Your
House
is on
Fire!!!
Your friend’s enjoyable evening walk is suddenly interrupted.
To his horror, he sees flames blazing out of your windows!
He makes a quick decision, kicks
your
door open, covers his mouth and quickly crawls into your bedroom. As he grabs
your arm, he yells, “Your house is on fire!“
In your half-asleep and grumpy state, you think this is a bad joke;
swinging your fists you yell,
“How dare you
wake me up!“ By the time you are
fully awake, you are out on the street and see your home engulfed in flames.
Only then do you realize that you could have burned to death in your sleep!
But, what
if your friend had thought, “I should run into the house and wake up
my friend, but I know he will be grumpy, so maybe I should not take any risk;
he will probably wake up by himself.
Besides, I have never seen fire before, so I am not sure if there is
any real danger.“ And so your friend continued on his enjoyable walk, while
you burned to death! Ouch!!!
Thus
I have to wake you up! Your house is on fire!!! You might want to check
what our society has not told you due to excessive
caution or ignorance. Is what you were taught to believe really true?
I was raised to believe in evolution. Everyone around me believed it, too; so, it was assumed to be correct. Only much later did I learn that while the human body gets old and dies, a person’s soul is immortal and God will clothe it with new, immortal body. But if a person‘s name is not written in the Book of Life, he or she automatically ends up in the lake of fire, not in heaven. “And anyone who was not written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.“ (Rev 20:15)
“How dare you insult me?“ you may say. “I am a good person; if there is Hell, I don‘t deseve it. I even go to church now and then. What kind of God would throw people in Hell?!“
Well, we also throw into prison those who break
our law. Have you ever broken God's Law? The ten
commandments? Have you ever lied? What
doest that make you? "A human!" No, seriously, what does that make
you? "A liar." Have you ever stolen? (Perfect God
considers even a "borrowed" company paper clip and such a stolen item). A
thief!
Have you ever looked at another person with a lustful eye, e.g. lusted after someone you like or lusted by looking at the naked people in dirty magazines or on the internet? Christ said that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt 5:28-29).
Have you ever hated someone? Since God judges not only our actions, but our thoughts, hating someone makes you a murderer at heart!
Have you ever envied something that other person has: better house, car, job... You can see the list of 10 commandments at the bottom. If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that you have broken at least one, more likely all ten commandments. If you say you have not sinned, you have just committed sin by lying, right?! :-)
The bad news:
If you are willing to admit that you have indeed
broken God's Law (All
have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God), how are you going to fare on the Judgment Day?
Is God going to declare you innocent or guilty of breaking His Law? Will He
allow you to His Heaven or will he cast you into the Hell? How could Holy God
allow to Heaven someone who has broken His Law?
"But God is merciful and forgiving." That is true, but not the way most of the people think. Should a human judge let a murderer go free when the murderer asks him for forgiveness and grace? Of course not. Should a judge let a rapist go free? Of course not. They broke the law and they have to be punished.
God takes sin (breaking His Law) so seriously that He will not only punish the murderers and rapists, but also thieves and liars, and such. And that very much includes all of us!
Imagine that you invite your friends to your wedding and make a list of guests who accepted your invitation. On your wedding day, the celebration is interrupted by a sound of a broken window. You find out that a man who did not accept your invitation changed his mind, but was not let in, because his name was not on the guest list. He solved the probelm his way, and broke into your banquet through a window, drunk as a skunk and wearing dirty clothes.
In a similar way we insult God when we reject His invitation and then are trying to get to His Heaven on our own terms.
Have you ever wondered why there is so much evil and suffering on earth? Contrary to the popular belief, the ruler of this world is not man, but an evil and powerful being with his invisible army. He tricked us just like he tricked Adam and Eve. Satan seduced them to a rebellion against God (sin) and thus he usurped from them the ownership of this world (Gen 3; Jn 14:30). Satan is trying his worst to deceive and take with him as many people as he can to hell. And don’t be fooled by popular myth that Heaven is boring and Hell is a big party!
Now here is the Good News:
Regardless of what anyone believes, there is only one truth; just like 1+1=2, not 5. The just God loves people and wants them to escape the judgment, thus He prepared the way: God threw us a life boat in the form of Jesus Christ, the only atonement for our sin, to save us, before He judges the author of sin Satan, his demons and the sinful world. Innocent Jesus Christ - God in human body, paid with His blood for sins of mankind, His life for ours! Being God, He did not stay dead, but rose from the dead.
Those, who repent of their sin and accept Jesus' sacrifice on the cross by faith, are pardoned and are rewarded with eternal life in an unspeakable thrill of being in the presence of God. (Those, who rejected Christ's payment for their sins will remain sentenced for breaking God's Law to eternal suffering in Hell.)
Not every faith saves, though. God says that "the demons also believe and tremble" (James 2:19) The saving faith is like not merely believing in a parachute's ability to save me, but putting it on before I jump from the airplane. The Bible tells us we are to "put on Christ" (Gal 3:27).
In other words, not don't just give Christ a lip service to gain a "fire insurance," but following His instructions - the Bible. Jesus said: "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. " (Matthew 7:21)
But how can someone be sure of what is true?
·
By
Veryfying the Truthfulness of Information
· By Listening to God with your Soul and Conscience
Jesus Christ took your punishment, when He
died for you on the cross and defeated the
death when he rose from the dead!
But let's first look at what God said:
1. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. The wages of sin is death.
3. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us.
4. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
5. And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over
to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.
6.
And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life
is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of
God does not have life.
7. Repent therefore and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...
8. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ...But he who does the truth comes to the light...
9. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
10. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away... And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
11. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth... Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful.“ "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me... "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things.
Please, remember that the message of God to mankind is that while you may consider yourself a good person by a human standard, it is God who will judge you before the Great White Throne - by His standard, which is perfection - If you ever lied, just once, stolen but a paper clip, hated someone, looked at someone with lust, made a god "in your image" ... you have broken God's perfect Law and God will declare you guilty! You don't have to wait till the Judgment Day to find out, God has already told you His standard - please, see the Ten Commandments below and the following Scripture:
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor
adulterers nor male prostitutes ... nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor
6:9-10 NIV
But 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." Rev 21:8 NKJV
But you don't have to go there if you receive God's mercy TODAY!
Whoever has my
commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
Jesus Christ (John 14:21 NIV)
Unlike all religions,
Christianity of the Bible is NOT a blind faith. Once you obey the
Living God (God of the Bible) by repenting from your sin and by accepting
Christ by faith as your Savior and Lord, your step of faith will become a real
experience of a restored relationship with your Heavenly Father.
So, what then will you believe? Do you know what will happen tomorrow? What if you have an accident and die unexpectedly? Are you willing to continue taking a risk? If not, a prayer for God's forgiveness, turning away from YOUR sin, (repentance) and accepting by faith Christ's sacrifice for your sin will bring you God's Mercy instead of God's Justice. Pray in your own words in the likeness of the prayer below:
Dear
God, forgive me, the sinner. I obey your command and forsake my sins. I
trust that Jesus Christ paid for my sins on the cross and that you raised Him
from the dead. I accept Jesus Christ by faith as my Lord and my Savior.
Thank you for eternal life in Heaven.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you honestly repented and trusted Christ for your salvation, the angels in Heaven are rejoicing because your name is written in the Book of Life! God saved you from the eternal damnation in the lake of fire and gave you an eternal life in Heaven, in His presence. He has also sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within you to teach you how to honor God in your everyday life. This brings order and joy to life. You will want to read the Bible daily to strengthen your spirit and seek the company of other believers – pray to God to give you wisdom and lead you to the right ones. J
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What is repentance? Repentance means to do about face from one's habitual sins and turning toward God. Repentance is forsaking one's habitual sins, a desire to do what is right in the sight of God. It is not just turning from getting drunk, drugs or sleeping around. More subtle habitual sins are gossip, slander, envy, checking out girls with a lustful eye, being hateful toward someone, or simply being arrogant or self-righteous. Also being religious, which is idolatry - worshipping a god that people created in their minds to suit themselves.
Jesus said, "unless you repent, you shall likewise perish" (Luke 13:3) God gave us a conscience, which translated means "with knowledge." The Holy Spirit uses our conscience, if we listen to it, to give us a guidance in discerning what is right or wrong. John the Baptist preached repentance before Christ paid for our sin on the cross. Without repentance, there is no genuine salvation.
The Ten Commandments:
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul. Ps 19:7
1. You shall have no
other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol (Including bowing to "saints"
or a figment of your imagination - a god that suits your lifestyle.)
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. (Includes
using the name of God, who gave you life, as a cuss-word to express disgust.)
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
(Do you give weekly rest to your body and reflect on the things of God?)
5. Honor your father and your mother. (Always obeyed them? Stealing or
lying just once, dishonors them in God's standard.)
6. You shall not murder (God sees hate as a murder at heart.)
7. You shall not commit adultery (including an adultery at heart by
looking at other persons with lust.)
8. You shall not steal (value is irrelevant)
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (lying).
10. You shall not covet (envying what others have, including their
spouses.)
Exodus 20:3-17
I would not
have known sin except through the law. Rom 7:7
Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression
of the law. 1 John 3:4, KJV
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Josh 1:8-9
But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith
which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us
to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Gal 3:23-24
Biblical References
- NKJV:
1.