God does not force Himself on anybody, nor
does He ask His followers to force their faith on anyone. But He wants to
make sure everybody gets a chance to receive the free gift of salvation, which
He paid for with His very own blood. Thus, the apostle Paul said in 1
Corinthians 9:16 [Preaching the Good News is not something I can boast about. I
am compelled by God to do it. Woe to me if I didn’t preach the Good
News!]
Think about it. If God/Jesus was willing to
leave the splendor of heaven to risk His life and suffer more than any man to
purchase salvation from sin and eternal hell for you, is it not too much to ask
you to risk your physical life in order that others may gain eternal life as
well?
Police, firefighters, and soldiers risk their
life for you every day. And many of them are tortured, torched, or blown
away while trying to save the physical life of someone else! Do you consider
yourself worthy of their sacrifice if you are unwilling to
risk the same for others? Taking turns is fair play wouldn’t you say?
Well, God says: Tag team, you’re it!
You will be risking your life to save people
from eternal hell. That’s an even more dignified assignment. The gospel may not
be a popular message. But in the light of eternity, the praise of man is not
what is important but the praise of God, to hear Jesus say to you: “Well done
thou good and faithful servant.” And you will be rewarded to see all the
souls you helped rescue from spending eternity in torment. (Matthew 25:23) (1
Thessalonians 2:19)
It is the people’s choice who hears our
message to either accept or reject Jesus Christ’s plan of salvation. But, if we
refuse to preach this gospel, the Bible seems to indicate that we may very well
suffer the same fate as those we fail to warn. Sounds fair to me. Personally, I
don’t feel like I am worthy of eternal life if I can’t simply
warn someone about eternal hell and tell them the answer.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:38 [Whoever does not
take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.] God
said in Ezekiel 33:8 [If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely
die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked
person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your
hand.]
For example: Let’s say your house is on
fire. And you and all of your family are inside unaware that within 3 minutes
the whole roof is going to cave in and you will all be crushed and burned
alive. But just at the right time, someone (a savior) happens to notice
the fire and rushes over to warn you. Suddenly, it’s up to you to believe
the warning and take the appropriate action.
Now, let’s say you and your whole family
manage to escape out the back door of your burning house. And upon exiting, you
noticed that the same electric line that fell on your house causing your fire
had fallen on your neighbor’s house and caused a fire on his roof. So,
now both your neighbor and you are experiencing the exact same scenario.
But this time, you have the chance to be the savior and warn your neighbor.
Here is the eternal question: If you were to
fail to simply warn your neighbor about the fire on his roof, would you
consider yourself worthy to
have been warned yourself; especially, if the one who warned you of your fire
was the father of the four children that were crushed and burned alive in your
neighbor’s house?
Now, multiply the severity of that outcome by
eternity and you will start to see the logic in how God is going to look at
your lack of concern for your neighbor after you die, which could possibly be
today. You never know. God/Jesus said: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself.
From a spiritual standpoint, the reality is,
the house of every person alive is on fire. Because, unlike most people
think, people go to hell when they die, not heaven — unless they have heard the
gospel which produces faith and accepted the gift of salvation that Jesus
Christ purchased for every soul — with a few exceptions maybe. Therefore,
Jesus commanded His followers to preach the gospel to the whole world!
We are fortunate that Jesus never instructed
His disciples to make forced conversions. He instructed His disciples to
follow Him. And I will cover what that fully means later on, as it is
very important.
Ezekiel 18:20,21 says [The one who sins is
the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent (i.e.,
Adam), nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of
the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will
be charged against them. But if a wicked person turns away
from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my
decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they
will not die.]
Romans 3:19-31 says [Now we know that
whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth
may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of
the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
But now apart from the
law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the
Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith
in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and
Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that came by Christ Jesus.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of
atonement, through the shedding of his blood–to be received by faith.
He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had
left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–he did it to demonstrate his
righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies
those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is
excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works?
No, because of the law that requires
faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from
the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God
of Gentiles (non jewish) too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one
God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through
that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not
at all! Rather, we uphold the law.]
Acts 2:36-41 says [“Be assured of this: God
has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” When the
people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children and
for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other
words he warned them; and he pleaded with
them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his
message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that
day.’]
Romans 10:9-13 says [“That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” For
it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your
mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in
him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and
Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who
call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.”]
Romans 10:14,15 says [How, then, can
they call on the one they have not believed in? And
how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can
they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can
anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How
beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”]
1 Corinthians 1:21 says [Since God in his
wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, it
pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those
who believe.]
Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, [Then he said to
his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. So pray
to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into
his fields.”]
Some of the writings of the apostle Paul are
hard to understand. Beware lest you twist the words of the apostle Paul
to your own destruction, as the apostle Peter warned.
The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians
7:19 [For it makes no difference whether or not a man
has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s
commandments.]
The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 13:9 [For
this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there
be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying,
namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.]
1 John 5:3 says [Loving God means keeping his
commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.]
We learned in Isaiah 46:10, that God makes
known the end from the beginning. Thus, in Genesis 3:15, God preached the
gospel to Adam and Eve. And Hebrews 9:22 says [The law (of God) requires
that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of
blood there is no forgiveness of sin.] Apparently, Adam and Eve believed
the gospel.
Because God killed an animal (instead of
Adam) and shed its blood. Mind you, this is a priestly act (Hebrews 7:17)
where God delayed His wrath on the sin of man by temporarily transferring the
sin of Adam to the innocent animal (apparently a lamb – Genesis 22:8, John
1:29).
And God used the skin of the lamb to clothe
Adam and Eve for they were naked and for the first time ever, they were ashamed
and hid from God. God took the skin of the innocent lamb to cover sinful man
and to help them take their mind off their guilt. They had both eaten the
forbidden fruit. Eve was deceived by the serpent/devil. But Adam presumptuously
disobeyed knowing full well what he was doing.
You will find in the Bible, a long history of animal sacrifices that God imposed on Adam’s descendants. Yet even though the sins of the people were allowed by God to be temporarily transferred to those animals, the Bible says those animal sacrifices could never take away sins.
The animal sacrificial system that God
appointed just kept rolling the sins of the people back and delayed the
judgement of God until the fullness of time had come that God would send forth
His Son, Jesus Christ (the Messiah and Savior of the world) made of the seed of
the woman and born of a virgin to be the ultimate and final sacrifice for
sin.
He who lived His entire life free from sin
took the full wrath of Almighty God upon Himself for our sins and of the whole
world. 1 Corinthians 15:22 says [For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all
will be made alive.]
Can you hear the devil say: “Hey!!! No
fair!! I didn’t see it coming! I thought I was going to have a lot
more company in the after-death!” 1 Corinthians 2:8 says [None of
the princes of this world (Satan being one of them) understood
it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.]
You will find references to demon princes in Daniel 10:20 and other
scriptures. Jesus refers to Satan as the prince of this world — John
14:30.
Fallen angels moved the hearts of men to
murder our Lord. For example, Luke 22:3,4 says [Then Satan entered Judas,
called Iscariot, one of the Twelve (disciples of Jesus). And Judas went
to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with
them how he might betray Jesus.]
Ephesians 2:1,2 says [As for you, you were dead
in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to
live when you followed the ways of this world and of the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit who is now at
work in those who are disobedient.]
You should know that when you choose to sin
or disobey the law of God, the spirit of Satan is at work in you.
That is what you just read straight from the pages of the Holy Bible.
That might have been the old you. But now that you believe:
Ephesians 4:21-24 says [when you
heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is
in Jesus, to throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life,
which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let
the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put
on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous
and holy.]
Once you come to faith in God and are born
again by the power of God, the Bible says instantly you become the
righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. The righteousness of Jesus is your
new nature. It is the fruit of salvation which is given to you by
God.
So, after you are born again freely by God’s
grace, all God expects from you is to be you. Therefore, scripture
says: Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your
new nature.
And one way you let the Spirit renew your
thoughts and attitudes is this: Ephesians 5:26 says [That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (of
God).] Psalm 19:7 says [The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the
soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.]
Psalm 1:1-3 says [Blessed is the man who
walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor
sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of
the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its
season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.]
Jesus said in John 6:63 [The Spirit gives
life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they
are full of the Spirit and life.]
If you were to sin after God saves you, that
means you would be acting out of character. Because that is not who you
are anymore. You may have been a sinner in the past, but once you
surrender your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live in
you. And the Holy Spirit gives you the desire and the
power to always do what is right in the eyes of
God – Philippians 2:13.
Know that when you come to faith in Jesus
Christ, it is your spirit that is changed and regenerated by the power of God,
not your body. You will receive a new glorified and immortal body in the
afterlife. Your present body is still given to lust and must be subdued
by faith in the Holy Spirit of God who is our helper.
Remember, God wants to see how strong your
love is for Him. He does not make robots. He doesn’t force anyone
to love and obey Him. Love is not love without being given a
choice. Thus, your body which is given to lust remains.
Jesus said in 1 John 5:3,4 [This is love for
God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone
born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has
overcome the world, even our faith.]
According to the above scripture, to love God
means to keep His commands. And keep means all
the time. So, understand, in order to do that, you will need to trust
the Holy Spirit to give you power to subdue the lusts of your
flesh.
That means, you will need to endure the
cravings of your flesh, without satisfying them. This is what it means to
“deny yourself.” This is what it means to “suffer in the flesh.”
And this is partly what it means to “Take up your cross.”
But please understand, this is how God can
judge the strength of your love commitment to Him. Obviously, He just
wants to see how much you want to be in His presence. Because, to keep
His commands and avoid sin, you
must spend time with Him.
Jesus said in Matthew 26:40,41 [Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep
watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing,
but the flesh is weak.”]
It is impossible to live the Christian life
without spending sufficient time with God. The only reason why a
born-again believer would sin is because he fails to spend sufficient time with
God.
So, it all comes down to this one
question: Like Satan, do you love yourself more than you love God?
Because, He wants to avoid another fiasco, a botched wedding. I will
explain later.
Luke 9:23 says [Then Jesus said to them all:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take
up their cross daily and follow me.] Thus, God does not force anyone to
obey Him. Just as God did not force Adam to obey His law, it is your
choice. It’s for whoever wants to.
Although, as you will see, it is not multiple
choice. The truth is, you have a choice to sin or not which determines if
you will live or not.
James 1:14,15 says [But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has
conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings
forth death.]
Jesus said in John 10:10 [The thief (Satan)
comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life
and have it to the full.]
1 John 3:8 says [The one who does what is
sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.]
Jesus said in Matthew 12:30 [“Anyone who
isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually
working against me.]
3 Corinthians 5:21 says [God made Him who
knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might
become the righteousness of God.]
Romans 14:14 says [Instead, clothe
yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let
yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
You are making some awesome progress!
CAUTION: If you fail to read
sufficiently now, you will most likely NEVER see what you have been
missing ALL your life.
Please advance to Part 3 by clicking on "Older Post" below or the right arrow button. But before you do, refresh your soul with this song by clicking on the video below.