If we continue in sin, after
we have asked Jesus to be our personal Saviour, are we really in a saved relationship, are
we converted? "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of
the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Hebrews 10:26.
Let me challenge you by
reading the following Bible verses regarding eternal life and see if you don't agree. And
remember, we are not talking about an occasional misdeed in a sincere Christians life. We
are talking about a person that is living in open rebelliousness against God. A person
that is living like the devil. Will that person be in heaven if he has unconfessed or
unforsaken sin in his life, even though at one time, he had a saving, loving relationship
with God? You would really rather know now before its too late, wouldn't you? The verses
below were all taken from the King James Bible. They were purposely not italicized for
easier reading.
- Pure In Heart
Shall See God
- • "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3.
• "Blessed are the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.
• "Blessed are the pure in heart: for
they shall see God." Matthew 5:8.
• "For I say unto you, That except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in
no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20.
• "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.
• "And ye shall be hated of all men for my
name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22.
• "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven." Matthew 18:3.
• "But he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13.
• "He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Mark 16:16.
• "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and
tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto
him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as
thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt
live." Luke 10:25-28.
• "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God." John 3:3.
• "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God." John 3:5.
• "For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3:16.
• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24.
• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth
on me hath everlasting life." John 6:47.
• "Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:54.
• "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a
corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal." John 12:24, 25.
• "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21.
• "For not the hearers of the law are just
before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Romans 2:13.
• "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." Romans 10:9.
• "For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" Ephesians 2:8.
• "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not
to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8.
• "Though he were a Son, yet learned he
obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of
eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;" Hebrews 5:8, 9.
• "Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord
hath promised to them that love him." James 1:12.
• "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath
promised to them that love him?" James 2:5.
• "For the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that
obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Peter 4:17, 18.
• "And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:11, 12.
• "Keep yourselves in the love of God,
looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Jude 1:21.
• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the
tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." Revelation 2:7.
• "...be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.
• "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second
death." Revelation 2:11.
• "He that overcometh, the same shall be
clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I
will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Revelation 3:5.
• "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast
which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." Revelation 3:11.
• "To him that overcometh will I grant
to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in
his throne." Revelation 3:21.
• "He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Revelation 21:7.
• "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward
is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation
22:12.
• "Blessed are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city." Revelation 22:14.
• "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of
the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die."
Ezekiel 18:4.
- There Are No
Shortcuts
- The bottom line in all of this is, if we
are going to spend eternity with Jesus, we must be born again, meek, love him, pure in
heart, converted, baptized, born of the water and the spirit, do the will of our Father,
do His commandments, be an overcomer, be obedient, endureth temptation, etc. There are no
shortcuts to heaven... If there were, Jesus would not have had to come to this earth, and
die for us. We can trace all of the misery and suffering in the world today back to one
person's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. If God were to take one unrepentant sinner to
heaven with Him, sin would rise up again.
Did you notice in Revelation
3:5 that unless you are an overcomer, Jesus will blot your name
out of the book of life. The
book of life contains the names of all who have ever entered the service of God. Jesus
bade His disciples, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Luke
10:20. Paul speaks of his faithful fellow workers, "Whose names are in the book of
life." Phil. 4:3. So if we had only one verse in all of the Bible to show that a
person can lose his salvation and that it is conditional, it would be this verse,
Revelation 3:5.
Now lets look at the
following verses from 1 John 3:2-15. These verses really go into depth regarding the born
again person. Please look at the whole chapter from your Bible and read it.
- 1 John 3:2-15
- 2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
3 "And every man that
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
4 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression
of the law."
5 "And ye know that he
was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin."
6 "Whosoever abideth
in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him."
7 "Little children,
let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous."
8 "He that committeth
sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the
Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
9 "Whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God."
10 "In this the
children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."
15 "Whosoever hateth
his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
In conclusion, according to
the above Bible verses, obedience most certainly does affect our salvation. It surely
affected Adam and Eve. Is that not why we lost our first inheritance, due to their
disobedience, back in the Garden of Eden. Yet thousands of years later people think they
can do as they like and still be saved. I guess my point in all of this is this, if you
are not having victory over sin in your life and you keep constantly committing the same
sins, over and over again, then maybe you need to stop and ask yourself this most
important question. Am I converted??? Am I on the pathway to heaven? Or am I just fooling
myself...
All text from the
King James Bible,
all emphasis supplied.
"That
which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7,8
