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Will be a christian in hell?
Posted : 16 Mar, 2011 04:29 AM
The Christian Double-Layer of Protection
Someone said, �Life is worth living when there are cameras around.� I smiled, because to some degrees, he is right. With the cameras turned on and running, we are not only honest and true to ourselves and to others, but we are also compared to behave properly and to live up to our potential. But it needs not be cameras that make our lives worth living. It needs be Christianity. I think life is worth living when you are a Christian. The reason is because God cannot learn.
Now, that may seem like an insult to say, �God cannot learn,� but I can assure you that it is not an insult to God. God is brilliant; and He has the highest level of intelligence.
One Muslim writes: �The thing that surprises us (Muslims) is that you, Christians, believe that you can commit whatever sin and still enter into Heaven.�
I must admit that is a true assessment (evaluation) of Christianity. And we, Christians, need not shy from it, because he is right. We will go to heaven no matter what sins we commit in our lifetime. In fact the terms �Judgment Day� are not meant for Christians. And we, Christians, can honestly be glad about it, because God cannot learn.
When we say, �God is Omniscient,� we mean God is �All-knowing�. To be �All-knowing� is to know all things fully and instantly, and to have no need to learn something new. Thus, God cannot learn. God is both the Source and the Possessor of all knowledge and wisdom. God knows all that there is to be known in the past, in the presence, and in the future. Whatever is to be known is known by God to the fullest. God knows all things equally and fully well. He cannot know one thing more than He knows another. One who is �All-knowing� is completely filled in knowledge and wisdom; and thus has no need to seek information on a subject or advice on a matter. Therefore; God cannot learn, for to learn means to increase in knowledge and in wisdom as new discoveries are brought to light.
That is why it is not an insult to say, �God cannot learn,� but rather it is praise to the �Only Wise God� � the King Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible.
The Christian�s salvation rests on the fact that God cannot learn. What God knows about the Christian�s past, presence, and future, He knows instantly and fully. God is never shocked or surprise � not by the Christian�s past or future misbehavior (sin). The Christian�s salvation is sure, because God cannot learn anything new about the Christian�s future that God did not already know when God decided to offer salvation to the Christian through Jesus Christ.
That is why there is no such thing as a former Christian even if he/she is practicing another religion. Before God chose to save the Christian unto Himself, He (God) had instant and full knowledge that the Christian to whom He is offering salvation will practice another religion in the future. Salvation does not depend on the Christian�s behavior, neither does it depend on what the Christian can or cannot do for God. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, �For by grace you have been saved through faith (in Jesus Christ) � this (salvation) is not of yourself. It is the (free) gift that God gave to you so that no one can boast.�
What we have is a �Double-layer of Protection� for the Christian in terms of Salvation: (1) God knew instantly and fully all there was to be known about the Christian�s past, presence, and future before God offered salvation to the Christian through Jesus Christ, and (2) because the Christian was not worthy of salvation when God offered salvation to him, he (the Christian) cannot be unworthy as to lose his salvation.
Let me say this: No man is good until he is first touched by good. God is good. Within every human being is the natural tendency to disobey God and to run away from God. The Christian is no different even though he, the Christian, is saved unto God. Because a person is a Christian does not mean that his natural tendency to disobey God and to run away from God is automatically and completely removed from within him. Fortunately for the Christian his natural tendency to disobey God and to run away from God is slowly quenched (reduced) over a period of time by the help of the Holy Spirit with Whom he (the Christian) is sealed (joined together) until the Day of the Christian Redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 warns the Christian. It reads, �Do not grieve (distressed) the Holy Spirit with Whom you are sealed (joined to) till the Day of Redemption.�
Let me also add this: When a Christian practices another religion, it grieves the Holy Spirit, but it does not nullify (cancel out) the Christian�s salvation, because the Christian and the Holy Spirit are sealed (joined) together until on the day when the Christian is finally redeemed from the things that make Him practice another religion.
As for the Christian, life is worth living; not because the cameras are on and running, but because he holds the �Priceless Possession� in the world. What is the �Priceless Possession�? It is the �Escape ticket from Hell�.
We must understand that God�s Salvation Plan is not only for the Christians. It extends to the entire human race. Jesus spoke about this Salvation Plan when He met with a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus. (Please note: The Jews, at the time of Jesus, knew that God is love; and that God loves them. But they did not know that God�s love extends beyond the Jewish Nation.) Jesus shattered (crushed) that belief when He said to Nicodemus, �For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son; so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish (die), but will have everlasting life.� (John 3:16)
This is the most celebrated and memorized verse of the entire Bible � and for good reasons. It is the one and only verse that reveals �The Seven Great Wonders� of God�s Salvation Plan for the human race.
1. God � the Almighty Authority
2. ��so loved the world�� � the Mightiest Motive
3. ��that He gave His only Begotten Son�� � the Greatest Gift
4. ��that whosoever�� � the Wildest Welcome
5. ��believes in Him�� � the Easiest Escape from hell
6. ��shall not perish�� � the Divine Deliverance
7. �� have everlasting life�� � the Priceless Possession
This verse not only tells us that mankind is the greatest object (focus) of God�s love; it also frees mankind of any obligation to God in terms of doing good deeds in order to enter into Heaven. In other words, God so loved the world that He did not wait for the world to be good or to behave properly before He (God) saw it fit to save the world. This is well-stated in the Fifth Chapter of the Book of Romans where we read, �God directed His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.� (Verse 8) This is a sharp contrast (dissimilarity) to all the other religions of the world in which God is patiently waiting to learn or to get more about a man in terms of good deeds and bad deeds before He (God) can decide as to whether to save him. This is why Christian alone is a shock to all the other religions of the world. � Because Christian alone presents to the world not a stationary (motionless) god, but an �Actively Seeking God� who goes out to seek and to save mankind from destruction.
We see the �Actively Seeking God� in the many Parables which Jesus told: In the �Parable of the Lost Sheep,� Jesus tells us about the Shepherd who had 100 sheep. One of his sheep wandered away and got lost. The Shepherd went out to find the one lost sheep, brought it home, and celebrated. In the parable, God is personified as the Shepherd. In the �Parable of the Ten Silver Coins,� a widow had ten silver coins. She lost one coin. She lit a lamp, searched the house all day, found the one lost coin, and celebrated. Again, God is personified as the Widow. In these parables we see the Character of God as a �Seeker� � One who goes out to seek and to save what belongs to Him. We also see the Character of God as a �Lover� in other parables such as the �Parable of the Good Samaritan� and the �Parable of the Prodigal Son.�
Please notice the last words the Father spoke in the �Parable of the Prodigal Son. They are not, �My son who was bad is now good,� but rather they are, �My son who was dead is now alive; my son who was lost is now found.�
God did not send Jesus Christ into the world to turn bad people into good people. Turning bad people into good people is not the duty of Christianity, but the duty of other religions. God sent Jesus Christ into the world to find dead people and to bring them back to life �to awaken dead people unto God who is the Source and the Sustainer of Life.
In fact the entire Bible can be summed up this way: �Man, because of sin in the Garden of Eden, is spiritually dead and cut off from God. Man, even though he is physically breathing and walking around, has no spiritual connection with God. Man is completely lost and is unable to find his way to God. Therefore; God, because of His love for man, is reaching out to man in order to rebuild the broken relationship between Himself and man. As God rebuild this broken relationship, man can once again live forever in a spiritual union with God.�
That is why instead of being a religion, Christianity is a relationship � a relationship between God and man in which love is the commonality. First John 4:16 tells us �We have known and believed the love God has directed toward us; God is love, he who dwells in love dwells in God, and God dwells in him.� This is a relationship: �God living spiritually in man and man living spiritually in God.�
While all other religions present a god who stands afar (at a distance) and demands love from mankind, in Christianity we see God is not only drawing closer to man, but He is also indwelling in man and thereby forming an everlasting bond (relationship). Therefore; we can truly say, �Christianity is a relationship � not a religion which is defined as �dos and don�ts.�
God is love. We know this much about love: It has two purposes: (1) to extend itself, and (2) to be received. God, who is Love, extends Himself in order to be received. Those who refuse to receive God (Love) through His Son usually think of themselves as being unworthy of God (Love). And in so doing they withdraw from God (Love), and thus condemn themselves.
Condemnation is an evil act, and therefore; it cannot be linked to God, for there is no evil in God. Were there to be evil in God, it means God could not defeat evil, because evil would be a part of God; for God cannot defeat God. Therefore; God does not condemn man. It is man who condemns himself by thinking himself unworthy of God (Love); and therefore, he must work many good deeds in order to earn God�s love. Right after John 3:16 which is the most memorized and celebrated verse in Holy Scriptures, we read �God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.� (John 3:17)
Now let us once again re-visit the concern a Muslim had about us, Christians. He had written: �The thing that surprises us (Muslims) is that you, Christians, believe that you can commit whatever sin and still enter into Heaven.�
This is true because of the Christian�s double-layer of protection: (1) God knew instantly and fully all there was to be known about the Christian�s past, presence, and future before God offered salvation to the Christian through Jesus Christ, and (2) because the Christian was not worthy when God offered him salvation, he (the Christian) cannot be unworthy as to lose his salvation. That is why life is not worth living because cameras are around, but because a person is a Christian.
Romans 8:1 assures us, �There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus�� This verse is very simple to understand. Since the Father does not condemn Christ, it means the Father cannot condemn those who are in Christ. Those who are in Christ are not condemned, they cannot be condemned, and they will not be condemned. The flip side of this is obviously not only unpleasant, but also bleak (depressing, dark). But however bleak, the Darkness needs to know that there is something called the �Break of day�. If you are not in Christ, you condemn yourself. God saves man through His Son< Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ is not only the �Wildest Welcome� � whosoever, but also the �Easier Escape from Hell� � shall not perish. God has no respect for whatever cleaver way a man may employ to save himself unto God.
Again, the Darkness needs to know that there is something called the �Break of day�.
By Sazie Johnson
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