Sincerity Can Be Very Dangerous
I wish it were only true that sincerity of heart
were all that mattered, but it's NOT true. I witnessed to a Filipino man
this week about the good news of Jesus Christ. During our conversation
he made the statement, "The important thing is that you are sincere in your
heart because God looks upon the heart." Although God does indeed look
upon a person's heart, no amount of sincerity can please God if we have not
believed upon Jesus Christ as our Saviour to forgive our sins. Cain was
very sincere in the Old Testament, but God was displeased with him and
rejected his grain offering. The world is filled with sincere people who
are headed towards destruction in Hell. The lost sinners in Matthew
7:21-23 were as sincere as could be but they all went to Hell...
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Salvation is Found ONLY in Jesus Christ!
Sincerity blinded the people in the Scriptures we
just read. The Word of God clearly teaches all people to repent of their
unbelief and turn to Christ for salvation. Yet, many foolish people
think that God will make an exception based upon their sincerity. It
WON'T happen! God's Word must be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). The
Bible mentions God's love a little over 100 times, but God's holiness if
mentioned over 700 times. God's holiness demands justice. This is
why Jesus came to this sin-cursed world, to save sinners by shedding His blood
for their sins. ONLY Jesus' blood can appease God's demand for justice!
If you try to enter Heaven any other way than through Christ alone, then you
will burn in Hell when you die. Listen to the stern warning in John
10:1, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber." And then in John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter
in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." It's
that simple folks, getting saved is as simple as walking through a door (and
Jesus is the only Door to eternal life). Acts 4:12 proclaims that
salvation is found ONLY in the Precious name of Jesus.
It the Blood of Jesus that Saves
The Filipino man then continued by saying he "hopes" that God will take him to Heaven when he dies. I explained to him that 1st John 5:13 promises that we may KNOW we are saved. The reason we can "know" is because Biblical salvation is based upon God's love and not our own merit. Jesus shed His blood upon the cross to pay for our sins. I read so much heresy online by foolish people who claim that you must repent of your sins to be saved, or that you must make Jesus the Lord of your life to saved. They miss the whole point of the blood of Jesus. Jesus shed His blood for us so He could make atonement in Heaven for our sins (Colossians 1:14).
Hebrews 9:24 declares, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." I dare you to look at the websites that teach Lordship Salvation and repentance from sins. Do so and you'll discover that the blood of Jesus is usually not mentioned. This is because of all the new perverted modern Bibles and liberal theology that they spawn. Salvation is of God, NOT man. Our part is only to believe. The only Call it "easy believism" if you want, but that's exactly what it is thank God. All you have to do to be saved is to come to Jesus as a dirty-rotten Hell-deserving sinners and believe upon Him as your Saviour. Trust Jesus to forgive your sins by asking Him to forgive you. It is simple to be saved.
Many People are Sincerely Wrong
Unfortunately, the Filipino man to whom I witnessed to didn't want to admit that there was only one way to Heaven. He said he believed the Bible, yet continued to insist that sincerity was all that mattered. I tried to show him some more Scriptures since he said he believed the Bible, but he couldn't break away from the insane thinking that sincerity is all that matters. As with many people, he claims to believe the Bible but truly doesn't. He is bound for Hell because of his stubborn unbelief.
So many people have put up a great big wall of defense when it comes to talking about religion. The common attitude is that religious people have been killing each other for centuries and still can't agree, so why take any religion seriously. Even when I try to explain to them that salvation is not found in a religion, but in the Person of Jesus Christ, they still refuse to listen to reason. It is tragic! So many Catholics (Roman and Orthodox) sincerely bow in adoration (worship) of Mary, making God angry by committing idolatry (Exodus 20:3-5, Isaiah 42:8). Many of the doctrines taught by the Catholic church aren't even found in the Word of God. They practice a false worship.
Just as any judge will tell you in court, "Ignorance is no excuse of the law." Why? Because you know where the law is and how to read it. Likewise, people know that the Truth is contained in God's Word, but they ignore it. The reason why ignorance is not excusable in court is because it is our responsibility to know the law. And likewise, it is our responsibility to seek out the Truth and follow it. Jesus acknowledged in Mark 7:7 that many people fully reject the Law of God in preference of their own religious traditions, "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." This is evil. We must seek the kingdom of God first according to Matthew 6:33. Sadly, religion becomes an end in itself for most people. Religion can only take you as far as the grave my friend, you'll burn in Hell if you don't have Jesus as your personal Saviour. Just as Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 proclaim, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Before the blessing of modern medicine, most doctors were woefully ignorant of the human body. Unbelievably, doctors centuries ago would deliberately remove blood from their patients, thinking it would help them to recover. In fact, it killed many of the patients. Those doctors were sincerely wrong. Come to think of it, we're not doing much better today...doctors kill 250,000 people EVERY year in the U.S. So many patients were suffering and dying that the government passed a law limited medical malpractice lawsuits to a maximum of $250,000. Ironically, that's exactly how many people doctors kill each year. Kind of eerily coincidental if you ask me. My point here is that doctors and nurses sincerely make plenty of mistakes. Thank God for doctors, but I sure hope I don't need one soon. How much more tragic is it that so many religions and false prophets are sincerely leading people into the fires of Hell. They sincerely believe that they're doing the right thing, just like the false prophets in Matthew 7:21-23 who were guilty of not doing God's will. Do you know what God's will for you is concerning salvation? Here it is...
"And this is the WILL of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." -John 6:40
I don't care how sincere you are, you will burn in the fires of Hell if you do not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." -2nd Thessalonians 1:8
