by Jacob Ninan
Let us take a look at the parable of the wheat and the tares which is in Matt.13. Jesus explained to the disciples that the wheat represented the sons of the kingdom whom He had sowed, and the tares, the sons of the devil. When Jesus came to the world with the Gospel that showed the way into the kingdom of God, Satan immediately followed with placing his children in the midst of the children of God. He has preached a false gospel that also promises to lead people to the kingdom of God. But it is only a matter of time before there will be a separation between the true children of God, and not only those who never wanted to get into the kingdom of God, but also those who imagine they have entered in while actually they are still children of the devil.
Isn't this the most tragic self-deception anyone can have, which will eventually lead them right into hell, while they are singing and dancing thinking that they are headed for heaven? Yet this is a fact that affects large numbers of people. Because the devil has managed to adulterate the preaching of the Gospel in many churches all over the world, this number has increased so much. We can estimate the extent of this damage when we consider that many popular preachers and leaders have been taken up with this false gospel, without realising that they are leading many people to destruction.
If we check with the Bible, we can easily see that the primary emphasis of the Gospel is to free us from sin (Matt.1:21). It is not only to forgive our sins that Jesus died, but also to deliver us from the power of sin over our lives so that we can truly be saved from sin (1Jn.2:1). But the false gospel promises us freedom from hell and all the blessings of wealth and health. So, many people are happy to come to Jesus to receive immediate benefits, and they think that their future will be taken care of. Some people get the impression that no matter how we actually live, our salvation is promised for eternity and it can never be lost. But the distinguishing mark of the true Gospel is that it will lead us to a transformation of our life. We will not remain the same as we were before we came to Christ, but our even our thoughts and attitudes will begin to be changed, and this can be observed in the way we live.
What we want to do here is to look at some of the characteristics of those who have become children of God, so that we can examine our life to see where we actually stand. We must however keep in mind that none of these things will be seen in us in a perfect manner as long as we are on earth. But we should be able to see a transition from the old life to a new life, and an increasing growth of these virtues with time.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jn.3:5). Jesus used the words, 'Truly, truly,' to emphasise the point that what He said here was to be taken extremely seriously. We have all been born once, physically. No amount of reformation of our life or turning over a new leaf can qualify us to enter the kingdom of God. A second, new, birth is necessary for that. Being 'born again' is a supernatural experience God gives, when we go to Him in repentance and receive salvation through Jesus as a free gift from God. A genuine experience of being born again will be preceded by a true repentance from our sins, and followed by the joy of being accepted by God even as we realise it is purely His unmerited favour towards us. It is not a superficial event when someone just repeats a prayer, raises a hand, goes forward, etc. God not only washes us with the blood of Jesus that was shed for the atonement of our sins, but He also gives us a new heart that no longer wants to sin. He also gives us His Spirit to strengthen us to deny ourselves and to do His will (Ezek.36:25,26). There will be a transition from our old, sinful way of life to a new life which we have never experienced before (2Cor.5:17).
No one can enter the kingdom of God except through being born again. A Christian family, name, church membership, water baptism, good works, etc., cannot be a substitute.
Some people think of being 'born of water' as referring to water baptism and therefore think that baptism is necessary for salvation, or even that people get born again when they get baptised. If water baptism was necessary for someone to enter the kingdom of God, how did the thief on the cross get in? What happened was that he repented from his sins and believed in Jesus as the Saviour. Think of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, who was saved and who received the baptism in the Holy Spirit even before he was baptised in water! It is clear from the different parts of the Bible that salvation is by God's grace when we place our trust in Jesus as our Saviour (which is preceded by repentance). So, it is safer to conclude that Jesus was referring here to being washed by the word of God which we receive, as in Eph.5:26.
"For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt.5:20). Some theologians may argue here like this. God can accept only the perfect kind of righteousness, and so nobody can be accepted by God based on his or her own righteousness. Therefore, in order to accept anyone who comes to Him by faith, God imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus to his account, because of which he or she can now be accepted. This is true in itself. But I think what Jesus is saying here is something very different.
The Pharisees were a group of Jewish people who tried their best to keep every detail of the Law of Moses. But they ended up looking at the external obedience to the Law without relating the Law to their inner life. Jesus commented about them that in all that they did, their goal was to impress people (Matt.23:5), and exhorted them to pay attention to cleaning up their inner life first (Matt.23:26). So, what Jesus was referring to when He talked about exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees was that if our righteousness was merely external, we would have no part in the kingdom of God. In other words, people in the kingdom of God would be characterised by their inner holiness and righteousness, which would then overflow into how they lived externally. This is another point on which to examine ourselves. If we have entered into the kingdom of God, we should be able to see God working on our thoughts and intentions–our inner life–and beginning our transformation there.
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter" (Matt.7:21). Jesus is not saying that the way to enter the kingdom of God is by doing His will. No one will be able to do God's will perfectly. But what He is saying is that words are not enough to show allegiance to Him, if there is no actual doing of His will. In a practical sense, Jesus is not expecting a perfect doing of His will from our side, but certainly there must be a clear direction in our heart towards doing His will. If we have moved from our old way of living for ourselves to living for God, it should be seen in our practical life. If someone assumes that he has entered into the kingdom of God, but takes no serious thought of doing God's will but continues to do his own will as before, that will show that such a man has not really entered the kingdom of God. It will show that he has not received a new heart and a new spirit. No real transformation has begun in his life, even though he may be assuming it has. Let us check ourselves on this and see the direction our heart has when it comes to matters such as marriage, work, ambitions, money, etc.
"Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt.18:3). Jesus was saying this to His disciples who had ideas about becoming great in the kingdom. They had to be converted from this way of thinking if they wanted to be in the kingdom of God. Being like children is to be without guile, pretence, double-speaking, scheming, etc. In the kingdom of God, the great thing is to be a servant, and the greatest will be the one who becomes the servant of all (Lk.22:26). So what do all those who are scheming and planning and manipulating things in order to become great in the eyes of man manifest? That they really do not belong to God even if they are using His name for their gain.
It does not look as if many have understood this principle of the kingdom, because all around us we can see people trying to exploit other people in the name of God, make a great name for themselves, etc. They are building empires for themselves, and not really building the kingdom of God. But they don't realise it.
"And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God" (Matt.19:24). Even when Jesus said this, His disciples could not believe this. It would appear that the rich have an advantage over the poor for doing religious things and giving alms, which, people imagined, would help them to earn their way to heaven. But here Jesus is saying something completely unexpected. Those who are rich tend to depend on their riches to solve all their problems, and they do not think about their need for God. Others who are rich in other ways, such as the clever, the capable and the talented also fall into the same danger, leaning on themselves rather than God. Such people do not have time for God, Bible, prayer, church, etc. God warns us not to go after money because that can plunge us into temptations and snares and move us away from God (1Tim.6:9).
It is good to check for ourselves if we belong to the kingdom of God and if we are growing up to fit in more with its characteristics. Whenever the Holy Spirit convicts us or shows us our lack, let us face it honestly, and learn to overcome, instead of defending ourselves or giving excuses, thinking that we are avoiding the accusation of the devil, or learning to avoid negative thoughts! Just think, how many people are thinking 'it is well with their souls' when they are still far from God! Many have even become well known leaders without having been born again. Let us keep asking God to show us what He thinks about us and how we need to change. In this way we can make it all the more sure for us that we are actually growing in the kingdom of God.