Throughout the Bible God warns of punishment for those still in unforgiven sin when they die. See Matthew 22:1-14, Ephesians 2:1-3, II Thessalonians 1:5-10, Revelation 21:8 for a few references.
Several scriptures suggest, without implying or demanding it, that the body of the one condemned is also resurrected. Ezekiel 37:1-14, Daniel 12:21, John 5:28-29, II Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 20:11-15. Ezekiel’s reference applied to ancient Israel restored to her Promised Land, but still spiritually dead. However, it could apply to the unsaved dead at God’s Judgment Day. John 5:28-29 clearly says, “all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out.” The dead person’s spirit isn’t in the grave with the dead, but wherever the spirits of the dead are. Therefore, to “hear” Christ’s voice implies a return of the spirit to a body. In reality, while we tread lightly on this subject, the return of the unsaved to their resurrected bodies would be divine justice. For they claimed no need of God while on earth—the classic sinful man Romans 8:7—only to find their old, worn, weak, powerless hands, brains and bodies useless when God withdraws himself from them. HELL is the complete absence of God from the human being. Suddenly, what distinguished the potentially-imperishable human from the mortal animal is gone. The once possibly imperishable human being is suddenly and forever:
And those troubles only hint at greater ones to always come, on and on and on, without end. When God withdraws himself completely. Fini
0 Comments
Jesus proved that it didn’t take a degree in theology to be a:
The above being scriptural truth, what hope is there that NOW, in this WORLD:
NONE. ZERO. NATTA. That kind of success in humanity isn’t going to be achieved NOW. There’s no need to:
When the angelic host joined Gabriel in extolling the Christ child God sent, the host agreed that it meant “peace on earth to men on whom his favor rests” Luke 2:14. Understand that the host meant what God said through them: those accepting his Son had peace with God through Christ’s forgiveness—and ONLY they! God didn’t issue a general PAX to all humanity in the proclamation. Only those in Christ’s forgiveness receive PEACE with God—which translates into peace among men with the same promise. Which means that:
Coming in the Finale: the fate of all the unsaved when resurrected John 5:28-29. (This blog is the summary of a more comprehensive study of the subject. Other information will be shared freely with anyone contacting the writer.) Using I Peter 4:17-19 as the basic text, how can we understand God's judgment of the church?
First, the apostolic impact on society recorded in Acts 5:12-16 reflects the Master's personal impact on Israel in Mark 1:43-45. The loss of spiritual power in Corinth in the middle 50's of the first century, recorded in I Corinthians 5:1-2, reflects the total withdrawal of the Spirit's presence in Laodicea in the last decade of the first century, and recorded in Revelation 3:14-22. Second, we need to distinguish God's Testing of the church from God's Judgment on the church. Testing comes by exposing Christians to the costs, dangers and opposition from Satan AS WE SERVE God's will. The question then is: Will we persevere in God's eternal work against changing cultural prejudices, mores and tolerances? However, judgment on the church and Christians occurs when, by being unfaithful to God's Word and work Christians are exposed to cultural indifference to us. Indeed, Western culture has not only lost interest in the Church but has no patience with Bible truth. And world culture has never had significant interest in the Biblical teaching of God in Christ. In the late 1930's and early 1940's, the Church in America was seen as one of the foremost shapers of public opinion. (From Joseph Grew's Diary while Ambassador to Japan.) But who looks to the Church now to shape public opinion? Let us pray to once again be TESTED by suffering for our Faith and its strict requirements of behavior. Then we won't, as a Church, be JUDGED by God as unworthy servants to carry his Son's Cause forward. We hear it all the time: Christians are told not to judge when we critically appraise anti-God belief or behavior. That fits well with the mantra of the present age: “there’s good in the worst of us and bad in the best of us.” It agrees with Hollywood’s refusal to have black and white behavior in its characters, but a mixture of both so no one condemns anyone. Even Christians misquote the above text.
Take another look at the Lord’s teaching. First, Jesus forbids a habit of censure in his people, not instances of evaluating behavior in self or others. We’re forbidden to possess and express cynical dispositions that object to all habits we don’t have or all ways we don’t think. Jesus had more reasons than anyone to accuse everyone of ungodly behavior, but the only people he condemned were orthodox believers who pretended a virtue they didn’t have, not admitted sinners who sought forgiveness. He definitely directed the forgiven to NEW LIVES, but based on forgiveness John 8:10-11. The parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14 also illustrates. Jesus accepted the sinfulness of both men, but only one admitted it. And by the way, he was the one who didn’t condemn the other. That perspective helps us understand the practice Jesus forbids in Matthew 7:3-5. He won’t have his people condemning in others ideas, beliefs and behaviors to which we continue to be a willing host. That he calls hypocritical self-righteousness. It’s the spirit of the lady who censured a friend for not seeking marriage counseling when her husband wanted a divorce for her indiscretion. YET, when faced with possible indiscretions by her own husband immediately filed for divorce. No Christian will be without sin. But when we correct another Christian’s, we need to be free from THAT ONE. Or, at the very least, be struggling to overcome THAT ONE. Both conditions qualify us as teachers. Second, judgment as condemnation is prohibited, not judgment as distinguishing right from wrong behavior. Again, with God’s word as our standard, Christians must be faithful to Jesus, not to others. What we objectively see as sin in strangers we cannot subjectively view as mistakes in family and friends. We can freely condemn homosexuality without damning homosexuals. God reserves for himself the right to acquit or damn. But he gives Christians a mandate to protest works of the flesh and to confirm fruit of the Spirit. Who will be God’s monitors of acceptable belief and behavior if NOT WE, whom Jesus appointed Light and Salt in the world Matthew 5:13-16? If NOT WE, whom the apostle said will one day judge angels and the world I Corinthians 6:2-3? Third, in 7:6 he ordered Christians to discern the spiritual capacity of listeners, for the express purpose of not wasting time with spiritual dogs and pigs. Jesus never unfairly judged people when he declared them spiritual dogs and pigs. They’re simply the kind of people Jesus described in Matthew 13:4—wayside soil people; godless people Paul described in Romans 8:5-8, those who have no interest in God. Christ warns us never to let our association with sinners make their hostility to God harmless just so they will continue to love us. In that case, it’s a “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….” Joshua 24:15. In summary, Jesus demands in Christians insightful spiritual discernment of behavior. He allows us to determine what’s acceptable and what Isn’t. He empowers his people to: KNOW right from wrong; to DISCERN the difference in ourselves and others; and to STAND with him against all others, even when it’s in judgment of our family and friends; even when it’s against ourselves! Amen. |
Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|