No you won't, so you can stop lying to yourself. People do all kinds of things hoping that they'll make it into Heaven (or that at least they'll escape Hell)...
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Some of 'em try to live a good life.
- Some of 'em worship and pray to Mary and saints.
- Some of 'em go to the Kingdom Hall.
- Some of 'em listen to Joseph Smith, some to Ellen White, some to Muhammad.
- Some of 'em go to Tibet or to spirit guides to find the hidden wisdom.
- Some of 'em go to Mecca to throw stones at the Devil.
- Some of 'em practice voodoo, Santeria, and Palo Mayombe.
- Some of 'em crawl on their knees for 10 miles till they are raw and bloody.
- Some of 'em open up a prayer book for 5-minutes every week and read what's on the page.
- Some of 'em go to an organizational meeting once a week thinking/hoping it commends them to God.
- Some of 'em chant to scrolls.
- Some of 'em give the Catholic religion all their material possessions and enter a convent or monastery to live the life of an ascetic.
- Some of 'em falsely think that being water baptized will merit them Heaven.
- Some of 'em try to help old ladies across the street every chance they get to impress God.
- Some of 'em try to practice "senseless acts of beauty and random acts of kindness" (that silly bumper sticker slogan).
- Some of 'em go along with whatever their parents' taught them... "My mom and dad raised me that way" (that doesn't mean they're right).
- Some of 'em go along with whatever the school system taught them... "A monkey is my uncle? Oh, okay. I believe that. I reject God. A monkey is my uncle, a monkey is my uncle."
- Some of 'em think that because they've never done anything "really bad" that they're safe. Not so (James 2:10).
All these people have something in common. The Bible calls each one a...
THIEF and a ROBBER!
When you want to get into somebody's home, you've got one of two choices.
You will either go in the proper way (invited through the door) OR you will
break in some other way. A welcomed person will come in through the door. If
it is 3 a.m., and you hear a racket from the kitchen window, that ain't
grandma comin' over to fix Sunday dinner. That is a thief and a robber. How
does the strongman of the house treat a thief and a robber? Does he say,
"Come on in my friend. Ravish my wife and destroy my children. Take all
my goods and my life."? Nay. The strongman does not consider the thief
and robber his friend. The thief and robber is his enemy and the strongman
will seek to utterly destroy the intruder. Either come in through the door or
else you're a thief and a robber.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." —John 10:1
Heaven is God's home. And every home got a door. The Door to God's home got a name. His name is Jesus--
"I AM THE DOOR: BY ME IF ANY MAN ENTER IN, HE SHALL BE SAVED..." —John 10:9
JESUS IS the door. If you are trying to get into God's home (Heaven) any other way besides the Lords Jesus, He considers you a thief and a robber. Oooh wee! Trying to break into God's home? Talk about a Strongman—God is a THE Strongman! A thief can trick me and catch me unawares but God WON'T be tricked or caught unawares. He won't be overpowered either. He'll be doing the overpowering.
- God is all powerful (omnipotent).
He doesn't even have to lift a finger to kill you and fling you into the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone (Revelation 21:8).
- God is all knowing (omniscient). He even
knows your very thoughts and intents. He knew 'em all before you were even
born. You won't be able to even think about robbing Him without Him
knowing it.
- God is everywhere (omnipresent) and sees everything. You won't be able to dig a tunnel and sneak into His home. You can't make "your own path" to get to Him. Even if you try your feeble hardest, you will not be successful.
In summary—you will not make it into God's Heaven "your way." It will be His way or the Lake of Fire.
Yes, the Bible says that there is a Door to God's home. His name is Jesus and you must go through Him to get into Heaven...
"NO MAN cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME."
—JESUS CHRIST, JOHN 14:6
I hope that Frank Sinatra did not do it the way he sang in, "I Did It My Way". If he did, he is wishing RIGHT NOW that he didn't do it his way.
Okay, let's further explore this. If you wanted to meet Slick Willy (President Clinton)--would you enter the White House "your way"? Mmmm? Or would you get a bunch of buckshot in your hind parts as you attempted it? Let's say you wanted to have fellowship with Britain's Queen Mother. Would you just walk into Buckingham Palace "your way" and truly expect to get in? How about this--you want to get a view of the most secret rooms in the Kremlin. Will you strut in "your way" or will they send you to Siberia? How about Fort Knox? If you wanted to have the riches in Fort Knox, would you make it in "your way" or would you get a bullet through your head as you attempted to steal?
Heaven is the home of THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE. If you can't even walk in the White House "your way", what makes you think you'll get in GOD'S HOME "your way"? Ain't no thief and robber going to be coming in defiling His home. There is no contest between your weakness and God's strength. He knows everything. He's everywhere. He is all powerful. He cannot be tricked. If you try creepin' up into His home uninvited you will be considered the thief and robber that you are. No one can overtake Him unawares and no one is powerful enough to bind Him and spoil His goods.
What will the Strongman do to the thief and the robber? He will say unto you...
"...Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." —Matthew 25:41
And He is also going to say this...
Matthew 22:13, "...Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Don't be fooled. God is not mocked by your vain efforts trying to make it into His home "your way." He has given you THE WAY. His name is Jesus. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way..." God has given you His Word. It is called The Holy Bible—King James 1611. You either accept It all and live in accordance with what It says or you will perish. This includes all the people that claim to be Christians and are not. They say, "I believe in Jesus." That's not enough—the Bible says, "the devils believe and tremble" (James 2:19). You must REPENT of your unbelief and say "yes" to Jesus...
"I tell you... except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." —Luke 13:3
People say, "Yours is a religion of fear." Well my friend, fear is a good thing and you exercise it everyday. Fear keeps you from stepping off of a cliff. Fear keeps you from sticking your hand on a burning hot stove-top. Fear keeps you from running stoplights. Fear of failure or poverty makes you stay in school to get an education. These temporal fears keep you from permanent dangers. Do these fears hurt you? No, they help you and help the society you live in. The fear of the Lord does much more. It will keep you from the number one gravest danger—being thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented for all eternity.
The fear of the Lord will make us wise. Read about the perfect fear of the Lord...
Psalms 111:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..."Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..."
Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil..."
Proverbs 14:2 and 7, "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death."
Proverbs 16:6, "...by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil."
Proverbs 19:23, "The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil."
