Cart
0
$0.00
THE ARTICLE
The
QUESTION or title of her article
(asked by the atypical misinformed baby Christian)
Why Won't Being a Good Person Get Me to Heaven?
The only way to get to heaven is through Jesus Christ.
(NO! it's BY Jesus Christ ALONE!)
There's a difference between "through and By."
By Lesli White
I will debunk some of her misunderstood remarks within ( ) within her document in BOLD cursive.
It is a common belief that getting into heaven is as simple as doing the right thing and being a good person.
(Here I agree with her statement completely as she has some insight on this condition. It's more than a "common belief" it is the BELIEF of most of today's church members.)
However, scripture tells us that getting into heaven is not the result of works. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works so that no one can boast." While God wants us to live a positive life where we do good by our neighbors, all the good we do in this life won't get us into heaven.
(Her attempt to be a witness to the truth of God's word in the above statement is a partial understanding. She uses Ephesians 2:8,9 as her "proof text" but she herself doesn't understand what the verses reveal. She also uses a bible version other than the ONLY one we should use which is the KJV alone. The KJV reads: Eph 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Her version is, therefore, the New International version which uses the two words "It is" which is NOT correct and implies an "added grace" which leads one to believe that it's "grace" that came through Jesus Christ. It was because of God's GRACE that Jesus Christ came as the Savior. The only part GRACE plays in the redemption of humanity is in the fact that God's favor was shown towards His creation of both man and the Earth. It is the GRACE of GOD towards the recovery of a fallen world which includes BOTH MAN AND BEAST i.e. the world and to restore His CHARACTER that had been soiled by the fall of Lucifer among the host of heaven. GRACE was not NEW at the CROSS nor does it REPLACE God's required OBEDIENCE to His Law. It's the atypical belief that GRACE is the salvific medium for SALVATION and that is a total misunderstanding of God's GRACE. Tis true human "works" towards salvation plays no part (in their salvation) other than obedience to God's word which NO human other than Jesus Christ was able to accomplish, yet the obedience "that" part of personal belief of the individual (being sanctified through the Holy Spirit) is in the accomplished obedience by Jesus before the Father in His own personal faith which is what accomplished the redemption for humanity on the Cross. The two words in her version of "It Is" by grace "imply that grace came in at the cross because the verse uses the word "saved" and that's simply NOT the case nor the truth. If that were true then because Jesus was a man on the Cross when He died would mean that God the Son needed God the Father's GRACE in order to affect the salvation of mankind. Folks, God the Son DID NOT need His own GRACE towards humanity to affect your and my salvation, Jesus was and IS GOD He needed NO GRACE to accomplish salvation. It was NOT God's GRACE that moved JESUS to die on the CROSS, it was JESUS doing the "WILL of God."Luk 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. DO you think the personal "will of Jesus" had GRACE? ABSOLUTELY because He was GOD the SON, did His GRACE save Him from experiencing the Second Death on the CROSS? Absolutely NOT! God's GRACE in JESUS is GOD'S favor towards YOU, but GRACE alone doesn't SAVE YOU just as it didn't SAVE Jesus Himself from the eternal second death. It takes BOTH "GRACE and OBEDIENCE to accomplish SALVATION and that is why Jesus said "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.)
Getting into heaven is a result of true faith in Jesus Christ. (Yet she does NOT know Him) The reason why can be found directly in the Bible. (Yet she hasn't FOUND it)
Romans 3:23 tells us, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (What is this verse saying? What it's NOT saying is that "all individuals" have sinned, it's eluding to the "FALL" in Eden which encompasses the "ALL have sinned" aspect of the verse. Paul is simply drawing attention to the Romans, that no one is without sin by NATURE, and that because of the FALL everyone is seen by God as a sinner, and have fallen out of favor with God. Paul merely condenses the truth of SIN and sinners, he is NOT speaking of any group of individuals. Paul desires that the Romans understand that their social class as being Romans makes them no different from any other nationality. Yes, we ALL are sinners and have sinned against God by NATURE and that is the point Paul is making here.)
Ecclesiastes 7:20 reminds us that no righteous man on earth who does good and is free of sin. (NO MAN/WOMAN is Free of SIN while they yet live) We are all sinful beings, and the sins that we commit can keep us from heaven unless we place our total faith in Jesus Christ. (Her statement contains five words that trouble me. Her phrase "the sins that we commit" is a telling phrase on her behalf, as true Christians do NOT or should NOT purposely allow "sins" in their lives. Yes, we fall into sin through mental deception, but we are NOT to have the attitude of "the sins that we commit", which leads to the actual committing of SIN while we claim to be servants of God. ONE just one unconfessed and un-repented of SIN will keep you outside of heaven. There's no such thing as a small sin, ALL sin is offensive to God and will be destroyed by the FIRE of His presence. Nadab and Abihu the two priest sons of Aaron were burned to a crisp because they made the decision to fulfill their priestly duties with a "fire" not ignited by God an unholy FIRE one they made. To us, FIRE is FIRE but NOT so to God. Manmade FIRE is unholy and even though it can do the same work of burning what is thrown into it, it's UNHOLY, and God uses and demanded at the time the FIRE He ignited on the alter of Burnt sacrifice should be the only fire used in all the Tabernacle requirements made by FIRE. Did Nadab and Abihu understand this? YES! There was two aspects to their required death before God. 1. They knew better, 2. The willfully disobeyed. God's GRACE wasn't in play at their deaths, NO Mercy was in play. Willful SIN requires eternal death. Then she makes a statement that is atypical of today's church member's beliefs. She says "unless we place our total faith in Jesus Christ" the little word "in" here is not exactly true. We are NOT to base our belief of salvation "IN" Christ from our "faith in Jesus alone" as an individual who sacrificed Himself for our salvation. We are clearly told it was the "faith of Jesus" that saved us "past tense" on the Cross, NOT our personal faith "in Him" even though our personal faith towards or in "His already accomplished obedient FAITH" of Jesus is what we believe. It was and always has been Jesus' faith that accomplished salvation, not our faith in Him, but our faith in Him based on His OBEDIENT Faith.)
QUESTION: Do demons have "faith in" Jesus? Will their "faith in Him" save them? The answer to the 1st question is YES!, the answer to the 2nd question is NO! [ FAITH "in Jesus" is to be solely based "ON" and from the personal FAITH of Jesus.] WHAT HE ACCOMPLISHED through His OBEDIENCE based on His FAITH towards the FATHER.
Many believe that they will go to heaven simply because they believe in the existence of God. (Which is faith IN JESUS) Yet, scripture tells us that even demons know and believe in God, (Which is faith IN JESUS as GOD the Son) trembling in fear of Him. The Bible assures us that demons will not enter heaven, even with their awareness (Which is their Belief In i.e. which is demonic faith in God) of God. (And have faith IN JESUS As being God in the FLESH) Simply acknowledging the existence of God is not enough to enter heaven. (YEAH she right here!) (Yet she says: "unless we place our total faith in Jesus Christ" which is also what demons DO! YOU must place your personal FAITH in the FAITH of JESUS according to God's word.) Rev 14:12 Here is the patience (Those waiting for the return of Jesus) of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, (God's Law) and (in addition to) the faith of Jesus. The verse tells us that it's both obedience to God's Law and the FAITH "of JESUS" that one is considered to be a saint.
We are reminded in the book of Matthew that not everyone will enter heaven. Matthew 7:21-23 says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (This version she is using is a most dreadful version of scripture and is deceiving in its translation. The word "lawlessness" implies disobedience, and act, where the KJV reads in the same verse "iniquity" which is a spiritual condition by birth. Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Or can be rendered as "you who do the works of Satan" as it was in Satan that "iniquity" was found.) Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. The word "lawlessness" doesn't quite "cut it" as giving you the true meaning of the inherent iniquity and spiritual condition by birth into a sinful world.)
In eternity many people will try to enter heaven (WRONG with disdain, as NO one will attempt to enter heaven in eternity) but will be turned away. Instead, they will enter hell. (WRONG with disdain, as NO one will attempt to enter hell in eternity) Many Christians have the expectation that will simply enter heaven simply by having the title of believer, but it doesn't work that way. (Here I AGREE as simply believing alone is insufficient as a servant of God, it takes both belief and obedience, which takes a personal knowledge of God's word on a personal level.) We can only enter heaven through Jesus Christ. This is God's way. (By and through the FAITH of Jesus, not our sinful, perverted tainted faith by being a sinner by nature. Unless one surrenders totally the life to Jesus and have His imputed and imparted "faith and perfect life" credited to your account, you will in nowise experience the New Birth and enter the Kingdom of God.)
Those who trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will receive salvation without a doubt. (Receiving and keeping is CONDITIONAL and REQUIRES obedience. Just because one receives sanctification and salvation doesn't take place in reality until it's completed at the Second Coming, doesn't mean it's cemented in stone. YOU must OBEY after you come to Christ.) Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. Heb 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. ONE cannot even have the presence of the Holy Ghost i.e. the Spirit of God within them without the obedience of God's Law. REMEMBER: Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, (God's Law) and (in addition to) the faith of Jesus.
When we die, (WRONG VEHEMENTLY) we will stand before God, (We do NOT stand before God when we die!) clothed with Jesus' righteousness, and without sin. (Agreed, as it's the only way we can stand before God) Romans 10:9-10 says, "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." This is why repentance is so important.
(The above verses speak volumes of truth in this single verse. The KJV reads as: Rom 10:9,10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart (Believe in your MIND) that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. This cannot be done without obedience, not a being a devout church member, but by dying to SELF and allowing Jesus to reign in the mind.)
Rom 10:10 For with the heart (the MIND) man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The very First thing one should glean from Romans 10:9 is that this promise is CONDITIONAL upon obedience to God. The word "IF" is a conditional word. If you choose to believe and confess with your mouth Jesus Christ as the Savior, without obedience your belief and confession are USELESS. Obedience to what? Every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, which includes Revelation 14:12 the "keep the commandments of God" GRACE alone won't cut it folks. To be a "saint of God" requires "the keeping of the commandments" as Jesus kept them which means you must keep them all especially the fourth commandment which was Jesus Christ's CUSTOM. Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, (Jesus kept the fourth commandment the seventh day for worship. How can you say you follow His example and keep the first-day SUNDAY?) and stood up for to read. The Sabbath day is NOT SUNDAY the first day of the week, it's SATURDAY the seventh day of the week, that was the Lord's CUSTOM. How then can you truly be a "saint" and follow a tradition of Rome?
As Christians, we know that one of the first steps we can take (Where "We Is" God is NOT!) against sin is repentance. (One can't even do this without God granting that repentance FIRST. Eph 3:16-19 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (God's love NOT yours) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (The BROADEST SPECTRUM) And to know the love of Christ, (It's NOT YOUR LOVE FRIENDS) which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Repentance like Forgiveness is a GIFT from God found only in Jesus Christ.) The importance of repenting is hard to overstate. Mark 1:15 tells us that Jesus' first public exhortation was to repent. (WRONG! He says to do both REPENT and BELIEVE. Her statement here unless clarified is deceptive and leads one to only believe) Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. If we want to repent, it requires us to be honest with God and without ourselves. Psalm 32:2 says, "How happy is the man the LORD does not charge with sin, and in whose spirit is no deceit!" (No, the KJV reads: Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, (The Sinful Spiritual state of mankind) and in whose spirit there is no guile. (No willful sin). There's a difference between the CONDITION and the ACT. What was David saying here? Since Jesus states: in Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?there isnone good but one,that is,God: but if (the CONDITION) thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Which is the CONDITION) David also said: Psa 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. So where does the phrase "the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile" come into play? When SELF DIES and the LORD reigns in the heart MIND of man. Then there is no iniquity, no deceit.)
You can't come to God with true repentance in your heart until you've first acknowledged your need for (SELFLESSNESS) (SEEK) forgiveness and reconciliation with Him.
Jesus is the ultimate way (NO the ONLY WAY) to salvation. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). This verse reminds us that Jesus is the only path to salvation. (AGREED) We can't enter heaven or receive salvation without being clear about this and following Jesus. (AGREED, yet I would bet she keeps the wrong day for worship, so how then can she follow the custom of the Lord?) Too many believers think that they can find their way to God and enter heaven through things like knowledge, achievement, reputation, and holiness. (NO MAN/WOMAN is HOLY) Yet, God teaches us that being saved is the true way. Being saved is deliverance and redemption from sin.
(Here she makes a statement without actually saying it herself, and yet she doesn't even know it. Her statement "Yet, God teaches us that being saved is the true way. TAKE NOTE here, she as does many others believe that their walk with Jesus is a part of "being" or an ongoing or long in its application of a daily salvation taking place as one believes." This is atypical of one who doesn't understand salvation.) The word "saved" as used in Ephesians 2:8 is used in the PAST TENSE, an already accomplished, completed, work through and in Jesus Christ completed salvation. It does NOT come daily as one walks with Jesus. It's an already accomplished work of God determined before the world was before John 1:1 ever occurred, but began as Genesis 1:1. The salvation of creation i.e. the plan to redeem a lost part of creation, began before the world was and culminated as being completed at the Cross of Christ.)
Jesus is the only way to salvation. (NO, Jesus is the salvation of humanity) This is for several reasons. One of the top reasons is that God chose him to be the Savior of the world. (NO! He is GOD and He volunteered to be the Redeemer) Jesus is also the only One to have come down from heaven and returned there (John 3:12). (AGREED) We also know from scripture that Jesus is the only person who lived a perfect life, free of sin (Hebrews 4:15). (AGREED) First John 2:2 reminds us that Jesus is the only sacrifice for sin. (AGREED) Philippians 2:9 reminds us that Jesus is also the only man God has "exalted... to the highest place. (AGREED but with a different view of how she sees that exaltation) Ultimately, Jesus is our access point to God and heaven. (AGREED but to relegate the Son of God as an access point is to reduce God in the Flesh down to a "Get out of jail free card.")
(Here her understanding is almost correct with the exception that she believes Jesus and God are separate, and it can be identified by her explanation in the statement "God chose him.")
We have a lot to look forward to when we enter heaven. One of the greatest things we can look forward to in heaven is the fact that the struggle with sin will be over for good. (I have news for her, the struggle with sin ends at physical death, NOT when one enters heaven) The truth is there isn't one (she left out an important word here the word "living") person that doesn't struggle with sin.
In fact, we struggle with sin every day. Revelation 21:27 reminds us, "Those who are victorious (VICTORY came at the CROSS we do not become victorious NOR add to the victory already completed by something we may do) will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children." (We are already God's children if we belong to Jesus. We need NOT wait for the entering into heaven to become God's Child) We don't have to fear being judged for our sins (WRONG) in heaven because this judgment was taken away by Jesus at the cross. (WRONG) When we enter heaven, our heavenly bodies will sin no more. (This statement is atypical of one who doesn't have a clue about salvation. The ceasing from SIN should come long before one enters heaven, it's to been seen as already over in the life of the one who accepts Jesus Christ IN THIS LIFE) We also won't have to be limited by the challenges and limitations we faced when we were in our earthly bodies. Heaven will be such a different place from earth. (WRONG Heaven will be right here on the Earth made NEW) Isa 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. Isa 66:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
One of the greatest gifts we receive from God is grace. Anyone who comes into faith in Jesus Christ can receive eternal life. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." The whoever mentioned in this verse is all-inclusive. We are included in this.
(This poor girl Lesli White I hope she's not any relation to Paula White is close to understanding, but her description throughout this article tells me she has only a superficial understanding as do most of today's Christians.