Do you know that most people who are perishing and going to hell are the ones who don't care? Those who simply don't care what will happen after they die.
Not necessary the bad ones as lots of sinners in the time of Jesus repented and came to Him for forgiveness. Also the " apparently" 'good' ones are the most 'endangered'. I say 'apparently' as they give all the impression of being good and think of themselves as good people.
Luke 18;11-14 talks about one example
"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The Bible says no one of us is good enough on our own, and the 'righteous' to themselves need to see they also need a Savior. The other careless group of people is the one enjoying only the present time and for whom all the worldly things seem to take over.
Happy as long as there is a good retirement plan, but what about the eternal plan of salvation ? Nobody said you will die at the age of 90 so you have time to wait, God can call you earlier at the age of 40 or 50 or any other time. It might be by surprise.
We read that those who don't know Christ will pay the price. A severe, terrible price. In referring to this price Jesus is talking in Matthew 24;38-20
"For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man."
The parable is clear. A message of judgement was proclaimed at the times of Noah as it is now. People didn't listen much at that time, people don't care much in these days. People could be saved in Noah' s ark, people can be saved in Jesus now. There came judgement of flood, next there will come the judgement of fire.
"In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thessalonians 1;8-9
Whoever was to hide in the wooden ark was to be saved, whoever will hide in Jesus and His cross will be saved.
If God didn't give up the judgement in Noah's generation, He is also not going to give it up at Christ's return. In both situations people had enough time to change and choose life with God Until Christ comes it is your time to get right with God. Don't put it off so you wouldn't have to be taken by surprise.
"But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment." 2 Peter 3;10
The era of Noah was a sad one. People on earth did what God said was evil, and violence was everywhere.. Gen 6;11
Such rebellion was breaking God's heart. He even regretted creating it.
Only Noah and his family responded to His call and they and the animals were saved. Whoever responds to Christ's call will be saved also.
When the door of the ark was closed and it started to rain- it was too late for anybody else. When Christ will come second time, the door will be closed as well.If you don't know Him you will pay the severe price.
You would ask, why should I know Him? Are you sure there is such a place as hell? Isn't God love? How would He sent anybody there?
His justice and holiness requires the punishment of sin.
When Christ was teaching thirteen percent of the of His teaching is about judgement and hell. More than half of His parables refer to God's eternal judgement of sinners. No one spoke of hell more than Christ did. He spoke about it so much to let you know where you don't have to go if you put your trust in Him!
He is our high priest interceding for us. You need to be forgiven to be able to avoid God's eternal punishment. And that sin- forgiveness is only from Jesus.
God is giving everybody a chance, a chance to escape the horror of eternal hell, and if you choose to ignore it, there will be no mercy after Christ return.
We all celebrate Easter, we all know what happened before Easter, we know Jesus had to go through lots of pain, cross and experience of separation from God. If God's judgement wasn't real and wasn't terrible, Christ wouldn't have to worry about saving us from that. We would die for our sin, God would resurrect us and say, " I forgive you" and that's it. If God's Son experienced the separation from God and pain, surely will those who will die without Him.
Don't choose the worldly things to captivate your minds so much and become careless person.
You might know Jesus ' dead' only on the cross and you don't know how much your life depends on Him. Get to know the real resurrected Christ who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
When John saw Jesus on the island of Patmos, he was amazed. John's encounter was far too different from any in Galilee. The impression was so powerful that John was knocked out cold." When I saw Him I fell in a dead faint at his feet." Rev 1;17
John describes; "He was dressed in a long robe and had a gold band around His chest.". The significance of the robe and band is great. Jesus is wearing the clothing of a priest who presents people to God and God to people. He is at the right hand of God interceding. Rom 8;34
He is the one who can wipe away your guilt. He is the one who doesn't want you to perish.
We also see absolute strength. "His feet were like bronze that glows hot in a furnace" Rev 1;15
He comes to you gentle.
"His voice like a noise of a flooding water." The sound of His voice soothes a soul.
"Coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword" Rev 1;16
The truth of His voice pierces a soul.
He knows everything about you, He knows your heart, every thought, every sin of yours and wants to wipe it away when you come to Him. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrew 4;12
He doesn't want you to experience judgement;
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." John 5;24
He wants to give you life;John 10;10
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10;10
He laid His life for you;
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" John 10;11
He is alive and He is definitely coming again;
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen." Rev 1;7
Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flood. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
All about salvation
Who will be saved?
There is no universal salvation, some will be saved and others lost. The Bible says that the day to separate one from the other will come for sure. This is the day to separate grain from the chaff, the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats. Each person will be classified into one or the other group. The Holy Bible says that in many places. Therefore, I do not accept the thesis of universal salvation. The question is: Are you between the saved or the lost ones?
To emphasize the importance of this issue, I must refer to the parable of the wheat and the tares and the parable of the fishing. We do not have to find our own interpretation of these parables, the Lord explained them to us clearly Himself. Wheat - says Jesus - symbolizes the children of God, and the tares - the children of Satan. The servants wanted to root out the tares and to leave the wheat , but Jesus said: "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
(Matt. 13: 30).
How long will they grow together? Until the harvest. When will be the harvest? When the Lord says it is time for that. That means, while we are on this earth there will be wheat and tares, children of God and children of Satan. If we all were to be saved, the weeds would have to be turned into the wheat. But the Bible says the tares are tares, they are not intended to be saved, but will be collected in bundles and burned.
The same lesson is in the parable about fishing. The fisherman catches the good and bad fish. In the sea there are also bad fish.The sea is the Kingdom, the visible church - and it has also unbelievers ( or fake believers) in it who are like bad fish in a net. The separation does not take place earlier than at the end of the ages( whenever the Lord decides). Then the good will be separated from the bad. Not everyone will be saved.
"Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who commit iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear! (Matt. 13: 41-43).
"Angels shall come forth, and separate the wicked from the righteous" (Matt. 13: 49).
"And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [...]. Then He`shall say to those on his left hand, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels [...].
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25: 32-34, 41, 46).
Our Lord says that the angels will separate the sinful from the righteous, The sheep will be set on his right and the goats on the left. To ones He will say, "Come, ye blessed ones " to the others He will says : "Depart from me, ye cursed ones ." Thus, if there is a separation, not everyone will be saved. The question is are you between the saved or the lost ones?
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7: 13 - 14). So many are on the broad road and not too many on the narrow.
"But, how God of love - you would say - may take so many for destruction?!
Let me ask you a question: Do you remember from the Bible when God allowed for so many to go to destruction? Yes, there was such a time. It was the time of the flood. Only eight people were saved, and all the others were killed. So many were lost in the waves of the flood.Their salvation was in the ark God told Noah to build but only Noah's family hid in there.
If God had already done so, is it difficult to accept that the judgement will happen again? Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? How many people survived? Only three. There were only three righteous people God led out of the city before He destroyed it. All the others were killed. If God judged the wicked ones for the second time, He will surely carry on His judgement for the third time. Unfortunately the vast majority is rejecting the only savior Jesus Christ and so they will be lost.
Why today so many are walking on that wide road that leads to destruction? The vast majority have no idea at all about the Gospel ...
Most people do not have Jesus Christ in their lives. And which group do you belong to?
Many of those who expect to be saved- relying on their own righteousness, not on the God - will be lost
This is the saddest fact, but some of those who confidently expect that they will be in heaven, they will be not there.
Those who deceived themselves, were not looking for the truth but were holding on to Satan's lies regarding their salvation. It is a faith that is rejecting God's grace, relying on your own righteousness, faith without Christ the Savior, when the doors of mercy are closed.
"Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I tell them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness "(Matthew 7: 21-23).
Make sure you are building on the one foundation that is Jesus Christ.
Do you let yourself be deceived by false teachings that are not rooted in God's word. You might have been listening to the Gospel all your life but never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You might have been raised in a Christian home, attending Bible classes and were active member of the church but never really received Jesus as your Savior. There is no salvation without Jesus.
There is no universal salvation, some will be saved and others lost. The Bible says that the day to separate one from the other will come for sure. This is the day to separate grain from the chaff, the good from the bad, the sheep from the goats. Each person will be classified into one or the other group. The Holy Bible says that in many places. Therefore, I do not accept the thesis of universal salvation. The question is: Are you between the saved or the lost ones?
To emphasize the importance of this issue, I must refer to the parable of the wheat and the tares and the parable of the fishing. We do not have to find our own interpretation of these parables, the Lord explained them to us clearly Himself. Wheat - says Jesus - symbolizes the children of God, and the tares - the children of Satan. The servants wanted to root out the tares and to leave the wheat , but Jesus said: "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
(Matt. 13: 30).
How long will they grow together? Until the harvest. When will be the harvest? When the Lord says it is time for that. That means, while we are on this earth there will be wheat and tares, children of God and children of Satan. If we all were to be saved, the weeds would have to be turned into the wheat. But the Bible says the tares are tares, they are not intended to be saved, but will be collected in bundles and burned.
The same lesson is in the parable about fishing. The fisherman catches the good and bad fish. In the sea there are also bad fish.The sea is the Kingdom, the visible church - and it has also unbelievers ( or fake believers) in it who are like bad fish in a net. The separation does not take place earlier than at the end of the ages( whenever the Lord decides). Then the good will be separated from the bad. Not everyone will be saved.
"Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who commit iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear! (Matt. 13: 41-43).
"Angels shall come forth, and separate the wicked from the righteous" (Matt. 13: 49).
"And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [...]. Then He`shall say to those on his left hand, Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels [...].
Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
(Matthew 25: 32-34, 41, 46).
Our Lord says that the angels will separate the sinful from the righteous, The sheep will be set on his right and the goats on the left. To ones He will say, "Come, ye blessed ones " to the others He will says : "Depart from me, ye cursed ones ." Thus, if there is a separation, not everyone will be saved. The question is are you between the saved or the lost ones?
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(Matthew 7: 13 - 14). So many are on the broad road and not too many on the narrow.
"But, how God of love - you would say - may take so many for destruction?!
Let me ask you a question: Do you remember from the Bible when God allowed for so many to go to destruction? Yes, there was such a time. It was the time of the flood. Only eight people were saved, and all the others were killed. So many were lost in the waves of the flood.Their salvation was in the ark God told Noah to build but only Noah's family hid in there.
If God had already done so, is it difficult to accept that the judgement will happen again? Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? How many people survived? Only three. There were only three righteous people God led out of the city before He destroyed it. All the others were killed. If God judged the wicked ones for the second time, He will surely carry on His judgement for the third time. Unfortunately the vast majority is rejecting the only savior Jesus Christ and so they will be lost.
Why today so many are walking on that wide road that leads to destruction? The vast majority have no idea at all about the Gospel ...
Most people do not have Jesus Christ in their lives. And which group do you belong to?
Many of those who expect to be saved- relying on their own righteousness, not on the God - will be lost
This is the saddest fact, but some of those who confidently expect that they will be in heaven, they will be not there.
Those who deceived themselves, were not looking for the truth but were holding on to Satan's lies regarding their salvation. It is a faith that is rejecting God's grace, relying on your own righteousness, faith without Christ the Savior, when the doors of mercy are closed.
"Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then I tell them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness "(Matthew 7: 21-23).
Make sure you are building on the one foundation that is Jesus Christ.
Do you let yourself be deceived by false teachings that are not rooted in God's word. You might have been listening to the Gospel all your life but never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You might have been raised in a Christian home, attending Bible classes and were active member of the church but never really received Jesus as your Savior. There is no salvation without Jesus.
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