Seeds or Tares; Which Are You?

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: 

but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. 

(Matthew 7:21)

There are many who profess to be part of God's Kingdom who are not actually Kingdom residents. The Bible speaks of the Kingdom being filled with good seed and tares resulting from bad seed:  

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.   (Matthew 13:38-43)

At the present time there are those who claim to be Kingdom residents who still live in sin. There will come a future day of judgment when God will separate these people from the true residents of the Kingdom. Those who are evil will be cast out of the Kingdom of God.

The Bible also compares the present Kingdom to a big net thrown into the sea which gathers many kinds of fish:   

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:  Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:47-50)

The Bible tells of a day in the future when:  

And I say unto you, many shall come from the east, and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 8:11)

But Jesus warns that . . . 

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. (Luke 13:28)

Before the final establishment of the Kingdom, God will judge all men, those alive at the return of Jesus and those who previously died:  

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick (alive) and the dead at His appearing and His Kingdom. (2Timothy 4:1)

At the time of final judgment there will be division made between all men. Some will enter the Kingdom and some will be cast out:  

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory:  And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 25:31-34)

Because the Bible reveals some people will be cast out of the Kingdom, it is important to understand how to gain permanent residency in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said:  

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

Acknowledging Jesus is Lord does not assure permanent residency in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said such verbal commitment was not enough. You must do the will of the Father.

It is God's will that you repent of your sins and receive Jesus Christ as Savior:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

After accepting Jesus as Savior you must begin to do the will of God. You must live by the principles of the new Kingdom into which you have entered.   You must be led by the spirit and not your flesh.

Becoming a resident of the Kingdom of God requires more than a verbal commitment. It involves a change in thought and action patterns. With the Holy Spirit as your guide, you must develop a new lifestyle consistent with the patterns and principles of God's Kingdom.

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.  Romans 8:14-18

The importance of doing God's will is stressed in an account told by Jesus in Matthew 21:28-32.  It reveals that while personal response to the Gospel is necessary, verbal commitment is not enough. You must take action.

Sin prevents entrance to the Kingdom of God. Sin is breaking the law of God:  

whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4)

There are many sins identified in the New Testament.   Two specific passages identify some of the sins which prevent entrance to the Kingdom of God:

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)

Some sins are listed in both of these passages, and each passage contains sins not listed in the other reference however this does not negate their validity.  As one person put it,  

'sin is just sin and it doesn't matter the flavor' 

Those found in it will not inherit the Kingdom of God! 

(Biblical Studies)

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