The cross was a torture device used for capital punishment in ancient times. After the Lord Jesus, who was free from sin, sacrificed Himself as a sin offering and was crucified for mankind, the cross came to symbolize the Lord Jesus’s redemptive grace. When we receive His salvation and come before the Lord to confess our sins and repent, our sins are forgiven. That is, the Lord no longer views us as sinful. As such, many of our brothers and sisters believe that receiving the salvation of the cross means they have already been saved, which means they have already been gained by God and when the Lord returns they will be caught up directly into the kingdom of heaven. However, has anyone stopped to question whether this line of thinking is commensurate with the Lord’s word? It’s true that we have received the salvation of the cross, but it’s also undeniable that we still often sin. Will people such as us really be caught up directly into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns?
I’m sure many of my fellow brothers and sisters have had the following experience in their lives: Despite having received the salvation of the cross and being forgiven of our sins, we still often sin in spite of ourselves. No matter how hard we try to forsake the flesh and overcome ourselves, we still get caught in the vicious cycle of sin and confession and just can’t seem to break free from the binds of sinfulness. For example, in our interactions with others, we always want to be in a position of power and compel others to do as we want. When other people have different ideas or if their thinking is not in line with our own, we resist them, reject them in our hearts, and even judge and disparage them. When we meet people more talented than ourselves, we become jealous and can’t help but try to compete with them and strive against them for profit and status. During work or in sermons, we often go on about how hard we’ve worked for the Lord and how much we’ve given to Him in order to exalt and draw attention to ourselves, yet we place little emphasis on communing God’s will and requirements. As a result, we get our brothers and sisters to worship and revere us and then there’s no place for God in their hearts. Oftentimes, we can’t stop ourselves from lying and deceiving to protect our self-interest, reputation and status, thus failing to be the honest people that God requires us to be. While we may abandon everything to serve God and work tirelessly, when we meet with some tragedy or our interests are compromised, we still complain about and misunderstand God, or even want to quit our ministry. Such examples abound. Given that we often sin and even rebel against and resist God, how do we still expect to be gained by Him or get straight into the kingdom of heaven?
The Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jehovah God said, “And you shall be holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). The Lord Jesus certainly never said that those who received the salvation of the cross and whose sins were forgiven would be gained by God and caught up into the kingdom of heaven. Rather, He clearly tells us, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin” and a servant of sin is certainly not one of God’s people. God is holy, so how could those who are constantly sinning be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven?
I’m sure many of my fellow brothers and sisters have had the following experience in their lives: Despite having received the salvation of the cross and being forgiven of our sins, we still often sin in spite of ourselves. No matter how hard we try to forsake the flesh and overcome ourselves, we still get caught in the vicious cycle of sin and confession and just can’t seem to break free from the binds of sinfulness. For example, in our interactions with others, we always want to be in a position of power and compel others to do as we want. When other people have different ideas or if their thinking is not in line with our own, we resist them, reject them in our hearts, and even judge and disparage them. When we meet people more talented than ourselves, we become jealous and can’t help but try to compete with them and strive against them for profit and status. During work or in sermons, we often go on about how hard we’ve worked for the Lord and how much we’ve given to Him in order to exalt and draw attention to ourselves, yet we place little emphasis on communing God’s will and requirements. As a result, we get our brothers and sisters to worship and revere us and then there’s no place for God in their hearts. Oftentimes, we can’t stop ourselves from lying and deceiving to protect our self-interest, reputation and status, thus failing to be the honest people that God requires us to be. While we may abandon everything to serve God and work tirelessly, when we meet with some tragedy or our interests are compromised, we still complain about and misunderstand God, or even want to quit our ministry. Such examples abound. Given that we often sin and even rebel against and resist God, how do we still expect to be gained by Him or get straight into the kingdom of heaven?
The Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Jehovah God said, “And you shall be holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). The Lord Jesus certainly never said that those who received the salvation of the cross and whose sins were forgiven would be gained by God and caught up into the kingdom of heaven. Rather, He clearly tells us, “Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin” and a servant of sin is certainly not one of God’s people. God is holy, so how could those who are constantly sinning be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven?