Category: hell and lake of fire

Heart Service #8

Saturday, May 3, 2014

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6:17 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is the key to being delivered from and guarded against today’s apostate Christendom.

Religion—that is, ceremonies, rites, rituals, et cetera—is very appealing to our flesh—that is, our natural tendency to rebel against God’s Word and will. Israel was guilty of “being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness” and having “not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3). The Apostle Paul knew this firsthand. When he was a Jewish religious leader—and a lost man!—he had done more religious works than probably anyone else in his day. Read his “worthless religious résumé” found in Philippians 3:4-6. If anyone could brag about all his achievements in religion, it was Saul of Tarsus!

Now, writing as a saved man—that is, saved from himself, his useless religion, his sins, eternal hellfire, and Satan’s policy of evil—the Apostle Paul informed: “But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead” (verses 7-11).

On the road to Damascus, in Acts chapter 9, Saul of Tarsus had died to self, and he submitted to God’s righteousness. Jesus Christ Himself appeared to Saul from heaven, and he relied exclusively on the Gospel of Grace revealed to him there. Over 30 years later (the context of Philippians), Paul was still attempting to fathom Christ’s resurrection life given him….

Heart Service #3

Sunday, April 27, 2014

“But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you” (Romans 6:17 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is the key to being delivered from and guarded against today’s apostate Christendom.

Dearly beloved, we avoid today’s apostate Christendom by hearkening unto today’s Scripture, a verse that, had Christendom followed, could have prevented them from winding up in the mess in which they are today! They rejected “that form of doctrine which was delivered [them]” through the Apostle Paul. Like Israel in Jesus’ day, Christendom still prefers to follow the traditions of men (Mark 7:1-13). Sinful man never improves anything God does; he only spoils it.

The Romans were pagan Gentiles, lost and going to hell. The, they heard Paul’s Gospel of Grace—Jesus Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—and they believed it with their heart (today’s Scripture; Romans 10:10). They were no longer slaves to sin and Satan, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:11)! It was not their efforts, their struggles, that saved them from their sins, so it would never be their performance, their struggles, that caused their Christian lives to operate. Religious rites, rituals, ceremonies, program-building, organization-forming, denomination-starting, that was not the Christian life, the grace life, the life of Christ living in and through those who believed His grace doctrines revealed in and through Paul. Nay, those were counterfeit good works.

“With the heart man believeth unto righteousness” (Romans 10:10a). Just as we were saved unto eternal life by trusting Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork at sufficient payment for our sins (today’s Scripture), so we trust Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork (His resurrection life) as our means for victory over daily sins. Only God Almighty can see into our hearts (2 Chronicles 6:30; Psalm 26:2; Romans 8:27; Hebrews 4:12; et al.)—He is most certainly capable of seeing who has faith in His Word to them, and who is merely religious (fleshly, living in their own strength). He can see if it is truly “Christ liveth in us” (Galatians 2:20), or just vain religious tradition….

Excruciating Thursday

[Reader discretion advised: Christ’s sufferings are graphically described below.]

Thursday, April 17, 2014

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9 KJV).

His three years of earthly ministry have expired, but His greatest work is yet to come!

During the all-night interrogation in the “kangaroo court,” His sentence is passed—execution by crucifixion. They have scourged, beaten, and punched Him. Covered in their spit, they laugh at Him, and strike His head with a rod to force on the crown of thorns. His back shredded, His skull possibly fractured, His beard ripped off. His massive blood loss weakens Him further. Having been stripped of His clothing, He struggles to carry His heavy cross to Mount Calvary: Simon must carry His cross for Him. The crowds watch Him, laughing and jeering. His little flock looks on in total shock.

They lay Him on the wooden cross, yanking His limbs to nail them in place. His bones unbroken, but exposed, and His limbs dislocated. They pierce His hands and feet with long spikes, severing the median nerve in the hands, causing permanent hand paralysis. They raise up that cross, and He hangs, slowly suffocating due to His own weight. Every breath becomes increasingly difficult, His lungs fill with fluid, His heart becomes progressively strained. Eventually, He cannot breathe, and thus dies.

Now imagine His spiritual suffering. Three hours into His crucifixion, His heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost have abandoned Him. For the first time ever, He is totally alone. Physical and spiritual darkness now cover the earth. The weight of all the world’s sin and sins of all time crushes His soul. God’s undiluted wrath falls upon Him, as it does on those suffering in hellfire. He cries out in agony. Hanging on that cruel cross, with His spiritual eyes, He observes Satan himself and all his evil creatures snickering and cheering. He looks out to see His disciples staring at His helpless disfigured body. Oh, if only they knew how His physical and spiritual bodies were being tormented, utterly tortured beyond imagination!

After six hours of excruciating pain, He finally lets Himself die….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Was Jesus Christ really crucified on Friday?” 

Fishers of Men #6

Thursday, April 10, 2014

“And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes” (John 21:6 KJV).

Today’s Scripture foretells the greatest fishing trip Israel’s apostles will ever enjoy!

As the apostles drag to shore the nets of fish that Jesus Christ told them to catch in His power, He invites them to eat with Him—He has already cooked fish and bread for them! “Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise” (verses 12,13).

Remember, as fishers of men, Israel’s apostles still have more “catching” to do. After our dispensation, after the seven-year Tribulation, and just before Christ’s earthly kingdom is established, Israel’s apostles will be bodily resurrected (see Matthew 19:27-30 and Luke 22:28-30, for example), and they will fulfill Matthew 28:19,20. They—yea, all of believing Israel—will evangelize the nations. (This is why the Gentile name for the Sea of Galilee was used in John 21:1).

Why did Jesus tell them to throw their net on the right side (today’s Scripture)? Matthew 25:31-46 says when Christ returns to earth (His Second Coming), He will set on his right hand believing Gentiles who blessed Israel during the seven-year Tribulation and He will set unbelieving Gentiles on his left hand (verses 32,33). Only believing Gentiles—those on His right hand—will be allowed to enter His earthly kingdom (verses 34,46); all of redeemed Israel will then minister to them. The unbelieving Gentiles—those on His left hand—are cast into everlasting hellfire (verses 41,46).

In accordance with John’s theme, Christ’s final miracle is Him empowering Israel’s believing remnant, particularly her apostles, to catch the souls of Gentiles. They will “bring them to shore to Him” so that they too dine with Him (see Isaiah 2:1-5; Zechariah 8:20-23; Matthew 8:11; cf. Matthew 26:29), and enjoy the salvation that He offers them through Israel! The miracle of today’s Scripture symbolizes the climax of God’s prophetic program, when Israel’s believing remnant becomes fishers of men….

Bible Study 102 #8

Thursday, March 13, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

When Scripture says we Christians are “workmen” (today’s Scripture), Ephesians 2:10 (“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”) and 1 Corinthians 3:9 (“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building”) explain that God has saved us unto eternal life so we could join Him in accomplishing His will (which we could not do when we were lost, headed for eternal hellfire, participants in Satan’s policy of evil).

Recall that God has a two-fold will: save all people from their sins and Satan, and then save all Christians from all false doctrine (1 Timothy 2:4). Satan has a two-fold will that counters God’s: hide the Gospel of Grace from all people, and hide sound Pauline (grace) doctrine from all Christians. Religious tradition—a non-dispensational approach the Scripture—furthers Satan’s policy of evil, for it keeps lost people lost, and it keeps Christians ignorant of God’s will, His Word to them.

Satan, “the god of this world,” “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,” by causing lost people to ignore Paul’s Gospel and trust in their own religious performance to gain a right standing before God (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). Moreover, Satan misleads Christians to introduce into their lives everything but God’s grace to them in Christ—the wrong “Jesus” (His earthly ministry in Matthew through John, rather than His heavenly ministry as revealed through Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), the wrong “spirit” (law rather than grace, Romans 6:14 cf. Romans 8:15), and the wrong “gospel” (Israel’s kingdom gospel rather the Gospel of Grace of 1 Corinthians 15:3,4) (2 Corinthians 11:3,4).

We Christians are “workmen” when we “study… rightly dividing the word of truth,” and our faith in those verses causes the Holy Spirit to bring them to life in our lives, thus aligning us with God’s will for us….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should Christians observe Lent?“

Bible Study 102 #3

Saturday, March 8, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Many professing Christians spend their whole earthly lives struggling to discern God’s will. They observe their circumstances and attempt to “read between the lines and discern road signs,” they listen for instruction from “still, small voices” in their heads, they ask preachers and teachers (who rarely understand God’s will themselves), they purchase “Christian” literature and “easy-to-read” modern “bible” versions, they attend retreats and Bible conferences, they pray, and it is truly unfortunate that, despite all the effort, they often leave this life without ever getting a solid grasp of God’s Word to them. Most tragically, many not only die without understanding the Bible, but they even die in their trespasses and sins, having never realized they could have had those sins forgiven in and through Jesus Christ!

God’s will for each and every person is clearly delineated in 1 Timothy 2:4: “[God our Saviour; verse 3] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” There are two specific phrases to note: “Who will have all men to be saved” and “Who will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (Remember, “men” is a generic term that includes all people—man, woman, boy, and girl.)

Firstly, God wants all people to be saved from their sins and eternal hellfire. The Apostle Peter elaborated on the Apostle Paul’s words: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Secondly, God wants all Christians to be saved from false teaching. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Let us now briefly examine the first aspect of God’s two-fold plan for man….

Bible Study 101 #2

Monday, January 6, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to study the Bible!

Let us begin by addressing three common misconceptions about Bible-studying and Bible-quoting. Firstly, everything in the Bible does not belong to us—we cannot grab any verse, rip it out of context, and attempt to claim or apply it (this is how a denomination begins). Secondly, just because someone quotes the Bible does not mean that he or she is serving the God of the Bible. Thirdly, even false churches quote the Bible to some extent, so a “Bible-preaching” church is not necessarily a church worth attending or joining.

Did you know that Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus Christ? In Matthew 4:5,6 and Luke 4:9-11, Satan demonstrated that he knows the Bible, and if it furthers his policy of evil, he will actually quote Scripture and encourage others to quote it (of course, Satan also ignores the context of the verses he quotes). Upon studying the passage Satan quoted to Jesus (Psalm 91:11,12), we learn that angels will come at Jesus’ Second Coming (Satan quoted the passage as though it applied to Christ’s First Coming, but Jesus knew better and was not misled).

How many deceived souls have gone to hell after having trusted Acts 2:38—“repent and be baptized” (Scripture!)—as though it were our plan of salvation today? How many Christians have used the Mosaic Law (Scripture!) to follow the Galatians into apostasy, making naught the grace of God in their lives and causing themselves misery and defeat (Romans 6:14,15; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:1-3)? How many church members follow Peter and the other eleven apostles’ teachings (Scripture!), and completely miss that the Apostle Paul’s epistles are written to them as Gentiles (Romans 11:13)?

One cannot simply be Scriptural, for even Satan is “Scriptural;” one must also be dispensational. God has more than one people, one program, and one operating system in His Word. Today’s Scripture says we must understand the divisions God has made in His Word….

A Life That Will Please

Saturday, January 4, 2014

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

Today’s Scripture tells us who alone can live a life pleasing in God’s sight!

Everyone does “good” deeds. Yet, doing “good” is not necessarily good. For instance, people often do “good” just to receive praise/reward, make up for their wrongs, feel good, et cetera. Furthermore, despite our “good” deeds, we have plenty more bad ones! Pride, lying, evil thoughts, being a false witness, and being contentious are some of the things the LORD hates (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Mankind cannot even keep 10 simple rules from God. However, religion continues to urge us to keep seven sacraments, utter various prayers, give assorted offerings and “tithes,” attend numerous feasts and festivals, and perform sundry other tasks to “hopefully” please God and avoid hellfire. Whether we attempt to keep a church’s laws, our laws, or God’s laws, our flesh is far too weak to ever measure up. Just look at what God’s religion did to Israel—how much worse some man-made religion does to us!

As Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, a religious leader of Israel. He was a nitpicker concerning Law-keeping, and yet, after his soul salvation, he admitted that all of his religion was “but dung” compared to Jesus Christ’s righteousness (Philippians 3:3-11). Even for the Christian, to live a perfect life is impossible (read of Paul’s miserable existence in Romans chapter 7). Paul had to forsake his vain religion and learn today’s Scripture: the Christian life is NOT the performance of the Christian, but the Lord Jesus Christ living and working in the Christian, as the Christian walks in an intelligent understanding of God’s Word to him or her!

If we trust a Saviour who will save—the Lord Jesus Christ—and trust a Book that will teach—the King James Bible—we can redeem the year for the great God and our Saviour, “who loved [us], and gave himself for [us]!”

A Saviour Who Will Save

Thursday, January 2, 2014

“…Jesus Christ of Nazareth… Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10,12 KJV).

Today’s Scripture tells us who alone can save man from the everlasting hellfire he deserves!

A frequent objection made against Christianity is that every religion has “good” members, and to ignore them and limit heaven to a few Christians is unfair. This is a defected notion. How does one arrive at a definite conclusion when there is no one standard to gauge everyone’s “goodness?” They are “good” according to whom, according to what standard? Remember, relative morality actually does not help the sinner—he may be a “better” sinner than another, but he is also a “worse” sinner than yet another, and whether “better” or “worse,” he is still a sinner!

The God of the Bible has a simple method for determining righteousness. Today, He sees two types of people—saints and lost people. While both groups were born in sins (Ephesians 2:1-3), “shapen in iniquity [in the womb]” (Psalm 51:5), and “condemned already” (John 3:18), only the saints have come to realize their lost state. Job asked in Job 9:2, “How should a man be just [righteous, acceptable] with God?” Saints have come to the acknowledgement that they needed God’s righteousness, that they had a massive sin debt that they could never satisfy, that their “righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6), that they could never possibly make themselves right before a holy God (He is the standard; Romans 3:23). The lost people, however, do not realize they are lost, for they believe their religious works “score points” with God and make up for their sinful deeds (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). They ignore the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for their sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).

Saints have come by faith to Jesus Christ, whose name literally means, “Anointed Saviour” (cf. Psalm 2:2; Matthew 1:21). As the writer of the book of Hebrews said, “[Jesus] is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him” (7:25). Literally, no world religion has such a “Saviour” as Jesus Christ!

The Misunderstood Messiah #5

Monday, December 30, 2013

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Once Christ replied with sound doctrine (verses 42-47), Israel’s religious leaders simply resorted to name-calling again (verse 48): “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” A Samaritan was half-Jew/half-Gentile, and “the Jews [had] no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Notice Jesus was insulted twice more—they called Him a “Samaritan” and “devil possessed.” Throughout the rest of John chapter 8, Israel’s religious leaders continue arguing with Jesus and nearly stone Him to death (verse 59)!

Why did Jesus not simply “zap” these religionists and instantly throw them into hellfire? They belittled and blasphemed Him several times in this one account, and then attempted to murder Him, but rather than Jesus killing them with His spoken word (which would have been justified), He only conversed with them. Why?

Remember, when the Apostles James and John saw how the Samaritans refused to accommodate Jesus, they asked Him if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven and consume those sinners, He replied, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:55,56). This First Coming of Christ was His “meek and lowly” coming: He did not come to judge man’s sins, but to die for them!

Even today, God is still not pouring out His wrath on wicked mankind (2 Corinthians 5:19), creatures who still snicker at Jesus Christ, deceive others in His name, persecute His saints, ignore His Word, and “rub His nose” in their sins. Lost mankind is wasting God’s grace and mercy that He is offering so freely. When His grace is finally exhausted, the undiluted wrath that has accumulated will finally be poured out (His Second Coming). May we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour now so we have our sins forgiven now, lest we face that angry, righteous God in judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)!