The most important thing any
person can do is to make sure they know where they will
spend eternity after
their demise. I’m hearing more and more of people throughout the United States
and in all walks of life claiming Heaven as their eternal destination after
death, but having nothing to do with Christ and His Word while upon this earth.
Jesus Christ is God. He is
the one and only way to Heaven. There is no other way, regardless what we may
think or someone else says.
Jesus’ Word is the Bible. It
is all about Him. Every word in the Bible is from Him and He means precisely
every word He says. Luke tells us that Jesus explained to Cleopas and his
friend on the road to Emmaus all the things about Himself from the Scriptures
(the Bible).
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he
explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
(Luke 24:27)
From “Moses and all the
Prophets” includes all the Old Testament and it is more than obvious that the
New Testament is also all about Jesus in its entirety.
Also the Apostle John tells
us that the Word is Jesus and He is God. Therefore the Bible is the direct
revelation of Jesus’ Word to mankind.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
However, many who claim to be a Christian do not live for
Jesus; do not recognize Him as God; deny His virgin birth, deny His physical
death, burial and resurrection; discard His Word the Bible as outdated fables;
and that’s just the introduction. These same people emphasize that God is love,
and attempt to use that as a pretense to deny His judgment. They masquerade as
saints, but live for the Devil, embracing the filth that can only come from the
minds of evil beings.
I say all this, not to be
cruel, but to warn of the certain judgment on all who mistakenly identify with
Christ but live for Satan. These folks reside in the halls of government, in
front of the news prompter, on the cinematic screen, under the bright lights of
sports, and let us not omit, even in the local churches, and the homes of
everyday citizens. They come from all walks of life, thinking they can mouth a
few magic platitudes and ignore the words of a holy God. All is lip service,
but no heart service. They are mightily mistaken in thinking they stand tall
before God, not accepting that only those who bow before God are His own.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many
miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
In my opinion, those who
claim to speak on behalf of God, such as pastors, evangelists, and other
speakers will receive the greater damnation because they are leading millions
to hell while mispresenting a holy God. They are false prophets and their god
is Baal.
“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in
sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” (Matthew 7:15)
The Lord tells us through the
Apostle Paul to examine ourselves to make certain we are truly His.
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the
faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless,
of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
The Scriptures tell us that
“not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, and the same is true of professing Christians.
“It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not
all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” (Romans 9:6)
Not all who claim they are a
Christian are a Christian. They are no more a Christian than the Devil they serve.
God knows who are His, and He will cull out the pretenders from the masses and
keep only His own.
The Apostle John had this to
say:
“They went out from us, but they did not really belong
to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but
their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:19)
When John said, “They went
out from us,” he isn’t just saying that they left the local church. I’m sure
that was part of it, but there are many in the churches today who sit in the
pews and stand behind the pulpits but they have not remained true to Jesus, no
more so than Judas did who was in the inner circle of original disciples.
There are many like Judas
today who claim to be a follower of Christ, but stab the Lord in the back at
every opportunity that gratifies their own selfish desires. The putrid stink of
sin is filling our land while the church sits back with laryngitis, cowering
under the pews and behind the pulpits to the accusations of evil men.
“God is love,” they say! Yes!
He most certainly is love, and He is also holy, pure, and righteous. He is God,
and He is not to be mocked. Know this, He also sees past all the flimflam and
looks into the deep recesses of the heart of man. From what I’m seeing going on
all around us today, I’m afraid not many hearts are pure. Oh, we look good on
the outside, but inside we are corrupt.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside
but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In
the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the
inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27-28)
“Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees
clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and
wickedness.” (Luke 11:39)
Isn’t it worth the eternal
destination of our soul to examine ourselves to see if we are really in the
faith? Isn’t it important to know if we have mistaken our identity with Christ?
If it is true that we have been pretending, isn’t it about time we right the
wrong and come to Jesus for forgiveness and then really follow Him?
Don’t let Satan mess with you
like he did with Judas. Judas is in hell.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
