Category: eternal death

Reconciliation, Imputation, and Salvation #13

Saturday, June 29, 2013

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Soul salvation from everlasting hellfire is the Holy Bible’s most important doctrine, so let us be particularly careful with today’s Scripture.

Let us summarize the mechanics of soul salvation:

  • SEPARATION – Sin separates man from God: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
  • GRACE – Everything God can do for you—not what you can do for God—through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
  • RECONCILIATION #1 (God’s work) – The Gospel of God’s Grace declares He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for man’s sins, to suffer His wrath against man’s wickedness: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (today’s Scripture).
  • RECONCILIATION #2 (man’s faith) – Each individual should trust Jesus Christ’s performance at Calvary as sufficient payment for his or her sins (PROPITIATION; Romans 3:25); otherwise, the individual will continue on his or her way to eternal hellfire (DAMNATION; Romans 2:8-11). “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20b).
  • REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS – Jesus Christ’s blood pays the price to free the Christian from sin’s power and penalty. “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7ab).
  • IMPUTATION – By faith, Jesus Christ’s righteousness is applied to the believer’s account. “But for us also, to whom it [righteousness] shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24).
  • JUSTIFICATION – One who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone as personal Saviour is now “made the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21b).
  • SALVATION – The Christian’s deliverance from sin, death, hell, and the lake of fire: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Let us begin to conclude this devotionals arc….

Liberated!

Saturday, May 11, 2013

“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26 KJV).

There is something far worse than physical captivity….

Our nation was shocked to recently discover that, right here in the United States, four individuals were held captive and abused for several years. We will never fully understand the intense, extensive trauma those poor women endured. We need to pray for their soul salvation, that they trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone as their personal Saviour. The only way they can recover and return to any type of “normal” life is to have the Lord Jesus Christ’s hope and grace.

Just as physical captivity afflicts our bodies of flesh and blood, today’s Scripture speaks of a spiritual captivity whereby the soul is shackled in Satan’s slave market of sin. “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

The Apostle Paul, writing about people who have exclusively trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, confirmed: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him [Jesus Christ], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin” (Romans 6:6,7).

Today’s Scripture describes lost people, as well as deceived (denominational) Christians: they “oppose themselves,” meaning they live completely opposite to the way the Lord created them to live (2 Timothy 2:25). Satan has them trapped—the lost people (those dead in Adam) are going to an everlasting lake of fire and brimstone (sulfur), and the denominational Christians have shipwrecked spiritual lives!

The Gospel of the Grace of God—that Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—liberates one from the penalty of sin (hellfire). Dispensational Bible study—that Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, are God’s Word to us—liberates one from the power of sin (flesh-walking). What spiritual liberation!

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #2

Saturday, February 16, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

Soul salvation and spiritual growth, although related, are not to be confused. SIN, not a failure to correctly use and/or comprehend the Bible, is what prevents people from going to heaven.

Lost people are going to hell, not because of their sins (plural), but because they are spiritually dead (the “Adamic nature” that causes their sins). People are not sinners because they sin; they sin because they are sinners. Their main problem is not that they do bad things; their primary issue is the sin nature that causes them to do those bad things. This nature is completely opposed to God, and people gratify it by disobeying Him.

Paul describes the predicament of lost mankind: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his [God’s] sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19,20). Our sinful actions simply confirm that we have a nature that is thoroughly anti-God.

The Mosaic Law (specifically the Ten Commandments) condemns us. Because of our wicked nature, we cannot even keep 10 rules to make God happy with us. As the Apostle John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). In our identity in Adam, we have no righteousness (that is, we have a bad standing before God). A lost soul needs to be made right in God’s sight, before he or she physically dies and goes to hell. In order to go to heaven, his or her sin and sins must be dealt with, and Christ’s finished crosswork provides salvation from those sin and sins. Additionally, God has for this person a teaching curriculum to explain why He will save him or her….

Something Not Worth Losing

Sunday, February 3, 2013

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 KJV).

Super Bowl Sunday comes annually in the United States. Teams fuel the intense passions in the athletic world by vying for a corruptible trophy. Howbeit, the competition in today’s Scripture is spiritual, is worldwide, never has a halftime, and involves the eternal souls of men!

The human soul is most zealous about religion, politics, and sports. These areas are most personal, so they generate many heated debates and conflicts. However, believe it or not, there are worse outcomes than losing a church member, losing an election, and losing a game. Losing your eternal soul is the greatest of all losses!

In the context of today’s Scripture, Jesus Christ told His Jewish disciples to “take up [their] cross, and follow [him]” (verse 24). “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (verse 25). They should not fear losing their earthly lives for His sake. What is most important is that they not lose their souls!

Jesus Christ declared there is more to life than this physical world and its temporal possessions. There is a spiritual world—an afterlife—to consider. In today’s Scripture, He asks them, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Does it make sense to emphasize this temporary world and its corruptible goods, to the point of ignoring your eternal soul, and wind up losing it in hellfire forever and ever?

Dear reader, there is more to you than just your physical body. Your inner man—your soul, your spiritual body—is everlasting. To ignore Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for your sins, is to remain dead in those sins, resulting in you spending eternity suffering God’s wrath in the lake of fire literally as a nameless, hopeless, disfigured creature.

Your soul is not worth losing! Trust Christ as your personal Saviour today!

Psalm 23 in HD #3

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

“He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3 KJV).

Cutting through the “static” of religious, traditional thinking, we present to you Psalm 23 in HD, dispensationally delivered with astounding clarity.

“He restoreth my soul.” The human soul is naturally rebellious. It devises wicked, anti-God thoughts, which thoughts lead to actions (sinful acts). Each human soul needs to be rescued from its sinful condition; otherwise, upon physical death, those souls will be lost to everlasting degeneration and conscious suffering in the lake of fire (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ is the way we sinners escape this deserved eternal damnation.

David, who wrote today’s Scripture, penned in Psalm 32:1,2: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” This describes a believing Jew in Israel’s program (1 John 2:12). In Romans 4:6-8, Paul quotes some of that to describe our salvation in the Dispensation of Grace.

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making simple the wise” (Psalm 19:7). The Hebrew word translated “converting” is rendered “restoreth” in today’s Scripture. How does God “restore” (“convert”) the human soul? With His Word! “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). In Israel’s program, a Jew is converted by trusting Jesus as his Messiah/Christ, the Son of God (Matthew 16:16; John 11:27; Acts 8:37; 1 John 5:1-14).

“He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” After our dispensation, the nation Israel, who is currently nationally blinded, will be saved (Romans 11:25-27). At Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, He will blot out Israel’s national sins by instituting the New Covenant (Acts 3:19-26; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:16,17; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34). They will receive the same forgiveness we have now in Christ (Romans 5:11). According to the New Covenant, God will write His righteous laws in Israel’s heart, and they will serve Him faithfully forever, bringing glory to His name.

The Tale of Two Sons

Monday, November 26, 2012

“And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:” (Luke 23:18 KJV).

One son will be liberated to live, and the other Son will be sentenced to die!

At the time of Christ’s trial, Barabbas is a prisoner (Matthew 27:16). Barabbas is a murderer, a robber, and guilty of “insurrection,” or rebelling against the government (Mark 15:7; Luke 23:18,19; John 18:40).

It is Passover. Roman governor Pontius Pilate has a custom that, at the feast, he releases a prisoner, whomever the people desire (Matthew 27:15; Mark 15:6). “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:20-22).

Israel’s chief priests, rulers, and common people all demand Christ’s crucifixion and Barabbas’ release, so Pilate gives the sentence (Luke 23:23-25). Guilty Barabbas is set free to live, and innocent Jesus Christ is condemned to be crucified. While Barabbas’ involvement in the matter seems insignificant upon first glance, God included it in His written Word because to provide us with an amazing illustration!

“Barabbas” means “son of the father.” Barabbas is a criminal, and he represents sinful, rebellious mankind who is worthy of death. He is bound by sin, and faces eternal death. Spiritually, sinful mankind is the son of Satan—man is of his father the devil (John 8:44). Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, God, “knew no sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), but took upon Himself our sins and was punished in our place.

Innocent Jesus Christ took the place of guilty Barabbas, which actually represented Christ taking the place of the whole world, suffering God’s wrath on our behalf! “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust…” (1 Peter 3:18). Thus, through Christ’s finished crosswork, we sinful sons of Adam (and Satan) can be freed from sin, and we can become the righteous sons of God.

Why the Blood Sacrifices?

Friday, August 10, 2012

“But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat” (Genesis 9:4 KJV).

Do you ever wonder why God demands blood sacrifices for man’s sin?

Firstly, “…And without shedding of blood is no remission [forgiveness]” (Hebrews 9:22b). Blood must be shed if man is to be forgiven of his sins. This is transdispensational: it is true for every dispensation, no matter where you are in the Bible. It was true of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), it is true today (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14), and it will be true even beyond our dispensation (Hebrews 9:11,12). But, what is so special about blood?

Sin causes death: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). As today’s Scripture teaches, blood is the source of life. God told Israel in the Mosaic Law: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul…  Blood… For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off” (Leviticus 17:11,14). And Deuteronomy 12:23: “…eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.”

The above verses explain why God demands blood for sins. What is the answer to death? Life! What is the answer to sin? Blood! Blood is the solution to sin because life is the answer to death. The sacrificial blood would give new life—it would atone, or “make man at one with God.” The Old Testament animals’ blood sacrifices could not take away sins: they were only temporary (Hebrews 10:2-12). Those blood sacrifices were a “type”/“picture”/preview of the perfect blood of Jesus Christ that provides total and permanent forgiveness, and more importantly: “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).

Our Kinsmen According to the Flesh

Sunday, June 3, 2012

“I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:” (Romans 9:1-3 KJV).

Sharing Jesus Christ with lost (unsaved) strangers is difficult. We need to tell them of their impending eternal doom and of the salvation in Christ, but we sometimes keep quiet, fearing ridicule and rejection. However, telling our own family about Christ is tougher….

In today’s Scripture, our Apostle Paul begins three chapters—Romans chapters 9-11—that discuss Israel’s past, present, and future statuses. Israel once had a special position before God (Romans 9:4,5). When Paul wrote today’s Scripture, God had already begun to set Israel and her program aside: Israel’s “diminishing” occurred between Acts chapters 7 and 28. Today, in this the Dispensation of Grace, Israel is temporarily spiritually “blinded” and “fallen” (Romans 11:11,12,25).

Compare today’s Scripture with Romans 10:1-3: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

Oh, how Jewish Paul grieved for lost (hell-bound) Israel, who ignored Christ’s finished crosswork (“the righteousness of God;” Romans 10:3 cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21)! They disregarded Paul’s Gospel of Grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). They rejected Christ’s bloodshed, death, burial, and resurrection, and emphasized “their own righteousness” (doing religious works, hoping to obtain salvation, but actually heading for eternal damnation). How we grieve for our family members who are equally religious (and equally lost)!!!

Paul preached Jesus Christ “that he might save some of them [Jews, his kinsmen according to the flesh]” (Romans 11:14). Be not discouraged! We will not save all of our family members. Nevertheless, we BOLDLY preach, for “some” “of [our] kinsmen according to the flesh” will trust Christ alone and be saved.

Vengeance Belongeth Unto the Lord #4

Thursday, May 24, 2012

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19 KJV).

Injustices abound. The wicked are applauded and often go unpunished while the righteous (God’s people) are despised and penalized. As the cliché goes, “God never sleeps.” All wrongs will be righted one day (today’s Scripture).

When the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary’s cross, He purchased our salvation. There, He suffered God’s eternal wrath against our sin: “He became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21; cf. Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 26:46; Galatians 3:13). Once we trust Christ Jesus alone as our personal Saviour, Christ’s finished crosswork for our sins is applied (imputed) to us, and we will never suffer God’s wrath (Christ suffered that wrath for us).

However, those who physically die without having trusted Christ will remain forever dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23): physical and spiritual death. Thus, they must pay for those sins by suffering the eternal wrath of God against sin (the everlasting lake of fire; the “second [or spiritual] death” [Revelation 21:8]).

For the past 2,000 years, God has been offering the world His grace and peace. But, when this the Dispensation of Grace ends (at the rapture), God “shall speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure” (Psalm 2:5). During that seven-year Tribulation—“the day of the LORD’s vengeance” (Isaiah 34:8), “the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2), and “the days of vengeance” (Luke 21:22)—our wicked world will finally experience God’s righteous wrath. According to 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Christ’s Second Coming will conclude those seven years, and fire will further execute vengeance on God’s enemies (Christ-rejecters).

“God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked…” (Nahum 1:2,3).

Indeed, “vengeance belongeth unto the Lord….”

Vengeance Belongeth Unto the Lord #1

Monday, May 21, 2012

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19 KJV).

When people do us wrong, human nature wants to retaliate, to devise a plan to get even. Today’s Scripture causes us to think otherwise… literally.

Paul is quoting the LORD’s words in Deuteronomy 32:35: “To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.” This phrase originally described God chastising Israel for their wickedness. (He will do this during the seven-year Tribulation too; Hebrews 10:26-31.)

God’s wrath, Daniel’s 70th week, the seven-year Tribulation, is still postponed. God has not yet poured out His wrath on wicked man (Psalm 2:4,5). For nearly 2,000 years, our sinful world has enjoyed the riches of God’s grace. God is extending our Dispensation of Grace so that more people can get saved before His wrath is poured out on earth. Scoffers mock God, having deceived themselves into thinking that they will never face His righteous wrath. What foolishness!

“See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). We need not “pay back” those who hurt us, for that sin will either be dealt with at Christ’s cross (if these people trust Christ), or they will have to pay for that sin by enduring God’s wrath during the Tribulation and finally, suffering in the everlasting lake of fire.

“O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself. Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud” (Psalm 94:1,2). “…The righteous judgment of God… [He] will render to every man according to his deeds… to them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish…” (Romans 2:5-9).

Rest assured, no injustice will ever go unpunished…. for “vengeance belongeth unto the Lord.”