One day, in one verse — Jesus describes everyone who will go to Heaven.
And in five other verses, He describes those who will not.
Have you ever reflected on His descriptions? Jesus said the words we are about to read as a warning for some (Watch out—you are Hellbound) and as a comfort for all the rest (Rejoice—you are Heavenbound).
So what does He say in this description? He said a heart that remains trampled and Hardened Against God, Shallow With God, or Crowded Towards God will not enjoy the pleasures of God forever. Beware!
Jesus describes everyone who will be enjoying Heaven forever as being good.
Just as there are three types of lost Hellbound people, there are also three types of Heavenbound.
Three levels, three categories, and three degrees of fruitful life exist.
Basic, Better, and the BEST! Among the Good are the 30 times over Good, the 60 times over Good, and the 100 times over Good.
Now, if you just analyzed what I said and thought, “Nope, don’t have to worry. I have already DONE that,” then think again.
Salvation is not something you can DO. It is something that only God can do IN YOU and me. So here is the way Jesus explains all this.
One day, Jesus compared life to a field, people to soil, the Gospel to seed, and eternal life to a crop of harvested righteousness.
Taken at face value, the message of the parable of the soils is clear: of four soils, only one is good. Only one produces fruit; thus, it alone is of any value to the farmer. This good soil pictures the believer. The weedy soil and the shallow soil are pretenders. The soil by the wayside is an absolute rejecter. Indeed, the fruit is the ultimate test of true salvation. Weedy soil is no better for harvesting than hard roads or shallow ground. All are worthless. The seed sown there is wasted, and the ground is fit for nothing except burning (cf. Heb. 6:8). It cannot picture salvation.
There are many ways to look at how God classifies us this morning. But we know the basis from all of His other parables. The harvest from life is only because the heart was Good. No amount of effort can make a heart Good.
Goodness only comes from God.
Fruit always comes from a Good heart.
That fruit or harvest may be 30, 60, or 100 – but a good heart brings forth goodness, for God’s sake.
The most important question you will ever answer is, “Has God ever made you good?”
Not — are you trying hard to be good?
Not — have you done some good things, because bad people can always do good things if they want to. It is not what you do so much as what you are. Either we are good or evil as the center of our being. We were born not innocent but evil. We don’t get polluted by our world as much as we pollute our world.
Are you good? Only God is good, so only God can make us good within.
(WWJ-53; 040523AM)
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