What's Hindering You?

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, 

ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 18:3

There is absolutely nothing. . . no sin, no person, no pleasure, or no possession worth the penalty of being denied entrance or cast out of the Kingdom.   In addition to those lists of specific sins named:  

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither 

• fornicators, nor 
• idolaters, nor 
• adulterers, nor 
• effeminate, nor 
• abusers of themselves with mankind, nor 
• thieves, nor 
• covetous, nor 
• drunkards, nor 
• revilers, nor 
• extortioners, 

shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; 

• Adultery, 
• fornication, 
• uncleanness, 
• lasciviousness, 
• Idolatry, 
• witchcraft, 
• hatred, 
• variance, 
• emulations, 
• wrath, 
• strife, 
• seditions, 
• heresies, 
• envyings, 
• murders, 
• drunkenness, 
• revellings, and such like: 

of the which I tell you before , as I have also told you in time past , that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21

there are other things mentioned in the Bible which result in entrance to the Kingdom being denied, Apostle Paul warned:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  1 Corinthians 15:50

This relates back to the keys to the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual Kingdom. We cannot enter it with our flesh and blood body. We must make a spiritual decision to enter the Kingdom by being born again:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.  

there are other things mentioned in the Bible which result in entrance to the Kingdom being denied,  Jesus goes on to say,

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  John 3:5

Apostle Paul warned:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  1 Corinthians 15:50

This relates back to the keys to the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is a spiritual Kingdom. We cannot enter it with our flesh and blood body. We must make a spiritual decision to enter the Kingdom by being born again:

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   2 Peter 1:11

Jesus said...

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.  Matthew 18:3

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.   Mark 10:15

It is necessary to become like a little child in order to enter the Kingdom of God. This does not mean we become physically or emotionally like a child, any more than being born again means entering again into our mother's womb. It means we must enter the Kingdom by simple, childlike faith. If we do not do so, we cannot enter the Kingdom.

On one occasion during the earthly ministry of Jesus, a certain ruler said he wanted to follow Him as a disciple.  The rich ruler would not follow Jesus because his riches were more important than the Lord. This ruler was a religious man, but Jesus said...

Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that He was very sorrowful, He said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God.  Luke 18:22-24

And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the Kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.  Mark 10:23-25

Jesus did not mean that riches would keep men out of the Kingdom. It is the love of riches that keep men from the Kingdom because it is: 

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.  1 Timothy 6:10

When riches are more important than following Jesus they prevent entrance to the Kingdom.

If we are guilty of any sin, there is only one remedy: forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul said:

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.   1 Corinthians 6:11

No matter what we have done in the past, no matter what we are doing in the present, we can be forgiven:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  1 John 1:8-9

When we are cleansed from all unrighteousness, we are forgiven of all sins which prevent entrance to the Kingdom of God.

In the passage below, Jesus teaches that if your hand or foot offends you, you are to cut them off. He says if your eye offends you, pluck it out: 

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.  Mark 9:43-48

Jesus means that anything which causes sin in your life must be removed. Even if it is something you consider needful or precious, it must be removed. He uses the example of the hand, foot, and eye. In the natural these are needful and precious body parts. But Jesus says if they cause you to sin, it is better to remove them than to let them prevent your entrance into the Kingdom!  This doesn't mean that we literally excise various body parts, but we do remove ourselves from situations, people, places and things that are prone to cause us to sin.



(Biblical Studies)







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