Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…It seems like every time I pick up the Bible and begin to saturate myself in its Truth, I am drawn to something that points to Jesus’ second coming. I don’t think that is an accident, especially since I have written about this subject many times. But just within the last few days, my concern has been re-directed toward those who are totally unaware of this simple Truth: their eternal destiny directly relates to the choices they make right here and now. As I walk down the street, or as I’m looking around in a crowed restaurant, or as I just look at the occupants in the cars I pass on the highway, I find myself saddened by the fact that most of these people are totally unaware of God’s Truth: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Therefore, I would like to spend the next two weeks in the Book of Romans. This week I will focus on Apostle Paul’s uncensored clarity about the matter of judgement and calamity that awaits those who refuse to accept God’s Gift of Grace – Jesus Christ!
In Romans 1:16—17, Paul begins this lesson by boldly stating this Truth: “I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the very power of God at work, saving everyone who believes… The Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight, and this is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, ‘It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” That is the Truth…God’s Truth, and it is indeed good news. However, Paul continues with the flip side of that same “coin of fate”.
“But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the Truth away from themselves. For the Truth about God is known to them instinctively; He put this Truth in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power, and divine nature. They have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes…they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think-up foolish ideas of what He was like. The result was, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols instead. Therefore, God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.” (Romans 18-24)
“When they refused to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning, and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them too.” (Romans 28-32)
Then Apostle Paul challenged his listeners: “You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ But you are just as bad! God, in His justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and not judge you when you do them too? Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you, or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind He has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?
Well, hopefully you will start listening because you are storing up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. For there is going to come a day of judgement when God, the just judge of all the world, will judge all people according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the Truth and continue to practice evil. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on sinning, but there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good. The day will surely come when God, by Jesus Christ, will judge everyone’s secret life. This is my message.” (Romans 2:1-9,16)
That is the dilemma of Mankind. The spiritual connection that existed between God and Man after Creation (if only for a millisecond) was severed when Eve succumbed to satan’s deception. At that moment, Sin entered the world. Consequently, we too are spiritually separated from God when we are born into this fallen world. The unfortunate reality of that statement is…we learn to live with the focus on “self” rather than on God, and THAT is the very definition of Sin. Since we are in and of this world, unless something gets our attention – usually an epiphany or we hit a bottom of our own making – we just follow our human nature and the teachings and behaviors of the world. We’re not even aware that we’re part of the Sin issue, and therein lies the problem.
1John 2:15-16 is very clear in this matter. “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything you see, and pride in your accomplishments and possessions. These are not of the Father, but of the evil world.” Romans 12:2 reinforces that posture: “Do not conform to the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.” The truth is…God abhors the thoughts, behaviors and values of this world.
Probably to no one’s surprise, there are many more unsaved people in the world than saved people. “And why is that”, you might ask? Well…in our culture today, reading and studying the Bible is not encouraged or valued. In fact, most people aren’t even acquainted with the content of the Bible, although that rarely stops them from voicing their opinion based on “what they’ve heard.” But the sad truth is…you could easily find yourself ridiculed, maligned, or labeled “a Bible thumper”, or just “out of touch with today’s world” if you were to speak up and profess your faith.
The “enlightened” teaching of man questions the authority and authenticity of the Bible, therefore our culture’s concept of truth is relative, meaning it is often based on circumstances. To a worldly participant, his or her concept of “self” is more often than not based on a job, a title, social status, financial security, a fancy car, or the home and the neighborhood in which he or she lives. In other words, worldly identity is usually based on material accumulation and social status, all of which is temporal. But for those of us in Christ, our identity is based on our inheritance from Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We are unconditionally loved; our sins are forgiven; we inherit eternal life; we have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and we are grafted into God’s family as His children. We are now a saint and no longer a sinner. We are heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, and heir to every promise in the Bible. All of that is the basis for our strength, courage, confidence, assurance, peace and serenity, and it is eternal! How’s that for hitting the spiritual jackpot.
This week I have written about the fate of the lost souls. Next week I will write about how to escape that fate and replace it with eternal life. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose the easy way. But the highway to life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.” Which gate are you approaching?
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May God Bless Ya,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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