Nowhere in the Bible do I see the statement that we need to just pray a sinners prayer, go to church and continue in our sin and lusts and we will be welcomed into heaven.
This verse describes the people who will be found in heaven
Hebrews 12:14 (New King James Version)
14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: Does this look easy to you? Is there anyone that you don’t like? Do you not love Catholics and show them the true gospel every time you meet them with no judgmental tones but do you lead them into a full saving knowledge of Jesus?
How are you with Muslims? Do you love them and are you full of grace and peace with them? What about Asians and the Chinese especially when they push in front of you as they get on the bus and they seem rude the way they chat in their language in your country? How’s your attitude there? Do they have to speak your language in your country or are they allowed to speak in their mother tongue?
How is that relationship with that man that molested you as a child? Have you got a loving word and smile for him also? Are you at peace with a vile man that hurt you in so many ways? Do you have any racism in you and that colours the way that you treat people? How does a junkie fair with you when he asks you for your spare change? Does he get it with a smile and a little tract that you keep in your bag?
How is that ex wife of yours? Are you happy with her knowing she took your house and your children and made you look a fool in front of the world? Have you got a smile for her and are you willing to slip her a couple of hundred for a fridge when hers breaks down? How do you treat that man that married you ex wife? Is he welcome for a game of chess, or welcome for a beer with your friends? Do you love him and shake his hand with a firm friendly shake even if he seduced her out of your bed and into his?
I suppose I am talking about this verse
1 John 5:18 (New King James Version)
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
If you have bitterness or racism or unforgiveness in you then the wicked one has touched you and you are sinning. Your foe does not need to repent, you need to forgive and turn the other cheek. The wicked one wants you to go to hell and he wants your prayer life to be stale and he wants your prayers to be ineffective and if you are knowingly in sin you can be sure God will not feel obligated to answer any of your prayers.
We have to love everyone as this is part of being holy and set apart for God. We have to be different people. We have to be a people who do things strangely and different to the rest of the world. We have to have light in us and we have to have that light burning so bright that people come to us. The love of Christ has to be manifest in us and it must draw all people to speak to us about why we are joyful and we always smile at them and love them no matter their sin or race or culture.
1 John 4:7-8 (New King James Version)
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
We are commanded to love all men and especially show grace to our enemies so that with continued forgiveness of them Christ might melt their hearts with our example. I don’t know about you but it is hard sometimes to show love to someone who is determined to take your reputation down and slander you all around the world you live in. But love you must and you must feed him and bless him, it’s the only way to have peace and have your prayers answered. If we do not show mercy to another who has wronged us we hate them.
1 John 4:19-21 (New King James Version)
19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. Oh you’ll buck at this scripture and say I don’t hate him. I just don’t like him. But if you don’t set him free and forgive him you are doing the opposite of love. This is the verse God brought me to, to give me the breakthrough with a former friend who has made himself an enemy of me. I had a love/hate relationship and God showed me I had to drop the hate out of it and change it to love/mercy
Hating and fearing others is of the world. If we can’t trust God to fight our battles and go into all sorts of ways to solve our problems by gossip and slander and unforgiveness we basically are bound up with fear from our enemy and our situation. The only way through is to get God’s love in our heart and apply that love and grace to the person hurting us.
1 John 4:15-18 (New King James Version)
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We need to get on our knees and fast and pray and seek to abide in Jesus and get back to walking with Him. We are to love God and repent of our fear and our stupid ways of dealing with our enemy the way we think best and then when we ask for the grace to love our brother God will grant it and we will find ourself overwhelmed with tears and love as we pray that our brother sees the error of his ways. Jesus prayed for us on the cross and we were His enemy mocking Him at the bottom of the cross. Don’t be a mocker today as you read this. Respect Jesus and forgive your brother who is harming you and turn from your childish ways of justification and dealing with things in the flesh.
If you do not turn the other cheek and forgive 70 times 7 then you are not doing the right thing and therefore you are not righteous
1 John 3:7 (New King James Version)
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. Don’t be deceived and don’t deceive yourself. If you throw a person into prison that owes you a little then the Master who let you off a lifetime of sin will throw you into hell. Want to prove this correct? Simply hold bitterness in your heart to your death bed and you’ll go to hell and then it will be too late. This is why only the people pursuing peace and the holy life will see the Lord. And don’t put off the fast and prayer so that you can forgive, repent and get on your knees as the Master is at the door right now and He is only going to take the obedient holy people with Him. 2 Peter 3:10-11 (New King James Version)
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
There are no excuses for not obeying Jesus. No excuses! We have to cease from sinning and start to obey the Word of God and walk with the mind of Christ
1 Peter 4:1-2 (New King James Version)
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
We need to be set apart and not walking like the world and its lusts. We should not be drinking and partying and taking wives and making it merry. We should be getting clean and holy and putting on our bridal wear and the right clothes and be doing the works of righteousness that we were saved to do and we should have the pure religion in our lives that is full of giving and mercy and different to the world.
James 1:27 (New King James Version)
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. This is not just going to the help of widows and orphans. Though your money going to missions who are looking after orphans overseas is a good investment, this is the church making sure single mothers without a job and divorced mothers and children have enough support and their children have a good father figure supporting them from the church.
Being unspotted from the world would be putting at least ten percent of your income in the offering plate each weak instead of 3% of the Western giving. Want to give to another ministry? Let that be an offering above your 10% tithe. You don’t think your church is worth your money, well find a church that is and go there. If you think tithing is not relevant in the New Testament consider what Jesus said about denying oneself, taking up your cross and following Him. If you are not tithing 10% you are saying you don’t trust God and you are spotted with the world in this behaviour. An apostle rebuked me in love in this area and now I tithe.
You may have false teaching saying tithing is not something we have to do these days, well you are essentially saying that, I will repeat, you have more faith in your money then God as a provider.
I didn’t have enough money for a coffee at my favorite coffee shop today where I read my Bible each day and where I pray and I was sitting on a good seat without a purchase. The owner politely asked me to move to another seat as his paying customers needed mine. As I am a regular I apologized that I had no money today. He said that was okay and I moved.
One minute later a man came up to me and gave me four dollars and said that it’s for my coffee. He had heard me talking to the manager and the Holy Spirit had put it on his heart to shout me a coffee.
Don’t tell me the Lord can’t provide for you if you tithe 10%. You are just lacking faith. Try the Lord out for six months and tithe and watch the overtime and miracles start to happen in your life.
If you have been convicted so far in what I have said so far, you need to obey the Word of God I have used to support what I have said. If you don’t, Satan is not your enemy, it is yourself.
James 1:22 (New King James Version)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Don’t be tempted to ignore my advice on forgiveness or on tithing, because that temptation is not coming from God. Go ahead and start to tithe. If you are giving to some ministry withdraw your support if you can’t afford both. No ministry has a right to ask for your support without admonishing you to first be tithing to your church.
Tithing is hard, but you’ll be surprised that Jews tithe more then you still. You might be surprised that even many non Christians tithe 10% of their income and teach it in their books quoting the Bible as a source. It’s just that these guys often give their money to good charities.
Jesus said we are to put our hand to the plough and not turn from it. He told us to preach the gospel to all men. He told us unless we are prepared to leave our family, friends, houses and property for His sake we are not worthy of Him.
He said that He is the Pearl of great price and we should sell everything to buy Him. He said He is the hidden treasure in a field and we should, when we find him, sell all we own to possess Him. He said if we want to be perfect we should sell all, give to the poor and follow Him. Jesus was not a man of money and left no bankroll to the apostles as they went back fishing.
Is Jesus worth forgiving your enemies for, is He worth doing a study into the other faiths and their strong points so you can love them more? Is He worth giving 10% of your money to, and is He worth following and obeying in all you do and say?
If you have been convicted, if you need to forgive, take the time to do it. If you don’t tithe, don’t delay it just step out in faith and start.