I know this is very controversial, so if you made it past the blog title and are still reading, I congratulate you.

We all know how to be religious…
Confess our sins.  Accept Jesus as our Savior.  Pray Him into our heart.  Go to church for the rest of our life. Volunteer in the kids’ ministry. Go to Mexico during Spring Break and build a home for someone.  Get dunked in a hot tub. Go to Thursday night bible study.  Help in the church coffee shop.  Go see Fireproof and War Room and God’s Not Dead.  Might even go see The Shack.  Invite someone to Easter or Christmas service.  Give 10% of your money to your pastor.  Nice and simple, right?

If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you know I disagree with this basic model.

But let’s not beat around the bush.
Does mainstream doctrine bring life or death?

Yes, this image that I Photoshopped is offensive and a horrible visual to behold.  People with hands raised in the air to God, doing their best with what they know…
Why on earth would I ever depict this as a bad thing??  I must be really awful.

Well, let’s go to scripture to evaluate this idea.
MATTHEW 7:21-23 — “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

These are the words of our Messiah.  He is quite clear that some who call on His name will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Before we go on, think about that.  Let it settle just a bit.
If you are serious about your faith and your salvation, this warning must be discussed and understood.

First of all, what is the qualifer in this bit of scripture?
“but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”

Is there any scripture that identifies the will of the Father?
Psalm 40:8 — “I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”

That can’t be the will of the Father, because churches teach the law is done away with. Well, what does your Messiah think about that?

Matthew 5:17-19 —  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

What are some key points here?
1. Yeshua (Jesus) did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. If you study the original text, you’ll see that ‘fulfill’ in this case means to fully teach.  Even if we consider the translation as is, to fulfill means to accomplish.  It does not mean to abolish or do away with…
2. Till heaven or earth pass away, the law will not change. Prophecy tells us that this heaven and earth will pass away.  But it has not yet.
3. Who ever breaks the law and teaches others to break the law will be considered the least…
4. Whoever keeps the law and teaches others to keep the law will be considered great…

But that isn’t what my pastor teaches…
More words from Yeshua (Jesus):
John 14:15 — “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21 — “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 15:9-10 — “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”
Revelation 14:12 — Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Yes, those are the words of Messiah, but still, that is not what my pastor teaches…

Another quote from Yeshua, Messiah, Jesus:
Revelation 22:14 — Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Do you want to have the right to the tree of life?
Your Messiah just told you what it takes.  Are you doing what He says?
Do you want to enter the city of New Jerusalem, which is described in Revelation 21?
Are you doing as your Savior asks?

But… Still…  My pastor taught me John 3:16
John 3:16 —  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Yes, we all love John 3:16, but it is not a stand-alone truth.
Did your pastor teach you John 3:36?
John 3:36 — He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

But… But, John 3:16
How about this one:
James 2:18-20 —  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.  You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder!  But do you want to know, you empty person, that faith without works is dead?

Yes, we must believe, as John 3:16 states. But that is not the end of the matter. It is just the start.

Don’t get me wrong here…
I absolutely believe that salvation comes through faith.  Grace is a gift, so that no man should boast.
But after you have received the gift of grace, something has to happen within our heart.  We have to know our Messiah and do the things He said, as that is evidence of our faith.
He tells us over and over to obey the commandments of God.
Not to gain salvation, but because of our salvation.

Have you read Hebrews 10:26?
Hebrews 10:26-31 — For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,  but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Catch that? If “we sin willfully” then we are hosed (yes, I paraphrased just a bit).
So, what is sin?
1John 3:4 — Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Wow, sin is not keeping the law?  My pastor says we don’t have to worry about that anymore.
Do you believe your pastor, or do you believe Hebrews 10?

In case you haven’t noticed, I am not giving my opinions here. I am quoting the words of our Messiah. Do you believe Him?
I am quoting scripture. Does your pastor teach you these things?  Do these direct quotes of your Messiah make you wonder about these things?

I ask you this.  In your religious walk, are you doing the things everyone else does?
If so, you must have it right.
It is good to be in the majority.

More words from our Messiah:
Matthew 7:13-14 — “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

“few who find it”  —  that does not sound like a majority. That does not sound like doing what everyone else is doing.

I ask again…
Does the Mainstream doctrine bring life or death?

Deuteronomy 30:15 — “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments…”

Deuteronomy 28:1 — “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.”
Deuteronomy 28:15 — ¹⁵ “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 — “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse:  the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today;  and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.