Classic Questions and Answers on the Gospel of the Kingdom Selections
V Questions and Answers About Requirements for Entry Into the Kingdom of Heaven
Question 6: We can set aside all things to spread the gospel and shepherd the church. Such toil and labor is doing the will of our heavenly Father. Is there any wrong in the way we carry this out?
Answer: We can spread the Lord’s gospel and toil and labor, but this does not mean we’re doing the will of our heavenly Father. Truly doing the heavenly Father’s will is following His words and commandments, and doing our duty according to His requirements. Just like what the Lord Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
Love Almighty God
Doing the heavenly Father’s will means following and practicing what the Lord Jesus currently says. This is the most basic principle. If we do not focus on obeying the Lord Jesus’ words, but on obeying man’s words in the Bible, that is not doing the heavenly Father’s will. Doing the will of God is following the word of God. If people always exalt the apostles’ word in the Bible and not the word of the Lord Jesus, then they are not doing God’s will but are opposing God. People who do the will of God will submit to and practice whatever He says or does. They can accept God’s commission and testify Him, and no longer rebel against or resist Him. Such people are the holy ones. Take Abraham for example. He was able to listen to God, sincerely willing to give his only beloved son back to God. Because of his absolute obedience, God blessed his descendants to be a great nation. Another example, Job feared God and kept away from evil. Even when tested with the loss of his possessions and children, he would rather curse himself than murmur against God. He still praised Jehovah’s holy name. So in the eyes of God, he was perfect. There’s also Peter. He followed the Lord Jesus all his life, thirsting and seeking after the truth. After he received the Lord’s commission, he abided by the Lord’s will and requirements to shepherd the church, finally submitting even to death, and loving God to the utmost…. They were all people who feared and obeyed God. Such people are those who truly do the will of the heavenly Father. If toil and labor is all there is to doing the heavenly Father’s will, then why did the Pharisees travel over land and sea spreading the gospel, toiling and laboring only to receive the condemnation and curse of the Lord Jesus? That’s because they believed in God but were not walking in His way. When the Lord Jesus came for His new work, not only did they not embrace Him, but they instigated the common believers to wildly condemn and oppose Him, even setting up false witnesses to frame Him. All that they did was to depart from the Lord’s way and make an enemy with the Lord. Even if they outwardly suffered a lot or did much work, how can they be said to be doing the will of the heavenly Father?
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