~
Binary Result:
Never Ending Extreme Joy or Extreme Suffering Forever ~
Series
Comment ~ When it comes to spiritual paths it is strictly
a binary choice.
(1)
It is a choice between the True or False. “Jesus said to him
[Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’”
(John 14:6). [See Post #1 in this
series.]
(2)
It is a choice between Do or Done. Jesus said, “It [the
work of salvation] is finished!” (John 19:30).
Your Doing can add nothing to what Christ has Done for you. [See Post #2 in this series.]
(3)
It is your choice between Religion or Relationship. Religions are
geared toward self-effort whereas Christianity is an intimacy with the only One
who can save. Jesus said, “Behold, I
stand at the door and knock. If anyone
hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and
he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). [See Post
#3 in this series.]
Scripture: Joy for Believers ~ “Be
sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, Who called us
to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion
forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter
5:8-11).
“Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect,
that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with
eternal glory. This is a faithful
saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He
cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:10-13).
Scripture: Suffering for Unbelievers ~
Jesus said, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in
Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his
neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life
maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that
shall never be quenched — where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is
not quenched.’ And if your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off. It is
better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into
hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched — where ‘Their worm
does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it
out. It is better for you to enter the
kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell
fire — where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’” (Mark
9:42-48).
Comment
~ In the rare times Scripture
repeats itself in the same passage it is emphasizing extreme importance. In this short passage we are told the fires
of hell will never be put out five times!
“Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with
tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with
us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those
who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be
admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was
believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
~
Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
*****