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Essential Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom (Selections)

Question: Today we believe in the Lord Jesus; we suffer and sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking everything else. We are doing the heavenly Father’s will. This means we have already been made holy. When the Lord arrives, He will definitely rapture us into the kingdom heaven.

 

Answer: As for who can enter the kingdom of heaven: The Lord Jesus said, “Not every one that said to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven” (Mat 7:21). The Lord Jesus clearly told us that only those who do the heavenly Father’s will can enter the kingdom of heaven. Brothers and sisters, although people sacrifice to spread the Lord’s name, forsaking all else, we cannot deny that they also sin quite a lot. The fact that they sin means that they belong to Satan and are still filthy and corrupt. They can still resist and betray God. It means they have not truly been cleansed. If they were made kings, they would set up their own kingdoms in opposition to God. This is enough to prove that they haven’t truly been cleansed and made holy. How can people that resist God this way be qualified to enter the heavenly kingdom? Sacrificing for the Lord, spreading the gospel, establishing the church, supporting the faithful, etc., these are all man’s good behaviors. If people practice these behaviors out of love for God, if they truly are sacrificing for God, if they intentionally obey and satisfy God, if they do not seek to satisfy their own intents or make a deal with God, then these behaviors are truly good deeds; God will remember these behaviors and bless these people. If they are doing it in an attempt to make a deal with God, if they seek to satisfy their fleshly desires, if they’re doing it to enter the kingdom of heaven and be rewarded, then these behaviors are just attempts to trick God; these people are resisting God! Therefore, is the fact that man practices these outward good behaviors evidence that they are doing the heavenly Father’s will? Does it mean they’re holy? Definitely not! Their good behaviors are directed by their sinful natures. They are only doing those things because they want to make a deal with God, to satisfy their extravagant desires. This proves that there are too many impurities in men’s heart. How can people like this truly love God and obey God? Men are subject to and controlled by their sinful natures. When God does and says something that are not in line with their own conceptions, they judge Him, deny and condemn God. When God puts them through trials, they misunderstand, blame and betray God. They worship and follow man while believing in God. They listen to man before they listen to God. They when serving God can still often act on their own conceptions, exalt themselves, bear witness to themselves, and take God as their enemies. Men are bound and controlled by their sinful nature. As soon as they gain power, they will oppose God and establish their own kingdoms. This is just like what the Jewish chief priests, scribes and Pharisees did; when the Lord Jesus came to do His work, they fanatically condemned and resisted Him in order to protect their own positions. As a result, the Lord Jesus’ salvation was never accepted by the Jews. Were they not establishing their own kingdoms in opposition to God? Therefore, even for people who are outwardly laboring and behaving well, if their sinful natures have not been resolved and their satanic dispositions have not been cleansed, if they can’t act according to God’s words but do things by their own will, how can they really follow God’s will, regardless of how much they suffer or what work they do? Those that do God’s will are undoubtedly those that obey God absolutely. They are definitely of the same mind as God. They surely will not rebel against or resist God. These people are the ones who are qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven and receive God’s promises.

 

Excerpted from the movie script of Stinging Memories


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