What Hinders Us?
Before we can answer this question, we must consider the objective we are trying to obtain. Any reasonable person knows that there are hinderances to just about everything we do.
This being an article on faith and religion, the objective we are trying to achieve is heaven. Now we can consider the question of our title.
The Bible describes many things that serve as a hinderance to our reaching heaven. There are things such as faith that is not strong enough, or worldliness is too powerful for us to fight against. Actually, it is our free will that we choose not to fight against worldliness.
Other people will hinder us from going to heaven. They will lay stumbling blocks before you, and they will religiously persecute you for your faith.
Many of these people will not be doing this so as to cause your soul to be lost in hell, but they do it because they want you to be like them. Peter talks about these people in 1 Peter 4:3-4 "For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you;"
Things will get in our way of trying to reach heaven. We can be hindered by our love of money, by practicing sin in whatever form it takes, by living like the world and not setting a Christian example towards others.
One of the biggest things that hinder us the most is ourselves. We are the one who chooses to participate in error and evil things. We make the conscious decision to abandon the teachings of God, and the Bible. We ourselves are to blame if we do not get to heaven. Trying to blame society, your environment, family, or even Satan will not get you out of your sentence of judgment. Each person who is cast into hell will receive a just punishment. Even so, everyone that enters heaven, will be there because they did what pleased the Lord.
We must be careful that we do not allow our hinderances from keeping us doing our duty to God. There are many people who do things in the name of religion that cause harm to all the faithful of God. Many are the excuses put forth as a form of justification for not doing what God tells us to do.
James 4:17 "Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin."
There are many who claim to be religious, but their lives and actions do not confirm that. These people are setting examples that we would rather not be something we associate with. Yet, many refuse to discuss the bible because of what they have seen others do. Many people lump all the religious into a single category, and accuse even the faithful of being hypocrites, money lovers, haters, bigoted, and a whole host of other problems. What can the righteous do? Just do what God wants, and let God deal with the rest.
By Carey Scott

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