Zhang Yan
Now is the end of the last days when the prophecies of the Lord
Jesus’ return have all come true, and we expect to be taken into God’s kingdom and obtain eternal life more eagerly, because the
Lord Jesus once said, “
He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him” (John 3:36). All these years we have been repenting our sins, preaching the
gospel, and bearing fruits, just as the Lord Jesus asked. Thus, we all feel ourselves most approved by God, and that as long as we hold on to the Lord Jesus’ way, we will surely obtain eternal life.
Then, is the opinion, after all, in accordance with God’s will? Regarding this question, let’s think back on what the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace. At that time, the Lord Jesus incarnate came among us mankind and brought the gospel of
the kingdom of heaven, saying, “
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). From the Lord’s word, we clearly know that what He brought man was the way of confession and repentance. And, in addition to these teachings, He also gave all his mercy and love to His followers, bestowed sufficient grace upon man, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead…, until eventually He was nailed to the cross for redeeming mankind, thus completing the work of redemption. However, in spite of having received forgiveness of sins from the Lord, we man still live in the vicious cycle of committing and confessing sins. We can still express these corrupt dispositions anywhere and anytime, such as greed, selfishness, arrogance, deceit, and so on, so that we commit sins at any time and any place. For instance, when we labor hard for the Lord for years, we feel we have the capital to flaunt ourselves. Meanwhile, we all enjoy being in a lofty position to have others worship us, and always exalt and testify ourselves. Isn’t this the behavior of our arrogant nature? Such substance is exactly the substance of the Pharisees, with which we always talk big, try every means to be exalted and admired by others in sermons. Not only this, we also have treacherous nature. So, in order to secure our fame and status, we usually act one way in public and another in private, and unwittingly tell lies to deceive and blind man on sundry occasions so as to satisfy our personal desires. This proves that our sinful nature is still deeply rooted within us and thus we can still sin and resist God, that is, we have yet to achieve eternal life, since those who have eternal life are someone whose sins have been cleansed. God’s kingdom is holy, and only those who have been purified are worthy to enter His kingdom. How can we, who often sin, be qualified to enter it? The Lord Jesus never said that man could enter the kingdom of heaven with his sinful nature; while we often absurdly think that as long as we labor, sacrifice for the Lord, and keep the Lord’s name at all times, we will enter it and gain eternal life. However, never have we realized that only pursuing to be purified by the Lord and thereby being thoroughly cleansed is the precondition of being approved by the Lord and raptured into the kingdom of heaven. The Lord
Jesus said clearly, “
Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (John 8:34-35). He also demanded, “
And said, Truly I say to you, Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The Lord Jesus told us plainly that if we man don’t become as simple and honest as children, and don’t break away from sin to be purified, we won’t be able to enter the kingdom of heaven or obtain eternal life.
Then, how will the Lord Jesus’ promise that we will have eternal life be accomplished since we still often commit sins now and have yet to obtain eternal life? When studying the
Bible carefully, I read the words of the Lord Jesus, “
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:47-48). “
I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come” (John 16:12-13). Also, I saw some man’s words of enlightenment of the
Holy Spirit, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and to them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5).
From the above verses, we know that when the Lord Jesus was first incarnated to do the work of redemption, He took on all the sins of man as the sin offering and thereby redeemed man from the law, so that man would be no longer condemned or cursed by the law and had the qualification and opportunity to come before God to get close, pray, confess, and repent to Him. Nevertheless, we man haven’t gotten free from our sinful nature and can’t enter God’s kingdom yet. Therefore, in the last days the Lord Jesus will come again, express more truths, and do a stage of work of thoroughly judging, purifying, and saving man, in order to solve our sinful nature and have our corrupt disposition completely cleansed and transformed, through which we can obtain eternal life.
The Lord Jesus once said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God stays on him” (John 3:36). We all know that what the Lord Jesus did during the Age of Grace was the redemptive work, and what He preached was the way of repentance. The Lord Jesus is Christ, God Himself, and eternal life. It’s just that only when He comes again, which is to say, the Spirit of truth comes, can the way of eternal life be given to man. Those wise virgins who can recognize the Lord’s voice will obtain it, just as the Lord Jesus said, “And I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish.” Obviously, when He comes again, He will, still in the image of the incarnate Son of man, bestow life upon man through expressing the truth. God says, “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life.” Provided that we merely hold on to the Lord Jesus’ way of repentance yet don’t accept all the truths brought by the returned Lord, then we can’t be called believers in the Son, much less can we obtain eternal life. Instead, only when we believe in the incarnate Son of man in the last days, moreover, accept all the truths expressed by Him, and receive the judgment and purification of these truths to gain life, can our faith accord with the Lord Jesus’ word, and can the meaning of our belief in the Son be complete. Also, this is the only way for us to obtain eternal life and to be raptured into the kingdom of heaven in the last days. All the enlightenment, illumination, and glory be to God!
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She had to brace herself to walk toward the self-study classroom. The more she thought about it, the more she felt angry: Is it reasonable not to study? You can see movies, but why insist on turning off the light? You are indeed selfish. Considering she was for studying, she even more felt what she did was correct while her roommates were at fault. Looking at the empty campus, she thought: Other students must be in their dormitories. If my roommates had not insisted on switching the light off to see movies, I wouldn’t have gone out suffering this. … At that time, she suddenly realized: It’s wrong to think in this way. Am not I falling into the influence of Satan? She hastened to pray to God silently in her heart, “O God! My stature is too small. When things happen to me, I always fixate my eyes on others, thinking they are not good. I’m often angry with my roommates at such trifles. Please keep me from living under Satan’s control. …” After the prayer, she remembered God’s words, “People do not require much of themselves, but they require much of others. They must be patient and forbearing of them, cherish them, provide for them, smile at them, be accommodating to them, and yield to them. … and they cannot …do anything that they would not like. Man’s reason is so lacking!” “Your reputation has been destroyed, your bearing is degrading, your way of speaking is lowly, your life is despicable, and even all of your humanity is lowly. You are narrow-minded toward people and you haggle over every little thing.” She examined herself while walking on the road. She recognized that the reason why she felt angry and aggrieved was not on account of others’ problems actually, but was that her nature was too selfish. For fear that her roommates hindered her from studying, she held some views against them, thinking they were selfish. In truth, it resulted from her selfish nature. Consequently, once her roommates’ deeds involved her interests, she would begin to fuss over things and quarrel with them, living by the poison of Satan “Everyone for himself and the devil take the hindmost.” She also realized that today, that she suffered coldness was the consequence of being unwilling to relinquish herself. God’s words revealed that we mankind are unqualified to require much of others. God said that it is an expression of lacking a reason to require too much of others and ask them to go with our own ideas. She came to realize that as a Christian, she should practice according to God’s words in all things but not be angry with classmates in this way, or she would lose testimony before Satan. Thinking of those, she prayed silently to God, “O God! Today I realize that my nature is too selfish. When my roommates’ deeds are disagreeable to me, I am unwilling to obey, and even have quarrels with them, having no likeness of a Christian. God, I’m willing to practice the truth and obey the environment You arranged. May You lead me to put it into practice. …” After praying, she immediately had strength, no longer feeling that their turning off the light was wrong, but instead feeling that she should adjust to them and should not ram her opinions down their throat. It was the manifestation of arrogance and selfishness.
When understanding these, she wanted to go back to the dormitory, instead of going to the self-study classroom alone. Regardless of whether she could read books and whether the deadlock among them could be resolved, she was willing to face it. Because the intention of God was to let her learn to put herself aside. This lesson was arranged by God, was which she needed to enter. And also, she needed to transform herself.
Chenxi went toward the dormitory. Her heart was still somewhat uneasy, for she didn’t know what waited for her next: maybe an unlighted light, their dissatisfaction or anything else …
She pushed open the door nervously. A warm air blew into her face. “You are back, Chenxi. Have you eaten dinner? Turn on the light and eat your dinner.” A roommate said to her. In an instant, she blushed, asking, “Won’t I interfere with your seeing movies?” “Oh, it’s okay. In the future, we’ll see movies with the light on. Eat your dinner while it is still warm. …” She looked around at her roommates. Hesitating for a moment, she put on the light. She felt the light tonight was especially bright. She couldn’t help smiling, pleased, beyond all concealment. She was so surprised how their attitude could be changed so greatly. She sighed with emotion that she just practiced a little truth but received such a big surprise. She felt that God is too amiable and lovely!
