September 16th 2018
Heaven Is An Award Not A Reward! It Is A Matter Of Your Eternal Life!
Romans 3:3-4 (NIV)
What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
Jesus died as the atonement for all the sins committed by all of mankind, which means no matter what sins you commit in your lifetime will not exclude you from possibly going to heaven when you die. Yes, there could be some disagreement on this statement, as there are listed some unforgivable sins in the Bible, but at least generally speaking the sins we commit in our lifetime are being pardoned by God, IF you have identified Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! As John has written if we confess our sins to God, and we are truly sorry for offending Him, we can be forgiven. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9). So, if we confess our sins to Jesus and we work on repentance, Jesus “is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is mercy, it is not justice! Any sin you commit in this lifetime, if not forgiven by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, will cause you to go to hell when you die!
Jesus came to this earth to fulfill a requirement of God the Father, which required a perfect sacrifice of a sinless member of mankind to be the blood sacrifice for all the sins of mankind. God gave us a picture of such a sacrifice to the Israelites as He had them bring perfect animals to sacrifice for their sins. These sacrifices were a precursor of Jesus coming to supply that perfect sacrifice of a sinless member of mankind. Paul wrote about how Jesus came as the replacement for Adam to be that perfect sacrifice required, so all of mankind could be saved. If Adam would not have sinned, then there would have been no need of a Savior, which of course, Jesus is! So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. (1Corinthians 15:45-47). This is the salvation plan that God requires, there is no other way for a member of mankind to go to heaven when we die.
Jesus warned His followers to not be hypocritical and judge other members of mankind harshly, for we too are sinners, and we fall short of being the good Samaritan, so to speak in helping others in need, and we continue to sin, even after claiming Jesus as our lord and Savior. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5). Jesus is saying here, get your life in order, before you criticize others for doing the same things you are doing! To really help others you must first get a clearer view of their problems by getting your vision straightened out first.
In the selected verses of this commentary, Paul is telling us that God is always faithful to us, even to those who have little or no faith. It seems a person can wait until they have a near-death experience, and then accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and still be given eternal life with Jesus. What do you believe about this idea? Some people say it is unfair that a person can claim Jesus at the end of their life, and still gain salvation. However, think about this in a different thought process, where when you claim salvation through Jesus, you get to experience that total freedom for the rest of your life. To me, that is a lot better than to live your life in a worldly fashion, until just before you die. The freedom of knowing your salvation was assured a long time ago is very freeing and offers the only true freedom in your lifetime. Paul also gives us a positive earthly assurance too. As Paul wrote, "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Think about it, if you are truly covered by salvation, then your judgements “may” be correct, if you allow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your judgements!
Paul wrote about true wisdom, which is offered to believers by God. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1Corinthians 1:17-21).
Wisdom on this earth is truly limited, as most so-called knowledge is limited by the belief, or worldview, of the member of mankind, who is considered the teacher or preacher. I believe the “end times” started when Jesus came to dwell on this earth! Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a preacher and told him a little about how people will become in the last days. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2Timothy 3:1-5). Notice the starting point that Paul gives for when people start to go wrong, when he wrote they will be “disobedient to their parents!” So, as infants the problem of disobedience starts not when they become teenagers, as some seem to think!
Reading this discourse from Paul certainly makes me think of the stuff I see in the current news every day. Remember, these verses were written many years ago, and would seem to be related to the times then, when Paul was writing to Timothy. Acting like you believe may fool many people, but it will never fool God, and cause Him to accept your profession of faith in His Son as the promised Messiah of this world. If you have questions about who this Jesus is, study your Bible, and attempt to understand that Jesus is who He says He is. If you still have questions, ask people who share a pew with you at the church of your choice. Ask the pastor of your church for his or her personal wisdom about this matter of Who is Jesus! It is a matter of your eternal life!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Romans 3:3-4 (NIV)
What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
Jesus died as the atonement for all the sins committed by all of mankind, which means no matter what sins you commit in your lifetime will not exclude you from possibly going to heaven when you die. Yes, there could be some disagreement on this statement, as there are listed some unforgivable sins in the Bible, but at least generally speaking the sins we commit in our lifetime are being pardoned by God, IF you have identified Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior! As John has written if we confess our sins to God, and we are truly sorry for offending Him, we can be forgiven. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9). So, if we confess our sins to Jesus and we work on repentance, Jesus “is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” This is mercy, it is not justice! Any sin you commit in this lifetime, if not forgiven by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, will cause you to go to hell when you die!
Jesus came to this earth to fulfill a requirement of God the Father, which required a perfect sacrifice of a sinless member of mankind to be the blood sacrifice for all the sins of mankind. God gave us a picture of such a sacrifice to the Israelites as He had them bring perfect animals to sacrifice for their sins. These sacrifices were a precursor of Jesus coming to supply that perfect sacrifice of a sinless member of mankind. Paul wrote about how Jesus came as the replacement for Adam to be that perfect sacrifice required, so all of mankind could be saved. If Adam would not have sinned, then there would have been no need of a Savior, which of course, Jesus is! So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. (1Corinthians 15:45-47). This is the salvation plan that God requires, there is no other way for a member of mankind to go to heaven when we die.
Jesus warned His followers to not be hypocritical and judge other members of mankind harshly, for we too are sinners, and we fall short of being the good Samaritan, so to speak in helping others in need, and we continue to sin, even after claiming Jesus as our lord and Savior. "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:1-5). Jesus is saying here, get your life in order, before you criticize others for doing the same things you are doing! To really help others you must first get a clearer view of their problems by getting your vision straightened out first.
In the selected verses of this commentary, Paul is telling us that God is always faithful to us, even to those who have little or no faith. It seems a person can wait until they have a near-death experience, and then accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and still be given eternal life with Jesus. What do you believe about this idea? Some people say it is unfair that a person can claim Jesus at the end of their life, and still gain salvation. However, think about this in a different thought process, where when you claim salvation through Jesus, you get to experience that total freedom for the rest of your life. To me, that is a lot better than to live your life in a worldly fashion, until just before you die. The freedom of knowing your salvation was assured a long time ago is very freeing and offers the only true freedom in your lifetime. Paul also gives us a positive earthly assurance too. As Paul wrote, "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Think about it, if you are truly covered by salvation, then your judgements “may” be correct, if you allow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your judgements!
Paul wrote about true wisdom, which is offered to believers by God. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. (1Corinthians 1:17-21).
Wisdom on this earth is truly limited, as most so-called knowledge is limited by the belief, or worldview, of the member of mankind, who is considered the teacher or preacher. I believe the “end times” started when Jesus came to dwell on this earth! Paul wrote to Timothy who was becoming a preacher and told him a little about how people will become in the last days. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2Timothy 3:1-5). Notice the starting point that Paul gives for when people start to go wrong, when he wrote they will be “disobedient to their parents!” So, as infants the problem of disobedience starts not when they become teenagers, as some seem to think!
Reading this discourse from Paul certainly makes me think of the stuff I see in the current news every day. Remember, these verses were written many years ago, and would seem to be related to the times then, when Paul was writing to Timothy. Acting like you believe may fool many people, but it will never fool God, and cause Him to accept your profession of faith in His Son as the promised Messiah of this world. If you have questions about who this Jesus is, study your Bible, and attempt to understand that Jesus is who He says He is. If you still have questions, ask people who share a pew with you at the church of your choice. Ask the pastor of your church for his or her personal wisdom about this matter of Who is Jesus! It is a matter of your eternal life!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|