The sports world, with which most people are familiar, has a two-tiered system that guarantees that only the very best make it to the top–to the “Big Leagues.” The three top professional sports leagues each have a “farm system” in which players earn their way into the top level by honing their talents and skills over time until they are ready for the big league. In baseball there is the Minor League. In basketball there is the Summer League. For football there are the college leagues. In each case, players must perform at the highest level in their respective leagues in order to be selected to join–be “called up” to–their respective big league franchises. Again, only the very best can play at the upper level. For this reason, only a small percentage of lower leaguers ever “get the call.”

The Lord also has a “farm system” in which those who desire to attain salvation, rebirth and entrance into the Kingdom of God (paradise) must PROVE their faith and righteousness over a period of time that begins at conversion and ends at death or Christ’s Second Advent, whichever comes first. The Lord’s proving system has two names: the Kingdom of Heaven and the Church of God.

Few, if any of those within what is known as “the church” will agree with me on this subject due to having embraced Satan’s premier deception known as the “Salvation/ Born Again Experience,” both of which supposedly take place upon the salvation seeker’s completion of a prescribed ritual. Following the ritual, the seeker is proclaimed “saved and born again.” As I have noted in previous writings, I timed three television “salvation peddlers” to see how long it took them to transition someone from totally lost, hopeless and hell-bound, to saved, born again and heaven-bound. The slowest huckster required 13 seconds for his “repeat after me” salvation process. The fastest took nine seconds.

And then there is the television “prayer app” with which the supposedly saved person contacts God through the mechanical brain he/she stares into for hours each day. What next, an AI bot that does our praying for us? That would speed up the process by eliminating the middle man–the person him/herself. It would also save time in that the bot could pray while its owner is doing something else. I’ve been thinking about a salvation drive through. As one drives his/her car slowly through the salvation station he/she could read and follow the prescribed ritual printed on a series of signs. At the end of the path a machine could spray a small amount of water into the salvation seeker’s face and presto–it’s a done deal. The final station would provide a paper towel. The process would not require the automobile to stop. It could be advertised as “The Salvation Express” that would take at most five minutes. One could exchange hell for heaven during his/her lunch period. Don’t laugh. Who would have ever believed in a prayer app? I have become so calloused that, until recently, I thought nothing could surprise me.

In spite of my total disgust with what calls itself “Christianity” today, I must give credit where credit is due: SATAN HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY SUCCESSFUL IN MERCHANDIZING HIS INSTANT SALVATION SYSTEM TO BILLIONS OF HEAVEN SEEKERS AROUND THE WORLD OVER THE PAST 1900 YEARS. A 99% success rate is impressive in any endeavor. But one can understand the popularity of his one-stop salvation shopping when all one needs to do to be guaranteed eternity in paradise is BELIEVE. Believe you are saved and, bingo, you are saved. The instant transition from lost to saved is merely a matter of faith. The virtual trip to the religious big league is completed by “knowing” that one is already there. Paradise is only a thought away. Read about Christianity being a trans (“believing is being”) religion. Key word–Trans.

The devil’s ploy works until one obeys the Apostle Paul’s admonition to Evangelist Timothy in which he reminds the young servant of God that he must “study (the Bible) in order to show yourself approved by God.” Of course, study must be followed by learning, followed by believing, then must come the part church people simply refuse to do–OBEYING GOD’S WORD..

Satan offers a much more efficient method of getting saved, etc. Study? Learn? Believe? Obey? Why go to all that trouble when Satan’s counterfeit Jesus made that system obsolete for the one who believes that He did? Why go to all that trouble when Satan requires only a modicum of faith and absolutely no effort. Oh, yes, there is that REPENTING thing following each inevitable sin.

Satan’s main selling point is that, following repentance, one is free to sin again, and again, and again–as long as the sinner saved by grace repents after each sin. One man told me that he didn’t bother with the sin-then-repent system. He saved his up sins and dumped them all on Jesus at one time. In the devil’s system one can repeat the sin-repent cycle as often as one desires. It’s a win-win situation. I recently read of a pastor who is way ahead of all other salvation hucksters. This false prophet preaches that one need not repent and ask forgiveness for having sinned in that God already knew what he/she was going to do and forgave him/her before he/she committed the sin. I must admit, that one surprised me.

The icing on the church’s salvation cake is that the REWARD for following the “only believe” method–ETERNAL LIFE IN PARADISE–is the same reward one receives for obeying that exhaustive, cumbersome “study, learn, believe, obey” method. For Satan’s parishioners it’s a religious “no-brainer.” God’s response to the above scenario is summed up in James 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26. After reading those verses one will understand why God also views the church’s “only believe” formula as a “no-brainer” which He has labeled a “no-salvationer.” Pay special attention to James 2:14.

In the sports world players are not “called up” from the minor league to the major league unless the player, though still in the minor league, HAS BEEN OPERATING ON THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME, THEREBY MAKING HIMSELF A PROVEN PRODUCT. ONLY THE BEST OF THE BEST REACH THE UPPER LEVEL, AND ONLY A FEW EVER GET THERE. The same is true for church people. Jesus prophesied this Truth in Matthew 7:13,14 and 22:13 and 7:21-23. As He said, many are called, but few are chosen for having answered His call.

The Lord’s minor league system enables salvation seekers to prove themselves ready for entrance into His paradise upon Christ’s return. As noted, His training (proving) system is called The Church of God, also known as the Kingdom of Heaven. As is the case in the sports world, one must EARN his/her “CALL UP” to the Kingdom of God by OBEYING THE LORD’S LAW/WORD/GOSPEL/LIGHT/TRUTH THROUGHOUT HIS/HER POST-CONVERSION LIFE. In other words, one must OVERCOME Satan’s temptation to take the easy, popular, guaranteed, “only believe” way (Rev. 3:21). As the Holy Scriptures tell us, God’s way is not easy, not popular and not guaranteed. Simply studying, learning and believing His Ten Commandment Law is not enough–ONE MUST ALSO OBEY IT IN LETTER AND SPIRIT. Unlike the church experience, just believing and showing up occasionally will not result in a free ride to paradise. There is a price we must pay for serving the Lord. God warns us that we must “count the cost” of serving Him (Lk. 14:28). Satan’s way requires no cost. All who observe the first day (Sunday) Sabbath are part of his church system. Try obeying God by observing His seventh day (Saturday) Sabbath and you will start paying the cost immediately as family, friends and former churchmates turn away from you spiritually, and often socially.

Jesus and His apostles spoke to this Truth on numerous occasions where they remind Truth seekers that tribulation and persecution are guaranteed for the Very Elect saint. Several passages come to mind. For example, the Apostle Paul tells us in Second Timothy 3:12 that “All who will live Godly in Christ Jesus (which we must do) WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:10 that only those who are persecuted for righteousness sake are blessed. In chapter 10 He declares that if we obey Him THE WHOLE WORLD WILL HATE US. That world includes the church world as well as our family members who will be our enemies when the religion police come calling, and they will. In verses 34-36 He declares that He came to set relatives against each other–His people against Satan’s people. Out of my very religious extended family, several of whom are preachers, only one–a grandchild–is with me spiritually. We must choose Him over everyone else. Jesus tells us that only those who maintain their righteousness during that time WILL BE SAVED, meaning that they are not now saved (Mat. 10).

Before Jesus returned to heaven following His resurrection He equipped His church with pastors, prophets, teachers, apostles and evangelists whose job it is to train their disciples, to prepare them and equip them to QUALIFY for entrance into paradise upon His return (Eph. 4:11-13). These appointed leaders are commissioned to “perfect the saints, work the ministry, edify the Body of Christ until we all come to the unity of THE (ONE AND ONLY) faith, to the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect church in which its members reach “THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST.

Having arrived at that level of righteousness and holiness, we must remain in that spiritual condition until death or the return of Jesus Christ in order to receive eternal life (Mat. 10:22; 24:13). Only those whose Kingdom of Heaven/ Church of God experience has brought them to that spiritual level will enter the Kingdom of God upon Christ’s return. FAITH ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH. As the Apostle James makes clear: FAITH WITHOUT WORKS OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S LAW IS DEAD FAITH WHICH PRODUCES A DEAD BELIEVER. THERE WILL BE NO DEAD BELIEVERS IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. UNLESS ONE MAKES JESUS HIS LORD IN THIS LIFE, HE WILL NOT BE ONE’S SAVIOR IN THE NEXT LIFE.

A few words are in order for those who believe that, as I have been told and have heard false prophets proclaim: it is impossible to be holy–to obey God’s Law. Therefore, Jesus died so that believers can do what they must do because of Adam–SIN–and get away with it. A few Scriptural passages SHOULD eliminate that Satanic notion completely.

In First Peter 1:15,16; 2:5,9 the apostle tells us in no uncertain terms that holiness is commanded in order to be God’s Very Elect saints who will join Him in paradise. In Matthew 19:16-22 Jesus tells a salvation seeker that he must be PERFECT in order to receive eternal life (vs 21). In verse 17 He equates perfection with obeying the Ten Commandment Law, which, in John 14:15 and 15:10 He equates with one’s love for Him and the Father. In verses 23 and 24 Jesus distinguishes between the Kingdom of Heaven (the Church of God) and the Kingdom of God by showing that one must meet the demands for involvement is His church (the Kingdom of Heaven) in order to later enter paradise (the Kingdom of God). In Matthew 5:6 He states that only those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, which is necessary for salvation (Rom. 5:21; 6:22). THIS IS JESUS SPEAKING TO US. ARE WE LISTENING? ARE WE BELIEVING? ARE WE OBEYING? Only those who are doing so will rise to meet Him during the first resurrection, descend with Him to the Mount of Olives, then go into Jerusalem where He will establish the Kingdom of God. Read about this future universe headquarters using the key word–Kingdom. L.J.