What an Awesome God.

God, who is 'known by his justice' (Psalm 9:16a) allowed himself/his son to be treated unjustly so that he could forgive the sins of all who put their faith in him.

Wow.

Every knee will bow.

Romans 14:11 (Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23)

It is written:“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

Here's a simple, but hard truth. Every knee will bow before Jesus. Every person will submit to him as the one true God who reigns over the whole universe.

Note: Jesus is God, along with God the father and God the Holy Spirit. They are all the same one true God, but in three persons with three different roles. That idea is hard to fathom and work through, but just keep in mind that God is immeasurably wiser than us and he can do what he wants (even if we can't quite grasp it)

The thing is, these people will come in two categories.

Those who bow the knee now and willingly.
Christians are the people who will submit to God here and now. We are the ones who (by the Holy Spirit working in our lives and God's grace) have recognised that we are sinful and that we deserve God's wrath. We realise that disobedience to God means that we fall short of his standard (perfection), and therefore we deserve his justice, which means hell eternally.

But, Christians also know that God is merciful and gracious. Instead of just allowing us to face his wrath he made a way for us to be forgiven. He sent Jesus into the world, his one and only son. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life. He did not disobey God at all. Therefore he alone did not deserve to face God's punishment (death and then hell). Yet Jesus came to earth to die in our place and take God's wrath for us.

On the cross Jesus took the punishment that we should have suffered for eternity in hell. He did not do it because of anything desirable in us, because where is nothing good or worthwhile in us (we are wretched, horrible sinners) - he did it entirely out of his awesome mercy, grace and love. It hurts to hear that. But that is what Christians believe.

As a result we repent of our sins - we say sorry for them and try to obey God, and we trust that Jesus has truly dealt with our sin and God's perfect just wrath against them. As a result we bow the knee willingly. We submit to God in our lives here and will rejoice when he (Jesus/God) returns to judge the living and the dead, because we will know that through Jesus alone we are completely forgiven and will go to be with him forever in heaven. We will rejoice and should rejoice now to submit to Jesus.

Those who will be forced to bow the knee at judgement.
But there is another category. Jesus has promised that he will return to judge all people. The thing is that all people deserve his punishment (hell) because all people have sinned.

When Jesus returns it will be awful for those who have not given there lives to him, for those who have tried to liv their best life now on tis earth. Jesus will return, and there will be no more time to repent and turn to him - there will only be his justice. And Justice means hell for all those who refused to give up their sins and be forgiven by Jesus.

On the last day these people will bow the knee to Jesus, but it won't be with rejoicing. It will be with much crying and wailing and terror. It will be terrible. They will stand before God's throne condemned, like we all should have been, because they don't stand there with Jesus interceding with God for them.

The challenge.

• First up: Are you a Christian? Are you submitting to God now? Or are you continuing to reject him and live your own way? We are all sinners and we all deserve hell. It's only those who put their faith in Jesus who will be saved. If you aren't then talk to people about it! Ask the questions you have and keep asking until someone gives you and answer that makes sense. If you want then send me a message or an email - I'm more than happy to chat! Read the bible, look into what this is all about and be honest with yourself.

• If you are a Christian then you should love those around you enough to tell them the gospel. If their continued rejection of God will lead them to his punishment in hell eternally and we love them, that should terrify us. I don't want my friends, my grandpa, or even my enemies to suffer that wrath. We need to tell people about God and Jesus! In saying that, this is one of the areas of my life that I fall short in all the time. I am constantly chickening out and not sharing the gospel with people who I should be telling it to. I am always making excuses. I fail at it miserably. Thankfully God is forgiving and merciful. But that's something I've got to change - maybe you do to.

• Keep in mind that God is not the evil one in this scenario. We are the evil ones. He is the good one. He judges because he is just, god and right, and because we are evil, wretched and sinful. He shows his mercy entirely out of his grace and who he is - not based on anything in us. God isn't the bad guy. We're the bad guys.

Soli Deo Gloria!
God Bless!
Nat.


Philippians 2:5b-11

have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Chocolate, or Carrot and Stick?

Mark 8:34-38

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

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Here we see the comparison of two different lifestyles: Living for Christ, and living for ourselves. We can live for Christ, which will be harder in this life and often seem like we are missing out, or we can live for ourselves, reject God and his good plan and live how we want. What are the results? Those who follow Christ will be saved eternally, forgiven, redeemed and accepted as God's children, while those who reject him will be rejected by him and face his eternal wrath for their sin.

The Chocolate

I thought I'd sum these two lifestyles up with a comparison between Chocolate and being offered a carrot and a beating along with it. Living for God is more like the chocolate - he offers so many promises and the eternal benefits of following him are far better then anything Satan can offer us in this world.

Don't hear me wrong - we will be persecuted, and we will suffer on this earth for Christ. He calls us even in these verses to take up our cross daily, to suffer as he suffered and to be ready to die for him every day. 2 Timothy 3:12 tells us that we will be persecuted. But Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that even this is a blessing, and James 1:2-4 tells us that when we suffer God is using those things to make us more like him. If we are willing to lose our lives for God, we will save them eternally and be with him.

Yet as I said before, even though we suffer here, life is short. It comes to an end, and everyone will face God's judgement. The only way we can be saved is by putting our faith in Jesus and repenting of sin - he forgives completely. As a result, God also adopts us God's children, and we are made co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 8). We will go to heaven, where God will wipe away all our tears (Revelations 21) and we will be in his presence, glorifying him eternally. What an awesome blessing! That is the chocolate, and no matter what we go through here, it is definitely worth it.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The Carrot and Stick

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it...What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Living for ourselves is like a carrot when the gospel is fully understood. Yet it is still an appealing carrot. Having whatever we want, doing whatever we want to do is enjoyable. It does feel great and it is desirable. In fact, there are so many things that we long to do that God restricts us from doing - not because he is cruel, but because they don't fit within his law which is based on his character.

These things look so appealing, but in reality they mean nothing. They promise, and even deliver to some extent, but we all die. We all grow old, and these things cannot save us after we die. Who would take their best life now and forfeit a far better eternity? Who would take a carrot when chocolate is offered to them? Who would forfeit their souls in exchange for the world?

So what's the stick? I mentioned it before: it's God's wrath against sin. We all sin, and therefore we all miss God's perfect standard (he demands absolute obedience to his perfect law). This has been the case since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, and will be the case until Christ returns. Let me prove the point to you. The 1st commandment says "You shall have no other gods before me." Yet how many of us spend more time thinking about ourselves then God? Thinking about what will please us instead of thinking about how we can serve God. We all sin and that means we deserve God's wrath - his justice, eternally (i.e. hell). That's what we get if we choose the carrot - slavery in sin and then hell eternally.

Why would you choose the carrot? God made another way: he sent his son, Jesus, into the world as a man. Jesus came and he lived perfectly. He obeyed God's commands completely. Then he died in our place. The wages of sin is death, and Jesus alone had not sinned and did not deserve to die. Yet he not only died, he suffered. He took our sin if we put our faith in him - he took all of God's wrath for it (what we would suffer for eternity in hell). Then to prove that he had truly done it he rose again from the dead. Since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and he rose from the dead, sin must have been dealt with! And he tells us in Mark 1:15 to "Repent and believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand". Everyone who puts their faith in Jesus and who repents of their sins will be saved.

The conclusion

How could anyone accept a carrot after tasting Chocolate? Yet this is what we do constantly in our lives. We have the gospel, the rich truths of God's word, and we trade them for the lies of sin. We have the deep joy that comes from serving God, yet we take the carrot offered by Satan's temptation of pleasure in this world.

So what's the challenge out of this?

Keep an eternal perspective. Don't just weigh up the benefits in this life, compare them with eternity - salvation in Jesus, or eternal punishment if you serve yourself and reject God. Consider your life - have you put your faith in Jesus? Only he can save.

"The Sternness of God"

Romans 11:22

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Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

As I explained in the previous post, the context of this verse is the rejection of the Jews and the acceptance of the Gentiles as God's people. The Jews as a nation had rejected Jesus, murdering him on the cross. As a result God (as he had always planned) opened up the gospel for the gentiles as well - everyone who puts their faith in Christ who will be saved, regardless of heritage or outward signs.

Though he talks about God's kindness in this passage (explored here), Paul also talks about God's "sternness". I like writing about God's mercy and grace - those things are what we like to hear. But the truth is that God is good, and that means his justice, perfection and righteousness are good as well. That means we need to praise him for those attributes just as much as we do for his kindness toward us.

The sternness of God is not Injustice.

When Paul talks about God's sternness he is talking about his pure an righteous judgement on all who reject him. We are sinners, God is pure. As a result we deserve his wrath and we can do nothing to change that. In Jesus God's kindness is displayed - we can be shown mercy because if we put our faith in him, he takes our sins and God's punishment and we take his perfection. If we reject Christ then we will get what we deserve.

What exactly is it that we deserve?

Hell. God's eternal condemnation and wrath against our sin. If we reject God and his means of saving us, then we will be rejected by him eternally. But what is hell?

• Hell is Eternal - Revelation 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."

• Hell is physical Torment - Luke 16:24 "And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame."

• Hell is separation from God's presence and is God's wrath against sin - 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 "when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might"

• Hell will be just and God's punishment varies - Matthew 11:22 "I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you."

It's safe to say that hell will be a terrible, horrible place. Yet that is what we deserve because of our sin. We all deserve God's eternal wrath. Yet there is salvation, full and complete forgiveness and adoption as God's children through Jesus.

How do you turn to him?

"Repent and Believe for the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15)

Repentance is the act of turning around. Instead of rejecting God and living sinfully, we need to say sorry for our rebellion an to fight to obey God. It isn't our obedience that saves us, but true repentance will result in obedience.

Belief, or faith is trust in God. Trust that Jesus did truly come, that he is truly God and he is fully man. That he did die and that he paid for our sins. It is also belief that he rose literally, physically rose again and that we will be with him eternally in heaven.

We deserve God's sternness, his justice, because we reject him and live sinfully. Yet he has held out the free offer of complete salvation in Jesus. Will you repent and put your faith in him?

If you want to discuss this more then feel free to email me at only.in.christ25@gmail.com.

I hope this was helpful.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Nat.


Further reading: http://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-hell-21-eye-opening-scriptures/#ixzz2dujQtXpA

"The Kindness of God"

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Romans 11:22

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

"Consider therefore the Kindness of God". 

What has come before these verses is Paul's explanation of the Jews rejection of Christ and therefore the removal from their place as God's people, and the acceptance of the Gentiles and all who repent and believe in Jesus into God's family through Him. Well, Paul tells us to consider God's kindness. In what ways has God been kind to us?

Well the first, biggest, most obvious way (and the one that is most suitable to the context) is that he has saved us through Jesus. We sin, we disobey God. We hate him, we hate his creation. We hurt, we lie, we steal, we are selfish and self-glorifying (proud). We live constantly in disobedience to God's commands. His commands, which are a direct reflection of his character. We, like Adam and Eve who first sinned, are by nature sinners and therefore enemies of God's perfection. 

Yet, in his grace, God sent Jesus into the world as a man. He sent his only son who was eternally with him in perfect fellowship for all eternity. Jesus, who is God, willingly came to earth and became a man. he lived among sinful people, he suffered and he died. He was murdered by those he came to save. Why? To glorify God by showing his kindness, mercy, patience and love to us. We deserved God's justice, his judgement and his wrath for all eternity. Instead Jesus came to the earth and took that wrath on the cross. We cannot comprehend that, I cannot understand it. But it is beyond words to describe God's kindness and mercy to us in doing that for us.

Yet Jesus didn't only die for sin. He rose again, proving that he had truly dealt with all our sin and proving that he is God. He rose again, and everyone who puts their faith in him will be forgiven. When we turn to Christ our sin is put on him and we are forgiven.

What's more is that we, christians are accepted into God's family. We are adopted as his children. We are "co-heirs with Christ" (Read Romans 8). We are his people and we will be with him for all eternity in heaven, enjoying his presence and glorifying him forever. God is certainly kind to us, and we need to praise him for that. We need to glorify him for his character - for his kindness, mercy and grace, and for his justice, holiness and righteousness. 

What other ways does God show his kindness for us? Life every morning, light from the sun every day, grass, trees, birds, mountains, rivers, lakes, water, family, friendships, warmness, coolness, even sickness and hardship can show forth God's kindness. There are countless examples - come up with your own as well and praise God for them.

We rejected him, even though he created us. We rejected him who directs the stars and the water molecules. We rejected him who holds all of creation together, who gives light to the sun and power to the waves. We rejected him. Yet he came and died in our place on the cross. "Hand that flung stars into space, To cruel nails surrendered" for our sakes.

Will you continue to reject his kindness?

All Roads Don't Lead to Heaven (Part 2)

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John 14:6

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

In the previous post, we looked at why the general belief most people have about getting to heaven is wrong. We so often think that all people, or at least all "good" people will get to heaven. The truth is, no one is good - we all stuff up. That's why Jesus is the only way to heaven. Because he is both God and man, he is the only one who could pay for our sins and make us right with God. Jesus is the only way.

The Truth

Not only is Jesus the only way to God, he is also the truth. Our world is obsessed with relative truth: "You believe what you want to, I'll believe what I want too", "Everyone's right (well, everyone besides Christians that is...)".

The fact is, Jesus is the only truth. He is the only one who can truly save. Therefore all other methods of getting to heaven, all other teachings about different "ways" to heaven, are false. They're lies. Jesus is the true way to God.

The Life 

Jesus is the life. He is the only one who can give us life. In Romans 6 we learn that because we all sin, we are "dead in sin". We deserve death (and hell eternally), and we are dead in our relationship with God.

Through Jesus there is life. He takes our sin if we put our faith in him, and he makes us alive with him. Romans 6 continues by telling us that we, when we became christians, died with Christ and rose to life with him. We died to sin, and we rose again. We are New creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through Jesus we are forgiven, the wages of sin are taken away and we are granted God's grace - eternal life with Him in heaven after we die.

Jesus truly is the life.

The Only way to God

Another thought on this is that heaven is where we will be with God, enjoying his presence forever. The whole sentiment that all roads lead to heaven is based on the idea that heaven will be a great place to be. That's absolutely true, but it'll be great because we will be with God eternally. Therefore if people are living lives where they are rejecting God here, then in a sense they will get what they want (and deserve) when God judges - they will be separated from all the benefits of his character - his grace, mercy, love, and they will face his wrath, justice and purity for eternity.

The point of heaven is not to enjoy having whatever we want, it's to enjoy God and glorify him forever - and in heaven we will be transformed and made pure so that worshipping God does give us the perfect Joy. If you're living a life that rejects God, seeking only enjoyment from this life, how can you expect to enjoy him forever? You're not following Jesus who is the only way, the only truth and the only way to life.