In this Sunday’s sermon, we talked about how Christians that neglect their salvation are exposing themselves to the chastening hand of God. Hebrews called this drifting. Like a ship out at sea with anchor broken off, we are subject to wind and peril. The concept of divine discipline may come as a shock to us who are under grace, but to whom much is given, much is required! God’s discipline is a form of God’s redemptive, remedial grace in our lives. Only cruelty would allow someone to drift without warning, direction, and correction when certain danger lies ahead. Hebrews says God’s discipline is evidence that we are His children, and He seeks our good. Why, every good father disciplines his children so that they go on to maturity! “It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they discipline us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good so that we might share in His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. When we think of divine discipline, we typically think of the Israelites in the Old Testament and are tempted to think we “New Testament people” in the Church get off scot-free no matter what we do. But God is not deceived and will not be mocked. His good purpose and love for us insists that He discipline us when we need it. In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul reveals that some believers were sick or even experienced physical death for their unconfessed sin. To the letter to the church at Thyatira in Revelation 2, Jesus warned them that because they tolerated a false and immoral prophetess in their church (Jezebel), and some even joined in on her Satanic practice, they would experience sickness or death if they didn’t repent. However, Jesus promised that he who is faithful and repents will, like a shining star, rule and reign with Christ over the nations in His Millennial Kingdom (Rev. 2:18-29)! What a reward! (By the way, please don’t get from this that every sickness or death is the result of divine discipline. As we talked about Sunday, it is a fallen world, and it is expected. He wants us to have faith in Him no matter what our circumstances are!)
But what does it look like for us to neglect our salvation? To drift spiritually? Like Corinth or Thyatira, we might neglect God’s sanctifying purposes to make us more like Christ. Sin grieves and quenches the Spirit who sealed us for the day of redemption (1 Thess. 5:10; Eph. 4:30). I think the cause of most spiritual drifting is due to unconfessed sin, neglect of God’s Word, of prayer, and of gathering with God’s people (Heb. 10:25). If we aren’t doing either one, we become spiritually dull and insensitive. In his Hebrews commentary, Warren Wiersbe shares the story of Robert Robinson, the man who composed the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Robinson was converted under the preaching of George Whitefield and was greatly used by the Lord as a pastor. However, he began to drift when he started to neglect spiritual things. Wiersbe says, “In an attempt to find peace, he began to travel. During one of his journeys, he met a young woman who was evidently very spiritually minded. “What do you think of this hymn I have been reading?” she asked Robinson, handing him the book. It was his own hymn! He tried to avoid her question but it was hopeless, for the Lord was speaking to him. Finally, he broke down and confessed who he was and how he had been living away from the Lord. “But these ‘streams of mercy’ are still flowing,” the woman assured him, and through her encouragement, Robinson was restored to fellowship with the Lord.” I have no doubt that when Robinson was drifting, behind a smiling face was a man who felt much like David when he refused to repent of his affair with Bathsheba. David said in Psalm 32, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.” However, when David acknowledged his sin and confessed it, the Lord forgave him and restored him. How's your relationship with God? Are you still sensitive to God’s voice? Are you anchored? In His hands, Pastor Justin
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In this morning’s sermon, we looked at 8 ways Christ is superior to the prophets. These descriptions of Christ leave us in awe of who He truly is as the perfect God-Man. They should force us to ask the question, “Do I have a view of Jesus like that? Is my Jesus the same Jesus of the Bible?” The biblical view of Jesus is that He is fully God – the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. But He is also fully man – the sinless One who could die to pay the penalty for our sins.
It is important that we think rightly about who Jesus is. Thinking wrongly about Him takes away from either His person or His work. I’m a big believer in the fact that we don’t have to study every counterfeit dollar bill to know which bills are authentic. We don’t have to study every counterfeit Christ to know the authentic Christ, and our study of the authentic should always have the emphasis. However, it can sometimes be helpful to study the counterfeit concepts of Christ because when we know what He is not, we can be more exact in how we express who He is (and semantics are important when talking theology).[1] Throughout church history there have been heated debates over the nature of Christ’s Person. Below are 8 counterfeits: 1. Arianism. A priest named Arius in the 4th century taught the preexistence of the Son but not His eternality – the idea that before He was incarnated, He was created. Arius insisted that if Jesus was the “only begotten” He must have had a beginning. Thankfully, this was publicly condemned by the Council of Nicaea in 325. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons today have an Arian-like Christology that denies His eternality. However, if His eternality is denied, then a) there is no Trinity, b) Christ is not fully God, and c) He lied, and the Bible lies. Hebrews says He is the exact representation of God’s nature or essence. Colossians says all the fullness of Deity dwells in Him in bodily form. The OT prophesied a day was coming when the eternal Creator would step into His creation (Micah 5:2; Is. 9:6; John 8:58 & Ex. 3:14). The overwhelming NT claim is that He is the eternal, self-existent God who created all things. 2. Docetism In the late 1st century, a man named Marcion and the Gnostics taught that Christ only appeared to be a man – that He was something like a phantom. This is why you’ll notice for example, in Luke and John’s writing, the emphasis on His humanity. They tell us that they have seen and heard and even touched Christ. Thomas put his finger in His scars even after He rose from the dead. He had a real body. John specifically referred to this heresy in 1 John 4:1-3. 3. Cerinthiansim Cerinthis taught that Jesus was not born as the Christ, but rather that the spirit of Christ came upon Him at His baptism. He also said that the spirit of Christ left him before He died. Docetism and Cerinthianism resulted from Gnostic influence, which was the greatest threat to Christianity in the first three centuries. Gnostics didn’t believe that Jesus could have a human body since, in their thinking, the physical world is evil. They assumed a dualistic opposition between the physical realm and the spiritual realm, with the spiritual being good and the physical being evil (going against God’s “very good” Genesis statement). Gnosticism also began to influence Bible interpretation like eschatology (the study of the end times). And I’m going to take a minute to address this rabbit trail because it came up recently in our Bible interp class. For the first 2 centuries after Christ, premillennialism (the belief in a literal, political, future reign of Christ on earth for 1,000 years as the OT prophets and Revelation 20 teaches) was the orthodox view.2 This view is the result of a literal-historical-grammatical interpretation of the Bible, as espoused at the Christian, seminary-like school at Antioch that we can trace apostolic succession back to. However, a rival school began to develop in Alexandria, Egypt, a place heavily influenced by Gnosticism. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, men like Philo, Origen, and Augustine began to wed Greek philosophy with their interpretation of the Bible, resulting in a non-literal approach to Scripture called allegorizing. The allegorizing interpreter tries to find higher, more spiritual interpretations of the biblical text. This resulted in outlandish, spiritual sounding interpretations like saying that the four rivers in Eden represent the four parts of the soul (Genesis 2:11-14) or Jerusalem’s gates were symbolic (the fish gate was symbolic for evangelism – fishing for men – instead of a transporting actual fish (Neh. 3). If you see the spiritual in opposition to the physical, an earthly future reign of Christ is absurd and thus, amillennialism (the idea that there is no future kingdom and/or that the reign is now spiritual through Christians on earth) began to dominate. Augustine, who wrote The City of God, believed that in order for the kingdom of God to be good, it had to be spiritual in nature and the idea of a physical restoration was carnal.3 He was the first to teach that the Church is the Messianic Kingdom on earth that began with Christ’s first coming. This most influential man in church history also taught that Satan is currently bound and the “first resurrection” is merely regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Sadly, many creeds and confessions developed after allegorizing became the dominant form of interpretation and this method of interpretation led us into the Dark Ages for more than 1,000 years! That’s longer than the Millennial Kingdom will be! In the Dark Ages (4th to 16th centuries) prophetic study was obsolete, amillennialism dominated, Roman Catholicism reigned, anti-Semitism was prevalent, and the Bible was removed from an already illiterate people, resulting in priestly manipulation (sale of indulgences/purgatory). Thankfully, the Reformation came and people started to interpret the Bible with a literal-historical-grammatical interpretation again, resulting in a real, spiritual awakening! Now, it's our job to continue applying that interpretation to the entire Bible, including eschatology (something men like Luther and Calvin stopped short of). If you want to read more on this subject, check out Andy Woods’ book Ever Reforming. 4. Ebionism This was a 2nd century heresy that denied the deity of Christ by claiming Jesus was the natural son of Mary and Joseph but chosen to be the Son of God at His baptism. However, the gospels are very careful to guard the doctrine that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. That’s important because Jesus must not be a descendant of Adam who inherited the sin nature like the rest of us. Instead, He had to be born of God, not of an earthly father. 5. Apollinarianism Apollinarius, in the 4th century taught that Christ had a human body and soul but had the divine Logos instead of a human spirit. The Logos dominated the passive human body and soul in his view. This was an error concerning Christ’s humanity. It was condemned by Council of Constantinople in 680. 6. Nestorianism Nestorius basically divided Christ into 2 persons – one deity and one human. He so separated the two natures that the result was 2 persons. This teaching was condemned by the Council of Ephesus in 431. 7. Eutychianism Eutyches (ca. 378-454), in reaction to Nestorianism, taught there was only one nature in Christ. It was an error called monophysitism. The divine nature was not fully divine and the human nature was not fully human and the result was a mixed, single nature. This was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. 8. Mormonism The official doctrine of this modern-day cult teaches that Jesus and Satan are “spirit brothers” and Jesus is the first “spirit child” born to the “Heavenly Father God” and one of his several wives. In their doctrine, Jesus is a created being who became god. They’re polytheistic, believing in many gods. The Church of “Jesus Christ” of Latter Day Saints clearly has a different Jesus than the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches Jesus is the eternally existent God, equal with God the Father, and Creator of all things – including Satan. As I said at the beginning, we don’t have to study every counterfeit Christ out there to understand the authentic one, but I trust you see now how when we know what He is not, we can more carefully and clearly express who He truly is. I also trust you see the importance of teaching on the incarnation. The idea that Jesus is God eternal who was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary is and always has been a crucial doctrine for us to hold firmly too. In Christ with you, Pastor Justin 12/12/2021 [1] Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1986, 1999), 291. 2 Andy Woods, Ever-Reforming (Dispensational Publishing House, 2018), 20. 3 Renald Showers, The Most Asked Prophecy Questions (Chattanooga: ATRI, 2000), 326. You are invited to a Candlelight Christmas Eve play, 7:00 p.m., at Chadron Berean Church.
Come with your family and friends to discover how the story of the long-awaited Messiah really begins! Merry Christmas! Join us for an informal night of singing, fun and games!
We will enjoy our favorite Christmas hymns (you pick!), followed by table games and holiday treats like hot chocolate with marshmallows and candy canes! In today’s sermon, we talked about how God can use the ordinary moments for eternal significance, especially when we see them as a gift. In this devotional, please allow me to take more liberty than usual to demonstrate that concept. Just imagine with me that God comes to you at the end of the day and says something like, “Today was my gift to you. Let’s talk about what you did with it. What did you do today?”
You: “Well, it was just another boring day. I woke up as usual and…” God: “Wait, wait, wait… You got out your comfortable bed in your warm house? And you stood up and readied yourself with no problem? You realize not everyone got up that way this morning, right? That’s my gift to you.” You: “Oh… uh… I guess I didn’t think about that. I am extremely blessed, aren’t I?” God: “More than you know. So what else did you do?” You: “Well, I was drove to work and…” God: “Wait. Did you just drive?” You: “No, actually. You know. I uh… prayed about the day and worshipped along with the praise song on the radio. It was just the right song for me this morning.” God: “That’s more like it. It was a great drive for both of us. You didn’t miss it.” You: “Then I just went to work and after work, I...” God: “Woah, woah, woah… what did you do at work?” [I’m going to fill in several vocations to make a point] You: “Well, you know, I’m a construction worker. I was helping build a house outside of town for that new young family moving to town.” God: “Oh, but not just any house. Did you know that because you built that house as if doing it for me like Colossians 3:23 says, that house is going to be an incredible blessing to the family that lives there? They are going to make many special memories in that house and they will thank me for that home many times over. They will really appreciate the extra quality you put into your work!” You: “Oh wow, sometimes I wonder… But I never thought about them living in it long term much.” God: “What did you do at work today?” You: “Well, I’m just an optometrist so I helped correct some lenses and do checkups like usual. It was a pretty average day.” God: “Do you remember when that young man came to see you today?” You: “Yes, I do. He needed new glasses pretty bad!” God: “Well, because you gave him new glasses, he can read without so many headaches and because of that, he’s so much happier! In fact, he’s going to take up a serious study of the Bible soon. He’s going to be able to read my Word and find new life in Christ because of that. Isn’t that great? Then there was that recently widowed Ms. Brown who came into your office late in the day. You didn’t know it, but she’s been feeling extremely discouraged and your extraordinary kindness to her really brightened her day. In fact, she’s noticing something different in you and is wondering what makes you that way. You didn’t know it but that was the planting a seed for her too. I will make today’s day beautiful in its time.” God: “So what did you do at work?” You: “Well, you know I’m a farmer so I just did a bunch of paperwork after finishing up harvest. Pretty boring stuff really.” God: “You do know we’re partners in that right? You plant it and I grow it?” You: “Yeah, that’s pretty cool when you think about it! I guess I don’t thank you enough for growing the crop and providing the rain that I pray for.” God: “Yeah, I really enjoy providing my creation. Did you know that your crops are going to be used to feed thousands of families? Many families are going to enjoy dinner together with the food you grew on your farm, just like how you enjoyed dinner with your family tonight.” You: “Wow, I don’t think about that enough. My mind tends to stop short at the elevator where I unload all the grain.” God: “Say, didn’t you eat with your whole family tonight?” You: “Why yes, yes I did. Meatloaf and potatoes again. We thanked you for it before we ate it! We did that right, right?” God: “Haha, yes. I appreciate that. Because many people believe in evolution these days, they don’t stop to thank me as their creator and provider… Anyway, you do know that it’s a only a short season of life before your kids leave the nest? You should appreciate those family dinners together.” You: “Yeah, I guess it won’t be long before they’ve all graduated. It’s such a short season in life.” God: “What did you do after that?” You: "Oh, we put our kids to bed." God: “When you put your kids to bed, do you remember how your son told you about how he mustered up the courage to do the right thing at school today?” You: “Yeah, I told him I was proud of him and loved him.” God: “You can’t see this, but I can – forty years from now he’s going to remember that night like it was yesterday.” You: “Really? I thought it was just another night of tucking the kids into bed? I had no idea it could be that big of a deal for him.” God: “Remember that, because one of these nights – and I won’t tell you when – I’m going to use one of those Bible stories you share so faithfully to draw your son to a saving knowledge of Christ. You will get to lead your child to trust in me!” You: “Wow! That would be such an answer to prayer! Such a joy!” God: “Oh I know! I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in truth. It won’t just be another night of tucking kids in bed that night, will it?” God: “Oh yeah, one more thing. You know how about a year ago you were really sick and laid up for a while?” You: “Yes, how could I forget?” God: “Yet you continued to trust in me and believe that I was good and in control of your circumstance?” You: “Yes, I remember making it a point to trust you.” God: “That was real Christlike by the way… Well, another church member is going through the same thing and because you faced your trial with faith and patience, they now have the courage to do the same thing.” You: “Wow, I never dreamed I would be an example to someone like that. Thanks for letting me know this time.” You: “Hey, before you go… Does this kind of stuff happen all the time?” God: “Yes it does, but you don’t always see it or know it. That’s what Ecclesiastes means when it says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” You: “Right… and what it means to walk by faith and not by sight?” God: “Exactly. However, when you discipline yourself to see every day as a gift, you’ll start to pick up on it more.” In Christ with you, Pastor Justin *This devo was adapted from a message by Pastor Bryan Clark. This information is taken from the Berean Fellowship of Churches latest newsletter reminding us that the ENGAGE conference is for EVERYONE this year!
“Di and I [Fellowship president Scott Mathis & wife Diane] are so excited for our upcoming Engage 2022 Conference (February 10-12) at Lincoln Berean Church. We are especially excited Dr. Erwin Lutzer as our guest speaker. In the past, our Engage Conferences have been designed for those in spiritual leadership but since Erwin Lutzer is so well known, we've decided to open this year's Engage Conference to everyone. Here is a sneak preview of the topics he will be teaching on:” Session 1: Pandemics, Plagues, and Natural Disasters—What is God saying to us? (Psalm 135:6-7) Session 2: Conflicts of Conscience-When the State becomes God (Daniel 3) Session 3: Responding to the Sexualization of our Culture (I Corinthians 6:12-20) Session 4: Race, Riots and the Church (Colossians 3:1-11) Session 5: Strengthen What Remains (Revelation 3:1-6) You don't want to miss this conference! We feel so strongly about the relevancy of his topics we are keeping the registration cost at a minimum to help as many individuals as possible be able to sit under his teaching. We are also keeping the schedule very simple-- allowing you a lot of free time to connect with others, rest, or enjoy the sites of Lincoln. Registration is open and you can find it in your email! It’s almost December and you know what that means?! We celebrate the Savior’s birth and enjoy our favorite holiday treats and traditions! One of the traditions we’ve been enjoying the past few years at Chadron Berean is an ornament sharing time.
For those of you who are new, this is a time where we bring creative ornaments – homemade or store bought – that reflects on how the Lord has shepherded our hearts and lives throughout this year. During the fellowship dinner, you will have the opportunity to share your ornament and story of God’s work in your life. Afterwards, we hang them on a tree in the foyer all month long as a sweet reminder. We hope you’ll join us in this wonderful time of sharing! Pastor Justin In this Sunday’s sermon, we ran into Barnabas for the first time. His name was Joseph, but he became known as Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement.” As we go through Acts, we’re going to see why he is such an encouragement in the early church. Barnabas was the real deal. He is a “what you see, is what you get” kind of guy. A man who sets an example for the church to look up to and is worth following as he follows hard after Christ. Are we the kind of person that disciples follow like Barnabas? Barnabas was a guy who not only spoke the truth, but he also loved people well. Those two threads of truth and love must be braided together in our Christian witnessing to advance the gospel. Truth needs the tone of love behind it. The difference between his gift to the church and Ananias and Sapphira’s was that he wasn’t doing it for show or recognition. He really cared about people. Barnabas will prove himself to be a man who suffers great trial and hardship in his journeys to make Christ known, but he also knew how tough it could be. For men like Mark, who deserted Paul and Barnabas once before, Barnabas was man of second chances. He believed in Mark when others didn’t. Who in your life needs someone to believe in them right now? Barnabas reminds me of Paul’s portrait of Timothy. Paul told the Philippians that he longed to send Timothy to them, saying, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.” Timothy genuinely concerned about people too. He really wanted to be a help to them. Do you genuinely care about people? Who needs a caring person in their life this holiday season? Do we really want to help them know and grow in the Lord Jesus? That’s a proper motive for ministry. Let’s be known at CBC for being people who really care about others!
Pastor Justin In this Sunday’s sermon, we talked about how we can be bold witnesses for Jesus. God commands us to share the gospel and that requires boldness because it is exclusive. It upsets the status quo of a relativistic culture that believes everyone can have their own “truth”. But I want to talk about another reason boldness is required: the terrible fate of man without Christ. We know a Christ-less eternity lies ahead for those who do not trust Christ. After we die, the Bible says we will all face a judgment of faith. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed once for man to die and after that face judgment.” We will all stand before God and for those who accepted Christ, they will be welcomed into the eternal joys of Heaven in His presence. But for those who have not believed on Christ, they face a terrible fate in a place commonly referred to as Hell. This is a real place of eternal sentencing that is to be avoided (Matt. 23:33). 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 says God will deal out retribution to those who do now know God and do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. “These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” The doctrine of hell has fallen on hard times in our day. You rarely hear it talked about, even though the Bible records Jesus warning people about it on many occasions. He talked more about hell than anyone else in Scripture. Hell being a rare subject in discourse is partially due to the fact that eternal damnation is not something comfortable to think about. We prefer a God of love rather than a God who is holy and just. Our emotions refuse to think of those we know and love ever being in a place of eternal torment. Whenever anyone dies, they’re always in “a better place” – never a worse place! If we believe that, we are deceiving ourselves. Hell is the broad gate and heaven is the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). Hell is often referred to as Hades in the Bible or equivalated with The Lake of Fire. Our word for “hell” is derived from the Greek word geenna (Gehenna), from the Hebrew ge hinnom, which means “Valley of Hinnom.” Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, was a valley outside of Jerusalem where Israelites sacrificed their children to a false god named Molech (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 21:6; 19:6). Because of this, God said His judgment would reside over this place. Jeremiah prophesied God would destroy these idolaters for their sin in the Valley of Hinnom and leave their corpses to rot, renaming it the “valley slaughter” (Jer. 7:31-34; 19:4-6). It has also been said that this was a place where Jerusalem’s refuse and trash was burned, including the occasional dead body of criminals. Like a city dump, the fire was always burning and the smoke always rising. No wonder Christ used Gehenna as a metaphor for hell (Matt. 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15; 23:33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6; Rev. 20). Hell is a also described as “unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:12; Mark 9:43, 48), a “furnace of fire” (Matt. 13:42, 50), and “outer darkness” (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). The book of Jude encourages Christians to be like firefighters who snatch the unsaved from the fires of hell. After refuting false teachers that denied God’s eternal punishment for sin and lawlessness, Jude 23 says, “Save others, snatching them out of the fire.” Every Christian is like a firefighter! False teachings about eternal punishment abound today. One false teaching is Universalism, which teaches that all people will be saved. Some false teachers will try to use Scriptures that talk about Jesus “dying for the whole world” to convince people that the whole world is saved. This weak interpretation is easily toppled by tremendous amounts of further revelation explaining the condition for salvation is faith in Christ. Yes, He died for everyone, but we must believe. John 3:18 is clear: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Another common false teaching is Conditionalism. This teaches that when people are “destroyed” in hell, they cease to exist. This idea comes from a misinterpretation of descriptions of hell like Matthew 10:28 where Jesus says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Destruction is not synonymous with extinction though. I can “destroy” a pop can by crushing it, but it doesn’t cease to exist. Scripture repeatedly teaches that hell is a place of conscious eternal punishment. It is a place where people weep and gnash their teeth in agony (Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28). In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells a figurative, but possibly actual, story about two men in the afterlife. A poor man named Lazarus went to “paradise” (heaven) to be with the Jewish father Abraham. The other was a rich man who ended up in Hades. He lived so comfortably in this life that he never longed for paradise beyond this world. He never stopped to consider his eternal destiny. While in Hades, he can see across this “great chasm” that is fixed between him and paradise, where they are. He lifts up his eyes, and being in agonizing torment, asks Abraham to send Lazarus with a drop of water for his tongue. Abraham cannot cross the chasm between them. He also asks Abraham to send someone from paradise to his 5 brothers who remain alive. Abaraham says “They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them…. If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets [the Old Testament], they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” There are no second chances in hell. The way I see it, there will also be differing degrees of punishment in hell. Even though all are without excuse due to the evidence in creation and God’s law is written on their hearts (Romans 1:20; 2:14-16), passages like Matthew 10:15, 11:22-24, 26:24, Luke 12:47-48, John 19:11 suggest that those who received more truth-revelation concerning Christ will be responsible for more. I think the thermostat on the furnace of hell will be set highest for Satan. He will not be a ruler in hell. He will be the most punished. The old preacher, Charles Spurgeon, described hell in an unforgettable way: “there is never any sleep or rest or hope. It is a place where a drop of water is denied, though thirst shall burn the tongue; a place where pleasure never breathed, where light never dawned, where anything like consolation was never heard of; a place where the gospel is denied, where mercy droops her wings and dies; a place of fury and of burning; a place the likes of which imagination has not pictured." Hades, to be precise, holds unsaved souls in torment until their future resurrection at the end of the Millennial Kingdom where they will stand before the Great White Throne for a judgment of works (Rev. 20:11-15).After this, they are thrown into the eternal location for unbelievers called The Lake of Fire (20:15). This is referred to as the second death (20:14). The term “lake of fire” is used 6 times in the book of Revelation (19:20; 20:10, 14b, 14c, 15, 18) and is the final hellish state of punishment for unbelievers, fallen angels (including Satan), Hades, and death itself. It was prepared for Satan and his angels (Matt. 25:41). They will be tormented there day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Have you ever seen yourself a firefighter for Christ? I think it would be helpful to start thinking this way. The great evangelist D. L. Moody used to envision people as if they were on fire until he knew they weren’t. He understood all are condemned until they come to Christ and made a point to share the gospel every day. Firefighting is also a noble task. It is an honor to serve as a firefighter. We look up to them and admire their difficult, self-sacrificial work. God will reward His faithful firefighters who are ready to answer the call any time of day. What a privilege to serve in Heaven’s fire department! If you’ve never trusted in Jesus Christ today, know that you can simply receive Him as your Savior right now by telling Him through prayer that you deserve hell as a sinner, but want to accept His incredibly merciful gift of the cross for you. He died for you in your place and rose again from the grave to prove it. Right now, He sits in Heaven victorious, patiently waiting for sinners to receive His gift of salvation. He does not long to judge us but to save us (Jer. 17:15-16; John 3:17; 2 Peter 3:9). Will you receive His gift of salvation today? Romans 3:23-24 is like a cool drink of water for those who thirst: “Everyone has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence but by the free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.” In Christ with you, Pastor Justin One of the most impressive aspects of the early Church that we studied in Acts this Sunday is their continual devotion to apostles’ teaching. The church was hungry for the truth of the Word of God – a sure sign of a Spirit-filled church! The first thing you should look for when looking for a home church is a church that carry’s Bibles, opens their Bibles regularly, and sticks close to the text. That’s what the Bereans of Acts 17:11 are known for: searching the Scriptures to see if what the apostle Paul was telling them was true. Just like the early Church, we need to be serious about understanding the Word of God for us and the generations to follow. Like a relay team passing a baton, each generation must do their part. When you study the letter of 2 Timothy, you catch a glimpse of this principle. Paul is writing to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-7 using a few analogies to depict the Christian life, but let’s focus on his athlete analogy, thinking of ourselves as “athletes in Christ.” “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Timothy is part of a spiritual heritage that has been passed down to him by his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice (1:5). Paul had also invested a lot in this young man’s life and now he is being asked to step up and step forward in the call to ministry. You even catch a glimpse of his ordination in 1:6. He is like an athlete in a relay race asked to pass on a baton he received. Paul refers to it as “the things which you have heard from me”, “the standard of sound words” or “the treasure” (vv. 13-14). It is the body of gospel teaching.
At least five generations are in view here: Christ, who entrusted the body of gospel teaching to Paul, who entrusted it to Timothy, who will entrust it to faithful men who teach others. I guess we could be considered the “other faithful men” because we are in a long line of truth that has been passed down and every believer should think of themselves as athletes in Christ, responsible both for receiving the gospel baton and passing it on in some way. The sad context, however, reveals the tendency of people to drop the baton! In chapter 1:15, Hermogenes and Phygelus have “turned away” from Paul. In 4:9, Demas is described as having “deserted” Paul out of a love for this present world. And in chapters 3 and 4, Paul prophetically cautions Timothy about the “last days” when people will want to have their ears tickled – rather than listening to truth, they will want to hear what they want to hear. Timohty is being asked to preach the Word in a world that doesn’t always want to hear it, but he must not bend. The Word of God is what people need! That’s why you have one of the clearest affirmation of Scripture’s inspiration in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It is “God-breathed” and for “every season.” We must study the Word to compete “according to the rules” (v. 5). But what is this going to require? Endurance. That may be the key word for the entire book of 2 Timothy: Endurance. Every soldier, farmer, and athlete must endure. They expect it. They go into it with that mindset. That way, they won’t get mad when things get difficult or give up when it gets hard. But how do we endure? Is it by gritting our teeth and bearing it? No. Paul basically says, “by supernatural strength in Christ.” More precisely, verse 1 says, “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” In other words, just as you entered the race by grace through faith in Christ (1:9), so continue on by the grace in Christ! To endure in receiving and passing the baton, you must depend on God’s grace. God has grace for salvation and for service. For pardon and power. Apart from Him, we can do nothing, right (Jn. 15:5)? Let’s remember this as we go on day by day in ministry. And let’s keep our eyes on the prize to come – the future rewards for faithfully passing on the baton. The soldier pleases the One who enlisted him. The farmer receives his share of the crop. And the athlete wins the prize. In Christ with you, Pastor Justin |
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