Jesus
promises us, “Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of
life” (Revelation 2:10). If we
are faithful until death we will hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and
faithful servant…enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21).
We must never give up for Jesus says, “But he who endures to the end
will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). Jesus
says we must be faithful to Him if we expect to go to heaven when this life is
over. Those Christians who become
unfaithful will be lost and tormented forever in the burning fires of Hell.
Satan wants us to become unfaithful
so we will be lost. “For if,
after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and
overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.
For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of
righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (2
Peter 2:20-21). When one becomes
negligent and lukewarm as a Christian, Jesus says, “So then, because you are
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth”
(Revelation 3:16).
When one becomes unfaithful and falls away, it is usually a gradual
process. One who becomes
unfaithful usually starts missing on Wednesday night, then Sunday night, and
then Sunday morning. But we are
warned, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is
the manner of some, but exhorting one
another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the
truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:25-26).
One who looks back longingly into the world will probably go back.
Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).
As one continues in the sin of forsaking the assembly, the blood of
Jesus Christ will no longer cleanse a person of the sin of which he will not
repent, and because of this he will lose his soul.
Our soul is worth more than the whole world.
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and
loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
(Matthew 16:26).
How can we stay faithful so we will obtain the crown of life?
We can do this by laying, “aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us
run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).
We must endure and finish the race.
We must never give up. “And
let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we
do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9). We
must never lose our faith and confidence in the Lord.
“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great
reward” (Hebrews 10:35). We must
not become lax, but we must be even more determined every day.
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and
election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).
This life on earth is so short and every person will be spending
eternity in one of two places. Only
few will go to Heaven while the vast majority will be cast into Hell forever
(Matthew 7:13-14). We cannot earn
our salvation, but by the grace of God we can qualify for it.
God’s word is encouraging us to, “Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Obtaining the crown of life should be our number one goal in this life.
Missing Heaven is the worse thing that could ever happen to an
individual. No one will
accidentally go to Heaven. Only
those who are faithful until death will receive this crown of life.