Only the Infinitely Bankrupt Can Enter the Kingdom of God
by George Hudgins from
www.beholdthelambofgod.net
Note: George Hudgins is a brother who has served the Lord sincerely for many years. He prefers to be called "George the Least." George works as a janitor in Denton, Texas.
None of us can enter the kingdom of God believing that we "have
it together" by ourselves or trusting in any goodness of our own. Why?
Because then, in our hearts, we already have our own "kingdoms"—that
are built on a deception and are under God's curse. The kingdom of God is absolutely
pure, built on his own perfect goodness. Nothing impure will ever enter it.
(See Revelation 21:27)
What
about the hopelessly impure before God?
If you acknowledge that despite all your intentions you are bankrupt before God,
then know that for you the door of heaven is torn open! You may walk right in
through God's entrance and inherit his everlasting riches! Only know
this: his entrance means both the end of your old life and the beginning of your
new, everlasting life with him. It means your death to your moral bankruptcies
(sins), to all of your self-centeredness, to the whole world, to everything but
his own provision and will for you. Only God can forgive your sins and cause you
to be spiritually "born again" into his kingdom—as one of his own
children!
In
order to bring you into his kingdom and family, God came in human flesh and
blood. God, the eternal, holy Father gave his eternal Word, his Son, to bridge
that unbridgeable gap between himself and you. Any other "entrance" or
"bridge" will only collapse into hell. God's bridge reaches from his
heart to the depths of your soul. It shows his glory. This bridge is Jesus,
the Christ, the true Messiah of Israel. The ancient laws of Israel required the
blood of animal sacrifices to cover everyone's sins. These simply pointed to the
only perfect human sacrifice the all-sovereign God of Israel required:
the death of his only Son and Heir, Jesus.( Isaiah 9:1-7; 53; Hebrews 1;
10:13-22) He sent him to become a curse in
your place as he hung on the cross. Unlike those continually offered animal
sacrifices, his single blood sacrifice was once for all. It cleanses perfectly
and forever every last sin from all who believe on Him!
They simply cry out to him as saving Lord, and receive him and His
salvation!
Jesus is both "Living
Bridge" and absolute Lord of all, because he was raised from the dead,
seated at the right hand of his Father and has received all authority and power.
He is soon returning to gather up those waiting only for him and to judge the
world. He will rule, with his holy people, over all nations forever. All secrets
will be revealed. Everyone will answer to God for his or her words and deeds:
the living and the dead, the lovers of the truth and the impure of heart, the
wholehearted and the double minded, those who received his "Living
Bridge" and those who ignored him when He spoke to them. God's holy justice
will be carried out through Jesus, in the blessings of everlasting life and
the fire of everlasting wrath.
Now
is the time to receive
this living Lord Jesus and his salvation—but only as God's Royal Free Gift!
Only God's own mercy, love and grace must be relied on and glorified
forever! (See Romans 1-5; Ephesians 1-3) To think you can ever earn his Free Gift or make yourself
"good
enough" to receive it is a deception. You can only receive from him humbly
and "just as you are." This means losing everything to him—all your
sins, impurity, double-mindedness, selfish will, and every attempt to provide
any of your own salvation or "goodness" through your own works. Now
is the time to lose to him your whole self-made "kingdom," in
exchange for his—forever!
Come
to a place of both utter silence and speaking only with utter honesty in the
depths of your soul in God's presence. Remain there, only accepting and
"drinking in" what he has freely given you in his Son,
crucified for you: His own perfect
goodness to clothe you in exchange for your impurity, his saving power to free
you from sin and the powers of the devil and to heal you spiritually (and even
physically), and his everlasting life, peace, and joy to fill you, as He Himself
comes to live within you in his Holy Spirit. Receive him. Surrender. Talk to
him. Try to thank him.
To surrender to trust in Jesus
forever is to begin living for his will, supported by the Holy Spirit. You must
continue to turn to him daily, coming to rest and rely on him in
everything. Then you can continue "submitting to God" and
"resisting the devil" (James 4:7), and you will be "denying
yourself, taking up your cross daily, and following him." (St. Luke 9:23)
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith,
who...endured the cross... so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In
your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding
your blood." (Hebrews 12:2-4) True faith is walking right in to God's
presence in heaven through Jesus and learning to live there—through all
troubles. Truly living is seeing only Jesus and God's glory. It is loving,
giving, forgiving and overcoming.
Whoever believes in Jesus "has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (St. John 5:24) By faith in Christ alone, man is no longer left infinitely bankrupt. Believers are "born again" of the Holy Spirit, that with a pure heart they may grow up together into Christ's character in all ways and be heirs with him of all God's kingdom and riches!
Believe
in your heart. "Call on the name of the Lord" in prayer. Acknowledge
your death and new life with Christ by being buried and raised with him in water
baptism. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and his gifts to serve others.
Acknowledge
Jesus as Lord openly before others. Rejoice in troubles, "knowing that
troubles produce patience, and patience produces character, and character,
hope." (Romans 5:3,4) Feed on the words of God in the Bible. Pray always.
Unite with those who are truly God's people and continue meeting with them. Let
the love of God flow through you to others.