Victory Over the Taliban

In a recent blog I mentioned a Bible verse that had “hyperbole.” Here's Luke 14:26 to illustrate the point:

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

Hyperbole, then, is willingness to go to extremes--but ridiculous terms are used-- to obey Christ.  He doesn't mean we should hate our parents--but if our love for our Savior is great enough, we get the point of what He is saying.  Now I would like to tell you a story—a true story recorded in Voice of the Martyrs—about what life can be like when you follow Jesus—in Afghanistan. When your father is a top Taliban leader. It is a perfect illustration of a hyperbole.

This story is recent, so the names have been changed to protect the innocent. The protagonists will be named “John” and “Mary.” In the beginning of our story, John was 23, had a wife and baby son, and taught Islamic theology in his home town in Afghanistan. He traveled to Saudi Arabia three years ago on a hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca. As he slept on the way overnight, John dreamed of a man with shining face and shining white clothes, who said, “My son, I see that you are seeking after me, but the real faith is not in Mecca, and I am not there.” This made John think as he performed the rituals of the hajj—what he saw was different; he saw hypocrisy in worship. In another night on the trip, John had a vision (not a dream) of the man in white. “Who are you?” he asked. “I want to talk to you because I love you,” the man replied. “If I tell you who I am, you will lose seven things. You will lose the Quran and Mohammed. You will lose your parents. You will lose your child that you love. You will lose your relatives and everyone will hate you. You will lose your wealth. You will be homeless and they will drive you from your country. If you don’t accept the loss of these seven things, you won’t be able to find Me anymore. Before you were born, I had plans for you. What is your choice?”

“If you tell me your name, I will believe in you.”

The Man replied, “I am your God; I am Jesus Christ.”

Jesus touched John’s head and then he fell asleep. When he woke up, he felt completely different. “I was completely cleansed from the inside, and I felt like I was a newborn baby.” John immediately abandoned the rest of the hajj and flew home. He called his father from the airport in Kabul. Upon arriving home, “Why did you come back?” his father asked angrily. “There are still three days left for the hajj.”
“I found my God. And I don’t believe in your Allah.”
“Whom did you find?”
“I believe in Jesus Christ,” John replied.

“You are an infidel!” his father shouted as he began to beat him. “If you speak to people like this, I will cut out your tongue.”
“I want to tell people,” John said. “I don’t want to stop.”
“If you tell people you have become a Christian, I will burn you, your wife and little son!”

John’s father threw him into a basement bunker on the property that was used for detaining and torturing anti-Taliban insurgents. He was held there for nearly 18 months, enduring repeated torture and pressure to give up his faith in Jesus. No one in the family knew where John was—his father told John’s wife Mary that he was sent to Egypt to study. John was fed almost nothing. His captors put snakes in the basement, but they either died or had no effect on him when they bit him. They also released a vicious guard dog, but it immediately became friendly with John. They even tried to crucify John upside down.

Throughout John’s long, lonely months in the bunker, he often had dreams of Jesus. “God gave me power, and told me, ‘I am with you.’” His father finally released him with a warning. “I agreed that I would not talk about Jesus to him, but I did not promise that I would not speak to anyone about Jesus,” John said.

When John walked into his home that day, after he cleaned up, he went to his wife, Mary. He wanted to tell her about Jesus. “Mary, I have to tell you something.” He said “I have to tell you something first,” she said. She told him that throughout the time he was missing, she had had dreams of Jesus. He comforted her and promised her that her husband would come home. Mary had come to believe in Jesus, but she had not told the family. John joyfully told Mary everything, and the two cried with happiness.

John didn’t stop talking about Jesus. “I began to tell my mother everything about Jesus, and then all my family believed in Jesus. But they didn’t tell anyone because of fear.” John’s mother, sisters, aunts, and cousins all began to follow Jesus. Each night, when his father was gone, John would teach them what he learned through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Many in the community also learned of John’s new faith.

A few months later, when Mary became pregnant with her second child, John’s father instructed them to name the baby Sayeed Muhammed. “No” said John. “I don’t want to give my son an Islamic name. I am naming him Isa” (Jesus). His father exploded in anger and began beating John in the head. “Shut up, you infidel!” Then he threw John back into the bunker. When John’s father told Mary’s father (a mullah, an Islamic leader, and Taliban member), her father confronted her. “Your husband is an infidel,” he said. “You should abort the baby.”
“I believe in Jesus Christ too,” Mary told him. Her father slammed her forehead on the ground and hit her in the mouth, breaking her teeth. Then he began punching her in the abdomen. Then he tossed her limp body into the bunker with John. Her face was severely bruised from the beating.

While they were in the bunker, John’s father took their little son with him to meet some Taliban leaders in another city. Those leaders blamed John’s father for allowing his son to convert, and they ordered him to kill John. Mary’s mother heard about the plan and called John’s mother. She ran to the bunker and broke down the door. She handed John $2400, his computer, and a suitcase. “Please leave Afghanistan” she told them. “I’ll take care of your son.”

Although they didn’t want to leave their son, John and Mary knew that if they stayed at all, they would be killed. They fled. After three days and some distance, John found a Wi-fi “Skype” connection and called his mother. There was his 2-year old son sitting on her lap. John could see his son on the video screen but not her head. His son cried, “Papa! I am fine. Please come back. I miss you.” John’s mother also encouraged them to come home, saying the danger had passed. After the call, when John and Mary made plans to return, John’s mother called back again. “Don’t come back!” she warned. “The Taliban were standing right here when we were talking earlier, with a gun against my head. You must leave immediately.” John and Mary went on the run again, going as far as they could before the money ran out. They tried to register as refugees, but local Muslim workers refused to accept them because they were Christian converts.

But Mary was in severe pain, and could hardly move, having never healed from her father’s beating. A doctor gave them the bad news. The child in Mary’s womb had died, and Mary could die too if the fetus were not removed immediately. The procedure would cost $5,000. John didn’t have any money. That evening at home, John cried while Mary slept. As he prayed, he felt the Lord leading him to anoint his wife with oil and pray over her. John did, and prayed that Jesus would save his unborn son.  Eventually he fell asleep.

The next morning, Mary was up and around, so they went to the doctor. He delivered some incredible news. “The baby is alive! How is this possible?” John shared his whole testimony with the doctor and told him that he had prayed in the name of Jesus that his son would be healed. “It is a miracle” the doctor said. “I’ve never seen something like this in my life.” The doctor called others from the clinic into the room to see Mary and John shared his story with them too. Several people in the room believed in Christ that day.

The Taliban had continued to stalk John. He received threatening phone calls from radicals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Saudi Arabia. The Taliban issued a demand: they would return to Afghanistan and recant their Christian faith, or their 2-year old son would be killed. The deadline was October 4, 2013. John did everything he could. He spoke to the embassy. He went to the U.N. Refugee Agency. But no one would help. A few days later, John’s father turned the little boy over to the Taliban—in order to restore his honor among his terrorist friends.

A relative called Mary and John with the horrible news that their son died. “The Taliban put a picture of my dead son on their website” John said. The murder of the little boy shocked John’s mother and five sisters. They asked how the Islamic faith could justify killing a child because of his father’s actions. They told John’s father that his acts were shameful, and they then told their whole village that they, too, were following the Jesus Christ that John had shared with them.

“Very soon, we learned from my wife’s brother that my father killed his wife and my five sisters and buried them” John said. “We believe him, because we have not heard or seen anything of my sisters.” Although Mary’s brothers were Taliban members, they disagreed with the leadership about killing John’s son. And then, when the Taliban and John’s father killed John’s sisters, Mary’s brothers initiated a gunfight with other Taliban members. The body of her oldest brother was found days later with one hand cut off, but her youngest brother managed to escape.

When Mary’s father found out that his wife was the one who had revealed the Taliban’s plot to kill the couple, he killed her by feeding her rat poison. John and Mary could only weep and pray, saying, ”God, you know.”

In November 2013, John and Mary were baptized. In February 2014 little Isa was born, perfectly healthy. Because of continual threats from the Taliban, the family was forced to move six times in eight months. John continued to share Jesus with everyone, often speaking with Afghan tradesmen working in the markets. He once prayed with a medical assistant about her infertility, and later she called to tell him she had just learned that she was pregnant. John began using the internet to minister to Afghans around the world, including his former Muslim students in Afghanistan. Many have turned to Christ through John’s powerful witness. John continues to teach new converts. He leads hours of internet worship services with small groups several times a week.

In late 2014, John, Mary, and Isa were accepted as refugees in a Western country. And John continues sharing about Christ. “Every second I work for God I want more people to see Jesus. I don’t want people to see me; I want them to see God. I lost everything, so I want to tell people about Jesus. God said He made many houses in heaven; he needs people in them.”

So, it ended up that many of John’s beloved relatives were murdered—so what was the meaning of my title, “victory” over the Taliban? The answer is: Many souls were won to the Lord. John will see his relatives in heaven again. None of their lives meant so much to them—or him—such as to sway them from their indomitable love for Our Savior. They loved Him so much that their feelings for each other seemed like hate in comparison. Our Lord gave up His life for us. What should we be willing to do for Him?   What Jesus spoke was hyperbole in Luke 14:26 above, but John and Mary were the perfect examples of what it means.

Acknowledgement Voice of the Martyrs, January, 2015

Good Guys, Bad Guys--Part 2

On the subject of “who are the good guys, who are the bad guys,” I have another thought-provoking article for you.  We’ve all watched cowboys and Indians when we were kids.  Cowboys were always the good guys, protecting our women and children from the savages who would scalp them, or the bad guys who try to push them around, right?  Well, that’s not always the way it was.  I have a true story about the year 1780 and thereabouts, and it happened in our original colonies, during the time of the American Revolution.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote the famous words, “All men are created equal” and endowed with rights, it must be bluntly said that he only meant white men—he did not mean black men--or Indians.  Even as early as 1780, our colonies were already in the practice of making treaties with Indians, then breaking them, pushing them back, confiscating their land, even though it was necessary for their survival, and paying them nothing for it.  Some eastern Indian tribes had already been pushed nearly to the point of extinction—many starved, many were not able to move a distance in hostile territory (most Indians were not raised as nomadic).  Americans fighting for freedom from taxes and authority felt no compunction about stealing Indian’s livelihood and freedom.  The Indians fought back, and reacted viciously.  It’s true that many Indians sided with the British during the Revolution, but why not--the British treated them better than American colonists, as careful study will show. For instance, under a treaty with colonists, the British set up forts to try to prevent American settlers from crossing over the Appalachians and stealing more Indian land.  Americans, in a continuation of “Christian high character,” reneged on that treaty too, and continued westward anyhow. 

George Washington, would you believe, demanded that there be a final solution for one section of soil (I hate to use that term; yes, George Washington was advocating genocide)—he wanted the total annihilation of the six Iroquois nations, who were raiding them persistently—but, keep in mind, they were trying to save their land.  The American soldiers began burning down Iroquois villages in 1779-1780.  Their march down the Susquehanna had the same goal of Sherman’s march to Atlanta. They burned all the grain, all the crops, every fruit tree.  Thousands of Indian women and children and the old died of starvation in this “scorched earth” policy.  Survivors fled to Canada.

A group of Indians who suffered the worst fate were the Lenape, who began in Pennsylvania.  Most Lenape were pushed out of their homeland during the 1700s by expanding European colonies, and by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox.  They finally settled in the Ohio River basin.  What’s unique here is that many of them were sincerely converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries before the Revolution (ed. Note:  After study, Moravians are regular Protestants from what is now Czech Republic).  They were non-resistant—i.e., they wouldn’t fight back under aggression.  They laid down their tomahawks and bows and arrows, remaining neutral in the Revolution, and they truly meant to follow Jesus in loving their enemies.  Their village was named Gnadenhutten, which means “huts of grace.” But they were, in 1781, pushed out (by British allies, this time) to near Lake Erie near the Sandusky River—still in Ohio, but this time the village was named “Captive Town.” They lost their independence, and without initial crops, they were going hungry—but ignored under Washington's draconian rules.  And it was past harvest time. In February 1782, more than 100 of them returned to their old Moravian villages to harvest the crops and collect stored food they had been forced to leave behind. The frontier war was still raging. In early March, the Lenape were surprised by a raiding party of 160 Pennsylvania militia led by Lieutenant Colonel David Williamson. The militia rounded up the Christian Lenape and accused them of taking part in raids into Pennsylvania. Although the Lenape denied the charges and explained their non-resistance from Christ, the militia held a council and voted to kill them. Attacked by conscience, some militiamen walked out. They could see the Christianity in the Lenape.

After the Lenape were told of the militia's vote, they requested time to prepare for death and spent the night praying and singing hymns. They were held in two buildings, one for men and one for women and children.

Despite the fact that these soldiers had witnessed the Indians praying and singing hymns, they still were eager to see them die.  The next morning on March 8, the militia brought the Lenape to the "killing houses," one for men and the other for women and children. The militia tied the Indians, stunned them with mallet blows to the head, and killed them with fatal scalping cuts. In  all, the militia murdered and scalped 28 men, 29 women, and 39 children. No Indians resisted.  Two Indian boys, one of whom had been scalped, survived to tell of the massacre. The corpses were piled in the mission buildings and the American militia burned the village down. They also burned the other abandoned Moravian villages nearby. One of those soldiers who opposed the killing of the Moravian Lenape was Obadiah Holmes, Jr. He wrote,

"one Nathan Rollins & brother [who] had had a father & uncle killed (ed., not by the Lenape) took the lead in murdering the Indians, ...& Nathan Rollins had tomahawked nineteen of the poor Moravians, & after it was over he sat down & cried, & said it was no satisfaction for the loss of his father & uncle after all".

After slaughtering everyone, the militia now turned to greed.  They looted the villages prior to the burning. The plunder, which needed 80 horses to carry, included everything which the people had held: furs for trade, pewter, tea sets, and clothing. A few years later, Moravian missionary John Heckewelder, who had just heard, collected the remains of the Lenape and buried them in a mound on the southern side of the village.

Some Americans were outraged when they heard about all this, but most of the settlers on the frontier supported the American militia’s murderous action.  No criminal charges were ever filed, and the war rolled on. 

Our treatment of the Indians, in general, was a standing reproach of our “Christian” governments for nearly a century, and a blood-red blot upon our annals of history.  The kind of story like the Lenape never gets told in history classes in elementary or secondary schools.  It is the kind of story that should be told, to warn and admonish us of our prejudices and our ability to dehumanize men—a product of our sinful nature, and we can’t blame wartime, the ever-popular excuse.  The men who persecute Christians have a special place in hell, I believe.    

The Kingdom of God

What was John the Baptist’s first words?

Matthew 3:1-2: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

What was the theme of Jesus’ first message? Was it man’s need for salvation? Was it God’s love for mankind? Was it the necessity to be born again? Was it that He would die as a ransom for us? No, we find the answer in Matthew 4:17:

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand..”

Mark 1:14-15: Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

The kingdom is the only thing that Jesus labeled as the gospel, which means “good news.”

For further on the importance of the kingdom, note what Jesus says in Luke 4:43, again early in His ministry:

But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”

So what was the reason He was sent? For salvation? Yes, as many other verses point out. But it was also to set up the kingdom of God. It’s time, is it not, that we pay attention to this idea. After all, Jesus only talked once about the new birth; He mentioned His ransom for us only one time; there are only five or six passages in which Jesus used the word “salvation;” yet the kingdom of God is mentioned in the gospels nearly 100 times! Most of Jesus’ parables were about the kingdom. And as you saw above, Jesus said that the reason He was sent to earth was to preach about the kingdom. But do we hear this theme emphasized in the preaching of pastors today? No. All we hear is that Jesus’ primary purpose in coming to earth was to save us from our sin. Of course, that’s wonderfully important—but it still omits something vitally important. After all, wherever He went, He preached about the kingdom of God:

Matthew 4:23: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

This is repeated in Matthew 9:35:

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

And again in Luke 9:11:

But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.

He also made it the second petition in the model prayer, the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come…

That’s how high it ranks in the priorities of Jesus, and where it should rank in ours. Then what are we doing, ignoring this doctrine? The kingdom of God is almost totally missing from the gospel of today!

Now, you might argue that while Jesus was alive, He couldn’t say much about salvation through His death and resurrection—but surely, after these were completed, His disciples’ main theme was about that, right? Not the case. When Jesus commissioned His disciples, He specifically instructed them to preach about the kingdom.

Matthew 10:5-7: These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: ….6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’

Luke 9:2: He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick

Luke 10:9: And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

In nearly every passage where Jesus gave preaching instruction to His disciples, He told them to preach about the kingdom. And they didn’t change the emphasis after He died and rose again.

Acts 8:12: But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized

Acts 19:6-8: And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God

Even at the end of Acts—when Paul is under house arrest in Rome, having written about finally giving his life for Christ, what is he still thinking about? Acts 28:23:

So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

In Acts 28:30-31, we should ask, what did Paul emphasize for two whole years at the tail end of his ministry? The answer? The kingdom and Jesus:

Then Paul dwelt two years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

As it was in Acts 8 above, these two verses have a dual emphasis in preaching: both Jesus Christ (and His salvation)—and the kingdom of God. The two go hand in hand. If you want Jesus as Savior, you need to accept His kingdom over your life too. Obviously, one of the main principles is:  He is the King in His kingdom, so we obey Him. Salvation is not the end of our religious effort; it is a means to an end—after we are saved, establishing our place in His kingdom should then be emphasized; what can we do to forward His kingdom? Notice carefully what Jesus said to Nicodemus:

John 3:3-5 (partial): Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot…enter the kingdom of God.

The kingdom is now, not just heaven. Proof?  Matthew 24:14:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

So our being born again is not the end of our effort:  It is a means to another end. Our real purpose is not to gain salvation, but to live to the highest use in His kingdom, to please our King. The kingdom is an absolutely crucial aspect of the gospel. When we tell people about salvation and ignore the kingdom, we are not preaching the gospel. We’re only giving half of it. We can’t have the King apart from the kingdom. Preachers must also call people to become citizens of His kingdom.  And spell out our obligations. 

So why is it that the gospel of the kingdom is not being preached? How did we miss this? We just don’t pay much attention to what the Scriptures really say anymore, I guess.

Well, now let’s talk about just what is the kingdom of God. All kingdoms have four components: (1) Ruler; (2) Subjects, or Citizens; (3) Domain, or the region the ruler has control; and (4) Laws. But God’s kingdom is sometimes different. God’s kingdom doesn’t have an earthly ruler—its ruler is Jesus Christ, who reigns from heaven. And unlike earthly kingdoms, who change rules, Jesus’ policies never change. They are spelled out in His infallible Word, the Bible. As to its subjects? The test, or method of determining who is a citizen in the kingdom of God is those who “bring forth the fruits thereof,” Matthew 21:43. What are the fruits? Holiness and praising God. The kingdom of God includes everyone IF they are bringing forth its fruits, if they are willing to gain in holiness. It excludes nobody—but those who exclude themselves by not bringing forth its fruits. To be heirs in this kingdom, we have to belong to Christ. We enter the kingdom through the new birth (see John 3). You can’t bring forth its fruits, you can’t be holy, without the help of the Holy Spirit, who is given to you at the new birth. It is His indwelling that brings forth fruit. See I Peter 2:9-10:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God.

As to Domain: The kingdom of God’s subjects do not occupy a certain portion of the earth; they are interspersed among all the nations of the world.

But there are conflicts among His people—because we live under two kingdoms. You are a citizen in one of the kingdoms of the world, and you are a citizen in the kingdom of God. And since there are differences in their laws, those two kingdoms occasionally force a conflict, on occasion demanding of you two opposite actions at the same time. Of course, we are to follow our heavenly King; Jesus expects you to follow His laws, not the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). (That's a pretty stark comment on all the world's governments.)  This may mean persecution because many governments want you to respect them as your kingdom, and don't want you to be free to look elsewhere.

 Now you can’t avoid persecution by saying the kingdom is for the far future, or it is a spiritual kingdom, so I can ignore His commands. Luke 17:21 says the “kingdom of God is within you (KJV),” which some people translate as spiritual--but the phrase "within you" means “in the midst of you” (per Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words), a huge difference of meaning. Instead of saying “within me spiritually,” it says the kingdom is operating NOW among God’s people.

I want to say more about this conflict between the two kingdoms in another blog. It’s important to keep in mind, as we think about this, that most of the people in the world (including the U.S.) are not citizens of God’s kingdom. Most people are not willing to be holy and sold out for Christ.  The people of the world cannot see the kingdom of God, and cannot understand our intolerance and refusal to keep up with the latest cultural trend. Jesus told Nicodemus, in John 3:3:

I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Colossians 1:13 says people are still in the kingdom of darkness. It also says we are NOW in the kingdom of God, if we’re saved and living for God—it’s not future:

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love

If we’re not living in His kingdom while we’re on earth, we’re not going to be there after we die. But most professing Christians don’t even know what the kingdom of God is. People equate it with “the institutional church,” with a certain political party, or even with a certain country. Those ideas limit what it is. Thinking about it makes you want to know what our King wants from us, especially as we possibly approach the last days, because Scripture says we can expect conflict, as I alluded above; and we must make each decision in those conflicts to advance the kingdom, and endure the persecutions to be in heaven when the time comes (II Timothy 2:12).

Keep in mind that salvation is not merely mental assent, but an active trust in Christ—it’s called “abiding in Christ.” Thereby we bear fruit. Knowing that we’re in His kingdom will help us to seek out and obey the King’s commandments, versus ignoring them, which goes on way too much today. Read John 15:1-6 or my blog on Initial vs Final Salvation. Following His commandments are necessary for final salvation, for an eternity in the right place—heaven.

Acknowledgement: David Bercot’s CD, “The Kingdom of God,” Scroll Publishing.

The Word "IF" in Scripture Places Conditions on Where You Spend Eternity

The word IF appears many times in the New Testament in conjunction with salvation. Its first definition, per Funk & Wagnall’s, is: “on the supposition or condition that…” The abundant Scriptural use of the word should be enough to convince the student of the Bible that final salvation, getting to heaven, is not merely dependent on “accepting Jesus in my heart.” Final salvation depends on the condition of abiding in Christ, and showing fruits of the Spirit. Let’s start the “IF” study with a verse on one of those required fruits, forgiveness. In Matthew 6:14-15:

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But IF you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Jesus has a dead-serious word of warning here: If we are unwilling to forgive, then God doesn’t forgive us. If God doesn’t forgive you—you are doomed to hell. You really need to think: Is there anyone I can’t seem to forgive? None of this “I can forgive but I can’t forget” excuse. Of course we can’t burn out memories, but when you see that person, what’s your emotional reaction? That’ll tell you if you forgave them.

Now I realize that I’ve commented on the above Scripture in another blog, as well as many verses that follow. But it’s a good idea to put all the “Ifs” together. From them, I advise making a list of commandments you need to meditate on (like forgiveness). Work on every one. Develop the proper fear of God (another blog) for motivation to spur you on. It’s a difficult task to actually be objective about yourself—we all deceive ourselves and perform sins toward people that we never think about. We all develop “great” excuses for sinful behavior.

Matthew 24:24: For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, IF possible, even the elect. 

Don’t be fooled by the uplifting pastor who quotes this, and says “the 'if' makes this just a hypothesis, it can’t really happen.” The Bible talks much about apostasy, particularly in the last days (which this verse is about—but apostasy can happen anytime). That’s falling away from the faith. How do you fall away from something, unless you were attached to it in the first place? So we are talking about people that had faith, but are in grave danger of losing it. Don’t dismiss this verse as “hypothetical.” Losing our faith in Christ can happen, if we’re not steadfast in Him.

Luke 13:7-9 has a special meaning: 

Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And IF it bears fruit, well. But IF not, after that you can cut it down.’”

This expresses God’s patience, but ultimate judgment on us if we are not consciously bearing fruit.  Galatians 5:22-23 shows the fruit we must develop if we’re on the Vine, abiding in our Lord. John 15:1-6 is an important parable on the vine. It has a very important warning at v.6:

IF anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

From this verse and the one above, you can see that if you’re not developing fruit, abiding on Christ’s vine, you eventually, after God’s patient wait, will be cut down—and thrown into the fire.

Telling the same story is Hebrews 6:7-9: 

For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; 8 but IF it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 

Note that the author is looking for “things that accompany salvation,” such as bearing fruit—in this analogy, useful herbs--to know the person is really the Lord’s. IF you are not bearing fruit in your life, if you bear thorns and briers, you are “near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.”  Serious words.

An interesting word is “hyperbole.” Common-taters say that means Jesus didn’t mean something when He said it, so you can dismiss it (they love to dismiss verses that sound like God is “harsh.”) Instead, what you’re supposed to do with hyperbole is to grab the kernel of meaning, and run as far as you can with it, obediently. Here’s a phrase actually using hyperbole. Mark 9:43-46:

IF your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—44 where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ 45 And IF your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 46 where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ 

It’s obvious that Jesus is not into self-mutilation—so this is hyperbole. BUT don’t dismiss these verses; don’t ignore the main point: That point is, don’t let ANYTHING get in the way of you getting closer to God. Such a thing would be a sin; in fact, it would be by definition, an idol. And idols could send you to hell. By the way, there are some scary details about hell in the above verses that should provide additional motivation for you to look for ways to lead a more godly life.

Romans 11:21-23 has a harsher view of God that we don’t often hear in sermons:

For IF God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, IF they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

As I will elaborate in a soon-to-be-published blog, this is spoken to Gentiles. And how to “continue in His goodness”? Follow His commandments; they’re all in Scripture. The phrase “He may not spare you either” is particularly troubling. Consider also the phrase "on those who fell, severity..."  That could mean, those who abandoned God for the world of sin, or it could mean those who fell away from the truth, apostasy.  God is "severe" to them.  But...let’s not try to judge God as being harsh, using our sin-afflicted mind. Rely on revelation. Which means, read the Word more. Get to know Him. He loves that, and the Holy Spirit will give you the feeling that you are with Him.

Romans 8:13: 

For IF you live according to the flesh you will die; but IF by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 

The word “die” speaks of hell, eternal separation from God, our Life. Note that sinful deeds of the body do not fall away, nor does goodness ossify; YOU must actively “put to death" the deeds of the body. It takes work. The Holy Spirit will help, if you are His. Call on Him.

I Corinthians 15:1-2: 

I declare to you the gospel…, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, IF you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 

“Hold fast” means “hold firmly.” You do the grasping. These verses tell you that forces exist that will tear you away from God if you are not smitten by the wiles of Satan. By the way, holding fast the Word presupposes you’re a day-to-day reader of it. And “believed in vain” suggests that with some people, belief was followed by unbelief (how else can you explain the phrase “in vain?”). They were saved, then unsaved.

Galatians 6:8-9: 

For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap IF we do not lose heart.

There are many things in life that might cause us to lose heart; grieving over loss of a loved one, financial reversals, not being appreciated for doing good. That’s when we want to forget the sacrificial life plan Jesus gave us and do some selfish “sowing to our flesh.” We must resist this urge; think instead of the blessed hope of rapture and heaven.

Philippians 3:8-11 are perhaps the most glorious verses Paul has penned in the Bible. I’ll just focus on 10-11:

… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 IF by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Verse 11 contains a troubling insecurity by Paul; "if...I may attain to the resurrection." If any man deserved heaven, it was Paul. But the closer we get to God (and Paul was very close), the more aware we are of our grossness in sin, the more we feel that we don’t deserve heaven. Yet God gives it—to the righteous. We don’t have to live a perfect life, just be persistent in goodness and avoiding sin. We may "attain" (effort required) to the resurrection. 

Colossians 1:21b-23a: 

…yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 IF indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…

Because of His suffering, we who truly follow Jesus are now reconciled to God. Us and God—we who were enemies are now friends. But there is a condition: We can be presented holy IF we continue steadfast in the faith. The faith is not just a mental assent thing: we show by our behavior that we are in the faith.

A similar message is in I Thessalonians 3:8: 

For now we live, IF you stand fast in the Lord.

More on the necessity of "standing fast" or “holding fast” is in Hebrews 3:6: 

but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

And in Hebrews 3:14:

For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end

Verses about “holding fast” and “hold steadfast” are in direct opposition to the “once saved always saved” Calvinist believers. They’re convinced that Christ has done all the work, and if we rely on our own efforts, or work (even if we are helped by the Holy Spirit) to live righteous to attain final salvation, that means we didn't have the "right" theology, so we never had true faith. Maintaining salvation by effort (such as “holding fast” suggests), is perfectly Scriptural. Which means they’ve ignored lots of verses, as we see above. I’m convinced their system leads to dangerous complacency.

A word for fathers is in I Timothy 5:8: 

But IF anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

We’re talking about hell, here, since the destination of an unbeliever is hell. How could a man be “worse” than that, as the verse suggests? Maybe he attached himself to the church simply to take advantage of their wonderful giveaway programs. But this evil desire of his heart is not making his “worship” an act of faith; it is only to fill his family’s belly without working. In general, anyone who pretends to have the faith and then denies it by action is worse off than anyone who hasn’t received the faith at all yet. That’s because his false confession, just to grab some food, makes his heart hard, and that makes it much more difficult to become saved ultimately. Plus, God makes you more responsible if you have heard His Word and then deny it, compared to someone who hasn't ever heard His Word.

II Timothy 2:12: 

IF we endure, We shall also reign with Him. IF we deny Him, He also will deny us

On the danger of denying Him: This is repeated elsewhere in Scripture, such as in Deuteronomy 31:17. Scripture, however, indicates denial may not have to be verbal: How we live can be a denial of His rule over our lives. Jesus must be Lord over you, or you are not His. But remember, even if you deny Him by life or words, God can take you back: Notice Peter, who denied Our Lord three times (after being warned that it would happen!). He repented deeply, and was forgiven. He became one of the heroes of the early church. Because he sincerely repented, and because he endured.

Hebrews 2:1-3: 

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For IF the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape IF we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him 

These verses speak worlds that we never hear sermons about.  Look at the warning in the opening line, "we must give the more earnest heed to the things...lest we drift away."  Knowing the dangers of hell and our self-deception, we should spend time giving earnest heed to the Word.  This warning is multiplied by knowing that "every transgression and disobedience received a just reward..." The author is saying, “look at all the great stories you’ve heard (and read) of the workings of faith. And you've noted how people are lifted by the Lord in the faith, BUT you have seen the punishment done to those outside the faith. If you read all this and ignore all that and don’t believe it, you’re leaning to hell” ("how shall we escape?") A sober word to every reader of Scripture. Of course, you could doubt the truth that the Scripture is God’s Word; but that’s a gambler’s toss—what if you were wrong? You’re gambling on eternity.

Hebrews 10:26 is controversial; I’ve included verses 27-31 for context:

For IF we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[a] says the Lord.[b] And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”[c] 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God 

It looks like sinning “willfully” is unforgivable. To explain, the term “willfully” has a darker meaning than we use it for; see Numbers 15:30-31:

‘But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the LORD, and he shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him.’

“Presumptuously” has the same dark meaning as “willfully.” It’s defined at “impertinently bold,” sort of an “in your face” to God, publicly despising His rules. (Hebrews 10:29 gives details that suggest some had done this). Plus, we’re talking about a person who has been warned by full knowledge, and clear signs to fear God on sin, but totally ignored it. The perfect example of willful or presumptuous is to read Numbers 15:32-36 in context, right after the public warning above, wherein the spies who brought an evil report about the land God wanted them to go to, immediately died by the plague. A great punishment! After this clear sign of God’s anger, then the people felt bad, and went up to battle again without asking the Lord, and they got slaughtered. That was two clear results of sin and God’s judgment. For they had just been given rules to live by for the Sabbath. So it was clearly time to fear God and stick closely by His rules, right? The track is clearly laid out. So what did one guy do? On the first chance he got, he broke the Sabbath rules. As I say, an “in your face” to God, reproaching Him, publicly despising His law. He was immediately cut off, a severe punishment for just picking up sticks on the wrong day. But put it in context. My bet is, such individuals usually had a long history of willful sin, to be that rebellious. God knew that nothing would turn such a person around.

Hebrews 10:38: 

"Now the just shall live by faith; But IF anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

This is apostasy; drawing back when things get tough. Where God has “no pleasure in him” doesn’t speak well as to his ultimate destiny on his current path. 

Hebrews 12:25 needs some explanation:

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For IF they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape IF we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven

The Jews had a rare blessing: God spoke to them on earth in Exodus, which He didn’t do often. As we showed in Numbers 15, it wasn’t wise to ignore His Words. Well, what does this other phrase mean, He “speaks from heaven?” That refers to His Scripture, His Word. We’re supposed to read it, just as if His booming voice, and thunder and lightning, were attending the reading. By being written, Scriptures are clear, and anybody can read it and hear from God. Your responsibility for reading and obeying it is thereby greater than those living in the Old Testament who didn’t have the benefits we have today--mostly they just had oral tradition. Sometimes oral tradition has errors, but Scripture doesn't.

James 1:26: 

IF anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.

Another measure to tell if we’re saved—do we bridle our tongue? If we don’t, our “religion is useless.” He’s being polite, but he’s sort of implying that we might not be saved if we have a nasty tongue that spreads gossip, slander, and profanity regularly.  As James says, tongues are a fire of hurt--they can tear down people and prevent people from being saved.  They tear apart churches, too.

II Peter 1:10: 

Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for IF you do these things you will never stumble

It takes diligence to godliness to make certain of your election to the ranks of the saved.

II Peter 2:20:

For IF, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.

This reminds me of one of the unfruitful seeds of the Sower in Matthew 13:22. There, the “cares of the world” and “deceitfulness of riches” (here, the “pollutions of the world”) make the thorns grow, to choke the word the Sower is seeding. Here, someone is “entangled in them and overcome.” The Word has lots of warnings about loving the world. Don’t stretch your sympathy for this person so far as to accuse that it's God's fault—remember, the entanglement, the choking, the overcoming, was entirely voluntarily entered into by this person. You need to keep in mind, too, that he got lots of pleasure in the world while he was being entangled. Oh, you ask, why is it “worse for them than the beginning?” Because, as I said earlier, each time we reject the Word, our hearts get harder and more difficult to save.

I John 1:9: 

IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I have detected no greater failure from pastors than their lack of preaching this verse, on the urgent need to confess our sin. When we’re initially saved, the sins we have done to that point are forgiven. Beyond that date, it’s up to you to respond to the Holy Spirit’s urging you to confess. The verse clearly says that confession is necessary to receive forgiveness for them. That’s a great Biblical rule that’s becoming obsolete. I guess Protestants don’t do it because we don’t want to copy the Catholics in confession. Well, that shouldn’t be a problem. You don’t need a priest—just sincerely confess each sin you can think of to God in your morning devotions, or before you go to bed at night. This is great to teach to kids, too.

I John 2:3: 

Now by this we know that we know Him, IF we keep His commandments.

This is the first of many statements by John that we can derive the opposite--if we don’t keep His commandments, we don’t “know” God. What does it mean to say that we finally “don’t know God?” As you read elsewhere, that means hell for our ultimate destiny. Doesn’t that make you want to know what His commandments are? I’m not talking about “Love God, love your neighbor, that’s enough.” The Bible has commandments to single people about fornication, commandments to men and women who want a divorce. And there are serious consequences for those who break those commandments. God means what He says!

I John 2:15: 

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.

If you read Scripture elsewhere, you have to conclude that you’re in danger of being on your way to hell if you love the world. We must learn how to love God. You can’t do both—according to other Scriptures. How do you love God?  Think of how you loved a person.  You think about them, you spend time with them.  How much of the day do you think about God? Versus how much of the day do you watch TV, go shopping, spend time on Facebook, have small talk with your neighbors? Gee, you say, come on--none of those things are dangerous enough for hell. Well, tally up where your spare-time thoughts go. Loving someone means you spend a lot of time thinking about them, asking yourself (or them) what do they want. The same goes for God.  Try not to deceive yourself. If you never think about God except on Sundays--do something about it.

Revelation 14:9-12: 

Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “IF anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” 

This is a prophecy of the last days. There will be this mark of the beast given to everyone, probably a chip in the forehead or hand, which enables you to buy necessities for your family—food, clothing. IF you accept this chip, no matter what excuse you may give (such as: “Lord, of course you wouldn’t want my family to starve or die, so I’ll take the chip—but it doesn’t mean I worship the beast”), it's saying you will spend your eternity in hell. God is kind enough to not only warn us in His Word, but will provide an angel with a warning, which will be heard by everyone in those days. So no excuse will do. If you take the mark; Hell it is. You may think you have a Hobson’s choice like Abraham: Do I kill my family member (Isaac), or do I obey this insane commandment? I  For the last days, it seems like a bad choice:  Do I take the mark and go to hell, or do I let my family starve to death?  I think the good end result for Abraham (Genesis 22) through his obeying God’s Word will be repeated again, because a loving God will protect and reward His obedient sons: We’ll probably get food miraculously. Defying the antichrist, though, means your family could suffer. Keep this in mind: Better to give your life—and go to heaven forever, than to fill your belly for a couple years and spend eternity in hell.

Revelation 22:18-19: 

For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: IF anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;19 and IF anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Bad news if you are kicked out of the holy city in that day; the only other housing is hell. Keep in mind: there are books that in some “Christian” denominations are adding to the Bible, and people give them equal status to the Bible.  Those authors and leaders are bound for hell. On the other hand, to work to remove some Bible verses that "don't belong there," maybe because they aren’t politically correct, or you’re uncomfortable with the supernatural, is committing the opposite disastrous sin. In any event, messing with the sacred Word is not a play that you should be engaging in. These verses are important enough that they are the last words of Scripture. And the last word of my paper.

Acknowledgement: Dan Corner, The Believer's Conditional Security   

Two Stories for Bedtime Reading

I would like to tell you a couple of stories.  You won’t be wasting your time, they have a point.  Let’s start with the tale of Sammy Simpleton.

Sammy was a serious soul who wanted to save money.  He was 14, and it was summer.  His dad is a real estate salesman.  His dad came home one day with great news—he got Sammy a job.  It turns out that some people can’t wait for their house to sell, and they move out early.  The lawns get overgrown unless they get mowed.  So his dad’s boss, Mr. Applegate, is ready to hire Sammy to do the mowing.  His dad already has one lined up. It would pay $30. It was now noon, and he tells Sammy there are prospects coming to see it, and, it turns out, it really needs mowing.  They will arrive, likely 6:00, but they could get here early, at 4:00.  It takes about 2 hours to mow, so Sammy needs to get started right away.  The house was close, so he can wheel the mower over there quickly. 

Sammy was excited and was heading out the door to grab the mower when he sees his friends coming up the front step.  They want to play Monopoly.  (Serious Sammy has some serious friends.)  They need a third player bad and convince him to play a quick game, and he will still have time to mow.  He is easily convinced, and they begin.  Sammy is a good player, and knows how to haggle his way to a yellow monopoly—you know, Atlantic, Ventnor, and Marvin Gardens.  But he later sees that it is 1:30, and tries to beg off and get to mowing.  His friends talk him out of that bad idea, since there’s no easy way to cash a guy out of the middle of a Monopoly game.  Besides, he’s got his eye on the prize—Boardwalk and Park Place.  So, thinking he’ll still have time to get done before 6:00, he is convinced to continue play.  He gets deep in the game, they bankrupt one guy, and he does manage to obtain those key blue properties, when his dad burst in the door.  He doesn’t look happy, with his arms folded and a hard look on his face.  Sammy sees the clock, and it’s 4:30. 

“Sorry, dad,” he pleads, “I’ll get on it right now.  I’m really sorry.  I’Il rush, I can finish by 6:00.”

“Don’t rush on my account.  They came at 4:00.  The overgrown lawn failed to impress them, so they were not interested. I lost a sale. “

“I’m real sorry, dad.  I let you down.  I promise it will never happen again.”

“Well, you’re right about that.  It won’t.  When I had to tell Mr. Applegate, he decided to hire his nephew.  That was your one chance, and you blew it.  You know, that was real money.  And you threw it all away on a silly game.”

“Silly game!  Dad, I’ve got two monopolies, even houses on one of them.  I was ready to win.  I’ve got $8,000!”

Well, you’re probably thinking, based on his last comment, “I guess his name fits him--Sammy Simpleton.”  And you might be wondering, what does this story have to do with me?  Well, the problem is, most of us are Sammy Simpletons.  We’ve been given a job to do by Jesus Christ.  But we get all caught up in this life’s “monopoly game,” and we forget what Jesus expects us to be doing.  Look at Matthew 25:14-30:

  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents (ed., he gave them money), to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

²⁰ “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’²² He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

²⁴ “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. ²⁷ So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

²⁹ ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Jesus is serious about this, is He not?  Has He not made, in these verses, one of the determinants of salvation and eternal destiny?  To earn heaven, we must work on His behalf. If we’re not, our outcome is the outer darkness and suffering.  Hell, in other words. But what do most professing Christians actually do?  Well, we want to do things for Christ, when we’re young—and we might join a church when we’re teens, do things then.  But when we go to college, date, get married, we get in the “rat race.” Often, then, we set our materialistic goals high.  We could live simply when we were young, but when we get married, we have to impress with nice cars, save up for a nice house.  The American dream takes over our mind.  Then it’s easy to push any ideas about working for Christ in the background. We go to church, and for most, that’s about it.   

You know, there is another way.  No, I’m not suggesting that you abandon family.  But giving them proper necessities vs. buying big houses, buying “toys,” eating and sleeping thinking about your vocation, that’s different.  You need to keep in mind; the real future is after you die--this present age is just Monopoly money.  It’s only good for this brief life. It accumulates nothing for you the instant you die. For our eternal needs, they have no benefit.  It was done for nothing.  The house that we spent hours and hours on, and lots of money paying mortgage interest, turns into a little green Monopoly house.  The nice car becomes the little race car trinket that you move around the board with. Everything we thought was real money, upon death, turns into Monopoly money.  Fake money.  It’s all gone when we die. 

The only thing that counts is what Jesus said about how to enter heaven.  Jesus is talking above about accumulating works for Him, not for worldly pleasures.  The typical person misses this goal 100%. Why? Many will presumptuously assume God will let most people into heaven despite this crystal-clear statement to the contrary. Yes, worldliness will put many surprised people into hell. A part of Jesus' "Sower" parable (Luke 8) goes like this...

7 And some (seed) fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it....14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 

Now you might say, "So what?"  Well, see what Jesus says in John 15 about bringing "no fruit to maturity" (John 15)...

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned

The words "fire" and "burned" mean hell.  That's for those who don't abide in Him, and thus bear no fruit.

Our next story is about a sympathetic college professor, Dr. Wise. He’s been teaching a lot of years, and is worn out of giving “D’s” and even flunking a bunch of students.  He’s also been given a bad rap on the secret “professer ratings” that students have online.  They note that he is a hard man, no sympathy. He knows that wasn’t really true—it broke his heart to fail them, but the grade was a true picture of how little effort many of them put into the class.  He often agonized on this, wondering about maybe he could change his grading style, and still have them study harder. So, this semester he’s going to do it differently.  For final exams in May, he decides to just go ahead, and give the students all of the questions—and the answers—ahead of time. They’ll still have to learn them. So all they needed to do to "ace" the final, which was a big chunk of their grade, was to learn those particular items.  This was really radical for him; so when he presents this to the students, and passes out the q and a, they seem skeptical.  He tells them, “I’m serious. This is no joke. This is all you need to ace the final.  These are the questions and answers I will ask.  I want everyone in the class to get an ‘A’ this time.  If any of you don’t make an ‘A,’ it’s going to be totally your own fault.”  So on test day, the last day of class, when they take the exam and he collects, he excitedly begins to grade them.  But—much to his shock—the grades are only slightly better than the dismal results of the past!  Only three students aced the exam, and the class held 30.  How can this be?  He had no ideas. 

So in the fall, when classes start up, he spotted Susan walking along, one of the three aces in the previous class final. “Susan,” he said, “can you clear up a mystery for me?  I know I gave out all the questions and all the answers that would be on the final.  Even though I wouldn’t let them bring those pages into class for the final, I thought they would still memorize my words and all do well.  Yet only you and two others aced.  I’m dumbfounded.  What happened?” “Well,” she said, “after we got the answer pages from you, we went to the student union, and, do you remember Luther Little?  He said, “Do you really think Dr. Wise would really give us the questions and answers in advance?  If everyone aced, the university might wonder about him.’  Another student said, ‘Good point.  I think what’s really happening here is, he hasn’t given us the real answers for the final.  I think he wants us to go deeper, to look further than that.  I mean, no professor really gives out all the straight answers like that.’  “So,” Susan said, “Dr. Wise, I heard they would all get together that night and go over the book and figure out the real answers.”  “Did you go?”  he asked her.  She said, “You know, after I left, I thought, ‘Is that what I really think of Dr. Wise, that he would leave us the wrong answers to trick us?’  No, I figured, you’re not really that kind of a teacher.  So I believed you, studied what you gave us, and got an ‘A.’ Nothing could have been easier.”  

Well, you’re probably thinking, that story is as ridiculous as the first story.  And I agree with you—it is an absurd story. Unfortunately, it also happens to be true. Not about any Dr. Wise; I’m talking about eternal life, acing that final.  Jesus, in His Word, has already told us what the questions are going to be on Judgment Day, and what the answers are going to be.  And yet, most “Christians” don’t believe it.  Let’s look at Matthew 25:31-46:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? ³⁸ When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: ⁴² for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Again, Jesus, who is God, who cannot lie or deceive, has made an abundantly clear distinction between going to heaven and going to hell.  Since these verses follow the parable of talents, above, (where we learned that we should be working for Jesus, not the world), these verses introduce one way—perhaps the chief way—that we should be working for Him, earning kingdom of heaven money that He has invested with us, instead of Monopoly money. He is saying that we should be actively helping those brothers and sisters who need help.  That when we help them, we’re really helping Him.  Notice His extremely judgmental language for those going to hell:  “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…”  Do we not cringe, do we not hold our breath for what the Judge of our souls would say next?  Most people, most “Christians,” don’t—they have not studied what these verses are saying. (That's because they're complacent, in many cases). To be so unconcerned, it’s like they’re "dissing" the Judge, giving Him the finger, as it were.   Most just assume, on their own thinking, God will treat them well, and no deeds on their part are needed. But…to get back to Jesus’ flaming comment, it answers the question, Do people have to do something desperately wicked to consign them to hell?  No; going to hell is also the destination of those who do not help the people who need us.  Jesus is saying, these people may be hungry, thirsty, dressed in rags, lonely and without a home, sick, even imprisoned, but they are our brothers and need our help.  The most desperate people in the world are the “least of these My brethren”—and we are required to help.  So we must give our time and money to the poor, the refugees, the places on earth that have little medical help, to earn favor with our King. Simple question:  Do you fulfill this requirement to enter heaven?  If not, can you afford to brush off these verses?  If you do, as most people do, you are the absurd students of Dr. Wise. You got the questions and answers, as we see above, but you ignored them.

The verses also clearly say that people will be shocked that they are hell-bound; per their mind, they didn’t do anything “bad.”  The problem is:  They invented their own answer for how to enter heaven, instead of God’s answer.  They didn't believe God.  Instead, they deceived themselves that they are good for heaven.

So shouldn’t you take the time to meditate on these verses, to consider Jesus’ answers?  To avoid deceiving yourself?  Perhaps after some honest thought you get a new view of Jesus, of God the Father, as severe on sin (Romans 11:22).  After all, didn’t He also say, “few” would go on the narrow way to heaven?  (Matthew 7:13,14).  That has to mean, most people will go to hell.  But, that couldn’t mean just criminals—so, it means a lot of “good” people will go to hell.  They simply didn’t act on the question from Scripture about helping the helpless.  They made up their own answer.

So, we have the main question on Judgment Day:  Did you feed the hungry?  Did you help the sick, the poor?  And we all know what the answer should be. We were told in advance; the questions and the answers are in the Book.  Are we one of the Luther Littles of the world, who twist the Word, make it say something more comfortable for us? The Word doesn’t say anything about you getting a “Get Out of Jail” card for your “good intentions.”  Good intentions don’t cut it with God because He will say, “All you had to do was, take time to read it.  You should all have aced the Final Day.  If you failed, it’s your own fault.”

Don’t be a flunking student, on such an important subject.  Read the Word.  God gives us a test at the end of our lives.  This test is more  important than anything in our entire lives.

Acknowledgement:  David Bercot, Lecture at 2015 AIC Conference