The Mickey Cohen Story: Guaranteeing Your Spot In Heaven! Matthew 7:21
101 Mickey Cohen, Christian Gangster?
**The link to “Loving God” by Charles Colson as promised: https://amzn.to/3z1ryzd This is an affiliate link.
**“The Basics of Christianity for New Christians” from the Graham organization. Course: https://tinyurl.com/4s2m69bj and PDF: https://tinyurl.com/3nhmftyd
0:00 Mickey Cohen’s Story
4:38 Why can’t I be a “Christian” Gangster?
5:28 Jesus’ Requirement to Go to Heaven: Obedience
6:39 We Love God Because He First Loved Us
8:47 Obedience is the Measure of Our Love for God
10:02 Activation: Make Jesus the Lord of Your Life
Mickey prayed the sinner’s prayer. Then friends sent him to Billy Graham where he and his people explained Christianity to him. Upon returning to L.A. he avoided the man who led him to Christ, Bill Jones and went back to his mob friends. Jones contacted him to see what was wrong.
“Jones,” Mickey replied, “you never told me that I had to give
up my career. You never told me that I had to give up my friends.
There are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, Christian businessmen. So what’s the matter with being a Christian gangster?
“If I have to give up all that—if that’s Christianity—count me out.” [from Loving God by Charles Colson and Wikipedia.]
It’s an outrageous idea – a Christian Gangster.. Yet, many people have the same thought. They want to be a Christian, but continue to do what they used to do.
Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus said:
21 “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 who is in heaven. 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Jesus’ requirement for genuine repentance and salvation is clear. Obedience. There is no salvation without obedience to God.
Ephesians 1:5
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
The saving relationship God offers is adoption as sons and daughters. Everyone in heaven will be a son or daughter of God. No one is grandfathered in. No one is there because what they did. No one is a servant. Everyone will be there for one and one one reason - their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:19 NKJV We love Him because He first loved us.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 NIV
For Christ’s love compels us, …15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
Our relationship with God, is measured by our obedience to Him. Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” John 14:15 NLT
Jesus said that the first and greatest of all the commandments is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 NIV.
The obedience God desires is heartfelt – obedience because we love Him and want to please Him.
If asked their religion, most Americans say they are Christians. Yet, millions know about God, but no real love for him. Jesus makes it clear: obedience is the yardstick which measures our love for God. Without loving relationship, Jesus has no choice but to say: “depart from me. I never knew you.” Without loving relationship, their destiny is not heaven with God, but hell, separated forever from God.
See James 1:22
Activation
Make Jesus the Lord of your life, pray the prayer on the video from Billy Graham. Then read “The Basics of Christianity for New Christians” linked above.