Dear …….

I enjoyed your talk on "Is there a second chance after death?"

You eloquently presented some Scriptural readings as to why there is none. And, if we read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, we find that immoral people don't even get a FIRST chance from the Church which has been given the power to "loose and to bind" …"Expel the wicked man from your midst," declared Paul ( 1 Cor. 5:13 ), referring to the Christian who was living in sin with his father's wife. Certainly, there would be NO 'Absent in the flesh, present with the Lord' for him or for the others Paul continued to urge the Church to not associate with - immoral people, the covetous, abusive people, drunkards, thieves or idolators. For though they were Baptized, that they acknowledged with their lips that Jesus was Lord because they were called by the name "Brother" ( 1 Cor. 5:11 ), there was no hope of salvation for them. Even St John in Rev 21:8 stated that the lot of these would be the fiery pool of burning sulphur, the second death. A very far cry, indeed, from what you stated what a happy lot theirs was….ABSENT IN THE FLESH, PRESENT WITH THE LORD !

Yet all are sinners. And if among the Christian people who attended your talk, there were1 or 2 persons living in sin, you would have given them the un-scriptural and false hope that they would go straight to Heaven if they died. It would indeed be better if you had told them there would be hell to pay….Romans 8:13 declares that " If you live according to the flesh, you will DIE; but if by the spirit you put to death the evil deeds of the body, you will LIVE."

Ultimately, we have to consider what Jesus declared. This is because Jesus is not only our Saviour, our Lord and God, but our JUDGE. And as CHRISTIANS, we have to follow Christ and heed His words. And as in any curriculum, there are topics of great importance, lesser importance and those of little consequence, so too the Bible is a library of books of varying degrees of importance. As Jesus is THE ALPHA & THE OMEGA, the first and last, the "WORD" and spokesperson of our Heavenly Father, we as Christians must consider THE GOSPELS of paramount importance and everything else in the Bible as commentary. And even in The Gospels, we find that Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 are of the supreme importance!

What was Jesus instructing in His Sermon on The Mount?

Basically, Jesus was moving people away from "THE LETTER" of The Mosaic Law which forbade murder and adultery, to "THE SPIRIT" of His New Law which forbade even anger and looking with lust. NOTE:- It is relatively easy to keep away from the act of adultery. Fear of being found out, fear of diseases like AIDS, fear of emotional involvement where there is no chance of going into a deeper relationship etc., makes adultery fairly easy to keep at arm's length. However, keeping at bay lustful thoughts is very difficult, sometimes even impossible, and a person can go to heights of imagination where even angels fear to tread!

Jesus was bringing about the new PERFECTION whereby our very thoughts and wills were to be rightly ordered because, ultimately, only PERFECTION could dwell with PERFECTION in Heavenly harmony. The Old Law given by Yahweh to the Israelites was imperfect. But Jesus ( Matthew 5:17-20 ) came to bring on the New Law of perfect Love, whereby even enemies and those wishing and willing ill on us, were included. This was through the lived EXAMPLE of Jesus' own perfect life, an example not available to those who lived before Christ. Therefore, there is NO WAY to interpret that The Holy Spirit can direct us differently.

That is why Jesus came to change the very core of our beings, our actions certainly, indeed our words ( you will have to render an account of every IDLE word ) and even our very thoughts, spirits and wills ( If a man holds his brother in contempt, he risks the fires of Gehenna…Matt 5:22 ). This requires tremendous and continuous effort and vigilance on our part. And that is why the road to Heaven is rough, the gate narrow and few that find it.

CHRISTIANITY, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, IS THE RELIGION OFPERFECTION…..Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect!

( Matthew 5:48 )

Jesus declared "If you LOVE ME, you will keep My Commandments." Each and every one. "If you wish to be My DISCIPLE, take up your CROSS and follow me". These words were mirrored by Winston Churchill to the British people during the Second World War when he promised nothing but "Blood, sweat and tears!" And yet the easiest words in the English language are "I love you" but we know that it is in deeds that love is proved. And if we LOVE Jesus then we must do violence to ourselves ( even "hating" parents and children as Jesus declared ) and change our Hearts and Minds to conform with His ( Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may judge what is God's will, what is good, pleasing and PERFECT.. Romans 12:2 ). Surely, we are engaged in a spiritual warfare against the devil and also an emotional, mental and physical battle against our own nature. And if we only profess with our lips our love for Jesus, and fail to keep all His commandments, there will be no 'Absent in the flesh, present with the Lord!'

For Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21 that "None of those who cry out 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my Heavenly Father." And Jesus continued to state that many will plead 'Lord, Lord,' have we not prophesied in your name? … I NEVER knew you!" Surely Jesus was declaring that if we preached "another Christ" who was so merciful, that all our sins and transgressions were blotted out, yet without changing and perfecting our ways and thoughts, then we were deemed not worthy of His kingdom.

Let us look at the following example.

A man inherits a large estate which allows him to live without having to work for a living. And the man, upon rising every morning, faithfully reads the Bible for 1 hour, ending with the profession that Jesus is Lord, before spending the rest of the day on the beach, neither harming nor helping anybody else. And this routine is repeated for the rest of his life. According to your belief, this beach-bum, on dying, will be rewarded with "Absent in the flesh, present with the Lord." However, if we focus on The Gospels, we will find that, because the man failed to fulfill the Commandment of God of 'Love your neighbour,' he will definitely not be allowed through the narrow gates of Heaven and may even be sent to hell like the rich man in Jesus' parable of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. For Jesus declared in Matthew 10:38-39: " He who will not take up his cross and come after Me is NOT worthy of Me. He who seeks only himself brings himself to ruin."

What was the reason for Jesus' incarnation and death on the cross? This spiritual Adam came to atone for the sin of the first and natural Adam. Adam and Eve had no neighbours and their sin was a transgression against God alone. The result of their sin was that Heaven was closed. And the effect of their sin was laid on the rest of mankind. Before Jesus, the Jews had to sacrifice goats and lambs to atone for their sins against God. But they also had to pay the penalty for their transgressions against one another…'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' When King David murdered Uriah after committing adultery with his wife Bathsheba, and then repented when confronted by the prophet Nathan, he received Divine forgiveness. But because there was NO WAY of reconciling with the dead Uriah, God declared that he would have to suffer a penalty - "The sword shall never depart from your house, and others will take away your wives ( 2 Samuel 12:10-11 )" This clearly indicates that a trespass against a neighbour is a sin not only against that neighbour but also against God who created that neighbour in His image. So for a sin to be washed clean, there must be reconciliation with the one offended and also confession and forgiveness from God. Hence Jesus' PERFECT prayer… "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." For in the measure that we forgive others will be the measure that we will ourselves receive forgiveness. And God is the SAME, yesterday, today and forever. So Jesus came to reconcile us to The Father and amend for Adam's sin, thereby opening Heaven. So now we don't have to offer goats and lambs in atonement for our sins against The Father. But we surely have to reconcile with one another because our trespasses are still penalty-causing. The Good Thief on the cross paid the penalty of his trespasses against his neighbours by his crucifixion, which is one of the cruelest forms of death. And he reconciled with Jesus and thereby was promised Paradise. The Prodigal Son also paid the penalty of going into hungry exile and tending unclean swine, before he was met half-way by his father.

Jesus also is the WAY and example of how our lives are to be lived. He is certainly the spokesperson and "WORD" of our Heavenly Father. And that is why, if Jesus declares that we must not lust or get angry, and that we must reconcile with our brother before offering our gifts, those are words to live by. Moreover, if Jesus commands us to Love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbour as ourselves, then those are words that we must also live by. Surely, if Jesus warns against leading "astray" a little one who believes in Him, then we must heed His warning. For the word astray defines the one who is subsequently damned into everlasting Hell. And all the waters of the ocean ( a millstone around his neck and drowned in the depths of the sea ) will NOT cool God's burning anger ( Matthew 18:6 ) against this perpetrator. There is certainty of punishment on such a one, even if he was to repent. And what if this perpetrator led many astray? To believe that such a repentant perpetrator would be rewarded with 'Absent in the flesh, present (eternally) with the Lord' is false theology. Killing a person's BODY caused a penalty like King David's. Yet to kill a man's SOUL, will be even more penalty-causing.

Let's look at another example about the need for human reconciliation.

Suppose you had carefully laid up $ 50,000 for your retirement, but I came along and stole the sum. Do you believe that if I confessed my sin to God but didn't return the money to you, "God's in Heaven, all's right with the world?" If God forgave me UNCONDITIONALLY, you would still be minus $ 50,000. And God would be giving the message that His mercy overrides His justice and that he has favourites. And while I would be blessed with God's mercy and forgiveness AND your money, you would be left without justice and without your $ 50 grand. That's not much consolation to you. MY MERCIFUL GOD WOULD BE YOUR UNJUST GOD. And Heaven would be populated with brats, cheats, liars and the worst of the bunch. Exactly, who would go to Hell if all the devils were allowed into Heaven??? And Heaven itself will cease to be so!

The BEST scriptural passage that sums up what Heaven, justice, mercy and Purgatory are all about is Matthew 18:21-35 when Peter asked Jesus how many times had he to forgive another. The official who was brought to account was instantly forgiven…"I cancelled your ENTIRE DEBT"… when he pleaded. This reflects The Father's forgiveness of our sins when we ask and confess our sins and is the direct result of Jesus' death on the cross. However, when this same official did not forgive his neighbour, he was "in anger" condemned to "the torturers UNTIL he paid back all that he owed." This clearly indicates that God's mercy was no longer available but that God's JUSTICE demanded imprisonment for a "time and a season" which can only refer to PURGATORY.

For THE THRUST OF CHRISTIANITY IS LOVE - the Love of God for man, AND ITS REQUIRED RESPONSE, the Love of man for God and neighbour as set out in the Great Commandment.

Looking at the Old Testament, we find that the Israelites, the CHOSEN people of God and the fore-runners of Christians, were required to wander 40 years in the desert. And this was AFTER their liberation from the bondage of slavery!

Forward to Revelation 19:15, and we read that in the Thousand-Year Reign Jesus will "shepherd with an IRON rod." There is no mincing of words here, no merciful and gentle correction which a rod of wood would indicate, and certainly an imagery of 'Purgatory-on-earth.' We can imagine a lot of broken bones as a result. And this is confirmed by the next sentence…"it is He who will tread out in the winepress the blazing WRATH of God the Almighty." This recalls what Jesus had declared in John 15:1-2: "I am the TRUE vine and my Father is the vinegrower. He prunes away every barren branch, but the fruitful ones He trims clean to increase their yield." It is without doubt that those who are not fruitful WILL incur God's wrath. And those who are chastised by Jesus in the Millennium, will undoubtedly, be "present with the Lord" and, with some broken bones, "absent in the flesh." It definitely makes sense that, if there are those who are ETERNALLY condemned to the stress and misery of fiery Hell, then there must be those who out of JUSTICE from our same God, must spend time in Purgatory! Yet, compared to the unending and unremitting punishment of Hell, Purgatory for all its torments is just a slap on the wrist from our Merciful Father…he whom the Lord loves, He chastises!

On earth, athletes spend many a dreary and punishing time and in all types of weather in honing their skills. And during the past dot.com boom, there were countless stories of people who spent an inordinate time in running their internet businesses and placing every other aspect of their lives in a distant second-place. Yet to believe that Heaven can be won by just ceremonial Baptism is FALSE theology. Jesus declared that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl of great value and a priceless treasure, for which a person would sell everything to obtain. Nowhere did Jesus proclaim that Heaven will be given on a plate to all and sundry, to foolish virgins, or to lukewarm people. And while Jesus is the same, will the people in the Millennium be so different that will require them to be governed with measures of Iron? Or will the benefits of the Cross be exhausted by the time Jesus returns for His 1000-year reign? Yet, looking at the world as it presently stands, it is certain that people NOW do need an Iron Rod to remind them that "the road to Heaven is narrow and rough" and that MOST of them will have to undergo Purgatory FIRST before entering through it's narrow gates!

Sadly, there are those who question how and why the ONE Bible could possibly produce so MANY Christian denominations if it is the Word of God. Multiplication of Christian churches can only mean division and a lack of Truth; for Truth is not divisible. And if we examine where these divisions arise, we clearly find that these mainly arise in the interpretations of Paul's letters. We know that Paul waxes philosophically and in words that are difficult to truly grasp. And St Peter warned about this in 2 Peter 3:16 even stating that it would bring RUIN to many. Yet, we as Christians should place our belief and trust in Jesus' words in The Gospels. He speaks in words so preciously and delightfully simple and direct that anyone and everyone can grasp and understand. And Jesus is God….and JUDGE…and jury. My present focus as well as my future in Heaven depends on the person and words of JESUS. And, those who call themselves Christians, should place the person and words of JESUS first and foremost and everything else as secondary. And Jesus definitely declared in John 8:34-35 "I give you my assurance, everyone who lives in sin is the slave of sin. No slave of sin has a permanent place in the family ( of God, that is Heaven ) but the son has a place there forever." And while it is appointed for every person, whether good or evil, to be brought to judgment before God, after death, a slave of sin would definitely not be allowed to remain eternally with God. For Heavenly citizenship is bestowed ONLY on those free from sin. And thankfully most are given a SECOND chance in Purgatory…

So divisions and denominations in the Christian world arise because many people try to interpret The Gospels in the light of Paul's teachings, INSTEAD of the other way around. No slave is greater than the master…and Paul is definitely the slave. Yet Paul boasts of the cross ( Gal. 6:14 ) and his sufferings, because these render him a faithful disciple of Christ. It is certain that the expression "Absent in the flesh, present with the Lord "is an incorrect interpretation because Jesus never declared this. And if we read 1 Cor 5:3, "As for me, though absent in the body, I am present in spirit," we find it refers to Paul being emotionally present although geographically removed. And yet Paul frequently urges keeping God's commandments ( 1 Cor 7:19 ) and keeping away from sin ( 1 Cor. 15:33-34 ). If a Christian is sincerely determined to know the mind of Christ, he/she should read The Gospels carefully and whole-heartedly at least 3 times. It will give a true perspective of what our Lord Jesus Christ so preciously and precisely requires of us Christians.

The only person who has been to Heaven is Jesus. And Jesus came to show us the way to Heaven. He fasted for 40 days & nights. Prayer and Temple worship were the pillars of His life. He was sinless. Besides, He fed the hungry, healed the sick, expelled demons and proclaimed The Good News. And He suffered and died for our sins. A lot of hard work, indeed. Yet debt can be forgiven by simple fiat or decree. If I owed a rich man a million dollars, he could with one phone-call declare the debt cancelled. It would not require him to relocate where I live, eat the same food and wear similar clothes, etc. Yet Jesus came to live as one of us so as to cancel the debt incurred by Adam, and, at the same time to show us the way through the NARROW gates of Heaven. And Jesus declared that it was more difficult for a rich man to enter Heaven than for a camel to pass through the extremely narrow eye of a needle, a ready comparison to the narrow gate of Heaven. Yet the rich people in your audience went away with the happy notion that entry to Heaven was a breeze and a surety. Exactly, which "Christ" were YOU proclaiming. Besides, Jesus teaches us in THE BEATITUDES, that those disadvantaged in this world, ----the very ones who are confronted with the 'blood, sweat and tears'--- are those who are favoured in the next. The fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew urges us to new heights of behaviour which will make us the salt and light of the earth. We are required to put away anger, to be ready to reconcile with others, to love even our enemies, to forsake divorce and the taking of oaths, and to avoid judging others. Also we need to pray, fast and give alms with pure intentions and without attracting attention. However, if we do not heed Jesus' words and are ill-prepared to enter through the narrow gates of Heaven, we shall have to undergo the different DEGREES of punishment as stated in Luke 12:45-48. This punishment can only refer to Purgatory.

Speed signs are displayed on most roads in the U.S.A. and Canada for which penalties are imposed for non-compliance. The spiritual road to Heaven which is narrow and rough is also signposted with Commandments and warnings. 1 John 5:17 distinguishes between deadly sin for which the penalty is Hell, and non-deadly sin for which the penalty is Purgatory. Somehow, this distinction has no place in your theology, as every person goes to Heaven regardless. Yet Paul urges the church in Philippians 2:12 to "work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation." For GRACE means that God has favoured us by sending His son Jesus to take our debt of sin against God on Himself, while giving the perfect EXAMPLE ( 1 PETER 2:21 ) of how we were to live. This example was not available to those who lived before Christ. It does not mean that we have a new inheritance whereby we can continue to live like those before us but without penalty. The spiritual and the natural are opposed to each other. Worldly ways allow a person who inherits wealth not to work for a living. However, to enter Heaven, this same person has to obey the Commandments of Love of God and neighbour ( Matthew 25:35-46 ). Paul declares in Romans 6:15, "Just because we are not under the law but under grace, are we free to sin? By NO means." And again in Ephesians 5:5, "Make no mistake about this: no fornicator, no unclean or lustful person - in effect an idolater - has any INHERITANCE in God's kingdom." GRACE does not mean LICENSE. Paul himself declared ( 2 Timothy 4:7 ) that he had fought the "good" fight. It is a spiritual battle that we must win again and again to THE GLORY OF GOD. God did not set the perfect example of Jesus to make us 'spiritual wimps.' Nowhere did Paul declare that the GRACE of God will allow us to lose the fight, or "lukewarmly" put up resistance, and still give us safe passage to Heaven. A defeated Christian will give glory to the devil, and will incur the anger and WRATH of God! To believe that God laboured in CREATION and SALVATION, so that we could be 'graced' in sitting on our duffs and mentally and intellectually acknowledging these gifts, is nothing short of DIS-GRACE! Let's take the example of a man who starts a business and effectively runs it with hard work and dedication based on Christian principles so that prosperity, indeed more than prosperity, blesses him making him a billionaire. Yet, if his children grow up to be brats despite his best efforts, would not his offspring undo his work? Undoubtedly, we have the greatest and most perfectly lived example of Christ. Would we not undo His work by being nominal, shallow, lukewarm or half-hearted Christians? "I have come to light a FIRE on the earth….I Have a Baptism to receive ( Luke 12:49-50 )" which was Jesus' INTENSE desire for mankind to purify itself, from the dross and loss which the Prince of Darkness exercised, by a Baptism of water and spirit for it to arise to a new spiritual re-birth which would signal that "The Kingdom of God is at hand." The same Kingdom of God that was manifest in the early years…."See these Christians, how they love one another!"

The devil has been compared to "a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." The Kingdom of Heaven is the result of Victory. Only the conquerors will enter through. The vanquished will be "Absent in the flesh, (eaten by) present with the devil." Scripture abundantly states that we must conquer the flesh, the world and the devil. Christ showed us how to overcome the devil when, after 40 days & nights of fasting, He had come to the end of His human strength and still resisted the devil. And on the cross, drained of all blood and water, He died but death had no hold on Him because He arose 3 days later. For Revelation 21:7 declares "He who wins the VICTORY shall inherit these gifts; I will be His God and he shall be My son." Nowhere does Scripture, certainly NOT Jesus, declare that those who are sometimes or often vanquished by the flesh, the world or the devil are rewarded with "Absent in the flesh,( eternally ) present with the Lord." To take one or two verses of Scripture and give uncertain meaning and translation to them will result in uncertain CONSEQUENCES. Scripture, however, does declare God to be JUST and to have no favouritism( Colossians 3:25 ). And if I robbed you of your retirement savings, God will be merciful to me if I asked pardon, like He did to David …."The Lord forgives you, you shall not die"…but God will be JUST to you and require of me my time in Purgatory "until I have paid the last penny." It is a warning and also an encouragement to us that we must be perfect like Jesus. For Jesus was the FIRST-BORN of us who are also called to be OTHER Christs, because it is the only way to give GLORY to God. God could have forgiven Adam his trespass with a fiat: "I forgive you." Simply. However, God does things in a profound way that required the Death of His son, just as He "LABOURED" for six days in CREATION. And He certainly requires our perfection, for us to be with that perfect son, even though it entails 'blood, sweat and tears.' That is why Jesus warned of punishment and purification in Purgatory, in Matthew 18:35: "My heavenly Father will treat you in exactly the same way unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart". Surely, these are warning words to heed and live by. For if God did not spare His only son for the sake of JUSTICE, will He spare us? And if the bad angels were banished eternally to Hell for a single trespass as were Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, could and would the SAME God act differently with us for our numerous trespasses?

In John 5:14, Jesus warns the man whom He had cured: "Give up your sins so that something worse may not overtake you." Yet you have overlooked this and quote John 5:24 as proof that there is no judgment and no condemnation on those who accept Jesus as Lord. What Jesus was attempting to do, in John chapter 5, was to make known to the Jewish people that He was sent by Yahweh and that His works of healing (verse 17) was proof of this. Moreover, Jesus continued to state that Yahweh had appointed Him as judge, so that if the Jewish people acknowledged this fact, they in turn would not come under judgment and condemnation from Yahweh for doing so. Nowhere was Jesus declaring that those who acknowledged Jesus as Lord would not come under judgment and condemnation if they continued to sin!

A murderer is a murderer is a murderer! If a murderer bathes and dons clean clothes, he will still be a murderer. Yet you quote Zechariah chapter 3 as proof that our guilt will be taken away and the filthy rags with which we are clothed in will be replaced with festal garments. The filthy rags in this chapter are a symbol of mourning for the dead, and of national catastrophe as a result of exile. On the other hand, the festal garments symbolize the glorious re-building of the temple by the returned exiles and the termination of their guilt that covered them during the period of their exile! Moreover, when Paul talks about the natural body becoming glorified (1 Corinthians 15:50-56) in the next world, he was referring to its resemblance to that (verse 49) of Jesus who had won the victory over death. This victory is claimed by the faithful (you will not suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption ..Acts 2:27) who are steadfast and persevering (1 Cor 15:58). And Paul clarifies this abundantly and directly (1 Cor. 15:33-34) "Stop sinning. Some of you are quite ignorant of God; I say it to your SHAME!"

It is no coincidence that in verse 34 of chapter 15, Paul warns against the shame of sin and a few verses later talks about glorified bodies. It is very obvious that Paul was making a point of great magnitude that indicated that these were MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE! And no amount of posturing and incorrect interpretation can prove otherwise! For Jesus certainly declared, in Matthew 22:1-14, that we must be properly dressed for the Heavenly banquet. There is no doubt that a person who arrives with filthy rags will not receive festal garments, but will on the contrary be tossed out!

Every week you teach Christian principles and the goal towards Christian perfection. However, you dash it all by saying that we will be rewarded despite our having not arrived at that perfection. So if we say that we will forgive and reconcile with our brother today, we will try to discern God's will for us today but next year might be different with a forthcoming job promotion, marriage plans or a new baby arrival, etc. or if we grieve The Holy Spirit, will God be glorified and reward us? Or if we are nominal and not deep-seated Christians, will there be any merit and reward? Thankfully, God has provided a second chance, Purgatory, which is a place of Divine CORRECTION AND JUSTICE so that nobody can bring a charge against God or his holy ones. The rain falls on the farmer who welcomes it as well as on the city-dweller who does not care much for it. And the sun shines impartially on the good and the bad. Yet when Christ died, the devils in Hell were not granted an amnesty, nor the other thief on the cross promised Paradise. And yet you proclaim that all the sins from the beginning of time to the end have been washed away by Jesus' death. This does not hold true under scrutiny of Scripture especially when we read the parable of the merciless official in Matthew 18:21-35. God's forgiveness is there for the asking BUT because the bad thief did not ask for forgiveness, he was not promised Paradise even though, like the good thief, he had paid the penalty for his trespass against his neighbours by forfeiting his life on the cross. And to fulfill God's commandment - NOT a suggestion - of Love of neighbour, we must forgive and reconcile with our neighbours because otherwise there is a penalty that we will have to pay either on earth or in Purgatory. For Jesus stated most definitely, in Luke 18:7, "Will not God then do justice to his chosen who call out to Him day and night?"

You have often stated that, once we declare that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, our names are forever engraved in the Lamb's Book of Life. This statement does not take into account our Free Wills.

And after a period of time, should we turn our back on this same Lord, cross the street and become card-carrying members of the Church of Satan, would our names still be in the Lamb's Book? If you say yes, then you would be "hopelessly optimistic." If we read Ezekiel 18:24, we learn that "If the virtuous man turns away from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live?"

The most quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him MAY not die but MAY have eternal life." The word 'MAY' implies free will. Indeed, God has endowed us with the free will to accept God's gift of salvation or to reject it.

Moreover, you insist on addressing as 'Saints' all those who are baptized. Yet, if we look at recent history, we find that there were those like Hitler and Stalin who were baptized but who definitely did not live saintly lives.

CHRISTIAN UNITY would be a certainty if all Christians focused and proclaimed JESUS of THE GOSPELS. When Paul urged the church to not associate with immoral people and other sinners, he was including all of us who have sinned in some degree or at some point in our lives. Certainly, only a very few have reached that level of perfection sufficient to be the ones to whom Paul referred to as those who should not associate with the rest who were sinners. And these, Jesus declared, would be the same few who would be able to enter through the narrow gates of Heaven. It is clear, when we use this example, to discover that Paul was teaching along the same lines as Jesus. And when Paul declared in Colossians 2:5 and in other places that "I may be absent in the body but I am with you in spirit,"we have to realize that it was his particular way of communicating his emotional presence with the church even while being geographically distant. Nowhere can this phrase be construed in the fashion you make out, simply because Jesus, so definitely, has never proclaimed it. Therefore, it is incumbent on us to proclaim The Gospels as the very heart and soul of Christianity. "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and PERFECTS our faith ( Hebrews 12:2 )." For the TRUTH, ultimately, is that JESUS and ONLY Jesus is the WAY to Eternal LIFE.

God is a loving Father who loves ALL His children equally. He wills and desires the BEST for each and every one of us. Yet God will allocate seats in Heaven (Matthew 20:23) at the right and left of Jesus. It is apparent that persons who most resemble the person of Jesus will be favoured. Therefore, Jesus' call for perfection is at the very core of His message to us. In Matthew 21:43, Jesus declared "The Kingdom of God will be given to a nation that will yield a RICH harvest." That declaration was made just after His parable about the treacherous tenants who wanted to seize His inheritance. Ultimately, our own Heavenly inheritance will be determined by the degree of perfection that we have arrived at in our LOVE OF GOD AND NEIGHBOUR!

Christians have been GRACED with the supreme advantage of knowing Jesus. It would be a shame to exchange this inheritance for a trifle, as Esau did. "For those to whom much has been given, much will be required!"

God Bless!