PLEASE READ THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY, OUR ETERNAL DESTINATIONS ARE AT STAKE!

Eternity is But One Heartbeat Away – Time to Get Serious

Stalking the earth this COVID-19 pestilence (and even the seasonal flu) is taking many lives with sickness and death in its wake. Populations, cultures and nations are under attack. It’s time to seriously consider eternity and where you and I will spend it.

Consider please … we can go to church all our lives, every Sunday, sing in the choir, attend Bible studies and do “good” things but without repenting of our sin we will perish! Yes, I said perish! Additionally, we don’t even know about our sin for few read their Bibles and even more – Christian pastors don’t preach about it. Instead they mostly preach happy, lovey-lovey, itching (tickling) sermons full of fluff, no meat of the Gospel. So the bottom-line according to scripture — we will not enter His rest in His heavenly home. Wow – that’s some harsh words! You’re kidding right?

NO, I’m not! For what I have stated is not from me but from the God’s Word, the Bible – from the mouth of our Lord Jesus the Christ.

“This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7- in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” -Mark 7:6-7 (ESV)

There is no possible way to work your way into heaven via a system of good works, or purchased “tickets”, “gate passes”  (indulgences), or by self or church justification and ritual. There are many religions that teach this and those that follow this false gospel will not attain eternal life (Gal 1:8-9). And their are people in the millions that fall into this “trap”. Yes, I know there are those that don’t want to hear this but the fact, nevertheless, remains true.  “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” -Acts 4:12 (ESV)

Repent or Perish

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2- And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3- No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4- Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5- No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” -Luke 13:1-5 (ESV)

In Jesus’ first sermon outlined in Matt 4:17, He preached that we must repent. (He didn’t soft-coat it or try to articulate it in a way that didn’t offend anyone. He spoke the real, plain Gospel truth. This then raised the bar on the importance of our repenting of our sin in our Lord’s eyes. But the most stunning picture of how important repentance is to a real Bible-believing Christian comes in Luke 13:1-5. In these verses Jesus stated in no uncertain terms that without repentance those people that Pilate killed and mingled their blood with the Roman pagan sacrifices and the 18 people that the tower in Siloam fell on would perish. Please let this sink in for a moment … for it is of utmost importance. Without repentance, you will perish!

“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” -Matt 4:17 (KJV)

This is a hard truth set forth in God’s word and we must embrace it and practice it. Going to church every Sunday and following the ritual of churchianity will not get you into heaven. You can go to church 24×7 but it will not ensure a place in God’s Kingdom unless you practice repenting of your sin.

We must put into practice as stated in Romans 10:9-10 and acknowledge that we are sins and need a Savior. We must confess our sin but that’s only half the issue. Without turning away from the sin that easily besets us, without amending our ways, and changing our mind about our sinful lifestyles, we have not followed the Lord’s will for our lives. Many, many people who attend church in the plethora of Christian religions have not been taught this yet it is clearly defined in the Bible in several places. This is just one of the reasons Christians MUST, MUST, MUST read their Bibles and know the truth.

Out of the seven churches the Lord addresses in Rev 2 and 3, five of them were given the corrective action to repent for their sin. Look at the Ephesus church Rev 2:1-6: they seemed to do things right, they looked good, they did good works, toiled hard, could not bear with evil, had not grown weary but look at the Lord’s rebuke of their shiny Christianity on the outside but lacking on the inside. Jesus said they abandoned their first love meaning Him and had therefore fallen away. They painted a picture of a good, regular attendee, worker-bee type of Christiandom but they lost their love of the Lord. They lost what it means to know (really know) and love the Lord.

They/we must repent of this lack of sincere love for the Lord. But look at the corrective action – if they didn’t repent. Verse 5 – He would remove His lampstand meaning His presence from their midst. Can you grasp what our Lord is saying here and how this applies to our lives as well? There are many churches and people who claim to be Christians that do not have the Lord abiding with them (John 15:4). Continue reading about the other 6 churches He addresses in Rev 2 and 3 and examine the Lord’s rebukes and corrective actions. He’s not kidding about all this.

Folks, I can’t stress this enough – pastors, you had better get this and start preaching it – the importance in our Christian walk the reality of real sincere confession of our sin and then doing something about it in sincere repentance.

“…and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” -Luke 24:47 (ESV)

Finally, look at Luke 24:47, the Lord at His departure from this earth told His disciples to teach and preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. If these are Jesus’ departing words then we must take them very, very seriously. The question then becomes … who takes them seriously these days in our easy-going, fast-food, happy-go-lucky Christianity? Very few. Remember the words of Jesus in Matt 22:14, many are called but few are chosen. What do you think He meant by this?

Friends, this is one of the hardest messages I have written for it spells out the real truth of what salvation is and what it takes to obtain it. Many churches will not preach the hard truths to their congregations for fear they will leave and take their pocketbooks (money) with them. How sad. But please don’t believe me today, do your own research in God’s word and come to your own conclusions. Please seek a deeper walk with the Lord, deeper in your spirit and soul; then you will understand His living words.

Are you saved today?

Grace and peace

-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman

JESUS CHRIST IS KING AND ONLY HE IS LORD. SEEK HIM TODAY!