by David Brenneman
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Hebrews 11:6.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:15-27.
Many many people today, just as it has been since the days of Noah, believe that they're good people. That they have had troubles in their lives but they yet maintain their own brand of what is good. Some believe in the scales theory that when the good of their lives is weighed against the bad that they'll get to go to Heaven.
Jesus says this will never be the case.
Think, my Dear Reader, on that long and hard.
Jesus says that without faith in Him, in what He did on the cross, there is no entry into His Heaven.
He IS the narrow gate He refers to.
So many people are falling into Hell every single second of every single day.
All because they were justified in their own eyes. Dismissing the justification by faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
In the same vein, many walk into Heaven to the open arms of Jesus because of their faith and reliance upon His finished work on the cross.
"as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” Romans 3:10-12.
Thus we come back around to the first opening passage. Without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Without true salvation in Christ Jesus there is not one of those that go into Heaven.
Jesus must be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life.
There's no other guaranteed way to enter Heaven but by the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Your good is never going to be good enough.
"For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." Isaiah 64:6.
Everything a person does that is 'good' is as filthy rags in light of the righteous standard of Jesus Christ.
What must a person do?
"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.
We all need Jesus. We all need the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Without it, it doesn't matter what anyone does or thinks or believes.
Religion tries to bridge the gap between man and God. The relationship with Jesus is God bridging that gap with the cross of Calvary to come down to man.
All man made religions trying to get to Heaven will fail. Hell is full of those who thought their religion saved them.
Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him. Period.
There's just no other way.
No way to be righteous enough.
No way to be good enough.
In a single sense there will be a revealing of the good people have done in life at the Final Judgment of Jesus Christ. But...then...the book of Life will be opened. That book that ONLY has the names in it of those who gave their lives to Christ for salvation. When such people are checked, their names not found, they are cast into the lake of fire. Forever separated from God.
That's what relying on your own understanding of what is good gets you.
Jesus is returning and soon.
Don't put off coming to Christ for salvation. The gift of salvation is free from Jesus. He’s waiting at the door of your heart for you to open up and let Him in.
All New American Standard Bible Scripture Excerpts used by permission. (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. A corporation not for profit.
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