Pssst...whoever is reading this: I hate to break the news to you...but ‘excuses’ will no longer be accepted in heaven.

No really, I am serious, and what is even more important is the fact that God’s word is serious about this! Excuses will no longer be accepted when we stand before Him; as in God will no longer ‘wink at ignorance’. (Acts 17:30 Rom.1 :20). We read there that in times past, God may have overlooked things but “now commands all men everywhere to repent.” And this is not a ‘threat’ or some ‘beneficial suggestion’ we should consider taking to heart; it’s a warning ...given in love. Look what Jesus made clear in Luke 13:3,5 as to why!

Jesus told a parable later on in Luke’s gospel about when time came for this great banquet we’ve all been anticipating was about to happen, that servants were sent to all those who were invited announcing to them to “Come, for all things are now ready.” (Luke 14:16-17). You could easily tie this in to the ‘wedding’ feast as it reads in Matt. 22:1-5 and then in Matt. 25:10.

Now look at Luke 14:18 where we learn: “they all with one accord began to make excuses.”

Would you please scroll back and read my opening sentence here again at the top, please.

And could you now, once again, turn to Matt. 7:21-23 (even if you know it by heart now) and read that one more time. “Many....will come in that day...saying...but Lord! ...did we not do all these wonderful things in your Name?!”

They will begin listing (making excuses) some of those things, like ‘casting out demons and prophesying...IN HIS Name!, along with “many wonders in HIS Name!. If you care to see what other works might be mentioned...take a quick glance at 1 Cor. 13:1-3. We are clearly told that ‘even if...we ‘speak in tongues of men and angels’...and ‘prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, even having enough faith to remove mountains’...IF we do not have the love of Christ fully manifested in us, all that is for naught.

Why, you could sell all you have and bestow the proceeds to the poor and even ‘give your body to be burned’ (greatly suffer hardships) yet...once more – if we do not have the love of Christ being manifested in our lives, all that other stuff profits us nothing – nada – zero!

So as we read there in Matt. 7:23 (in red letters in my Bible)...”Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who ...practice lawlessness’.”

Are you fully aware as to what ‘lawlessness’ is? It is ‘breaking the commandments of God’, which is what ‘sin’ is. Sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4). And the reason ‘many’ will be turned away...despite all the ‘excuses’...is because they continued to practice sin.

Yes...I know what the majority of churches teach today; I’ve been a part of them for over 40 years. This is not my first rodeo. We’ve been taught that ‘nobody is perfect’ and “Christ forgives us of all past, present, and future sins’; and that ‘Christians are not perfect, just forgiven’. You’ve probably grown up hearing phrases like “I’m just a ‘saint who sins’,” or “we will always sin on this side of heaven’, etc.

And have you ever noticed the ‘tense’ (past vs present tense) used as it is spoken over congregations...how we “are all sinners saved by grace”. It is never ‘were sinners’; ... it is ‘are sinners’. No, seriously...stop and ask yourself how you have always heard that and then believed it while regurgitating it over and over and over. Yet, anywhere in scripture where we see Paul and others writing...they make it a point to say we “once lived that way”, as in past tense. Which means you are not supposed to be living that way anymore IF...you are abiding in Christ. (Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 3:6-7; 1 Cor. 6:11;1 John 3:6,9) Those things should ‘not even be named among us’. (Eph. 5:3-4)

I’ve said it before and will say it again...We’ve been lied to. And don’t waste your time blaming preachers or your old Sunday School teachers or your parents or anyone else for that matter. Or, if you are an admitted ‘non-believer’, pointing out your ‘hypocrite neighbors’ as to why you avoid church and the Christian faith, that won’t score you any points with God either. We are all going to give an account for ourselves. (2 Cor. 5:10)

I’ve mentioned this before, but the chief ‘propagandist’ for Hitler during WWII was attributed for coining this phrase where “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it to be true.” Welcome to the great ‘falling away’ that Paul spoke of in 2 Thess. 2:3 where he goes on to explain why this happens: Folks will “perish because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved... and for this reason, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie...and be condemned who did not believe the truth.” (10-12)

Oh...and what ‘truth’ are we speaking about here? Well, are you open again to just looking in your Bible and reading it for yourself, once more? Jesus made a point to share it with us ‘most assuredly’. . . “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. (John 8:32)

He goes on...”I say to you- whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (34). Again, please read that aloud one more time. I see nothing here that ‘exempts’ people who go to church and profess to be believers in Christ. (Titus 1:16). In the Greek, ‘whoever’ means...’whoever’.

Please keep reading: “A slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.” (35). Could it get any plainer than that? Now I don’t want to sound callused here, or haughty or judgmental, but a person is not a ‘child of God’ because they ‘claim or profess to be...a child of God.’ Once more, all I can do is point you to scripture and you will clearly see who the real ‘children of God’ are – They are ‘led by the Spirit of God’ (Rom. 8:14), which means they ‘no longer fulfill the lusts of the flesh nature’ (Gal. 5:16) because they are ‘walking just like Jesus walked’ (1 John 2:6) because anyone who ‘abides in Him no longer sins.” (1 John 3:6,9). His words, not mine.

Then Jesus sandwiches this declaration of truth with that ‘other piece of bread’ regarding truth when He finished up saying...”Therefore IF...the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Please turn to Galatians 5:1 if you would now. You might benefit looking at multiple translations here as they are all good to hear/read. In a ‘nutshell’, Paul is simply admonishing believers they need not ever be entangled again with a yoke of bondage and that we can stand fast in the liberty in which Christ has set us free.

Now Paul is talking about how we are no longer are under the ‘yoke of the law’ and all that the law brings (wrath, curse, condemnation) because Christ has set us free so that we can truly be led by His Spirit and therefore are no longer ‘under the law’. (Gal. 5:18). Which means we are no longer breaking the law (sinning). And the only way we can truly be ‘free from the law’ is the ‘old man must die’. (Rom. 7:1-5). Which is what those who are following the Spirit are doing...putting to death all the deeds of the old man and flesh nature’. (Rom. 8:13). That’s what His ‘sheep’ do, they hear His voice, He knows them and they follow. (John 10:27; Luke 6:46)

So if you still have Galatians 5 open...let’s read on down to vs 19-21. Hopefully by now, you realize that any and all ‘deeds/works of the flesh...are evident’. He then gives us a pretty exhaustive list of what those ‘works’ look like. And how does it read in your Bible there in vs. 21...where Paul clearly write: “I am telling you again as I have said in the past...those who continue to practice such things WILL NOT...inherit the kingdom of God.”

Yes...I am fully aware of how this can ‘complicate’ your current theology and the doctrines most of us have been taught. Yes...this can be extremely difficult and painful to process and work through. But that is no ‘excuse’ for dismissing it and refuting it in order to justify your current status of still ‘living according to the flesh nature’. To do so, makes you hostile towards God and you cannot please Him. (Rom. 8:7-8). Those...who ‘belong to Christ have crucified or put to death (past tense) the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Gal. 5:24)

Are you good to look at one, maybe two more verses today? This is the one that rocked me out of my early morning grogginess when it jumped of the pages at me in the wee morning hours yesterday. It was ‘one of those passages’ that was not underlined in my Bible and seemingly was brought to my attention for the first time. It too, is in ‘red ink’ indicating Jesus spoke this:

“If I had not come and spoken to them they would have no sin, but now, they have no excuse for their sin.” (John 15:22)

We no longer have any ‘excuse’ for our sins. We were ‘set free’ to go...and ‘sin no more’.

Those who hunger for truth will ‘come to the light’. (John 3:19-21) And once this truth takes hold of you in your heart, you can truly walk in the freedom that Christ provided for us all with His death on the cross, which was a pretty steep price if you ask me. But...we should also know that “IF...we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of this truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin, but a certain fearful expectation of judgement and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. (Heb. 10:26-27)

So what about 1 John 1:8, you ask? The verse that says “IF we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”? I’m glad you brought that up. We’ll address that one tomorrow. ;-)