Saturday, December 29, 2012

Root Cause Analysis


In the world of accident investigation, the professional investigator is always looking for a “root cause;” what one thing ultimately led to the chain of events resulting in the incident.

It sometimes makes us “feel better” if, and when, we address some of the cursory causes involved in an incident.  Fire the driver, lock up the criminal, write a new law, but if we don’t address the root cause, then we set ourselves up for repeated failure.  Just like the name indicates, if you only pull the tops off of the weeds in your garden, guess what?  Yep, the weeds will grow back again.  Put another way, sometimes if we look only at the surface, we miss an even greater threat that lies beneath.  Consider the ice berg.  While we may see a small chunk of ice floating on the surface, what lies beneath could easily have hidden, titanic dangers




 
 
Tragedy.  The very word causes the hairs on the backs of our necks to stand up.  Causes our stomachs to turn and we move about in our seat with uneasiness.  Pain and sorrow cry out for answers and those left with a void, beckon for action to prevent others from experiencing their agony and loss.

Columbine, Waco, the World Trade Center, Penn State abuses, Aurora movie theater, Gabrielle Giffords, mall shootings, Sandy Hook…what can be done?  Immediately the calls go out for gun control, security, military action, mental healthcare improvements, prisons, new laws and constitutional amendments.

But is there a root cause to our pain and sufferings?  An answer to our why’s?  I suggest there is.  And it is found among the pages of scripture.  For in our secular world we look only to our senses and human rationale for our explanations. 

In brazen acts of defiance, we have ignored God’s commands, His tenets and His will for our lives.  Like the very Israelites that had escaped their bondage in Egypt, how quickly we forget God’s miracles and His way, to seek our own. Over and over again, we, like Eve in the garden, ask ourselves…”Did God really say?” 

We have removed the Bible and prayer from the schoolhouse, while teenage pregnancy, drug use, suicide, and violence have filled the void.

In the name of freedom of speech, we have removed decency and morality from our TV programs, movies, radio stations, and now internet, and have flooded the screens, airwaves, broadband, and satellite signals with increasing levels of pornography, violence, filthy language and self-gratification.

Our children have lost their social skills, opting to text rather than call, all the while spending hours on end playing violent video games and being drawn into a virtual reality in their sleep deprived state of addiction.

Where once homosexuality was deemed a perversion, it is now heralded as the new civil right and those that believe that it remains the sin that was attached to the pride and selfish acts that God judged Sodom and Gomorrah for, are considered haters, bigots and out of touch.  No longer are two parents of opposite sex needed in our in-vitro baby mills where the "Modern Family," consists of two moms or two dads.

Each day, crosses are taken down, nativity displays prohibited, teachers, politicians and actors mocked and chastised for their beliefs.  Christmas trees have become holiday trees and military chaplains have been told, not only that they must perform gay marriage ceremonies, but that they may not pray in the name of Jesus as the Bible dictates.

In the wake of collapsing towers we have shaken angry fists and have vowed to rebuild, bigger and better than the tower of Babel.

Finally, we wail at the untimely death of our family members and young while thousands of voiceless and innocent victims are slaughtered each year in the holocaust of "choice".

So if we remove the guns, will all the violence stop?  Will new synthetic pharmaceuticals be the answer to our insanity and violence?  How about prenatal testing and designer abortions to empower us, like Hitler, to only allow those "healthy" and "perfect" babies to be born?

It is interesting to note that the Bible says: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."  But, we as a modern society, look only at the natural and discard the supernatural.  As horrific acts of face eating and growling make the news in Miami Beach, we quickly attribute the behavior to illicit drugs; even after a coroner's drug toxicology report finds no such traces.  And even if these chemical agents, acting cunningly on our brains are present, suppressing the individual's awareness of their hideous behavior, what is the evil force behind their actions?  The Bible again tells us that if we continue to deny the true God and, instead, choose the aforementioned lifestyles and behaviors that He will give us over to "reprobate minds".  Dictionary.com defines this word "reprobate" as depraved, unprincipled or wicked.

It is likewise interesting to note that while the Bible speaks of demons from Deuteronomy to Revelation, there is scarcely a pulpit that spends any great deal of time speaking of this supernatural influence in our world and daily lives.  While our great adversary, Satan, is certainly given much credit, these legions of evil, disembodied spirits, present in this form since the flood of Noah, are so often discounted in the natural, with explanations ranging from the aforementioned "bad trip" to mental illness and insanity.  Jesus even attributed many health infirmities in the natural, from blindness, paralysis to full epileptic seizures to demonic "possession" calling for us to pray and fast and thus beckoning the mighty hand of God against these forces.  Think teen cutting is a new phenomenon? Think again, as the demon possessed man in the Gospel of Mark would howl and cut himself with sharp stones.  These dark forces are not limited to just adults as both boys and girls were described as being overtaken by demons.  Even Mary Magdalene was described as having been healed of seven demons.

No, but we would rather define our behaviors in the name of science and medicine wielding diagnoses from the bible of psychiatry known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual or DSM. From multiple personalities, schizophrenia, bipolar extremes, and the voices in our heads, it gives us comfort to know that we can "treat" these illnesses and afflictions with high powered antidepressants, narcotics and other mind and mood altering chemicals.

As we treat the symptoms of our fallen and sin-filled world, with medicine, governmental controls, prison and excuses, we have overlooked the very remedy that will reach past the surface, beyond the visible weeds, and actually attack the root of evil, and the source of our sorrows and pain.  And what is that remedy?  It comes from the Bible, the second book of Chronicles, the seventh chapter and the fourteenth verse:  "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

We have lost our Father's protection.  And as we thumb our nose at God and justify our sins, passing laws to make them legal, we hear the faithless demand: "where is your God?"  or "How could a loving deity allow this?".

It is our choice.  The proverbial definition of craziness is doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results.  Listen to the counsel this God gave to Cain before he murdered his brother Abel:  "And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. And Cain said to his brother, Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”

Jesus, himself, observed the heart and intent of man, and said: "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

Do we truly want to end the craziness?  Then let's get on our knees like the Prophet Daniel, humble ourselves, and pray that God will dispatch His angels to fight the spiritual battles we cannot see or understand.  Then...just maybe...He will hear from heaven, forgive us our sin, and heal our land.

 

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Consider the Clouds

As I sat outside one Easter morning, I looked up and considered the clouds...

Genesis 9:13
I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.



Now it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.



And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.


Exodus 19:16
Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.



And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.





Exodus 24:16
Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.



Exodus 40:34
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.


Psalm 68:4
Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.



Psalm 97:2
Clouds and darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.


Psalm 104:3
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,


Jeremiah 4:13
“Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!”



“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him


Matthew 24:30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mark 14:62
Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”


Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.


Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.


Luke 21:28

28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Kicking and Screaming


How would you answer this question posed by Piers Morgan to Joel Osteen??

"But, I mean, shouldn’t the scripture be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern age. I mean, we were talking before the break about the issue about eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, not everything in the scriptures, really, is, in my view, conducive to modern life. I mean, like everything else, doesn’t it have to move with the times and isn’t it down again to people like you to interpret it in a way that evolves when you’re known as a very progressive preacher? "




Here's how Joel Osteen answered:



Piers Morgan again asked the same question to Pastor Mark Driscoll in March 2012:

 

MORGAN: Do too many people in the world of religion take it too seriously?
Is that part of the problem?
DRISCOLL: I think we should take Jesus seriously. We should take the Bible seriously. We probably shouldn’t take ourselves nearly as seriously. And that’s how I approach it.
MORGAN: Do you think you’re a tolerant kind of guy?
DRISCOLL: I love people very much and it’s — it’s –
MORGAN: That’s not the same thing.
DRISCOLL: Well, it’s — how do you disagree, sometimes, with people that you love?
That’s a very difficult issue for everybody, but for a pastor in particular, because –
MORGAN: But do you preach tolerance?
DRISCOLL: I’ve preached that we should love our neighbor, that we should accept –
MORGAN: But tolerance — tolerance in particular.
DRISCOLL: Why — you keep hammering it. What — what do you mean by tolerance?
MORGAN: Tolerating people who may have a lifestyle or a belief that you don’t agree with.
DRISCOLL: Yes, we have to. And that’s — when Jesus says love your neighbor, you know, he knows you’re not going to agree with all your neighbors, but he wants you to love them, to seek good for them, to care for them.
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: What did you make of the whole Kirk Cameron scandal, as it’s become, where he, you know, for 15 minutes here, he sat here espousing what I think he thought were perfectly normal Christian views. But he did it in a way that people saw was really very bigoted toward gays.
What did you think of that?
DRISCOLL: To be honest with you, I haven’t seen the whole thing. So I –
MORGAN: But you know what he said.
DRISCOLL: I saw some of the Twitter and, you know, some of the blogging and stuff. But that’s not always the best snapshot of the full context of the conversation. So I — I don’t know, to be honest with you.
MORGAN: Well, OK.
I mean do you think that homosexuality is a sin?
DRISCOLL: The Bible says, on six occasions –
MORGAN: What do you think?
DRISCOLL: I believe that all sex outside of heterosexual marriage. So, me as a teenager having sex before marriage, that was wrong. People looking at pornography is wrong. Single people having sex is wrong. Homosexuality is wrong.
So there’s a long list of things that the Bible says is wrong.
MORGAN: Right. But given eighty states in America now have legalized gay marriage, that’s fine, right?
DRISCOLL: Well, no. I mean it’s amazing, because there were anti-sodomy laws and anti-fornication laws on the books just a few generations ago.
MORGAN: I mean, no one’s taking much account of the anti- fornication laws, are they?
DRISCOLL: Yes, I do — I don’t want to be the one to enforce those laws or go around –
MORGAN: Right. But my point is, it — you know, the Bible is what it is. It’s an extraordinary book –
DRISCOLL: Right.
MORGAN: — which has governed people’s moral and personal behavior now for –
DRISCOLL: Thousands of years.
MORGAN: — thousands of years.
However, like everything in life, shouldn’t it be dragged kicking and screaming into each modern era, and be adapted, like the American Constitution.
DRISCOLL: Yes.
MORGAN: Because, you know, my — my view about this is — is not that I don’t respect Christians or Catholics or whoever who — who absolutely swear by every word in here. It’s just that it’s — I just don’t believe anyone who is genuinely Christian should be spouting bigoted opinions about sections of the community for their sexuality.
DRISCOLL: Well, I think when it comes to the Bible, you’ve got three options. Take it, I believe what it says. Leave it, I don’t believe what it says. Or change it –
MORGAN: Or adapt — or adapt the wording –
DRISCOLL: Which would be the changing it.
MORGAN: — for a modern era.
DRISCOLL: That would be the changing of it. That’s exactly what, for example, Thomas Jefferson did. He literally sat down in the White House with scissors and cut the parts out that he didn’t feel should be in there.
MORGAN: But given that more Americans now believe that gay marriage is acceptable than don’t in this country –
DRISCOLL: Well, we don’t know, because it has — it hasn’t been voted on.

So...should it?  Should we take the scriptures and change the commandments to meet our ever changing opinons on what is and what is not sin?

Let's take a look at how God's Word might respond.  First, from the Old Testament we find in Malachi 3:6-7:

I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Hmm... not much wiggle room

 
What does Jesus say?  From Matthew 5:17-19:

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hmm....Heaven and Earth still seem to be in tact...


And regarding Jesus, the author of Hebrews writes in 13:8-9:

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

Hmm....Could the scribes of his day be considered on par with journalists (like Piers) of today?

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men —the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

So when we legalize such things as gay marriage, when the Bible states...

22 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.
23 “A man must not defile himself by having sex with an animal. And a woman must not offer herself to a male animal to have intercourse with it. This is a perverse act. (Leviticus 18:22-23)

And


13 “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense. (Leviticus 20:13)



Or


1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Are we no different from those, who, in Jesus' time, insisted that their rules and interpretations were to be elevated above the commandments of God?

BAM!!  A wall immediately comes up and those with a differenting opinion fly off the handle labeling those who believe that the homosexual lifestyle is sin, are haters and intolerant.
Let's be honest here.  No one likes to be told that they are sinners or are sinning.  But does the Bible say that only homosexual sex is sin?  Of course not.  Verse 9 above paints a very broad brush when it comes to "sexual sin" and, as Pastor Driscoll correctly stated, any sex, outside of marriage is sin.

But let's pick up from the last verse we were reading above from 1 Corinthians 6, and read on, starting in verse 11:

11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

"Hang on... are you saying that you can stop being gay?  That's a lie!  I was born that way.  God can't judge me, he made me that way." 

Ouch...be careful when you blame God.  I would dare say that a strong number of the gay population were molested in their lifetime and then sold a lie that they were now gay.  Even if they weren't, and they "discovered" that they were sexually attracked to the same sex, it is no different from me, a heterosexual male, when I look upon another woman, other than my wife, with lust in my heart.  It is sin.  If I lust with pornography...sin.  If I divorce due to irreconcilable circumstances...sin.  Prostitution...sin.  Beastiality...sin.

But did you read verse 11?  We can be cleansed of our sin.  Does that mean I will never again lust for an attractive woman?  No.  As long as I am in this body of flesh, there will be a continuous battle between the Spirit and my flesh (see Romans 7:14 - 8:4).

Let's pick up again in verse 12...

12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

So you see, when we begin to justify our sin by questioning it's applicability in today's day and age, we catapult ourselves right back to the Garden of Eden when ,The Father of Lies (aka. Satan/Devil), sold us, lock, stock and barrel, on the show stopper:

"Did God really say?" (Genesis 3:1)

You still want to label me a "hater?"  That's ok.  But would you label Jesus as a hater?  The Gospel of John (chapter 8) tells of a woman caught in the "act of adultery"... a sexual sin.  Let's see how he responds...


Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Hmm...that's how I think most true followers of Christ would react.  We don't judge the individual, as we ourselves are sinners, but, at the same time, we don't stop calling it sin.  That would be as unloving as not telling someone that they were about to drink poison or do something else that has a serious consequence.

Consequence?  That's what the Apostle Paul told the church in Rome in  Romans chapter 1:

God’s Anger at Sin

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.



23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

My conclusion over the whole matter... we need to bring the scriptures, "Kicking and Screaming into the modern age" IN TACT. 

For as Jesus says in John 14:15 - If you love me, obey my commandments.


Amen..


 

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  (Matthew 16:24-27)

Friday, February 24, 2012

The Salvation Badge

Say the "Sinner's Prayer" and you are born again!  Never to lose your salvation...once saved...always saved...


As countless scores of people come forward at church and stadium "altar calls" to give their life to Christ they are told they are now and forever changed...they are saved.

Are they?

One day Jesus was teaching a large crowd from a boat just off the shoreline:

Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower
 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

A few verses later, Jesus would explain the parable saying:

 18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:

19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.


20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.




22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.




23 The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”



So right away we see that only one in four actually receive the truth and are changed.

First, Jesus tells us... 

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

He then goes on to tell us that not everyone that thinks themself a Christian really is...


Matthew 7:21-23

21 “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. 22 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?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’


Ouch!!  I certainly don't want to hear that.

So, how can we be sure that he knows us... that we know him?  John sheds some light by saying:

 

1 John 2:3-6

 3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. (cf. John 14:15)4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

Uggg...back to laws, rules and regulations.  But John doesn't stop there, he continues by writing:
A New Commandment
 7 Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.  9 If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister,[a] that person is still living in darkness. 10 Anyone who loves another brother or sister[b] is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. 11 But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.

This is the very thing that Jesus, himself, said explaining...

Matthew 22:34-40

 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”  37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”


So right away we can see that we have a heart condition....


If we are honest.about ourselves..we are selfish and in love with ourselves.... this concept of loving others is HARD!

Jesus knew that we are consumed with SELF.  Right from birth we cry to be fed, cry to be held, cry to be changed....the world revolves around #1.

In fact, that is what the world teaches us.  Just a casual viewing of television bombards the viewer with adds telling us what we need and what we deserve.



But this is contrary to what Jesus says that is required to be his follower:

Matthew 16:24-27

New Living Translation (NLT)
 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[a] Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.

So what about all those other people?  You know the ones that show up to church, profess to be Christians, but their actions...

God is not fooled!!

Jesus sums up these people this way....

Matthew 15:8

 8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
      but their hearts are far from me.


But I believe in God!!

James 2:19-20

19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Jesus continues to give us a clear distinction between those that belong to him (doers), and those that are just "pretenders"

John 15:5-17

 5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. 7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. 11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.


So let's go back to those that went forward and said the prayer.  What was their reason?  SALVATION.  Who, in their right mind, wants to be cast into the lake of fire?  Everyone wants and expects to be saved!




Afterall... they said "the prayer"  so most certainly they got their salvation badge!!



Wow... what's your motive?  Get in the door but go on living your life the way you want to without regard to God's will and plan?

If you don't enjoy a relationship with God now - why are you looking forward to eternity?


We are given a pretty harsh and sobering warning for those that toy with God's grace and go on living like the rest of the world:

Hebrews 10:26-36

 26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,
   “I will take revenge.
      I will pay them back.”[a]
   He also said,
   “The LORD will judge his own people.”[b]
 31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
 32 Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ.[c] Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. 34 You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.
 35 So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Wow, that's not something you hear often from the pulpit.

I do agree that God knows who will truly will seek Him...follow The Way...

But we certainly can't make that determination.  As Paul told the church in Rome:

Romans 8:19

19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.
 
But, you ask..."I understand what you say about loving your neighbor, but how do I love this God that I cannot see?"

Matthew 25:31-46

The Final Judgment
 31 “But when the Son of Man[a] comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations[b] will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.  34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
 37 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
 40 “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters,[c] you were doing it to me!’
 41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.[d] 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
 44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
 45 “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
 46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”