What Did Jesus Say Was Necessary to Enter the Kingdom? |
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Who was the greatest
theologian of all time? It was Jesus Christ. How did He
say that you could enter the kingdom of God and have
eternal life with Him?
Obviously, any good thing that you do is actually God's grace operating in your life. Christ was saying that, in order to enter the kingdom, you must allow His grace to bear the fruit of obedience in your life. But isn't this contrary to the "faith alone" gospel that many evangelical pastors teach?
The rich, young ruler asked how to obtain eternal life. Jesus answered, "keep the commandments." Christ did not say, "Be willing to obey." He said "obey." Many evangelical teachers would call this "cultic" teaching, but how can we ignore the words of Christ? How do we explain these two passages from the greatest theologian in history?
Obedience will be a criterion for judgment. This is not just a criterion for judging non-believers. Nothing in this passage suggests that believers will be given a free pass to escape this judgment. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Hebrews 10:26 (NIV) A just God will judge each person based on how they have individually responded and will apply the same standard to all people. What is the criterion that Christ said He would use? Obedience. |
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