Because of God’s grace mankind is given the opportunity to spend eternity on earth where God, Christ and Their Very Elect will rule the earth initially for 1000 years, then the entire universe forever from New Jerusalem which will be located in what is now called the Holy (Promised) Land. Read The Kingdom of God. Key word–Kingdom. Contrary to universal religious opinion, God’s grace blinds Him to the sins of church people. A preacher I know put it this way: “God can’t see through the blood.” Spoken like a true “headline” hunter. Obviously, the false prophet was not familiar with the 95% of God’s Word which I call His “fine print.” Nor was he familiar with God’s Scripture study rules found in Isaiah 28:9-13. If he had followed God’s rules, he would have known better.

We will now enter into a Scriptural study of the character traits God commands of all who would join Him in His Kingdom headquarters following the return of His Son to earth. The traits necessary for salvation/ rebirth revolve around the process of “overcoming.” In order to enter God’s presence in the next life one must overcome Satan in this life. One must, through the power of the Holy Spirit, overcome the devil’s temptations to sin by breaking God’s Law (1 Jn. 3:4).

The ultimate statement relative to overcoming Satan comes from the Lord Jesus Himself in Revelation 3:21 where He says to all who would join Him in the future: “To Him who overcomes (Satan) I will allow to sit with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame (him) and am sitting next to My Father on His throne.” An accompanying verse is First John 2:14 where He is speaking to those who are strong because the Word of God abides in them, enabling them to “overcome the wicked one.” Another verse which shows the connection between God’s Word abiding in the believer and the believer abiding in God is First John 2:24 where we are told to “Let that (Word) abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. IF (and only IF) that Word abides in you, and remains in you, then (and only then) you will continue to abide in the Son and in the Father.” Sin reveals that God’s Word is not abiding within the believer whose light has gone out and has been replaced by darkness. The five foolish virgins of Matthew 25 is an excellent example of this phenomenon. An even better example is “the church” in these end times.

In Revelation 2:7,11,16,17; 3:5,12,21 and 21:7 Jesus tells us that those who overcome Satan’s temptations will possess certain personal traits and enjoy certain activities. For example, overcomers, and only overcomers, will: eat of the tree of the hidden manna; not be harmed by the second death; keep His works until the end; rule over the nations; be clothed in white raiment; keep their names recorded in the Book of Life; have their names confessed before the Father and His angels; be pillars in the temple of God; have the Father’s name written on their bodies along with the name of the city of God–New Jerusalem; sit with Christ on His throne and inherit all things–first the earth, then the entire universe. Notice the caveat (condition) a believer must fulfill in order to receive all of the above-listed promises: “HE WHO OVERCOMES” (Satan) will be so blessed.

God’s grace makes all of the above POSSIBLE. Grace is like a new car that can take me from Athens, Texas to Nome, Alaska. The car can most certainly take me there, but only IF I do all the right things with it. I must keep it fueled, oiled and greased. I must follow the map designed to guide me to my destination. I must make sure the tires stay aired up and the radiator stays filled with fluid. I must make sure the windshield wipers are functioning properly because I WILL face weather fluxuations. In summary, the car will indeed take me to Nome IF I do all the things I am required to do in order to arrive there. If I fail to do my part, I can sit in the car until I die and it will not leave my garage. I must also have faith that the car will do its job. I make certain that it will by servicing it as it is designed to be serviced. The owner’s manual tells me how to do that. I have faith that IF I do what I am expected to do I will arrive at my destination as expected. IF I FAIL TO DO WHAT I AM EXPECTED TO DO, the car will not do what it is designed to do. GRACE (the car) makes it possible for me to get to a specified location in Nome, Alaska. I have FAITH that the car will function as it is designed to function. However, I KNOW that I must do my part. If I fail to do so, I will not reach my desired destination. This is a crude way of explaining an eternal Truth. The way to God’s eternal kingdom can be reached only by following God’s Rulebook exactly. The church refutes this Biblical Truth, arguing that any route she takes will her to the right destination, that no amount of rule-breaking is okay as long as she believes in Jesus. Is this True? God answers.

“If we continue to sin after coming to the knowledge of the Truth we STORE UP (GOD’S) WRATH until the day of wrath (judgment)”–Rom. 2:5). The God of the Old Testament (Who became Jesus of Nazareth), said: “If My people who are called by name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN (AND ONLY THEN) will I hear their prayers (of confession and repentance) and FORGIVE THEIR SINS ….” (2 Chron. 7:14). Notice that God hears and answers our prayers for forgiveness only AFTER WE HAVE “TURNED FROM OUR WICKED WAYS” AND ARE WALKING IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD. i WRITE THE FOLLOWING BASED ON YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. Because so-called “sinners saved by grace” refuse to stop sinning, their words of repentance are not heard and their prayers are not answered. Their repentance is false, as is the peace they feel afterward. The deceived do not know that they are deceived and therefore remain deceived. The Almighty speaks to this Truth in Jeremiah 6:14,15 where He laments that His people continue to sin while proclaiming “peace, peace when there is no (true) peace.” Because of their false peace they continue to sin without shame.

Deception is the weapon Satan uses to keep his church sinning and grinning. As stated in Romans 2:5, when a “sinner saved by grace” continues to sin and repent, sin and repent, sin and repent, God knows that his repentance is as false as the peace Satan provides him. He knows that the penitent feels no need to free himself FROM sin because Jesus saved him while he was IN sin, therefore nullifying any need to overcome Satan’s temptations. Why should he go to all that trouble when the blood of Jesus covers each sin as quickly as it is repented. One preacher went a step further. He said that, because Jesus knows we must sin, He forgives the sinner even BEFORE HE COMMITS THE SIN. Yes, he actually said that. And it gets worse.

On one of those occasions when the Lord directs me to turn on the t.v. I was drawn to a religious service in which a young, dynamic “minister of righteousness” was telling his congregation that Jesus and Satan have joined forces and are working together, each depending on the other in order to get people saved. The system works like this: Satan tempts people. People sin. Jesus then convicts the sinner of his sins. The sinner repents. Jesus saves him. This false prophet believes that Jesus and Satan are not only united, but are totally dependent upon each other. But wait, there is more.

In another one of those occasions when God speaks to me I tuned in to young preacher who was telling his congregation that sinning is fun, which is why so many religious people sin. He also noted that God want His people to have fun. Therefore, GOD WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO SIN. They were not to be concerned about their sins in that that Christ died so that they could have the level of fun that only sinning can produce. L.J.