To repent and turn from our wicked ways is the only way we can be fruitful. Solomon comes to my mind here. He was literally hell bound. In 1 Kings chapter 11 we find out God talked to Solomon twice about turning from his wicked ways. He did not wholly follow the Lord and His ways and the punishment God had for him was not Hell's Fire... but the punishment was physical. God raised up 2 enemies against Solomon. Hadad and Rezon. Then God promised to take away the united kingdom of Israel from Solomon's son.
I once thought that Solomon would not be in heaven. I thought because Solomon led the Israelites into idol worship and even worse by building worship places to Molech and Astoreth... the first to sacrifice human babies to and the second for prostitution of children and women that there was no way God could ever allow Solomon into heaven. How could He? What Solomon did was an abomination!
Of course, that road of thinking leads to works-based salvation and we all know that we are not working to get to Heaven, right? We only get there by grace and mercy from the LORD God Almighty.
I once thought that Solomon would not be in heaven. I thought because Solomon led the Israelites into idol worship and even worse by building worship places to Molech and Astoreth... the first to sacrifice human babies to and the second for prostitution of children and women that there was no way God could ever allow Solomon into heaven. How could He? What Solomon did was an abomination!
Of course, that road of thinking leads to works-based salvation and we all know that we are not working to get to Heaven, right? We only get there by grace and mercy from the LORD God Almighty.
Then I read--I mean really read Ecclesiastes 12. Solomon is very old when he writes this book and he writes it as repentance. He tells us that he did investigate everything and it was all in vain. Only the Lord God is worthy. His last words are very telling. "Fear God and obey His commands; there is no more to man than this. For God brings everything we do to judgment, and every secret, whether good or bad."
God's ways are not our ways, and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Neither shall I ever try to say "this one is saved and that one is not saved." However, I can say, "That person professes Jesus but his actions are far from Christ-like." A person's fruit is testimony to whether the tree (person) is a good tree or a bad tree.
Therefore, I'll throw this on the table for discussion: If a person habitually and continuously walks in the darkness while professing to live in the light--is that person is a liar and is not and never was a Christian to begin with?
God's ways are not our ways, and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. Neither shall I ever try to say "this one is saved and that one is not saved." However, I can say, "That person professes Jesus but his actions are far from Christ-like." A person's fruit is testimony to whether the tree (person) is a good tree or a bad tree.
Therefore, I'll throw this on the table for discussion: If a person habitually and continuously walks in the darkness while professing to live in the light--is that person is a liar and is not and never was a Christian to begin with?
2 comments:
King Solomon has a lot of apologizing to do for those who's lives he ruined or caused to end both physically and spiritually. The only other person that did that much damage to the Jews was Hitler with the possible exceptions of Nebuchadnezzar and the Romans.
Thank goodness Jesus paid it all :)
Being a mother and grandmother I think Hezekiah's son, Manasseh did the most damage to the Jews. He encouraged idol worship, offered his infant sons to the idol Molech (the dog --faced one with the hole where his stomach should be where they built fires so hot the arms of the people putting the babies in the fire were burned and blistered. 2 Kings 21 tells us how he made the streets of Jerusalem run with the blood of the children on the Jews.
2 Chronicles 33 tells us how he was carried off to Babylon and he repented of his evil. God heard him and brought him back to his reign in Judah where he reigned for 55 years--longer than any other king of Israel.
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