Table of Contents
As I walked my dog, Maggie, a Welsh Corgi, I was pondering the title of my next post in the “Did God Really Say?” series. The Lord brought to my mind the thought that many people never consider their final eternal destination until they take their last exhale here and the first inhale there. Will “there” be Heaven or Hell? Thus, the title of Part 2 of “Did God Really Say?”.
If you have not read Part 1, go here.
As I explained in part 1, many call themselves Christians. However, 96% do not have a biblical worldview, which simply means, they do not live their lives according to God’s Word as revealed in the Scriptures. They pick and choose, like a smorgasbord restaurant.
Therefore, 96% are playing with fire. Playing with the possibility that their first inhale and all the rest will take place in the Lake of Fire created for Satan and his fallen angels. – Matt 25:41
Furthermore, we see that the Word of God states in 2 John 1:9: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.” Emphasis mine.
Everyone must examine themselves and ask:
- Am I living my life daily according to the Word of God?
- Are there areas that need attention?
We Must Examine Ourselves by the Word of God
God’s Word instructs us to examine ourselves. Therefore, before our last exhale, we need to examine ourselves and repent when necessary, ensuring where our eternal residence will be, with the first inhale.
Scripture states:
- “Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves…” – 2 Cor 13:5 – (see also 1 Cor 11:28-30)
- “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” – Phil 2:12
- “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.” – 2 Jn 1:8
- “What people say about themselves means nothing. What counts is whether the Lord says they have done well.” – 2 Cor 10:18 ERV
We see in 1 Cor 11:31-32 – “If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.”
However, if we decide not to examine/judge ourselves, we may find that we will not be rescued from God’s Wrath and have to appear before the Great White Throne Judgment and hear: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” – Matt 25:41
Deception Abounds
There has always been deception all around us. However, Jesus warned that the deception would be off the charts just before His second coming. Some areas where deception abounds are:
- In our hearts and minds,
- the media,
- government,
- and, unfortunately, even in many pulpits.
Even AI will deceive you: New Tests Reveal AI’s Capacity for Deception – TIME – Dec 15, 2024 – A paper released by Apollo Research found that in certain contrived scenarios, today’s AI systems can engage in deceptive behavior.
Only the Word of God contains the truth we can stake our eternity on.
Don’t Deceive Yourself
- “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” – 1 Jn 1:8
- “For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”- Gal 6:3
- “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” – James 1:22
- “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth”. – 1 Jn 1:6
Don’t Be Deceived By Satan’s Schemes
Satan, the father of lies, tries to deceive us into thinking we are doing ok.
We are reminded in 1 John 5:19 – “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
The question is, are we doing ok as compared to him, what men think, or what God states in His Word?
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to the tradition of men,
according to the basic principles of the world,
and not according to Christ.” – Col 2:8
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” – 1 Jn 3:10 – Emphasis mine.
“Don’t place your faith in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” – 1 Cor 2:5 (BC paraphrase)
“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 Jn 4:1
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh...” – 2 Jn 1:7
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” – Eph 5:6
A Warning From 2 Peter 2
2 Peter 2:1 – “…there will also be false teachers among you. They will come among you, and they will teach you things that are not true. Their wrong ideas will deceive people. Those false teachers will even speak against the Master, who paid the price for their sins. As a result, they will bring trouble on themselves that quickly destroys them.–EASY
2 Peter 2:2 tells us the outcome of the teaching of these false teachers. “Many people will follow their evil ways and cause others to tell lies about the true way.” – CEV
2 Peter 2:3 – “Those false teachers only want your money. So, they will use you by telling you what is not true.” However, “God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.” – ICB
Don’t Fall For the Lies
Everything you need is contained in God’s Word. However, if you do not feed yourself from the Word of God, you will not know if what people say is true. Everything must reconcile with God’s Word! Not traditions of men or “expert scholars”. You MUST always verify against the scriptures.
Even well-meaning Pastors and teachers make unintentional mistakes. Moreover, if you hear something that does not seem to fit scripture, in love and humility bring it to the attention of your leaders. They may have misspoken, or you may have misunderstood.
But here is the sad truth. Even though I am encouraging everyone to be sure they are following the Word of God, far too many of the 96% will not heed the warnings of Scripture before their last exhale in this sinful world.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” – 2 Tim 4:3-4
Why would people do that? The Amplified version states:
“For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold” – 2 Tim 4:3 – AMP – Emphasis mine.
The result of that decision is found in 2 Tim 4:4 – “They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.” – TLB – Emphasis mine.
A Question
In closing, I have a question for the 96% that call themselves “Christians” but follow their ideas of how they can follow the Creator of all there is.
I am not trying to be callous and appear unloving with the wording of my question. Love demands tough questions. If there is a possibility that many of the 96% are headed for the Lake of Fire, at least I have done my best to warn you. Whether you heed the warning is between you and Almighty God.
Therefore, are you still holding on to your preconceived ideas, or are your blind eyes beginning to open and your hardened heart beginning to soften? My prayer is that it is, and before the end of this series, you repent and truly turn to Jesus Christ and follow Him as He specifies in His Word. Better yet, don’t wait! We are not promised tomorrow.
“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” [I pray you are. However, if you will not listen]: But no, you won’t listen; and so, you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world. – Rom 2:4-5 – NLT
My Prayer
My prayer is that you will join me as together we examine ourselves throughout this series of posts to discover God’s truth (the only truth there is) and not allow ourselves to be deceived and face eternal judgment, as the many who are on the wide path of destruction.
Maranatha!
Until next time, I am Passionately Loving Jesus, the Anchor of my Soul.
Starting with Part 3, we will look at scriptures from the Epistles by category, describing how true Followers of Christ are to live their lives. By the end of this series, I hope to have a PDF E-book for download and sharing.
Please leave any thoughts, questions, or comments in the section below.
NOTE: Scriptures are taken from the NKJV and MEV unless otherwise noted. A few verses are paraphrased and are indicated with my initials (BC).
