Our Collapsing Morals

“Our country’s morality is in a power dive in the wrong direction—down.” Former Governor of South Dakota, Joe Foss. Reported in The Sioux City Journal, April 17, 1999.

“This month, I want to say a few words about our culture’s continued moral decline and, more importantly, the apparent hesitancy of some within the Christian community to try and stem the tide. Despite the relentless attacks by homosexual activists on the institution of marriage, and of ‘safe sex’ ideology, pro-abortion sentiment, and other forms of immorality that are engulfing us, there are those within the church who remain convinced that it isn’t our place to make our voices heard on these issues.” Dr. James Dobson, Focus on the Family Newsletter, May 2002.

“Nobel Prize-Winning author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, said of America ‘...the west has been undergoing an erosion and obscuring of high moral and ethical ideals. The spiritual axis of life has grown dim.’” The Church Connection Magazine, “A Perfect Ten” by Cindy Stoeppler, April/May 1999.

The moral decline of America is clearly self-evident and demonstrates itself daily, from profanity and nudity filling the broadcast waves of television to the impeachment hearings of the President of the United States for lying under oath and having an affair with a White House intern. What has become commonly accepted in American society today would have been severely shunned only fifty years ago. From laws banning ‘virtual’ child pornography being considered an infringement on first amendment rights (The Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2002) to the flaunting of homosexuality in our society today, the moral fabric of America has changed from what it was built upon. Amazingly enough, even this widespread moral decadence was predicted by God’s Word. We were told that lawlessness would abound and that it would even “grow worse and worse.” Serious questions face our society today which, fortunately for us, are answered by Bible prophecy, as well. Can our society survive the moral degradation that has deluged it? What has caused the collapse of American morals? Is there a solution to the moral decline of America?

Our Unsafe Streets

With the collapse of American morals, the inevitable result has followed—violence and crime permeating society

II Timothy 3:12, 13 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Matthew 24:12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

What has caused the Collapse of American Morals?

Imagine a city with no laws, no restraints. The citizens declare that it will be a free city and so every ordinance, every law every restraint is immediately thrown in the bin of historical rubbish. Now no one need worry about receiving a parking ticket because anyone can park anywhere they want anytime. The speed limit signs might as well be torn down for they have become obsolete. The traffic lights could be purple and black for if someone doesn’t want to stop, they do not need to. Remember that new camera you wanted? Well you can have it, if you are stronger than the storeowner. Within no time the streets are jammed, the stores are ransacked because all restraints and laws have been abolished. When fights begin to break out, the quickest draw to the gun wins with no fear of retribution for all law enforcement officers are out of a job. Wives decide they are tired of their husbands and husbands decide they want someone else’s wife—no problem as long as they are stronger. The laws have been done away. There are no absolutes. Everyone does what they think is right for them. Do you suppose this would be a popular city in which to live? Would it truly be a free city?

As we think of a city with no laws, we realize that it would not be an appealing place. Cultures with no laws or little laws are chaos. While I was in an African country, I contemplated the value and importance of laws and ordinances that I had previously considered an annoyance. When brought face to face with a society without laws governing human behavior, laws become liberating and desirable. Yet, a deliberate attack has been launched upon the laws of morality in our nation. This attack of rationalism has been chiseling away the moral fabric of America until we are in the depraved state that we find ourselves in today.

Nearly forty years ago Professor Joseph Fletcher at Elmhurst College was promoting that “neither rape, nor incest nor any other sexual act, nor indeed the denial of one’s Lord or the violation of the First Commandment by having another god is necessarily and always wrong. He urged that when the situation is right any of these is morally right.” He was not an isolated proponent of this new idea. The idea came into vogue in the 1960s and has continued to escalate into our contemporary society so that it is almost an ingrained part of society. Relativism is defined as “any theory holding that criteria of judgment are relative, varying with individuals and their environments.” (Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, 1996) No absolutes whatsoever. To what does this theory lead? Stealing is not always wrong. Murder can be right at times. Child molestation is not always wrong. The mass extermination of races and individuals is not necessarily wrong (the holocaust, for instance). There is no right, no wrong, no true, no false. Each individual is set up as his own arbiter to do what is right in his own eyes. With this popular theory no individual has the right to tell another individual what to do or what not to do, for whatever he is doing might be right for him. Police officers, governments, parental restraints, and laws are all out in a world of no absolutes.

It is no wonder with theories of relativism swirling around the heads of men and women that crime, immorality and injustice abound. When we realize where the popular teachings of philosophy lead, it is no wonder that morality in America is collapsing. School shootings, homosexuality, perversions of the most disgusting degree, none are wrong in a world of no absolutes.

Hosea 8:7 They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no bud; it shall never produce meal. If it should produce, aliens would swallow it up.

Through the educational practices and popular philosophies of the day, we have sown the wind and now we are reaping the whirlwind. It didn’t seem so bad at first, in fact somewhat relaxing and inviting, but today the scene changes. What seemed like an innocent little wind has become a roaring gale threatening to destroy our society. “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.”

Relativism and God’s Word

Romans 3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just.

Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and the unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

The Word of God is clear: relativism and situational ethics can find no place in the religion of the Christian. To those who think that at times it is acceptable to do evil that good may be the result, the Apostle Paul resounds, “their condemnation is just.” God speaking to his rebellious people says that He is profaned among them because they have undermined the difference between holy and unholy, good and evil.

In blurring the distinctions between good and evil, the government of God is under attack! This attack is not a military attack but an insidious erosion of the foundation of His throne. When man says that there are no absolutes, he denies the existence of a higher authority to establish absolutes. By saying that the moral code of ethics laid down by the Sovereign of the universe can be kept or disregarded at will, the foundation of God’s government is being attacked. It is the prerogative of any government—be it nation, state, city or family—to make laws, ordinances and guidelines for conduct. If the right to establish these codes of ethics is abolished, then the government itself will fall. Yet finite man is attempting to topple the Creator of the universe off His throne by advocating that His moral absolute is nonessential, and what is even more shocking is this attempted coup is being effected not just by philosophers, but by ministers, as well! This affront upon the government of God is causing the dissolution of morality in American society and now we are indeed reaping the whirlwind.

What is the Solution to America’s Moral Collapse?

Man has attempted for millennia to enact laws to control human behavior. In fact, it has been estimated that 35 million decrees have become law in an effort to control man’s behavior, yet morality still spirals downward. Making more human laws is obviously not the solution, the more there are the worse it gets. History bears convincing testimony that legislating religion is not the answer either. Every time the church resorted to the strong arm of civil power, oppression and tyranny were always the inevitable results. Is there a divine solution to the commonness of crime and corruption everywhere we turn?

Exodus 19:18-20 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

Exodus 20:18-20 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.”

Exodus 31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exodus 32:15, 16 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Zechariah 2:5 “For I” says the Lord, “will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.”

One of the greatest scenes that has ever taken place upon this earth, when the Lord descended from heaven and proclaimed His Law, reveals the government of God’s moral absolute. The Ten Commandment Law given atop Mount Sinai by God Himself, is God’s simple, concise absolute code of ethics for humanity. God did not need an entire law library to give His moral absolute, ten simple commands were sufficient to safeguard and protect society from a moral downfall.

Although Moses was highly favored by God and the Lord gave Him much precious instruction, this Law was far too sacred and too holy for even Moses to give to Israel. The Lord Himself proclaimed in awful grandeur His Ten Commandment Law. Moses wrote much instruction for God’s people, but the Ten Commandments were so sacred and so holy that not even Moses could be entrusted with writing down God’s Law. With His own finger, the Lord traced the letters of His Holy Law. The Lord designed that His people would forever be impressed with the magnitude and solemn import of His Holy Law. The glory of God was so great that the mountain shook before Him. The heavens gave way, piercing the sky with lightning and thunder, and the children of Israel quaked in terror before the glory of God. It was thus that the Lord designed to impress upon their minds that His commandments would be “a wall of fire” to them if they were only kept and obeyed. He wanted them to be preserved from the corruption and suffering of those around them, and thus He designed His Holy Law to be a wall of protection.

For Our Good Always

I John 5:2-4 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Deuteronomy 6:24, 25 And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.

Psalm 84:10, 11 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house hof my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

God gave His moral code of ethics, not as a curse or burden, but because He knew that it would be for our benefit if we kept this great law of love. Sometimes we are tempted to think that keeping God’s Law is some harsh burden that can barely be lifted, but it is quite the opposite. God’s Law is NOT a burden. It is one of the greatest gifts that God could have given to mankind, for everything that He asks us to do is for our own good—always. Anything that the Lord asks us to give up or not to do, is for our best good to give up, for “no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” By keeping God’s Law we are going to find happiness and contentment that we can find from no other source. God’s Law is the great “law of liberty” (James 2:12).

Old Fashioned?

Psalm 111:7, 8 The works of His hands are verity and justice; all His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.

Psalm 19:7-10 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Does something that is perfect go out of date? Does it become old fashioned? If something is perfect, it cannot be improved upon, thus it could never and would never become obsolete. Man likes to think that the times have changed, but the sad state of society testifies that something is still wrong. Man’s desire to abolish the Law has not elevated man to a higher state, but simply degraded more and more. Saying that it is archaic may sound good to the carnal nature, but simply decreeing it as such does not make it such. The Law of God stands fast forever and ever; it cannot be altered, changed or amended for the times because it is perfect.

Loving Obedience

John 14:15, 21 If you love Me, keep My commandments… He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.

John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

Psalm 103:20, KJV Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.

God gave the great gift of love in His Ten Commandment Law, however this does not mean that forced or coerced obedience pleases Him. When man has tried to force obedience to his traditions or even to the portions of God’s law relating to our individual duty to God, disaster is the result, thousands of innocent people have suffered persecution and martyrdom because their convictions have differed from the majority. Forced obedience is not what God is asking; He is asking for loving obedience from the heart.

He desires His people to keep His Law not from fear or any other motive other than true love because they love Him and see that He only has their best interest in mind. The Lord does not want forced obedience, nor does He want us to attempt to appease Him as is done for the gods of all the heathen religions; the Lord wants our hearts. He wants to know that we love Him more than anything else. He wants us to keep His great Law of Love because we love Him so much we would not want to do anything else. Jesus, speaking fifteen hundred years after the law was given, puts it as simply as you possibly can: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Jesus was the One who descended atop Mount Sinai and thundered His Holy Law, and it is Jesus who asks us to love Him enough to obey Him (John 8:58, 59; James 4:12; John 10:30). Even the angels show Jesus their love by keeping His commandments, and He is asking that each one of us show our love to Him by obedience to Him. Just as a child shows its love to its parents by obedience, so are we to show our love to God by lovingly obeying Him.

I Love You, Mother

I love you, Mother, said little John,

Then forgetting his work, his cap went on.

And he was off to the garden swing,

Leaving his mother the wood to bring.

I love you, Mother, said Rosy Nell;

I love you better than tongue can tell.

Then she teased and pouted half the day,

Till all were glad when she went to play.

I love you, Mother, said little Fran;

Today I will help you all I can.

How glad I am that school does not keep.

And she rocked the baby till it fell asleep.

Then stepping softly, she brought the broom,

And swept the floor and tidied the room.

Busy and happy all the day was she,

Helpful and cheerful as a child could be.

I love you, Mother, again they said,

Three little children as they went to bed.

How do you think that mother guessed,

Which of them really loved her best?

~Author Unknown

Judged by God’s Law

II Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

James 2:10-12 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.

Although God’s Law is only for our own good and it is loving obedience that He is looking for, the Lord uses obedience to His Law as a gauge to our heart. If we really love Him, we are going to keep that great Law; but if we love the world, ourselves or anything else more than God, we are not going to keep His Law. Thus in the judgment, the Lord measures what we have done (our works) by His immutable Law. Each person is going to stand before the judgment seat of God, and our lives will be compared with God’s great standard of character—His Law. Thus, Solomon states that our whole duty is to keep His commandments. The Lord does not ask of us any hard, difficult task, but simply that we obey that Law of Love, that Law that is for our own good, anyway.

The Attack

Daniel 7:25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.

II Corinthians 11:13-15 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

As previously noted, the attack upon morality is not just confined to the infidels and immoral, but unknowingly (and some perhaps knowingly) many ministers have contributed to the decaying morals of our nation. How could these religious men be a cause of the abuses they abhor? Tragically, many, even coming from the seminaries and Bible colleges, have been swayed into thinking that God’s Law is not important or worse yet done away with! Imagine that great law of love given amidst the most splendor the world has witnessed, engraved in the most enduring manner, unimportant!

This attack was begun, by the enemy of all souls, in the kingdom of heaven and has been carried on through the antichrist (little horn), which has attempted to even change times and Law. Imagine that! The antichrist thinks that he can change God’s Law which God Himself wrote on stone. Even more subtle now, the devil employs religious leaders and teachers to teach that God’s Law is not important. Through those who should be teaching God’s Word, many are deceived. The most successful method used is in twisting passages of Scripture. By this means, it appears that God’s Law is not important and that we do not need to keep it. But beware! God has given answers to all the assaults of the devil.

Assault #1–We are under grace.

I John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Romans 6:1, 2, 14-16 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?… For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

It is true that the Lord desires us to be under grace and not under the Law, but just what does that mean? If we are under grace are we then free to break God’s Law as we desire? I should hope not. If that were the case, this would be a frightening place to live. Paul asks this very question, can we sin (i.e. break God’s Law) because we are not under the Law but under grace? The answer is too clear to mistake—”Certainly not!” If we obey sin and the devil, we have become his slaves; but if we obey God and His Law, we have become His servants. Whose slaves do we want to be? Although through Jesus’ blood and merits we can be forgiven, we are not then at liberty to return to our old ways. This God forbids! The Lord wants us to walk in complete newness of life. He wants to forgive us and then give us the power to keep His Law.

Assault #2–Jesus fulfilled the Law.

Matthew 5:17, 18 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

Matthew 3:15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

Romans 8:3, 4 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Jesus did fulfill the Law; but when He stated this, there was no intimation He was doing away with His Law. In fact, it is just the opposite! God’s Law will not pass away until heaven and earth themselves pass away. None of us would dare say that this has happened. The fact that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law is an assurance to us that, through His power, we also may perfectly obey His Law. He has given us an example of perfect obedience, proving that through His power anyone who comes to Him may perfectly obey His Law, as well.

Assault #3–The Law was nailed to the cross.

Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.

Psalm 89:34 My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

The Lord himself has said that He will not alter or do away with His Law. Man may try to twist Scriptures to say that we no longer need to keep God’s great Law of Love, but God’s Word stands sure. It will not fail. He will not break it.

Assault #4–We are under the new covenant of grace.

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Since we are under the new covenant, the importance of God’s Law is not diminished, but exalted! Instead of God’s Law being written in tables of stone, it is now written in the tables of our hearts. Instead of God’s Law being made void, it is established under the new covenant.

Assault #5–No one can keep God’s Law anyway.

Matthew 19:16, 17 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I John 3:4-9 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

Jesus said that if we want life, we are to keep the commandments. If Jesus has said that we are to keep the commandments, it must be that He will give us the power to keep them. It is true that of our own accord, we will miserably fail in keeping God’s Law; but through the power that God can give, we can do all things. John even tells us that if we are born of God we are not going to continue sinning and breaking God’s Law. If we have Christ living within, we will not want to break God’s Law.

Assault #6-The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Romans 7:9-12 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.

God’s Law shows us where we have sinned. It shows us where we come short of the glory of God. It shows us how we need a Savior. It figuratively kills us. It shows us that we will be miserably lost of ourselves; but then the Lord, through His Spirit, points out that through His power we can keep the Law. If we love the Lord and surrender our lives to Him, He is going to give us the power to keep His Law! Nothing could be better news than that!

Simple Test of Love and Obedience

I John 2:3, 4 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

Keeping God’s Law does not save us. It has no power to save us. Only the power of Christ can save us and make us children of God. At the same time, keeping God’s Law is a simple test that shows how much we really love the Lord. If we love Him, we are going to do what He says. If we love Him, we are going to keep His Law. If we do not really love Him, we are going to do our own thing. If we do not really love Him, we are going to break His Law because it is more convenient to do so. We are saved solely by grace through faith; but if we truly have faith, we will keep God’s Law. Obedience to God’s Law is a simple test that God has given us so that we can know what is truly in our heart, and thus this simple test is given as a special mark of God’s people in the last days. Throughout prophecy and particularly the book of Revelation keeping the commandments is the means of distinguishing between those who are following the God of heaven and those who are worshipping and following the beast. Usually we agree with most of the Law, but there is usually a point or two that tests our faith. We do not understand why God has been so particular. Something crosses our path, and we see that we may have something to change. It was just a small test in the Garden of Eden, and it is just a small, simple test of our love and loyalty to Him today.

The Most Important Question

Matthew 19:16-19 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.