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.

GOD REWARDS THE MODEST-Part Three

Steven Garofalo M.A.A.  (Copyright 2025)

January 20, 2025

In the United States and countries around the world it is considered a “GOOD” thing to bring attention to ourselves and self-promote an self-image, albeit good or bad. This is no-more evident than in social media platforms, marketing and sales.

Today, I am going to show you through the words of Jesus himself in the Book of Matthew that to bring attention to oneself gains an early, earthly reward, but forfeits God’s reward for us. Let’s get started.

This is Part three of “When God Rewards Us” series. In part one, we spoke to when God rewards us through our “giving” or almsgiving. In part two, we spoke to when God rewards us in and through “prayer”, and today, we will address when God rewards us through “fasting”. Before we get started, let’s define our terms.

WHAT IS FASTING?

Religious practices: Fasting is a common practice in many religions, including Christianity and Islam. Fasting is a regular part of Islamic practice in that fasting is encouraged during the holy month of Ramadan. In Christianity, fasting is more of an individual choice than a formal practice or sacrament of the faith.

Intermittent Fasting: Then there is Intermittent fasting which is way of life more so than an eating plan. As such, it is an eating plan whereby a person eats within a short window of time and then ceases to intake food for longer periods of time. I personally eat breakfast between 5:30-6:00am, lunch around 9am and then eat my last meal at about 1:30-2:00pm. I don’t eat until the next morning. Research shows that intermittent fasting helps with brain clarity and is a great way to manage your weight, and can even prevent and in some cases, even reverse some forms of disease.

AN AI OVERVIEW

In the Christian faith, fasting is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from food or other enjoyable things for a spiritual purpose: 

• Expressing commitment: Fasting is a way to show God that you are committed to pursuing him.
• Offering a sacrifice: Fasting is a way to praise God and offer him a sacrifice.
• Intensifying prayer: Fasting can help you focus and pray more clearly.
• Growing in faith: Fasting is a spiritual discipline that can help you grow in your faith.
• Denying yourself: Fasting is a way to declare that you know God is most important, not you.

Fasting can take many forms and last different lengths of time. Some examples of Christian fasting include: 

• Liturgical fasting: Abstaining from certain foods during liturgical periods, such as Lent 
• The Daniel fast: Consuming only water and vegetables, as described in Daniel 1:12 
• The Jesus fast: Consuming only water, as described in Matthew 4:1–2 
• Partial fasts: Giving up specific items, like caffeine, or fasting during certain times of the day 

Fasting is often combined with prayer. It can be a way to: Express repentance, Seek a deeper connection with God, Pursue answers to life's decisions, Demonstrate the depth of your desire when praying, and Release God's supernatural power.[i]

THE PLACE OF FASTING IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

In an article titled, “The Placing of Fasting in the Christian Life” By Thomas A. Tarrants on June 6, 2018 Knowing and Doing, Knowing & Doing 2018 Summer, Thomas A. Tarrants, Tarrants writes that:Judging from recent research and anecdotal evidence, it appears that very few professing Christians in America think fasting has a place in the Christian life. Available evidence shows that we much prefer feasting! Yet from the earliest days of the church, fasting has been recognized as an important way to draw near to God, deepen one’s relationship with Him, and seek His help in times of special need. Nearly all of the great spiritual leaders of the church, as well as ordinary believers who have been noted for their devotion to God, have practiced fasting. If you desire a deeper, more intimate and fruitful relationship with God, or if you need His help in a time of real need, fasting is an important means of grace to practice.

This article will provide helpful understanding and practical guidance for anyone who wants to experience this blessing. The best place to start is with a definition of fasting. In the Old Testament, the main Hebrew word used is tsom, which means “to abstain from food.” In the New Testament, the Greek word we translate as “fast” is nesteuo, which means “to abstain from eating.” In both testaments, fasting is simply going without food in order to seek God for some special reason. Although the purposes for which we seek God may vary, going without food does not. This is an important distinction, because today there is a tendency to expand the word fasting to include things other than food, such as television, movies, internet, social media, or cell phones. Although it is certainly right to abstain from any number of things that are hindering our relationship with God, that is not what the Bible means by fasting. Such abstaining is better described as “saying no” to some form of worldliness or harmful fleshly indulgence. To reiterate, in the Bible, the word fasting means going without food, the purpose of which is to earnestly seek God in prayer. People unacquainted with fasting may not see any compelling reason to do it…” [ii]

SO WHAT!

This begs the question as to when God may or may not reward us through prayer. Our truth text today is a short passage found in Matthews 6:16-18 which says this:

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18)

TAKE AWAYS

1)  When you “FAST” do not look gloomy. WHY? Because it’s hypocritical to voluntarily sacrifice to God through fasting and then show everyone how pious you are. “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the HYPOCRITES, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others”. The pharisees “disfigure their faces” because they wanted everyone to know they were fasting, so they did not wash or trim their hair and sometimes put ashes on their heads to make further evident that they were fasting.

2)  CONSEQUENCE OF LOST REWARDS: Jesus makes clear in the second half of verse 16 that, “Truth I say to you, they HAVE RECEIVED THEIR REWARD”. In other words, to draw attention to the fact that you are fasting gets you worldly credit as to one’s pious sacrifice, but the reward is received through human affirmation and acclamation-forfeiting God’s reward in light of receiving human reward.

3)  HOW TO FAST PROPERLY: In verse 17 and 18, Jesus goes on to explain how to FAST PROPERLY, saying: “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you”. In other words when we fast, we should go out of our way to look as if we are not fasting, knowing that we do so for God who sees what we are doing as opposed to other humans who should not know about what we are doing (our sacrifice) in terms of fasting.

CONCLUSION

“When you fast” is a reference to fasting prescribed under the Mosaic Lw in connection with the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29) and the voluntary fast of that day. The Pharisees added two fasting days, on Monday and Thursday of each week as a case of public display and piety. The true purpose of fasting was intended, however, for deep contrition and spiritual communion with God. Fasting was especially emphasized as an effective means of dealing with temptation (Isaiah 58:6). The pharisees regarded the practice of fasting as meritorious and appeared in the synagogues negligently attired to draw attention to themselves. Their sad disfigurement of face, ashes on forehead, and the wearing of morning garb gave them a sinful opportunity “exhibit” the personification of a superior ascetic position or sanctity before the regular people.

In the end, we should all work towards gaining a handle on some form of fasting. WHY? First, its biblical. Second, it draws us closer to God. Third, it trains our bodies, hearts and minds to combat “temptations”. I can tell you firsthand that I no longer crave meals when I haven’t eaten for some time. I tend to eat more on a schedule as opposed to feeling like I am going to starve if I haven’t eaten in 8 hours. This is what I want to leave you with-the challenge to begin the process of fasting. Start slow and with shorter increments of time and work your way to longer periods of fasting in light of dependents and communing with God. In the end, you will benefit physically, mentaly, and spiritually. Blessings-Steven