WHICH MEANS, IF YOU ARE
A GENUINE CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE DOING THESE THINGS, AND WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM,
AND THOSE WHO DON’T WILL GO AWAY TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT.
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A Christian is someone
who loves God, and the only way we can show our love for God is by loving his people,
the church, the men and women comprising the body of the Lord Jesus. Indeed there is no other way (Heb.6:9,10; 1
John 4:20)
And the ways we can show
our love for God are these: Feeding
deserving brethren who are hungry and thirsty; showing hospitality to
Christians; clothing deserving Christians who are in need of clothes; looking
after deserving Christians who are sick; visiting Christians imprisoned for the
gospel (Matt.25:35,36).
And in the process we
use what is in excess of the substance God has given us to answer to our needs
and that of our family’s.
Our money is not our
own, Christian, brethren. It is God’s;
and He wants to provide for our needs, but beyond that that money is no longer
ours. It is now under the authority of
DESERVING Christians who are destitute in life (Prov.3:27).
Brethren, we are no
longer the masters of whatever God has given us beyond the satisfaction of our
NEEDS; prayerfully, it must be shared with deserving Christians who are wanting
in food, clothing, the sick, and those in prison for their faith.
This simply means that
our money is not our own; that beyond the satisfaction of our needs and that of
our family’s, whatever is in our possession is no longer ours, but, instead are
owned by other deserving Christians who are in need.
This is a command, and
failure to comply to what God has ordered will lead to dire consequences.
Boys and girls, how can
we say: “we love God,” if we are not
doing these things? He has given us the
norm of who a Christian is, who will enter the kingdom, who are truly saved,
who truly love him.
Now we know. Now we have no excuse.
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1 John 4:20New
International Version (NIV)
20 Whoever
claims to love God yet hates a brother or sisteris a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and
sister, whom they have seen, cannot
love God, whom they have not seen.
MATT. 25:31-46
(“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”)
(“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”)
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PROVERBS 3:27
[Do not withhold good
from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.]
(DUE, H1167: owner,
husband, lord, master)
Let us consider the
commentary of Adam Clarke (1760-1832) on (Prov.3:27):
(WITHHOLD NOT GOOD FROM
THEM TO WHOM IT IS DUE - from the lords of it. But who are they? The poor. And
what art thou, O rich man? Why, thou art a steward, to whom God has given
substance that thou mayest divide with the poor. They are the right owners of
every farthing thou hast to spare from thy own support, and that of thy family;
and God has given the surplus for their sakes. Dost thou, by hoarding up this
treasure, deprive the right owners of their property? If this were a civil
case, the law would take thee by the throat, and lay thee up in prison; but it
is a case in which God alone judges. And what will he do to thee? Hear! “He
shall have judgment without mercy, who hath showed no mercy;” Jas_2:13. Read,
feel, tremble, and act justly.)
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HEB. 6:9.10
(But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.)
(But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.)
