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Of
all the Questions you will ask yourself in life, probably the most
important is, am I good
enough to go to heaven? The
way to find out, is to ask yourself if you have obeyed the Ten
Commandments. Most would answer
the Question; Well I've
broken one or two, but nothing too serious, like murder etc. So lets go
through them and see how you
do.
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
Is
God first in your life? Do you love God above all else?
If we love anything
husband, wife, children, or even our own lives more than we love God, we
are setting our affections on
the gift rather than the
Giver which is a transgression of the First Commandment.
In
fact, the Bible says that we
should so love God that our
love for mom and dad and brother and sister should seem like hatred
compared to the love we have
for God who gave those
loved ones to us.
We are also commanded to love our neighbors as
much as we love ourselves.
Have you loved God with all
your heart? Have you loved humanity as much as you love yourself? You
be the judge. Will you be
innocent or guilty on
Judgment Day of breaking that commandment? I'm not judging you- -I'm
asking you to judge yourself before
the Day of Judgment.
The sentence for breaking this commandment is death.
2. You shall not make for yourself
any graven image.
This
means that we should not make a god to suit ourselves, either with our
hands or mind. Is your
God the One revealed in
Holy Scripture? If not, then you have made your own god to suit
yourself- -you have committed the
oldest sin in the Book.
Scripture warns that no idolater will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
3. You shall not take the
name of the Lord your God in vain.
Have
you ever taken Gods name in vain- -instead of using a four-letter word
to
express disgust, you have
used His name? If you have used His Holy name in that manner, you are a
blasphemer and will not
enter the Kingdom of God.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
Have
you always honored your parents in a way that is pleasing in the sight of God?
6. You shall not murder.
Jesus
warned that if we get angry
without cause we are in danger of judgment. If we hate our brother, God
calls us a murderer. We
can violate Gods Law by
attitude and intent.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
But
I say to you that whosoever
looks at a woman to lust
after her has committed adultery already with her in his heart. Remember
that God has seen every
thought you have had and
every sin you have ever committed. The day will come when you have to
face His law, and we are told
that impure, fornicators
(those who have had sex before marriage) and adulterers will not enter
the Kingdom of God. Punishment
for transgression of this
commandment is the death penalty.
8. You shall not steal.
Have
you ever taken something
that belonged to someone
else (irrespective of its value)? Then you are a thief- -you cannot
enter Gods Kingdom.
9.
You shall not bear false witness.
Have
you ever told a lie? Then you are a liar. How many lies do you have to
tell
to be a liar? Just one. The
Bible warns that all liars will have their part in the Lake of Fire.
You may not think deceitfulness
is a serious sin. God does!
10. You shall not covet.
That means we should not desire anything that belongs
to another person. The covetous will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Who
of us can say we are not guilty of breaking
these commandments? All of
us have sinned and just as with civil law, you don't have to break ten
laws to be a lawbreaker,
so the Bible warns, For
whoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all.
This
may sound strange, but the
worst thing you could do at this point of time is to try and clean up
your lifestyle- -you realize
that you have sinned, so
from now on you will keep the Ten Commandments, do good deeds, say the
right things and think only
pure thoughts.
But should a judge let a murderer go because he says he will live a good life? No, he is in debt to
justice and therefore must be punished.
Perhaps
you think God is good and will therefore overlook your sins. The very
thing that people are
hoping will save them on Judgment Day. Gods goodness will be the very
thing that will condemn them.
If God is good; He should
punish murderers, liars, thieves, etc and Hell will be their dreadful
fate.
What a terrible
place Hell must be. We can
catch a glimpse of how terrible sin must be in the sight of God by
looking to the punishment given
for it- -eternal
punishment.
Ungrateful humanity never bothers to thank God for
His wonderful blessings of color,
light, food, joy, beauty,
love and laughter, so He will take those blessings away from them.
Instead of proving their gratitude
by obedience to His will,
we use His name to curse. Their punishment will be just to the
uttermost.
Take the time
to read what Jesus said
Hell was like in Mark 9:43-48. I am afraid for you... please, look
honestly into the mirror of the
Law, and then seek the
"Water" that cleanses every sin. If you don't believe what I am saying
about the reality of Hell, it
means you think God is
corrupt (that He hasn't the moral backbone to seek justice), that Jesus
was a liar, that the Apostles
were false witnesses, that
Gods promises are nothing but prefabricated lies, and there is no
greater insult to God than to
call Him a liar. By doing
so, you are adding to your transgressions.
Imagine if you reject
the Savior, die in your
sins, and find that what I
have told you is the Gospel truth; then it will be too late, you will be
judged for your sins.
If that happens, and your
eyes meet my eyes on the Day of Judgment, I am free from your blood. I
have told you the truth,
but if you choose to ignore
it, your blood will be on your own head you will have no one to blame
but yourself.
Can
you see your predicament?
You are guilty of sinning against God Himself, and because you have a
conscience you have sinned
with knowledge. Isn't it
true every time you lied, stole, lusted, etc, you did it with knowledge
that it was wrong?
Does
the fact that you have
sinned against God scare you? It should. You have actually angered Him
by your sin. The Bible says;
His wrath abides on you,
that you are an enemy of God in your mind through wicked works.
But
let fear work for your
good in the same way that a
fear of jumping out of a plane at a great height would make you put on a
parachute. Let your will
to live, open your heart to
the Gospel of salvation.
I am not the only one who does not
want you to end up in Hell,
the person who gave you
this tract cared enough to give it to you and risk your rejection. God
Himself is not willing that
you perish, He provided a
way for you to be forgiven. He sent His Son to take your punishment: God
commended His love towards
us, in that, while we were
sinners, Christ died for us.
He was bruised for our iniquities.
Jesus rose from the dead
and defeated death. He is
your ticket to Heaven. He is the way. He is the Door, the only Mediator.
There is salvation in no
other Name.
What should you then do? Simply repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Do
not put it off until tomorrow
So pray something like this.
Dear
God, I repent of all my sins, I confess each
and every one that you
bring to remembrance, and I put my trust in Jesus Christ, as my Lord and
Savior.
Forgive me
and grant me your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Read
the Bible every day, start in the New
Testament, the book of John
is a good place to start. Order an Evidence Bible from
www.livingwaters.com You will find that
it has many answers to your
questions and it is easy to read and understand. Find a Bible based
Church or Home group and study
and learn how to walk in
the Ways of our Lord.
Fellowshipping with like-minded brothers
and sisters in the Lord will
help you to stay strong and
ready to face the trials and tribulations that life will throw you...
May
the Lord bless
you as you start your new
life in Him, if we can be of any help or we can answer any question you
are welcome to E-mail us?
"My Father's Gift" Ministries
Mark & Susie
rewritten from a tract by Ray Comfort,
www.livingwaters.com
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