More Qualifiers

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Revelation 21:5-6).

Who will God give of the “fountain of the water of life freely” to? Anyone? Everyone? No! There is a qualifier.

God said He would give “unto him that is athirst”. This is a figurative expression meaning to those who spiritually “thirst” after God. More to the point, it is a reference to those who spiritually require, not just desire, God in their lives.

“The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot” (Psalm 16:5).

“The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him” (Lamentations 3:24).

God is our portion, our lot! God is what we “get”. God, not His benefitsis what this is all about.

Is God in your life more important than life itself? It is? That’s who God will give the fountain of the water of life freely to.

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:7-8)

Who shall inherit all things? Anyone? Everyone? No! There is a qualifier.

“He that overcometh….” Thayer’s Lexicon explains best what “overcometh” means: “of Christians, that hold fast their faith even unto death against the power of their foes, and temptations and persecutions”

That’s who shall “inherit all things”. Those who embrace their faith, even unto death, just like Christ did for us.

Another set of qualifiers. God gets very explicit as to who will not be taken as a child of God.

Fearful; those who fall victim to the whims and pressures of the world. No, this isn’t talking about a stumble, we all do that. This is a reference of a fall into apostasy.

Unbelieving; It’s pretty much self-explanatory. Not all people believe in God, which is strange when you think about it. Even the devils believe in God (James 2:19).

Abominable; or to be abominable. What is foul, detestable, and abominable in the eyes of the Lord? Sin, nothing but sin. The abominable know it and enjoy it (Romans 1:32).

Murderers and whoremongers; Self-explanatory, breaking at least two of the Ten Commandments. Whoremonger comes from the Greek word “porno”. It is specifically a man, a fornicator who prostitutes himself for gain or pleasure.

Sorcerers; this isn’t a magician. Sorcerer comes from the Greek word “Pharmakeus”. It’s where we get the word pharmaceutical from. A Sorcerer deals in drugs and potions to achieve an altered state, believed to be a spiritual state, or some elevated condition.

Idolaters and all liars; Two more commandments broken.

This should not be considered a complete list of those who, “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone”.

Heaven or Hell do not happen by accident. There are qualifiers. But don’t think of these qualifiers as something you “do”, but rather think of these qualifiers more as manifestations of who you are. There’s a big difference between the two.

“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:17-20).

Notice Jesus didn’t say anything about a perfect tree or perfect fruit, for we are all most imperfect. Jesus is addressing the nature and being of the tree (metaphor for a person) when He talks about the good and bad. Can a good person do something bad? Yes, of course. We all know that. But is it their nature to do something bad? If no, then what is the solution if good people and can unintentionally or unwittingly do bad things?

Simple. The answer is Jesus Christ. He is our covering for those sins done against our nature. John explains this in his epistles. It sounds odd, but a true child of God no longer sins. How can John say that? First, sin is against our nature so therefore does not naturally occur. Second, Jesus Christ is our covering for those of His that do sin. Jesus has paid the ultimate price for it.

“And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:5-6, 9).

God loves us all. But that love alone does not gain us access to Him. There are qualifiers. No, qualifiers are not a “To Do” list. Qualifiers are the result of our being and nature. They are the manifestations of the condition of our heart, spirit and soul. But due to the fall of man, no one can live perfectly, no matter how saintly or holy they naturally may be. Jesus rectified that situation for those who accept Him.

When our spirit responds to the call of the Holy Ghost to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, and the only way to God the Father, then we become saved from this world, Hell, destruction and the devil. Will we sin? No. (John explained this). Will we stumble? Yes. But Jesus paid the price for our stumbles. Will we fall? No, for if we did fall (apostatize), then we were never really saved to start with. (Read Hebrews 6:4-8). How will we know? We just learned above that God will give all things to “He that overcometh”. The crown belongs to the overcomers. It’s a mode, a condition, not a destination while we are here on this earth.

Again, don’t think so much in terms of “doing”. Think in terms of “being”. Godly doing will come automatically, naturally when the being is aligned and in sync with God.

Bill Hitchcock