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 TV 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 TV, They were setting their love on the
gift rather than 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 have any moral
dictates. But in truth my god 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
the 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 law-breaker, 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 the background
of 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
at this point of time is to try and clean up you
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, its 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 can'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 people 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 you is the Gospel truth?
Then it will be too late, you will be judged for
your 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 that
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, this second man clung tighter
to his parachute. Each man's motive for putting
the parachute on determined whether or not he
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 that you should prioritize
in you 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.
May
God bless you -- Ray Comfort, Living Waters Publications,
P.O. Box 1172, Bellflower, CA 90706.
*Condensed
from, Hell's Best Kept Secret, Ray Comfort (Whitaker
House).
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