Who's Really Going to Heaven?
Printable VersionThis may be a shock to you and you may not believe it, but you are not going to heaven. You may think you’re deserving of eternal life but Scripture confirms that you are not going to heaven. Let’s explore this bold statement to see if it holds up to the Scripture test.
Jesus says in Scripture that there is none good except God. (Mark 10:17) And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (18) And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. We were passed on the sin nature from Adam and Eve, we inherited death. (Romans 5:17) “because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man”. We are fallen in our present state and will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact the Bible says that the only one who is going to heaven is the one who came from heaven. (John 3:13) No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. That’s right; Jesus is the only one holy enough to enter Heaven. You may not realize it but the eternal promises in Scripture were not for you or me, but for only one! (Galatians 3:16,19) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.… till the seed should come to whom the promise was made... We know that seed came in Jesus Christ, and if you think that you’re going to heaven, you’re mistaken because the promise is for Christ, the one who descended from heaven is the only one who is going back up into heaven. So if Jesus is the promised seed and it’s only Him who’s going to heaven, where does that leave us? Fear not, there’s hope for you and I along with our fellow man.
(John 3:3) Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (4) Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?" (5) Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' (8) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." What spirit is Jesus talking about here? He’s talking about receiving that born again spirit of Jesus Christ into your heart. Without His spirit, you are just born of the flesh and Scripture says “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 15:50). Flesh and blood is what you are and it’s not going to heaven, only the born again spirit of Jesus Christ in you, that promised seed, the one who descended from heaven is going back up into heaven. God knew that fallen fleshly man would not be accepted, that’s why we were given this prophecy of receiving a new heart and a new spirit which God could work through. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (26) And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (27) And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (28) You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (29) And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. God promised a day that He would give us a new spirit; God promised that He would put His spirit in us and cause us to obey Him! That prophecy was fulfilled by what Jesus did on the cross. (Galatians 3:13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"— (14) so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. When Jesus died on that cross and rose from the dead, He defeated Satan and his rule over the seed of Adam. This was the start of a new spiritual creation. The Bible calls Jesus the “last Adam” and it’s in His seed which we have our hope of Salvation.
(1 Corinthians 15:21) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. The promise is in Christ and it’s in Him we have our hope of eternal life. Let’s read more about Jesus being the last Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:45) Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit… (47) The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. (48) As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. (49) Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. The last Adam, Jesus became a life giving spirit! If we’ve now received the spirit of Christ, then we are a new creation and start to bear the image of Jesus Christ and it’s only through His spirit that at we enter eternal life. If we don’t have the spirit of Christ we’ll be rejected by God. (Romans 8:9) Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. (10) But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If you don’t have the spirit of Christ, you don’t belong to God! If Christ is in you, then you have eternal life because of His spirit and His righteousness in you. It's not you going to Heaven but the Jesus in you that's going.
(Galatians 2:20) I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God… This is a key part of the Gospel message and now that you have the spirit of Christ, you have died to your fleshly desires and that it’s no longer you that live but Christ living in you! You’re a new creation; a spiritual creation conformed to the image of Jesus! (Colossians 3:9,10) seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (10) and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. By faith in Jesus Christ you are a new creature, a spiritual creation in Christ and we are only made acceptable unto a holy God through the spirit of Jesus. (2 Cor 5:17) Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature the old things are passed away behold, they are become new. If you’re born again with the spirit of Christ, you’re a new creation with the seed of Christ! It’s now by faith in Jesus that we’re accounted as righteous and are acceptable to God. It's only the Jesus in us that may enter into Heaven.
(Romans 5:1,10,19) Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; We are justified (accounted righteous) by faith, through Jesus Christ. That’s the only way we have peace with the Father is through His Son. (10) For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Do you understand what it means to be reconciled to God? It means that through faith in Christ, He has reconciled or exchanged our sinfulness for His righteousness and that’s the only way we can approach God is through Jesus’ righteousness. (19) For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous. Yes, we were made righteous; we were made holy by faith in Jesus and His promised spirit that now lives in us. (Ephesians 2:13-18) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity… (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. We have access to the Father and His holiness by one way and one way only, that’s through the spirit that we are give when we become that new creation in Christ.
(2 Corinthians 5:18-21) But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…(19) that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself… (21) Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. What does it mean that God was in Christ? Here’s where it gets a little deep so hold on with me. Remember when Jesus said "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone”. Why would Jesus say this? Isn’t Jesus good too? After all, the Bible says that He was tempted in all ways like us, yet without sin, and still Jesus said it Himself, that God is the only one who is good. He’s correct that the Father is the only one who is good. It’s only because “God was in Christ” (2 Cor 5:19) that Jesus is holy. Jesus is not good or holy on His own account, but is holy and acceptable to the Father because God’s spirit is in Jesus. (John 10:30) I and the Father are one. How are Jesus and the Father one? Because they are one in God’s spirit. (John 14:9,10) Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (10) Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Yes, Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus, through the spirit of God they are one. Let’s listen to Jesus’ prayer. (John 17:11) And Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. We as Christians are to be one in the same spirit just as the Father and Jesus are one in the same spirit. Jesus continues in His prayer… (John 17:21) that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. You may need to read this again to fully understand what Jesus is saying but Jesus is praying that His followers would be one in spirit, just as the Father’s spirit is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father, we are to be one in the same spirit with them. God’s spirit in Jesus and the spirit of Jesus in those who have faith in Him. That’s how we are able to be counted as righteous, we have the same spirit in us and if it’s Christ in us, then we are accounted as righteous. (John 17:22,23) The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one. We can see that Jesus says that we are to be one “even as we are one, I in them and you in me” The Father and Son are one in the same spirit. It’s to be Christ’s spirit in His believers just as it’s God’s spirit in Jesus. Us in Jesus, Jesus in God; “perfectly one”. That’s the body of Christ, perfectly one with the believer, you in the Son and the Son in the Father!
That’s why contrary to what we’ve been taught, (that is that we are sinners and will always be sinners) the Bible teaches that Jesus didn’t just forgive sin, Jesus took sin away! Because in the body of Christ, which you are a part of, there cannot be sin; let’s explore. (John 1:29) The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! As sin came into the world through Adam, Jesus the last Adam came not to just forgive sin, but to take it away! (Hebrews 9:26) But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Jesus with one sacrifice put away sin forever! (Peter 2:24) who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness. Nowhere does the Bible say “we’re just forgiven”, as you can see, Scripture says that we have died to sins; the spirit of Christ living in you is taking away the sin nature. (Ezekiel 36:26,27) “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you… And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” People say that we will always be sinners but they don’t realize that it’s not you and your efforts, but it’s God who takes away the sin nature and causes you to walk in holiness. God says that once you have this new heart and new spirit, it‘s God who’ll cause you obey Him. Now through Christ and His spirit, we live unto righteousness because we accept that righteousness by faith and in turn the Lord works in us to follow Him and manifest His nature in our lives.
(Hebrews 9:24) For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. (25) Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, (26) for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (27) And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (28) so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. We can see from this scripture that Jesus is appearing before God on our behalf, not to offer Himself repeatedly, (like the Old Testament sacrifices for forgiveness of sins) but once and for all by what Christ did on the cross. When Jesus said “it is finished”, it was finished and sin was put away forever. Now we who have been what the Bible calls “born again”, and have a new spirit in us, and by faith in Jesus we are accounted righteous and it’s His spirit living in us that now causes us to walk in holiness and shun evil. Our unintentional sin is covered by the blood of Christ until we manifest Jesus and His holinss in the flesh.
(Romans 6:2-23) God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? (3) Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. This newness of life is not talking about when we get to heaven; it’s talking about our life right now! This is that new creation Scripture speaks about. Through that rebirth and faith in Christ we have “died to sin” and are “walking in a newness of life”. Without that death to our old self and the reborn spirit of Christ, we have no hope of being righteous and being able to approach a holy God in heaven. (5) For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; (6) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; (7) for he that hath died is justified from sin. Have you died, so that Jesus can now live in you? Has the old you died so that the body of sin is done away with? Like the bold statement in the beginning, "you are not going to heaven", only the Jesus in you is acceptable to the Father and it’s only the Jesus in you that’s going to heaven. We that have a born again spirit of Christ are no longer in bondage to sin and are justified from sin; it is written so believe it! (8) But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him; (9) knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him. (10) For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus. How do we reckon ourselves to be dead to sin? If you’re IN Christ, you are in His body and His body has no sin. That’s what allows you to go to heaven and come before the Father clean, righteous and without sin. It's not you that will be going to heaven it's the Jesus in you. (12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof: (13) neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace. (15) What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid. (16) Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? Sin shall not rule in you life! You now have the spirit of Christ living in you helping you to obey Him. You know when you’re doing wrong, you can hear that still small voice, you know in your heart when you’re disobeying the Lord. That’s the promised gift from the Lord that He would put a new spirit within you and cause you to obey His commands. If you’re truly “born again” with His spirit, you’ll walk in holiness, in obedience to the spirit of the Lord. You are the servant to whom you obey either sin and death or obedience unto righteousness. (17) But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; (18) and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness… (22) But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end eternal life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So now we can see that when we’re IN Christ we are made free from sin. In fact you will see in this next scripture that if you’re IN Christ you cannot sin.
(1 John 3:3-9) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (4) Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. (5) And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (6) Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Yes, if you are in Christ there is no sin. How can we claim to be in the body of Christ and yet be a sinner? Christ’s body does not have sin, that's why it is going to Heaven. The Bible is clear that whoever abides, or is IN Christ does not sin! You have His spirit in you and Jesus does not sin. If you do practice sin, the Bible is clear that you do not really know Christ after all. (7) Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. (8) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Scripture warns us about being deceived into thinking that sin is OK, and that we are all “sinners”, and that “everybody sins”. Be careful of this deception that’s taught today, it’s very dangerous because the Bible says differently. Please click on the article Sinner saved by Grace for more on this topic. We must also not let the devil steal our faith and talk us into thinking that if we sin once that we’re not worthy or saved by Christ’s sacrifice. It’s the practice of sinning that we are warned about. If you practice sin you are of the devil. (9) Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. Here’s what we must understand; If you are in Christ there’s no sin, period!!! Any sin you commit is done outside the body of Christ. (1 Cor 6:18) "Every sin that a man does is outside the body". That's why it's so important to be IN Christ and not outside of Christ. Only in Christ you have the hope of salvation. If you claim to be “born again” and claim to be in the body of Christ, then you cannot be in His body and still go on sinning. Christ’s seed is in you because you’ve been “born again” or as this verse says “born of God” and when you are IN Christ you cannot sin. (1 John 1:5,6) God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (6) If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. Our fellowship with the Father is through the Son and “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all”. Maybe that’s why Scripture says, (Hebrews 12:14) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: With a God so holy and with such high expectations for us, does this mean that if you do sin even once you're not “born of God” or that you'll never make it to heaven? No, that doesn’t line up with the Scriptures. Let’s look at some other Scriptures to find out the true meaning of this.
(1 John 1:8, 2:1,2) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness… (1) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (2) And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins… Jesus is our propitiation or atonement for sin. He is coming before the Father as our advocate. Again you cannot be in the Body of Christ and sin, so when there is sin it is done outside the body of Christ. (1 Cor 6:18) Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. If you sin, it’s you sinning in your fleshly body and not your spiritual body, the body of Christ. Yet there are two types of sin, intentional and unintentional. The ones that are covered under the Blood of Jesus are the unintentional sins. These would be times when you mess up and realize by the Spirit within you that you’ve sinned. These would be done in your flesh, outside the body of Christ, but covered under the blood of Christ. (Click here for a complete study of sin called "He Takes Away the Sins of the World".) The sins that are not covered are the intentional, willful, premeditated sins. An example would be when temptation stares you square in the face, Christ’s Spirit whispers to you that it’s wrong, but you ignore that still small voice and sin anyway. That’s intentional, willful sin and it’s not covered under the blood of Jesus. (Hebrews 10:26- 29) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries…who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? There is no sacrifice for sins with those who know better and sin anyway; willful sin brings judgment.
So when the Lord says in (John 3:9) “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” He does not mean that if anyone has ever sinned that they are not born of God, (Romans 3:23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. What the Lord is saying is that if you are “born again” or “born of God”, you will not go on sinning because God’s seed is in you and is helping you to overcome sin. That’s how you know that you’re truly “born again” and have the spirit of Christ living in you. If you cannot overcome sin, and are making a practice of sinning, then you're really not “born again” like you may think. You are still walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit.
(Romans 8:8) They that are in the flesh cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. You cannot please God when you’re in the flesh, and if you don’t have the spirit of Christ in you, (that born again spirit) then you do not belong to God! That’s why the Bible says over and over that we must be “in Christ Jesus”, meaning we must be in His Spirit, in the body of Christ. (Romans 8:1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. You see, if you are in Christ, you’re covered under the blood and there is no condemnation; Jesus has covered any unintentional sin and you’re accounted righteous by faith.
Let’s look at some Scriptures to better understand what it means to be IN Christ Jesus. (1 John 2:5,6) But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. (6) He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. What does it mean to abide in Jesus or to be IN Christ? It’s keeping His word and walking as Jesus walked; being in Christ is doing the best you understand to do with what you know the Bible to say; being in Christ Jesus is reading the Bible and laying your head down at night, having that clear conscience that you're not in sinning according to all that you know. That is being in Christ Jesus, that is what it's like to be in the body of Christ and it's that body of Christ who's going to Heaven.
Though you've sinned in the past, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23,24). Although we have all sinned in the past, it's only when we are IN Christ Jesus that we have that redemption and can enter Heaven. It's only Jesus, (the body of Christ) who is going to Heaven; that's why we must continually be IN Christ Jesus.
(Romans 8:38,39) For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, (39) nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing will separate us from the love of God, IF you are IN Christ Jesus. The only way to be acceptable unto God is being IN Christ (not in the flesh but in the Spirit).
(2 Cor 5:21) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We are righteous not only through Jesus but IN Jesus!
(Ephesians 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. God our Father has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, in heavenly places, but only if you are In Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:8,9) …that I may gain Christ (9) and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. We must be found IN Christ, not of our own righteousness by our own works to be holy, but the righteousness that comes from God, by faith.
(2 Timothy 1:1) Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. Remember that promised seed? That promise of eternal life only comes with that new spirit and being IN Christ Jesus. (2:10) Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Salvation is only in Christ Jesus, It’s Christ’s born again spirit in you that’s going to heaven. You in the Son, the Son in you and the Son in the Father, perfectly abiding as one body, one vine with many branches in making up that vine. (John 15:1) “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (2) Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. (3) You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. (4) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. (5) “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. It cannot get any clearer that we must continually abide or be in Christ. That's where salvation is and just because you were once IN Christ, doesn’t mean that you’ll always be IN Christ. You must continue to abide in Jesus. You must obey His word and walk as Jesus walked. If not you are cast out of the body of Christ! "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned".
(1 John 2:28) And now, my little children, abide in him; that, if he shall be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Why does it say “if" He shall be manifested”? Because the only way Jesus will be manifested in your physical body is if you are in Him, or abiding in Christ. Remember that It's "Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ (Col 1:27,28) Now if it’s Christ in you when Jesus comes back, you’ll have boldness and not be ashamed before Him at His coming in the clouds because you are made perfect in Christ before the Father. Yes, Jesus is coming for the fruit and not the bare branches; Jesus is coming back for His body which is perfect.
As we conclude this study, I hope you now understand a little better why you’re not going to heaven, but it’s the Christ in you, the spiritual man that is. We’ve talked about what it means to be “in Jesus” and that if we are "in Jesus", then we are in the body of Christ and in the body of Christ there is no sin. If you sin by mistake, it’s covered by the blood of Christ and you’re still “in Christ”. If you sin willfully, you’re no longer “in Christ” and that sin is not covered by the blood of Jesus. You must strive to obey that still small voice of the Lord. That's what being led by the Spirit is about. If you have faith in Jesus and you’re obeying the Lord’s voice, then you’re "in Christ" and are accounted as being righteous and you are one with the Father and the Son, in the same Spirit. We’re to die daily in the flesh, so that we can grow daily in the spirit, but not without a price.
(2 Timothy 3:12) Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Press on toward that heavenly goal and know that it’s only the “Christ in you" in which we have our hope. Jesus is your only hope for glory in the forever future of eternity. Continuing in Christ Jesus is the only way we have that eternal life. (1John 5:11) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
May the Lord bless you,
Mark, a servant in the Lord, www.heavenshelpers.org
Questions/Feedback - email me: mark@heavenshelpers.org
