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by Wayne Blank
There are some who believe that "God loves everyone," or that "God forgives everyone," and there is truth in those two statements if one completes them i.e. "God loves everyone who obeys Him," and "God forgives everyone who repents." God's love and forgiveness are conditional upon the choice that everyone ultimately makes for themselves. The principle that was explained to the physical Israelites applies ultimately to spiritual Israelites:
"See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the Commandments [see The Ten Commandments and The Ten Commandments Now?] of The Lord your God which I command you this day, by loving The Lord your God, by walking in His ways, and by keeping His Commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and The Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it.""But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live" (Deuteronomy 30:15-19 RSV)
Those who believe that they will enter the Kingdom of God without genuine repentance (see I Did It My Way...) and literal obedience to God are going to be disappointed:
"Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing My recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood." (Revelation 22:11-15 RSV)
Fact Finder: What is the difference between faith and works?
See Faith and Works
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