Are you sure of making heaven?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Mathew &:21-23 (NKJV)
Have you ever thought about the verses above? Please do so for a minute. This saying of Jesus means that it’s not everyone who is born again that will eventually go to heaven; and unfortunately many people in our society are in that category. They have at one time or the other raised up their hands to receive Christ. In fact they attend big and popular churches that are well decorated, they know and sing all the popular Christian songs and use Christian languages. They might have even been used of God to prophesy, speak in diverse tongues, interpret tongues or cast out demons but they live in sin. When you meet them and observe their actions, you can never imagine that they are Christians unless they tell you. They are born again but mind the things of the flesh, they are carnal.
Jesus says such people will not enter the kingdom of his father. That means they will not be able to enter heaven; they will go to hell even though they are born –again. Remember that Romans 8:7 says the carnal mind is enmity against God, therefore you will not expect God to keep his enemies with him eternally. Revelation 21 describes the picture of the new heaven vividly and it says in V21 that ‘’nothing unclean may come into it, or anyone whose works are cursed or false; but only those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life (BBE).
God is not expecting sinless perfection from you. He knows you may make mistakes; but he expects that when you do, you should quickly repent and forsake the wrong things. The word repent does not just involve asking for forgiveness, it connotes being remorseful and sorrowful for an action. If indeed you are sorrowful for that sin you repented of, then you should not go back to it. You are only deceiving yourself if you commit a sin, ask God for forgiveness and go back to it. In fact Proverbs 26:11 says such a person is a fool and is like a dog that goes back to its vomit. The following are a few of the sins that Christians take for granted and assume that since almost everyone commits them, God will overlook them:
Lies:
We are in the days when a fellow Christian cannot be trusted, even if you attend the same church. In those days (even as short as 25 years ago), when anybody professed to be born again, one would be confident to trust such a person with money, materials or business deals; however, hearing someone professing to be a Christian now may even make one to be more on guard. God is not mocked; whatever a man sows he will reap. Revelations 21:8 says “the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (NKJV)
Some people think ‘liars’ in this verse is limited to those who change figures in banks, or cheat others to the tune of Millions of Naira or dollar or tell other big lies. No! it includes those who tell small lies. It includes those who promise to pay for something and never do. A few months ago, a man called me from Bauchi to supply some books and I sent the books confidently though I never knew him and had not received bank alert for the payment just because he is from the Northern part of Nigeria (They are known to be more trustworthy than others). When he paid the following day before receiving the books, he did not just pay for the books and its transportation, he rounded up the transportation fee to the nearest thousand. Meanwhile many Christians including ministers have collected the same books and found it very difficult to remit the money; therefore I would not be able to trust many fellow Christians the way I trusted that man (maybe He is even a Muslim). It’s a shame that people cannot close their eyes while having business deals with many Christians. They may think they are smart now, but if they don’t repent, they may miss heaven.
Other sins that are similar to lying are cheating, pretending, unfaithfulness and breaking promises or covenants. Do you always say the truth even if it means being ridiculed? Make up your mind today, to start saying the truth at all times no matter the consequence.
Sexual Immorality:
A lot of Christians in our days are also involved in pre-marital sex, pornography, homosexuality, adultery etc. It may look like the norm because almost everyone around you does it but God has not changed his standard. One day, some married female doctors were discussing the fact that they couldn’t trust their husbands and hence their fear of HIV/AIDS, in my former place of work. I wondered for some minutes and eventually asked them why they were afraid since they were all born again. They all laughed and told me that many born-again men now have girl friends. One of them even told me that I was confident because my own husband is a pastor.
Is it only Pastors that should make heaven? How can someone who is born-again have sex with anyone whom s/he is not married to? According to 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Rev. 21:8, those who are involved in such sexual immorality will not be able to enter heaven.
Strife:
Many Christians including church leaders now get involved in quarrelling, fighting and striving without being remorseful; even though it is expressly written in Galatians 5:20 that strife is a work of the flesh. Moreover, 2 Timothy 2:24 says ‘the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient’. It’s a disgrace for any Christian to be fighting.
Conclusion:
There are many other sins such as idolatry (placing anything above God), witchcraft (or manipulation), lewdness, anger (wrath), hatred, envying, cruelty, selfishness, not forgiving others, pride, etc (Galatians 5:19-21) found among Christians. This passage says those who do such things (those who do them habitually) will not inherit the kingdom of God. You cannot continue to live in your old sins and expect to go with the bridegroom as his bride. Decide to live in holiness today and since sin does not have power over you to control you, the grace of God to live holy will begin to manifest in your life (Romans 6: 14). You will be a prepared bride waiting for the bridegroom.