We each have the personal responsibility of learning what pleases God…and then living accordingly. So, in the interest of learning what pleases God, this article brings out some concepts that we can each consider within ourselves.
And, if we find any areas within our self that can stand some improvement…well, hopefully we will each be man enough or woman enough to make those improvements within our self.
With that, consider these two core questions…
- How much of a Christian do we have to be in order to go to Heaven?
- What differentiates true Pentecostal Holiness from all the other “flavors” of Christianity?
Romans 10:9-10
- That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
- For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
There are many in the realm of Christianity who have over-simplified these verses to the point that all a person has to do is say they believe in Jesus … that all a person has to do is confess that he or she is a “believer” … and with no other changes or improvements, that is enough to get them into Heaven.
But, that simply is not true.
It is not true because a sinner cannot step into true recognition of Christ’s Lordship and Divinity and remain the same old sinner.
It is not true because a sinner cannot grasp the full work of Christ…and the atonement He made for sin’s penalty…without realizing he or she needs to make some serious improvements before God.
In other words, a shallow “confession” followed by the occasional shallow “profession” is NOT enough for a person to be saved.
It’s not true because as John 7:38 says:
“He that believeth on me … out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
When a person TRULY believes, there IS going to be a difference in their life … changes and improvements ARE going to happen as that person seeks to move into pleasing the Lord … there IS going to be a difference as the things of God begin to flow out of him or her.
Now, we will get to some scriptures in just a moment…but let’s consider this scenario first…
During the years when we were raising our children … did we approve of … and support our children in being far less than their capabilities?
Did we approve of their talent and potential just being squandered and wasted while they lived lazy, shiftless, worthless lives?
Were we okay with and supportive of our children flunking their classes in school?
Were we okay with and supportive of our children being lazy mooches who refused to work or develop themselves?
Were we okay with and supportive of our children hanging out with sinful people?
As long as our children weren’t dealing drugs … or murdering people … or engaging in newsworthy criminal activity … was it okay with us for our children to be low-caliber, low-quality, and low-value?
Well, IF we were the kind of parents that we were supposed to be, the obvious answer is that none of these things were okay with us … and we certainly did not support them.
So, here is a question: come Judgment Day, will God approve of us having been far less than we could have been?
If it wasn’t acceptable to us for our children to be far less than they could be … can we expect God to be okay with us being far less than we could be?
Do we honestly think that when it comes our time to stand before God and give account of our lives and our deeds … that He will be okay with an admission that we could have been more in Him … and done more for Him … but that it just wasn’t important enough to us to actually be more and do more?
That takes us back to the first question…
How much of a Christian do we have to be in order to go to Heaven?
The story of the thief being saved on the cross is a popular story with some people. It is a story that appeals to some people because it is a story about a guy who did not live right or do right … but it was “okay” … because in the end, he was saved.
And, there are some people who are essentially trying to pull off the same “strategy” with God … they are living their life according to their own rules and laws … and God’s rules and laws are secondary to their own … but they fully intend to repent and surrender to God’s rules and laws just before they die.
But, following such a strategy is extremely dangerous … and the probability of success is extremely low.
Let’s have a look at these familiar scriptures…
Matthew 19:16-22
- And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
- And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
- He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
- Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
- Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
- But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
- Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Notice the phrase in verse 16 … “what good thing shall I do“:
- Most likely, what the young man really wanted was for the Lord to tell him that what he was good enough as he was … that what he was already doing of his own interest and volition was good enough to get him into Heaven.
- Or … he would probably have been very happy IF the Lord would have told him that he could go to Heaven if he just went to church on Sunday morning.
- Or … he would probably have been happy IF the Lord would have told him that he could buy his way into Heaven by giving to charities.
- Or … he probably would have been happy IF the Lord would have told him that performing or following certain religious ceremonial gestures was all that he needed to be saved.
The young man in these scriptures would have really liked it if any of these items would have been sufficient to get him into Heaven … but they were not enough.
With the young man … as with us … God calls for total surrender and submission.
Having said that, here is the point I really want to get to: this young man WAS a good moral man … based on how he lived, we would NOT call this young man a “sinner”. And yet, as far as the Bible records, he did NOT make it into Heaven … because he was not willing to fully surrender unto the Lord … he was not willing to fully follow after the Lord … he was not willing to place the Lord as first and foremost in his life.
These scriptures let us know that being a good moral person is NOT enough to get us into Heaven.
Let’s consider some more familiar scriptures…
Matthew 25:1-12
- Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
- And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
- They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
- But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
- While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
- And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
- Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
- And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
- But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
- And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
- Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
- But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
As you look at these scriptures, notice that:
- These virgins were ALL good people…
- They were all living in the same way…
- They were all doing the same things…
- They were all going to the same places…
- But, five of them did NOT make it to Heaven.
Again, we find that it is not enough to be a good moral person who goes to church on Sunday morning.
These scriptures let us know that we have to be MORE than that. Not only MUST we be good people … we also must be men and women who are filled with the oil of God’s Spirit.
Now, let’s swing around to the second question…
What differentiates true Pentecostal Holiness from all the other “flavors” of Christianity?
Well primarily, what separates all Christian denominations is a bit of doctrinal emphasis … and music.
The Baptists have their style of music … and the handful of scriptures that they emphasize and focus on.
The Church of Christ has their style of music … and the handful of scriptures they really zoom in on.
The Charismatic’s have their style of music and their handful of favorite scriptures.
It’s the same for the Methodists, Lutherans, and all the other “flavors” of Christianity.
But, what separates true Pentecostal Holiness from everything else is the Holy Ghost anointing … not something fake that is just an act or a show … not something artificial that is “taught” to us by other people … but real, true, genuine anointing poured out upon us by and from God Almighty … that is what distinguishes and makes the difference.
But, in order for us to have the anointing, we MUST draw closer to the Lord … we must become more spiritually minded … we must seek the Lord more earnestly.
Consider these familiar scriptures…
Colossians 3:2
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
James 4:8
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
Matthew 6:33
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness”
2 Corinthians 7:1
“let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Ephesians 4:24
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
1 Thessalonians 4:7
“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
Hebrews 12:14
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”
Revelation 3:16
“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”
We all know about these types of scriptures … we have all heard these kinds of scriptures many times…
But, just how engaged are we in seeking the Lord and drawing close to Him?
Knowing that without holiness, no man shall see the Lord … how active are we in perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord within ourselves?
Have a look at the following scripture…
Jeremiah 2:11
“my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.”
Too many who call themselves Christians have traded God’s anointing … anointing that changes lives and changes our world … for non-anointing that does NOT change lives or our world.
Now, consider this…
2 Chronicles 12:13-14
- So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah an Ammonitess.
- And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.”
Notice that Rehoboam’s big evil was that he did not seek the Lord!
Once again, we see that it is not enough to just be a “good person”. It is not enough to just stop being a sinful person. God expects us to “seek” Him … He expects us to draw closer to Him … to grow in His Spirit … to grow in Spiritual gifts. We have to “fix” our heart and mind upon continuously drawing closer to the Lord.
Let’s consider some more scriptures…
Psalms 105:4
“Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.“
Amos 5:4
“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:“
Amos 5:6
“Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.“
Amos 5:14-15
“Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.“
These scriptures further confirm that it is not enough to stop sinning. It’s not even enough to just be a good moral person. We actually have to hate evil … and we have to SEEK God and good.
The Apostle James told us we could pray for wisdom … and is it not self-evident that we each should also pray for Holy Ghost anointing?
In fact, that is exactly what Jesus commanded the people around him to do just before He left this world…
Luke 24:49
“but tarry ye … until ye be endued with power from on high.”
To bring this to a conclusion, let’s go back to our two questions…
- How much of a Christian do we have to be in order to go to Heaven?
- What differentiates true Pentecostal Holiness from all the other “flavors” of Christianity?
Well, based on the scriptures presented throughout this article…
Is it the case that God expects us to be believers who are MORE than just good moral people who go to church on Sunday morning?
Is it the case that God expects us to seek Him and to walk with Him to the point that we are “anointed” and filled with his Holy Ghost power?
Well, I propose that the answer for all of us is that there IS room for improvement … that all of us can stand to have a little more of God’s anointing in our life.
I propose that we each could have a higher determination within our self to pray for a greater dose of God’s Spirit and anointing in our life.
And, I propose that this sin-laden world has seen enough watered-down Christianity to make it sick … and that what it needs more than anything else are true Pentecostal Holiness Christians who are “anointed” with the Holy Ghost and power … and who better to be true Pentecostal Holiness Christians who shine the light of Jesus Christ in this world than each one of us?