The Entrance Test for God's Kingdom

By Donald Werner

In schools we all had to take tests, in some class the grades are simply ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. In the same manner God tested Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a pass or fail grading system, they failed the test we read about in Genesis 3. And in the very same manner God is testing each of us, with the very same test. We are all being tested with a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ test, throughout all of our lives. The test is ultimately to see if we are fit for His kingdom.
However, God is patience and merciful, and He will not reject us because of a ‘failed’ test, our testing goes on for our lifetime. We have many chances to redeem ourselves with a passing grade.
According to Ezekiel 18, our final test produces our final grade, ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. For Ezekiel wrote that if a wicked man repented of his wickedness and does righteousness, he would be judged as a righteous person. And Ezekiel also said it a righteous person, turned from the righteousness and does wickedness, he would be judged as a wicked person. And Jesus told us that if we endure to the end we will be saved.
To be sure, God has been, and will be, testing each of us every day, whether we know it or not. So it would be best if we know how we are being tested daily and what we have to do to achieve a passing grade. That, I will share with you in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781105954740

Book preview

Donald Werner

6/28/2021

Copyright

The Entrance Test for God’s Kingdom

Copyright © 2021 Donald Werner. All rights reserved.

ISBN #: 978-1-105-95474-0

Published by Donald Werner

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica

Young's Literal Translation (YLT) by Public Domain

All Scripture emphasis; such as bolding, underlining, highlighting, italic and parenthetical inserted comments are mine.

THE PREFACE

In schools we all had to take tests, in some class the grades are simply ‘pass’ or ‘fail’.  In the same manner God tested Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with a pass or fail grading system, they failed the test we read about in Genesis 3.  And in the very same manner God is testing each of us, with the very same test.  We are all being tested with a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ test, throughout all of our lives.  The test is ultimately to see if we are fit for His kingdom.

However, God is patience and merciful, and He will not reject us because of a ‘failed’ test, our testing goes on for our lifetime.  We have many chances to redeem ourselves with a passing grade.

According to Ezekiel 18, our final test produces our final grade, ‘pass’ or ‘fail’.  For Ezekiel wrote that if a wicked man repented of his wickedness and does righteousness, he would be judged as a righteous person.  And Ezekiel also said it a righteous person, turned from the righteousness and does wickedness, he would be judged as a wicked person. And Jesus told us that if we endure to the end we will be saved.

To be sure, God has been, and will be, testing each of us every day, whether we know it or not.  So it would be best if we know how we are being tested daily and what we have to do to achieve a passing grade. 

THE INTRODUCTION

I too grew up in the Christian Church and I was a practicing Christian faithfully for almost 65 years, even spent several years studying theology at a major Protestant theological seminary. Around the age of 55 I began to seriously study my Christian faith by comparing what I was told to believe by the church to what the Scripture teaches.  And I wasn’t too shocked by what I found until I started to compare what the church taught to Jesus’ words alone.  Then big red flags appeared.

I always believed that Jesus’ words should be given the greater priority, honor and respect than the other New Testament authors.  But, what I found in studying Jesus’ words was that the Christian religions follow Paul’s teachings to a greater extent than they follow Jesus’ teachings.  That’s not saying that they completely discard Jesus’ words.  They do retain and teach many of Jesus’ words, stories and parables, but there are other very important and key messages that Jesus spoke which are completely ignored because they clash with Paul’s words. Jesus said, (John 10:27-28), "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." 

Paul and Jesus don’t always agree.  And where their teachings disagree, the church has chosen to follow Paul’s teachings instead of Jesus’ teachings.  Such as, in Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus told us to keep God’s Old Testament ‘Law and the Prophets’ until heaven and earth pass away.  Yet, Paul said that we didn’t need to keep God’s law, because the law is dead, nailed to the cross, it was given by angels because it was just a temporary tutor, Jesus fulfilled it and we are under grace now, etc.  So, now we have Jesus telling us to keep the law, and Paul telling us we don’t have to.  Whose message are we going to accept?  To which authority will you submit?  This is a decision that will affect your eternal destination, consider carefully and make a wisely decision. This is the crux of our lifetime test.  Who will we choose to submit to?

Don Werner, [e-mail]

Chapter 1 -  KEY DEFINITIONS

KEY DEFINITIONS AND UNDERSTANDINGS

So before we continue with this study we have to make sure that we are speaking the same language, and have the same understanding of the terms I will use in this book. 

THE TWO TYPES OF SINNERS

There are two types of sinner mentioned in the Scriptures, there are ‘presumptuous sinners’ and there are ‘unintentional sinners’.  And since we are all sinners, we all fit into one of these two categories.  We need to know where we fit, because one type will be saved and the other type lost.

PRESUMPTUOUS SINNERS are those who practice lawlessness.  They do that because they have been deceived into rejecting some, or all, of God’s laws.  So they presume that God’s law(s) are obsolete and they don’t apply to them, they presume that God doesn’t care if they violate them, they presume that there will be no eternal consequence for violation those law(s), and they therefore presume there is no need to repent.  So, unless they are converted, they will never repent and are eternally lost.  (Both types of sinners are mentioned in Numbers 15:27-31).  The ‘presumptuous sinners’ are those who know God’s law, but violates it anyway and because they will not repent, there is no atonement possible for them (Hebrews 10:26), not even Jesus’ blood.  They are also known as the ‘wicked’, ‘intentional sinners’ and those who ‘practice lawlessness’. 

UNINTENTIONAL SINNER – The unintentional sinners also sin, when they are overcome by temptation, deceived, or a moment of weakness.  However, the unintentional sinner will later feel guilt, godly sorrow and remorse for their sin and then they will repent.  Because of their repentance they are forgiven, pardoned, justified and made white as snow. The unintentional sinners are also known as the ‘righteous’, or the ‘saints’.  There can be atonement made for unintentional sinners.  2Corinthians 7:10, For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, ...

In the parable of the ‘Publican and the Pharisee’ in Luke 18, the Publican was an unintentional sinner, who repented of his sins and Jesus said he went down to his house justified.  The Pharisee was a presumptuous sinner who didn’t even consider himself to be a sinner, so he never repents, and he was not forgiven or justified.

LAWLESSNESS

LAWLESS – Breaking God’s law is sin and that sin is a lawless act, according to 1John 3:4.  We all commit lawless acts, because we all sin.  However, for those who will truly repent, God will forgive, pardon, blot out, and forget their sin(s).  According to Jesus in Luke 18:9-14, those who humbly repent of their sins are justified before God, that is, ‘just if they had never sinned’ and made white as snow.

PRACTICING LAWLESSNESS – When the scriptures says ‘practicing lawlessness’ it is speaking of those who continually commit lawless acts (sin), and never truly repent.  This happens when someone is deceived into rejecting, or ignoring, one or more of God’s laws as though they are obsolete or out-of-date and then they violate them often and never even consider it to be a sin. And since they don’t consider it to be a sin, they will never feel guilt, godly sorrow, or remorse and then they will never truly repent and therefore never be forgiven.  Jesus said in Matthew 13:41-42 that at the end-of-time God will send out His angels to gather those who ‘practice lawlessness’ and cast them into a furnace of fire.  Presumptuous sinners practice lawlessness, and they are lost, unless they