What use is being baptized, declaring your Christianity, and looking forward to being used by God to make Heaven packed, when the one declaring this violates the teachings of the one in whose name she was just baptized in?
I had asked Patricia (Patti) Fox what her plan was to help make Heaven packed. She made a post on her Facebook, after she got baptized, expressing willingness to "be used by God" to make Heaven a "packed place." To get her understanding of what she had just said, I asked a simple question. What was her plan to help make Heaven a packed place?
She provided a one liner that didn't represent a response. Additionally, she got defensive with her response, and emphasized specific words in her statement. This is a typical response I would expect from someone who lacked knowledge of what they were talking about. In this case, Patricia (Patti) Fox reflected a lack of knowledge of Scripture, which is a crucial ingredient for anyone wanting to "make Heaven a packed place."
So I provided a detailed response. Towards the end, I explained what Jesus called on his disciples to do. Christians are called to imbed God's commandments in their actions, to serve as an example for others, and to educate others, to bring others onto the right path.
This is both directly and indirectly stated in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
When people who have walked crooked paths (sin) return to the path God laid out for humanity, we effectively bring people "to the Kingdom." The Kingdom of Heaven, and the Garden of Eden, are both states that people place themselves in when they walk the path that God laid for them, going neither to the left nor to the right.
This is not a mystery, not even to leave it up to God to make the decision. The saying, "God helps those who help themselves" applies here. For God to use Patti to "help make Heaven packed," Patti must know what it takes for her to return to the right path, to teach others to go on the right path, and to encourage these others to teach others to do the same.
If Patricia Fox doesn't know how to do that, then she can't really be used to "make Heaven packed."
After Jesus got baptized in the Jordan River, he was brought to the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days. During that time, Satan tempted Jesus. Each time Satan did this, Jesus rebutted the former's temptations and reminded him of what was in scripture (Old Testament) for what to do in those situations.
Unlike Jesus, however, Patricia Fox failed her post baptism test.
In Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus preached about loving one's enemies. Loving one's enemies is specified, it also has broader definitions beyond one's enemy. The broader definition, what is also implied, addresses the "folks you favor versus folks you do not favor" concept... E.G., the in crowd versus the out crowd. Jesus made it clear that just as God shines the sun on the bad and on the good and provides rain for the fair and for the unfair, Jesus's followers should likewise provide equal treatment regardless of whether they favor or disfavor them.
Which brings us to Patricia (Patti) Fox and Daniel Frick her fiancé as of this posting.
As I asked the latter, what use is going to church when one's actions are inconsistent with scripture?
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, o 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'" - Matthew 7:21-23, real follower of Christ.
One of the concepts that Jesus was attacking was people going through the motions of worship, as defined by human tradition, rather than doing worship as defined by God. Being baptized and going to church does not do one good when they do not abide by God's precepts.
God cares more about how we treat each other than on whether we go to church or not. God cares more about our following his precepts than whether someone goes to church or is baptized. An atheist that unknowingly abides by God's laws has a better shot at entering the Kingdom than a churchgoer whose actions are inconsistent with scripture.
