Of all the questions you will ask yourself in
life, probably the most important is, Am I good enough to go
to Heaven? The way to find this out is to ask yourself if
you have obeyed the Ten Commandments. Most would answer the
question, "Well, I've broken one or two, but nothing too
serious, like murder, etc." So, let's go through them and see
how you do:
1. "You shall have no other gods before
Me."
Is God first in your life? Do you love God
above all else? Many years ago, I purchased a T.V. for our
children, but the first evening we had it, I arrived home from
work and found that they didn't even bother to greet me. They
were too busy watching television. I turned it off and explained
to them that if they ignored me because they preferred to watch
T.V. they were setting their love on the gift rather then
the giver, a wrong order of affections. In the same way,
if we love anything—husband, wife, children or even our own
lives—more than we love God, we are setting our affection on the
gift rather than the Giver, which is a transgression of the
First Commandment. In fact, the Bible says that we should so
love God that our love for Mom and Dad and brother and sister
should seem like hatred compared to the love we have for
the God who gave those loved ones to us.
We are also commanded to love our
neighbor as much as we love ourselves. Jesus spoke of a
Samaritan who found an injured stranger, bathed his wounds,
carried him to an inn, gave money for his care and told the
inn-keeper that he would pay for his expenses. We call him the
good Samaritan, but in reality he wasn't "good" at all,
he merely obeyed the basic command to love his neighbor as
himself. That is a picture of how God expects us to love our
fellow human beings. We should love them as much as we love
ourselves...whether they be friend or foe.
Have you loved God with all your heart? Have
you loved humanity as much as you love yourself? You be the
judge. Will you be innocent or guilty on Judgment Day of
breaking that Commandment? I'm not judging you—I'm asking you to
judge yourself before the Day of Judgment. The sentence
for breaking this Commandment is death.
2. "You shall not make for yourself any
graven image."
This means that we shouldn't make a god to
suit ourselves, either with our hands or our mind. I was guilty
of this. I made a god to suit myself. My god didn't mind a
"white" lie or a fib here and there—in fact, he didn't exist. He
was a figment of my imagination, an "image" which I shaped to
suit myself. Is your God the One revealed in Holy Scripture? If
not, then you have made your own god to suit yourself—you have
committed the oldest sin in the Book. Scripture warns that no
idolater will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
3. "You shall not take the name of the
Lord your God in vain."
Have you ever taken God's name in
vain—instead of using a four-letter word to express disgust,
you've used His name? Hitler's name wasn't despised enough to
use as a curse word. If you have used His holy name in that
manner, you are a blasphemer and will not enter the Kingdom of
God.
4. "Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it
holy."
I ignored this command for 22 years. Even
though God gave me the gift of life, never once did I ask what
He required of me. I was guilty of breaking this Commandment.
5. "Honor your father and your mother."
Have you always honored your parents
in a way that's pleasing in the sight of God? Ask Him to remind
you of the sins of your youth. You may have forgotten them, but
God hasn't.
6. "You shall not murder."
Jesus warned that if we get angry without
cause we are in danger of judgment. If we hate our brother, God
calls us a murderer. We can violate God's Law by attitude and
intent.
7. "You shall not commit adultery."
Who of us can say that we are pure of heart?
Jesus warned, "You have heard that it was said to those of old,
'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever
looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery
already with her in his heart." Remember that God has seen every
thought you have had and every sin you have ever committed. The
day will come when you have to face His Law, and we are told
that the impure, fornicators (those who have sex before
marriage) and adulterers will not enter the Kingdom of God.
Punishment for transgression of this Commandment is the death
penalty.
8. "You shall not steal."
Have you ever taken something that belonged
to someone else (irrespective of its value)? Then you are a
thief—you cannot enter God's Kingdom.
9. "You shall not bear false witness."
Have you ever told a lie? Then you are a
liar. How many lies do you have to tell to be a liar? Just one.
The Bible warns that all liars will have their part in
the Lake of Fire. You may not think deceitfulness is a serious
sin. God does!
10. "You shall not covet."
That means we shouldn't desire anything that
belongs to another person. The covetous will not inherit the
Kingdom of God.
Who of us can say we are not guilty of
breaking these Commandments? All of us have sinned, and
just as with civil law, you don't have to break ten laws to be a
lawbreaker, so the Bible warns, "For whoever shall keep the
whole Law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all."
A little girl was once watching a sheep eat
grass and thought how white it looked against the green
background. But when it began to snow she thought, "That sheep
now looks dirty against the white snow!" It was the same
sheep, but with a different background. When we compare
ourselves to man's standard we look pretty clean, but when we
compare ourselves to the pure snow-white righteousness of
God's standard—His Law, we can see ourselves in truth, that
we are unclean in His sight. That Law is the holy standard by
which humanity will be judged on Judgment Day.
This may sound strange, but the worst thing
you could do at this point of time is to try and clean up your
lifestyle—you realize that you have sinned, so from now on you
will keep the Ten Commandments, do good deeds, say the right
things and think only pure thoughts. But should a judge let a
murderer go because he says he will now live a good life? No,
he's in debt to justice and therefore must be punished.
The Law of God is merely like a mirror—all a
mirror does is show you the truth. If you see egg on your face,
you don't try and wash yourself with the mirror, it's purpose
should be to send you to water for cleansing. Neither should you
try and wash yourself with the mirror of God's Law...that's not
its purpose.
The sight in the mirror is not a pretty one,
but if you don't face it and acknowledge that you are unclean,
then all that "dirt" will be presented on Judgment Day as
evidence of your guilt, and then it will be too late to be
cleansed.
Perhaps you think that God is good and will
therefore overlook your sins. But if you were guilty of terrible
crimes in a civil court and said to the judge, "Judge, I am
guilty but I believe that you are a good man and will therefore
overlook my crimes," the judge would probably respond by saying,
"You are right about one thing; I am a good man, and it's
because of my goodness that I am going to see that justice
is done, that you are punished for your crimes." The very thing
that many are hoping will save them on Judgment Day, God's
"goodness," will be the very thing that will condemn them. If
God is good, He should punish murderers. liars, thieves,
etc., and Hell will be their dreadful fate.
What a terrible place Hell must be. If you
read in the newspaper that a man received a $5 fine for a crime,
you could conclude that his crime was insignificant. But if a
man received multiple life sentences, you could conclude
that his crime was heinous. In the same way, we can catch a
glimpse of how terrible sin must be in the sight of God by
looking to the punishment given for it—eternal
punishment. Ungrateful humanity never bothers to thank God for
His wonderful blessings of color, light, food, joy, beauty,
love, and laughter, so He will take those blessings away from
them. Instead of proving their gratitude by obedience to His
will, they use His name to curse. Their punishment will be just
but severe to the uttermost. Take the time to read what Jesus
said Hell was like in Mark 9:43-48. I am afraid for
you...please, look honestly into the mirror of the Law, then
seek the "water" that cleanses every sin. If you don't believe
what I am saying about the reality of Hell, it means you think
God is corrupt (that He hasn't the moral backbone to seek
justice), that Jesus was a liar, that the Apostles were false
witnesses, that God's promises are nothing but prefabricated
lies, and there is no greater insult to God than to call Him a
liar. By doing so, you are adding to your transgressions.
Imagine if you reject the Savior, die in your sins and find that
what I have told is the Gospel truth? Then it will be too late,
you will be judged for you sins. If that happens, and your eyes
meet my eyes on the Day of Judgment, I'm free from your blood. I
have told you the truth, but if you choose to ignore it your
blood will be upon your own head...you will have no one to blame
but yourself.
Can you see your predicament? You are guilty
of sinning against God Himself, and, because you have a
conscience, you have sinned "with knowledge." Isn't it true that
every time you lied, stole, lusted, etc., you did it with
knowledge that it was wrong?
Does the fact that you have sinned against
God scare you? It should. You have actually angered Him
by your sin. The Bible says His wrath abides on you, that you
are an "enemy of God in your mind through wicked works." But let
fear work for your good in the same way that a fear of jumping
out of a plane at a great height would make you put on a
parachute. Let your will to live open your heart to the Gospel
of salvation.
I am not the only one who doesn't want you to
end up in Hell. The person who gave you this tract cared enough
to give it to you and risk your rejection, and God Himself is
not willing that you perish. To make clear what an incredible
thing He has done for you in the Gospel, let's look again to
civil law: You are standing in front of a judge, guilty of
very serious crimes. All the evidence has been presented and
there is no doubt about your guilt. The fine for your crime is
$250,000 or imprisonment, but you haven't two pennies to rub
together. The judge is about to pass sentence...he lifts his
gavel, when someone you don't even know steps in and pays the
fine for you. The moment you accept that payment, you are
free to go. Justice has been served, the law has been satisfied,
and what's more, the stranger who paid your fine showed how much
he cares for you. His payment was evidence of his love.
That's what God did for you, in the person of
Jesus Christ. you are guilty, He paid the fine 2,000 years ago.
It is that simple. The Bible puts it this way: "he was
bruised for our iniquities . . . Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the Law being made a curse for us...God commended His
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us."
It was no small thing for Jesus to die for
us. The only thing that would satisfy the demands of Eternal Law
was the suffering death of the sinless Son of God.
What love God must have for you! He suffered unspeakable
agony, so that you wouldn't have to be punished for your sins.
His sacrificial death and resurrection mean that you need no
longer be in debt to the Law, and God can now grant you
everlasting life if you obey Him -- death no longer has a legal
hold upon those who belong to Jesus Christ.
Two men were offered a parachute while seated
in a plane. The first man was told it would improve his flight,
but the second man was informed he had to make a 25,000 foot
jump. when the flight struck severe turbulence the first man
took his parachute off because as far as he was concerned it
didn't improve the flight. but during the same violent
turbulence, the second man clung tighter to his parachute. Each
man's motive for putting the parachute on determined
whether or not they would keep it on. In the same way, the
reason you should "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" shouldn't
be to find peace, joy, true happiness, to have your marriage
healed or your problems fixed, etc. (to have your flight
improved), but it should be to escape the jump to come—because
of the fact that you have to pass through the door of death.
Then, when the flight gets bumpy (when problems come) you won't
fall away from the faith.
What should you then do? Simply repent and
put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Don't
put it off until tomorrow.
Would you sell an eye for a million dollars?
How about both for $20 million? No one in his right mind would.
Your eyes are priceless to you, yet they are merely the windows
of your soul. Your life (your soul) is of such value, Jesus said
that you should despise the value of your eye compared to it. He
said that if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast
it from you, for it is better to enter Heaven blind than to go
to Hell seeing. In other words, of all the things you should
prioritize in your life, it's not your health, your vocation,
etc., it's your eternal salvation.
Think of a man who has committed adultery.
His faithful wife is more than willing to take him back, so what
is the attitude in which he should approach her? It should be
one of tremendous humility, asking for forgiveness, and
determining in his heart never to even think of
committing adultery again.
That's how you should approach God. If you
are not sure how to pray, read Psalm 51 and make it your prayer.
Then put your faith in Jesus Christ in the same way you would
put your faith in a parachute. You don't just "believe" it will
benefit you, you actually trust yourself to it by putting it on.
Then, once you have made peace with God, read the Bible daily
and obey what you read.
