Let's take each excuse above one at a time. Number one:

'I've done too many bad things for God to forgive me'...

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." (Matthew 12:31 KJV)

The only sin that can't be forgiven is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is literally refusing to be saved. You see, no one becomes saved without the Holy Spirit drawing them to Christ:

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV)

"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." (1 John 3:23 KJV)

So if you don't get saved, you've committed the sin of breaking the only commandment that won't be forgiven. Now, number two:

'God would never condemn a good person to Hell'...

This one's simple and easy to understand. Throw away your Catholic Catechism, your Jehovah’s Witnesses Watchtower magazine, your Mormon Pearl of Great Price and your Unity Metaphysical Bible Dictionary. Pick up a King James Bible and turn to John 3:18:

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18 KJV)

If you don't ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, YOU'RE ALREADY CONDEMNED!

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

God is not going to have millions of people in Heaven trying to out brag each other about what THEY'VE done to get saved. So, He's taken how good you think you are completely out of the equation. You either rely on Jesus to save you or you have nothing to rely on. This way it's not God's fault for you going to Hell, it's YOUR OWN FAULT for refusing to believe you're too good to be damned. And last:

'Jesus isn't the only way to be saved'...

I love this one. There's nothing better than to get the path to salvation straight from the Saviors mouth! Jesus said:

"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6 KJV)

Not 'a way', not 'a truth' not 'a life'...THE way, THE truth and THE life. What is it about this you can't understand? I'll tell you: You're simply too arrogant and too prideful to bow your knee to the only one who's worthy to bow to. But I've got news for you, you're going to bow eventually:

"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." (Romans 14:11 KJV)

So, it's your decision: You can either bow to Him now as your Lord and Savior, or you can bow to Him as your Judge right before He casts you into Hell. The decision is yours.

If you want to be saved right now, pray this prayer and mean it with your heart:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins, and God raised You from the dead. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior. In Your name, amen.

Now, let me say this plainly and simply to the saved: If you're not living the Christian life that your Lord Jesus wants you to, you're going to lose rewards in Heaven in mass quantities. Jesus said:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" (John 10:27 KJV)

"Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward." (2 John 1:8 KJV)

There are many born-again Christians who are not living the life they should. Whether you’re not treating other believers correctly, or you’re not controlling your fleshly appetite, or you’re not trying to win souls for Christ, or many other characteristics that should be detestable to a Christian, it doesn't matter. For whatever reason you're trying to justify your behavior, God knows, and He doesn't care about your excuses. If you know you’re saved but realize you’ve not been living for Him, the solution is simple: You don’t have to go to a priest or pray through Mary, you don’t have to get re-baptized, you don’t have to send TBN any money...just bow your head right where you are, tell Him you’re sorry and you want to turn from that sin:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 KJV)

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" (1 Timothy 2:5 KJV)

For those still reading, there's a reason for this admonishment today. Jesus is coming. The news has been filled the last few days with an acceleration of events in the Middle East. As I write this, the terrorist organization Hezbollah has launched missiles that have struck Haifa, Israel, and Israeli Government Officials have deemed this a "major escalation". Israeli officials say "we’re at war" and the Beirut, Lebanon International Airport is ablaze with Israel’s retaliation. Hezbollah, by the way, was activated in Damascus, Syria just four days ago with the command to strike Israel within seven days in retaliation for Israel's incursion into the Gaza Strip, which was Israel's retaliation for the kidnaping of an Israeli soldier near Gaza. I’ll remind you what this could mean, if God has appointed this the time to fulfill His prophecy about Damascus:

"The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." (Isaiah 17:1 KJV)

As Jesus said in John 10:27 above, if you're saved you're His sheep. Well, His lambs are about to go silent because He's coming to remove them from the earth in the Rapture of the Church. So I don't really care if I've offended you with what I've written because time is too short to be concerned with anything but telling you the Truth...whether you want to hear it or not.

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Luke 21:28 KJV)

Keith

07-13-2006