In two instances during the earthly life of Jesus Christ we find Him stating in the simplest, most concise  terms the key to becoming one of His Very Elect. These instances involve a man at the Pool of Bethesda and a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery. In neither case did the sinner ask Him for the information. Nevertheless, Jesus laid out the Father’s Plan of Salvation for them (and us) so simply that even a child can understand it. His command to each sinner was (is) to “Sin no more.” But where God speaks, Satan is ready with an ad-lib.

For some 2000 years church people have been told that removing sin from one’s life is impossible, that God does not actually expect it, that He wasn’t serious when He spoke those three words to the diseased man and the prostitute. Church people have been told that God isn’t interested in the final result, that with Him it’s the effort that counts. After all, “It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” This is true when it comes to sports, which in reality are meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But when it comes to eternal life, winning is the ultimate goal. However, in things concerning one’s eternity, how one plays the game DETERMINES whether one wins or loses life’s ultimate “game.” As the Apostle Paul wrote symbolically in 1 Corinthians 9:24, though every salvation seeker “runs the race” (to win eternal life), there is only one winner (the end result). In the race of life the way the “runners” (church people) run DETERMINES WHO WINS the race. Paul goes on to say that he was careful to “run” his race according to God’s Race Rules because he knew that if he broke one of those rules he would be a “reprobate”–a “cast-away”–rejected by the Race Judge. Paul, who received His theology by revelation from Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12), tells us that one, including himself, can receive eternal life ONLY by obeying God’s Rules of Life to the letter, that there are no shortcuts, substitutions, use of other maps, etc. Paul makes it clear that with the Lord it is His (one and only) way or the highway. To be one of the Very Elect (prize winner), one must run by the Race Rules–God’s Holy Bible.

But this is not what we are told in church. We are told that the end result–salvation–is already ours before we begin the race. The time sequence is “Ready” (realize the need for a Savior), “Set” (say the right words and perform the prescribed ritual), “Go” (“Congratulations, here is your prize).” At his point the preacher announces, “We have a winner.” With “trophy” (salvation) in hand, the “winner” spends the rest of his life being told that he can “sin some more” and still retain his “prize,” that because Jesus died, the fix is in. According to the church, the “race of life” means showing up at church regularly, tithing and smiling. The command to “sin no more” is viewed as a sadistic joke God plays on saved people in that, because of Adam’s sin, Christians are life-long sinners, not by choice, but by conception. I heard a woman voice that sentiment two days ago. She in effect said that the Words spoken by the Lord through the Prophet Isaiah (42:6)–He has “called us to righteousness”–are worse than meaningless; they are in reality a cruel joke. We are told that He  expects only moderate effort in that the result is already settled. As a famous t.v. preacher told his audience, “Don’t try to be righteous, you’ll just make yourself sick. After all, you’re nothing more than a society of sinners.” They were to rejoice in that they could sin and get away with it. Needless to say, billions of “sinners saved by grace” readily agree with Satan’s prophet. The universally accepted “truth”–that it is the process, not the product, that counts–is like me telling my great grandson that I will take him to Disneyland. However, because we can never actually get there, he is to be satisfied with the journey. And as an added treat, I will be using the wrong roadmap. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT CHURCH PEOPLE ARE TOLD RELATIVE TO THE RACE OF LIFE–THAT IT MATTERS NOT HOW THEY RUN THE RACE. Why? BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN AWARDED THE PRIZE AT THE STARTING LINE. THIS MAKES THE STARTING LINE AND THE FINISH LINE ONE IN THE SAME.

The above represents the theology of parishioners in the Counterfeit Church as well as the Elect in God’s church. To learn about God’s attitude toward the Elect, study God’s Words to the New Covenant Churches found in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation.  The Lord commands those who truly seek Him to “Come out (of false religion) and be separate, touch not that unclean thing.”  Then, and only then, He tells us, He will be their God and they will be His people (2 Cor. 6:17). Only the Very Elect are answering His call. L.J.