What constitutes wickedness. The psalms are clear about the fate of the wicked if they don't turn from the wickedness and repent. I have been reading a lot of the bible on this topic of righteousness and wickedness, not that by chance I want to become wicked but because I see a lot of wickedness around me and I want to make sense of my world, and the way I do that is though the Bible. For some of you who are unbelievers, you might be wondering why I seem to be obsessed about this topic? You might think that my obsession of going to Heaven is a little absurd, but I can assure you that the holy spirit lives in my heart, and it is my desire to be counted as one of the faithful on the Last Day. I can assure you that I will not try to convince you against your will that there is a God, an afterlife, Jesus Christ, and that the bible is real. I can assure you that if it is your will to know more about God, then you have come to the right place in reading this blog entry.
God is a spirit, and His essence is Love. God cannot hate in the way that human beings hate each other. God hates sin, but he loves all people. The bible does teach that God is angry at the wicked every day but His anger is not a human anger, it is divine justice for the sins and atrocities that are committed in the Name of God every day, and also not in the Name of God. God is so pure, that after death if you have died in your sins, His very Presence will cast your soul into hell itself because He is Pure Love. To understand this kind of Presence, you have to understand Jesus. Jesus is the manifestation of God in the flesh, and he came to earth to destroy the effects of sin and evil in the human heart. He didn't come to set up an earthly Kingdom, but some people thought that he did.
Jesus Christ came to earth to bear the sins of humanity, so that after we die, we can live in God's presence and not go to hell. The reason why God made hell, was not to punish human beings or devils, but to fulfill His plan in saving the world from their sins. Unlike some religions, I believe that there is no escape from hell after you die, and the reason why I believe this is because God justice in this life demands that there be eternal punishment for the grossest kinds of sins and for unbelief and rejection of God in this life. There might be a purgatory, but this is for people who have not rejected God or have some minor sins to atone for, however I am not a universalist who believes that everybody will make it to Heaven.
The reason why I believe that, is because sin is a grave offense to God, and the fact that He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, doesn't automatically give us entrance to Heaven. We have to work with God's salvation plan and the way you do this is by becoming a saint. The bible is a forgiving book, but God isn't. What I mean by that is that anyone can pick up the bible and read it's contents, but just understanding the doctrines of the bible doesn't make you saved! Even the demons believe and shudder, (James 2:19 NIV) "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."
God is a spirit, and His essence is Love. God cannot hate in the way that human beings hate each other. God hates sin, but he loves all people. The bible does teach that God is angry at the wicked every day but His anger is not a human anger, it is divine justice for the sins and atrocities that are committed in the Name of God every day, and also not in the Name of God. God is so pure, that after death if you have died in your sins, His very Presence will cast your soul into hell itself because He is Pure Love. To understand this kind of Presence, you have to understand Jesus. Jesus is the manifestation of God in the flesh, and he came to earth to destroy the effects of sin and evil in the human heart. He didn't come to set up an earthly Kingdom, but some people thought that he did.
Jesus Christ came to earth to bear the sins of humanity, so that after we die, we can live in God's presence and not go to hell. The reason why God made hell, was not to punish human beings or devils, but to fulfill His plan in saving the world from their sins. Unlike some religions, I believe that there is no escape from hell after you die, and the reason why I believe this is because God justice in this life demands that there be eternal punishment for the grossest kinds of sins and for unbelief and rejection of God in this life. There might be a purgatory, but this is for people who have not rejected God or have some minor sins to atone for, however I am not a universalist who believes that everybody will make it to Heaven.
The reason why I believe that, is because sin is a grave offense to God, and the fact that He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, doesn't automatically give us entrance to Heaven. We have to work with God's salvation plan and the way you do this is by becoming a saint. The bible is a forgiving book, but God isn't. What I mean by that is that anyone can pick up the bible and read it's contents, but just understanding the doctrines of the bible doesn't make you saved! Even the demons believe and shudder, (James 2:19 NIV) "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder."
So if simply believing in God isn't enough, then what is? I'll tell you, you must become holy even as God is holy, (1 Peter 1:16 NIV) for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." But what just does make us holy you ask, great, I'll tell you. To be holy means that you become righteous in your soul, and what makes you righteous? The Holy Spirit and you working with not against God's salvation plan for you. Learning about the bible and Christianity helps you to be holy, but down deep inside you must have a desire to be holy. All great saints had a desire within them to be holy, and some of them went through very deep suffering to fully submit themselves to the plan of God in their lives for their sanctification. Sanctification is the process that God uses in your life if you want to be holy, to make you more and more like Jesus Christ your Saviour and lord. It is the height of rebellion to live like the devil, and say you are headed for Heaven, God looks down at you and laughs, (Psalm 37:13 NIV) but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming.
It is hard work to be like Jesus, but it is not impossible. That is why God gave you His Holy Spirit, so that when times are really hard, Jesus can show you the way to become a saint. This is Mike.
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