My friend, Brother Kevin Boudreau, shared a link about former mayor Michael Bloomberg. I thank Kevin for bringing this to my attention.
Why?
Many people believe that their good works will get them into heaven.
Not so fast.
A couple of years ago, the mayor saw a video demanding that he repent and change his ways or the city was going down. All of a sudden, mortality comes into play.
When you see people declaring that they will get into heaven, you take note.
The Bible is clear about what the Lord said as to who is allowed into heaven.
Here are some Scriptures to go by.
John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; (menstruated cloths), we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Here is the first link that was passed to me.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/375856/michael-bloombergs-eschatology-patrick-brennan
But here is the direct quote after searching
“Mr. Bloomberg was introspective as he spoke, and seemed both restless and wistful. When he sat down for the interview, it was a few days before his 50th college reunion. His mortality has started dawning on him, at 72. And he admitted he was a bit taken aback by how many of his former classmates had been appearing in the “in memoriam” pages of his school newsletter.
But if he senses that he may not have as much time left as he would like, he has little doubt about what would await him at a Judgment Day. Pointing to his work on gun safety, obesity and smoking cessation, he said with a grin: “I am telling you if there is a God, when I get to heaven I’m not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It’s not even close.”
The first thing that caught my eye was he said “if there is a God.” It’s strange that we know there is heaven but we are not sure that there is the God of heaven. And also note that there will be no “interview?”
That’s right there will be no interview. It’s called Judgment.
Here is the link if you think this is a joke….
It is clear that the former mayor wants to make a difference with the remaining time he has on earth, whatever that may be. However, according to the Word of God, we can never do enough on earth to make a difference and use that as “leverage” to boldly assume that it would be enough to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
The Bible is clear about sin and righteousness.
But the Word of God is also clear about rich men getting into heaven.
Matthew 19:23-24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Let’s be clear.
The Lord is not looking to banish all rich people. The Lord desires for all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Rich people banish themselves by imposing upon God their terms of getting into heaven. Few understand that heaven is holy because God is holy. Few understand that man cannot work to get into heaven.
The work was done on the cross of Christ.
It’s called grace!
Unmerited or unearned favor.
Earning our way into heaven cannot be done because God does not want you to boast about how great and good a guy you are.
What we do as far as good works is not enough to earn our way into heaven.
Titus 3:5-7 says “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
A sinner must be made new. A sinner must be washed. A sinner must be cleansed.
We must admit or acknowledge that we are sinners.
We throw ourselves upon the mercy of the Lord to save us because we cannot save ourselves from sin, death, and hell, and later, the lake that burns with fire and brimstone forever.
Why is it according to “His mercy?”
Mercy prevents what we rightfully deserve.
We deserve punishment because “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
“There is no one righteous, no, not one.”
The Righteous Judge of all the earth demanded that man be sentenced to death and eternal separation from the Holy God because of our sins. But He made a way out for man. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die for our sins.
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
To be justified means to declare a person innocent of all charges even though they are guilty of all charges.
Now bear in mind that we all have or had stuff that would prevent us all from getting into heaven.
We all have stuff.
The one thing that condemns us to hell is whether we believe in the provision of salvation, graciously made by Jesus. If we declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, we shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10).
Then looking at the works of Michael Bloomberg and the world, we see that his support for same sex marriage is before him. This is not the sin that will prevent him from getting into heaven. This is a sin that God is against. God is against the sin of homosexuality. His performance of officiating a same sex wedding is a work of darkness.
Then there is the “morning after pill” given to teens when they get pregnant as students in the NYC Board of Education system to reduce the number of abortions in school children. This is not the sin that would prevent him form getting into heaven. However, this is the sin that God is against. Fornication and murder.
If he repents or change his mind, ask for God’s forgiveness of his sins, reconsider his wicked spiritual condition, declares that Jesus is Lord, and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, he and all rich men would be saved.
The Book of Revelation tells us that we would be judged by the works we have done.
Revelation 20:11-15 says “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
The most important part about this Scripture is whether your name is in the Book of Life.
So, if Michael Bloomberg is reading this, my advice to you, sir, is to repent, ask for God’s forgiveness. He is gracious and kind. He will abundantly pardon you of all your sins. The Holy Spirit will come into your heart. He will take your stony heart and make it new and responsive to God. Then find a good Bible believing local assembly where people are living the Word of God. Get water baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Don’t even bring your check book. Leave that at home.
Any pastor or church that looks like they want to hound you for any money is not the right church to attend. On the other hand, if you think that righteousness could be bought or attained by your giving, you are sadly mistaken.
Leave your money at home. It is not necessary to get into the kingdom.
But if you love your money more than God, you might be able to buy a great looking casket for your remains, but you will not have a place in heaven on your own merits.
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