Actions: Primary Christian Duty
(i) Preach the Gospel
“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:16)
(ii) Warn them of “their sin” and its consequences
“But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.” (Ezekiel 3:19)
(iii) If the ones hearing you would “listen & obey”, they become ‘disciples’:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” – Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19 – 20)
*If they don’t believe,
“he who is believing in the Son, hath life age-during; and he who is not believing the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God doth remain upon him.’” – Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:36)
A logic is simple: You can’t enter God’s Heaven if you don’t want Him. So, what “path one has chosen”, it’s consequences will be “revealed” accordingly; God is “not” mocked in this for a ‘man reaps only what he sows’. Hence, please “choose wisely” (all actions have consequences and more so in the afterlife).
(iv) What if they “don’t know”? Is it better than “not obeying after knowing”?
Nope, they’re ‘alike’. So better “to know” and decide whether to “repent or not” (higher chances of redemption).
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (2 Thessalonians 1:8)
(v) Practice this as religion
Take care of widows & orphans in “their tribulation” (‘time of their trouble’) and keep oneself “unspotted from the world” (‘be holy’).
“religion pure and undefiled with the God and Father is this, to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation — unspotted to keep himself from the world.” (James 1:27)
**Other charity works follow naturally from this command too.
P/S:
A great fallacy in belief is that by just doing point (v) above to some extent, some believe that it merits age-during life.
Fact is, it does ‘not’ merit ‘age-during’ life in any way (it’s really “no” big of a deal since “many” do it in various capacities including some of the vilest men too —> yes, many criminals including the Mafia or even the Yakuza are ‘known for their charitable acts’ often greater than the ones done by you or I).
“And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:14 – 15)
What about the ‘good works’ (including charity works) done by the ‘wicked’ or by a righteous person who ‘turns away’?
Listen to the LORD as He answers in the verse below:
“But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die.” (Ezekiel 18:24)
So, let’s ‘turn and live’ (repent):
“But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:21 – 23)
Please don’t be deceived.
~The “funniest” thing about ‘those who claim not to fear God is this’, they “fear” many things created by Him, for example, ‘fire’, ‘the lion’, ‘serial killers’, ‘gangsters’, ‘evil men’, ‘demons’, etc.~
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