Eternal Loss

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.''

 

John 3:16

 

It is a serious thing to be eternally lost. Death is not the end even though some would like to think that, at the end of your life the lid is shut and it is finished forever. However, this is not the case, as we read in this Biblical warning: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.'' (John 5:28-29). We must not err! In what exactly? In that the dead do not rise and that there is no God nor a judgment. It exists. Whoever ignores it and leans towards the kingdom of fables, is eternally lost. That means, he continues living, only there where God is not present – in eternal damnation. God does not send anyone to hell, a person chooses it for himself. Only when it is too late, will he recognize it. Unbelief is cowardice! How is one saved? In that one acknowledges the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Acknowledging, in this context means experiencing and learning. Thus accepting the godly truth of the Gospel. It is a lie of the devil to say that “good” people go to heaven and “bad” people go to hell. How quickly one assumes to be part of the “good” people, and then reinforcing it still by referring to one's church tax or yearly donations to charities. This is a grave error. In the Bible we read, in Romans 3:12-18: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Psalm 14:1-3) “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 5:9) For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue (Psalm 140:3) “They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips. Selah.” (Psalm 10:7) “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.” (Isaiah 59:7-8) “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.” (Psalm 36:1) “there is no fear of God before his eyes.” This is the Godly reality: All have sinned and deserve hell. Under these conditions, to choose to remain unbelievers and atheists, is unimaginably stupid and cowardly. One can be religious and still be lost, because one hasn't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. All that saves, redeems and justifies a person before God (this means to be at peace with and be reconciled to the Creator) is founded and revealed in the Person Jesus Christ. We read in John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.'' What is sin? It is opposing God and rejecting His offer of salvation. It is the ignorance and the pride against Him Who gave His life and humbled Himself to save mankind (John 3:16). It is looking away from one's own guilt and depravity and being self-consumed and conceited. It is to miss the purpose for one's life and to partake in the evil of the world without consulting God in faith. What does God want? In Mark 1:15 we read: “repent ye, and believe the gospel.” To repent means to turn around, to acknowledge and confess one's sin, to ask for God and believe in the forgiveness of sin. We will only fully understand sin, righteousness and judgment in heaven, but to die in sin is to come unto judgment! There will be no joy for the unbeliever, when the almighty God asks you, why you refused to believe in Jesus Christ Who gave His life for your salvation? What will you answer? You didn't know? You had no time? You thought it was all a fairy tale? Christians were all crazy dreamers and the Bible implausible? Or that one can go to heaven without having faith? In John 3:16 is written very clearly: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'' Do you want to be lost through cowardice? Is this life and this evil world worth being and remaining an unbeliever? A liberal attitude towards God does not exist. Whoever is not for Him, is automatically against Him with all its consequences. In John 3:17-18 we read: ''For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'' God has no interest in people being lost eternally, but cannot force anyone to their bliss. The Son of God revealed God and through His death (because of our sin) and His resurrection from the dead (for our righteousness before God) salvation and redemption is made possible. If we would only fathom, how incredibly huge and vital this act of love by God was and is, we would not hesitate for a second to bow our knees before the eternal God and to believe in Him.

Spared for salvation

 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, ''Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?'' that is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?”

 

Matthew 27:46

 

What transpired at Calvary, occurred in the full control of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Thus, we read in John 10:17-18: “Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.''  The Son of God was fully aware of His heavenly mission from the start – even at the age of twelve when He said to His earthly mother and her husband Joseph: “...Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's business?'' (Luke 2:49) And later on, when He was grown up, and met with John the Baptist, the latter said about Him: “...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) There are seven traditional words spoken by Jesus on the cross, three of which are quotes from the Psalms. This includes the sentence by David from Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Jesus did not say this because He didn't know what was happening, or because the price was too high for Him, or because He was abandoned and bitterly regretted this end. No, on the contrary. Jesus was not abandoned by God. His entire attention was on His mission to be the Lamb of God, lead to the slaughter, for the remission of sin – Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth.” The sentence (Psalm 22) which Jesus spoke on the cross, and many did not understand in that day, was in Aramaic ''Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?''. The English translation is in Hebrew as is written in the customary translations. When one translates the Aramaic text, the sentence reads: “My God, My God, for what a destiny you have saved me?” The word “lama” means “why” in Hebrew, but in Aramaic it ends with an exclamation mark and not a question mark. It is therefore a type of confirmation of His mission. When Jesus said here that the crucifixion was His mission, purpose and work, He had no doubt – neither in the spoken word, nor the act. He was destined and kept for Golgotha - “Sabachthani” means to be spared, destined and kept. Hereby is confirmed that Jesus lived solely for the purpose of fulfilling His Father's will. He remained aware of this throughout His mission. Jesus was not forsaken on the cross, which He also previously had confirmed to His disciples in John 16:32: “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.'' How could He therefore have been forsaken at the cross? Sin causes separation from God, but that does not apply to One who is sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, we obtain a deeper sense and start to understand that the work on the cross and the Aramaic words (the “destiny”) was a dialogue of obedience and the deepest affection and humility between the Messiah Jesus Christ and His heavenly Father. The penultimate word of Jesus on the cross confirms yet again that His purpose, His mission and His destiny touched God's heart and will in perfect manner, leading to the salvation of the souls of believers: “...It is finished! and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30). Amen.

God rewards faith

 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”

 

Hebrews 11:6

 

That which is written in Hebrews 11:6 is fundamentally logical. As it specifically emphasizes that one must believe (with faith), it is also clear that it is possible to believe without actually and really believing. And the Bible confirms, on several occasions, that one can also have a false and imaginary faith. We read, for example, in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.'' Here one asks oneself: Can one also believe without God? One can believe a lie – that is possible. Someone once said to me that he believes one can make a good soup with two kilogram beef mince – that is without doubt also a belief! Fundamentally, the faith in our community plays a specific role. Only the goal associated therewith differs. Many people only believe that which they can see. That is a rather paltry faith. That which we don't doubt although we cannot see it, and that we hope for even though a lot speaks against it, that is true faith (Hebrews 11:1). Why is it so emphasized in the Bible? Is it not (as said) logical that one can only come to God through faith? I believe that logic ends here! Maybe because it is alleged that many people want to come to God through certain practises, traditions and rituals. Thereby it becomes only all about themselves and they replace faith with stupid ritual actions (for example to crucify themselves or light a candle, etc.). Other people contend that they only believe in themselves, in order to strengthen their self-awareness. Question: Do you know one person who is not self-aware? We must and can count on God. And when we pray, we should have faith in what we ask for. Not for the thing's sake, but for God's sake. The Bible asks, in this context, in Romans 8:24: “...for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?” Through our faith in Jesus Christ we get access to eternal life, to the spiritual world and to the truth (Psalm 119:160: “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”) This invisible world is without question more real than the false and visible world. Flesh and blood plays no role in God's world, but only that which is invisible within us, namely the spirit and the soul. Are you aware that we are spiritual creatures? Close your eyes and imagine you are standing at the seaside during dusk, the breeze blowing through your hair and gently stroking your flesh, whilst you observe, wonderfully relaxed, as the sun slowly disappears beyond the horizon – finished? Only a spiritual creature can do this, no un-spiritual matter. God is spirit and truth! We can't only believe with our minds, even though we are allowed to use our minds for the sake of the Gospel. God exists! It is easily said, but only through believing that God does not sleep or slumber in your life (Psalm 121:4) something changes. God is a Person and wants to be taken seriously. This is the case with you and me too. Whoever seeks God with faith, will definitely be rewarded for doing so.

Perilous times

 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”

 

2. Timothy 3:1

 

The topic of this Bible text can make us afraid! Am I ready for such times? People are killing each other in God's name. There is talk about retaining and defending freedom at any cost. But, what type of freedom is meant? Political freedom? Social freedom? Freedom of reason? Moral freedom? Secular justice? Religious freedom? Freedom from God? It results mostly in terror, fear and pain. Today, more than ever. Everyone thinks he is right. But, it must become personal, because I cannot hide behind humanistic ideologies or radicalism. How will God judge me? It is not only proverbial end times, evil is banging on the door more than ever before! Not a day goes by without some fearful reports! What exactly is the end time? This last phase prior to the second coming of Jesus started already when Jesus came the first time (Galatians 4:4). Did the belief in His second coming not keep Christians spiritually alive throughout the past centuries? This is what we

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Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 11.04.2016
ISBN: 978-3-7396-4813-2

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