We may dream of a home in heaven; we may entertain hopes of seeing Jesus
and of inheriting a mansion on the shores of eternal bliss; we may imagine
ourselves walking through the blooming fields of paradise and sitting
beneath the tree of life; but our dreams, our hopes, and our imaginations
will never be realized unless we carefully keep the commandments of God.
More than a profession is necessary; obedience is the only door into the
kingdom of God. Jesus said, "Not every one that sayeth unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven." Until our faith pierces through and beholds
the beauties and the realities of God so we can say from the very depths
of the soul, "I delight to do thy will, O God." and, "My meat and my drink
is to do the will of Him that sent me," we have not fully entered the true
and right pathway of life. Keeping the commands of God is the whole man
and the whole of a perfect life.
"BE DOERS OF THE WORD."
I want to remind you again that the mission of this little volume is to
teach you how to live. The life beyond depends on the life here. Let me
emphasize what I have repeatedly said before: to live as we should, we
must live by every word of God. To live by every word of God is not only
to hear it but also to do it. We have learned that, in order to enter the
city of God and eat of the tree of life, we must <i>do</i> his
commandments, and also that it is not "every one that sayeth, Lord, Lord,
that shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven."
Now I will read you a text from the Epistle of James, "But be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." We are living
in a careless age. The Word of God is being treated with neglect. Many are
hearing it, but alas! how few are doing it! In this way people deceive
themselves. They think they are on their way to heaven, when they are not.
The only way to heaven is by doing the commandments. To illustrate this, I
will refer you to a few texts. "If thine enemy hunger, feed him." Rom.
12:20. "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
other also." Matt. 5:39. "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye
also to them likewise." Luke 6:31. If it comes most natural for us to live
according to these texts, we can begin to conclude that our hearts are
right with God. However, we must have a heart that does not rebel against
any text in the Bible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account