Will all who call themselves Christians be guaranteed entry into Heaven? The Scriptures clearly says NO. Simply calling yourself a Christian will definitely not be sufficient in the eyes of God. Your salvation is not a once in a lifetime event, attained at the point when you prayed the Sinner’s Prayer. It was basically your starting point in your journey back to Christ, not the end. Many Christians are in serious error when they presume that Heaven’s door is a wide gate that admits in just about anyone who applies the self-adhesive label of “Christian”. Christ has clearly warned through many parables that He Himself will weed out the false Christians.
Ponder on this. Why did Jesus keep warning against lawlessness and sin in the church unless it was a severe threat? In fact, Jesus clearly stated that MANY will do great works in His name, but yet they will be denied entry into paradise. The reason for Him to do so will be no other than because they never truly repented and gave up their sinful ways.
Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ Luke 13:23-27
“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!’ Matthew 7:21-23
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:47-50
Among you there may be some so familiar with the image of the Loving and Suffering Savior and little else that the following verses may come across as barely digestible, but that is what YOUR bible says. As Christ died for the sins of all men, He will stand as judge of mankind. After all, He has every right to deny entry to those who reject His sacrifice on the cross. Do you find yourself squirming and resisting the thought that it is your all-loving Jesus, not the Father, who will cast unrepentant sinners into the lake of fire? If you do so, then your understanding of God’s nature is inaccurate.
For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son. John 5:22
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Revelation 1:18
The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41,42
Moreover, it would be a mistake to believe that as one matures in Christ that he develops an immunity to sin. The bible clearly states that as long as we exist in the flesh, we will be in perpetual enmity with the spirit. Becoming a Christian does in no way mean an eradication of sin for the nature of the flesh is and will always be sinful. Being a Christian simply means that one has decided to strive to exchange his sinful nature for Christ's perfection. It is not being sinless that sets the Christian apart from the non-believer, it is that when he sins, he repents, renounces his sins and resume his journey on the narrow path.
In contrast, a Christian living carnally will find himself caught in a perpetual sin-repent cycle. Praying the Sinner's prayer is not an end by itself, it is only the beginning of a journey back to God. This journey of salvation entails taking on His traits in exchange for one's sinful nature as one matures in Christ. Hence, if you are living in a semi-backslidden state by indulging in your sinful nature on weekdays but playing the holy hypocrite on weekends, you are most certainly NOT pleasing God. His call to Holiness requires that the Christian exchange the world for Him. If your conscience bothers you on certain issues of sin, listen to it rather than obtaining ‘advice’ to remedy your guilt. For by doing so, you may actually be searing your conscience against the guilt of sin.
Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
Isaiah 59:1,2
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8:6,7
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2
For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 1 Peter 4:3
...bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5b
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 1 John 15,16
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:17-24
So long we live on this earth, our sinful selves will never be perfect, but we must never stop pursuing after righteousness.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1,2
I am not saying that you will not enter heaven, but you must be absolutely certain of your salvation. There is for a very good reason why walking with Christ is called walking on the narrow path and the door of Heaven the narrow gate.
Repent, Christian and leave your secular ways for the cross. For there is no other way to God.
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