The Least of These (True Religion)

Have you ever laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering if you are going to make it into Heaven?

I have.

There's not many things that can make my stomach turn. The small list includes: scary movies (which I decided a long time ago weren't worth my time), talking to girls, snakes, watching the Minnesota Vikings lose (which I'm getting rather used to)...

...and thinking about eternity.

I haven't met a single person who doesn't get a little antsy when thinking about eternity. Why? Because they've never been there. I've never been there. I've seen the Vikings lose. I've seen spiders. I've attempted talking to girls, and I've managed to keep my eyes open for bits and pieces of scary movies.

I've never seen eternity, and I'm guessing you haven't either.

Searching for Answers


Naturally, this stomach-turning fear of not inheriting eternal life has caused me to search the Scriptures for any hint of a promise of eternity.

What I've found is wonderful, and extremely alarming.

The Bible is, of course, full of descriptions of the kind of people who will inherit eternal life. Most often, we read the letters of the Apostle Paul, especially Romans to learn how to inherit eternal life. You may be familiar with some of these passages:

• John 3:16 "...that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
• Romans 6:23 "...but the gift of God is eternal life."
• Romans 10:13 "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
• Romans 10:9-10 "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

Those are some of the popular ones we use to "witness" as well as reassure ourselves that we are saved.

I would argue that these verses have very little to do with your assurance of salvation, or with mine.

True Religion


You see, "pure and undefiled religion," according to Scripture, has nothing to do with words.

James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Chapter 2 of James goes on to say that "faith" without works is dead. In other words, faith without actions backing up your faith isn't even faith at all.

Inheriting Eternal Life


But please, don't just take James' word for it (the Apostle...not me), listen to Jesus. In Matthew 25:34-36, Jesus says the following:

"Then the King will say to those on his right hand, 'Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to me.'"


Jesus goes on to explain that when we do these things for others, it is the same as doing it to Him. He also goes on to say that those who did not do these things "for the least of these" will not inherit eternal life. In fact, He says they will "go away into everlasting punishment"(v. 46).

So if you are laying in bed wondering if you are going to heaven or not, don't go through the "Romans Road."

That road is vital, yes. You must start there. You must first confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. I'm not saying that isn't where you start. If you are reading this and aren't saved, I beg of you to search those passages.

But giving your heart to Jesus doesn't mean giving Him empty promises. It doesn't mean saying the sinner's prayer and living for yourself.

People who say the sinner's prayer and keep living for themselves go to Hell.

Jesus demands nothing short of complete surrender.

Examine Yourselves


In II Corinthians 13:5, Paul gives a beautiful piece of advise to the church in Corinth.

He says, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you are disqualified."


Examine yourselves. If you are staring at the ceiling thinking about eternal life, look at your life.

Test yourself.

Put your life in perspective with James 1-2 and Matthew 25.

I don't care if you are a pastor's kid (like me), go to a Christian school, are a Biblical Studies major, stay up until 4 a.m. talking Theology with a girl you are trying to woo, or have a Bible completely full of highlights and notes.

If you don't fit a single qualification listed in either of these passages, there is good evidence that you will not inherit the Kingdom of God. There is sufficient evidence for your heart to sink to your stomach while you stare at that ceiling.

Rearranging Priorities


One of the biggest problem I see with Christian youth is our obsession with sin. We are obsessed with sinning, and we are obsessed with accountability partners with whom we can discuss how we can't stop sinning.

If you pour through the Scriptures, sin really isn't talked about that much. It's just assumed that once we are saved we will stop sinning (at minimum for the most part). 1 John talks the most about sin, and again, John's biggest point is that a life of following Jesus is a life with freedom from sin.

So why do we keep sinning?

We are obsessed with talking about how we can't stop sinning. Please listen to me very carefully.

The remedy for sin is NOT fighting sin.

Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."


If you spend your whole life battling sin, the devil will have had a wonderful victory, because you will have done nothing to further the Kingdom.

However, if you instead choose to pursue Christ through servanthood, the devil will suffer a mighty blow.

A servant who spends his days whipping himself for disobeying his master, and spends his nights talking to close friends about how he can't stop disobeying his master is of extremely little use to the master.

A servant who simply does what the master says is of great value.

It's Hard to Sin in a Soup Kitchen


If you laying in bed staring at the ceiling concerned about sin and eternal life. Don't read Romans. Don't call up your accountability partner. Don't even pray.

Get out of bed and go to a soup kitchen. Get out of bed and go visit someone in jail. Donate the clothes you never wear to Salvation's Army. Make some soup for the kid next door who is sick. Not the kid on your baseball team. The kid who annoys you to no end. Make him the soup.

You see, you are killing two birds with a single stone this way. You are doing the exact thing that Jesus said inherits eternal life, and (most likely) you are going to find sin less and less attractive.

Plucking the Plank Out of My Eye


This is certainly just scratching the surface of this topic, but I've already written too much for a single post, and quite possibly you are accusing me of judging by this point.

I assure you that if I'm judging anyone, it is myself. I only write this because after careful examination of myself, I have come away very concerned indeed.

So Dear God I beg of you to make these not just words. Don't let my life remain unchanged.

For if I, or you, read this and go on living for ourselves...

God have mercy on our souls.