Matthew 25:45 Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' A Paradigm Shift Mark 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins." The New Testament is a game-changer and paradigm shift. It is like new wine that cannot be contained in old wineskin. Hence, we must refrain from using our old mindset to understand GOD's new teaching, or it will become our stumbling block, a block that will cause us to fall away from our faith. When Jesus first introduced His new teaching, many of His disciples could not accept it, so they turned back and no longer walked with Him. His teaching created resistance then and would also now. Today, if we hear something that goes well with us and does not turn us off, then the teachings are most likely being compromised. If the core of His teaching has not changed, then we should have the same reaction as Jesus's disciples did: rejection. It is like drinking bitter medicine. However, if the medicine is not bitter but sweet, then we should be wary that something is wrong. GOD's bitter medicine does not go well with our fallen nature, so rejection should be the natural response. If it sounds soothing to our ears and appeases our fallen nature, then most likely, it is an alternate teaching to His. His fake teaching is like entering through a wide gate with a broad path; do not believe it because it leads to destruction. GOD has instructed us to walk through the small gate with the narrow path that few will find, and it leads to life. And any other way is a misdirection. Therefore, do not be misled by hype teachings that are pleasing to the ear but will lead to destruction. Stop sinning vs forgiveness of sin. Daniel 4:27 Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed.  If we want to be strong in GOD, we must be able to accept hard truths, things that are hard to the ears but good for our souls. Such a message is a high calling because our fallen nature can do nothing but sin. And GOD's Word bites our fallen nature. Therefore, it does not go well with our ears and is a nail to our flesh. A message that our fallen nature loves is the forgiveness of sin, a message of no condemnation to every action. Then, we are no different from a dog that returns to its vomit as we sinners return to our sin. Thus, many Christians live in the comfort of GOD as Yahweh Hessed, GOD of forgiveness. With that, many live in the impression that they can be who they are as there is nothing they can do that cannot be forgiven under the blood of Christ. If not, His blood is no different from that of sheep, goats, bulls, doves, or pigeons. Therefore, nothing can rock their salvation as it is secured in the blood of Jesus.  The Fallacy Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh, will reap destruction, but the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit, will reap eternal life. If any of us think that the blood of Jesus will keep us away from sin, we are deviating far from the truth. Forgiveness of sin only releases us from the bondage of sin, which has no eternal value. It is like a person being set free from prison. Then, what from then on? It is what we make out of ourselves after being out of prison that matters. Metaphorically speaking, when we sin, we get ourselves into prison, and when GOD forgives us, He releases us from prison. If we keep on sinning and asking for forgiveness, we are repeating the cycle of being in and out of prison. Then what is the purpose of forgiveness if we have no intention of getting out of sin? We are doing nothing but fooling around with GOD, taking Him as a joke. No one ever fools around with the law and gets away. What more, with GOD, the Lawmaker of heaven and earth, and hope nothing will happen? The all-mighty blood has its limitations. Matthew 12:31 Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Jesus's blood is powerful enough to forgive all sins except the sin of unrepentance. For that, His blood has no effect. His blood can cleanse us of all sins but cannot keep us away from sinning. It is written in the Bible that if we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do we think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace? Therefore, there is a limit to 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. No one in the Bible ever received unconditional and perpetual forgiveness like the way we think, sinning without guilt and remorse. GOD often leaves us case studies to substantiate His Word. If there is none, then most likely, we misconstrue His Word. What does it mean to stop sinning? 1 John 3:6 No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. Many times, we have been told to stop sinning, but many do not understand GOD's expectations. To many, as long as we do not cause anyone any grievous harm by killing, stealing, and destroying, we are not sinning. And as long as we do not violate GOD's commandments, we are not sinning. All these are true in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, definitions become more comprehensive. Anyone angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be subject to the fire of hell. Without physical contact, even looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Therefore, to stop sinning is more than not doing evil. We must do good. The new requirement John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil. Within our fallen nature is the desire to do evil. Therefore, in the Old Testament, after the fall of Adam and Eve, GOD wanted man to master his evil desires, as He told Cain, who represented the new generation of fallen men. In the New Testament, when GOD became Man, man not only had to master the evil within him but also to overcome evil with good. Only the one who overcomes will Jesus grant him the right to sit with Him on His throne, just as He overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne. The requirement has changed before and after Christ. Hence, we cannot use old methodology on new theology as we cannot sew a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. The patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result. Jesus's new teaching will stretch us to be more than who we can be. If we cannot be stretched, we will tear in unbelief. Not being able to say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for us. In Christ, we must do more and be better. Nothing will be impossible for us, even to the extent of loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us, that we may be sons of our Father in heaven. We no longer are allowed to stop at 'Love your neighbour' and 'Hate your enemy.' The truth is that many cannot cross this threshold of irrational demand. Then how many can overcome evil with good? Why must we overcome evil with good? Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. If we can overcome evil with good, it proves the authenticity of our transformation. We are born again in the Spirit, and we are cleaned on the inside of the cup and dish so that the outside may become clean as well. Remember, we have fallen nature and are incapable of doing good. If we have extreme self-control, we can control the beast within us. To overcome evil with good is beyond the capacity of our fallen nature. It is like asking the lion to eat grass. Therefore, if a lion eats grass, it only proves that it is no longer a beast but has morphed into something else. In Christ, we are His new creations, meaning we are more than GOD's creation but a new, improved version. We no longer hold the flaws of imperfection but the perfection of GOD. Therefore, what the fallen nature cannot do, the godly-infused nature can. Hell is prepared for those who do no good. Matthew 25:45-46 Then the King will answer, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. To illustrate His point, Jesus talked about a time in the future when He would be in His glory, and all the angels would be with Him as He sat on His glorious throne. Then, He would separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. One group would inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. And the other group would be cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. What good did the first group do to deserve heaven, and what bad did the other group do to deserve hell? No one in the heaven group stood out as any hero, nor anyone from the hell group stood out as any villain. The compliment for the righteous was - For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you looked after Me; I was in prison, and you visited Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?' And the King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.' The unrighteous were accused of not performing any acts of kindness as the righteous did, and their punishment was the eternal lake of fire. The King did not accuse them of massacres or blasphemy against GOD that deserved the lake of fire, but their fate was no different from that of the vilest sinners. The Conclusion Not doing good is as good as sinning, deserving the lake of fire. Many might view this as perversity, as the deeds do not deserve such punishment. On Judgment Day, many will question God about His justice and fairness, not knowing that sin is sin, regardless of how small or big. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit." As long as the Spirit does not transform us, we are not born of the Spirit. We are still sinners destined for hell. However, the issue is not that many do not want to do good, but they do not have the tenacity to do so because of their fallen nature. Many can try, but they do not have the know-how to do it. If we want to know, we need to die to our flesh. Then, the anointing of the Holy Spirit will guide us. For this reason, our world still feels lonely and cold despite its advancement, vibrancy, and activities. The affluent are highly affluent, and the poor are extremely poor, and the gap is not narrowing. If everyone were anointed with the Holy Spirit and spontaneous in sharing simple essentials such as food, water, and clothing, the world would be a better place. GOD does not require us to save the world by doing great and mighty things because that job belongs to Him. He is our Hero, and we do not need another hero. All He wants us to do is small things with great love. We would have met GOD's expectation of overcoming evil with good. Prayer: Thank you, GOD, for opening my eyes and ears to your word. Let your word quicken my heart and enlighten my mind that they are alive in me so that I can be alive in your word. Then your word will not return to you empty, but it will accomplish what you please, and I will prosper in it. Amen.