Cultural Christian’s Don’t Go To Heaven

Steven Garofalo M.A.A. January 31, 2025

 Today’s generation vary on how they see or “understand” God. As my past mentor and teacher, Dr. Norman Geisler use to say, “God created us in His image-and we have been returning the favor ever sense”.

Today, through Matthew 7:21-23, I am going to show you that while God is merciful, patient, and not wanting any to parish, most humans demand of God that He (God) bend to become what they want God to be as opposed to their (our) bending to God-His will, and His ways. As a result, upon leaving their temporal life for the eternal, those who sought to make God in their own image will hear those fateful words, “I NEVER KNEW YOU”.

Most people, if honest, want others to think, feel, and act like them-or at least according to their wants and desires. This is played out in the art of persuasion, mentoring, sales, politics, and the list goes on. The problem with such thinking surfaces when we try to apply such thinking to the God of the universe as found in the pages of the Bible. When sinful men and women live a life acknowledging God-or trying to make Him be something they want Him to be, God rejects them. When these same people grow old or die prematurely of disease or in an accident, they stand before God expecting a warm welcome. Instead, they hear those dreadful words, “I NEVER KNEW YOU”.

I NEVER KNEW YOU

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).

OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF GOD COMES FIRST: Let’s keep in mind that we are speaking about those who confessing to be Christians, not those who outwardly reject God or Jesus Christ. The difference is that to be an “authentic” follower of Jesus Christ, one must be obedient to God, His Word, will and ways. This starts by being in His Word, in prayer and living out the Scriptures in our daily lives. The alternative is to live a life heck bent on trying (unsuccessfully) to make God in our image so that in some deformed way of thinking, we have the perception that we make God obedient to our ways as opposed to our becoming obedient to God according to the Scriptures. As a result: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

This is a big deal for today’s generation-both young and old alike in that people in our modern age don’t want to be told much of anything. They don’t want to be corrected, even if for their own good. Sadly, in today’s culture, many people are simply unteachable. When we stop conforming to God’s ways, we conform to the world which is run but the prince of this world, meaning Satan and his demons. How do we know that Satan is the prince of this world? Ephesians 2:1-2 says this:

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of DISOBEDIENCE” (Ephesians 2:1-2).

Notice that this goes back to the lack of obedience, which is disobedience to God. The reason Satan is called a prince rather than a king is that there is only one King-Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:15).

Today’s generation vary on how they see or “understand” God. Is how you see God biblical, or bent according to your desires? Remember, “God created you and I in His image-and we have been returning the favor ever sinse”. While God is merciful, patient, and not wanting any to parish, most humans demand of God that He (God) bend to us, becoming what they want God to be as opposed to their (our) bending to God-His will, and His ways. As a result, upon leaving their temporal life for the eternal, those who sought to make God in their own image will hear those fateful words,

I NEVER KNEW YOU: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14).

RESTORATION NOT OBLITORATION

Steven Garofalo M.A.A.  (Copyright 20225)

January 6, 2025

I was reading through the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:1-5 in the ESV regarding judging others when it occurred to me that this verse is almost exclusively studied regarding “judging others”. I must admit that this is the focus of the passage, and I will speak to that briefly-but the last verse in this passage brings it home in that in place of judgement, we are to help restore our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It’s a rough, torn and broken world we live in. The United States is in a new state of existence; something I am going to speak to in an upcoming entry. For today, I want to look at WHY we often judge one another instead of helping to restore them. 

Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-5 regarding Judging Others:
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

To be fair to the context of this passage, this does NOT mean that one is never, in any sense or to any extent to judge another person. Verse 5 indicates that when one’s own life is spiritually healthy and pure that he should take the speck OUT OF his brother’s eye. That said, this verse makes clear that as a follower of Christ that we are not to be censorious or critical of others. 

We are (always) called to judge sin, but within the context of understanding that we too are sinners-and with the goal of helping restore our brother or sister who has sinned back to a rightful, healthy relationship with Christ. That takes a lot of moxie in today’s world because people are often unteachable, unapproachable, and arrogant. In other words, most folks today, including many Christians don’t want to be told anything they might not want to hear or may not agree with. 

That being said, I want to focus on the very last verse (v.5) which says:

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to TAKE the speck out of your brother's eye” (v5).

The word “TAKE” here is a VERB. Remember from elementary school that a “VERB” is an ACTION WORD not a “NOUN” which describes what ought to be done-presumably by others, namely the church. Remember, we are the church.

LIVING OUT THE VERB
“…then you will see clearly to TAKE THE SPECK OUT OF YOUR BROTHER’S EYE”. We must be right before and with God as a start point. But once we are properly in line with God’s Word and in relationship with Him, we are CALLED to HELP others find their way back, perhaps leaving a sinful thing to return to God. Again, this is an action YOU and I are to take to help others. It’s easier to stay quiet and keep to ourselves. That’s not a true friend and that’s DEFINITELY not acting biblically. It takes ENERGY and costs something. We can’t put a tithe in the box and pay the church to fix the world because we ARE the church.

SO WHY DO WE TEND TO judge others and throw our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to the judgmental heap pile? Because most of us are scared, sometimes a coward, and more often than not-too lazy to want to use the emotional, physical and spiritual capital (it will cost us) to help another person. In other words, it’s easier to either ignore the issue or dispose of them as a person rather than jump into the mud pit and help restore them.

I see this all the time in the Christian community. For example, famous author and speaker Dinesh D’Souza is one that stands out. Dinesh was in the final throws of his divorce when he took a girlfriend when he got caught with his new girlfriend before the divorce was final. While a sin, it was not handled properly, and we lost a great soldier for Christ due to two self-righteous Christian national leaders who decided to play Jesus-police instead of helping confront and restoring Dinesh. How do I know this? Because I spoke with both Dinesh and the two men who exposed Dinesh.

I spoke with the two gentleman who exposed his seeing Dinesh with the girl who he shortly there-after married and he told me his side of the story. My conclusion was that instead of approaching Dinesh to help him tweak his approach with the girlfriend, these two nationally known figures exposed him to the public with the goal of destroying his reputation-with no desire to restore him-but to take him down. What a shame. If we were to take down every pastor who sins, all of them would be taken down. The same is true of you and I.

The proper way to handle a person who is out of bounds biblically speaking is to sit with them, see if they are teachable, and lovingly and directly confront them with the goal of restoring them. At the very least, we should privately speak with them to show them their lost way and give them the chance to self-correct. In the end, the biblical mandate is for us to “…take the speck out of your brother's eye” (v5) and not beat them with the log in our own eye.

IN CLOSING I want to bring to light one simple truth which is that we often think of ourselves much higher than is truthful. This includes you, me and all of us as believers in Christ. We tend to see ourselves as saved and superior as opposed to lost and lingering toward hell. And if honest we tend to demand “justice” for others but expect mercy from God for ourselves. Please think about this passage the next time you encounter a fellow believer who needs your help to course correct. Let’s make sure that we are taking the energy to GIVE and not simply TAKE from them.

A Tiger Doesn’t Change It’s Stripes

Steven Garofalo M.A.A.   January 31, 2025

There are givers and takers in this world. Like a tiger, people show their true stripes as a “giver” or “taker” when given the chance.

Today, I am going to show you through Genesis chapter 12 how Lot’s selfish and sinful “taking” heart was unveiled when given the choice by Abram to choose which part of the land he wanted to inhabit. Let’s get started.

How often has a friend, boss, neighbor, or otherwise offered you something? Was the neighbor being neighborly or simply trying to be polite? Was what they were offering you something they really needed themselves but would do without themselves or was they offering out of their abundance? To be sure, it does take a bit of discernment to properly accept or decline an offer. Just because someone offers you something doesn’t always mean you should accept it. Instead, let’s stop and think of the other person, putting them before yourself. From there, you can make a more biblical acceptance of the blessing or decline the offer in and with gratitude. To be clear, there are times when people want to give out of sacrifice, they know it blesses them as well. It’s not always easy to know when it’s best to accept or kindly decline someone’s kindness, but it’s essential to look out for the needs of the other person.

A BIBLICAL EXAMPLE

In Genesis 13, we find Abram and Lot (Abram’s nephew) traveling to the land that God had promised Abram as a future Israel state. If you remember, Abram was very rich in livestock, silver and gold (v.2) and needed a lot of land for his tents, servant Shepards and animals. As it turns out, Lot needed much the same. Upon journeying from the Negeb as far as Bethel to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place he had made an altar at the first, Abram called upon the name of the Lord. Lot came with them and shortly thereafter, “…there was strife between the herdsmen of Abraham’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock” (v.7)

THE OFFER MADE

To keep the peace, Abram was kind and offered Lot to choose between the very best the land had to offer and the rest of the rough countryside. Let’s remember that Abram was Lot’s senior, and as his older uncle, he was not his equal. It seems that this event of separation ought to have included some courtesy and a conversation about what was best for Uncle Abram who was kind enough to take his nephew with him in the first place. In verses 8-9, we see courtesy and magnanimity exhibited not by Lot but by Abraham, who was Lot’s senior kindsmen. They were relatives-family after all.

ABRAM KEEPS THE PEACE AND TRUST’S GOD

Abram says to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left” (v.9). And Lot looked up and chose the Jordan Valley as “the Jordan Valley was well watered”.

A bit of history-Irrigation systems were in use long before Lot’s time. Lot’s GREED to inhabit the Jordan Valley with its lush vegetation exposed him to the wickedness of Sodom (vv.12-13; 10:1-25). This also included the city of Zoar, a town located at the southern end of the Dead Sea (14:8).

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS

When we take whatever and whenever something is offered to us, we risk hurting the other person, losing our witness for Christ, and taking resources from places and person(s) that is may need it more than we do. Remember the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule found in Luke 6:31 in the ESV which says, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

An AI entry from Google points out properly that taking advantage of others is considered bad (or wrong) because it involves exploiting someone's vulnerability or kindness for personal gain, which is disrespectful, unethical, and can cause significant harm to the person being used, potentially damaging their self-esteem, trust in others, and overall well-being; it is essentially treating someone unfairly and without regard for their feelings or needs. 

Key reasons why taking advantage of others is wrong:

·       Lack of respect:

It demonstrates a lack of respect for the other person's boundaries and dignity. 

·       Selfishness:

It prioritizes your own needs and desires above the well-being of another person. 

·       Potential for harm:

Being taken advantage of can lead to emotional distress, anxiety, and feelings of being powerless. 

·       Erosion of trust:

It damages the trust within relationships, making it difficult to build healthy connections. 

·       Moral implications:

Most ethical frameworks consider taking advantage of others as morally wrong. 

Source

THE LESSON

Did Lot give thought as to Abram’s needs? Did Lot put Abram’s needs first-before his own? Did Lot act “selfish” or “selfless”? I would submit that Lot acted selfishly in his own interest without giving thought to his kind uncle Abram who took him on the journey to begin with. That said, we as Christians read this story and learn how to better live the Christian life through the example of these two biblical characters. It’s clear that we want to emulate Abram and not Lot as we live out our daily lives with our husband, wife, children, friends, neighbors and co-workers.

CONCLUSION

The words of Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'” (Acts 20:35).

In all things I have shown you how, working like this, you must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

More than anything giving draws our heart to God our creator and his son Jesus Christ. When you give, you’re not to talk about it with others or the person. Accolades come from God. Never forget God gave his only begotten son so we could live. It’s a gift. So don’t give expecting a return. Just live life to love God for all he is.

In the end, remember, there are givers and takers in this world. Like a tiger, people show their true stripes as a “giver” or “taker” when given the chance. Today, we saw through Genesis chapter 12 how Lot’s selfish and sinful “taking” heart was unveiled when given the choice by Abram to choose which part of the land he wanted to inhabit. Lot could have easily asked Abram what he wanted or split the difference to be more fare. But he didn’t. Lot’s stripes were on full display in Genesis 12 and so are ours when we are put in similar circumstances. Let’s choose our stripes wisely and biblically when the time comes.