Paul gives a pretty big warning in Ephesians 5: 5 about who won’t get to heaven. But when we put it with other passages, how straightforward is it really? This devotion looks at my take of what kind of sin in our lives will keep us out of heaven.
Nuggets
- We are supposed to be refining our character into His character.
- We crush the truth by not admitting our sins, believing on Jesus as Redeemer, confessing God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrating that commitment by following our job description.
- Unfortunately, humans continue to sin after they become believers, even Paul.
- We just need to confess those sins when we commit or omit them.
- If we don’t obey God, we don’t get in — even if we have made a profession of faith.
- We genuinely have to believe that Jesus died for our sins and genuinely try to live as He calls us to live.
I dislike days like this. I question everything – and usually work myself around to finding me lacking in whatever is the worry of the moment.
Then, if I am not careful, I get weepy. Ooo, baby. That just adds insult to injury! I really need my Warrior Princess bracelet as a crutch then.
When I get like this, it can sometimes be hard to read the Bible. I read Section A. Then I read or remember Section B. I scratch my head because I am having trouble connecting them in my little mind.
This is one of those head scratcher passages. I am going to work my way through this. So, bear with me.
Let's Put It into Context
Paul spent the Ephesians 5: 3-4 talking about sins we are supposed to avoid. He mentions some pretty big ones, too.
There is a very important reason why Paul drives home why we should avoid these sins. He goes on in the next verse with a warning.
Warning!
“Be sure of this, that no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” (Eph. 5: 5 RSV).
Section A.
Our character matters. Our obedience of God’s laws and commandments matters. We are supposed to be refining our character into His character.
“Why,” you say? Did you not read that big red thing over the last paragraph?
If you didn’t, go back and read it. We’ll wait. It has some really important words in it.
God can say who does or does not get into heaven because He is God. He is Sovereign God.
“From heaven God shows how angry he is with all the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth” (Rom. 1: 18 CEV). If we don’t confess our sins, we are the sinful people crushing the truth.
Who is the truth? “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (NIV).
How do we crush the truth? By not admitting our sins, believing on Jesus as Redeemer, confessing God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrating that commitment by following our job description.
When we do ABCD, we become children and heirs of God. “John 1: 12 says, ‘But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God’” (ESV). Our faith makes us heirs of God (Gal. 3: 26).
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So, we can be fornicators, impure men and women, or covetous people — and we won’t be stepping foot in heaven. Once we confess, we are no longer fornicators, impure men and women, or covetous people. We are saved by grace. Our relationship with God has been restored.
Now, we are going to connect some dots with some of the thing we have been talking about and I’ve been thinking about lately.
Disciples Still Continue to Sin
“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth” (I Jn. 1: 8 NLT)
Section B.
Unfortunately, humans continue to sin after they become believers. We are still trapped in our human bodies, which still has the capacity to sin.
Wouldn’t that take us into the “… no fornicator or impure man, or one who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has any inheritance …” (Eph. 5: 5 RSV).
Paul Struggled with Sin
“… For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet. And sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind …” (Rom. 7: 7-8 HCSB)
Yep, even Paul continued to struggle with sin. Now, you would think this world-renowned author and evangelist would have cleaned up his act before he went on the road, but this isn’t the case.
Paul said the law pointed out his covetousness. Remember, we said that was covetousness is a greed for wealth and possessions.
Wait a second. The Energizer Bunny itinerant preacher was interested in more money? Seriously?????? Where was he going to put his possessions when he was on the road?
We’ve talked before that Jesus didn’t come the first time to do away with sin. The purpose of Jesus coming down was to pay the price for our sins. He is coming back again someday to eliminate the sins.
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We’ve also talked about how God meets us as we are. He didn’t make us clean up our acts first.
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God knows that sin will still be a part of our lives after conversion. We just need to confess those sins when we commit or omit them.
Surprise!
“Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in” (Mt. 7: 21 CEV)
Ummmm. But doesn’t that say if you don’t obey, you don’t get in — even if you have made a profession of faith? If we are a sinner even after conversion, who is going to get into heaven?
In my opinion, this could be what Jesus was talking about in the Parable of the Sewer in a nutshell. We hear His Word, but our reception can vary. Remember, there was some seed that landed, grew, but didn’t establish a good root system. I think that is one thing this could be talking about. This could have been what Jesus was referring to when He charged the church at Ephesus of losing its first love (Rev. 2: 4).
I think this could also be referring to those who make a profession but don’t make a conversion. They don’t change anything in their lifestyles to get in line with the do’s and don’ts. They just wanted fire insurance but not life insurance.
Remember what James said? We have to be hearers and doers of the word (Jas. 1: 22). Taking His Word in through our ears and eyes is great. It has to come back out our mouth, hands, feet, and heart.
It is easy to say the words. It is hard to live the life.
Making the Connections
I may be right about this; I may be wrong about this. But here is what I think.
- The only people who are going to get to heaven are those who have truly made a profession of faith and lived the life (though not perfect) that God has called them to live.
- Some people will either have not made a true profession of faith or have allowed Satan to compromise their faith, meaning they will not get into heaven.
- We are not to live lives of sin, but we will still sin, necessitating our confession of those sins. Those sins will not keep us out of heaven because, if they did, it would be us doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts, not Jesus dying to save us, that got us into heaven.
So, it all comes down to our relationship with God. Is it as it should be? Or do we have a stronger relationship with Satan?
How Do We Apply This?
This is something we have to look at frequently. “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” (II Cor. 13: 5 NASB). We can’t afford not to look.
Our faith has to be right. If we never have, we have to ABC.
Then we have to D. We have to determine what we need to change in our lives to begin following God’s laws and commandments.
The ABCDs of Salvation
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
How do we do that? It will take hearing His Word, reading it, studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it. All through that, we need to be in prayer, asking God to provide the meaning.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17 NLT).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3 ESV).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16 ESV).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11 NLT).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11 NLT).
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I think God is calling us to be genuine with Him. We genuinely have to believe that Jesus died for our sins. We genuinely have to try to live as He calls us to live. We genuinely have to be sorry when we break His laws and commandments. We genuinely have to be watching for His return.
Gracious Heavenly Father. We read Your Word, but sometimes we get confused. Your ways are higher than our ways, and Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isa. 55: 8-9). We know You do not reveal everything in Your Word. We also know You will reveal to us what we need to know. We claim that promise so that we will stay within Your grace and favor. Lord, we admit that we are sinners; we believe Jesus is our Savior; and we confess You as Sovereign God. We commit to living the lives You have called us to in the way in which You call us. Help us to resist temptation and to always live for You. Amen.
What do you think?
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