January 26 2014
Would You Be Willing To Help Jesus Save A Soul From The Flames Of Hell?
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
Acts 17:24-31 (NIV)
Does it make sense that the one God would choose to have only one Savior of this world? Many people today believe there are several ways to obtain heaven when we die, not just one! What do you believe? No, really, what do you believe about how a human being can go to heaven when they die? At funeral services we hear messages about how this person who just died will be with the Lord now and are in a better place. This person did nothing obvious that would align them with the God of the Bible, but we still seem to think they are going to heaven!
The selected verses are telling of an account that Paul had with some highly educated men from Greece. These men had come to believe that there were many gods, and that these gods controlled what happened on this earth. These men had built monuments or altars to these gods, and they were worshipping these gods, believing this worship would in some way, either help them in this life, or even to allow them to live in some other life. Paul is trying to convince these learned men that they have been fooled into believing these stories, and that they were following their religious beliefs, which would result in them going to hell when they died.
These people were spending a lot of their time worshipping their invented gods, and they were trying to lead good lives, based upon the teaching about these gods, however, they were wasting their time in such studies, and the result is they would lose their immortal souls, and spend eternity in hell. Today on this earth we still have people seeking to understand a man-made-god, and following rules made up by humans, and their fate is the same as these learned men of the past, they will die and spend eternity in hell! Some people reading this do not likely agree with the summation of this commentary, and will say something like, we do not know who will be saved, only God knows for sure.
The only way we can know for sure that our immortal soul will be spending eternity with God, is by reading His Word, which has been given by the one and only true God, and has been maintained by God, so we can study it and thus, know how we can be saved. The way I have studied it, and have been instructed in it by other believers, I believe it is the only way to be guaranteed to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus! How do you interpret it? Jesus seemed to leave no doubt, when He said that He was the only way for someone to be with the Father in heaven. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Therefore, the sad truth is that there are more people on this earth today who are heading for hell than there are those who have taken on Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and thus, they will end up in heaven. When Jesus walked this earth He saw that was true then too. Jesus felt sadness for such people and He expressed it, and then, He asked His disciples to go be workers in the fields to harvest these souls to be taken to heaven. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:36-38)
Now some good news given to us through Paul that we can read in Romans, first, Paul tells us about the love from God to His disciples. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. (Romans 8:38, NLT) Don’t you like that comment from Paul, “not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.” Now that you must like! With all of that love from God laid on us, you must feel good, and certainly also feel safe!
Then Paul tells us about the safety factor of having God on our side, or maybe it should be stated, as having us on God’s side! Then we can feel secure in this world not really fearing the forces of evil that do exist, because of God’s assurance of receiving the things of this world, because we have obtained God’s protection and allowance. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32) This should not be taken as an assurance that we will be wealthy, because we should not desire fame and fortune in this life. Those desires are worldly ambitions and can result in heartache and pain, if we do not handle it correctly.
Is there someone you could influence to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, thus allowing them to avoid going to hell when they die? This is a big order, but it accomplishes much for you, but mostly for the person(s) you point toward Jesus. Will Jesus someday say to you “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Will you put your God given talents to work in an effort to save someone from the flames of hell? "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:23)
Jesus wants to share His happiness with all of His followers! Come and share your master’s happiness!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"
Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
Acts 17:24-31 (NIV)
Does it make sense that the one God would choose to have only one Savior of this world? Many people today believe there are several ways to obtain heaven when we die, not just one! What do you believe? No, really, what do you believe about how a human being can go to heaven when they die? At funeral services we hear messages about how this person who just died will be with the Lord now and are in a better place. This person did nothing obvious that would align them with the God of the Bible, but we still seem to think they are going to heaven!
The selected verses are telling of an account that Paul had with some highly educated men from Greece. These men had come to believe that there were many gods, and that these gods controlled what happened on this earth. These men had built monuments or altars to these gods, and they were worshipping these gods, believing this worship would in some way, either help them in this life, or even to allow them to live in some other life. Paul is trying to convince these learned men that they have been fooled into believing these stories, and that they were following their religious beliefs, which would result in them going to hell when they died.
These people were spending a lot of their time worshipping their invented gods, and they were trying to lead good lives, based upon the teaching about these gods, however, they were wasting their time in such studies, and the result is they would lose their immortal souls, and spend eternity in hell. Today on this earth we still have people seeking to understand a man-made-god, and following rules made up by humans, and their fate is the same as these learned men of the past, they will die and spend eternity in hell! Some people reading this do not likely agree with the summation of this commentary, and will say something like, we do not know who will be saved, only God knows for sure.
The only way we can know for sure that our immortal soul will be spending eternity with God, is by reading His Word, which has been given by the one and only true God, and has been maintained by God, so we can study it and thus, know how we can be saved. The way I have studied it, and have been instructed in it by other believers, I believe it is the only way to be guaranteed to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus! How do you interpret it? Jesus seemed to leave no doubt, when He said that He was the only way for someone to be with the Father in heaven. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
Therefore, the sad truth is that there are more people on this earth today who are heading for hell than there are those who have taken on Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and thus, they will end up in heaven. When Jesus walked this earth He saw that was true then too. Jesus felt sadness for such people and He expressed it, and then, He asked His disciples to go be workers in the fields to harvest these souls to be taken to heaven. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:36-38)
Now some good news given to us through Paul that we can read in Romans, first, Paul tells us about the love from God to His disciples. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. (Romans 8:38, NLT) Don’t you like that comment from Paul, “not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.” Now that you must like! With all of that love from God laid on us, you must feel good, and certainly also feel safe!
Then Paul tells us about the safety factor of having God on our side, or maybe it should be stated, as having us on God’s side! Then we can feel secure in this world not really fearing the forces of evil that do exist, because of God’s assurance of receiving the things of this world, because we have obtained God’s protection and allowance. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32) This should not be taken as an assurance that we will be wealthy, because we should not desire fame and fortune in this life. Those desires are worldly ambitions and can result in heartache and pain, if we do not handle it correctly.
Is there someone you could influence to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, thus allowing them to avoid going to hell when they die? This is a big order, but it accomplishes much for you, but mostly for the person(s) you point toward Jesus. Will Jesus someday say to you “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Will you put your God given talents to work in an effort to save someone from the flames of hell? "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ (Matthew 25:23)
Jesus wants to share His happiness with all of His followers! Come and share your master’s happiness!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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