Entering The Kingdom of Heaven

The view from a hill

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” – John 3:5, 6

Most of the times when Christians talk about the gospel – the good news – what they are talking about is the gospel of Jesus Christ and they stop there. By that I mean they talk about the gospel of salvation as if that is the only the good news is all about. There are those who go a step further and preach heresy by saying that once you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, all your troubles would end. Nothing could be further from the truth. To quote a tweet from Pastor Rick Warren, “Not everything on earth has a happy ending. But we need to remember that this is not the end.” I believe that there is a problem with Christianity in that we are producing an assembly line of Christians (because the Bible says there are rewards for soul winning) but we are not doing enough to let people understand how to live the life or what to expect. A lot of Christians therefore go through life not understanding what they’ve signed up for.

In verse 3 of the third chapter of John, Jesus says we need to be born again for us to see the kingdom of God. In the Bible, Jesus described himself at various times either as the Way or the door. Therefore I believe Christ is the doorway into Christianity. A lot of people go to church never having accepted Christ and think they’re Christians. They’ve filled forms where when asked for their religion they filled Christianity. They think because their parents were “Christian”, they’re Christian too. Then one day they wake up and talk about how they’ve “rejected” Christianity never knowing they were never Christians. But no one goes to a house to visit and stays in the doorway. You have to enter the house. Jesus gives the formula for entering the house. The water and the Spirit. In the Bible, the water is synonymous with the Word of God. Therefore to enter the kingdom, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit must be your constant companies.

Sadly nowadays, a lot of people say they’re Christian but want to have nothing to do with either the Word or the Spirit. They would rather be led by their humanist thinking, which of course is their flesh. There are those who in this age of political correctness have rejected the Word. They say the Bible is too violent. To others, the Bible is old fashioned and out-dated. So they’ve replaced it with their own rules that they’ve formulated from their minds which have not been renewed. They believe Christianity should be a democracy or an equal rights movement. They lobby, scheme and blackmail to get their way and feel victorious when they achieve their aims. They are more concerned with the things the world is concerned about than they are concerned with the things God is concerned about. The Bible says that as many as led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. They are more concerned about culture and their place in history than they are with God’s purpose for man. That all should be saved and come to the knowledge of God.

It’s therefore evident that accepting Jesus is not enough. It’s not enough to stay at the door when the father is beckoning for you to come in. Sadly, a lot of people don’t want to come in to see or know the father. The Bible says that Jesus is our example. Jesus knew the Father intimately and knew the father’s will. This is because he spoke with him regularly. But we distance ourselves from him and then presume to speak for him. The Word and the Spirit are longing for us to know them and through them get to know the Father. Will we oblige them?

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO, a thriller published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers available here http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU-000194087/Deceptio.aspx. He is also the author of LOST, BUT FOUND, a story of love rejection and redemption http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ.