Few people, even among the “very elect,” realize that God is extremely exacting in every aspect of His Way and Will. A personal experience will highlight this Biblical fact. When I was in my early teens my extremely religious aunt and uncle invited our church pastor and his family to an evening meal in their home, along with my mother and me. Before they arrived my cousin and I were talking about the evening’s activities. As we are all wont to do, she made an off-the-cuff statement about the preacher’s reaction to the supper invitation. She noted that he had said, “We’ll be there with bells on”–a very common expression used in those days to mean that they were looking forward to the event. Being a child, I made the mistake of taking her words literally. Therefore, upon their arrival I remarked to the pastor that they had, as he had said they would–“arrived with bells on.” He informed me that he had not said that. Totally embarrassed, my cousin admitted the truth to me privately–the pastor had not said what she said he said. I felt terrible in that I had caused her such embarrassment. But the fact of the matter was, SHE HAD LIED. It did not matter that she was a child, or that the words had no real meaning, or that she had meant no harm–SHE HAD LIED. And God held her accountable for it. Recently as I was in prayer He brought the episode to my attention as a reminder of His exactness.

Most people, including myself in my younger days, think nothing of such a “minor thing.” But God does. And because He does, He put my cousin through a session of embarrassment to show her His disapproval of her seemingly innocent “oops.” God does not tolerate “innocent oopses” among His saints. He is extremely demanding. And why shouldn’t He be, considering the terrible price His Son paid for our right to be a part of His family? Jesus was beaten as no man has ever been beaten, then crucified–all exactly as God dictated. Can we conduct our lives with any less exactness and expect to live with Him throughout eternity? Absolutely not. We must come to that point in time when we decide whether to live or die. If we choose the eternal life offered in God’s Word we must live this life ACCORDING TO THAT WORD. If we choose the church’s version we need only return to the assigned building on Satan’s sabbath, go through the prescribed ritual, listen to an ear-scratching, feel-good sermon, then leave, “knowing” that we are saved, born again, etc., thereby putting a smile on Satan’s face.

Though not one of the ten people in my relative’s house that night were God’s people, we all “knew” we were. For this reason God revealed to my cousin and me what is required to actually be His people. Those in that religious system we were a part of (Catholicism/Protestantism) think nothing of disobeying God. Following in the footsteps of her spiritual ancestors from Eden, my cousin told me many later that, because Jesus knows we have no choice but to sin, He died so that we could rebel against Him and still inherit eternal life. I embraced His Truth and eventually left that religious system. She and the rest of my relatives remain in it to this day. I alone heeded God’s call to obey His Word and to “Come out of her and be separate, touch not the unclean thing ….”

Can we enter God’s presence without coming to a decisive point in time, making a death-to-life decision, then living the Word-purified life He trod? We cannot. God requires total obedience. False prophets–church “hirelings”–refute this, which is why the Lord warns us about them. “Let no man deceive you” (Mat. 24:4) with any other message. “Let no man take your crown” (Rev. 3:11) that awaits you at the end of the narrow path walked by the Messiah (Mat. 7:13,14). WITH GOD IT IS ALL OR NOTHING–ONE IS ALL IN OR ALL OUT. Anything less than ALL is Satan’s religion. Do not settle for the devil’s smooth, “It’s all good” smorgasbord of religious choices. According to God’s Bible Truth, there are only two choices: His Way of the Bible or Satan’s way of church doctrine. To inherit the Kingdom of God we must come to that death-to-life point in time and stake our claim to it. Few, God said, will do so. Will you be one of the few? L.J.