Who’s In?
Matthew 8:11-12 I say
to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their
places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12
But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
IF your pastor spoke to you in his sermon this Sunday as
Jesus did to the Jews, you might be upset. In essence Jesus is telling the Jews
that the Gentiles (those who come from the “east and the west”) will be in
heaven while the Jews (subjects of the kingdom) “will be thrown into total
darkness…the weeping and gnashing of teeth” – hell. It’s as if your pastor
said, “Many of you will be condemned to hell because of your lack of faith.”
Too many churchgoers
think, “I’m good with Jesus. I come to church religiously! But Jesus said, “It
takes more than a show of faith to live in the Kingdom of God. You need to live
your faith.”
In the midst of
his healing of the Roman centurion’s servant, Jesus pointed to that Gentile’s
faith to remind the Jews what faith truly is. Before the crowd, he told the
centurion, “Go! It will be done just as
you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour. (Matt
8:13) Plainly Jesus said, “Turn your heart to me, or perish. Being a Jew will
not get you to heaven. Being a person of faith, Jew or Gentile, will open your
life to eternal life.
If your pastor
says such things to you, thank him. He’s doing so because he loves you enough
to tell you the truth to save you.
LIFE Link: Jesus’ loves for you to know the truth of
salvation.
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