"You are trying to earn your way to Heaven."

First of all, we Christians need to go back to the Bible and discover that going to Heaven is not the goal of redemption. Heaven is the place of Paradise in the spirit realm, the location of God, Christ, and the saints and holy angels. If we are saved we will go there when we die.

But to go to Heaven is not the goal. The goal is the reward we receive in the day of resurrection. The Kingdom of God is coming to the earth when the Lord appears. Our place in the Kingdom will not be determined by grace or mercy but only by what we have sown during our lifetime on the earth.

If we have suffered with Christ, obeying Him faithfully, we will rule with Him.

If we have been careless we will suffer an incredible loss of inheritance. Listen to me! We will suffer an incredible loss of inheritance in that day and mercy and grace will have nothing to do with it. You ignore this warning at your peril!

Heaven has little to do with our goal. Heaven is a staging area for the army of the Lord that is to return with Jesus and drive sin from the creation.

Where will you be in that day?

It is ironic that the New Age-Hindu religions and philosophies have as a main goal the removal of the idea of sin and guilt. They infer that you can do whatever you like, that you make the decision whether it is good or evil. The concept of "sin" is archaic and must be removed if man is to find fulfillment.

Isn't it amazing that we Christians have come up with the same conclusion although arrived at in a different manner. It no longer matters whether we sin!

Whether determined from New Age beliefs or evangelical Christianity, the result is the same. People are relieved from fighting the good fight of faith, the true Christian fight, the determination to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The eternal truth is, God will never receive anyone who is walking in darkness, except initially to forgive him and lift him back on the path so he can fight his way forward in God.

Today's pastors and teachers are presenting a faith that has little connection with reality. They are saying we gain righteousness by believing certain things and making certain statements. They teach that if a person believes what the Bible says is true, righteousness will flow from the Divine Throne whether or not the person is living a godly life.

Added to this is the theory that belief in the lordship of Jesus brings to the worshiper a state of righteousness that produces all necessary moral and character transformation apart from any effort on the part of the believer. Jesus has overcome all enemies, and by placing our faith in Him we also have overcome all enemies. Our part is to rest in the finished work of Christ. No struggle, no effort on our part is required. Jesus has done it all. Anything we are to do the Lord will perform in us and through us.

(It must drive Jesus and the Apostle Paul crazy to hear the things being taught in their name!)

(To be continued.)