~Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
I see three points in this beautiful verse spoken by Jesus. Jesus said,
1. "Except ye be converted," - Converted from what TO what?
~2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Hence:
~John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
2. "become as little children," - Childlike faith - ahh, what innocence! You can tell a child anything and he will believe you! Jesus wanted people to believe Him without dwelling on or pulling from their religious upbringing. Jesus wanted the people to take His words through faith instead of relying on what they had heard from others.
~Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
~Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
God's Heaven is filled with people who have trusted their salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Like a child, these people have discarded self-righteous religion to trusting in Christ's righteousness and His alone! The Holy Spirit wanted to emphasize the point so much so that He reiterated the words from Matthew 19:14 in Mark and Luke as well.
3. "shall not enter into ... heaven." - Jesus did not mince words - He didn't say they might not enter ... He said they shall not enter into heaven.
You can't argue with God! If He says no, He means no!
Salvation is not difficult at all - Christ told us that we must become as children in order to receive it. It is when people begin to add religious caveats to an already simplified act that things get complicated and twisted into a myriad of rules and restrictions. Christ's salvation is so simple, a child can understand it. In fact, a child's innocence accepts this simplicity without question. Christ is God - He left Heaven to come to earth to take on the form of man - He led a sinless life and died so that He could take on our penalty for sin - He arose from the dead three days later - He ascended into Heaven where He awaits His return to reign as King.
Since Adam and Eve, man has had the desire to worship God and get to Heaven by his own merit. However, it is not about anything WE do.
~Hebrews 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
It is ALL about everything Christ did.
~Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Allow the Holy Spirit of God to work in your heart and renew that childlike innocence so you can see how uncomplicated the plan of salvation truly is.
Remember, if Jesus said little children could understand, then just how complicated can it be?
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