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FALSE HOPES - NO. II

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."

        Many people are lost who think they are saved. This is made very clear from the following Scripture.

(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."

I.    I Do a Lot of Good Works

        Many, many people today believe that their good works will get them to Heaven. They say that as long as you do the best you can you're all right. Doing the best you can is all that God expects of us.

        In answer to that, let me say, "None of us do the best we can and if we did it would not save us -- get us to Heaven?

        Many people honestly think that God is going to take all of their good works and all of their bad works and weigh them against each other at the judgment. If they have done more good than bad they will go to heaven. If they have done more bad than good, they'll go to hell.

        One man said that every Sunday morning, instead of going to church he sat down for an hour of meditation. During that hour he listed on a piece of paper all the good things and all the bad things he had done during the week. He honestly felt that as long as the list of the good things were longer than the list of bad things, he was all right.

        As God sees our lives, the list of good deeds would be rather short, whereas the list of our bad deeds would be large enough to fill a catalogue.

        God definitely teaches that it is impossible for a lost person to go to Heaven by his good works.

(Eph 2:8 KJV)  "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

(Eph 2:9 KJV)  "Not of works, lest any man should boast."

(Titus 3:5 KJV)  "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"

        I handled a queer five dollar bill the other day. It had done a lot of good -- paid the widow's rent, squared up three or four accounts, made a church treasurer happy when he found it on the plate, but in due course of time it came back to the bank whose name it bore and lo! the teller threw it out.

        "What's wrong?" asked the depositor. "Counterfeit," said the teller. All its good deeds had not made it pass the bank where its real character was discovered.

        Let me ask this question, if a man can save himself by his good works, (or anyway at all) why did Jesus come; why did He die such an awful death as crucifixion. Why did He give His life and shed His blood. The Bible gives the answer. Jesus came and died because we were lost, helpless and hopeless. The lost are dead spiritually and what can a dead person do?

(Eph 2:1 KJV)  "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:"

(Col 2:13 KJV)  "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;"

        Jesus came to give life to those who are dead.

(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."

(John 5:24 KJV)  "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

(John 10:10 KJV)  "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

(1 John 5:12 KJV)  "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life."

        This verse makes it so clear. If you have Jesus, you have life, eternal, everlasting life. If you do not have Jesus, you have never accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you are still dead in sin. You do not have the life He came to give.

(John 5:40 KJV)  "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."

        Isn't it awful that multitudes of lost souls on their way to hell will not come to Jesus and receive life? Jesus paid for our sins in His death on the cross. The Father saves us because Jesus died for us -- He accepts the price Jesus paid as payment for our sin debt when we accept His Son. Jesus as our Savior.

(1 Cor 6:19 KJV)  "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"

(1 Cor 6:20 KJV)  "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

(1 Pet 1:18 KJV)  "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;"

(1 Pet 1:19 KJV)  "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:"

(Rev 5:9 KJV)  "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"

II.    I Have Reformed

        I have cleaned up my life. I have laid aside the things that were wrong and have quit my bad habits.

(Mat 12:43 KJV)  "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none."

(Mat 12:44 KJV)  "Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished."

(Mat 12:45 KJV)  "Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."

        This Scripture tells us of one who reformed his life but made the mistake of leaving God out. The evil spirits filled his life and the last state was worse than the first. There was nothing wrong with the reformation if he had only invited Jesus into his empty life. The tragedy was that he did not to so.

        I believe that much of the preaching of our generation can be characterized by a black man who brought two hands off of his alarm clock and gave them to the watchmaker, saying, "There is something wrong with these two hands. They have quite running. They have quit moving. They no longer tell time."

        The watchmaker said, "There is not a watchmaker on earth who could fix your clock by just dealing with these two hands. You have a trouble that is deeper than that. You bring the inner works to me and I will make these hands run."

        Man's trouble is not on the outside but in the heart.

(Mat 15:17 KJV)  "Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?"

(Mat 15:18 KJV)  "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man."

(Mat 15:19 KJV)  "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:"

(Mat 23:25 KJV)  "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess."

(Mat 23:26 KJV)  "Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."

        When one comes to Jesus in repentance and faith, he is born again, born of the Holy spirit and given a New heart -- a new nature.

(1 Pet 1:4 KJV)  "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,"

        There are certain birds in South America that have yellow feathers. Some naturalists made an experiment with them. They pulled out a few feathers and inserted a secretion from a frog in the wounds. When the feathers grew out again they were not yellow but the birds were still the same kind of bird but of a different color. The outward appearance had changed but the birds nature had not changed. The outward appearance had changed but they were still the same birds. The experiment did not change the bird's nature.

        A captain at sea discovers that the ship is steering directly for the rocks. How is the danger to be avoided? By scrubbing the deck or painting the outside of the ship? No, these things are all good enough in their own time but if the ship is to be saved one thing must be done -- her course must be changed. So the captain gives the order and the ship is turned and speeds away from danger. Man is lost in sin and headed for the spiritual ruin. Reformation the fixing up of the outside will not save him. He must change his course and come to Jesus to receive a new heart.

        A man brought into the emergency room of a hospital was badly injured. As the nurse assisted in removing his shirt she saw the name "Jesus" tattooed in large, fancy letters on his chest. His observation was, "I wonder if it goes deeper than the skin?" Unless Jesus is in the heart any other display of Him is hypocrisy.

III.    I Am Very Religious

        Joe Henry Hawkins in his book, "Old-Time Religion, says, "In the thinking of the average person religion and salvation are synonymous terms. But nothing was ever farther from the truth. There is a vast gulf between the two. A person may be ever so religious and know nothing of salvation. the fact is that more people are going to hell the religious route than any other.

        Multitudes of people think that because they have adopted the Christian philosophy of life, accepted the Bible as being or "containing" the Word of God, accepted as being true the fact that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and believe in the principles and tenets of the Christian faith, that they are saved. You can cultivate religion, teach its precepts and fundamental truths, train a person in its ceremonials, rituals and tenets, but you cannot cultivate one into salvation.

        Man is incurably religious. It is easy to take a child and teach him any religion, pagan or Christian. It is also very easy to incite religious emotions by certain types of music, rituals and religious ceremonies. Many people imagine that they are saved because they "feel religious" under the influence of this kind of environment. They forget that feeling of reverence, worship, or ecstasy can easily be stirred in an unsaved heart. There is no doubt that the Buddhist, the Mohammedan, the Confucianist, or any other pagan has the same feeling when going through his religious ceremonies of worship and prayers. But who, knowing anything about the Bible teaching of salvation would even intimidate that these are saved. They are religious but lost.

        The Bible very clearly teaches that being religious and having salvation is often two different things. It tells us about several very religious people who were lost.

1.    Cornelius

(Acts 10:1 KJV)  "There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,"

(Acts 10:2 KJV)  "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway."

(Acts 10:3 KJV)  "He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius."

(Acts 10:4 KJV)  "And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God."

(Acts 10:5 KJV)  "And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:"

(Acts 10:6 KJV)  "He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do."

2.    The Rich Young Ruler

(Mark 10:17 KJV)  "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"

(Mark 10:18 KJV)  "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."

(Mark 10:19 KJV)  "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother."

(Mark 10:20 KJV)  "And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth."

(Mark 10:21 KJV)  "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

(Mark 10:22 KJV)  "And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

(Mark 10:23 KJV)  "And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!"

3.    Nicodemus

(John 3:1 KJV)  "There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:"

(John 3:2 KJV)  "The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."

(John 3:3 KJV)  "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

(John 3:4 KJV)  "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"

(John 3:5 KJV)  "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

(John 3:6 KJV)  "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

(John 3:7 KJV)  "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."

        Notice -- Jesus explained to Nicodemus how he could be saved.

(John 3:14 KJV)  "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:"

(John 3:15 KJV)  "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

(John 3:16 KJV)  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

4.    The Jews

(Rom 10:1 KJV)  "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."

(Rom 10:2 KJV)  "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."

(Rom 10:3 KJV)  "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

(Rom 10:4 KJV)  "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

        Theirs was a righteousness of the law -- a righteousness which was the result of obeying the law but that kind of righteousness will not permit one to stand acceptably before God.

(Mat 5:20 KJV)  "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

(Gal 2:21 KJV)  "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

        When we, by faith, accept Jesus as our Savior, we are clothed with His righteousness and we can stand acceptably before God.

(Rom 1:17 KJV)  "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

(Rom 3:21 KJV)  "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;"

(Rom 3:22 KJV)  "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"

(1 Pet 2:24 KJV)  "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

        A man came out of a communion service in Ohio and said, "Well there's another payment on my home in glory."

        So often a person who is trying to save himself by good works, reformation, being religious, etc. may in his own thinking feel that he has succeeded. he is in great danger of becoming satisfied with himself and his accomplishments and feel as the Pharisee that he is better than many others. This will cause him to feel self-sufficient and satisfied with himself.

        In my experience as preacher and pastor, I have found that the hardest people in the world to win to Jesus are religious people who are satisfied with themselves and have closed their minds to the truth.

        Christian Scriver said a long time ago, "Never have I greater reason for suspicion than when I am particularly pleased with myself, my faith, my progress, and my alms."

        Dwight L. Moody said, "You can always tell a man who is a great  ways from God -- he is always talking about himself, how good he is. But the moment he sees God by the eyes of faith, he is down on his knees, and, like Job, he cries, "Behold I am vile," and like the old publican who cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner."

        A man went into a barbershop to get a haircut and the shine boy took his hat. "Don't you want it cleaned, mister?" he asked. The man said, "No, it looks all right. "Then the boy did a smart thing. He put the hat on a rack between two brand new hats and it looked pretty disgraceful. Then the man said to him, "I have changed my mind. Take the hat and see that it gets a good cleaning."

        When you compare yourself with Jesus, you'll learn that all your good deeds reformation, and religious acts are as filthy rags in God's sight.

        "The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it."

        A party of friends went to pay a visit to an old parish church. They applied for permission and the sexton gave them a key saying: "You can unlock the door and go in and I will come to you later." They went to the door, put the key into the lock and tried to open it, but they could not turn the key. They turned and twisted, but to no effect. They had just given up when the sexton arrived. "I beg your pardon," he said, "For giving you so much trouble. I forgot to tell you that the door is not locked at all. All you need to do is just lift the latch and walk in."

        Many people ar like that. They try by their own efforts to unlock the door of salvation, but all their efforts are so much waste of time. Jesus, our Savior, long ago unlocked the door and all we need to do is by faith just walk in.

(John 3:16 KJV)  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

(Rev 3:20 KJV)  "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

(Rev 3:21 KJV)  "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

(Rev 3:22 KJV)  "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."

        Religion will not save you. Jesus and Jesus alone can do that and He will if you will invite Him into your heart.