For the true child of God this life is nothing more than a way station, a place to prepare for something far greater.  Mankind’s earthly life is like military boot camp.  For a few short years his life is rough and tumble in the spiritual sense.  Satan is always on the attack, tempting and calling him to do, say and think that which is contrary to God’s commands found in His Holy Scriptures.  Recall that Jesus told the rich man that his one sin–greed/lust–prevented him from receiving eternal life (Mat. 19:16-22).  Recall also that Jesus told both the prostitute and the man at the Bethesda pool to “SIN NO MORE” (Jn. 5:14; 8:11).  “No more” means “never again.”  The question is, why?

The answer is found in the title of this posting–OUR ETERNITY WILL BE DETERMINED BY OUR REACTION TO THE LAW OF GOD KNOWN AS THE HOLY BIBLE WHICH HE CONDENSED INTO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.  We must understand that what is written in the Holy Scriptures is written for the future.  The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth that what happened anciently was recorded and preserved for the purpose of teaching those in the end-time church (1 Cor. 10:11).  In this life we are given the choice of either “sinning no more” or “sinning some more.”  The choice, which is totally ours, will determine where we spend eternity, either with the Godhead in the earthly Kingdom of God, or as ash being walked upon by His saints.  This life is all about the eternal future, whether one will embrace it or reject it.  The choice concerns one thing only–the Holy Bible.  We must decide whether to believe and obey it, or to believe and obey Satan’s perverted version of God’s Truth as proclaimed by the whole of Catholicism/Protestantism.  There is no middle ground.  In God’s eyes, we do one or the other.  In His eyes we either obey Him totally or obey Satan totally.

In Revelation 3:14-20 Jesus is dictating to the Apostle John a letter he is to send to God’s church at Laodicea.  In the letter He warns the members of that church that they will lose everything they think they have if they do not stop sinning and return to Him through strict obedience to Him.  The Laodiceans proclaimed that they were “… rich and increased with goods and in need nothing” from Him.  They claimed to be spiritually “hot.”  But in reality they were not.  They alternated between hot and cold by being uber-religious while disobeying God.  Today’s Laodiceans call themselves “Sinners Saved By Grace. ”  They, like their ancient counterparts, are “… neither hot nor cold.”  The Lord says that because they are lukewarm they are spiritually “… wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked.”  Through this passage Jesus is telling the whole of professing Christendom that if they do not reverse course, turn to Him and walk in obedience to His Word, they will be cast away from Him like vomit.  Jesus went on to say that He stands at the door of their hearts and calls out to them to come to Him in total recognition of their spiritual plight.  He will not open the door.  It is their responsibility to invite Him in.  Then and only then will He become one with them.  Jesus said that in order to bring about this union of Himself and man, man must “… overcome (Satan’s temptations to sin) “even (in the same way) as I overcame” (Rev. 3:21).

For eternal life to be awarded upon Christ’s return to earth, the following Truth must be believed about the Christ whose example must be strictly followed.  IN ORDER TO FULFILL HIS MESSIANIC COMMISSION JESUS HAD TO OBEY GOD DURING HIS WALK ON EARTH.  HIS HUMAN LIFE WAS A PROVING GROUND ON WHICH HE WOULD EITHER SUCCEED OR FAIL IN HIS COMMISSION FROM THE FATHER.  FOR THIS REASON HE SPENT MUCH TIME IN PRAYER WHERE HE RECEIVED HOLY SPIRIT POWER TO STAND AGAINST THE DEVIL AND DEFEAT HIM.  BEING HUMAN, HE WAS SUBJECT TO FAILURE AS ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS.  FOR THIS REASON HE SWEATED GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD BEFORE ENTERING INTO THE FINAL HOURS OF HIS LIFE.  GOD HAD SHOWN HIM WHAT WAS COMING.  HE KNEW THAT IF HE FAILED EVEN ONE TIME HE, ALONG WITH THE TOTALITY OF MANKIND, WOULD DIE IN THEIR SINS AND REMAIN DEAD FOREVER.  GOD WOULD HAVE TO SPEND ETERNITY ALONE.  THE PRESSURE WAS INCREDIBLE.  ONE SLIP, ONE SIGN OF WEAKNESS AND IT WOULD BE OVER FOR HIMSELF AND THE REST OF MANKIND.  JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE (REV. 3:21).   

During this life we who proclaim ourselves to be God’s sons and daughters are required to “walk as He (Jesus) walked” during His earthly life (1 Jn. 2:6).  We are required to be pure as He was pure (1 Jn. 3:3) by overcoming Satan as He overcame him (Rev. 3:21).  Only those who do so will “… sit with Me on my throne” in the Kingdom of God and rule and reign over the earth and the universe forever.  Read God’s Very Elect: Future Caretakers of the Universe.”  Use “Caretakers” as your key word.

This life is a proving ground.  We prove ourselves worthy of either eternal life or eternal death.  We “walk” as either God’s light or Satan’s darkness.  We are either hot or cold in the eyes of God Who views our lives through the prism of right or wrong.  Satan convinced Adam and Eve that they could be hot (believe in God) and cold (disobey Him) and still live forever.  They could eat of both the forbidden tree and the tree of life which stood in the center of the Garden of Eden.  God had told them that they could eat of EVERY TREE IN THE GARDEN, which included the tree of eternal life.  The only tree denied them was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Satan convinced them that they could eat of the death-giving tree and all would be well if they also ate of the life-giving tree.  Their well-balanced spiritual diet brought death to them.  God rejects the well-balanced (holiness and sin) life that the church claims is her fate.  One of Adam and Eve’s sons–Cain–fell for the devil’s ruse while their other son–Abel–stayed God’s course.  The rest is history as mankind has routinely followed in Cain’s religious footsteps.

During this short life we have one overriding responsibility–TO PROVE OURSELVES WORTHY OF EITHER ETERNAL LIFE OR ETERNAL DEATH.  TO WALK WITH JESUS IN THE NEXT LIFE WE MUST WALK AS HE WALKED IN THIS LIFE.  Satan has deceived church people into eating of the forbidden fruit, believing his perverted gospel and making their lives revolve around his church system known as Catholicism/Protestantism.  In order to join Father and Son in the future we must obey them in the present.  We must reject the counterfeit gospel offered by the devil’s Counterfeit Church and focus our undivided attention on God’s Holy Scriptures.  L.J.