Two Non-Kingdom Ditches
Calvinism and Armenianism are both daughters of Roman Mythology. They argue about the destructibility of our eternal lives and our relationships with our Father. Calvinism’s argument is that we cannot become “un-saved” by sinning. Armenianism argues that if we fail to follow God’s rules, He will throw us in hell even if we have been born of Him. One is influenced by the Roman myth that unless a Roman priest offers the blood of Jesus on a Roman altar on your behalf, your sins cannot be forgiven and you will either go to hell or purgatory if you die. The other is debate against that deception that fails to move in the correct direction by declaring that God has picked those He wants from among us and we can’t fail due to sin, because He picked us.
Neither answer considered reading the Gospels to see what Jesus said about His Kingdom and being influenced by that. The Kingdom is not the Church. The Church is not the Kingdom. Your relationship to God is based on your identity – son or daughter of Yahweh. Your relationship to the Kingdom is based on your obedience. The judgement we will face over our obedience, whether saved or not, is described in Revelation 20:11-15. Books are opened, and everyone is judged by their works recorded in the books. Then, a book is opened called “the book of life.” Anyone whose name is not written in the book of life is thrown in the lake of fire.
Your life exists because He gave you a gift. It’s His life, so it can’t be quenched. Your future exists in a condition that you choose by your obedience to His desires for it. For believers, failure to obey His instructions is called “outer darkness” in His parables.
When I stand before that throne and those books, all I will have in my possession will be my decision to have submitted to Jesus for life, and the way I have lived my life.
We can get it right. Be awesome!