We who have sacrificed everything else and spend for the Lord, can we really be raised up into the kingdom of heaven?

[Scott Downey]

Colossians 2
11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body [h]of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the [i]handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

 

[Scott Downey]

Colossians 1, God has qualified us by faith for salvation.
We are kept by the power of God through faith, ready to be revealed in the LAST TIME.


9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and [c]conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption [d]through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Question: The Lord Jesus died on the cross for us, He forgave all our sins and redeemed us from the hands of Satan. That is to say, He did this to save us and grant us access to the kingdom of heaven. Even after this redemption, we continue to sin and we have yet to be cleansed. Nevertheless, I believe that the Lord’s forgiveness has made us righteous through our faith. As long as we sacrifice everything else to work and spend for God, as long as we are willing to endure suffering and pay the price, we’d be raptured into the kingdom of heaven. I think this is the Lord’s promise to us. However, some brothers and sisters have now questioned this belief. They say that although we labor and work for the Lord, we still sin often and then confess our sins, so we have not yet been cleansed. They have stated that the Lord is holy, so unholy people cannot meet Him. My question is: We who have sacrificed everything else and spend for the Lord, can we really be raised up into the kingdom of heaven?

Lena, your as long is wrong. Salvation is completely unconditional both before and after we trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for us. We work and sacrifice because we have been accepted by God the Father because of Jesus!

We have been cleansed positionally (our eternal life) but we still live in bodies of sin and death and must be cleansed in our daily experience or practice. This is what 1 JOhn 1:9 is about.

We are raised into the kingdom, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus has done!

 

[VictoryinJesus]

Victory, this is a great answer, and I don’t know why I didn’t see it or expect it.

Thank you for your encouraging words

 

[Lena123]

What to walk in the light means to me. I’m not saying it’s right but only what in my opinion of “walking in the light” means. This world teaches us it’s all about image. There is so many disorders and illnesses and fears over loss of image. So we put on a false image. We lie to ourself and to others not allowing our weakness to be revealed, instead we cover it up. To me walking in the Light means getting honest with yourself and others. To me it doesn’t mean confessing your faults in prayer by yourself but believing that if you confess before others. those faults brought into the Light for others to see and you acknowledge which also encourages them also to confess their faults. Like the saying “nothing gets worked out in secret”. The reason I say that I don’t think it is confessing in prayer while alone in your private space is because to me it is the willingness to get real in “walking in the light” being exposed, becoming naked…knowing He clothes you. Not your hidden lies.

I can go up stairs into my attic and pray and confess a hundred things I do wrong that I’m coming clean about. But if I’m too afraid to confess it before others…then I’m still protecting a false image presented before others. To me that could be why He says if you have something against your brother leave your sacrifice and go tell your brother. That is the fear…of getting honest to one another.

But it is frightening to give up the false image. an example …if I say a person is rotten and I mock the things they do but at the same time I lie to others and mostly to myself not able to see I do the same things…then there is no Light because I’m blind to my own doing of those things which I mock others for. Denial. Building up an image. Raising up a false image against brothers; This is what you are (tearing them down) while this is what I am (building yourself up). To me that is the false balances God hates. The balances are false. Lying about the truth. No humility of acknowledgment or able to see your own weakness. To me that denial of the truth and denial of light that your deeds be made known and made manifest …instead to protect your false image because of being proud of yourself and who and what you are when it is all based off of denying what is the truth “inside the heart” to shield yourself from ridicule by your deepest denials and falsehoods coming into the light …it’s all a powerful thing. Self-denial to me is the most freighting thing. The lies we convince ourselves of and the lies we tell ourselves. I was actually thinking about this last night…I’m starting to wonder if I can trust a single thing that I tell myself. I’m the worst liar of all. There’s two voices that I hear. One is my own that I’ve listened to and heard for 54 years. Cliche but after hearing and listening to that voice for 54 years I know the voice like the back of my hand. But there is another Voice and it’s foreign to the voice I’ve heard and listened to. There is a difference. Last night I was thinking about the voice I know like the back of my hand and I am almost convinced it’s the Antichrist. I say this because the voice I know like the back of my hand does everything possible to deny, reject, over-talk, shut-up, speak and convince against the other Voice that is so different from my own. The voice I know like the back of my hand is always saying “no. You are crazy. You are mentally ill. You are sick. You are not loved. All of your weakness are pathetic and you can’t be loved. Go back into your prison. Go back into your cage. You are not safe. You can’t be.” …which sounds nothing like His Voice which says things I’ve never heard before. That is why I’m beginning to see which voice is anti-Christ warring against His Voice?

That is what “walking in the Light” means to me. Letting go of the false image we use to clothe and hide ourselves while at the same time doing all we can to expose others so we feel better and prideful over “our clothing” which is false because it’s based off of our own denial. Our denial of our false image mostly to ourselves. “Walking in the light” not a one time act but a way of walking in what we say we believe which is our Father forgives our sins. Yet we hide them which is contrary to what we say we believe which God is graceful and merciful and quick to forgive.

being honest is very important practice. Share some passages with you all.

You ought to know that God likes those who are honest. In essence, God is faithful, and so His words can always be trusted; His actions, furthermore, are faultless and unquestionable, which is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him. Honesty means giving your heart to God, being genuine with God in all things, being open with Him in all things, never hiding the facts, not trying to deceive those above and below you, and not doing things only to curry favor with God. In short, to be honest is to be pure in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man. What I say is very simple, but to you it is doubly arduous. Many people would rather be condemned to hell than speak and act honestly. Little wonder that I have other treatment in store for those who are dishonest. Of course, I know full well how difficult it is for you to be honest. Because you are all so clever, so good at measuring people with your own petty yardstick, this makes My work much simpler. And since you each hug your secrets to your bosom, well then, I shall send you, one by one, into disaster to be “schooled” by fire, so that thereafter you may become dead set on your belief in My words. Ultimately, I shall wrest from your mouth the words “God is a faithful God,” whereupon you shall beat upon your breast and lament, “Devious is the heart of man!” What will be your state of mind at this time? I imagine you will not be as triumphant as you are now. And much less will you be as “profound and abstruse” as you are now. In the presence of God, some people are all prim and proper, they take pains to be “well-behaved,” yet they bare their fangs and brandish their claws in the presence of the Spirit. Would you number such people among the ranks of the honest? If you are a hypocrite, someone who is skilled in “interpersonal relations,” then I say that you are definitely someone who tries to trifle with God. If your words are riddled with excuses and valueless justifications, then I say that you are someone who is loath to put the truth into practice. If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, if you are highly averse to laying bare your secrets—your difficulties—before others to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are someone who will not attain salvation easily, and who will not easily emerge from the darkness. If seeking the way of the truth pleases you well, then you are someone who dwells always in the light. If you are very glad to be a service-doer in the house of God, working diligently and conscientiously in obscurity, always giving and never taking, then I say that you are a loyal saint, because you seek no reward and are simply being an honest person. If you are willing to be candid, if you are willing to expend your all, if you are able to sacrifice your life for God and stand firm in your testimony, if you are honest to the point where you know only to satisfy God and not to consider yourself or take for yourself, then I say that such people are those who are nourished in the light and who shall live forever in the kingdom.

Only if people seek to be honest can they know how deeply corrupted they are and whether or not they have any human likeness; only when they are practicing honesty can they become aware of how many lies they tell and how deeply hidden their deceit and dishonesty are. Only while having the experience of practicing being honest can people gradually come to know the truth of their own corruption and recognize their own nature essence, and only then can their corrupt dispositions be constantly purified. Only in the course of their corrupt dispositions being constantly purified will people be able to gain the truth. Take your time experiencing these words. God does not perfect those who are deceitful. If your heart is not honest—if you are not an honest person—then you will never be gained by God. Likewise, you will never gain the truth, and will also be incapable of gaining God. If you cannot gain God and you do not understand the truth, then what does this mean? It means that you are hostile to God, you are incompatible with Him, and He is not your God. And if God is not your God, then you cannot attain salvation. If you cannot attain salvation, you will forever be a bitter enemy of God, and your outcome will be set. Thus, if people wish to be saved, then they must start by being honest. There is a sign that marks those who shall ultimately be gained by God. Do you know what it is? It is written in Revelation, in the Bible: “And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish.” Who are “they”? They are those who are perfected and gained by God, and are saved. How does God describe these people? What are the characteristics and the expressions of their actions? (They are without blemish. They speak no lies.) You should all understand and grasp what speaking no lies means: It means being honest. What does it mean to be without blemish? How does God define someone who is without blemish? Those without blemish are able to fear God and shun evil; they are the ones who can abide by God’s way. Such people are perfect in God’s eyes; they are without blemish.

 

[Lena123]

This needs to happen, but I don’t know when it happens. Some people say it can happen in this life. I don’t know about that. All I know is that it hasn’t happened to me or anybody I know. (And I’ll bet a Starbucks pumpkin spice muffin that I’ll regret saying that publicly. Sheesh, talk about wanting to maintain a false public image…)

Hi Lambano, can you check my message?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

being honest is very important practice. Share some passages with you all.

You ought to know that God likes those who are honest. In essence, God is faithful, and so His words can always be trusted; His actions, furthermore, are faultless and unquestionable, which is why God likes those who are absolutely honest with Him. Honesty means giving your heart to God, being genuine with God in all things, being open with Him in all things, never hiding the facts, not trying to deceive those above and below you, and not doing things only to curry favor with God. In short, to be honest is to be pure in your actions and words, and to deceive neither God nor man. What I say is very simple, but to you it is doubly arduous. Many people would rather be condemned to hell than speak and act honestly. Little wonder that I have other treatment in store for those who are dishonest. Of course, I know full well how difficult it is for you to be honest. Because you are all so clever, so good at measuring people with your own petty yardstick, this makes My work much simpler. And since you each hug your secrets to your bosom, well then, I shall send you, one by one, into disaster to be “schooled” by fire, so that thereafter you may become dead set on your belief in My words. Ultimately, I shall wrest from your mouth the words “God is a faithful God,” whereupon you shall beat upon your breast and lament, “Devious is the heart of man!” What will be your state of mind at this time? I imagine you will not be as triumphant as you are now. And much less will you be as “profound and abstruse” as you are now. In the presence of God, some people are all prim and proper, they take pains to be “well-behaved,” yet they bare their fangs and brandish their claws in the presence of the Spirit. Would you number such people among the ranks of the honest? If you are a hypocrite, someone who is skilled in “interpersonal relations,” then I say that you are definitely someone who tries to trifle with God. If your words are riddled with excuses and valueless justifications, then I say that you are someone who is loath to put the truth into practice. If you have many confidences that you are reluctant to share, if you are highly averse to laying bare your secrets—your difficulties—before others to seek the way of the light, then I say that you are someone who will not attain salvation easily, and who will not easily emerge from the darkness. If seeking the way of the truth pleases you well, then you are someone who dwells always in the light. If you are very glad to be a service-doer in the house of God, working diligently and conscientiously in obscurity, always giving and never taking, then I say that you are a loyal saint, because you seek no reward and are simply being an honest person. If you are willing to be candid, if you are willing to expend your all, if you are able to sacrifice your life for God and stand firm in your testimony, if you are honest to the point where you know only to satisfy God and not to consider yourself or take for yourself, then I say that such people are those who are nourished in the light and who shall live forever in the kingdom.

Only if people seek to be honest can they know how deeply corrupted they are and whether or not they have any human likeness; only when they are practicing honesty can they become aware of how many lies they tell and how deeply hidden their deceit and dishonesty are. Only while having the experience of practicing being honest can people gradually come to know the truth of their own corruption and recognize their own nature essence, and only then can their corrupt dispositions be constantly purified. Only in the course of their corrupt dispositions being constantly purified will people be able to gain the truth. Take your time experiencing these words. God does not perfect those who are deceitful. If your heart is not honest—if you are not an honest person—then you will never be gained by God. Likewise, you will never gain the truth, and will also be incapable of gaining God. If you cannot gain God and you do not understand the truth, then what does this mean? It means that you are hostile to God, you are incompatible with Him, and He is not your God. And if God is not your God, then you cannot attain salvation. If you cannot attain salvation, you will forever be a bitter enemy of God, and your outcome will be set. Thus, if people wish to be saved, then they must start by being honest. There is a sign that marks those who shall ultimately be gained by God. Do you know what it is? It is written in Revelation, in the Bible: “And in their mouth was found no lie; they are without blemish.” Who are “they”? They are those who are perfected and gained by God, and are saved. How does God describe these people? What are the characteristics and the expressions of their actions? (They are without blemish. They speak no lies.) You should all understand and grasp what speaking no lies means: It means being honest. What does it mean to be without blemish? How does God define someone who is without blemish? Those without blemish are able to fear God and shun evil; they are the ones who can abide by God’s way. Such people are perfect in God’s eyes; they are without blemish.

I’m not familiar with this version? If you don’t mind my asking…is this your study or perspective or a passage?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

Our righteousness (all our good works) is filthy rags.

“Our righteousness is filthy rags.” What a picture He gives. Of being being unclean and trying to wash your body with a fifty rag. I’m seeing trying to bathe my unclean body with the same rag I just washed my car tires with… the rag is gritty and black with gunk. I’m going to smear more dirt on me then I’m going to take off.

That's why He came ....so by faith IN CHRIST, we are clothed in HIS righteousness.

Love where He washes the disciples feet.