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Who will be at the kingdom of God?
The true Christians who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and who trust Jesus as their Savior and believe they're sinners and that Jesus died for them, then rose …on the 3rd day. The Bible teaches that those who will be in the Kingdom of God will be those who are called, chosen and faithful. This requires a little more than what the previous answer implies. In order to grow in faith, which is crucial because it is impossible to have a relationship with God without it. Here are some important steps. Remember however that no one will perform these steps perfectly, because even though we are called and chosen by God, we are still flawed, sinful, imperfect human beings. 1) Believing that God is good and faithful to us, but that His perspective is much different than ours is, and that His idea off what we need isn't always what we want. True faith involves believing that even though the previous statement is true, God still our best interests as He sees them at heart, and will uphold those best interests. (recommended reading Jeremiah chapter 20 verses 7 - 18) 2) Prayer is of vital importance (personal confession - this is my biggest weakness as a Christian). Sometimes the only way to have the kind of faith that saves is to ask God for it through prayer. Many Scriptures (too many to list here, but some excellent ones are Luke 18:1-8 and Matthew 6: 5-15). We would be wise to follow the examples of David (Psalm 55:16-17), and Daniel, especially in times of troubles (Daniel chapter 6). 3) Read the Bible regularly. The Bible teaches us that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17 - read Romans 10:14-21 for the full context) As you regularly read the Bible and pray faithfully, you will grow in faith, for you will learn what God promises, and read of examples of those who have gone before us, "for everything that was written in the past was writen to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope" (Romans 15:4). Hope and Faith are interwined, and each strengthens the other. 4) Obey God. It is very important and often overlooked that once we have been granted the gift of God's pardon through our reliance upon and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we are to obey and do the will of God. As Jesus taught in Matthew 7:21 (read verses 22 and 23 as well): " Not everyone who says to Me "Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven." Verses 22 and 23 remind people of the danger of not doing this, that many who thought they were Christians will find out on the Day of Judgement that they were not. Another example is the often quoted two verse passage of Ephesians 2:8-9, yet very rarely does anyone quote the following verse (Ephesians 2:10): "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God had prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Still it important to remember that we are flawed human beings, that we are sinful and imperfect (read 1 John chapter 1 and chapter 2 verses 1 through 14; and do not forget that the we in 1 John 1:8 refers to those who have chosen to be Jesus' disciples, and not those who have not. This is why one of the most important prayers is the one that asks God to "forgive us our trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15) 5) Remember that your faith will be tested. The previously mentioned passages of Jeremiah 20:7-18 and Daniel 6 (the entire chapter) are examples of this kind of testing, and how great men of faith persevered and came through them stronger than ever. As 1 Peter 1:6-7 says "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire (compare Rev 3:18), may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revealing (Gk apokalupsis meaning disclosure) of Jesus Christ (read the entire chapter 1 of 1st Peter for more details) 6) Remember that your calling is to serve in the Kingdom of God and that when you do your glory, your abilities, and your works will be greater than anything you will ever do on this earth during the current era. This is why humility is important for as it is written in 2 Peter 3:11-13 " since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens (Gk ouranos - the sky )will be dissolved, being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." That's something worth having faith in. (MORE)
