by David Brenneman
"You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you accept glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have put your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:39-47 NASB
What might that be in regards to the question? The love of God.
Being good, doing good, and only that, will deliver you to Hell if the love of God, through salvation in Christ Jesus is missing from your life.
Being a good person isn't enough.
Being careful to do this or that isn't enough.
There's millions of people in Hell who all thought they lived good lives. They thought that their deeds would measure up and that they wouldn't be where they are.
The love of God within a person is only possible in Christ Jesus. It's only possible for deeds to matter after someone receives salvation from God through Jesus Christ.
You can be the sweetest of people and give generously throughout your life and still find Hell as your destination.
Acts 4:10-12 NASB "let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved.”
But what of those who look to be doing the deeds of God?
Look at their lives as a whole and see if those people live out Biblical principles. A very great condemnation is coming for those who have claimed to speak for God and yet lead them astray from the Word of God.
Jesus had this to say...Matthew 7:21-23 NASB “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
When we fast forward to the end of the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on this Earth, to that Final Judgment, we see the weight of good deeds cannot grant a pardon from God.
The greatest deeds in the history of the world are checked with a person's name being written in the Book of Life.
Without the love of God, which only comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ, there is no way a person's name is written in that Book of Life.
People who mislead people in regards to claiming to speak for God receive greater condemnation.
"See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with the elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with Christ. For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority;" Colossians 2:8-10 NASB
Is the love of God in you? He is the light we show to the world, not our own light which is nothing in comparison.
Scriptures tell us to be sure of your salvation in Christ Jesus. To be sure that you indeed made a profession of faith in Christ Jesus alone for salvation.
The greatest cries of humanity are those in Hell of those who never thought that would be their destination. The other is the cries of humanity in Heaven by those who did arrive to find people they thought would be there, not there.
The choice to be saved or not is indeed a choice. That choice has eternal consequences. Matters not the language, race or any other thing in a person's life. Everyone must choose to accept or reject salvation in Christ Jesus.
It's more than just escaping Hell. It's living out the love of God in yourselves after being saved. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He turned that mission over to His Disciples who became the only Apostles. In the centuries since its been spreading throughout the world. The need to receive salvation in Christ Jesus alone.
Deeds by those who have come to Christ matter. They indeed will be gone through as an account of the lives of Believers is done one day. With salvation comes the responsibility to be a light to the world. It's out of gratitude and obedience do Believers live their lives, at least that's how it's supposed to be.
If you cannot point to a time when you can say that which we read in Romans 10 is true of you...then let today be the day you choose life over death. That significance starts happening in your life. Romans 10:8-10 NASB "But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
The world will convince you of many lies about salvation in Christ Jesus. Will convince you that it means that you give up the good things in life.
Read between the lines to see that you only begin living life to the fullest after coming to Christ for salvation. Satan wants nobody to be saved. He is the evil in this world doing the horrific things we read about. To accept the concept of evil and yet dismissing the good found in Jesus alone is to indeed be blinded by the god of this world. Yet so many do! You cannot embrace the salvation in Christ Jesus and embrace sin and all its consequences at the same time. You cannot claim the name of Jesus and support murder in the womb. You cannot claim the name of Jesus and support any practiced sin.
To do so puts you in that category we read earlier. Those people claiming to have done things in His name...that Jesus said He never knew them.
The Jews that Jesus were addressing now includes all of mankind. We have before us death and life. We can indeed look to the Scriptures and see that they testify of Jesus Christ. We have historical evidence to prove His death, burial and His resurrection. Over 500 people came back to life when Jesus arose from the dead to testify about what took place.
By no other name under Heaven must we be saved. By this Name above all names we have and know the love of God in Christ Jesus.
My Dear Reader please be sure of your salvation in Christ Jesus. Be sure that it's not just in you but lived out in your life. Claiming that you are saved means doing that which God's put before you to be doing. You aren't saved to go do your own thing.
If you aren't saved consider changing your mind about it. Hell is very real. Jesus testified to what happens there. It's full of people who wish for anything else rather than what they are experiencing in painful torment. There's nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping because people realized too late the truth of God. Gnashing of teeth became they don't agree with God yet cannot escape His judgment concerning them. That the wages, what you get for sin that God only pardons through salvation in Christ Jesus, means eternal separation from God. It means paying that price yourself rather that Jesus paying it for you.
You may think that your life has love in it. But you won't know true Godly love without a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
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