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FALSE HOPES - NO. I

By George W. Sinquefield

(Mat 7:21 KJV)  "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.""

(Mat 7:22 KJV)  "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?"

(Mat 7:23 KJV)  "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

        The Bible very clearly teaches that the majority of people will die and go to hell.

(Mat 7:13 KJV)  "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:"

(Mat 7:14 KJV)  "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

        Now notice verse 15 in the 7th chapter of Matthew -- "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." It warns against false prophets -- those who do not present Jesus as the only one who can save. Many people are being led astray and the Bibles says it is the blind leading the blind.

        Verses 16-20 speaks of the fruits of a false prophet and that fruit is a lost soul.

(Mat 7:16 KJV)  "Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"

(Mat 7:17 KJV)  "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

(Mat 7:18 KJV)  "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."

(Mat 7:19 KJV)  "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire."

(Mat 7:20 KJV)  "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

        It is sad but true that many who think they are saved are not saved, and it will be too late when that truth comes home to them.

(Mat 25:31 KJV)  "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:"

(Mat 25:32 KJV)  "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

(Mat 25:33 KJV)  "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left."

(Mat 25:34 KJV)  "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

(Mat 25:35 KJV)  "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:"

(Mat 25:36 KJV)  "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

(Mat 25:37 KJV)  "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?"

(Mat 25:38 KJV)  "When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?"

(Mat 25:39 KJV)  "Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?"

(Mat 25:40 KJV)  "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

(Mat 25:41 KJV)  "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"

(Mat 25:42 KJV)  "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:"

(Mat 25:43 KJV)  "I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not."

(Mat 25:44 KJV)  "Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?"

(Mat 25:45 KJV)  "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."

(Mat 25:46 KJV)  "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

        One has said and I agree with him, "I know of nothing that would happen in all eternity that could be worse for a church member who thought he was saved to wake up in hell."

        What are some of these false hopes -- what gives people a hope that is false?

I.    I Am Very Sincere in My Religion

        Ask many if they are on their way to Heaven and they'll answer, "Why, of course I believe that as long as a person is sincere, God will take him to Heaven."

        Dr. Wayne Dehoney, tells of an experience in a Buddhist in Honolulu.

        An Oriental priestess was speaking, "Many pathways lead up the mountain. We believe that all who sincerely press on the upward way will eventually arrive at the mountain top to view the same moonlight together."
 

        This is indeed beautiful and poetic phraseology but it is not a true statement. For it assumes that all religions are equally good and if one sincerely follows his religious beliefs (regardless of what they are) all will be well between him and God. Sincerity is not enough. One can be sincere and be sincerely wrong.

        A farm woman in New York told this story:
 

        One afternoon a group of well educated businessmen came up from Utica, New York, to pick mushrooms. These men were city slickers and did not know too much about the ways of the farm. The weather had been just right for mushrooms, and they were bursting out through the ground everywhere in the pastures. The businessmen eagerly picked a number of baskets full of mushrooms and were about to drive out of the yard when the woman stopped them and asked to see the mushrooms. To her amazement she found that the men had been picking poisonous mushrooms instead of safe, edible varieties. She showed them what non-poisonous mushrooms looked like. The threw out the poisonous ones, and went into the field again to pick those that were good to eat.
 

        Now these men were sincere, but their sincerity would not have saved them from becoming desperately ill, and possibly killed, had they eaten the poisonous mushrooms.

        On January 1, 1930 in the Rose Bowl at Pasadena, California, Roy Riepels of the University of California picked up a fumbled football and began to run. He ran toward his own goal line and lost the game to Georgia Tech. He was a very sincere man. He thought he was right.

        The Bible says, "There is a way that seemeth right but the ends thereof are the ways of death."

        Being sincere as long as a person believes something is one of those ways. Paul tells us about how sincere he was and at the same time he was lost. The Apostle Paul, before he was converted, was as honest and sincere as anyone. Undoubtedly Paul was as sincere as he knew how to be when he persecuted the Christians. He was zealous and he tried to stamp out the new "false religion" named Christianity. Paul honestly thought he was doing what God wanted when he helped the Jews to stone Stephen. But Paul's sincerity was not enough, and one day on the road to Damascus, he came face to face with Jesus Christ and learned that in his sincerity he had actually been fighting against God Himself. So you see, for Paul, his sincerity was not enough.

(Phil 3:4 KJV)  "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:"

(Phil 3:5 KJV)  "Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;"

(Phil 3:6 KJV)  "Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless."

(Phil 3:7 KJV)  "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ."

(Phil 3:8 KJV)  "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,"

(Phil 3:9 KJV)  "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

        Read again Matthew 7:2-23 and 25:31-46 and I believe you will agree with me that these people were sincere but their sincerity did no save them. Regardless of how sincere a person may be, he is not saved unless and until he accepts Jesus Christ as Savior.

(John 3:17 KJV)  "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

(John 3:18 KJV)  "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

(John 3:19 KJV)  "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

(John 3:36 KJV)  "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

II.    Keeping The Ten Commandments

        The devil deceives and blinds people.

(2 Cor 4:3 KJV)  "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"

       The devil wants us to believe that we cannot keep God's ten commandments. But Jesus did and although we frequently fail and must frequently ask for God's forgiveness we still must strive to be more like Jesus. If we are sincere in our repentance then God is faithful to forgive us even to seventy time seven times. The devil tries to confuse Christians by claiming that the law of Moses and the ten commandments of God are the same. The Scriptures indicate that in the end those which will be saved are those who keep God's commandments. The law of Moses was done away with at the cross.

(2 Cor 4:4 KJV)  "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."