TITHE OR HELL YOUR CHOICE - Mike Peralta (first ebook reader txt) 📗

Chapter 8: All Thieves & Robbers Go To Hell

 (According to the Bible)

 

Since God never lies and is never in error, we must all rely on the Word of God over and above what our imagination tells us or what someone else tells us. Even if the Word of God contradicts everything we have ever been taught by our ministers, teachers, or churches we must put God’s Word before everything. As it says in Romans 3:4, "Let God be true, and every man a liar.”

As uncomfortable as it is to some, we all need to give heartfelt warnings to those who profess to be Christians about the eternal danger of stealing – especially robbing God in the tithe.

Before getting into this, let me explain a couple of terms which Jesus and the apostle Paul taught about salvation and about who would and would not go to heaven.

 

The Term WICKED :

The first term we will look at is the term WICKED. To understand what the term WICKED means let us look at 5 scriptures (there are hundreds more but these should suffice):

"Now the men of Sodom were WICKED and were sinning greatly against the LORD." Genesis 13:13

"The WICKED will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."

Psalm 1:5

"You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the WICKED cannot dwell." Psalm 5:4

"Salvation is far from the WICKED" Psalm 119:155 "

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the WICKED from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 13:49-50

As you can see, in the Bible, the term WICKED always refers to those who are enemies of God, those who are separated from God -- that is those who are not saved and who go to Hell if they die without repenting.

 

The Term INHERIT :

The next term we will look at is the term INHERIT. According to Jesus, salvation or eternal life is INHERITED :

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will INHERIT eternal life. Matthew 19:29 (NIV)

In Hebrews 1:14, salvation is also referred to as being INHERITed: "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will INHERIT salvation?” Hebrews 1:14 (NIV)

Jesus also refers to INHERITING eternal life in John 4:14 and Revelation 21:6-7.

In John 4:14, Jesus refers to eternal life as a "spring of water welling up to eternal life": "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 (NIV)

In Revelation 21:6-7, Jesus also uses the term "spring of the water of life" to refer to eternal life or salvation:

"6 It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life." 7 "He who overcomes will INHERIT all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son." Rev 21:6-7 (NIV)

That Jesus is referring to salvation or eternal life is also confirmed by the phrase "and he will be My son" in verse 7.

Notice also in verse 7 the word INHERIT, and that eternal life (the spring of the water of life) is what is being INHERITED: "He who overcomes will INHERIT all this." In this passage of scripture Jesus is specifically referring to eternal life as what is being INHERITed. This is also consistent with what Jesus stated in Mat 19:29: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers [etc.].. for my sake will.. INHERIT eternal life.” - Matthew 19:29

 

Eternal Life: Who INHERITS It And Who Does Not

Let Us Now Read All Of Revelation 21:5-8 : 5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will INHERIT all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts [witchcraft], the idolaters and all liars [false teachers] -- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Rev 21:5-8 (NIV)

In contrast to those who INHERIT eternal life, in verse 8, Jesus mentions those who will not INHERIT eternal life. Notice that THE UNBELIEVING ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES BEING CONDEMNED TO HELL. In addition to the unbelieving there is also, "the cowardly [those who deny Christ, usually due to social, political, religious, or family pressure], the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, etc... their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur."

Jesus makes no distinction as to whether these sinful people were previously saved or not. In fact, He makes it a point to include the UNBELIEVING as only one class of people who are being condemned to Hell.

Similarly, in 1 Cor 6:9-10 Paul states: "Do you not know that the WICKED will NOT INHERIT the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: NEITHER the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexuals nor THIEVES nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will INHERIT the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

God cannot lie. From this verse alone we clearly see that:

THIEVES WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD !

Make no mistake about it, THIEVES are classified with the WICKED and the WICKED are NOT going to Heaven.

Notice that when John was addressing believers he stated: "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." (1 John 3:15)

Notice the phrase "NO MURDERER HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM." Since according to Jesus in Rev 21:8 and Paul in 1 Cor 6:9-10 the THIEF will meet with the same fate as the murderer then we can also say that, NO THIEF HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM.

There are not two kinds of murderers -- saved and unsaved. There are not two kinds of witches -- saved and unsaved. There are no two kinds of THIEVES -- saved and unsaved. According to Jesus in Rev 21:8, all the cowardly are unsaved, all the unbelieving are unsaved, all the vile are unsaved, all the murderers are unsaved, all the sexually immoral are unsaved, all those who practice magic arts are unsaved, all the idolaters are unsaved, all liars are unsaved, and all THIEVES are unsaved. And they will all end up in Hell, unless they genuinely repent in this life and come (or come back) to Jesus.

The term WICKED has already been explained. The term INHERIT has also. This scripture is another confirmation of what Jesus said in Rev 21:5-8. As you can see the terms and meanings here are very clear, direct, and sound. If you choose to doubt – you do so in clear contradiction to the word of God.

Notice that the passages Rev 21:5-8 and 1 Cor 6:9-10 are parallel scriptures. Both are referring to salvation and both use the term INHERIT to refer to those who will or will not make it to the kingdom of God.

I realize that very few preach on these passages of scriptures but God’s word stands forever. God is faithful and His words cannot and will not be altered: "I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered." Psalm 89:34

Jesus began the Rev 21:5-8 passage by saying in verse 5: "Write this down, for these words are TRUSTWORTHY and TRUE." Jesus was emphasizing this passage of scripture so that we would all be forewarned of the ETERNAL danger of transgressing into these grievous sins. Jesus does not give idle warnings and He does not exaggerate. He gives us clear and specific words and phrases so that we will know what the truth is. Notice again in 1 Cor 6:9-10, “thieves will not go to the kingdom of God.” Instead they will be thrown into the FIERY LAKE OF BURNING SULFUR.

As hard as it is for some to believe, GOD WILL SEND THE THIEF TO HELL – even those who once came to Jesus in the past but now went back into the pollutions of the world.

There are many popular even evangelical ministers telling people that their sinning – even gross evil sins such as murder, and adultery, robbing God of His tithes, etc, will not send them to Hell. It is the same thing satan told Adam and Eve. " ‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman." Genesis 3:4

According to Word of God, not only will the UNBELIEVING end up in Hell, THIEVES will also end up in Hell (as will the cowardly, the vile, the murderers, etc.) – whether or not they were previously saved or not.

According to the Bible the following people are classified as THIEVES:

1. Thieves – Stealing from another person. (1 Cor. 6:9-10)

2. Swindler – Those who lie and cheat people out of their money or goods. (1 Cor. 6:9-10)

2. Robbing Tithes – Robbing God of His Tithe. (Malachi 3:8)

Notice that, as well as thieves and swindlers who steal from people, God will also condemn those who rob Him of His tithe. Although our present day church culture, may overlook or trivialize this sin, God does not and will not approve of this sin. (“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob Me. "But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?' "In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8)

Because not paying the tithe is classified as robbery by God in Malachi 3:8, this sin will send you to Hell as God promises us in 1 Cor. 6:9-10. As already explained, this is true even if you gave your life to Jesus in the past but are now robbing God of His tithe.

In Luke 13:3 Jesus says "unless you repent you will likewise perish.” But God is not interested in sending you to Hell. God is calling you to repent from your sin – even if you gave your life to Jesus in the past.

If this describes you, you must do 2 things:

1. Confess your sin to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you.

2. Repent of your sin by immediately setting aside 10% of your total income and giving it to the ministry where you go to church and receive spiritual sustenance.

If you don’t truly repent then confession is worthless. You are merely giving lip service and it is an abomination to God. I realize that what I am saying here is very direct and stern but I want there to be no doubt about the decision and the consequence you are facing. I counsel you to believe God and repent -- or face eternal torment in Hell when you die. And you can die on any day. You are free to choose. But you