In our belief in God, who doesn’t want to obtain God’s approval and enter into heaven? However, we often live in a condition of sinning and confessing. What is the Lord’s attitude toward this kind of sinner? Will the Lord forever forgive us? You may get the answer from this essay: What Is God’s Attitude Toward Sinners?
Wang Yan
Many brothers and sisters in the Lord ask: I attend the worship in the church every week, and I often read the Bible and expend and work for the Lord. But I live in a circle of committing and confessing sins. If I go on like this, will the Lord truly forgive me? How will Him treat a sinner?
In regard to God’s attitude toward a sinner, many brothers and sisters will say, “Do you even have to ask this? The Lord is merciful and loving. No matter how serious sins we commit, the Lord will always forgive and absolve us. And at last the Lord will bring us into the kingdom of heaven. Then we’ll be with the Lord in the paradise.” In the past, I thought in the same way. Because of this viewpoint, I didn’t pay attention to my sins, and even indulged myself and gave free rein to the spread of sin. But later, I got some light after I investigated the Bible. Here I share my light with you.
The Lord Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (Jhn 8:34-35). “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Heb 10:26-27). These verses say clearly what God’s attitude toward sinners is. In the eyes of God, all those who sin are slaves to sin and they belong to Satan. If they haven’t repented and changed themselves even until the end, they will never enter into the kingdom of God. It’s only our imagination that God will forever absolve our sins and no matter how many sins we have committed God won’t remember any of it. Why do I say this? Because we all have sinful nature within and many satanic dispositions. For instance, we have dispositions of arrogance, deceitfulness, selfishness; we are greedy for money and love status, seek after fleshly enjoyment, and our conduct and behavior are all based on Satan’s views and principals like, “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” “A man dies for money; a bird dies for food.” “Man struggles upward; water flows downward.” “Securing a position for creature comforts.” … These axioms of Satan are deeply embedded in our minds, so that we conduct and behave according to these erroneous views and principals, and cannot practice the truth. In substance, we still belong to Satan. If we don’t cast off these corrupt dispositions, we will be condemned by God in the end.
Some brothers and sisters say, “We have believed in God for many years. We work hard for the Lord and establish so many churches, and we have even been imprisoned for the Lord. How could we be abandoned?”
In regard to this question, there are some other words in the Bible. Let me read them to you, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.” (Mat 7:21-23) A spiritual book says, “If there are no changes in your personal disposition, then that is because your viewpoint toward pursuit is wrong. If you are granted no reward, then that is your own problem, and because you yourself have not put the truth into practice, and are unable to fulfill God’s desire. And so, nothing is of greater importance than your personal experiences, and nothing is more critical than your personal entry! Some people will end up saying, ‘I’ve done so much work for You, and though there may not have been celebrated achievements, still I have been diligent in my efforts. Can’t You just let me into heaven to eat the fruit of life?’ You must know what kind of people I desire; those who are impure are not permitted to enter into the kingdom, those who are impure are not permitted to besmirch the holy ground. Though you may have done much work, and have worked for many years, in the end if you are still deplorably filthy—it is intolerable to the law of Heaven that you wish to enter My kingdom!” From these passages of words, God is a holy and righteous God. Whether we can enter into the kingdom of heaven at last does not depend on how much we work or suffer, but instead is mainly determined by whether or not we can be changed in disposition, be cleansed, and follow God’s will. If we only rely on our enthusiasm to expend and work hard for the Lord, but we can still often sin and resist God, falling to obey God’s way, then we are evil-doers and won’t enter into the kingdom of heaven. Like the Pharisees at that time, they served Jehovah God in the temple for their whole life, traveled the land and sea spreading the gospel, and suffered a lot. But they still often committed sins and resisted God: They devoured widows’ houses, killed prophets, broke the law and cheated God. Besides, when the Lord Jesus came to work, they clung to their conceptions and refused to accept His work. And in order to keep their status, they fabricated rumors, saying that the Lord Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons, and even blasphemed Him. But the Lord Jesus didn’t forgive them because of their hard work, instead He condemned them.
As for ourselves, although we have expended and worked a lot, there are our own ulterior motives. We only want to labor for the Lord in exchange for a beautiful destination, the blessings to enter into the kingdom of heaven, and a crown. Such kind of sacrifices involves deceitful nature and is completely making a deal with the Lord. When we get some achievements in the work for the Lord, we think ourselves somebody, looking down on anyone else and we become terribly arrogant. When we are imprisoned for the Lord, we think that we love the Lord more than others; so we boast everywhere that we have stood witness for the Lord, drawing brothers and sisters into our presence and standing in God’s place to make people revere and admire us. When God’s work doesn’t conform to our notions, we deny God, judge and resist God. … It can be seen that if our satanic dispositions haven’t changed, we can still commit sin to resist and betray God, and we are still in enmity with God. Only when we pursue genuinely, remove our corruption and no longer believe in God according to our satanic dispositions, conceptions, and notions, and live by God’s words and truly obey God in everything, can we be approved by God and be brought into His kingdom.
Now, we know what’s God’s attitude toward sinners is; in other words, we know how God will treat us. So, from now on, we should pursue being cleansed, and only in this way can we gain blessings from God, be brought into the kingdom of heaven by Him, and receive a wonderful destination. Then, how can we break away from sin? Where can we find the way to this? Here I recommend a movie to you: The Moment of Change.
If you have any understanding or enlightenment from God, welcome to share with us via the online chat window at the bottom of the website or send an email to info@hearthymn.com. For free resources on how to enter into the kingdom of heaven, read here: Kingdom of Heaven. We sincerely hope we’ll grow spiritually through sharing with each other.
You might be interested in: Can I Enter the Heavenly Kingdom After My Sins Are Forgiven?
From:Kingdom of Heaven
Recommendation:Eastern Lightning, The brief introduction of the Church of Almighty God
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