Maria Billingsley

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?
This brings me to the parable of the ten virgins. Half of them were locked out of the wedding feast. So if you take that literally, only half of those who claim to be in the Body of Christ are actually in it. We can certainly see the difference with those who are led by the Spirit and those who are not by their fruits.
Blessings
 
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Abraham is the Father of all who have faith...

Look at the promise made to him.

17I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.18And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Heb 11:
12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13All these people died in faith.

I believe this is in reference to what will happen on the New Earth. In Heaven, we are told that we will not be given into marriage because we will be like the angels of God, but on the New Earth (Which happens later), we will be resurrected after the DNA of our Messiah (Jesus Christ). In light of these verses, most likely we will marry and populate this New Earth (Which was God's original plan from the beginning).
 
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LostMarbels

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Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die.

I have gone through that myself. By all reasoning, I am wholly, and truly lacking... I am not righteous. In fact, I believe God is just in his judgement. In my reasoning, I was created for a purpose: to love worship and be in fellowship with God. I was not created as God's equal, but as his servant. So I do not feel it is my place to question God in such a way.

So again... in my reasoning... does God stop being God if he so chooses to condemn me? Certainly not. Jesus is Christ, the one and only true God, and the word of God come in the flesh regardless of my own condition. God is God, and is just even if we do not like or agree with his judgement.

In my own walk, I have come to see such notions as self-serving. As in: "What am I getting out of this?" In the basest of sense... is that all my relationship with God is? A ticket out of hell and a hope I will never face trials? If I were to follow Christ, only because I believe he is on the winning side and I will be 'saved' from all harm... that is no different to me than 'saving my own skin'. That is not worship, it is self-preservation.

At that point, I am looking for what I get from God, not necessarily how I am serving Him. Christ showed us he was a living sacrifice... I do not get to protect my flesh and ways of life by 'aligning' myself with him. Self-sacrifice. Mortification of the flesh. Obedience. Consider the cost. What does Jesus himself say is required?

So, I don't bother with such things anymore. Heaven... hell... the rapture... torture... death... I was put on this earth to serve my God, and that is what I intend to do. If God wills it, may he write my name in the Lambs Book of Life. I confess Jesus as the Christ. I confess the Christ as the Word of God manifest in the flesh... the same Word that was with God in the beginning and created all that is.

Thusly, I am an adopted child of God and a coheir in Christ's inheritance to the kingdom of God. May God's will be done in accordance of his of own promises concerning his servant.
 
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Basil the Great

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?
We can only hope that you are wrong or else many on this website will be sadly disappointed when they die.
 
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Paulus59

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That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.
ALL Christians who are born of the Holy Spirit will enter the Kingdom of Heaven - that is guaranteed! (John 10:28; 2 Corinthians 1:22) IF you are born again then you have nothing to fear - provided you are truly born again.

Sounds like the devil is filling your mind with doubts & fears and this can happen to even the best Christians - including me - as the evil one tries to trip you in your walk with Jesus. Strengthen your walk with Jesus through prayer and sound Bible study so that you grow strong in spirit to give you the assurance you need. I suggest you read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John to re-establish & strengthen your faith in Jesus to overcome your doubts. Also please read the links I provided below so you get a clear understanding on this matter.

The following links are from GotQuestions that may help provide some answers for you. Please click on the links below:

Just how narrow is the narrow gate?

How can I have assurance of my salvation?

******************************************************************************

 
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SANTOSO

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Let us leave all judgement to the Lord !
For the Lord judges the people fairly.
I understand that there are those still believe in universalism and OSAS.

But we ourselves also need correction!
For God corrects us whom He loves.

What are we need to be corrected about?
This is what we have heard :
So FLEE youthful passions and PURSUE righteousness, faith, love, and peace, ALONG WITH those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. -2 Timothy 2:22
HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. -2 Timothy 2:23
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome BUT KIND TO EVERYONE,
ABLE TO TEACH,
PATIENTLY ENDURING EVIL,
-2 Timothy 2:24
CORRECTING his opponents WITH GENTLENESS. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, -2 Timothy 2:25
and they may come to their senses and escape from
the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. -2 Timothy 2:26

If you hear these words, you understand our God still gives grace of repentance to them and to us; God leads to this knowledge of truth that set us free from quarrels with those who still believe in universalism and OSAS.
Not only they need to come to their senses, but us, too; for we are wronged because we HAVE NOT BEEN KIND toward them. Though we teach, we HAVE NOT PATIENTLY ENDURE when we are spoken as evil.
If the Lord corrects us whom He loves, likewise as those who are led by the Holy Spirit — we SHOULD BE GENTLE to them.

We together them who call of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, be sanctified and called to be holy ; thus we all set our eyes on the Lord who free us from the snares of the devil. We together with them, are set free from the power of the enemies and to be found in the righteousness that comes from our God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Let us acknowledge this:
Behold, how GOOD AND PLEASANT it is when brothers dwell in unity! -Psalms 133:1
It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! FOR THERE the LORD has COMMANDED the blessing, LIFE FOREVERMORE. -Psalms 133:3

When we love our brothers and sisters in Christ who have not yet come to the knowledge of truth, our attitudes toward should be kind, gentle and enduring with love.

Then others will know that we are the Lord’s disciples by the way we love them.
And our fellowship with God’s Son !
 
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SANTOSO

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?

As our Lord Jesus have admonished us:
"STRIVES to ENTER through the NARROW DOOR.
For many, I tell you, will seek to ENTER and will not be able. -Luke 13:24

How do we STRIVE ?
For this very reason, MAKE EVERY EFFORT to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, -2 Peter 1:5
and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, -2 Peter 1:6
and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. -2 Peter 1:7
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. -2 Peter 1:8
For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. -2 Peter 1:9

Therefore, brothers, be all the more DILIGENT TO CONFIRM your CALLING and ELECTION, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. -2 Peter 1:10

For in this way there will be richly provided for you an ENTRANCE into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. -2 Peter 1:11

May God grant us wisdom and strength to strive to enter the NARROW GATE
Hallelujah Amen
 
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klutedavid

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?
Some of your quotes are referring to the rejection of the Jews by Jesus. Not so much the rejection of Christians.

Matthew 22:

2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3 And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Those invited to the wedding were the Jews, but they refused the invitation.
 
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Llleopard

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This brings me to the parable of the ten virgins. Half of them were locked out of the wedding feast. So if you take that literally, only half of those who claim to be in the Body of Christ are actually in it. We can certainly see the difference with those who are led by the Spirit and those who are not by their fruits.
Blessings
Yes. It's like the Tabernacle. If you are just saved, you enter into the outer court, justified. Then if you work, strive etc to put on the mind of Christ you are becoming sanctified, entering the inner court. On the day of the Lord, some will enter the Most Holy Place and be glorified. But it is clear that not all Christians will. Those left in the inner court are still saved but do not enter the full inheritance. No wonder they are weeping
 
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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?
It is vital to correctly interpret the word of God. Only Holy Spirit can lead us into the truth.

First, we need to know what it is to be born again. Once we are born again, our future in heaven is secure. However, being born again only lets us see the Kingdom of God. Entering is a different issue. This is the choice that faces every Christian (by that I mean all who are born again) every day. Fundamentally, it is a choice between God's will and self will. This is the great battle between God and Satan. The world is Satan's puppet, so he has no problem there. It is the born again who threaten Satan's domain, which is the kingdom of darkness.

Satan is already defeated. He is the "strong man" who has been bound. The responsibility for enforcing the victory of Christ has been given to the church. Imagine binding the strong man but leaving him alone and not carrying off his (ill-gotten) property. That is, sadly, what many Christians have done. We should be preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God, proclaiming liberty to captives and sight to the (spiritually) blind. We should be releasing the oppressed. How often I've seen posts that recommend natural remedies for demonic problems. A natural remedy may disguise the problem but it does not resolve it.

God has a plan and purpose for everyone. He knows that we start off knowing nothing and with many bondages. So God's expectations of us are entirely realistic. In reality, we utterly incapable of pleasing God i9n any way. God's remedy may seem hard, but it is effective. Through the cross, He kills us. That is, He kills the nature we received from Adam. Then (the good news) He raises us up to be new creations in Christ. Very few Christians realise that they are new beings in Christ. It's sad because many Christians struggle and strive to be what God has already made them to be in Christ.

We are told to carry our cross. What does this mean? We need to turn away from natural desires and ambitions and lay our whole lives at the foot of the cross. For example, I was desperate to be an evangelist and I worked towards that. Except God has a different calling on my life. It took me several years to accept my calling because it went across everything that I believed about myself. That was the problem. I was looking at myself outside of Christ.

Those who walk the narrow path of dying to self may experience much failure and defeat. That does not bother God. HE knows exactly what we are like. What is unacceptable is the work that men do out of their natural talents and abilities which they put God's name to. There are Christians who have the talents and skills to build a corporation. They apply those talents to "Christian" work. Yet God has had little or nothing to do with the work.

Knowing God's will is a problem. It was perhaps the first real dilemma I had as a Christian. I learned a lot by doing my own will and finding out that it led to failure. Failure is our friend if we let it help us. Gradually I learned to discern God's will. I've been born again 48 years and I still get it wrong at times. That helps to keep me humble.

Kingdom people stay close to God, stay small in their own eyes but have the biggest God imaginable. There will many disappointed believers who see their work consumed in the fire of God's judgement. But all who are born again will be found in heaven. God has promised to keep us from falling, he will perfect that which concerns us and He who began the work in will complete it. God is way bigger than we can imagine. If we are required to forgive 490 times a day, do you not realise that God forgives far more than we can do? Get settled in your heart that God has saved you. Take it seriously and live in the light of what God has done. Then get to work as God leads you. The Kingdom needs consecrated and committed believers. We get one shot at this, Let's make the most of the opportunity.
 
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Can you summarize that 36 minute video please? Ty

Grace in Vain Video by: - Pastor Alan Balou.

[The words below are not my own words, but these words below are a transcription by the:
FizzD Youtube Video Summarizer and Indexer” add on extension for Chrome browser]


Millions of Christians have been deceived into thinking that we're all going to Heaven just because we got saved one day. However, it's not everyone who calls Jesus Christ "Lord," that will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the ones who "do" the will of God, according to Jesus Christ, written in Matthew 7:21-23. A part of God's will for our life is that we be sanctified, or made holy (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7), and Jesus Christ makes us holy in God's sight as long as we continue in our faith (Colossians 1:21-23). That's where the problem comes in, because we never mention the instructions to remain holy, or the conditions. Jesus Christ said that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, we will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20). That's our righteousness, and not His righteousness. In this video, I have tried to explain the instructions and the conditions needed to accomplish that, so that we do not receive grace in vain (2 Corinthians 5:21-6:1). May the Lord open the hearts and minds of all who watch this video, to heed the scriptures in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

0:00 Chapter 1 - Christians have instructions
2:43 Chapter 2 - Fight the good fight, Finish the race, Keep the faith
5:48 Chapter 3 - Love one another
13:03 Chapter 4 - Striving and Suffering; keeping the faith
16:25 Chapter 5 - Thoughts; every thought captive
19:25 Chapter 6 - Finish the Race; the race against sin
29:40 Chapter 7 - The good I will to do; Romans 7 excuse
31:12 Chapter 8 - Never Stumble; if we do these things
32:53 Chapter 9 - Practice Righteousness; putting these things into practice
 
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Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

Yes, most Christians today by-pass (i.e. ignore) these passages and or they seek to change them into saying something else because they don't like what they say. So it is as if this passage does not even exist for them when they read it. They cling to a man made belief that sounds more comforting.

You said:
And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.

Yes, this is clearly referring to Gentile believers being invited here to the wedding because the original ones who were invited did not come and they murdered God's servants (i.e. the Jews murdered Christ followers in the early church). However, the text does not say all of these Gentile servants did not have on a wedding garment. The Father seen a man who did not have on a wedding garment. The parable ends with the message that many are called and few are chosen. So this means that many at the wedding will be cast out into outer darkness.

Revelation 19:8 talks in context about how believers are about to follow Jesus into battle (at the 2nd coming), and these believers had on fine linen (i.e. wedding garment). It says this fine linen represents the righteousness of the saints. Meaning, these believers lived a righteous and holy life. Matthew 13:41-42 says that at the judgment: The Son of Man (JESUS) will send forth His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend (i.e. anything that make others to sin), and those who work iniquity (Believers who justify sin) and they will be cast into the furnace of fire (i.e. the Lake of Fire).

Anyways, the wedding garment in Matthew 22 represents whether that believer lived a holy life or not. If they did not live holy, they will be cast out of Christ's kingdom.

You said:
Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?

I believe we are living in the last days according to 2 Timothy 3:1-9, and so this teaching is not really taught in most churches. Most churches will give you a feel good message about how we are saved by having a belief alone on Jesus and then they collect your money for a dazzling light show with music and a feel good message. It's rare that they seek to truly make friends with you when you get there and to build true disciples that follow Jesus and who seek to obey Him.
 
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Confused-by-christianity

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There are "Christians" who don't believe that the Bible is God's word, who pick and choose from it what they like.
'God's word' - Does that mean God wrote the words down exactly as He wanted them?
Does it mean that the bible is "inspired" by God, or, "God Breathed" but not His actual wording? If it's His actual wording, then shouldn't we reject all translations, go back and learn the original language and use that?

I never knew what "God's Word" meant exactly - so I've always had trouble when people used this.

Also, it seemed to me that some people read the bible and use it to create a religion / way of life that seems more like hell than heaven - and God in that religion sounds more like what is a personification of evil than good. Some people read the same words and create a religion that you'd think of as heaven and of a good God. Both of these people state they follow "the word of God" and both quote scripture. Both quotes could be the correct interpretation - but they have very little resemblance to each other in practice.
 
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Danthemailman

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All Christians will go to heaven. All those playing Chrisitan will not.
Amen! There are genuine Christians and there are "nominal" Christians. There are genuine believers and there are make believers.
 
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Mark Dohle

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?

After reading this, and many of the replies shows glaringly why Jesus told us not to judge others on the state of their relationship with God.

Peace
Mark
 
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After reading this, and many of the replies shows glaringly why Jesus told us not to judge others on the state of their relationship with God.

Peace
Mark

Jesus said narrow is the way and FEW be there that finds it (Matthew 7:14). He is just echoing what Jesus said. Paul also says we are not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather to reprove them (Ephesians 5:11). Paul rebuked the Corinthians, and others who were believers. Paul said we are to follow his example as Christ was his example.
 
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nolidad

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I wrote this about 15 years ago and still believe it.


Years of reading the bible has raised questions inside of me if I am going to heaven when I die. For instance look at this in Luke 13:

23Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

That makes me wonder if most Christians are lost. Jesus says many will seek to enter in. I would believe this is Christians because non believers are not seeking to get in.

And what about this one in Matthew 22:
2The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, 3And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
This has to be the church because they are bidden. Why couldn't they come?

5But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:8Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. 9Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. 10So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
To me it sounds like the church was not worthy for the marriage supper of the Lamb after all, so he went outside of the church and invited non Christians to the marriage. Am I understanding this correctly?
Almost reminds me of the last will come first and first will come last scripture.


Here is another one that troubles me. Matthew 7:
21Not 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. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They prophesied in his name and cast out devils and many wonderful works. Isn't this the Fathers will? Or maybe they were doing it for their own ego. What is the Fathers will and how do we do it? Do they teach this in church?

first off you cannot be a Christian and be lost! A real Christian is a saved individual and not just one who goes to a church.

Yes few will be saved! there are over 7.5 billion people on earth and probably 750 million believers. that is 10% which is few. But only God knows the true number.

As for the wedding? YOu totally misunderstand this passage. the church is the bride! Not the invited guest!

The best advice? It is not your job to worry about others as to the state of their salvation, unless they say they are not-then share the gospel with them. If they claim to be a follower and are living in sin- in love go nd tell them with the goal or reconciliation and restoration, not resaving!

God knows who are His and He has made it clear in His Word that it is none of our business. at best we can only guess!
 
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Blade

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Amen Carl "a great multitude which no one could count,"

So who's truth are we running with? Well some Christians believe all believers are saved. Others believe only those that were PRE chosen are saved. Then all those other groups.. on and on.

So I believe the truth is.. no one knows. We get to see whats on the out side (flesh) and He sees the heart.

10 virgins.. not sure how they equal (Christians) or the 3 cross's. How do we know the other one was lost forever? Here we are talking about this. Ok so what are we going to do about it? Do we really believe in Jesus Christ as lord and He is the only way to the Father? So yes.. many care call few are chosen <--this is not every lasting life. The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.... where are they?

We pass people every day... do we care if they know Jesus or not? Does make me wonder if I truly love and believe in Him
 
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