Where Will You Go After You Die? | The Written Sermon
For Those Questioning The Existence of God
You can skip this section if you already believe in "a god" (scroll down to the next part). If you do not believe in God, then I would lovingly and respectfully ask you to consider the fine tuning design of the universe and the nature of things (which science backs up). Consider how everything glaringly points back to a designer by the very fact that there is a purposeful design established to begin with. If you say that "Evolution" and the Big Bang is the origin of everything, then I would simply ask "What is evolution but a process that is already established that everything seems to follow in order?". Also, if the Big Bag is an explosion, then by simple Cause and Effect reasoning, the "Bang" is an effect of a cause which the Big Bang theory does not identify and simply makes the "Bang" the cause and effect.
You can't have such a formulaic sense of order in nature from a supposed random chaotic explosion in the universe and claim it to be a satisfyingly concrete origin point for everything. Components such as consciousness, objective morality, existence in of itself being rooted in universal fine tuning (meaning that the universe is perfectly structured to support life through its various components), order, logical thinking, the complex "language" of genetic code, and self awareness coming from a random explosion of stars and planets that in of itself came from “nothing” is highly unreasonable.
There are multiple processes that people turn to explain the origin of the universe without a God and yet these processes would still have to point to an external intention that exists beyond them in order to establish them into place giving them a reason to exist in the first place. As a matter of fact, the very idea of humans even having the ability to examine our surroundings and ponder existential ideas coming up with multiple theories displays a sense of intelligence that is beyond just chemicals and molecules jumping around with a sole purpose being simply to survive.
Really, the problem for many unbelievers towards God isn't so much a lack of enough evidence to prove God, but instead whether or not they want to accept the evidence that is there and what it would mean at the end of the day if it is indeed true.
I had a thought recently that there are many (not saying "all") people out there who have fought tooth and nail to disprove God only to come to the realization that their efforts are futile. The truth is that their mission isn't intellectually driven as they may have everyone believe by their exclusively scientific relying statements, but more so emotionally-driven deep down. The idea of living under an all-knowing and all-seeing God either terrifies or angers them because of something personal in their life. Something that perhaps hits a little too close to home for them. Whether it was a loss of a loved one or perhaps the idea of an overbearing authority figure hanging over their every move and decision not allowing them to be free to do whatever they want to do in life. Or perhaps it's the thought of an eternal punishment that terrorizes them to the point of an existential crisis.
Of course, this fraction of people that I'm describing (be it big or small) clearly do not understand God's actual characteristics (at least as established in the Bible). For if they did actually do their research on the characteristic traits of God, they'd eventually find peace in God's existence and not deep rooted distress from a whole bunch of misinformation and confusion. But as I said, this is probably only a fraction in theory as there are others that perhaps are indeed sincerely searching intellectually and logically for God but are simply bumping into conflicting walls due to lack of understanding. The hope of course that we pray for is that that everyone, no matter their background or stance, finds the truth sooner (on good terms) rather than later (on bleaker terms) as their genuine pursuit leads them into the right direction.
Quick Testimonial Tangent→ I was roughly around 5 years old when I started to believe in God at least from a conceptual perspective. Funny enough, it had nothing to do with a church or a Bible. I had no religious beliefs till I was in my late 20s and church as a child was simply a place to catch a quick Sunday nap and see a few familiar faces. Instead, it was me looking outside and observing the world around me as a kid who had a deep love for nature realizing that there was a formulaic ordered "way of things" (Romans 1:20 actually touches on this). And from that childhood perspective, it became pretty clear to me that there was a being of some sorts outside of the world who positioned everything the way that it was with intentioned design like an artist would a painting or an architect a building.
As I grew older, having a huge love and intrigue for science, it became increasingly more apparent that everything pointed to a Creator of sorts. I could see the clear traces of an intelligent mind with reasoning and purpose leading to all of the different laws governing the universe that we observe and label through science and live by as a species. So, when I tell people that science played a big role in myself becoming a christian, and some of them laugh it off thinking that the two things cannot coexist for some bizarre reason, this is the background that I'm drawing from. Many years later, I discovered who that ultimate creator that I speculated over was. [The rest is history and a story for another day]
[Bible Scripture References]
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
For Those Who Already Believe In "A God" (Generally Speaking)
Now, for those who do believe in a God, but perhaps may not know much about who He is or about life after death, this article should hopefully shed some light on that conundrum. And guys, full warning, there’s no sugar coating what I’m about to say. Not only is there indeed a God who is the creator and authority of all things, but there is also God's justice and righteousness. So yes, He is thee creator. Yes, He is all-powerful and all-knowing. You really don't have to be a Christian or have ever read a single word in the Bible to come to those likely conclusions about the nature of who or what God is. But what about God's establishment of right and wrong?
Not only did God create us, but He also laid down the foundations of how things should be in order to satisfy His grand desire for His creation. And if anything were to go completely against that foundational order, then by His very nature of being ultimately righteous, He would express his distaste in the form of justice. We can see this core principle displayed in our very own society when someone goes against the law that was established to keep us protected as consequences like fines and prison time are placed upon the violators. We call them criminals who are then taken to court and sentenced for their crimes to serve in whatever manner deemed necessary by the powers of authority at be.
Well, this is essentially a reflection of God's righteousness in which God has His own universal laws, and since mankind has historically broken God's law (which we'll get to in a moment), we can expect His ultimate justice to come fully in some fashion. This is known as the wrath of God (or God's righteousness expressed on those who violated his Law in one big final judgement event). Not only is the wrath of God a very real and serious thing for us to think about, but it is coming at a time where not a single one of us will know. Could be centuries from now, decades, years, next week. Maybe even tomorrow. This is a cataclysmic moment in time where all souls (including yours and mines) are on the line and perfect judgement will be casted down upon us.
But...what does that really mean for you and me? All of this apocalyptic sounding jargon probably just sounds vague and almost like an empty warning for many people. Well, this is what I'd love to dive into with this article utilizing the very resource that God gave us centuries upon centuries ago to know Him by. The Holy Scriptures (aka the Bible). And if you're about to turn away due to not believing in the Bible based on its negatively viewed popularity by the culture, misunderstandings by many, or stained history caused by falsely self proclaimed Christians using the Bible for fame and fortune, I respectfully encourage you to do a bit of research surrounding the archeological, archival, and analytical validity of the scriptures. Then you can make a firm decision for yourself there.
It's not about whether there's a lack of evidence (there's more than enough with some great sources to check out to do some deep diving research on). Instead, it's about whether you decide to accept or reject the evidence when it's given to you. So, with that out of the way, let's dive into this, shall we?
Chapter 1:
Priorities Concerning Today Vs. Eternity
We’ve all, at some point in our lives, pondered about the existential dilemma that is life after death. But many of us unfortunately put it to the side just to continue engaging in our day to day activities and materialistic things. The truth is that we’re all living on borrowed time and none of us have the authority nor power to add a single second to it. Yet, many of us live our lives as if tomorrow is promised simply because we have goals to reach or perhaps big responsibilities being taken on at the moment.
If you really stop to think about it, ultimately at the end of the day, all of our personal goals and investments, the things that we spend our time enjoying, consuming, or stressing out over will eventually fade away and rot like an old distorted memory. All of these things surrounding us right now in this very second ultimately won’t matter once death comes knocking on our door and we take our final breath in this life. And the question right in that moment won’t be “What will I be spending my money or time on today?”, but instead “Where will I be going for eternity? What will happen to me? Will I become nothing? Will I feel anything? What was the point of all those things that I spent so much time chasing after in life if they won't follow me after I'm dead?”. These are all the pondering thoughts of the afterlife dilemma.
Forever Is A Long Time
So, what are the two options at this point in time for your final destination? Eternity with God or Eternity in Hell. That’s it. There’s no middle ground. It’s either one or the other.
There will be a day where each and every one of us will have to face this crossroads of a moment. Knowing this, it would really be in your best interest to not disregard this issue today for anything else less important. And honestly, what could be more important than knowing where your final destination will ultimately be? So, let's ask ourselves this very question. Where will you be for eternity? Do you know for certain or are you currently unsure? Do you know if you’re going to be joyfully existing alongside God in some form of paradise or will it be the alternative…eternal separation from God?
No one likes to hear that second option especially when keywords like "Hell", "damnation", "punishment" or "fiery abyss" pops up, but it doesn’t make it any less real of an option. So, let’s break this down a little bit more.
Chapter 2:
How Did This Whole Thing Start?
Going back in history to mankind’s earlier years, we were all created by a perfectly holy and powerful God who gave us perfect holy laws to live by for our own good. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the Ten Commandments before which is God’s laws for mankind to follow. Unfortunately, every single one of us have fallen short of living out those laws due to our sinful nature. But what do I mean by "sinful nature"? Going back even further to the first humans to ever walk this Earth, we learn that God’s first creation with mankind (who we know as Adam and Eve) went against His one rule after being tempted by the Devil.
The Devil (who the Bible calls "the enemy" amongst other negative titles) plays a monumental role regarding the the origin of evil as he was the first to rebel against God as an angel that was filled with pride and therefore casted down from Heaven with other fallen angels that followed him. His eternal punishment has been sealed and his rebellious hatred against God extends to his manipulation towards God’s creation. In his grand scheme as the ultimate deceiver, the Devil tempted Adam and Eve to question God’s singular law for them to follow cleverly nudging them with the idea of serving themselves with wisdom to become like God instead. This lead to the world being cursed with a sinful nature and death as punishment for their violation.
Whereas mankind was initially meant to live eternally with God in beautiful, abundant harmony, our first rebellious act against God brought upon the consequence of having to wrestle with death in addition to other world affecting repercussions that followed. So God’s law for Adam and Eve was to not eat the forbidden fruit (of the knowledge of good and evil), but after the Devil caused them to question God’s restrictions, they did so anyway. As a result, we all have to pay the price for our ancestors’ monumental mistake of sin. This is why the world is in the sad state of affairs that it’s currently in. We call this a “fallen state” or "fallen world" meaning that the world is in a spiritually/morally degraded form compared to what it would have been like if we never sinned.
If you take a look at the countless of terrible things that we face today, you can trace the roots of them all the way back to the introduction of sin itself. Crimes such as murder, theft, rape, kidnapping, sex trafficking, drug dealing, exploitation, racial attacks, etc. are all rooted in sin. You can also look at medical obstacles that we face such as cancer, organ failures, deformities, hereditary caused illnesses, environmentally triggered body issues, tumors, neural problems, degrading conditions of aging, etc. as being rooted in the introduction of sin. And yes, you can even trace other hindrances such as economical and political conflicts to sin's involvement as well.
Essentially, anything that you can possibly think of that brings harm to mankind and the planet directly or indirectly connects to the consequences that came as a result of the earliest acts of rebellion against God. The terribly catastrophic history surrounding mankind as we see continued to this very day is arguably the most glaring sign of evidence that God does not take sin likely.
[Bible Scripture References]
Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
Romans 5:12
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned
Revelations 12:9
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelations 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Sin: Corruption & Punishment
But what is sin exactly? Sin is essentially any violation against God’s perfect law. And because of those who came before us (our ancient ancestors) going against said law, the entire world was cursed into this broken nature of desiring sinful things, falling short of what God initially intended for us, and facing death. So now, we naturally desire to rebel against God because of our ancestors' rebellious decision. Think of it as this massive generational curse (in a manner of speaking) that resulted in the fractured, twisted version of the world that we see to this very day.
God eventually established for us His laws following the Adam and Eve incident for mankind to live by which dictated how we were to treat one another in addition to other laws surrounding our relationship with God. According to God’s righteous justice system, the wages for sin is Death which means that breaking just one of His laws grants us the Death sentence. Keep in mind that we're not just talking about death in a general sense, but instead eternal punishment (or Hell). So to put it bluntly, we are all naturally marked for Hell as our eternal punishment even if some of us may not feel like we're intentionally wanting to rebel against God.
It’s already in our nature to do so being born into this corrupted world. That’s why sinful things are desirable and attractive to us while righteous things can sometimes feel like a challenge to uphold and pursue. God's commandments (or laws) were to show us just how imperfect we really were in our broken, fallen nature and why we needed God's grace and mercy to cover us in our sinful ways. No mere human being could live out those commandments perfectly and that was the whole point. The laws are a reflection of God's holiness and righteousness as well as a reflection of just how fallen we really are in our sinful ways.
In other words, think of God giving us His perfect laws as the ultimate message saying "As God, I am perfect and these are my perfectly righteous laws for mankind to live in perfect harmony with each other and with me. If any of you can live out these perfect laws fully not ever violating a single one, you would be counted righteous in my eyes. Now clearly, because of your fallen nature, none of you can actually accomplish this and therefore you sin against me to which there are consequences for (remember the wages of sin is Death). Because of this, I have given you mercy and grace so that you may not perish by the punishment of the Law but instead have atonement."
What is that atonement? We'll get to that in a moment. First, let's understand that God's grand desire ultimately is to heal our relationship with Him. We messed up. We broke the law. And like a loving father who sees his child make a series of constant rebellious immature mistakes, he opens his arms out to welcome the child back with a deeply rooted intent for reconciliation. This is how God presents Himself to us. The question is...how do we respond?
[Bible Scripture References]
Exodus 20
[An Entire Chapter About God's Commandments]
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
1 John 3:4
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
James 1:15
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
James 2:10
10 For whoever keeps the whole Law, yet stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all.
James 4:17
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Colossians 3:13
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Chapter 3:
From Bad News To Good News
Since we’re all rebellious people facing the death sentence in God’s righteous court, what did God do? Did He just leave us to perish in Hell like the ignorant/arrogant criminals that we are? By all means, no. Not only is He a righteous God (the ultimate perfect judge of all things in existence since He brought forth and allowed everything into existence), He’s also the most loving and gracious. Keep this in mind that it is impossible for anyone to love like God loves because God is quite literally the source and foundation of Love.
If someone were to express genuine love on Earth, they are merely reflecting a trait that comes from God. And the same can be said for justice. If a judge expresses true uncompromising and incorruptible justice in a courtroom when considering a man innocent or guilty, that judge is merely reflecting a trait that comes from God who is righteousness at its purest form. So, as we step into God's court with an eternal sentence to Hell because of our sin, God tells us through His actions [...and here comes the good news] “Though I have every right to charge you with this eternal death sentence, I have also given you a way out. For someone has paid a steep price for your release…and has paid it in FULL.” This is where atonement comes in.
God, in His profound and unfathomable love for us, sent His one and only begotten Son to pay the ultimate price for us so that we would be saved from His righteous punishment. His name was Jesus (or ישוע in Hebrew who is known as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Word, and the Christ amongst other titles). Jesus, who was unique as he shared co-equal divinity with God, physically entered into the world born as a human through a miraculous virgin birth. He was God's perfect revelation to mankind with a monumental objective. That objective was to live out the perfectly righteous and sinless life that mankind could not as the ultimate example and become the perfect substitutional sacrifice for us fully paying the debt for our sins.
He also came to teach us about the expectations and the kingdom of God and to comfort us about the eternal hope that we have through him. Jesus ultimately dies on the cross (which was a wooden tool used in ancient times by the Romans for tortuous crucifying executions) as the only worthy substitution and payment established by God for our sins. He then resurrects from the dead three days later conquering death and ascending back into Heaven fulfilling the promise that God gave mankind. The promise of eternal life and the atonement for our sins. By this historical event, mankind's sins have been forgiven and paid for by God Himself through Jesus.
[Bible Scripture References]
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 2:25
25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
1 John 3:5
5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 John 5:10-13
10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
John 6:51
I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats from this bread, he will live forever, and the bread which I will give for the life of the world also is My flesh.
1 Peter 2:21-25
21 For you have been called for this purpose, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you would follow in His steps, 22 He who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being abusively insulted, He did not insult in return; while suffering, He did not threaten, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
John 2:18-22
18 The Jews then said to Him, “What sign do You show u as Your authority for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking about the temple of His body. 22 So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
Luke 24:1-8
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing; 5 and as [a]the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead? 6 He is not here, but He has [b]risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead. 8 And they remembered His words
John 10:14-18
14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Titus 3:5-7
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
1 Peter 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive
The Divine Identification of Jesus
The identity of Jesus is one of the most sensitive subjects in the history of religious beliefs. I find it interesting how even certain false religions actually acknowledge Jesus in some fashion as someone to be admired and respected. Because of this, I would like to take the time to examine a few areas of the Bible that touches on this very component because I do believe it's important to at least get a fundamental grasp on who Christ claims or is claimed to be.
First, let's take a look at a particular section of the Gospel of John (John 1:1-4 and John 1:14) for a moment before we move on. These verses talk about Jesus being the Word of God that already existed in the beginning of creation which symbolically ties to the very first chapter in the Bible, Genesis, that dives into the creation account of the world. The Word of God is understood as God's divine way of communicating and interacting with His creation. John 1:14 then states that this "Word" eventually took on human form to reveal what mankind for a time considered to be an invisible God.
The Greek translation for "Word" in this particular passage is "logos". Keeping in mind that Greek is the language in which the New Testament is written, the word logos (which means word, message, reason, and thought) by the philosophy and understandings of the times leading up to Jesus's ministry by the people back then was tied to the personification of God's revelation and interaction to creation. Before John uses this term as a label for Christ, the people utilized logos theologically as a way to express the divine order and reasoning for existence.
John utilizes this term to appeal to their understanding by attributing God's position as the authority and power behind creation with who Jesus is. In plain terms, John is telling the people of that time and culture that Jesus is the very same divine authority and power behind creation as many would attribute God to be. In addition to this, he's also using the definitions of logos to connect God's message towards mankind with Jesus's identity. The message of God's love, the redemption for mankind’s sin, His authority over all things, and His righteousness that was spoken about through the prophets in the Old Testament (before Jesus physically arrived on the scene).
People found it easy to disregard the message of an invisible God and continued in their sin and rebellion. Eventually, the Word (or logos) became flesh by taking on human form and dwelling among us to reveal God's glory like never before. John, in his gospel, illustrates that Jesus is indeed that very Word of God who is more than just some great messenger like the old prophets, but is in fact God Himself in the flesh. This is one of the more controversial debates amongst different religious sects. The debate of whether or not Jesus is just a perfect man who God created or whether he's actually God walking among us humbling himself as a monumental act of love through the form of a servant for our benefit.
Well, if we follow the claims surrounding Christ throughout the scriptures, we can see that he clearly establishes himself as God without ever having to use the phrase "I am God" verbatim. We can find this in John 10:30-33 and John 8:56-59 where Jesus says "I and the Father are one", "before Abraham was born, I am". And prior to Jesus physically walking amongst us, the prophet Micah in the Old Testament prophetically establishes that Christ's time is "from the days of eternity.” These profound statements made by Jesus himself (especially using God's very own unique self identifying moniker, "I AM", which God said to Moses in Exodus 3:14 of the Old Testament) resulted in the Jews going against him because they understood exactly what he was claiming.
In addition to this, Jesus also went against the Sabbath law in a particular way that also connected his position of authority with God angering the religious leaders. We see this in John chapter 5 where Jesus miraculously heals a man's severe physical condition by a pool on a Sabbath day telling the man to pick up his pallet (or portable bed) and walk. Why is this particular day so significant? The Sabbath day was a crucial day of rest by the understandings of the Jews following the law of Moses as it meant that no work was to be done or penalties would be faced. For the Sabbath day was a day commemorating the day in which God "rested" (meaning coming to a point of stopping) after creating the world.
We see this in Genesis 2:1-3 when God, after completing the heavens and the earth on the 7th day, blessing that specific day in a special manner unlike the prior 6 days of creation. This is further emphasized and established in Exodus 20:8-10 where God's Commandment for Israel reads “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you." So, for someone to work on the Sabbath day which was considered a holy day of rest for Israel was essentially going against God's law for only God could continue His never ending work on this day.
Now, going back to the story, the Jews saw the man walking carrying his bed and asked him why he was doing so on a holy day of rest. The man stated that it was Jesus who miraculously healed him which is why he's able to walk carrying his pallet around. The Jews later confronted Jesus for doing these things on a holy day of rest of which only God can work. Jesus very boldly tells them “My Father has and continues to work until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason, the Jews were given yet another reason to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God by establishing that He can work just as God does on the Sabbath day.
Jesus very bluntly claims to be divinely equal to God in authority here and in perfect unity with Him which many of the people could not tolerate. In their ignorance towards his identity, they found his words to be blasphemous and therefore considered him a heretic that needed to be punished. For someone to claim to be God (or equal to Him), they'd have to be either mentally unstable or arrogantly prideful to such an extreme. If not, then they were telling the truth and we ought to take them seriously heeding every word that they spoke. So, although Jesus may not have verbatim stated "I am God", he clearly proclaims or is proclaimed to be God in various statements establishing his many documented miraculous actions, sinless life, and divine authority that no one else has but God.
We can see this represented in John 14:6, John 1:3, Hebrews 1, the paralleling language between both John 10:27-28 and Psalms 95:6-8 where Jesus uses for himself what the Psalmist says about people being the sheep in God's shepherding hands connecting himself to that very same Shepard, as well as arguably John 6:44 and John 12:32. There's even a pretty straightforward claim in Philippians 2:5-11 where the apostle is directly stating that Jesus is co-equal to God and is humbling himself as man for our benefit. You also have John 8:23-25 where Jesus again uses God’s moniker, I AM, and claims to be not of this world but from above.
Now, the mechanics of how this works (God, the Father and God, the Son existing simultaneously) can cause our little minds to spin around in any efforts to piece together a supernatural puzzle that was never meant to be solved. The Bible never tells us that we need to wrap our minds around how Jesus being God practically works. Remember, this is God that we're talking about here so of course, by his very nature as the creator, who brought existence into being as we know it, He would accomplish many things that would absolutely baffle our minds. Things such as creating a physical body for Himself in order to fulfill His promise to mankind.
But why would an act such as this baffle our minds more than the awe inspiring entire scope of the universe in which He created in unfathomably great detail? Perhaps people are opposed of the idea that God could love us so much that He would make for Himself a way to physically relate to us on such a profound manner that would ultimately benefit us in the end.
Thankfully, God only tells us to believe that he is who he says he is and never once said that we need to fully understand how he is who he is. God became man to physically die on the cross as the only sufficient permanent solution for sins since God Himself cannot die as an eternal spiritual being. The point comes down to whether or not you trust that Jesus is indeed God in nature who physically came into the world and made himself the only way to salvation for mankind. At the end of the day, that's what really matters.
[Biblical Scriptures References]
Genesis 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was a formless and desolate emptiness, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
John 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.
John 1:14-15
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John *testified about Him and called out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who is coming after me has proved to be my superior, because He existed before me.’
John 10:30-33
30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” 33 The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”
John 8:56-58
56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.”
Exodus 3:14
14 And God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
Micah 5:2
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Genesis 2:1-3
2 And so the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their heavenly lights. 2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Exodus 20:8-10
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.
John 5
[Jesus Miraculously Healing Someone On A Holy Day of Rest Dedicated To God]
John 14:6-9
6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
7 If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
8 Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 1:3
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
Hebrews 1
[An Entire Chapter Emphasizing Jesus's Divine Nature]
Psalm 95:6-11
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down,
Let’s kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
John 10:27-28
27 My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
John 6:44
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 12:32
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”
Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
John 8:23-25
23 And you were saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe I am, you will die in your sins.” 25 Then they were saying to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What have I even been saying to you from the beginning?
Chapter 4:
Jesus Is The Only Way To Eternal Life
Jesus was hated by the jealous and religious leaders of the time who labeled him as a blasphemous individual once his divine connection to God became more publicly proclaimed. He was betrayed, mocked, brutalized, crucified, and died in order for ALL of our transgressions (our sins) to be wiped clean. He was essentially the physical embodiment of God’s sacrificial love for His people. God made it to where only Jesus could’ve done what he did to satisfy His judgment as a humbling sacrifice to give us a second chance. No one else could do this and there is nothing that you and I could do to earn this blessing. It is the gift of Salvation given by God's grace and paid by death for a people who frankly did not deserve it (that includes you and I).
So we talked quite a bit about the death of Jesus being the payment for our sins, but what about His resurrection that came after? After his crucifixion and death on the cross for our sins, he was buried in a tomb and then...the tomb was found to be empty. He was risen from death by the Holy Spirit, provided evidence to his followers confirming his identity and divine miracle, and instructed them with sending the good news to the world. He then ascended back into Heaven to be with the Father. This historically documented event (popularly known as "The Resurrection") solidified to us that what awaited us through having faith in Jesus was an eternity with God, our creator. Without the resurrection happening, we would have nothing to hold onto in faith that life after death with God was an option for those who chose to believe in his promise of being saved.
Think about it. Jesus would just be a dead man in a tomb who died on a cross claiming to be God with debatable evidence to support his claim for eternal salvation. This is why the resurrection and the accounts surrounding it is significant for us to remember. Jesus took upon him all of humanity's sin, died with it as perfectly sufficient payment for all of mankind's transgressions, resurrected himself showing that he conquered death as only God can, then ascended to Heaven with a God-given promise. That promise being that we too will not succumb to the consequential finality of eternal damnation that is death but instead will have life once more and everlasting. "We" of course meaning the believers who put our faith in Christ for our salvation.
Now Jesus, before He ascended back into Heaven, told us that the Holy Spirit will be here with us on Earth ministering to and empowering us to do the works of the Lord before He eventually returns for Judgement and to eventually establish his new kingdom on Earth. So you can think of the whole thing like this: Jesus first came as the physical embodiment and revelation of God’s sacrificial love for mankind who died on the cross for us, and now He’s soon returning as the righteous wrath of God to judge mankind (all of the unbelievers and rejectors being eternally punished), then to position Himself as the true righteous ruler on the Earth to reign with everyone who is saved.
[Biblical Scriptures References]
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known Me, you would have known My father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
2 Peter 3:7 & 10
7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly people.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered.
Revelation 1:7
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
1 Thessalonians 4:14
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Matthew 24:42
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Was Jesus Foreshadowed In The Old Testament?
Where Jesus's ministry is highlighted in the New Testament through historically documented accounts, as for the Old Testament, you can find foreshadowings by the prophets established by God laying the path that leads to Jesus's mission. One Old Testament foreshadowing example is the way in which animal sacrifices for sins were done back in those times as temporary representations of atonement which could never fully satisfy God's judgment. This constant need for sacrificing unblemished animals in order to cover sin was a glaring reminder of how crucial sin was to God and that mankind could never pay the debt in full. This pointed to the need of a permanent solution which of course we know to be Christ.
It's no wonder Jesus is also called the "Lamb of God" as it perfectly ties in with the Old Testament's era of sacrificing said spotless, unbruised animals to satisfy God's judgement. Jesus would be the one perfect sacrifice fulfilling for mankind essentially what God allowed the people and prophets of old to symbolically build the foundation for. We can look at the Passover event in history and the later tradition that was established from it as an example. The famous event where God sent the final plague upon Egypt in the form of an angel of death to destroy the firstborn sons of the Egyptians as punishment for Pharaoh's prideful refusal against God to free the enslaved Israelites.
In order to spare the Israelites from this angel of death as it passed over the land, the Israelites were instructed by God to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and paint its blood on their doors. Doing this guaranteed the safety of the Israelite people living within those homes as the angel of destruction would see the blood and "pass over" those homes skipping them. As a result, the Israelites that followed this direction from God to mark their homes were spared from the calamity of His divine judgment over Egypt. Following this, we have The Passover ritual as a tradition which celebrated the monumental freedom and deliverance of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt thanks to God.
The Passover tradition involved the sacrificing and eating of a lamb or goat as well as spreading its blood on the doorpost as a symbolic reminder of what God did for His people sparing them from Death and freeing them. So, how does Jesus connects with this famous story? Jesus being called the Lamb of God is that perfect unblemished sacrifice freeing mankind from the eternal death punishment that sin brings through. How does He do this? By His blood being shed (symbolically His death on the cross). How interesting is it that the date of Jesus's crucifixion just so happens to take place right alongside the Passover tradition feast?
Another example we can look at is the Book of Mark (a New Testament author) who talks about John the Baptist appearing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Mark specifically quotes the Book of Isaiah (an Old Testament prophet) which prophesied that a messenger would be sent preparing a way in the wilderness for the Lord. John was baptizing people in water proclaiming that one mightier than him would come and baptize them with the Holy Spirit who we know to be Jesus. So evidently Jesus fulfills Isaiah's prophesy as the Lord that the messenger (John) would prepare a way for in the wilderness.
Even King David himself in the Psalms (Psalms 22) prophetically foreshadows the suffering of Jesus on the cross in the most profound manner ever. In this Psalm found in the Old Testament, King David speaks very descriptively of being surrounded by mockery from people around sneering at him sarcastically saying “Turn him over to the Lord; let Him save him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”. David also describes the feeling of deep broken heartedness, broken bones, physical exhaustion, severe dehydration, having pierced hands and feet, and the wicked people surrounding him deciding who gets to take his clothes.
There are no historical accounts of David being pierced in his hands or feet and experiencing what he is descriptively describing here which is essentially an experience leading to death. Instead, it is highly agreed upon historically that King David's actual death points towards simply old age related medical symptoms. So, what we find here is David describing the one who would later come from his lineage and suffer a monumentally tormenting experience. This prophetic statement is fulfilled through Jesus's crucifixion experience to the point that even Jesus himself, while suffering on the cross, cries out a direct reference to Psalms 22:1 saying “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? You can find this as recorded in Matthew 27:46. You can also find evidence of Jesus's clothes being decided upon by people surrounding his body through the casting of lots (as David described) in John 19:23-24 and Luke 23:34.
Now, what about a prophecy in the Old Testament that actually talks about where Jesus would be born? Do we find that anywhere? Well, as a matter of fact, we do. We can look to none other than Micah who makes a prophecy about the Messiah's origins to which the New Testament scriptures confirms to be Jesus. Micah 5:2 reads “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Bonus Fun Fact: This biblical passage (Micah 5:2) was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls which is a collection of ancient Jewish religious manuscripts discovered in caves near the Dead Sea. These preserved documents date back between 3rd century B.C. to A.D. 68.
Back to Micah's prophecy, if we look to Matthew 2:1-6 in the New Testament, we see that Matthew validates this prophecy made by Micah through the appearance of the Magi (a group of wise men from the East). The verse reads as the Magi asks “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” which disturbed King Herod and Jerusalem at the time. As King Herod, in his distress of the Magi's questioning, sent out the chief priests and teachers of the law to investigate where this supposed prophecy was to take place, the teachers specifically quotes Micah's prophecy as a reference point saying "Bethlehem in Judea, for this is what the prophet has written".
If we look just a little bit further down to Matthew 2:7-11, King Herod issues the Magi to go out and confirm this supposed prophecy to be the case heading out in the direction of the star that they saw. All of this was to officially corroborate the claims of the Old Testament prophet Micah about Jesus's birth. And by the time we get to verses 10-11, we see that the Magi were indeed correct as they witnessed Jesus as a child with his mother. So, this is what we'd call a Class A example of a prophecy being clearly fulfilled and validated. Micah prophesied where Jesus would be born in the Old Testament, and the historic recordings of King Herod's investigation into said prophecy through the Magi's discovery validates it in the New Testament.
There are multiple examples of Jesus being foreshadowed in the Old Testament however the greatest proof is through the words of Jesus Himself as stated in Luke 24:25-27. Jesus literally criticizes two of his disciples for not recognizing that the prophets of old foretold of Him.
[Biblical Scriptures References]
Exodus 12
[An Entire Section Dedicated To The Passover]
Book of Leviticus
[Entire Sections Detailing God's Methods of Utilizing Animal Sacrifice For Atonement]
Psalms 22
[An Entire Section From King David Prophetically Foreshadowing The Suffering of Christ's Crucifixion Which Christ Then References Himself]
Matthew 27:46
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
John 19:23-24
23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer garments and made four parts: a part to each soldier, and the tunic also; but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. 24 So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be.” This happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “They divided My garments among themselves, and they cast lots for My clothing.” Therefore the soldiers did these things.
Luke 23:34
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Luke 24:25-27
25 And then He said to them, "You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures.
Hebrews 9:23-28
[An Entire Section Dedicated To Christ's Sacrifice Being The Resolution of Old Testament Blood Sacrifice]
John 1:29
29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him, and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Isaiah 53:4-8
However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,
And our pains that He carried;
Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,
Struck down by God, and humiliated.
5 But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings;
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off from the land of the living
For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?
Hebrews 1:1-2
1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world.
Micah 5:2
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His times of coming forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Matthew 2:1-11
[Matthew's Validation of Micah's Prophecy]
Chapter 5:
Are You Ready To Choose?
So, let’s circle back to that initial question. The two paths that are established for us in the afterlife. Eternity with God or Eternity in Hell. Which direction will you be going when the moment comes where God judges the world? Remember, we ALL have to stand before God (believers and unbelievers) in the end.
The only difference is that believers know that they are saved at the end of the day whereas unbelievers will have to face a more unfortunate end. Which group of people will you be in? What will your sentence be when judged by God? Will you be screaming for mercy at the last minute tormented by the thought of being spiritually separated from God forever? Will you be living out a nightmare of regret that never ends literally or symbolically burning in a fire that never quenches? - that’s what Eternal Separation from God (or what we would call Hell) is in essence. It makes sense when you consider that being separated completely from God means that you're separated from all that is good and all that reflects love and mercy as you experience eternal justice at its fullest. So where exactly does that leave you? Not a nice place to think about.
Or, will you be living in joyful, loving, and fulfilling peace in paradise with the one who created you, loves you, made himself a sacrifice for you, knows you deeper than anyone else can, and wants nothing but the best for you in a place where pain and death are no more? - that’s Eternity with God. If the answer is Eternity with God, and I hope that it is for your sake, then let’s get this settled right now. Let’s answer the lingering question that naturally comes to mind after finding out that Hell is indeed real and that God gave us a free gift to avoid its eternal punishment. That question being "What do I need to do to make sure that I don't end up in Hell?". Before we get to that, let's look at some verses that connects to what we've just talked about.
[Biblical Scriptures References]
1 John 2:15–17
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.
2 Peter 3:11-13
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
Revelations 21:8
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for the murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelations 20:14-15
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
2 Thessalonians 1:9
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might
Matthew 13:49-50
So it will be at the end of the age: The angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mark 9:43
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.
Revelations 21:1-4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard it loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and he will dwell among them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Chapter 6:
How Do We Receive Salvation?
What does one actually have to do to receive God’s gift of Eternal Life? Well, God actually makes it pretty clear in the Holy Scriptures. Right before Jesus died on the cross, one of his final statements were “It is finished” meaning the work was officially done for us as the debt was fully paid. His mission was accomplished and he fulfilled all that was prophesied leading up to his arrival and death. Our sins are all forgiven and forgotten by God through this singular sacrificial action that only God could do. Remember, there’s not a single thing that you and I as mere human beings corrupted and fallen by the nature of sin in the world can do as far as "good deeds" or works go to earn salvation. It's all God and only God who saves us.
Bonus Fun Fact: One of Jesus's final words on the cross was the Greek term "tetelestai" which relates to something being completed, being brought to a close, or being fulfilled. By using this particular term, Jesus is solidifying that his work on the cross to pay for all of mankind's sins have been officially concluded. So looking at this in a legal sense, the payment for the bail of sin's eternal punishment has now been cleared.
Because of this, our salvation leans upon our faith towards who Christ is, what Christ did for us, why we needed him to do what he did for us to begin with, and the fact that God justifies us when accepting these truths. Now, what does it mean to be justified by God? To be justified means that you are in right standing with God. This means that God does not see your sin anymore as a bondage of death dragging you to Hell but instead the goodness and righteousness of Jesus covering over you through his finished work on the cross. Remember, Jesus was our substitute (our scapegoat), so by him dying on the cross for us, he was taking on all of our sin and representing all of mankind with the death sentence. In essence, he took the punishment that we deserved and paid the price for our crimes. This is what God sees covering over our sins.
So if you’re leaning on all the "nice things" that you’ve done for people over the years as your golden ticket to Heaven…it’s never gonna be enough to work. If you're leaning on your good deeds in addition to Jesus as your golden ticket, you're still missing the point of what Christ did. To receive Salvation, you must believe and trust in Jesus as the only one who saves you from your sins; genuinely declaring from your heart that you are indeed forgiven of your sins (past, present, and future) completely because of him. You believe that you are saved from eternal punishment not because of anything good that you did but because of the ultimate good that God did through Christ's perfect sinless life, death on the cross to die for your sins, and resurrection from death to fully validate Jesus's divinity as God in addition to the promise of eternal life after death.
You understand that your crimes (your sins) against God is deserving of His eternal wrath and now, as a result of this revelation, you desire to never commit sin anymore...even though you're likely to due to your fallen nature. Take notice that a lot of this comes from your heart towards God, towards Christ, and not some special generic prayer to rehearse as some religions may have you believe. There is no special already written down prayer to yell out verbatim in order to be saved. What is said comes from the heart and God knows your every thought, meaning, and intention when you say it.
[Bible Scripture References]
Romans 3:20-30
[An Entire Section Dedicated To Faith & Justification Without Works Being Associated With Salvation]
John 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Philippians 3:9
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Galatians 2:16
“16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”
1 John 5:13-14
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 10:9-10
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ”
So, let's talk about the idea of "turning away from sin" as believers. God says in His Word that we must repent of our sins, but what does this mean? It means that we first acknowledge that we are indeed sinners (criminals in the eyes of God) and that we'll make the effort with His help to turn away from our sinful lifestyle understanding its violating relationship to God (going against His law). Repentance is crucial. Some of you might think "If I’m justified by faith, then it doesn’t matter how I live my life, right? I can continue to sin as much as I want without ever caring about obeying God’s Law because He accepts me based on my faith in Christ so I'll be going to Heaven either way." Well, if this type of mentality matches up to the way that you feel about sin, then you're going to have to deal with the fact that the Bible directly goes against that way of thinking.
Someone who truly places their faith in Christ for salvation understands to a large enough extent the heavy weight that sin carries and would want nothing to do with it afterwards. In a similar sense, a criminal truly seeking redemption would understand the damage of their unlawful activities and would have a desire to never commit those or any other crimes ever again. It's all in the heart which God can see as clear as day. The evidence of your faith will be reflected in the manner in which you respond to sin and go about living life with the declaration that you have made to God.
Let's try to loosely paint a picture of this concept. Imagine the criminal who now understands the severity of his crimes against the law, who has now been pardoned by the judge, and bail has been paid for in full. The judge tells him you are a free man with a clean slate because someone (Jesus) has paid for you in full to be free. Do you accept this opportunity that has been given to you? The man speaks from his heart and says "yes" realizing the gift that has been graciously given to him, and now joyfully walks out in freedom.
Question: Would such a man immediately run back to his old criminal ways with no sense of conviction whatsoever or would he desire to take this opportunity to change for the better and become a true law abiding citizen? On one end, you have the fool who thinks he can deceive the judge pretending that he cares so that he can avoid prison and continue on with his crimes. This is someone who is essentially walking the dangerous path that leads right back to prison with no guarantee of another opportunity to change. One the other end, you have the wise man that truly did see the light of truth (the severity of his crimes) and begun to take whatever steps necessary to walk the righteous path (perhaps seeking therapy, making amends with those that he hurt, etc.).
It doesn't mean that he wouldn't be tempted and even slip up a few times on said path perhaps even going through some sense of withdrawal depending on his past. Remember, none of us are perfect. Only God is. We are still living on a fallen world as fallen creatures. However, one who is truly changed and impacted by the gift of salvation from eternal punishment will show it in their actions in life following. A gradual sign of improvement as their past sinful ways eventually become almost night and day comparatively to their present lifestyle and mindset. This gradual improvement of countering the temptations of sin is something that happens overtime by the help of God.
This transformation of character is the result of God working through the believer by the power of the Holy Spirit after they've been saved now being considered a new creation in God's eyes. So let's reiterate making it crystal clear that the believer is not saved by them wining some battles against temptation and improving overtime by sinning less, but instead is saved the moment they genuinely place their faith entirely on Christ's death and resurrection for the permanent atonement of their sins freeing them from the punishment that they rightfully deserve. What follows is the aforementioned gradual improvement of character as you take on sin and temptation with a new heart and the Holy Spirit.
[Bible Scripture References]
Acts 3:19
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
2 Corinthians 7:10
10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Actually, let me stop at this particular verse (2 Corinthians 7:10) for one second before we move on. What is this particular part of scripture referring to by "Godly sorrow"? Godly sorrow inspires change and hope through the atonement of Jesus Christ. It can be described as spiritual mourning which has a clear focus and desire to confess particular sins. These are sins that you have come to see through the ministry of God’s Word, through God’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit), and/or through God’s people with a heartfelt inspiration to change. Why do you want to change? This desire comes from a new heart wanting to honor the new life that He has given you through Jesus.
So that sums up Godly sorrow, but what about the opposite negative side of this principle? Is there such a thing? A problematic way to feel bad about your sins rooted in a form of guilt that doesn't come from God? Believe it or not, there actually is. This is called "Worldly sorrow". Worldly sorrow drags us down through judgement and self destruction, removing hope, and persuading us to give in to further temptation. It doesn’t move you forward in wanting to improve but instead just makes you feel miserable about yourself. This is why you should exercise awareness of your heart whenever you're in a state of acknowledging your sins.
There's also the ignorant person who [claims] to repent and admit that they are a sinner, but never addresses a single personal sin in their lifetime. This person also doesn’t move forward and is instead stuck with a false and contorted sense of hope. How can they claim to be on the right path of freedom from their sins without ever actually knowing or identifying which sins have been taking over their life? Do they even know what God considers to be sinful? Just something to think about.
Romans 6:1-2
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Okay, let me pause here for a moment. So looking at Romans 6:1-2, God is saying that we need to “die to sin”. That’s how extreme and powerful our declaration of repentance is. He’s not asking you to make a list of every single sin that you’ve ever committed in your lifetime and systematically confess it all in some absurdly long speech. No. He’s telling you to make a genuine declaration that, from this moment forward, you will actively make the effort to live out a life that honors Him through obedience and not by your own selfish or worldly desires. This desire partly comes from knowing the ultimate good that He's done for you through Jesus's sacrifice and wanting to honor that gift in some fashion.
Now again, keep in mind that God doesn’t expect you to be perfect (remember it’s impossible for us to be perfect due to our nature in this fallen world), but He is expecting you to lean on Him fully by confessing and turning away from the very things that are in direct opposition to Him. This is why we don’t just declare Jesus as our savior, we also declare him as our Lord and Savior. He is the Lord of our lives which means master of our lives. When you honor Jesus, you are honoring God as the true authority over your life who is righteous in every conceivable way.
How can you call Jesus Lord and Savior while disobeying His commandments without a single care or concern? You’re either living for Him who saved you or you’re living for yourself. You cannot actively and intentionally do both and yet call yourself a Christian. Always remember that God knows your heart. He knows your intentions. That is to say He knows if you are "truly saved" walking a new life of redemption instead of just claiming to be saved and yet internally pursuing a life of sin without a second thought.
So, can a Christian commit a sin? Of course they can and likely will if they're given enough time left in this life to do so for temptation comes to us all. Can a Christian willfully commit a sin without a single care or concern towards what they've done having no sense of conviction nor guilt afterwards? Likely not as the believer now has God in their lives through the Holy Spirit who is said to convict them and give revelation setting them on the right path. So even when the Christian commits a sin, there will eventually come a time afterwards where some level of conviction will set in as they realize the error of their ways.
[Bible Scripture References]
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
1 John 1:6-9
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 7:
How Does God Help Us On Our Journey?
Here’s the thing that you need to know about living out the life of a believer. We can’t do this by our own strength. We’re simply not strong enough to live out a God-honoring lifestyle of repentance and good works all on our own. Remember Jesus promised when he ascended back to Heaven that the Holy Spirit will be here to help us. That means God ensures us that His Spirit will be here to guide us as our spiritual instructor (to put it in one way). So when you’re declaring to God these things: believing that you are forgiven and saved through Jesus's finished work on the cross as well as genuinely declaring that you will also turn away from your sinful lifestyle, God will fill you with the Holy Spirit.
To put it into more "simpler terms", the moment you're saved is also the moment you receive God's Spirit within you.
[Biblical Scripture References]
John 14:26
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Romans 8:9
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him
Romans 15:13
13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Isiah 11:2
2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD
2 Timothy 1:7
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The idea of opening yourself up to a spirit does sound kinda unnerving and utterly frightening, but that’s only if you’re not aware of what you’re actually opening yourself up to. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who acts as your comforter, teacher, heavenly compass, source of spiritual gifts from God, intercessor (He prays for you), and even protector. Yes, protector. He literally fights for you and demons have no choice but to submit to His authority as they must submit to God.
We live in a world surrounded by an unseen enemy (the devil and his kingdom) who is always on the prowl waiting to drag you down through deception by any means necessary. So we need God’s Holy Spirit to help us through what will undoubtedly be a challenging road ahead. An unseen spiritual battlefield surrounds mankind and has a large influence on what we see going on in the world today. It doesn't take much analytical observation to see the Devil's giant fingerprints covering over several of the sensibilities plaguing humanity today just as it was in ancient times. It's the same temptations simply repackaged for the modern era.
[Bible Scripture References]
1 Peter 5:8
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the forces of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
1 John 4:4
4 He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Now once you receive the Holy Spirit, think of that moment as a new birthday. God will give you a new heart that desires to honor Him and He will begin a great work inside of you. I'd like to think of this as a spiritual detox where all of the corruption of the world gradually comes out of you as you implement a new diet of righteousness. And like anyone implementing a new healthy diet who has only known the taste of junk food throughout their whole life prior, it will certainly be difficult to initially adjust. You’ll slip and fall at times, but by the grace of God, you’ll always have a way back up. God will be with you every step of the way and He will NOT abandon you.
You will have some victories and some defeats along the way. Moments where the temptation was seemingly too much for you to handle despite God making an escape for you and moments where you were able to effectively identity what was happening thanks to the Holy Spirit and avoided falling into a trap. It's a rocky road ahead, but remember God helps straighten our paths. Trust in Him.
[Bible Scripture References]
Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Proverbs 24:16
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Isaiah 40:31
31 But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.
Chapter 8:
The New Life Ahead
Understand that you’re not some robot servant without a will of your own. Remember, you have the freedom of choice in life to genuinely seek God and His kingdom or reject Him as rebellious children stirring up His wrath. You’re either with God or you’re with the Devil in rebellion against God. Again, there is no middle ground. No gray area. Sadly, there are millions of people serving the Devil right now and may not even realize it.
So read and study the Bible as often as you can with daily prayer and ask the Holy Spirit in faith to renew you every morning and guide you throughout. With salvation comes a new life with desires from your creator revealing to you your true intended purpose, identity, and calling in life. It’s absolutely beautiful and transformative. However, you MUST get into the Word of God. This new life that is being built will undoubtably throw multiple obstacles in your way almost relentlessly at times. Complex personal issues whose roots are deeper than what you may think unless God reveals them to you with clarity can become a common thing to expect. Just as our biological bodies have disorders and illnesses that are deep rooted problems manifesting themselves on the surface, so are many of our struggles in this life.
How will you know how to navigate through something new and complex without having a solid foundation to stand on? The Bible (the Word of God) should be seen as that solid foundation just as it's been for those seeking truth and understanding throughout history. And with the Holy Spirit being your heavenly teacher, relationship and vigilance is everything. God wants you to have a relationship with Him in faith and obedience and not just to numbingly follow a bunch of guidelines. Following rules and making pointless traditions out of them without any actual personal connection and insight by God is what some of the religious people did in Jesus’s time and He directly went against them because they were a hollow and prideful lot.
Guys, Christianity isn’t just some “other religion” in a world full of belief systems, it’s true relationship with the one true God that also involves obedience to His ultimately beneficial commands. Seeking Him constantly and putting your trust in Him as He reveals and directs you to many things for His glory is a fundamental part of our life as Christians. This will not be an easy walk in the park. For this is the promise of the Lord: That we WILL face trials and tribulations when walking this life out (referenced in James 1:2-4). But it will be more than worth it when our reward comes for placing our faith in Him being Eternal Life. Our place with Him forever in paradise and peace utterly buries any struggles that we face in this life today.
[Bible Scripture References]
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
James 1:2-4
2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Choosing A Church
When looking for a church, I'd recommend seeing if you can find a Christian church that does not spend its time having everyone just sing songs, chase after spiritual experiences, claim all sorts of signs and wonders that are questionable at best, and then end the day pressuring the congregation to donate money expecting a blessing in return. Remember this, we ought to test what we hear from any person or organization claiming to be following under God's Spirit. For there are many false preachers and prophets out in the world right now aiming to exploit the blind and ignorant for their own gain or are simply misguided in their understanding of scripture.
And yes, some of these people can be found in our very own churches hidden amongst the flock. I would suggest finding a church that focuses heavily on teaching the word of God with zero compromise and diving into it bit by bit never contradicting nor altering it. The church should reflect the Word of God in its actions (meaning it should operate as God intended it to according to His Word) and not being indifferent or problematically mixed up in their behaviors (as we see in Revelations Chapter 2-3) just to appeal to the modern culture. Ask God in prayer to direct you to the right place that truly honors His name and remember to keep personally diving into the Bible with the Holy Spirit as your guide. It also greatly helps to have some trusted Bible Study tools in your arsenal.
Chapter 9:
A Warning About False Christians & False Prophets
We are currently living in the midway point between Jesus leaving after giving us everything that we needed to be saved and the time where His return will result in God's judgement covering over the Earth. The time will soon come where the immoral, unbelieving, and rejectors of Christ will be petrified and in a state of despise at the reality of Jesus, in some fashion, returning to gather all who accepted Him leaving everyone else behind. In addition to these are also the people who call themselves "Christians" but never actually follow the Bible’s teachings and are Christians in name only.
In this large divided group, you will find many including intellectual believers in God, but not true lovers of Christ and of whom do not carry the Holy Spirit within them. They have a general understanding revolving around the gospel but no genuine faith or desire towards the one who saved them. Some of them trust that they are going to Heaven based on simply knowing about Jesus as a historical figure but may not believe in their hearts that they themselves are sinners in need of saving (showing a lack of repentance towards their violations against God).
Within the category of false Christians, there are also the people who present themselves as righteous in the church, yet display an entirely different person outside of the church in their behavior and actions. Some can likely recite Bible verses due to their upbringing and may even show eagerness and energy in their worshipping in church and yet...show no fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) transforming their lives whatsoever. In their hearts, they are void of any genuine faith in Christ and are simply biblically educated and enjoying the environment of the church as a "feel good" community setting.
There is still hope for them as God’s grace does not turn a blind eye towards them in any sense. However, there is a blockage of ignorance towards their spiritual status that they are desperately in need of a reality check on.
You will also find people teaching a false version of the gospel or perhaps even creating their own version of Jesus birthing new heretic religions entirely. These have plagued the world in different forms for centuries whether through certain cults inventing their own savior figure, people using the Bible as a backdrop for proclaimed new revelations being made by false prophets, or entire belief systems forming as a means to destroy the truth about Jesus by contorting the historicity and message of the Bible. Many religions ironically acknowledges Jesus as being a real person with a special position in the world and yet twists his image to suit their false narrative. Some even claim to have gotten insight from an angel or God's spirit, but in truth, they were communing with a fallen angel or deceiving spirit.
In certain corners of the world, you will find preachers who look or sound a certain way that attracts the worldly hearts of unbelievers by presenting a more loosely cultural-approving God who appeals to materialistic prosperity. Some of these may also teach questionable spiritual-driven doctrines that do not reflect anything that is remotely biblically sound. Examples of unbiblical teachings would be teaching people how to acquire/use a spiritual gift, telling people to tithe in order to receive desired blessings, or pushing the idea that believers need the gift of tongues to know that they're saved.
These types of people are a problematic sect as they can falsely lead many who genuinely desire to know God but are sadly vulnerable enough to believe anything being preached by a self-proclaimed messenger of God. You can find them in highly successful mega churches or even some smaller organizations simply reflecting the unbiblical teachings of the times. Look no further than the liars who have the audacity to make prophetic claims attaching God's name as some divine revelation, and despite being proven wrong, manage to wiggle their way out of the full force of well deserved scrutiny. Or how about the con artists who run their own so called "deliverance ministry" claiming that people should come to them in order to have demons delivered out, but in secret, are using actors and emotional manipulation tactics to receive money from bible ignorant followers.
This particular faction of compromising preachers have failed to present the truth that God is a God of holiness and righteousness. And as for the so-called spiritual leaders around the world who claim to hear God on a regular basis with a new revelation or message every few minutes, some of them will dazzle the world by performing false miracles in God’s name in an attempt to confirm their relationship with the Holy Spirit. They too, alongside their instigators, will be troubled when the time of judgement comes (unless they repent). For even the wicked can perform counterfeit miracles and speak in false tongues operating in a power that comes not from God but from deceit.
They will fool many with their theatrical acts, manipulative atmosphere through music and spectacle, and outward appearance, but their prideful schemes, just like the old world and its fallen nature, will eventually come to an eternal end.
Note to Reader: The Bible does not tell us the exact day of Christ's return, although it does give us a few clues to look out for. However, as tempting as it may be for some, this mysterious date isn't for mankind to obsess over filling our minds with countless of absurd conspiracy theories as we've seen throughout history. Instead, our focus should be on ensuring that we are prepared in our hearts for the times ahead keeping firm in our faith and remaining sober minded towards the world and its persecuting and corrupting nature at all times.
[Biblical Scriptures References]
2 Peter 2:3
In their greed, these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
[2 Peter 2 Is An Entire Chapter Dedicated To False Teachers]
Matthew 23:1-29
[An Entire Section Dedicated To Hypocrisy]
Exodus 7:10-11
Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs
Quick little comment here: I absolutely love this passage as it showcases the legitimacy of God's power (through Aaron's staff transforming into a snake) versus the deceiving powers of the world who God was not in association with (Pharaoh's sorcerers attempt to duplicate God). The fact that Aaron's serpent staff consumes theirs is a powerfully symbolic feat showing that God's might will always be above and beyond whatever trickery comes from this world. A magician in league with the Devil or a con artist can perform many accomplishments amazing enough to the ignorant minds of mankind. But what they produce is hollow, empty, and fruitless in the eyes of the Lord who may expose and eradicate it with a single act. I think this is perfectly illustrated in the incident with the serpents and sorcerers here.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22
21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.
Matthew 24:24
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 7:15
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Acts 20:29-30
29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.
2 Peter 3:16-18
16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unscrupulous people and lose your own firm commitment, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
1 John 4:1 & 5
1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.
1 Timothy 4:1-2
4 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
Galatians 1:8
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Colossians 2:18
Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
Jude 1:4
For certain people have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into indecent behavior and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:17-19
17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguised himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
Questions At The End of the Day
Now that you have received the message, do you want what God is offering freely to you right this very moment? Do you need more time to think about it? It is indeed quite a lot to digest, but it may not be wise to further delay to the point of disregard especially knowing that tomorrow is never promised for any of us. And if you do choose to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, are you willing to give everything up for God to live a life that honors Him? Even if it means potentially removing certain pleasures or even certain people that you’ve clung onto all these years? Yes, this will be a huge challenge for many of us and God is very much aware of this which is why He promised to help us along the way through His Word and Spirit.
The choice is ultimately yours of course, but remember that time is ticking on a metaphysical clock that you nor I have any sight or authority over. With this said, I’ll leave you with a comforting hope-filled reminder giving to us through the Psalms, the Book of Romans, and the Book of John.
Psalm 145:18
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord
Romans 10:9-10
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
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