WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN THE HEREAFTER!



“I am proudly Catholic”, I am proud to be Pentecostal”, “I take pride in my denomination”, “I am not ashamed to be Anglican”… I see people saying this often, especially on social media. But wait a minute, is belonging to a particular denomination really what matters? I mean, being Pentecostal, Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, is it what really matters to God? Is it what will determine where a person will spend eternity –the denomination you belong? From the Bible, we understand that the denomination you belong to is not the criteria for determining whether you will be granted access into heaven or not. So what is the criteria? What really matters? What determines whether a person will enter heaven or not?

Many people are proud to be associated with one denomination or the other, but just small percentage of Christians are really proud of BEING and DOING what Jesus emphatically stated in the Bible is required to enter His Kingdom.

So what really matters? What is the criteria for entering the kingdom of heaven? John 3:3-7 reveals this to us: “Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?” Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the (Holy) Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above.”

What matters therefore is: are you born again? Dear professing Christian, are you born again to become a child of God? 1st Corinthians 6:9-11 tells if you are, it says: “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

From this scripture, we understand that if you have been born again by the Holy Spirit to become a child of God, you will no longer live the former life of immorality and sin you used to live; having been made holy and made right with God by calling on Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit, you will now live a righteous and holy life. 1 John 3:9 validates this truth by saying “Those who have been born from God don't live sinful lives. What God has said lives in them, and they can't live sinful lives. They have been born from God.”
With an understanding of this truth, I ask you again, are you born again? If you’ve been born again, have you stopped living in sin, have you now began living a holy life as Your Heavenly Father is holy?

Bear in mind that when Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:21 saying “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” He meant that only those who have been born again and are living out the will of His Father on earth will be welcomed into heaven. The will of God is the word of God. Doing what the word of God commands, instructs and teaches, and what the Holy Spirit counsels you to do is doing the will of God. Are you doing the will of God?

So, contrary to what you may have thought before now, you won't actually enter heaven because you're Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, or Anglican. According to Jesus’ statement in John 3:3-7, you will ONLY enter heaven because you're born again [to become a child of God] and you are loyal to the truth of the Bible which requires you to do the will of God on earth (not your will, but God’s will) after being born again. Are you proud of and boast of BEING born again and DOING the will of God?

Final word: Beloved, are you loyal to the truth of God's word, or are you loyal to your denomination that even when you realize that its teachings, core beliefs, and practices contradicts the written word of God- the Bible, you still stand with your denomination thinking there is pride in doing that or there is a reward for you in heaven for being loyal to your denomination, instead of standing with God’s word? Maybe you don't know, but there is no reward in heaven for being loyal to a particular denomination, but there is a reward for being loyal to the truth of God's word. Because what God expects from you is simply obedience to His word, for His Word is SUPREME and holds the HIGHEST AUTHORITY in heaven and on earth (Psalm 138:2, Matthew 24:35).  Are you born again? Are you a child of God? Are you doing the will of God by living in obedience to the teachings of the Bible? That is what matters! Because there are no denominations in heaven, only born again children of God who did the will of God while on earth.

Don't be proud that you belong to a particular denomination or boast about the denomination you are a part of. Take pride in the fact that you are born again and you are doing the will of God on earth. Boast of being a child of God, because that is what matters in the hereafter; that is what determines whether you will enter heaven or not - if you are a child of God and if you did the will of God while on earth as a child of God. You can be Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal, Baptist...and still go to hell, but you cannot be born again and do the will of God on earth and wind up in hell. Understand this truth and BECOME and DO what Jesus requires of you to enter His Kingdom.

God bless you.

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