God’s Word to salvation seekers in the various religious sects is: LISTEN TO JESUS CHRIST; DO WHAT HE SAYS. DO NOT LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO TELL YOU ABOUT THE SAVIOR BUT REFUSE TO TELL YOU ABOUT HIS MESSAGE. John 12:48 tells us that WE WILL BE JUDGED BY WHAT HE SAID, NOT BY HIS BIOGRAPHYICAL HISTORY. Knowing who He is and what He did will gain the believer nothing. Only by studying, learning, believing and obeying what He, His prophets and apostles said, wrote and God preserved for thousands of years will result in salvation and rebirth upon His return. This rule includes those who preach, heal the sick, cast out demons, build churches, pastor churches, baptize people, etc. In John 15:13,14 and Matthew 12:46-50 we are told than neither the apostles nor Christ’s blood relatives are exempt from that rule.

In John’s reference Jesus is telling His disciples who have been with Him night and day for 3 1/2 years, preaching, healing, delivering, etc., that He would die for His friends. He defined His friend category by telling them that they are His friends IF they DID everything He commanded them to DO. Believing in Him, preaching and performing miracles for Him, etc. would not produce eternal life. Note that the disciples/apostles were not guaranteed to receive the benefit of His death. THE MESSEGE IS CLEAR: IN ORDER FOR HIS DEATH TO AFFECT OUR LIVES NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, WE MUST DO WHAT HE TELLS US TO DO. For example, He observed the 7th day Sabbath, “as was His custom” (Lk. 4:16). That reduces His salvation selection by about 99%.

In the Matthew reference Jesus’ mother, brothers and sisters had gathered outside of a building where He was teaching. Someone told Him that His brethren wanted Him to come outside where they could speak with Him in private. They were embarrassed by what He was doing and saying and did not want to be seen talking with Him. He asked the messenger who were His brethren? He then answered the question, saying: “My (spiritual) brethren are those who do the will of My Father in heaven.” Note that His biological mother and siblings meant no more to Him than anyone else–UNLESS THEY DID THE WILL OF GOD. Question: if Jesus equated his biological family members to strangers, how does He view those who call themselves His spiritual brethren but refuse to do what He tells them to do? The answer is obvious to those who believe the Holy Scriptures.

Anyone who does not obey Christ’s Ten Commandment Law, which He proclaimed and wrote in stone on Mount Sinai, is no different than the generations of Israelites He allowed to die in the Sinai desert because they did not believe what He said. His salvation formula is plainly stated: THOSE WHO OBEY HIS LAW UNTIL DEATH OR UNTIL HIS RETURN WILL LIVE IN PARADISE FOREVER. THOSE WHO DO NOT, WILL NOT. Their degree of religiosity will have no effect on his salvation selection process on the day of Judgment.

A deadly spiritual disease that afflicts the modern church is the lack of TEACHABILITY RELATIVE TO THE BIBLE. The church masses, having been fed a diet of religious “milk” (Heb. 5:12-6:2), refuse to receive spiritual “strong meat” from God’s messengers. The great deceiver, through his false prophets, has been incredibly successful in deafening and blinding the church masses and keeping them in the infant stage of spiritual maturity. As a result, people are leaving the so-called church in a steady stream. They can remain spiritual children without God’s help. A recent study revealed that the church is losing one percent of its population each year, and has been doing so for the past 20 years. Another study revealed that among American young people, the Bible was one of the top ten most dangerous books in existence. And it is only going to get worse, as I have noted several times in several series. One day soon Bibles will be burned on the streets of America. Today’s church people will be among the burners. Do not say, “Not my church–never, never, never.” I recall telling my college students that gay marriage would one day be legal in all 50 states. “Not Texas, no, never” was the response. The same was true concerning abortion. I rest my case on the Holy Scriptures. True Christianity will soon be against the Law in this so-called “ONE NATION UNDER GOD.” That slogan will one day be removed from all American currency and all references to God will be removed from all federal buildings, literature, etc. I have not been wrong yet. Why? Because I believe the Holy Bible.

Another problem found among church people is the lack of knowledge as to HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE. In Isaiah 28:9-13 the Lord gives us a dually-stated lesson in how to study the Holy Scriptures. Read that passage and you will find the prophet asking: “To whom can God teach knowledge and give understanding?” He then answers the question–twice. Simply stated, the Bible is like a giant puzzle featuring numerous pieces (LINES AND PRECEPTS) that must all fit together. The only way to do this correctly is to carefully study EACH PIECE, THEN PLACE THEM WHERE THEY BELONG RELATIVE TO THE SUBJECT UNDER STUDY. I divide the LINES AND PRECEPTS and what they teach into two categories: “headlines” and “fine print.” Read the series about God’s “headlines” and “fine print” using the key word–Print. You must understand this Truth in order to receive what God has in store for true believers. In the Isaiah 28 reference one will notice that, though God’s messengers had taught Israel how to study and what to study in order to receive God’s gracious blessings, “yet they would not hear.” Verse 13 reiterates the fact that He had told them exactly what and how to study, yet they refused to hear His Words. Nothing has changed. The church’s hearing problem grows worse each day.

In one of those often-experienced situations in which I just “HAPPEN” to be in the right place at the right time, I heard a world-famous pastor say that the only way to get to heaven is to “… obey CHURCH DOCTRINE.” If ever there was a truth-exposing statement, that was it. There are several hundred “churches” within the Institutional Church system. Each has its own god, its own savior and its own set of church doctrines designed specifically for “THE” _____________ (fill in the blank) CHURCH, which has the ONLY correct doctrines, plan of salvation, etc. If asked, I am certain that this pastor would profess that his sect’s doctrines are the only ones that will assure the salvation seeker an instantaneous trip to heaven upon his/her demise.

The Biblically-predicted reality is that obeying church doctrine is how Satan lured the church and the nation into the religious sewer in which both entities are wallowing today. Not only is the sewer becoming more crowded as time goes by, it is becoming more difficult to distinguish between the world and the church. If you are in one of the hundreds of denominations/cults/sects, etc. that make up the Catholic/Protestant Religious System, God commands you to follow His instructions found in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1and to do so immediately. Then and only then will He be your God and you will be His child. Only then will you be able to obey His commands that will lead you to your desired destination–The Kingdom of God. It is there that Jesus, His Father and Their Very Elect saints will abide forever. Read The Process of Salvation and The Kingdom of God. Key words–Process and Kingdom respectively. L.J.