Posted on 11/17/2013 7:49:23 AM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
In a letter to newly planted churches in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia, the Apostle Paul explained how lost souls might receive the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
“If,” he advised, “you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Many, if not most, of us have received the gift of salvation; have the promise of everlasting life.
We look forward to heaven, which the Book of Revelation describes as having twelve gates of pearl and streets of pure gold.
We can hardly wait to take residence in the mansions that, according to the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus has prepared before us.
But many, if not most, of us will find heaven very much different than we are expecting. We mistakenly believe heaven will be egalitarian; that all who are saved will enjoy the same standing in the hereafter.
But that’s not what the Word of God teaches. It promises us – it warns us – that heaven is a meritocracy.
That, while our salvation guarantees us a place in heaven, our works on this side of eternity determine what exactly that place will be in the hereafter.
Indeed, the Lord declared, “I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”
The Book of Matthew tells us the Son of Man will sit on the throne of His glory. That before Him all the nations will gather. That He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
That He well set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on His left. That those on His right hand will inherit the kingdom prepared for them. And that He will say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, you cursed.”
Those of us who are saved are the Lord’s sheep. An inheritance awaits us, everyone. But everyone does not have the same inheritance awaiting.
For some devote their lives to being good and faithful servants. To standing in the gap for the Lord. To fulfilling the Great Commission. To fighting a good fight, finishing the course set before them, and keeping the faith. To suffering persecution in the name of the Lord, even unto death.
There is laid up for those saints crowns of righteousness. They are on heaven’s A-list.
And it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Those who truly love Him are those who let their light so shine before men, that they might see their good works, and glorify the Father which is in heaven.
As to those of us who do not lead such a purpose-driven life, who do not labor in the Lord’s harvest fields bringing the lost to Christ, who do not feed the hungry, offer drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the sick and minister to the prisoner, there is a place prepared for us, too, in eternity.
But let us not delude ourselves that we can do little or nothing in service to the Lord and enjoy the same rewards earned by such great men (and women) of God as Abraham, Moses, David and Esther or John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, the Apostle Paul and St. Peter.
Papias of Hierapolis, who authored five books on Christian oral tradition, who said he received the sayings of the apostles from those who accompanied them, taught that “there is this distinction between the habitation of those who produce an hundred-fold, and that of those who produce sixty-fold, and that of those who produce thirty-fold.”
The first, wrote Papias, “will be taken up into the heavens.” The second, “will dwell in Paradise.” The last “will inhabit the city.” Everywhere, he explained, “the Savior will be seen, according as they shall be worthy who see Him.”
Salvation earns us a place in the city, with its “splendor” beyond anything we have seen or experienced in this fallen world.
But more is required of those who will spend eternity in paradise, with the “delights” far beyond the splendor of the city. And much more is required to be “deemed worthy of an abode in heaven,” where God, the Father, sits on His throne, and His Son, Christ the Lord, sits on His right hand
That’s why the Lord, Himself, advised us, encouraged us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy,” but “store up treasure in heaven,” where our good works will be eternally rewarded.
Amen! I "call" being the shepherd for the various flocks in the fields:) After such a busy and noisy life here, give me the solitude of sitting out there with the Lord's flocks.
The Quranic heaven is just as you describe.
If heaven has a “Beverley Hills” section and also the slums, then heaven won’t be free from envy. If there is no envy in heaven, then there is nothing special about a “Beverley Hills” section, and if so, then there is nothing special about your “rewards”.
The comment about Paul was a poke in the eye to Evangelicals. Roman Catholics know they can’t declare Paul a heretic because they “canonized” him as a saint centuries ago. But those epistles just seem to get in the way of their Roman tradtion of works based salvation.
So some have to use the “What did Jesus say?” statement to dismiss the remainder of the Gospels. It is great to note they never say “What did Jesus DO—Actions?” If we put together what Jesus Christ said and DID (crucified, died, buried, Risen from the dead now seated at the Right Hand of the Father), then Paul makes a lot more sense.
We are doomed to failure if we do not read the Gospels in the Light of the Cross and Empty Tomb. We take away those ACTIONS, then we are left with Sinai II the Law more perfectly spoken and lived by God Himself coming in the flesh. But Jesus Christ Truly God and Truly man DID shed His Blood for us and DID rise again from the dead three days later. And that is the “hermeneutic” Paul uses in his epistles.
“There are many mansions in my Father’s house.”
Sir, you perhaps are in error on this. Who ever said to have faith in Paul over Jesus Christ. No one.
It seems you may have words to enlighten us. Your post said “that you may think you are believing what Jesus said.”
I take that as you know what Jesus said and know what He meant. I am not reading minds, just trying to see if you can enlighten us further on your comments.
**Salvation is free to all.**
OSAS is a falsehood.
**Salvation is free to all.**
But not all people want to be saved. They like their lives of wickedness and atheism.
Sir, the above is error. I know the Qur'an quite adequately. There is only one "reward" guaranteed and that is dying for jihad. Everyone else must "sweat it out" in their theology and hope allah is having a good day.
If you cannot trust the messenger, you cannot trust the message.
No, you have to accept the gift. But that is all you need to do to be saved.
To move out of the slums, more is required of the Christian.
And as I said, there are those you either don’t bother accept the gift of salvation, or positively reject it. They will not wind up in heaven.
Sir, have your read the Gospels and the Acts and the epistles? If so, what is the unifying agent for all NT writings?
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Or perhaps Sir you reached this thread in error and were seeking the atheist and alien abduction thread?
Here is a serious question:
Suppose Bob personally evangelizes and brings 10 people to Christ in his hometown. And suppose his brother Sam funds the distribution of 100 Bibles thru an evangelical charity that will, therefore, bring an additional 1000 people to Christ in China.
Who will have the greater Reward? Bob or Sam?
Is it now?
I don’t actually recall that I mentioned it, but I would refer you to John 6:37-40, and also 47.
If a man has everlasting life, but loses it, did he ever have “everlasting” life to begin with?
However, I’m not God’s private secretary, nor are you. You could well be right, but I’m not worried about it personally. I don’t intend to reject God.
You have yet to contradict what I said with logical arguments. When you do, I’ll respond.
What does OSAS have to do with "Salvation is free to all."?
Is not Salvation a Gift from God in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ Truly God and Truly man? Did not Jesus pay that price? Did not Jesus say if He sets us free we are free indeed?
OSAS has no bearing on this conversation.
**I don’t intend to reject God.**
So glad to hear that you are not rejecting the transubstantiation of the bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ.
Thank you.
So glad you are not receiving the Eucharist.
Well, I disagree.
The Parable of the talents argues against it, for one.
Not for us to judge, is it?
Did it come from a Catholic, though? There are a number of persons I've read or read about that are very down on “Pauline” Christianity, preferring some kind of Gnostic, or sometimes “Petrine” version.
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