Poetry

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“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9

Our salvation doesn’t have anything to do with our achievements
Despite the clarity of Scripture
There is still a major problem in the world

Buddhism is also all about works—
Buddha believed that the key to reaching Nirvana is through
An understanding of the Four Noble Truths and by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path— i.e., “doing things right” in order to reach Nirvana

In Islam, heaven is attained when Allah weighs a follower’s good works against his bad deeds on a scale at Judgment Day—
The Qur’an declares: “For those things that are good remove those that are evil” (Surah 11:114)“The balance that day will be true: Those whose scale [of good works] will be heavy, will prosper: Those whose scale will be light will find their souls in perdition” (Surah 7:8, 9)—
Islam operates on a point system—working for salvation

Hinduism has million gods who
Must be appeased through some type of ritual
Hinduism is a system of works—
Things that one must do to reach moksha—the Hindu heaven



In Judaism, heaven is attained by keeping the Law and its ceremonies Jesus said, “In vain they do worship [God], teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9)—
Judaism is too legalistic—the customers is their God
i.e. do things to get to heaven
The Pharisees and the Sadducees fell into this category

In Catholicism people have to keep laws in order to go to heaven
The Code of Canon Law contains 1,752 laws—
Many of which affect one’s eternal destiny
Again we see the concept of doing things to get to heaven

Many cults follow a strict set of rules in order to reach heaven
They vary from a person’s dress code to the food they eat—
Again the point system is revealed

Men and women follow a vicious deception—
They believe that religion can fill a ‘gap’
However, religion leads to darkness (absence of knowledge)
However, Jesus brought the Kingdom of God
Everyone is looking for the Kingdom of God
Many believe that they found it— by following laws

Religion causes you to work for it
The Kingdom of God works for you
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”Matthew 6:33
Everyone needs the Kingdom of God
It is a practical necessity—
Religion has drowned many but
The Kingdom of God sets us free

Basileia (kingdom) is used 164 times in the New Testament—
Over 100 times by our Lord Jesus the Christ
In Matthew chapter 16 Jesus asked a political question
Today that question is still asked because HE is the KING
‘My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” Psalm 89:34

Our salvation doesn’t have anything to do with our achievements
Despite the clarity of Scripture
There is still a major problem in the world
However, God is calling many out of religion!

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast,” Ephesians 2:8-9

Mark Frank

Copyright 2010

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