Dear
readers, analyze this simple text, and then position
yourself regarding the reason that leads us to
“salvation or eternal life on the right side of God,
which means the same thing”.
I also want to make a request:
whatever your opinion is, kindly spread the word to your
friends.
Notably,
throughout the Bible, there is no better synthesis for
our so-called salvation than that described in the last
judgment we will have after death, in which Christ
symbolically tells us that only those who act with
benevolence towards their neighbor will sit at the right
side of a King. (The Most High is the monarch and the
others who do good deeds towards their brothers. Whoever
they are.) [1]
Regarding how we should
behave, another magnificent teaching from the Sublime
Rabbi is passed on to us through the Parable of the
Good Samaritan. 2
To better understand it, let's see an
excerpt:
“Jesus went on to say, “A man was
going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the
hands of robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and
fled, leaving him half dead. Incidentally, a certain
priest went down the same path; and seeing him, he
passed by. Likewise, a Levite also came to that place,
saw him, and passed by. But a Samaritan, who was
traveling, approached him and, looking at him, was
filled with compassion.”3
The first man, the priest, represents
those who claim to be God's delegates on Earth, lead
their flocks in the churches, but do not apply what they
preach in the temples on a daily basis; they are
religious leaders who only talk.
The second, the Levite, like the
previous one, was profoundly knowledgeable about the
Pentateuch Mosaic, responsible for reading the biblical
texts in the cults and, although he was widely
understood in the Law and in the Jewish Scriptures, he
also did not look at the one who was fallen. As well as
several of us who are developing and worshiping a lot of
knowledge, to the point of teaching and passing on to
others; however, we are only in theory.
The third, the Samaritan, represents
someone who practices a religion considered
objectionable by some, but who, even without knowing his
neighbor, went to assist the one who was lying on the
road and helped him.
It is worth
saying that Jesus asks who was the brother of this man
and it is answered that it was the third one. In the
face of such relentless logic, Christ has no choice but
to agree with the answer. 4
We can conclude that the Divine
Gardener meant in the parable that many of those who are
considered of bad life, because they do not follow the
conventionality of traditional beliefs, are better than
the first two. After all, they are not based on faith or
sacred letters. But they are legitimately good. They
really love their neighbors, regardless of who they are.
The Prince of Peace guided His
teachings in brotherly love and humility.
Jesus tells us that those
who are poor by the Spirit,5 pure
in heart6, gentle, peaceful and
merciful will be happy.7
Instructing us about the Greater
Commandment 8, the writer Eliseu
Rigonatti told us:
“THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
34 But when the Pharisees heard that
Jesus had shut up the Sadducees, they gathered together
in counsel.
35 And one of them, who was a doctor
of the law, tempting Him, asked Him:
36 Master, what is the great
commandment of the law?
37 Jesus said to him: You will love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your understanding.
38 This is the maximum and the first
commandment.
39 And the second, similar to this,
is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depends
the whole law and the prophets.
Jesus replaces the Decalogue, that
is, the ten commandments of Moses, with the two simple
and explicit commandments above.
Whoever loves God above all things,
worships in spirit and truth only to Him, who is our
Father, not worshiping images of any kind, and
respecting His sacred name. Sanctifies not only one of
the days of the week, but every day, every hour and
every minute, by living uprightly and with dignity.
The one who
loves his neighbor as himself, honors his father and
mother, does not kill, does not commit adultery, does
not raise false testimony, and does not covet anything
from anyone. So Jesus was right, in teaching the proud
and tempting Pharisee, that to love God above all things
and neighbor as yourself, is a commandment that
admirably sums up the whole law of Moses and all that
the prophets said.” 9
We must do to others what we would
like to be done to us.10
Love your enemies11 and
always forgive.12
Do good without showing it.13
Let us judge ourselves first before
and instead of judging others.14
The Divine Nazarene shows us in His
words that love is an essential condition for obtaining
great fortunes.
Paul demonstrates that he had
understood the words of Christ exactly, when he stated
that even if he spoke to the angels, if he knew all the
science, if he could transport the mountains, if he
divided his goods or was burned; in other words: if he
did everything, but it didn't have the love inside, it
was worth nothing.15 And he ends by
revealing to us that love is superior to the
much-vaunted faith and even to hope.16
It is worth saying that Jesus asks
who was his neighbor and it is answered that it was the
third one. In the face of such implacable logic, Christ
has no choice but to agree with the answer.
We can conclude that the Divine
Gardener meant in the parable that many of those who are
considered of bad life, because they do not follow the
conventionality of traditional beliefs, are better than
the first two. After all, they are not based on faith or
sacred letters. But they are legitimately good. They
really love their neighbors, regardless of who they are.
The Prince of Peace guided His
teachings in brotherly love and humility.
Jesus tells us that those who are
poor by the Spirit, pure in heart, gentle, peaceful and
merciful will be happy.
Instructing us about the Greater
Commandment, the writer Eliseu Rigonatti told us:
“THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
34 But when the Pharisees heard that
Jesus had shut up the Sadducees, they gathered together
in counsel.
35 And one of them, who was a doctor
of the law, tempting him, asked him:
36 Master, what is the great
commandment of the law?
37 Jesus said to him: You will love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your understanding.
38 This is the maximum and the first
commandment.
39 And the second, similar to this,
is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depends
the whole law and the prophets.
Jesus replaces the Decalogue, that
is, the ten commandments of Moses, with the two simple
and explicit commandments above.
The one who loves God above all
things, worships Him in spirit and truth and only to
Him, who is our Father, does not worship images of any
kind, and respects His sacred name, who also sanctifies
not only one of the days of the week, but every day,
every hour and every minute, by living uprightly and
with dignity.
Who loves his neighbor as himself,
honors his father and mother, does not kill, does not
commit adultery, does not raise false testimony, and
does not covet anything from anyone. So Jesus was right,
in teaching the proud and tempting Pharisee, that to
love God above all things and neighbor as yourself, is a
commandment that admirably sums up the whole law of
Moses and all that the prophets said.”
We must do to others what we would
like to be done to us.
Love your enemies and forgive
indefinitely.
Do good without ostentation.
Judge us first, before and instead of
doing it to others.
The Divine Nazarene shows us in His
words that love is an essential condition for obtaining
great fortunes.
Paul shows that he had understood the
words of Christ exactly, when he stated that even if he
spoke to the angels, if he knew all the science, if he
could transport the mountains, if he divided his goods
or was burned; in other words: if he did everything, but
he had no love inside, it wouldn't be worth doing it.
And he concludes by revealing to us that love is
superior to the much-vaunted faith and even to hope.
Thus, we can safely arrive to the
conclusion that our so-called salvation can easily be
achieved.
This depends solely on us, as long as
the acts we do are based exclusively on the loving
feeling we have towards our fellow man.
According to the Great Master, we
will be judged according to our works.17
Do you think there was someone
greater than Him?
Many people worry too much about
their "salvation", relying on biblical writings that
were made for the Hebrews, where God was spiteful,
cruel, vindictive and bloodthirsty.
Jesus came to show us that the
Highest Father is Sovereignly Just and Good!
If, instead of blindly believing what
religious leaders say, people were truly good, as well
as studying the so-called Word of God in depth, they
would see that the Bible tells us that we will receive
according to our works.
Paulo de Tarso, understood these
lines of the Divine Master when he said: "Because we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so
that each one may receive according to what he has done
through the body, either good or bad".18
With this account, Paul ratifies the
words of the Dear Master.
Jesus, who is certainly the Doctor of
men and souls, is also the holder of the truth!
It is not for nothing that the
apostle John in his Gospel reproduces the sayings of the
Beloved Rabbi who speaks: "and you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free".19
In view of all this, we can conclude
that the fact of whether or not we are "saved" (as some
say) depends only on carefully observing our feelings,
our thoughts, our words and our actions, because it is
through these works that we will put love into practice
and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. After all,
it is necessary that we evolve and for that we must
always do good!
See how the story below contradicts
the Master's teachings enormously:
“Imagine: an individual, throughout
his life, steals, rapes, kills, respects no one, then
when he is old, repents, assiduously attends a religion
and suddenly dies inside the church holding the Bible.”
That’s it! According to some, his
spirit goes straight to Heaven. The crimes you have
committed before will not be considered.
At that moment, those who remain
forget the words of Jesus who spoke: "Truly I say to
you, you will never leave until you pay until the last
centile."20
It is absurd to think that "faith is
more important than works".
Those who think like this based
themselves on what?
Not in the Bible for sure!
They don't even recall James who
said:
"My brothers, what good is it if
someone says he has faith, and has no works? Can faith
save him? Faith is dead in itself if it has no works.
But someone will say: You have faith and I have works,
show me your faith without your works, and I will show
you my faith by my works. But, oh vain man, do you want
to know that faith without works is dead? You can see
that man is justified by works, not by faith. Because
just as the body without the spirit is dead, faith
without works is dead."21
Who's right? Jesus, Paulo de Tarsus
and James or those who say that faith is greater than
works?
We also asked: "what would be more
pleasing to God?" A repentance of a son because of his
great faith or that that person had done good works
throughout his life?
We are sure that the Creator would
choose the second option!
Let us also notice that Sublime
Nazarene did not say: "to each according to his faith".
We know that it is much easier to
follow those who have no commitment, to those who think
about tomorrow; even though it is far away.
We will end this writing with the
famous and true phrase of Allan Kardec who said: “OUT OF
CHARITY THERE IS NO SALVATION.”22
_________________
1
Matthew 25:31-46.
2 Luke 10:25-37.
3 Luke 10:30-33.
4 Luke 10:36-37.
5 Matthew 5:3.
6 Matthew 5:5.
7 Matthew 5:7-9.
8 Matthew 22:34-40.
9 E. RIGONATTI, The Gospel of the Humble, FEB. Chap. 22.
10 Matthew 7:12.
11 Matthew 5:44.
12 Matthew 18:21-22.
13 Matthew 6:1-2.
14 Matthew 7:5.
15 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.
16 1 Corinthians 13:13.
17 Matthew 16:27.
18 II Corinthians 5:10.
19 John 8:32.
20 Matthew 5:26.
21 James 2:14. 17-18. 20. 24. 26.
22 A, KARDEC. The Gospel According to Spiritism.
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