brutally honest with ourselves while we still have time to change the way we live our lives. If our daily lives revolve around our own needs and desires or our family's needs and desires rather than focusing on God's desires then we might be demonstrating that we have a dead faith. Faith that is alive demonstrates daily obedience to the Word of God in every area of life. This is one reason why it is so important to read the Bible every day, because we need to get to know our Savior and to understand what He has commanded us to do. We are not promised that the Christian life will be easy, but we are promised that it will be worth it!"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:15-17)
"But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." (James 2:18)
"You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." (James 2:20-22)
"And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." (James 2:23-24)
"In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (James 2:25-26)
The people in the first group are deceived by the devil and they never believe in Jesus for salvation. This group represents all unbelievers, meaning atheists, agnostics, and those who are in non-Christian religions. These people have no faith in Jesus and they know it.
The second group represents certain people who receive the Word of God with joy and believe it. These people probably call themselves Christians and attend church. But look what happens to them: In "the time of testing" they fall away. This tells us that there will be "times of testing" in Christians' lives and that we must persevere in our faith. This second group does not persevere in their faith, they give up when things get uncomfortable or become too much trouble.
Are these people saved? Many scholars say that this group represents people who only believe in Jesus with their minds, not with their hearts, and therefore they do not truly have saving faith. How many people in our churches fall into this category of believing only with their heads and not their hearts? Far too many (even one is too many), and the sad fact is that they probably believe they are saved when in fact they are on their way to hell. This just breaks my heart, and I pray that you are not in this group.
The third group represents people who also hear the Word and believe it, but they never mature in their faith. Jesus said they "go on their way" rather than obeying His way. They are too busy with the things of this world, chasing after money and pleasures and their own goals and ambitions and being overwhelmed with the worries and cares of this world.
Are these people saved? Perhaps, perhaps not. Christians who are worldly and are not yet spiritually mature are often indistinguishable from unsaved worldly people (even those who have been Christians for many years often are still worldly because they are still infants in spiritual wisdom and understanding. See for example 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). If a Christian is overly focused on the things of this world and appears to be no different from a worldly unsaved person then it raises the question of whether he or she ever really got saved in the first place. Is Jesus really dwelling in his or her heart? It is not our place to judge others (unless they are teaching or promoting false doctrines or sinful behaviors), but let's be brutally honest and judge our own lives, let's "examine [ourselves] to see whether [we] are in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
Matthew 13:22 and Mark 4:19 tell us that the people in this group are "unfruitful" in their Christian walk:
"The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." (Matthew 13:22)It is unfortunate that the people in this group are unfruitful, because Matthew 7:18-20 and John 15:8 tell us that Christians are recognized by their "fruit" (works of obedience to Jesus) and that "branches" which are unfruitful are thrown into the fire:"but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." (Mark 4:19)
"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matthew 7:18-20)This may indicate (as many Christian scholars believe) that the people represented by this group are destined to burn in hell for all eternity unless someone leads them to Christ. Luke 8:14 says that these people are "choked," which comes from a Greek word that can also be translated as "strangled" or "suffocated." These words convey the idea of death, not abundant life."This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8)
I have a tremendous burden in my heart for all those who call themselves Christians...attend church... but are not living for God. It is possible that thousands or millions of church-goers will step into eternity at death, but instead of a glorious welcome into heaven they will be horrified to find themselves banished from God's presence and cast into eternal torment. This just breaks my heart. Does this describe you? Please dear friend, don't leave this up to chance through inaction or through assuming that you're probably okay. Submit fully to God in every area of your life and live a fruitful life of obedience to Christ, showing yourself to be His disciple!
The fourth group represents those who truly are Christians and who are fruitful because of their obedience to Christ. Matthew 13:23 and Mark 4:20 say that they "produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." Luke 8:15 says that they produce this crop by persevering. They do not fall away when the going gets rough or when they are tempted by worldly desires and passions. Their highest passion is Jesus, and it shows. They remain obedient to the Word of God, surrendering every area of their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This does not mean that they never make mistakes or that they never sin, but it does mean that they do not continually sin and that when they commit a sin they quickly confess and ask for forgiveness.
Notice that of the four groups described in this parable, only one group definitely represents true Christians. The majority of the people in this parable appear to be unsaved, even those who initially believed the Gospel (with their heads, not with their hearts). This gives the impression that many people who believe they are Christians may in fact be bound for hell and they don't even know it. They are expecting a glorious welcome into heaven but instead they will receive the ultimate horror: Eternity in burning agony in the lake of fire and eternal condemnation and banishment from the glorious presence of God.
Jesus repeatedly stressed that "many" will take the easy road which leads to destruction and that "few" will take the narrow road which leads to eternal life:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)This agrees with what we learned from the Parable of the Sower. The "many" will enter into everlasting destruction (including many who call themselves Christians) and the "few" will enter into eternal life. Luke tells us that someone questioned Jesus about this, asking if only a few people will be saved. Notice Jesus' answer:
"Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to."" (Luke 13:23-24)Again Jesus says that "many" will be unable to enter the narrow door which leads to eternal life, and He tells us to make every effort to enter through that narrow door. We need to be completely open and honest with ourselves: Are we part of the "many" who are taking the easy, worldly road that leads to destruction or are we part of the "few" who are persevering and producing a fruitful crop for the Kingdom by staying obedient to God in every area of our lives? Remember, we are not part of the "few" just because we say that Jesus is our 'Lord,' it is doing His will which demonstrates that we are members of the "few":
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)Over and over Jesus tells us that the "many" will take the wide, easy, worldly road that leads to destruction and that the "few" will take the narrow road that leads to life. I am not trying to scare you, but I do want to impress upon you that we must not play games with God, we must not merely play at being Christians. We can't afford to be naive or complacent or spiritually immature in this lifetime because the punishment which the "many" will receive is everlasting, conscious agony in the lake of fire. Many of us need to hear this message in our hearts so that it will "jump-start" our Christian lives and our daily walk with Jesus. I can only hope and pray that you have received salvation and that your life gives evidence of your obedient, loving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, because I don't want anybody to have to suffer eternal punishment. If you doubt that people will burn in hell for all eternity then please see my Web page called "What About God?" (see question #9)."Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46)
All of us are at different places in our walk with Jesus. All of us are at different levels of spiritual maturity. This means that there are probably many Christians who are saved but who give the appearance of being worldly simply because they still have some growing and maturing to do. However, this still leaves the "many" whom Jesus referred to who are unsaved, even though they may not realize it. I can't reach all of them, but I hope and pray that I have at least caused you to consider re-thinking... re-committing... re-dedicating your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Is He the Lord of the books you read? Is He the Lord of the movies you go to? Is He the Lord of the TV shows you watch? Is He the Lord of the music you listen to? Is He the Lord of the games you play? Is He the Lord of the things you say? Is He the Lord of the comments you make about people? Is He the Lord of the way you treat people? We are to commit everything we do to the Lordship of Christ, and in fact we are to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). This is what it means to walk the narrow road and to make Jesus the Lord over our lives. Anytime an impure thought or desire comes into our minds we should immediately say "I reject that thought. I will not accept that thought." Our minds are the battlefield in which Satan wages his vicious warfare, and if we can take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ then we will have greater and greater victory in our Christian walk. Remember the children's song which goes something like "So be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little mouth what you say. Be careful little mind what you think. For the Father up above is looking down in love so be careful little hands what you do."? It's incredible how such a cute child's song can capture in brilliant description the way to increase our humility and holiness and the way to defeat complacency and the way to resist Satan's attacks against us.
"The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'" (Matthew 25:20)The servants who had "produced fruit" with what the master had given them were told:"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'" (Luke 19:16)
"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." (Matthew 25:21)Are we like these faithful servants? Are we bearing much fruit for Jesus, showing ourselves to be His disciples?"Well done, my good servant! ... Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities." (Luke 19:17)
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:5-8)Notice that it is by remaining in a close relationship with our Lord that we are able to be fruitful, and it is by bearing much fruit that we show ourselves to be His disciples. However, what did Jesus say about the unfruitful branches? They are thrown into the fire and burned. This echoes what He said in the Parable of the Talents: The servant who did not use the gift that the master had given him and did not produce any fruit was punished:
"'I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! ... throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" (Matthew 25:25-26,30)Each one of us will have to give an account of how we used the gifts which our Master has given us.
In the following passages, Paul makes it clear that we Christians will all give an account of ourselves to Jesus and that we will all be judged and rewarded according to our own labor. Notice that Paul says "we" must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and that "we" will receive our rewards. He is speaking of all Christians, including himself:
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10)Therefore, if you are a Christian then you will be judged by Jesus Christ and you will have to give an account of yourself to Him."You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Romans 14:10-12)
"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor." (1 Corinthians 3:6-8)
In the next passage, notice what will happen at the judgment seat of Christ. Fire will burn off all the wood, hay, or straw (meaning all of our self-centered and unrighteous acts on earth), but the gold, silver, and costly stones (our righteous acts for the Kingdom of God) will be refined and purified. Thus only our righteous acts will remain after the fire tests our earthly actions, deeds, and motives, and we will receive our rewards based solely on our Kingdom works. Everything we do according to our own plans and ambitions and desires is ultimately useless and valueless. We should strive to be obedient to Jesus and do the Kingdom works which He would have us do so that we lay up treasures in heaven for ourselves while we still can.
"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)Therefore, after our earthly works are tested in the fire we will receive rewards or suffer loss based on the quality of our works.
Here is another reason: Jesus purchased us with His blood, and when we became Christians we became members of His body. We are no longer our own to do as we please, we are His purchased possessions:
"Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood." (Acts 20:28)Jesus has purchased us with His blood and He has grafted us into His body. He is the vine and we are the branches:"You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
"And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."" (Revelation 5:9)
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)We have been grafted as branches into the true vine, we are now members of the body of Christ, and we all have specific functions to perform in the body. We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10):"After all, if you [Gentile Christians] were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree [Jesus], how much more readily will these, the natural branches [Jews], be grafted into their own olive tree!" (Romans 11:24)
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." (1 Corinthians 12:27)Even if you have been a Christian for many years, this may be new to you. Many Christians do not seem to understand that we are not our own, we have been purchased by Christ for His purposes, we are now part of His body. If a part of our own body stops functioning then our entire body is affected to some degree. In a similar way, if a member of the body of Christ does not function properly then the entire body of Christ is affected and God's perfect plans and purposes are hindered. As members of Christ's body we are called to perform the functions which our Father has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). This means that we must put to death our own earthly desires and ambitions so that we can bear fruit to the glory of the Father. We must crucify our passions and desires every day and be submissive and obedient to our Lord, doing the will of our Father:"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
"If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!"" (1 Corinthians 12:17-21)
"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us." (Romans 12:4-6)
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)Over and over we are told to die to ourselves, to lose our lives for His sake, to deny our own ambitions and plans, to put to death our earthly goals and desires, to consider ourselves dead to sin, to crucify our sinful desires and passions, and to put into practice God's Word. Our Lord does not want us to be "spectator Christians" or "pew potatoes," He wants us to put Him first instead of putting ourselves first."any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)
"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8)
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." (James 1:22)
"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."" (Luke 9:23)
"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11)
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24)
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." (Colossians 3:5)
We need to realize that there is a cost in following Jesus:
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' ... In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."" (Luke 14:25-30,33)As the passages above show, the cost is nothing less than our very life! Jesus said:
"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." (Matthew 16:25)Here is a prayer you can pray to ask God to help you put to death your pride and selfishness:
"Lord, I take every gift You have given me, every position of service, every calling, every talent, and I lay them on Your altar. They are Yours and not mine. Forgive me in Jesus' Name for serving my own goals, plans, and desires. I repent of my self-centeredness and my selfish ways, and I ask You to help me be ruled by the self-sacrificial love of the Holy Spirit within me. I believe that You are bringing about the death of pride and selfish ambition within me, and I give You thanks in the precious Name of Jesus. Amen."
Jesus said that the most important commandment in all of Scripture is to love God, and that the second most important commandment is to love our neighbors:
""The most important [commandment]," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."" (Mark 12:29-31)Notice that of all the commandments, the greatest commandment we are given is to love the Lord. How are we told to love Him? With all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength! We are commanded to love Him that much!
The second greatest commandment in all of Scripture is for us to treat everyone with love and forgiveness and humility. This is not always easy, but it is what we are commanded to do!
Most Christians would probably say they love the Lord, but what does it really mean to love Jesus that much? The Bible tells us this:
"If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)So the Bible says that if we truly love Jesus then we will try to walk in obedience to Him each and every day of our lives, not just on Sunday mornings. If we are saved then we will act like it."Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me." (John 14:21)
"Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching."" (John 14:23-24)
"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love." (John 15:10)
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him." (1 John 2:3-5)
"This is love for God: to obey his commands." (1 John 5:3)
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands." (2 John 1:6)
Notice that the church at Ephesus began with a great love for Jesus and a great zeal for serving Him, but by the time the book of Revelation was written they had lost much of that zeal and that love for the Lord. This prompted Jesus to say to them (through the apostle John):
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." (Revelation 2:4-5).The Greek word translated as "first" in "first love" really carries the meaning of "foremost" or "priority." Jesus wants to be our priority love. In fact, notice that Jesus told the church at Ephesus to repent for not keeping Him as their priority love, which means that we are sinning if our relationship with Jesus is not our top priority in life! We must consciously maintain that first love, that priority love, each and every day; it is up to us to maintain our passion and our zeal and our spiritual fervor:
"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." (Romans 12:11)Another way to look at "first love" is to imagine what it is usually like when people first fall in love with each other. When two people are head over heels in love they tend to spend a lot of time thinking about each other and wanting to be together. They tend to want to do anything in the world to please each other. If you are in love with Jesus then you will set your heart and your mind on Him (as Colossians 3:1-2 tells us to do) and you will want to do whatever it takes to please Him:
"We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." (2 Corinthians 5:8-9)Fall in love with Jesus and His written Word and live a life worthy of Him, pleasing Him in every way!"Live as children of light ... and find out what pleases the Lord." (Ephesians 5:8-10)
"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10)
"Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:1)
"No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer." (2 Timothy 2:4)
"And without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6)
"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." (1 John 3:21-22)
"'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" (Matthew 15:8-9)Our actions demonstrate what is in our hearts. This does not mean that we are saved by our works, it means that our obedient works are the evidence of our salvation."For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'" (Matthew 15:19-20)
What about people who have not matured spiritually and who are overly focused on the world and its value systems? What about people who are finding it difficult to remain submissive to the Lord every day and who are not very active members of the body of Christ? What about people who have fallen into some kind of sin? Am I saying that all these people are going to hell? No, I am not saying that. The fact of the matter is that when we all get to heaven we will probably be surprised that certain people made it, and we will probably be surprised that certain "Godly" people didn't make it! We don't know the state of people's hearts and we don't know who has confessed their sins and received forgiveness, only God knows these things. However, recall that the purpose of this article is to help us know that we are on our way to heaven, and the only way to know this is to live the obedient, submissive life that God has called us to. When we live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit then we will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit:
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25)The Bible never says that the Christian life will be easy or be free from suffering, but it emphatically declares that the Christian life will be worth it!"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)
For those of us who have such busy lives that it is sometimes difficult to read the Word of God every day, I have put together a set of Scripture passages which contain many of the "nuggets" contained in the New Testament (plus a few Old Testament passages) which impact the way we are to live and the commands we are to keep. Imagine for a moment that Jesus came and stood right in front of you, and there was no doubt that it was Him. If He spoke and told you what it means to be a Christian, would you believe Him? If He commanded you to do certain things, would you do them? If He commanded you not to do certain things, would you avoid them? Most people would probably do what Jesus commanded if He came and spoke directly to them. However, He has spoken directly to us in the pages of His Bible, and we should be as diligent about obeying His written Word as if He were physically standing in front of us and telling us what we are to do! To gain a better understanding of what He has commanded us, please see my Web page called "Scriptures For Life".
Finally, let me sum up everything I have been trying to say by leaving you with the words of the apostle John. John's desire was to show us how we can know we are in Christ, and that is the desire of my heart in writing this article. He says that we can have assurance of our salvation by walking in obedience and love towards Jesus and by demonstrating love to all those around us:
"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands." (1 John 2:3)In the words of our Lord:This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:5-6)
"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10)
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth" (1 John 3:18-19)
"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7)
"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)
"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." (1 John 4:19-21)
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:2-3)
"I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)
Dear friends, fall in love with Jesus and obey Him, putting Him first in every area of your life on a daily basis, and walk in love towards everyone around you. Love is the fulfillment of Scripture!
The entire law is summed up in a single command:
Love your neighbor as yourself.
(Galatians 5:14)
Love does no harm to its neighbor.
Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
(Romans 13:10)
Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
I love you all and look forward to meeting you when we get Home!
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from
the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (R). NIV (R). Copyright (C) 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan
Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Because Of Him,
Rev. Marshall and Ruth Lawson
Sussex, New Brunswick,
Canada
This material is not copyrighted. Please feel free to copy and distribute it in its entirety for the greater glory of the Lord.
A special thanks to Dave and Gina Root of Houston, Tx. for their considerable work regarding this material.