what are you passionate about?
Whatever you are passionate about is what will drive and shape your life. It's inevitable. It's what philosophers call a "world view." Whatever you truly value will be written all over your life: all over the way you spend your time... all over the things you spend your money on... maybe even all over your clothes and the bumper stickers on your car.
So what is it that defines you, and why?
For me, it's a view of time.
When most of us are in High School we think of ourselves as invincible (which is why it's so expensive to put a teen on your car insurance). And unless something tragic happens, death doesn't even enter our minds. Of course when I say "we" I mean "me." After fighting a valiant battle against leukemia, my little brother died during my Senior year of High School.
Life is fast, and then it's gone...
I remember sitting in the cafeteria of the hospital one night before his death. I was pouring over my Bible when I came across a verse that would become my "life verse."
"It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of every man;
the living should take this to heart."
~ Ecclesiastes 7:2
There is something about death -- especially the death of someone we love -- that distills everything. Only the things that really matter are brought into focus, while everything else recedes.
If there really is a God, then nothing matters more than that. Time is so fleeting. Neither one of us (you, who are reading this right now, or me) may have even an hour of life left.
When you stand before God on Judgment Day, what will He do with you? I mean, nobody's perfect... but obviously God has some standards. After all, if it were just a matter of "doing your best" and "being a nice person" then just about everyone would be able to get into Heaven without Jesus having to die on the cross. Right?
God's standards can be summed up in his Ten Commandments. The first one that usually pops to mind is number six, "you shall not murder."
Well, I've never murdered anyone, and I hope you haven't either. But have you ever felt enraged? Have you ever shouted angrily at someone, or called someone an idiot? Have you ever shot daggers at someone with your eyes? Have you ever felt hatred in your heart against someone... anyone... whether they deserved it or not? That emotional choice -- rage, fury, hatered -- is the essence of murder, and God's standard of goodness is so much higher than our own that he is going to hold you accountable for it. If you don't believe me, take Jesus' word for it:
Jesus said, "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken."
~ Matthew 12:36
Jesus said, "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to Judgment... ...anyone who says, 'You idiot!' will be in danger of the fire of Hell."
~ Matthew 5:22
"Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."
~ 1 John 3:15
"Well," you may be saying, "Who on earth can avoid getting angry now and then?" Maybe not you, and maybe not me... but the fact that lots of people are doing something wrong doesn't suddenly make it right. Just go back in time and ask a Jew in Hitler's Germany. It doesn't matter how many thousands of German citizens and soldiers were all saying it was right. It doesn't matter what kind of justification they used to comfort themselves. Whether they shoved people into cattle cars or simply sat on their sofa fuming in hatred -- each one is guilty of murder. God doesn't grade on a curve, and large numbers of people doing something wicked does nothing to extinguish His Justice.
The other one of His Ten Commandments that people seem to remember most easily is, "you shall not commit adultery." Maybe you think you've kept this Commandment. In fact, maybe you've never even been married. But again, God's standard of goodness is so much higher than ours. Here's what Jesus says:
Jesus said, "Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
~ Matthew 5:28
Read Jesus' words again and just let that sink in for a moment. Sexual wickedness is not limited to the sex act only. No, God will hold you accountable even for the sexual wickedness you've played out in (what you think is) the privacy of your own mind. Your sexual fantasy life lies like an open book before the eye of an Omnicient and Holy God. God has seen every deed done in darkness, nothing is hidden from Him. God gives even more specifics in the following passage. (Some definitions have been added for you in red.)
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither fornicators [those who have sex before marriage] nor idolaters nor adulterers [both those who have sexual relations with someone other than their spouse and those who engage in sexual fantasy about people they are not married to] nor those who practice homosexuality [the two Greek terms translated by this phrase refer to the passive (effeminate) and active (masculine) partners in consensual homosexual acts] nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
~ 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
So, by God's definition... which one of us can say we are without sexual sin? Who of us can say we will stand before God in purity?
We are all doomed!
And do you realize we have only looked at two of the Ten Commandments?
Here are some of the other Commandments: you shall not lie, you shall not steal, you shall not take God's name in vain. How many times have you lied in your life? How many times have you stolen something (regardless of the item's value or how long ago it was)? How many times have you used the Holy Name of God in place of a four letter filth word? Today it is easier than ever to blaspheme God... "Oh my G-d!" has been reduced to three simple letters that fly off your fingers in your emails and IM chats.
When you stand before God on Judgment Day, He will not see you as the good person you imagine yourself to be. If you are like me, and have broken these few Commandments I've just discussed, then you will stand there as a murderer-at-heart, an adulterer-at-heart, a liar, a theif, and a blasphemer... among other things.
People that break these Laws of God will not be permitted to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They will be sentanced to everlasting torment in the eternal prison God created called Hell.
Jesus warned of Hell repeatedly. He said that some would rise from death to "the resurrection of condemnation," (John 5:29). He declared that thoes who go to Hell enter the horrible place where "their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched," (Mark 9:44,46,48). He also depicted it as a place of "outer darkness," where there "will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30).
"And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever."
"And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them."
"And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
~ Revelation 14:11a; 20:10-11,15; 21:8
Now for the good news. This is why Jesus came. God sent His only Son, in incredible mercy, to shield us from His own burning Justice. When Jesus died on the cross, a legal transaction took place. God the Father poured out his just and righteous wrath on His own Son. Jesus, the God-man, took the sentance in our place. Now He can offer eternal life in Heaven, a completely undeserved gift, to anyone who will repent of sin and place their faith in Him.
So that's what I did. I realized my true state before God. I humbled myself before Him, I repented, and I asked that He take Jesus' precious blood on that cross and cleanse me. And He did. Now I'm no longer an enemy of God, fearfully awaiting His Judgment... but I am an adopted daughter of God, part of His family, through my Lord and Savior Jesus.
I'm writing this to you because it is now my passion to obey the one who has saved me from the prison of eternal Hell that I deserve. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command," (John 14:15). And also, "He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me," (John 14:24).
a vital note to those who think they are "backslidden"
The scariest passage in the Bible, without a doubt, is the one painted by Jesus of the Day of Judgment. He says there will be a great crowd of people who sincerely believe they are Christians. They will say to Him "Lord, Lord..." But He will reply, "Depart from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness," (Matthew 7:22-23).
The bottom line is that Jesus says unless you repent you will perish. You cannot continue to live in wanton sin and claim to have repented. If you're having sex with your boyfriend or girlfriend, if you're stealing, involved in pornography, living in homosexual sin, lying, blaspheming the name of God... and you're trying to console yourself by saying, "I'm still protected... I'm still a Christian... I gave my heart to Jesus so-and-so many years ago... I'm just going through a hard time right now." The Bible urges you to "examine yourself" to see whether or not you're in the faith... to "test yourself" to see whether or not you are truly saved... (2 Corinthians 13:5). What is the test? It is spelled out clearly in two passages of scripture:
- 1 Timothy 2:19 -- "everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must depart from wickedness." If you haven't departed from wickedness, you are proving that you have never repented.
- 1 John 2:3-6 -- "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him," but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." If you say you've repented, but you continue to live in rebellion and wanton sin, the Bible says you're a liar... you're only fooling yourself.
Does this mean that real Christians never sin? Of course not. But it does mean that they certainly sin a lot less than they did when they were unsaved... and when they do sin, they are grief stricken in their hearts and go to the Lord in tears. If the distinction between living in wanton sin, and sinning as a genuine Christian is fuzzy to you, simply read Romans 7:7-8:9.
Something like 90% of Americans claim to have a "relationship with Jesus Christ." But Jesus warns that "many" will say to Him on that day "Lord, Lord..." only to hear those terrifying words, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Avoid a day of unspeakable horror. Don't end up as one of them. Repent today and put your faith in Jesus Christ... pass from death to life.
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