The main character of this essay had been emulating Paul after she believed in the Lord. She was certain that she could enter the heavenly kingdom as long as she spent for the Lord like Paul. Is her belief consistent with the Lord’s will? Can she truly enter the heavenly kingdom through this way?
By Dujuan, China
In the year when I was 18, I believed in the Lord Jesus because of my illness, and gradually recovered as a result of the Lord’s grace. To repay His love, I determined to work for the Lorfd all my life. Then I joined a church choir and became a singing teacher. I often sang hymns and prayed in praise of the Lord with brothers and sisters. Besides, I performed Christian drama and preached the Lord’s gospel in many places. When I followed the Lord, I had particular faith in what Paul said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). I often taught brothers and sisters to sing this song, believing that as long as we are willing to sacrifice for the Lord, we can obtain His approval, enter the heavenly kingdom, and get a reward. So I would feel abundant happiness every time I thought that in the heavenly kingdom there would be no arrest and persecution of the Chinese Communist Party, no ridicule, slander and judgment from the world, no suffering, tears, sadness, and death; but instead, there would be the eternal days with the company of angels, filled with cheers and laughter, and in the presence of the Lord. When preaching and working for the Lord, I often had to face the CCP’s arrest and persecution. However, as soon as I thought of the Bible saying, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17), I would believe there would be eternal blessing of the heavenly kingdom in the future. And all this was worthwhile no matter how much I suffered and how many tears I shed for the Lord. Therefore, I was resolved to spend my whole life preaching and working for the Lord.
Once in a co-worker meeting, Sister Zhou proposed, “What about fellowshiping how to enter the heavenly kingdom today? I’m still not clear about it.”
Then, I said with full assurance, “Sister Zhou, about this question, Brother Paul had already told us clearly, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness’ (2 Timothy 4:7-8). As long as we emulate Paul to sacrifice everything and work hard for the Lord, we can certainly be brought into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns.”
Sister Zhou said, “I have a different opinion about this question. Although we can work hard and sacrifice everything for the Lord, we still live in the state of committing sins and confessing them. We often tell lies, act willfully, and can’t practice much of the Lord’s word. It seems that all these still cannot please the Lord. The Lord is holy and no man shall see the Lord without being sanctified. Then how can we who work hard for the Lord, but still commit sins too often, really enter the heavenly kingdom? Can the Lord rapture us into His kingdom when He returns? I’m really dubious about it.”
I said, “Sister Zhou, it’s true that we often commit sins, but the Lord knows our stature and He has bountiful grace. He will absolve our sins. We are justified by faith and saved by grace, and shall also enter the heavenly kingdom by grace. Now we can sacrifice everything and spend for the Lord, this is extremely blessed by the Lord. Paul said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness’ (2 Timothy 4:7-8). So people like us who work hard for the Lord can certainly receive the Lord’s approval and be brought into the heavenly kingdom when the Lord returns. We should have such faith.”
Brother Wang said seriously, “Sister, I think it’s not right that you take Paul’s words as the standard of entering the heavenly kingdom. After all, Paul is a man and man is corrupted by Satan. No one can guarantee that man’s words contain no personal motivation and adulteration, no personal ambitions and exaggerate desires, and no satanic corrupt disposition. I think since we are believing in the Lord, we should understand everything according to the Lord Jesus’ words. This is the most reliable way. And we should go by the Lord’s words more, especially on the matter of entering the heavenly kingdom. Only by doing this can our understanding be the most correct. The Lord Jesus’ words are the only truth, and the Lord Jesus is the only King of the heavenly kingdom. But Paul was only an apostle preaching the gospel. He was not the king of the heavenly kingdom and could not represent the Lord, so his words were not the truth, and his path was not necessarily the way to the heavenly kingdom. If we choose the path to the heavenly kingdom only according to Paul’s words, then we will easily go astray. The Lord Jesus said, ‘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’ (Matthew 7:21). His words make it very clear that only the ones who do the will of God can enter the heavenly kingdom. So practicing the Lord’s words is the only path to entering the heavenly kingdom.”
It was hard for me to accept that. So I said, “Brother Wang, what you said is reasonable. It’s true that we can only enter the heavenly kingdom by doing the will of God. But I don’t understand: We emulate Paul to work hard, sacrifice and spend for the Lord—spread the Lord’s gospel everywhere, set up churches, and bring people before the Lord; aren’t we following the Lord’s will?”
Brother Wang continued to say, “Sister, what, in fact, is following the will of God? We can’t understand it by our own notions and imaginations. Instead, we should understand it according to the Lord’s words; only then will our foundation be correct. The Lord Jesus said, ‘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’ (Matthew 7:21-23). His words put it clearly that those assiduous workers preached, casted out demons, and performed many miracles all in the name of the Lord. Not only were they not praised by the Lord, but they were determined as wicked by the Lord. This is enough to prove that working hard for the Lord does not equal doing the will of the heavenly Father. Let’s recall the Pharisees under the law: They traveled over sea and land to preach the gospel, toiling and laboring. Judging by our notions and imaginations, they must have done God’s will by spending and suffering like this. But what are the facts? When the Lord Jesus came, instead of accepting Him, they instigated the Jews to crazily condemn and resist Him, and even colluded with the Roman government to crucify Him on the cross. Eventually, they were punished and cursed by God because of their numerous evil deeds. It can be seen that it’s incorrect to judge whether one does God’s will only by one’s outward suffering and sacrifices. It’s most important and crucial to make a judgment by seeing whether one’s motivation is to truly love God, and one’s expenditure and toil to sincerely satisfy God. Take Paul for example. He suffered much and paid many prices in preaching the gospel. But the motivation of his sacrifices was not to love and satisfy the Lord, nor even to carry out God’s will, but instead to gain the crown and the Lord’s rewards. Just as Paul himself said, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness’ (2 Timothy 4:7-8). This suffices to prove that Paul was carrying out a transaction with the Lord using his spending and devotion, and was to achieve his own purposes with his outward sacrifice and suffering. How can such sacrifices be approved by the Lord or for doing God’s will? We can suffer and expend ourselves for the Lord, but it’s undeniable that we can still commit sins too often. It indicates that we still belong to Satan; we are still filthy and corrupt; and we can still oppose and betray God. Then how can we be fit to enter the heavenly kingdom? We can sacrifice for the Lord, spread the gospel, build churches, and support believers, and so on; these are our responsibilities and duties. If our performing duties is to love God, to obey and satisfy God, and without individual impurities and transactions, only such spending and devotion can be approved and blessed by God. If our spending and devotion is to carry out a transaction with the Lord, to satisfy our fleshly interests, and to enter the heavenly kingdom and receive rewards, and if we treat these as bargaining chips for our entry into the heavenly kingdom, such spending and devotion are of a deceptive nature and go against God. And how can we be called the followers of the heavenly Father’s will by making such efforts?”
After hearing Brother Wang’s fellowship, I fell into deep thought, thinking: Lord, I have been emulating Paul since I believed in You; am I really wrong? But Brother Wang’s fellowship is quite practical. My belief in You indeed has many impurities and is indeed to gain blessings. Lord, is such toil really not approved by You?
So I asked another question, “Brother Wang, your fellowship today really pricked my heart, leading me to reflect on my desire to obtain blessings by making deals with the Lord. But there is still a question I don’t understand: Paul endured prison many times for preaching the Lord’s gospel; he encountered so many dangers and suffered so many hardships. This is a fact recognized by the entire religious world. Then how should we discern it?”
Sister Zhou said smilingly, “You raised a good question. If we can’t make out Paul’s substance, we will emulate Paul and take the wrong way. This really involves the great matter of our salvation and our entry into the heavenly kingdom. Brother Wang, please fellowship more with us.”
From:Kingdom of Heaven
Recommendation:Eastern Lightning, The brief introduction of the Church of Almighty God
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