by Jon McCartney
GUEST COLUMNIST
There has been a lot of concern and talk about illegal immigrants lately Almost everyone I listen to agrees that you just can't round up twelve million people, and deliver them to the border.
The other things most people agree on is that they shouldn't have come here illegally, and we must find a way to control our borders in the future. Certainly we need immigrants. With our 4.5% unemployment rate, if you got rid of all illegal immigrants, and all "recent" legal immigrants, we couldn't fill all the jobs we have. The truth is, every one of our ancestors were immigrants to this country, including those of the American Indians. I don't about you, but I'm glad my ancestors came here.
Most rational people agree that you must have immigration standards. A country just can't allow a want-to-be immigrant to set their own standards. Obviously anyone and everyone would qualify under such a situation. The question is, "What are the standards going to be?" and "How can a sovereign nation enforce them?"
I find this to be a very interesting discussion that we are having as a society today. I say that because most people you talk to in a religious discussion want to "immigrate" to Heaven. But although they think the people of a sovereign nation should have the right to say who can immigrate into their nation, they don't think God has the right to say who can "immigrate" into His sovereign kingdom. Don't you think that is at least slightly hypocritical?
Why is it OK for you to say that a person who wants to come into your country ought to be a "law-abiding" citizen, that they should have some sort of skills or abilities to offer, or they just can't come in? Yet you turn around and say that it is wrong for God to set standards of any sort at all; it shouldn't matter how rebellious you are, or how selfish you have been your entire life, God ought to let you in.
When I am discussing such things with people they often rationalize their view by saying that God's standards are just too high. God expects more from us than we could possibly attain to. Who can be like Jesus? Who can be perfect anyway? If God sets His standards according to the Bible, no one could ever get in!
I agree that a nation has the right to set its standards of immigration, and that includes the Nation or Kingdom of God. I also agree that no one could ever possibly do what needs to be done to "qualify" to get into God's sovereign kingdom, and God is fully aware of that dilemma.
I refer to it as a dilemma because God wants you to enter His Kingdom, and yet He knows that left to ourselves we can never, ever do what is required to qualify for entrance. So God did what no sane government has ever done before in regards to satisfying entrance qualifications for those who otherwise do not qualify; He satisfied those requirements Himself.
That is the reason God the Son came here in the first place, to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. To qualify for entrance into Heaven you have to be law-abiding people (by that I am referring to God's laws.). Jesus, God the Son, lived that righteous law-abiding life in your place. In order to enter Heaven you have to be completely without sin. Jesus took your sin for you, and paid for it on the cross. Because of your sin you are in debt to it, and the Bible says the debt for sin is death. Jesus tasted death for you so that you might have life thru faith in Him.
The reason the Bible refers to Jesus' death as a "tasting" of death, is that since Jesus had never sinned, death had to legal or legitimate claim on Him. So although He could die, He could then leave the grasp of death when He wanted to, and the Bible prophesied He would rise from the dead after three days, which He did!
Obviously the qualifications for "immigration" into Heaven are quite high -- you must be truly righteous, you must be without sin, and you must be "perfect." Quite obviously you and I do not qualify.
But Jesus does qualify, and that allows Him to take in with Him anyone and everyone who is a part of His family (Immigration is a family issue to God). And John 1:12 tells us that He gives the right to become a part of His family to anyone who puts their faith in Him. You can't do any work to help you qualify, you can't give any gifts that will grease His palm, and He cannot overlook even one sin you committed to let you "slide" in. Unless you are perfect, sinless, and righteous you will not qualify.
You can complain all you want regarding God's immigration policy, you can whine until you are blue in the face; you can even say that the Bible's version of God's eternal life by grace is too easy, too lax. The bottom line is, it is God's Kingdom, and He has every right to say what qualifies a person to get in. And there is just one qualification God will accept -- to repent of your sins, and put your faith totally in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Your church membership is not an issue. Your baptism is not an issue. What you give or what you do after you are truly born again are not issues. The only issue is, did you give you life to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith? If you do, He will place His life in you. And you can trust Him in that He will begin to change you more and more into His likeness once you give yourself to Him thru faith in Christ.
Choose Christ, choose life!