The Fellowship of His Sufferings
"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His Death." Phil3:10
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross & follow Me!" Matt16:24
You can only Know Christ in the Power of His resurrection if you are willing to partake in the fellowship of His sufferings. That's why FEW will enter the Kingdom. The Narrow Gate & Difficult Path may not be preached in the modern church, but nothing can change the Truth of Christ's Own Gospel! Matt7:13-23
You will either take on the Mind of Christ, Phil2:5, Crucify your own passions & desires, Gal5:24, Purify your heart by obedience to the Truth, 1Pet1:22, or continue to walk in darkness making a false profession of faith. You may think yourself saved by Grace through faith, not of works, Eph2:8-9, but unless your life is showing forth the EVIDENCE of true conversion you have received the grace of God in Vain! 1Cor15:2
When All things become New, 2Cor13:5, you will take on a New attitude about sin. You will stop making excuses and Start 'Hungering & Thirsting after Righteousness!'
If you are destitute of this desire for genuine heart purity and freedom from the bondage of sin, you HAVE NOT Received the Living Christ! Rom6:15-18
One of the Clearest signs of phony Christianity in today's converts is a lax attitude toward sin. Because you have NEVER heard the true message of scripture, you remain in bondage to your sin, believing yourself to be saved by Grace, when you haven't one single shred of Obedient Faith in your heart!
"Do you NOT know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slave whom you obey, whether sin to death or obedience to righteousness. But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you become slaves to Righteousness!" Rom6:15-18
How could you NOT understand this passage?
Yet you will continue in your delusion, professing to know Christ and be assured of heaven when you die, while ignoring the Word of God and live your worldly lifestyle.
Most people have only heard half the Gospel. They know that Christ loves them that He lived, died & rose again for the sins of man. And if they 'believe' in Him they have eternal salvation through His name.
But they have no idea whatsoever that God intends to Judge sin and take vengeance on the sinners who refuse to obey His Truth! Rom2:7-10
"When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angles, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not OBEY the gospel. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord!" 2Thess1:8-9
This is why the Apostles warned those who would listen to be Saved from this perverse generation! Acts2:40. FLEE to God, Obey Him, and forsake your sinful ways!
But you still think all that's required is for you to believe in Christ and everything will be just fine. Even if you never do anything to prove you Love God. That's why you won't heed His warnings, even given in love.
"Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, patience and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" Rom2:4
The Reason you think God is 'blessing' your life is because He's giving you time to REPENT before He pours out His wrath on your head!
"Therefore consider the goodness and Severity of God: on those who fell severity, but toward you goodness, IF you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off!" Rom11:22
Is it fair for your preachers to withhold these warnings? God will Judge sin according to the scriptures. How awful to appear at the Great Judgment unknowing that you will be sent away in sorrow because you NEVER obeyed God! Matt7:21-23 you will be crying out for the blood of the preachers who never took the time to warn you!
Although all men are without excuse before God, the stricter Judgment goes to the preachers. Woe unto them for withholding the 'severity' of God. James3:1
They could have at least made an effort to define what 'believe' means. But all they did was tell you time and again, 'Just believe on Christ & everything will be fine.' Had they included a brief description of what believing really is, it may have made a difference!
"Trust in, Cling to, rely on." Is the literal meaning of the word. Quite a bit more than just 'knowing'.
"The devils know and tremble!" James2:19
Unless you are 'Making every effort' to enter by the Narrow Gate, Luke13:24 and Obeying the Words of Christ as revealed in His Word, John14:15, you're just kidding yourself about salvation. Everybody 'thinks' they're saved, but FEW really are. Don't wait until the Judgment to find out. God says...
"He will render to each one according to his deeds. Eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor & immortality, but to those who are self-seeking & DO NOT OBEY the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation & wrath." Rom2:7-8
You cannot explain it away. There's no getting around it. Being Saved means following Jesus to the end. He said by: 'PATIENT CONTINUANCE' in doing good. What more do you need?
Obedience to the Truth will save your soul! Otherwise your 'knowing' is in Vain. Ask yourself, "Why do I profess to know God & NEVER read His Word, Obey His commandments, witness to others, or Purify my heart? 1John2:3-6
The Bible says you can 'Deceive yourself' by NOT being a DOER of the Word! James1:22
You can partake in the Power of His resurrection & the fellowship of His sufferings, NOT by self-debasement, but by Taking on the Mind of Christ and letting Him purity your motives, destroy your self-seeking and transform you into a true Child of God.
Standing the Gap
