“Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, ‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’ And after that, no one dared ask him any more questions.” (Mark 12:34 NLT)
We’re not told who this “teacher of religious law” was but can only hope he was insightful and wise enough to go from “not far” to “all in”. Close doesn’t count when it comes to the Kingdom of God. Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez were close to marriage. They were first engaged in 1902 when they were both 15 years old, but they weren’t married until June of 1969 when they were both 82 years old. While they may have lived with some of the benefits of marriage, legally they were single. They might have been “close” to marriage, but it took them 67 years to get there. Like marriage, the Kingdom demands decisiveness and lifelong commitment. We can be “engaged”, have a friendship with Jesus for decades and still miss heaven.
A person can be born in a church building, be brought to church every day of their life until they die, but unless and until they open their heart and life to Jesus, they’re just as lost as if they’d never heard His holy Name. I used to tell people, I could make my home in a garage, but that will never make me an automobile. It takes much more than association to change our heart and life for eternity.
Attending church, having close family members who love Jesus, or being associated with godly people does not make us a believer in Jesus. Yes, of course, we may believe He exists, that He taught Truth, that every word He spoke was accurate and inspired, but belief without the faith to activate it is in vain. The Bible clearly teaches that even the demons believe and tremble, but they are not and will never be saved. The clear advantage humans have is our ability to repent and turn from our evil, selfish ways.
Closing the gap of faith requires admission of guilt – confession. In the Biblical context, confession literally means to agree with God’s estimation of something. I may believe something is right, but if the Lord says it’s wrong, it’s wrong. God’s Word tells us we are sinners. What does that mean? Sin is a willful, knowledgeable disobedience to an instruction of the Lord. Sinners sin. Salvation in Jesus cleanses us of our sin.
While not an exhaustive list, the Ten Commandments, Galatians 5:19-21, Mark 7:21-23, Romans 1:29-31, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and Proverbs 6:16-19, cover actions, attitudes and heart intentions that displease the Lord. For example, I can believe with all my being that homosexuality is okay with God, but His Word clearly teaches in Leviticus 18:22-24, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:9-10, as well as Jude1:7 that homosexuality among all other forms of sexual immorality are clearly wrong in God’s holy sight.
Our greatest battlefield is our mind, so the greatest deterrent to sin is filling our mind with thoughts of God; flooding our mind and heart with His words from His Word, listening to Christian music and associating with godly brothers and sisters who not only talk the talk, but walk the walk. However, to isolate ourselves from ungodly people forfeits many opportunities to help them understand their need of the Lord. While our positive and godly witness is vital, it’s not enough. We must take the next step.
A simple question we can ask someone that can keep things real, but also get to the heart of the issue is: “When you close your eyes in death, do you know you’ll open them in the presence of the Lord Jesus?” Because ultimately salvation gives us assurance to know the clear answer to that question is a resounding“YES”. When we yield our life and allegiance to Jesus, He cleanses us of our sin and fills us with Himself in the Person of His Holy Spirit.
To be filled with His Spirit is to be empowered to speak on His behalf, so, to not speak on His behalf is to quench the Spirit and shut down an avenue of opportunity to be used to help someone see and understand why it’s so vital to understand to be close to Jesus doesn’t count. We must have a personal love relationship with Him, knowing our sins are forgiven, we’re filled with His Spirit, and our eternal home is in heaven. If you don’t know that for sure, please tap ANewStory.com and get your new life in Christ started right now.
Blessings, Ed 😊
