Bulletin
Lawlessness or Jesus
An angel is not going to let you into heaven, he is not making that decision. Jesus is the gatekeeper of heaven, what he says goes. It is not a mystery. Jesus decides who enters and who does not. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.“ (Mat. 7:21). If we have not done the Father’s will, we are not going in. If we disobey his laws, we are not going in. “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” (Matt. 7:23).
When people begin to learn about Jesus and are willing to stop their lawless living, there is a way of salvation open for them. Peter said, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:38). About 3000 people were baptized that day (2:41), and “And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Every saved person was “added to their number”, that is added to the church (2:47). The church is the saved, the saved are the church. The church is designed to keep saved people saved.
When someone chooses to be baptized into Christ, they are “born again” (John 3:1-5, 1Peter 1:3). This born again person is compared to a spiritual baby, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,” (1Pet. 2:2). These born again people meet together, in church, to hear the pure milk of the word spoken by the apostles. “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42). Before the apostles died, they trained the churches to read the scriptures during the assembly, “When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.” (Col. 4:16).
Churches today are avoiding certain sections of scripture from being read, analyzed and discussed. This allows people to practice “lawlessness” because they will not even read it. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1Cor. 6:9-10). Jesus does not allow lawlessness. If we practice such things we will be removed from his church, his “kingdom of God”. The Lord’s church will keep you away from lawlessness, and lawlessness will keep you away from his church. Dan Peters
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