You have shut up heaven

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. – Matthew 23.13

It is interesting to read of all the problems the Pharisees had and then look at our many of those problems continue on today. The reason is is that human nature doesn’t change.

Jesus said that these Pharisees were so arrogant and so caught up in the religion that they were deciding who was going to heaven and who wasn’t. Well, at least in their minds they had decided. They had shut up heaven for some men and told some who were on their way that they weren’t going.

These hypocrites were so caught up in being big and powerful and important that they had put themselves in the place of God. They arrogantly were deciding who was going to heaven and who was not.

There are Christians today who think they can do the same thing. They boldly declare who is and who is not saved. They say things like ‘nobody who does this or that can really be saved.’ 

The truth though is that only God knows those who are His. We don’t know men’s hearts. We don’t get to decide who is going to heaven. People may not be where they need to be, but we don’t know who has and who has not put their faith in Christ.

We love people. We share with people. And we leave the results up to God.