Will the blind lead the blind on the right path? by alan ballou
Ask someone you trust spiritually with your eternal future when Christ will make His home in you, and then ask Jesus Christ (John 14:21-23). Which do you believe? Have you not already chosen whom you believe by your actions?
Why did the Apostle Paul have doubts about the Galatians according to Galatians 4:19-20? Miracles were happening (Gal 3:1-5), so what could be so wrong? Christ was not formed in them yet!
You say, “Jesus does not judge me!” Correction; Jesus has already pronounced His judgment. Whatever scripture you do not accept and believe, it will judge you on the last day (John 12:47-48). Better check.
In other words, the Word itself will judge those who reject it, and do not believe it on the last day. So, even though Jesus does not judge those who do not accept His Words, His Words will judge them in the end. His Words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).
For judgment, Jesus has come (John 9:39), and He has already pronounced His judgment. For example, those who do not forgive, will not be forgiven, point, blank, period (Matthew 6:14-15).
To practice lawlessness is to refuse to be under any law, and all sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Therefore, those who refuse to be under law toward Christ, by forgiving everyone will be in the group of people with gnashing teeth in the end. The Word they have rejected will judge them in the end (John 12:48).
They say “We don’t have to obey Jesus, but just believe in Jesus.” However, obeying Jesus Christ is a part of the Gospel message that we should be hearing (Romans 15:14-20 ). Those who believe Jesus, obey Jesus (Luke 6:46-49, John 12:46).
So, what happened? Well, they got saved, but obviously they don’t know that being saved and eternal salvation is two different things. Jesus is our Savior, but He is the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him. If we believe Jesus, then we will hear His Word (John 5:24, 8:47).
Hebrews 5:9-10 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest “according to the order of Melchizedek,” NKJV
Ask someone you trust spiritually with your eternal future how we can be saved, and then ask them what it takes to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven? Write the answers down, and then read the following passage of scripture.
Matthew 7:21-23 “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. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ NKJV
Not everyone who calls Jesus Lord will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and that’s because not every Christian does God’s will (verse 21 above).
Take a guess why every Christian doesn’t know that they “have to do God’s will in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Let me give you a clue.
If I was preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, like Jesus (Mark 1:14-15, Matthew 24:14), I would tell you that you must to be sanctified by the Spirit (Romans 15:16), and believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15) in order to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven. That is a part of the Gospel.
God’s will is that we be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5). Check the verses! Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
Can we fall short of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15)? How can we fall short of a gift? Surely they know. Can we receive grace in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1)? Can we receive grace, but still not learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:10)? Can we neglect our salvation (Hebrews 2:1-3)? Better check!
We have to be born again to even see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3). We have to be born of water and Spirit in order to enter it (John 3:5). That’s why the Bible says that we must go through many hardships in order to enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).
Doesn’t that sound different from what you heard you had to do to be saved?
My friend, we have to believe the Gospel before we are even promised an inheritance (verse 13 below), and what I’ve told you so far is a part of the Gospel of the Kingdom. What does that mean for those today who have never heard it?
Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. NKJV
When we were saved, we were “qualified” to share in the inheritance (verse 12 below).
Colossians 1:12-14 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. NKJV
When is the last time you heard verse 12 above (qualified to share in the inheritance)? You haven’t, because there isn’t anyone left preaching it. In fact, most don’t even understand it. These things are hidden from the wise and learned (Luke 10:21, Matthew 11:25). We are in the very last days.
Yes, we have redemption according to verse 14 above, but that doesn’t mean that we are guaranteed an inheritance. We must hear the Word, and believe the Word (John 5:24), and the Word is very specific about what we must do. Many disciples of Jesus Christ rejected it then (John 6:60-66), and they still reject it to this day.
When you were saved, you were saved into the Kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13, above), or seated with Christ in His Kingdom (Ephesians 2:6), but now that you are saved, you must seek God’s Kingdom, and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33, Luke 12:31).
Why do we have to seek God’s Kingdom? It’s because in the end, Jesus is going to weed out His Kingdom (Matthew 13:41-43). In other words, not everyone in the Kingdom of Christ today, will make it into the Kingdom of God in the end.
In fact, most will not make it (Luke 13:22-28). The sons of the Kingdom will be cast out (Matthew 8:12).
Now, why don’t you know this already since you have been attending church services for years? Could it be that you have not heard the Gospel of the Kingdom preached? No, you have not, and when this Gospel of the Kingdom makes its way around the world, then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).
Imagine casting out demons, and doing all kinds of spiritual things, but in the end hearing “Away from Me, I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22-23 above)! How do we come to know Jesus? Ask someone you trust spiritually with your life, and then read Ephesians 4:20-24, and 1 John 2:3. Why the difference?
Ephesians 4:20-24 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. NKJV
If we have to put off the old man, renew our mind, and put on the new man, why is eternal salvation being promised everyday on Christian TV and radio to those who have not?
They say, “The Kingdom of God is already in us” (Luke 17:21)! Amen. Praise God. However, for now all authority in the Kingdom has been given to Christ (Matthew 28:18), and all judgment has been committed to Him (John 5:22).
It’s the same Kingdom, but for now it is known as Christ’s Kingdom, and like I said, in the end, before He gives the Kingdom back to God (1 Corinthians 15:24), He will weed out His Kingdom. Now will you pay attention to His specific instructions?
He said to go make His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20); baptizing them and teaching them to obey. What do you say? By your words you have already chosen to follow Jesus, or reject His Word like millions of Christians have today.
If you have rejected His Words, He does not judge you, but the Word that He spoke will judge you on the last day.
Do you need to make any changes? Will the blind lead the blind on the right path? No they won’t, and when the blind leads the blind, both fall (Luke 6:39).
They say, “No one can snatch me out of His hands” (John 10:28)! The sheep Jesus is referring to in John 10:28, believe Him, and follow Him according to John 10:26-27. Do you need to make any changes?
Better check, because those who follow Jesus do not abide in darkness (John 8:12), and those who believe Jesus do not remain in darkness (John 12:46). God not only calls us out of darkness (1 Peter 2:9), but He calls us into His Kingdom (1 Thessalonians 2:12).
What do we have to keep in memory according to the following passage?
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. NKJV
Let’s see. Do we have to keep in memory the exact day we got saved, like I have heard some preach, or should we keep in memory the Gospel that should have been preached to us from the start? My friend, don’t fool yourself. If you had the Gospel in memory, then you would already know the things I have mentioned so far.
There is something that we need to keep in memory, which we should have heard from the beginning according to the following verses. What is it (1 John 3:11), and how do we do it (1 John 3:16-24)? Don’t fool yourself.
1 John 2:24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. NKJV
There are huge groups of people, millions of Christians, who will take a stand for the “once saved, always saved” doctrine, even against the Gospel. One of the passage they use is 1 Peter 1:3-4, and it does seem convincing if you only read verses 3 and 4.
1 Peter 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. NKJV
According to the Gospel, we must be sanctified by the Spirit, and believe the truth in order to have an inheritance in the Kingdom (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, Romans 15:16, Ephesians 1:13-14). We must also obey Jesus, in order to know Him (1 John 2:3).
So, who is Peter talking to in the passage of scripture above? Are they sanctified, and do they obey?
1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. NKJV
Will the blind lead the blind on the right path? Don’t fool yourself. If you knew these verses, you would not have supported those who speak in direct opposition to them. Now, take your stand.
I’m Alan Ballou; a servant. If I may be of service to you, free of charge, please contact me. My wife Lucie and I minister to small groups, or large groups on Saturdays, anywhere within driving distance of our home in South Carolina, free of charge.
If it is in the Bible, I will teach it. If it is not, let the blind teach it (Revelation 22:11). I will teach anyone who will listen. From Baptist to Catholic, and anyone in-between, as long as they believe the Bible they have.
