<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">BY-NC-ND 2.0</a>, a.k.a. Music Sharing, license.</p>

Restoration Ministry

Restoration 2005: To The Point

Randy Skeete

What I Like About Mohammad

The Real Truth About Sin

Can God Feel My Pain?

James Kyle

Clean, but Empty

A Dean’s Letter from God

How to Live Without Fear

The Science of the Resurrection

World’s Greatest Crime Part 1

World’s Greatest Crime Part 2

Research Suggests. So Does God.

How to Read Your Boyfriend’s Mind

How Safe is Safe Sex?

Lose Weight, Find Life

Are You Right or Righteous?

The Horror of Horoscopes

What and Where is the Kingdom of God?

Are There Degrees in Heaven?

All or Nothing

Phil Mills

Bible Study Hour

A Better Life Is Here

Question and Answer Session

God Used It. It Worked. You Try It.

How many of you have degrees of some kind?

You got a master's, a bachelor's, associates.

I have a couple of them and I paid for them.

Now the subject is extremely serious, and I must be able to depend on your maturity to take it right between the eyes.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 10, reading verse 37, and I'll let you out of 10 minutes to 1 for those of you who are here for the first time and I will say more on the subject this evening when I have a little more time.

Jesus is speaking and he says, he that loveth father and mother more than me is not worthy of me and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me Jesus being God clearly is calling for us to love Him, to love the Father, to love God, Father, Son, Holy Ghost more than we love anyone else.

There must be a clear and a sharp distinction between our love horizontally and our love vertically.

Now each expression of love must be pure but 1 must be more intense than the other.

Our love for God must be unmistakably greater than our love for friends, family, yea, spouses.

Now the wording of this same statement in the book of Luke is even more severe.

Let's go to Luke chapter 14 reading verse 26 as we continue, Are they degrees in heaven?

Luke says, if any man come to me and love not and hate, he says, father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, yea his own life also.

If any man comes to Jesus and does not hate father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, yea his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Now the word hate must not be misunderstood.

It simply means loveless but I suspect Luke uses the word hate to knock us between the eyes that we may wake up and understand that Jesus wants there to be no confusion.

We must love God more than we love anyone else.

Hands down, no controversy, no contest, no competition.

Now there are degrees in the punishment of sinners.

In Luke chapter 12 reading from verse 44 Christ is giving a parable of the unfaithful servant who because his Lord has delayed his coming becomes irresponsible and the Bible says but and if that servant say in his heart my Lord delayed his coming and shall begin to beat the men servants and the maidens and to eat and drink and be drunkard the Lord of that servant will come in an hour when in a day when he looketh not for him and at an hour when he is not aware and will cut him asunder and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

Next verse says and that servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with how many stripes?

Next verse, but he that which knew not, but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with how many stripes?

Now, stripes there refers to the final punishment.

God is saying, Jesus is saying, in the judgment, when people are punished, some will be punished more severely than others.

Now all sinners will be destroyed, that's common to all.

But the degree of suffering before you're finally vanquished off the face of the earth will vary from person to person depending on the degree of sinfulness of our lives.

The Bible says in Revelation 22 verse 12, behold I come quickly and my what?

The wages of sin is death but what comes with eternal life?

There is a gift which is eternal life for all who are saved but then there is something called the reward.

Remember the parable Jesus told the man went into the marketplace looking for workers he went early in the morning he said 1 penny.

He went the 11th hour 1 penny same gift salvation.

But the rewards we enjoy in the new world varies from person to person based on our degree of faithfulness on this earth.

Now I want, I don't have time to go into that.

I need to stress that the Bible teaches every man and woman is record is rewarded individually.

And the reward is different from the gift.

The reward refers to all the all the the privileges that come with living in heaven they will vary from person to person based on how faithful we have been down here of course my favorite writer Ellen White says whatever our reward is everyone will be satisfied and happy.

2 nights ago, we read about evil spirits.

In Luke chapter 11, I think it is verses twenty-four to twenty-six.

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places looking for rest and findeth none he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.

Then goeth he and taketh to himself 7 other spirits more wicked than himself.

There are degrees of wickedness among the inhabitants of the kingdoms of darkness.

Now let's go back to our original introduction.

God desires there to be degrees in the amount of love we show between him and between our fellow men.

Now in Mark chapter 12 reading from verse 28.

And 1 of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together and perceiving that he had answered them well asked him which is the first commandment of all.

That's the question the scribe is asking Jesus.

Jesus responds immediately, the first of all the commandments or the foremost is, hear O Israel the Lord our God is 1 Lord and thou shall love the Lord with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and with all thy strength.

And the second commandment is like namely this thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.

Jesus says the foremost love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and the second 1 is love your neighbor as yourself.

This is consistent with what Jesus says in Matthew Luke 14 26 if you come to me you've got to love me more than father mother wife children brothers sisters more than your very own life.

Now in Matthew 22 from verse 34 to 40 we have the similar situation being reported by Matthew and verse 36 a scribe said which is the first commandment in the law or the greatest commandment in the law.

Jesus said to him, the first commandment is, thou shall love the lord with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind.

Now, first thirty-eighth Matthew twenty-two.

And the second is like unto it thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

He said on these hang all the law and the prophets meaning every other precept and judgment that we read in the Bible find their meaning in the context of loved God, love to fellow men, meaning the 10 Commandments.

When the Bible says thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart and soul and mind and might and strength and understanding, it's referring to the first 4 commandments on 1 table of the law.

Love thy neighbor as thyself refers to the other 6 because the 10 commandments are divided into 2.

And no Bible teacher worth his or her salt has any problem with that.

Back to Menu

Series

Restoration 2005: To The Point

Are There Degrees in Heaven?

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Plenary

In Love, and Lost

50m

Restoration 2005: To The Point

How to Live Without Fear

49m

Who Issued Your Passport?

52m

The Danger of Worship

50m

The Blame Game

50m

Music and Worship: The Chief Battleground of Satan, Part 2

1h

The Cross and the Ecumenical Apostasy

1h 23m

Randy Skeete: Week of Prayer 2005

Who Was That Strong Couple?

32m

The Danger of Good Things

46m

Power of the Everlasting Gospel

An Unwanted Guest: Jesus at the Door

1h 25m

Camp Cedar Falls Retreat 2005

Silence of the Omnipotence, Part 1

44m

Sound Doctrine