“Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.” Matthew 26:14-15
What amount of money, fame, prestige, influence, authority, or wealth would it take for you to sell out Jesus Christ? For Judas, it was 30 pieces of silver. What’s your price? Do you have a price?
We live in a society where we are so interconnected… we have the ability, in the blink of an eye, to post, snap, tweet, share, pin, link, blog, ping and tag any and every thought, idea, or belief to family, friends, colleagues and strangers around the world.
But what if our family, friends, colleagues, and strangers don’t agree with our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs? What then? At what point do you stop posting, snapping, tweeting, sharing, pinning, linking, blogging, pinging, and tagging?
What if somebody completely disagrees with you and doesn’t like what you have to say? What if those strangers don’t like what you have to say? Do we change our stand, for the sake of harmony? Or do you stand? Are you willing to lose the approval of strangers for your thoughts, ideas, or beliefs? What about friends, family, and colleagues? Are you ready to maybe have your feelings hurt?
I imagine that most here are thinking… well if I say something uncomfortable and a stranger doesn’t like what I’m saying that I am not going to change what I stand for. I get that.
What about colleagues? What about your livelihood? What if what you spoke was “not allowed” or considered improper or politically incorrect or deemed intolerant by your employer? Are you okay to lose your income for what you believe? Will you continue to stand strong in your beliefs? Remember, we’re talking about making your living and your income.
What about when it comes to friends… those long-time, life-long friends? Perhaps if you are the sensitive type, you might tone down your thoughts, ideas, or beliefs. What about family? Are you willing to risk losing family relationships for your beliefs? Are you willing to be the butt of jokes and innuendo… the things that great gossip is made up of?
Because you see… that’s what can happen when you choose to stand up and proclaim your beliefs. I choose to stand for my beliefs. I choose to post, snap, tweet, share, pin, link, blog, ping and tag my belief in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life and of this world. I choose to say that there is only ONE way to Heaven, and it is not what Hollywood or Oprah tells me that it is.
Nowhere in scripture does it say there are many roads to salvation and eternity in heaven. Nowhere in scripture does it say that you only need to be a “good person”, doing “good deeds”, or attending church every week, or belong to the right organization that will assure our eternity in Heaven. There is nothing we can do on our own.
So, the question becomes, What Does it Take to Get Into Heaven?
Consider this from the Billy Graham Organization:
“… We can never save ourselves by our own good works, because no matter how good we are, we will never be good enough to stand in God’s presence. And this is why we need Christ, because He came into the world to pay the price for our sins. He was without sin, but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He took the punishment we deserved.
Now God in His love offers us salvation as a free gift–free, because Christ paid for it with His own blood. By a simple prayer of faith ask Christ to come into your life and save you–and He will. Then become His follower from this day forward.”[1]
I’ve had friends and family turn away – I’ve been excluded, mocked, and laughed at. I have heard the words, “you’re just so holy” – with an inflection on the word “holy” as if it were a cuss word. I’ve seen eyes roll back in contempt when I’ve spoken out and stood firm on what I believe. But that’s okay. You see, Jesus knew what would happen to all of those who believe in Him. He said:
“And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.” Matthew 10:22 AMP
“You will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but the one who [patiently perseveres empowered by the Holy Spirit and] endures to the end, he will be saved.” Mark 13:13 AMP
He knew that those who loved Him and gave their lives to Him would be “hated by everyone”. But He also tells us to rejoice and be glad, because GREAT is the reward in Heaven for those that are persecuted.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12
“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23
What I’ve seen over the years since I started this blog, is that TRUTH is the new hate speech. To speak the truth… the unvarnished, bold-faced, universal truth is a dangerous thing to do. If you do not believe as the world believes, then you are intolerant and hate-filled… and must be silenced. Well, this is my TRUTH…
Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of my life. In Him, I live and breathe and have forgiveness of my sins and His guarantee of eternal life.
“Therefore, the one who confesses and acknowledges Me before men [as Lord and Savior, affirming a state of oneness with Me], that one I will also confess and acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 10:32-33
I have made my choice, and it is clear. There is not enough silver, gold, diamonds, rubies, fame, fortune, wealth, or riches that would give me pause to even consider selling out my faith in Jesus or to stop me from proclaiming the Glory of Jesus. I don’t have a price, so don’t ask me to sell.
So, what’s your price?
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, …
But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15
Note: Emphasis, highlighting, and formatting features placed on Biblical Scriptures are solely the actions of this writer and are used to set apart the text to the reader.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Unless otherwise noted, scriptural references are from the NIV – New International Version© Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
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[1] https://billygraham.org.uk/answer/what-does-it-take-to-get-into-heaven/
Saved Because of His Mercy 