Planned Parenthood and Margaret Sanger

Planned Parenthood is the oldest, largest, and best-organized provider of abortion, sex education, and birth control services in the world.  It now operates in 150 nations. But the story of Planned Parenthood could never have begun without the story of Margaret Sanger.  It was her impetus, her drive, her single-minded obsession that eventually gave birth to the giant baby-killing company.  She died in 1966, but Planned Parenthood has grown and achieved far beyond her greatest dreams.  Yes, from 1978 til’ now, Planned Parenthood has murdered over 7 million babies. What an accomplishment. (Results prior to 1978 were not kept—typical of the organization’s accountability even until today). 

Well, which side of Margaret Sanger’s  story would you like to hear?  My local library has a book in the Juvenile section, no less, that is unrelenting in its praise.  She was a wonderful, progressive woman—according to them.     

But my library does not have the book that I chose to review:  Killer Angel, by Dr. George Grant. He is the author of over five dozen books on American history, politics, theology, and social issues.   This book  is a “Cliff’s Notes” of his great work, Grand Illusions, an even more  thoroughly documented biography of her effect on mankind.  She is up there with Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler—and living in the same time period, no less—if you want to find out who was the greatest murderer of innocents the world has ever seen.   How could she be lavishly praised in most of our secular literature, while the other homicidal tyrants are vilified? I maintain that it’s because our culture has silent agreement with her.  That would be another paper.

Her story begins predictably enough.  Born in 1879 in Corning, New York, daughter of Irish Catholic parents, the sixth of eleven children, her home life was never happy.  Her father drank, beat his sons, and worked sporadically, so they suffered much from hunger and privation.  He was a radical atheist, and mocked the religious devotion of his neighbors and his wife.  Margaret was baptized and confirmed in secret in by her mother in 1893, and had a spark of religion; but her mother’s death and father’s cynicism turned her into hatred of religion by the time she was 17.  

Grown up, at first she was a material girl.  She married into money at age 29 to William Sanger, an architect.   She had three children soon after.  They lived in Manhattan, but she was restless of housekeeping and kids—so she convinced William to move from their suburban neighborhood to a chic neighborhood where there was lots of shopping and a real night life.  Once they moved, her husband, a free-thinker, immediately began attending Anarchist and Communist meetings in Greenwich Village.  Margaret tagged along, unimpressed—she mocked the rag-tag revolutionaries.  But she listened to the well-honed speeches by John Reed, who learned his trade from Russian Bolsheviks, and was suddenly tuned in.  She shed her bourgeois habits and plunged headlong into the maelstrom of rebellion and revolution.  She began farming out her kids to friends and neighbors, and went into hospitality, regularly inviting Communists and liberals into their home for meals and talk. Outside of those get-togethers, she had almost no connection with her husband.  She joined the Socialist party—a conglomeration of Mugwumps, Anarchists, Progressivists, and Communists--and volunteered to be a women’s union organizer.   She then formed a special attachment to the words of Eugene Debs, who raved about the evils of Capitalism, and who ran several times for president (though one of his campaigns was run from his penitentiary cell).  But on women’s issues, he was in favor of sexual liberation, feminism, and birth control--subjects that were right in her wheelhouse. 

She tried labor activism for a while, and even midwifery.  But she met Mabel Dodge, a trust socialite, and began rubbing shoulders and talking with the high-income intellectuals like Eugene O’Neil, who introduced her to free love.  As typical, she jumped in feet first.  She had already suggested to her husband that she would like to sexually experiment with different partners, but despite his puzzled hurt, she often resorted to free love to quench her hunger for meaning in life.  Her husband tried to change things by taking her to Paris, but there she spent much time in learning advanced contraceptive methods.  She abandoned her husband—and her marriage—and returned to New York now looking for income.  She decided to become a writer.  Her first issue of The Woman Rebel (its subheading:  “No Gods and No Masters”) showed the darkness of her mind.  She denounced marriage as a “degenerate institution” and sexual modesty as “obscene prudery.”   Two of her issues even defended political assassinations.  But she mostly wrote about contraception and sexual liberation.  One issue irresponsibly recommended “Lysol douches” and “heavy doses of laxatives” to stop pregnancy.  She was promptly served with a subpoena indicting her for lewd and lascivious articles.  Five years in the federal pen awaited her.  She fled the country under an assumed name—her Socialist friends forged her a passport.  She had to get a permanent babysitter for the three inconvenient children. 

While she was a fugitive in England, she was fascinated by lectures on Thomas Malthus (the man is still considered an economic guru, by many).  He maintained that population would always grow faster than production of food, and land available.  This would cyclically lead to a crisis shortage of food, resulting in massive deaths—either by war or by famine, so there would be enough food for less people.    Unfortunately, Malthus decided that the only responsible social policy was to managerially limit the growth in population. (But he was totally wrong on his growth in food assumption--productivity innovation has been vastly successful in providing enough food). Listen to his mind-blowing suggestions to "solve" the food problem:  “All children born beyond what would be required must necessarily perish…we should facilitate…this mortality…by encouraging destruction.  Instead of recommending cleanliness to the poor, we should encourage contrary habits…we should crowd more people together, and court the return of the plague…and build their villages near stagnant pools.  But above all, we should reprobate (disapprove of) remedies for diseases, and restrain those…much mistaken men who use charity, relief, and missionary outreaches.”  Note that most of these monstrous suggestions would kill the poor--and, by the by, the well-to-do would thrive.

This unbelievable idea (the opposite of Christ, who protected the poor and sick) was destined for unpopularity in a moral culture, but…Neo-Malthusianism that arose later, developed palatable arguments that saved the day for Malthusians. (I.e., they developed excuses to cover up their death-theology).  The thesis was, again:  the physically unfit, the poor, and the incompetent were the ones “chosen” for suppression and isolation.  The “Neos” felt the best way to gradually eliminate them was through teaching them three things:  contraception, sterilization and abortion.  Well, Margaret agreed with this (prejudicial) doctrine and began preparations to lecture and educate the world.   In order to take the moral “high ground,” she reasoned that she should preach on how these three unholy solutions would lessen the threat of poverty, sickness, racial tension--all "due to" over-population.  “As has been scientifically proven,” she added.  A lie. Plunging headlong for scientific "proof," she read up on all the quack science of the day:  Phrenology (the idea that the shape and size of the skull proves mental ability and character), craniometricism (we can determine race and gender by the shape of the skull), Oneidianism (free love), lambrosianism (the idea that criminals have low foreheads, close-set eyes, and small pointed ears), Hereditarianism (the idea that heredity plays a significant role in determining character and human nature).   They also believe in the power of genetics to solve many human social problems), and Freudianism (sex, of course). 

But her favorite offshoot of Malthusianism was Eugenics, the idea that while we want to control breeding, we also want to increase desirable heritable characteristics.  Let others talk about restricting immigration or cutting off welfare; let others experiment with sterilization that produced nothing but sad stories that blew apart families; let others suggest an “extra-child tax,” or elimination of medical subsidies to “oversize” families, or eliminating paid maternity leave; but her thing was to help eliminate “bad racial stocks” and to “engineer the evolutionary ascent of man.”  Very noble.  In fact, many universities loved the Eugenics idea so much that her groups were endowed with departments that taught eugenics—we’re talking Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Stanford in particular.  (Where have the Ivy League schools gone?!) Funding was provided by the Rockefeller, Ford, and Carnegie Foundations.  Regardless of the big names, this was immoral; it was malevolent voodoo science; it was genocide, it was White Supremacy, because they zeroed in on the poor and the minority races to eliminate, as we shall see.  

Hitler picked this eugenics idea up himself and extrapolated it--kill the Jews, and you have improved the Aryan race.  What is less known is that he forced sterilization, encouraged free sex among the virgin girls that looked Aryan, and also killed the mentally ill and disabled.  Genocide became the wave of the future at the time (in the early 1920s)—I’m sure Stalin wanted to achieve the same noble goals when he killed fifteen million Russian and Ukrainian kulaks (rebellious peasants who resisted forced collectivization). Mussolini killed four million Ethiopians, two million Eritreans (Russia massacred them too), and a million Serbs, Croats, and Albanians.   And I should say that Hitler didn’t stop with Jews; he killed two million Slavs and a million Poles—both pollutants to the Aryan race.  At this time Mrs.Sanger founded the American Birth Control League, which would in 1942 become Planned Parenthood (they went international in the late 1940s).  

She also wrote a book, The Pivot of Civilization, a disgusting 284 pages of turgid, hateful words.  The book, like Malthus, hates charitable organizations—“they help spread misery and destitution…dangers which have today produced their full harvest of human waste.”   She unashamedly called for the elimination of “human weeds,” calls for the “cessation of charity,” for the segregation of “morons, misfits, and the maladjusted,” and for the sterilization of “genetically inferior races.”  (This was before abortion was legal).  Lest you question who she had in mind, she later writes that the “dysgenic races” included “Blacks, Hispanics, Amerinds” (Native Americans), and, would you believe, “Fundamentalists and Catholics.” (Such a book, if written today, it would be labeled racist and hate speech.)   But the book drew rave reviews.  If you were non-Aryan, if you were Red, Yellow, Black, or certain Whites, all were noxious in her sight. (She had some of Hitler’s cronies over for dinner from time to time—it was obvious she agreed with their genocidal plans.)  Later, she planned to have Planned Parenthood deliberately place the abortion clinics in particular neighborhoods with these minorities.  Or, as she called them, “these feeble-minded, syphilitic, irresponsible, and defective” people. 

These statements made her a star among the influential intelligentsia in England.  With the help of Havelock Ellis, whom she adored for his radical ideas and his unusual bedroom behavior (though he was impotent, he staged orgies, established a network for homosexual liaisons, and helped provide mescaline and other psychotropic and psychedelic drugs). The two of them plotted what would be politically expedient to broaden her popularity base.  It was decided she would have to tone down her rabid pro-abortion and socialistic stance (remember, this is still only in the 1920s), and she needed to take charge of her children once again, to show that she had family values.  But she could keep pounding on Eugenics in her lectures, since it was popular.  Thus prepared, she came back to America to launch a brilliant public relations campaign.  The authorities were intimidated to drop all previous charges; then she went on a 3-month speaking tour here.  She garnered controversial press coverage everywhere she went—but the upper income crust in America loved her, as did England.  This was right after the Great War, and people were doing everything they could to remove the scars of war—they were drinking, dancing, and forgetting.  Predictions for the future of America were bright.  Racial hatred was still active (this was only 40 years after Reconstruction.)  Many theologians chimed in that we were entering in the Biblical Millennium.  But her enthusiasm and popularity led her to be too bold—and she made a mistake.  She set up an illegal birth control clinic in the Brownsville section of New York—populated, of course, by immigrant Slavs, Latins, Italians, and Jews.  But within two weeks, the clinic was shut down as illegal—but she was only sentenced to 30 days in the workhouse. No problem.  As soon as she was released, she founded a new organization, the Birth Control League, and began to publish a new magazine, the Birth Control Review.  

Despite criticism from evangelist Billy Sunday, she still garnered praise from people like Theodore Roosevelt, and got her intellectual friends—H.G. Wells, Pearl Buck, Julian Huxley, Havelock Ellis--to write articles for her.  It became a popular magazine.   By 1922, her fame was secure, and she went on a round-the-world lecture tour.  She took a less-radical stance.  She could no longer publicly talk about the “choking human undergrowth of morons and imbeciles should be segregated and sterilized,” —but that statement WAS recorded in the Review and in private discussions.  But, think how all you needed to know about the mindset of Hitler was to read Mein Kampf (it was quickly translated into English), so all you needed know about the real mind of Margaret was to read the Birth Control Review.  It had articles of Fascist diatribe, of limiting immigration—by race; and Margaret herself wrote favoring concentration camps for all “dysgenic stocks.”  (The truth is, nobody important commented on either).  By her estimation, as much as 70% of the population fell into her undesirables.  Margaret and her cohorts really had their work cut out for them in their goal to limit these people. 

But they were more than up to the task. Later, in 1939, she designed a “Negro Project,” as she called it, in response to requests from Southern states’ public health officials—as she called them, “men not generally known for their racial equanimity”—yet she was willing to work with them.  As she put it, “the mass of Negroes, particularly in the South, still breed carelessly and disastrously…the increase among Negroes, even more than among Whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit.”  Her group wanted to hire three or four “Colored Ministers…with engaging personalities…to propagandize for birth control.”  She wrote, “The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the Minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”  (This is the testimony of a friend and feminist, Linda Gordon, in her book, Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right, 1974, page 229ff.)  Further, she said, “Let’s appear to let the colored run it.”  Another compatriot said, “I wonder if Southern Darkies can ever be trusted with…a clinic …except under white supervision.”  (This reminds me of a quote by G.K. Chesterton, a theologian and philosopher, the only intellectual voice at the time opposed to her ravings: “Eugenics asserts that all men must be so stupid that they cannot manage their own affairs; and also so clever that they can manage each other’s”).  Thus, this was a ruse concocted to get blacks to cooperate in their own elimination.  Sadly that project was quite successful.  Margaret’s dream of discouraging “the defective…from their reckless and irresponsible swarming and spawning” was beginning to be fulfilled.

In 1925 she hosted an international birth control conference, in which the attendees for the first time were together in claiming a high goal of unrestricted abortion in every country as soon as possible.  One of their themes was captured succinctly n the following group statement:  “The dullard, the gawk, the numbskull, he simpleton, the scatterbrain are amongst us in overshadowing numbers—intermarrying, breeding, inordinately prolific, threatening to overwhelm the world with their useless and terrifying gel.”  

Despite her stunning success, Margaret was miserable.  During one of her many long absences, her daughter caught cold—and died of pneumonia.  Her reaction was to forget by having more sex—and she began indulging in the occult.  She attended séances, and applied into a Rosicrucian gathering (they claimed occult powers and knowledge).  She also applied into Theosophy (they believed in karma and reincarnation).  And she married again—in 1922—into big money; this time, to a Mr. J. Noah Slee.  But first she made him sign a prenuptial agreement that she would have her own apartment, feel free to come and go as she pleased, have friends in behind closed doors—and he would have to phone her from the other end of the apartment or seek her secretary to ask her for a dinner date.  I don’t know how he could have missed her intent here, but the milquetoast signed.  Slee never saw too much of her after that. 

She may have been terribly unhappy, but she was terribly rich now too.  As befits her obsession and work ethic, she spent most of his money on her cause—traveling and getting in front of every microphone she could—day or night. She was a tenacious organizer.  She applied for every grant, appealed to every foundation, and pleaded for funds from many corporations and—from charity organizations, no less.  Planned Parenthood got its name and began reaching out for affiliates in 1942.  Her greatest coup was when her organization got a tax-exempt status from the IRS.  So she got treated as a charity.  How ironic, considering how she felt about them.

In 1938, Sweden became the first free nation to revert to abortions (Stalin and Hitler did it coercively).  The forebear of Planned Parenthood jumped into their countries with clinics.  They also persuaded Sweden to accept their sex-education programs for schools.  Knowing Mrs. Sanger’s sexual perversions, we can imagine what that might include.  More European nations allowed abortions over the next 18 years. 

When Adolf Hitler’s holocaust was laid open in 1945, she backpedaled and covered up her many ties to Hitler’s cronies.  She spent strongly on a massive propaganda blitz aimed at the U.S. middle class; she emphasized patriotism, personal choice, and family values (imagine that from her). She won additional endorsements from Eleanor Roosevelt and Katherine Hepburn.  And from Albert Einstein, Nehru, John Rockefeller, Emperor Hirohito, and Henry Ford (a notorious anti-Semite).   But none of these encomiums gave her any joy.  By 1949 she became addicted to both drugs and alcohol.  She was quietly removed from the Board several times, but they found that they couldn’t survive without her.  She forced their hand by dying in 1966, at age 86. 

But Planned Parenthood lived on, and carried her legacy with the same driving spirit as hers.  In the 1960’s, even the middle class loosened up its morals in the U.S.  In 1967, the American Medical Association began calling for the decriminalization of abortion.   So much for the Hippocratic Oath.  About the only powerful opposition voice in this time came from Pope Paul VI, in 1968, whose encyclical Humanae Vitae reaffirmed the sanctity of life.  But pretty much everyone ignored traditions--it was the late '60s, right?  Several states loosened restrictions on child-killing procedures (such as, “abortion is OK to preserve her mental health, “etc)—Colorado, California, and North Carolina for starters.  By the end of 1971, half a million legal abortions were being performed in the U.S. each year.  That’s half the rate today, yet it was two years before Roe v. Wade fully opened the doors. 

Planned Parenthood also used Sanger's moral legacy (an oxymoron)--in 1970. Here’s how they did things in the Philippines, where abortion was illegal. Planned Parenthood  offered “menstrual extractions”—vacuuming the uterus—and the procedure was done by those who were not medically qualified.  It was still an abortion, but a tricky play on words enabled them to still kill the baby and avoid the legalities. The authorities let them get away with this simple deception.  They were more brazen in Brazil, where they knew there was a lack of legal enforcement.  Despite sterilization being illegal, they performed it anyway—on 20 million every year at that time.  An internal directive from their office in London (this fact was uncovered in 1981), gave them the OK on deceptions like this.  It said “…action outside the law, and even in violation of it, is part of the process of stimulating change.”  But still they have this great image to the public. The organization is coated with Teflon, I guess.  In a recent video entrapment, they violated three laws, where they were caught (1)  selling dead baby’s body parts, (2) through partial birth abortion, many beyond state limits; (3) without the mother’s consent to the act of manipulating the abortion procedure.  They got off scot-free—despite admitting to these things on tape; then they had the audacity to sue the video investigator.  He had to pay $200,000.  This horror happened  because  their  federal judge had, in the past, helped open and run a Planned Parenthood clinic.  My question is: Where were the Christian churches?  And:  Who determined that this federal judge would decide the case?  Of course, the public knows nothing and cares nothing about this case. Fifty-two percent of Americans now favor Planned Parenthood.

Our tax money actually pays Planned Parenthood over $570 million a year to run their grisly service.  They kill over 320,000 babies annually. ( A big part of the near-million murders here).  Despite their arguments about a range of services they provide, abortion consumes 94% of their expenses.  Let no one kid you—they are about profit.   Smaller clinics are staying in business by adding chemical abortions with RU486 to their offerings, often via non-nurse, non-human presence.  I'm speaking of web-cam hookup with an abortionist at one of the larger mega-clinics. This is a cost-saver, since they don’t need local expertise.  But none of this makes abortion safer–in fact, it increases the danger to the mother–but it does make more centers profitable.

Why are we paying half a billion of our tax money a year to allow Planned Parenthood to kill babies?  Shockingly, 62% of Americans are against defunding Planned Parenthood. We conclude that they like their tax money used this way. 70% of Americans now favor the way Roe v. Wade went.  So we conclude that Americans don’t have much to say against abortion.  No moral anchor! This is America now.  This despite the fact that science is crystal clear on the baby having a separate life from the mother; and you are killing a separate human when you abort.  Why is Planned Parenthood the only organization with a tax-exempt status that is allowed to spend $12 million every two years to elect Democrats—when political bribery by charities is a violation of the law?  Nobody cares.  The unborn need a bigger voice—like God. Since we have not defended the innocent, since we had no mercy on them, God will have no mercy on us--or the babies' murderers--mothers and doctors.  We have judged the babies that they are not worth living.  So God will judge us.    

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 "IF" 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.  Have you talked with them lately, if they're alive?  Do you feel tense, hypocritical, or criticize them afterwards?

Now I realize that I’ve commented on the above Scripture from Matthew 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, so deceiving the elect can’t really happen.” The Bible talks much about apostasy, particularly in the last days. 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. Therefore, don’t dismiss this verse as “hypothetical.” Losing our faith in Christ can happen, if bad things come our way, and we’re not steadfast in Him. We need to pray to God to teach us, through His Word, how to develop that quality of steadfastness.

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.” Modern 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 New Testament 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, into apostasy.  God is "severe" to them.  But...let’s not try to refuse these words or judge God as being harsh, using our sin-afflicted mind. Rely on His 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 onto you; 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 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. Thereby 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 "correct" theology, so we never had true faith. I disagree. 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 and husbands 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"s downright lazy; and 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 deceptive 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--and reflectively considering our life and thoughts.  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,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” 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 severe 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 man; 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. And, if you hurt anyone, it's a good idea to confess to them too.  This idea 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),  do I obey this insane commandment? Or do I disobey it?  I  For men's last days on earth, it seems like a bad choice:  Do I take the mark and go to hell, or do I let my family starve to death?  Maybe your family will not starve to death.  I think the good end result for Abraham (Genesis 22) through his obeying God’s Word will be repeated again in those last days, because a loving God will protect and reward His obedient sons: We’ll probably get food miraculously. Defying the antichrist, though, still means your family could suffer. Keep this in mind: Better to give your life—and go to heaven forever, than to fill your belly (or your family's bellies) 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, or ignore, 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 sin (taking away from the Word). Equally disastrous.  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.  The job was maintaining lawns of people that sell their houses and move out early.  The lawns get overgrown and unattractive to prospective buyers--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 lawn 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.  (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 monopoly.  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 rich 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, and 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, “His name fits him--Sammy Simpleton.”  But 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....

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 saying, we need to "invest" what we have for the Lord.  If money, in the Lord's work; we need to build eternal treasures. Give our money to the poor, to the families of martyrs (yes, they get killed every day somewhere in the world).  They may be far away, but they are our brothers and sisters. If our talents are our spiritual gifts, then we should use those in church, in every day work and play, for the Lord.  Jesus is so serious about this, is He not?  Has He not made, in these verses, one of the determinants of eternal destiny?  An important note here:  After one is saved--by accepting what Jesus has done on his behalf--by accepting his sin and repenting of it--he must use his gifts, or money for Christ's kingdom.  Christ is Lord and Master of our lives. "Master" sounds bad, but His commands are good for us.  If we don't abide in Him, we could lose the salvation we had gained.  When we became a branch on His Vine, we must grow and nourish ourselves daily on the Vine. Not just on Sundays. If we don't, our outcome is the outer darkness and suffering (John 15:6).  Hell, in other words. The problem is,  we get caught up in the world.  The American dream takes over our mind.  Then it’s easy to push any ideas about working for Christ in the background. The sad result is, we go to church--maybe, and for most, that’s about it.   

For those worried about giving financially to the Lord, I have this thought:  We can still give our families proper necessities, but we don't have to buy big houses, renovate, renovate, buy “toys,” eating and sleeping thinking about your vocation or vacation--that’s all the world. That gets you to hell. We must separate ourselves from the world, from the culture. As opposed to that, think of this:  the real future we need to focus on is after you die.  Giving for Jesus is treasure in heaven--where we'll be for eternity.  After all, this present body is just 80 years.  Eternity is millions of years. Which should you think about?  The present money you earn is Monopoly money, in the long run.  It’s only good for this brief life. It accumulates nothing for you the instant you die. For our eternal needs, remember, we can't take it with us--it has no benefit. Think on that. It was done for nothing. If it was done for your kids--well, they die too, and where do they spend eternity?  Best to buy your child a Bible, train them up about God, so they'll be in heaven with you. That's better than buying them whatever toys they see in ads, and it costs a whole lot less.The house that we spent hours and hours on, and lots of money paying mortgage interest, turns into a little green Monopoly house. Or red if it's big.  But it's still a 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 building up treasures for heaven.  Jesus is talking above about accumulating works for Him, not for worldly pleasures.  The typical person misses this goal 100%. Why don't they care about hitting the goal? Because many will presumptuously assume God will let most people into heaven despite His crystal-clear statement to the contrary in Scripture. Yes, worldliness and bad assumptions 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.  We should build up fruit for heaven.  We all need a 180 degree change in focus about what's important.  Go for the real $30 for starters, not the Monopoly $8000.  

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 'way too many “D’s” and even flunking a bunch of students.  He’s also been given a bad rap on the secret “professor ratings” that students have online.  They note that he is a hard grader, so he gets no sympathy. But Dr. Wise knows that wasn’t really true—it broke his heart to fail them, but the bad grade, given too often, 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 their answers—ahead of time. They’ll still have to remember the answers. But how hard can that be?  So all they needed to do to "ace" the final, which was a big chunk of their grade, was to memorize  those questions and answers given.  This was really radical for him; so when he presents his plan to the students, 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 new 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?  He had to know that 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; no student is that stupid.  And I agree with you—it is an absurd story. Unfortunately, it also happens to be true. Not about any Dr. Wise; it's true about God.  I'm talking about eternal life, acing that final, getting a pass to heaven at the Judgment seat.  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, even most “Christians” don’t believe it--because they all come up with different answers, different theology, and most of their theology is wrong.  Let’s look at Matthew 25:31-46 for proof:

“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 verses on 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 maintaining our salvation and abiding in Him.  These verses show how we can be working for Him, working for the kingdom of heaven, given the money or talents 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, especially those that are poor. Having compassion on them, not spreading insulting rumors or pushing them out of our thoughts.  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 about our destination?  Most people, most “Christians,” don’t express the least bit of concern—which means, they are clearly not worried about their ticket to heaven--because they have not studied what these verses are saying. Maybe they are complacent.. To be so unconcerned, they’re really ignoring the Words of the Judge.  In the U.S. we have millions of Bibles with His commands about helping the poor and oppressed, and living a righteous life--and yet few who go out of their way to do anything, or are fearful about the Judge enough that they read His commands seriously.  "Oh, I'm sure He will do for me what I hope."  Most just assume, outrageously,  that no such deeds on their part are necessary. 

But…to get back to Jesus’ comment, it clearly answers the question about getting to heaven, doesn't it?  All we need to do is to follow it. So here's a related question:  Given these instructions, do people have to do something desperately wicked to consign them to hell?  No; going to hell, as you see above, is 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 in creation and need our help.  Note that the verses do not restrict as to race, or as to refugee status.  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/or money to the poor, the refugees, the places on earth that have little medical help, to earn favor with our King. Or to people around us who are in desperate need of help, mental or physical. 

I have a simple question for you:  Do you fulfill this requirement to enter heaven?  Giving to your church does not cut it; as I show in another blog.  Let's say you give 10% of your revenue to the church. But that probably means only 1% of your revenue made it for Christ's purposes outlined above. Giving to the church doesn't have the effect as comforting or providing food or clothing for people in desperate need around us.  So do you plan to ignore what the Scripture clearly says about requirements for heaven?  Are you like most of Dr. Wise's students then?  You want to make up your own requirements to get  to heaven--when Jesus has spelled them out here?  If you do, as most people do, you are the absurd students of Dr. Wise. You got the questions and answers ahead of time, as we see above, but you ignored them. So you fail.  Guess what your eternal location is?  Observe the goats above.  

The verses also clearly say that people will be shocked that they are hell-bound; they had figured, in their own 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, not only loving, but 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, "most" couldn’t mean just criminals—so, it means a lot of “good” people will go to hell--people who made up their own rules on how to get to heaven, ways that bypass the poor and needy.  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 don't believe the prof, whose distrust of their Judge causes them to come up with something more sensible? 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