farwest said:
Well i wanted to leave this one alone, but i just couldn't, not when tj posts 4 times in a row, i gotta have a turn. This is a little off the path, and i'm taking cover as i write it, but here goes. This has been repeated to me several times from people i know and respect their lifestyles as well as myself. IS THIS NOT TRUE. A lot, not all, of the people who sit in the front row at church on Sunday are the ones that'll screw ya the other 6 days the worst, the same that boast of their knowledge of the bible and godly things. Don't get me wrong, i go to church, have served on church boards. But, my opinion is this, on judgment day the good lord is gonna have a place for that person who never sat in church a day in his life, was kind to all living things, and never screwed his neighbor. And a few of the front row bible beaters are gonna have a surprise. Just my honest opinion.........
Are there hypocrites (means an "actor") in churches? Absolutely! Does the devil sometimes get one of his own or several of his own to join a church? Absolutely! Does the devil have some of his own preachers/priest standing behind pulpits in churches around the world? Absolutely! Will some preachers/priests spend eternity in hell? Absolutely! Will some people that donated money to churches every week spend eternity in hell? Absolutely! Deacons, music leaders, volunteers, etc... can all be lost. You can even attend a Bible believing, New Testament Church every single day of your entire life & still burn in hell. So, yes, some "Bible beaters" will be spending eternity being tormented day & night forever & ever & ever! I believe that with all my heart.
Jesus even said in Matthew 7:22-23... "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Prophesied more or less means preaching. Casting out devils more or less means being a "soul winner". Wonderful works means just that & and can include any good deeds. Yet, doing those things isn't enough!! Jesus says that Himself! Why? Because He never knew them. They were never truly converted (born again), so they never truly belonged to Jesus. It doesn't say I don't know you now, it says, "I never knew you:". Implying that they never got saved, despite their religious activity. Religion & good deeds don't save a person, only Jesus saves.
With all that in mind... "not screwing your neighbor" & "being kind to all living things" are both very admirable things, but doing those things is not going to get you into heaven. Not even close!
The truth is "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23)
What that means is that NONE of us are good enough, no matter how good we are or how good we try to be. Unfortunately, some very, very good people, by our standards, will be in hell. God can not tolerate sin, not even 1 sin. So just 1 sin, no matter how small or insignificant a person might think it is, is enough to send that person to the "lake of fire" for eternity.
Romans 5:8 says... "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Even though none of us are good enough & we all deserve eternal punishment, Jesus loved us all enough to die for us so that we could be saved. We can't save ourselves (good works), because we are not good enough. God demands perfection & we are not perfect. But, Christ was sinless & perfect. When He shed His sinless blood & died a death that He didn't have to die on the cross, He took our place & paid our sin debt in full, if we will place our total faith & trust in him. (see below...)
Romans 10:9-10... "If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved."
"Believes with his heart"... that is where so many mess up... "the Lost" may believe the facts about Jesus, about the Bible & even about the plan of salvation, but they only believe in their heads. However, the Lost never truly allow Jesus Christ to come into their hearts to transform them! In other words, they never make Jesus Christ their Lord! It is ONLY with a change of heart (repentance & surrender) & a heart transformation (inviting Jesus to come into your heart) that a person is truly justified. A person who is truly willing to do those things will call upon the Name of the Lord to save them & at that moment they will be saved & the Holy Spirit will enter their hearts & begin to transform them. No transformation = No salvation. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, a person who is "born again", has been "spiritually" raised to walk a new life in Christ Jesus.
The Bible says in James 2:19... "You believe that there is one God. That's fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear."
So, it's clearly not a head belief that saves. It is a heart belief. Even the demons believe the true facts. But, the demons will not surrender to Jesus as Lord & give Him their heart! Giving Jesus your heart is what saves a person, not believing about Jesus in your head. It's not enough to know the plan of salvation... you have to personally know the Man of salvation & His name is Jesus!
Does all that mean that Christian's are perfect? No, it doesn't, because we are not. Why? Because we are still imperfect humans. But, after we got saved, God will not let us enjoy sinning & He will punish us after we sin unless we are truly sorry & ask for forgiveness. If a person thinks that they are saved & they can sin willfully & if they can sin repeatedly & if they don't feel bad about it and/or nothing bad happens to them after they sin, they had better re-examine what they call salvation! God will not let one of His own act out of line for very long & if they don't repent, He will step in and punish that person.
The following verse often makes me tear up & it gives me "God bumps" just about every time that I read it... ""I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." Why do I get so emotional? Because that is exactly the way I feel. I still fail, but Jesus always gets me back in line sooner or later... He always does. I can't enjoy many of the things that I used to find pleasure in, because I now know that they are wrong & it literally eats at my soul to do them. I literally have no desire to do a lot of things that I used to do.
I'm not going to heaven because I'm good (by God's standards, I'm not good enough... not even close!). But, praise God, I'm not going to hell even though I've sinned & the reason why is because I've been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! When God looks at me, He will no longer see an imperfect person (which I am), but He will instead see the righteousness of His Son who died for me. And praise God for that because otherwise I'd be burnt to a crisp & then some!!
But, let's forget about heaven & hell... I'd still wouldn't give up being a Christian even if there was no heaven or hell. I can't imagine living without Jesus & I'm glad that I don't have to! God is so good & He brings a person peace, joy & contentment that is beyond comprehension.
;D 
