Defiant Obedience Vs. Lying Disobedience.

Who will get into the kingdom of God?

People envision a certain sort of person getting into heaven on one hand, and on the other they envision everyone getting in.  The flip side of that coin might be people envisioning a certain sort of person not getting into heaven, and no one getting in at all.

If you had to make a list of people you believe are guaranteed heaven who might be on that list?

Did your mind instantly go to a loved one that died? Surely, simply because we love someone and it eases our minds to think it, we want those people in heaven when we all are called to rise and meet Jesus in the air- the dead and the living. We want our loved ones with us, we want to be called to Jesus at that last trump. But who will get into the kingdom of God? We KNOW Jesus tells us that NOT everyone will get into heaven. We've read it time and again that a lot of people are NOT going to be called to Jesus in that last day. So, who will get into the kingdom of God?

There are no shortage of parables from Jesus on this as we have been studying off and on for almost a month. It's no wonder either, because Jesus came to preach the good news- the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus' ministry was all about the Kingdom of Heaven and the way to that kingdom through Him. Jesus knew He was the ultimate sacrifice that would be needed to insure that humanity had a way of restoration to their original purpose upon creation- to be with God, to be in the way of God filled with love, with the oneness intended, to be united in such a way as to never part from God.

Mat 21:28  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 

Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 

Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 

Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 

Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. 

Picking up on yet another message from our Savior He spoke the above message about two sons- one asked to do something and he refused but then went and did it anyway- another asked to do something and he agreed but then he didn't do it.  Most of us can imagine this situation quite clearly. Would we rather someone say no, and then do it? Or someone say yes, and not do it?

Either way there is a defiance there, but one of the situations reveals repentance and obedience, while the other reveals deception and disobedience.

Sure, it might seem wonderful to hear the acquiescence to our requests- who doesn't want to hear an affirmative answer in reply to a request for action? If I ask someone to do something and they tell me they'll do it, I expect it to be done. If I hear someone tell me no, they won't do it, then I'm not expecting it to be done and I'm disappointed. Either way there is disappointment involved, right? Yet being obeyed ultimately is better than not being obeyed, yes? Would we rather hear good things but all those good things mean nothing? Or would we rather hear not so good things and those not so good things turn out to be untrue? Do we want lip service or service?

Of course I can hear the reply we want BOTH. We want to hear a- yes, I'll do it, and have it be done. This is what we really, really want, but if you had to choose between the other two scenarios most assuredly you'd want obedience from the defiant rather than lies from the disobedient.  Did you read that… the second scenario was all evil, while the first was repentance from evil. 

Defiance/Obedience  -  Lies/Disobedience

We are all sinners every single one of us there are absolutely NO exceptions to this rule.  Christ came in sinful flesh born with ALL the ability to act on the flesh nature He possessed, but He did NOT succumb to any temptations in all 33 years of His life upon earth. Christ was God's ONLY begotten Son. Christ was Emmanuel- God With Us. Christ consented to die, and not only did He consent to die- He consented to die a sinner's death, a criminal's death. His consent to taste death wasn't a simple- one split second alive and then dead as some deaths can be. His death was torturous, agonizing, slow and drawn out, and totally UNDESERVING.

We all deserve death because we indulge in our sins, we yield to temptations- but we are told if we REPENT and turn from those sins and rely upon the Savior's grace we can be redeemed.  However, we don't have to repent, we don't have to keep ourselves from temptation, we make the choices.

If we repent- as the one who repented of his defiance and obeyed, we most assuredly are following Christ's Way of redemption.  If we do not repent and obey, lying to other and to ourselves, we can seemingly be the most upstanding person in society and it will not redeem us at all.

Repentance and obedience through Christ, always!

Please, Lord, keep us from the evil of false obedience, of lying actions, of mouthing the word Christ, cloaking ourselves in the label of Christianity and having it all be lies. We would truly, and wholly be YOURS, we repent of our disobedience, of our sins! We seek to obey You and follow You, to be YOURS now and forever!!!!!!!