We are busy talking about how our lives affect others. The passage we were looking at in the previous two posts was You have heard that it was said to people long ago, “Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And again, anyone who says to his brother, “Raca,” is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. (Matthew 5:21 and 22).
The writer to the Hebrews said, “Make
every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without
holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14). To be holy means to be separated from
everything that is not of God, to be put aside for God, altogether focused on
Him. Many want to be Christians and have the privilege of going to heaven one
day, but at the same time, they want to have a good life on earth. They want to
live comfortably, pleasing the carnal nature.
If we do not specifically separate
ourselves from sin, self, and everything carnal, living a holy life in peace
with our neighbours, we will not see God. We will not have close fellowship with
Him, receiving revelation from Him in the present life; neither do I believe will
such a person see Him physically one day. One might go to heaven through his
faith in Jesus, but he would probably not see God.
For what it’s worth, I would like to
explain a revelation. I don’t make a doctrine of it, although it does make
sense and answer some questions. I once said to the Lord that I don’t think it
is fair that all Christians go to the same heaven. Some live only a mediocre
Christian life, being more concerned about their comfort than Kingdom issues,
while others sacrifice their whole lives for the sake of the Kingdom, keeping
nothing for themselves. The Lord then showed me three passages in the Bible.
1.
If you confess with your mouth that “Jesus is
Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved (Romans 10:9). This passage and many similar ones in the New Testament
indicate that to be saved, we need only to believe in Jesus.
2.
“Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can
enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,’” (John 3:5). This passage indicates
that the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again, in
other words the miraculous renewal of the spirit when one accepts Jesus as his
Saviour.
3.
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and
to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
In light
of these passages, I believe I received a picture of Israel as an illustration
of heaven. Farms and villages surrounded the city of Jerusalem. The king’s
palace was inside the city with its buildings and gardens. In the center of the
palace were the king’s courts and throne room.
God
revealed to me that some will simply believe, but will not show much interest
in knowing the King. These will live in the villages or in the country. They will
not see the King. Those who are born again will see and enter the palace, but
only those who pursued holiness will live in the courts of the King and see Him
face to face.
The degree
of intimacy you have with God on earth will determine how close you will be to
Him in heaven. Only when we are born again and living in holy harmony with the
Lord will we be free from the carnal nature and all that go with it. Then we
will be fruitful (Galatians 5:16-24). Only through renewal and holiness (Romans 12:1-2)will we
see more miracles, more
salvation of souls, less sin, and freedom from the sins of the tongue.
Please take note; we are not talking
about living a sinless life. We all sin daily. We also know that all our sins
are forgiven and forgotten the moment we confess them. We are talking about attitude. We are
talking about the choice between satisfying our carnal desire for comfort as
well as our carnal freedom of speech and the restriction of the commands in
God’s Word. We must choose between the narrow path and wide road. Matthew 7:13,
14 tells us to “enter by 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 is the road that leads to life, and only a few
find it.”
So what are we to do? Paul’s letter
to the Philippians has an answer:
Therefore,
my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now
much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his
good purpose.
(Philippians 2:12, 13)
What salvation is he talking about
here? We cannot save ourselves from eternal damnation through our works, can
we? We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8, 9: “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”). Jesus did it all on the cross at Calvary, but our souls
still need transformation. This change doesn’t take place in an instant. It is
under our control and subject to our decision. It is God who works this change
in us with our cooperation and permission. We choose to be saved from being
critical. We choose to be saved from filthy language. We choose to live
according to the Spirit and in the process be saved from the results of sin
caused by the carnal nature. It is our choice to be set aside for God. It is
our responsibility to bring the soul in line with the Spirit. This is called
sanctification or holiness. In Matthew 19:16-25 we read about the occasion when the rich young man approached Jesus. From this passage and a number of others, it is clear that the Lord wants our undivided attention. Time and energy spent on distractions such as material things could have been spent on time with the Lord, winning souls, teaching the Word, doing good works, or exercising any other gift to the glory of God. To be continued.
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