The Crown Is His

How sad to see him go, his head unraised,
Shedding tears of shame at dismissal's sting;
For on his conscience has long been engraved
Submission to authority's iron ring,
No matter merit, or cause unjust!
In my former days of loss and despair,
Which Satan's horde contrived on me to thrust,
He stood me erect, did all the pain share!
He left not my side, till salvation gained;
Now, weeping for Jesus Lord, and for me,
Thinking both he's failed, his goals unattained;
His meekness, tribute; in grief, victory!
From the vineyard, in sadness, he trudges,
But the crown is his, and not his juges!

To you who are in the process of making Jesus your Lord, I must warn you of "legalists", modern-day Pharisees, self-appointed judges who find fault with fellow Christians and sinfully use rumors, gossip, hearsay, cruel judgment, and criticism to destroy brothers. Yes, Satan lives within the very walls of the church in the form of careless or mean-spirited believers who don't keep tight reins on their tongues, and who wreck the good works for Christ done by themselves and others by internal campaigns against them for imagined heresies. They think they are protecting the Kingdom of God and keeping it pure, when in reality they are doing irreparable harm in driving away new Christians and giving God a bad ame.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to th plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:1-4)

Because of this admonition by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we are aware that it is not possible for a human to judge another's righteousess or unrighteousness. Only God has the ability to discern the true condition of a man's heart. When I explain how a person is admitted to heaven, I always try to say that no man or religion can tell a person what he must do to be saved. In Philippians 2:12, Paul says we are to "continue working out our salvation with fear and trembling," He doesn't mean good deeds will save you; he means that we must read the whole Bible and keep on doing all the things that Jesus has told us we're to do, so that when He looks in our hearts on Judgment Day, He will find us worthy of admission to heaven. It is not by doing one, two, three, four or more things we are saved; it is by believing in Him sincerely and doing all the good things; asking forgiveness for the bad things, and to keep on doing it until we die.

I have respect for the Catholic Church. They believe that their priest to whom sins are confessed can become Jesus and forgive the sin. I don't believe that.