Post by Cindy on Aug 6, 2015 9:25:48 GMT -5
After reading and replying to the article, Why Millennials Are Turned Off by All This End-Time Talk I thought it would be good to discuss just how the bible says Christians are to behave in view of the final judgement coming on the world. Believe it or not, the bible does address this question for us, so we can be sure we are living the way the Lord wants us to. The first scripture that comes to mind is this: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.” (2 Peter 3:10–12) That to me is very telling. We are told to look forward to the day and even to speed it's coming! God has told us that the rapture will happen when the very last gentile that's been chosen by God to be saved, has been saved. At that point the full number of Gentiles will be filled and the church will have no more reason for being here. It's then that we will be removed from the earth. It seems obvious to me that in order to speed it's coming, we need to be diligent in prayer and in telling others the truth about God in order to bring them to salvation and to bring those who are saved but living in sin, back to the Lord. Just doing those things alone aren't enough though, if the life we live every day doesn't line up with His Word. We have to live our faith, live His Word, in order to speed it's coming. That's going to be pretty hard for those who don't know His Word.
Let's look at another verse: “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6–9) Again it shows us being quite different from the rest of the world, warning them with the Words of God's Truth and with how we live our life. There's no room for hypocrisy anymore. No room for anger, and temper tantrums. And there's certainly no room for tolerating evil and sin. We have to decide once and for all what's most important to us. Do we want to see these people in heaven for eternity and enjoy their friendship and love there, or do we want to enjoy their presence in our life's now while they're living in unrepentant sin?
I hear so many people say they don't want to "lose" their loved one, or alienate them, but they're not thinking straight. They're only thinking of "right now", they're not thinking long term. If they choose to do things their way, then while they "might" have a relationship with the person for now, (I say "might" because since they're living in sin, there's no guarantee that they'll stick around for them anyway)when this life is over through the death of one of them or through the rapture, they will lose that person for all of eternity. More then that, they will have to live with the knowledge that it will be at least partially their fault that their loved one won't be with them in heaven, and will instead be infecting themselves with more and more sin during their life time here.
This is why Jesus warned us: ““If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27) And again He says: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”” (Mark 8:35–38) These are very hard things to deal with, but they are still things that we must deal with honestly. We must either choose Jesus for eternity, or give Him up. Those are our options.
Lastly I want to add something from a commentary I read today which I posted on the thread about millennials not liking to hear about the end times. When Zephaniah preached, Israel was very much like we are today. They were full of false teaching and worshiping God had become filled with all kinds of things that went against God's Word. The people were outwardly religious, but their hearts were far from Him. Others didn't even bother to pretend, they wither worshiped idols or nothing at all except themselves, power, and getting more things. They tolerated all kinds of evil, just as we do today. So this is very relevant for us.
God’s warnings for today
People have heard this message of judgement down through the centuries, and they still need to realize that they are in danger of God’s condemnation that is coming upon the whole world. This is why we, like the apostles, preach the gospel of saving grace to everyone who will listen to God’s call to turn aside from sin and turn to Christ in repentance and faith. It should be the aim of every church’s social and evangelistic activity to bring sinners face to face with the danger of God’s judgement and so help them to turn to the only hope of salvation: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Judeans of Zephaniah’s day were probably happy to hear that Zephaniah was calling people to repentance. It was no new message. It is found throughout the whole of the Bible and is one of the major themes of the Old as well as the New Testament. People are sinful, unkind, thoughtless and self-satisfied. They need to turn away from their wicked ways and seek the Lord.
Yet, when Zephaniah started preaching, his message was not received with rapturous applause. On the contrary, it was hated, because instead of addressing it to the heathen around them, it was aimed directly at them.
Today, all people, including church congregations, need to be reminded of the need to repent. Those who have never tasted that the Lord is gracious (Ps. 34:8) need to have their hearts, minds and wills opened to receive the message of God’s love, the message that warns them of the danger they are in without Christ and that urges them to ‘call on the name of the Lord and be saved’ (Acts 2:21). Those who have known the presence of the Lord for very many years also need to heed the call to repent and return to the Lord and his ways. Sadly, many Christian people have continued to sin in many ways, not least by gossiping, being jealous of the gifts of others or giving the impression that they are better and more deeply spiritual than others. Those who persist in their unholy ways will be swept away—at least, their boasting will be removed, even though they themselves will be saved, but only as those ‘escaping through the flames’ (1 Cor. 3:15). This is a very unpopular message, and many preachers today are being urged to drop the old gospel message and only emphasize the fact that God is love and that if we come to him he will meet all of our needs. Yet if we only preach the love of God, we will preach an unbalanced gospel. It is quite wrong and unhelpful to think that we should not preach anything that will challenge people’s lives for fear that it will deter them from turning to Christ. The Old Testament prophets pulled no punches when they spoke about God’s punishment of evil and disobedience; neither should God’s people in these days, as they seek to bring sinners to the foot of the cross in repentance and faith.
Bentley, M. (2008). Opening up Zephaniah.
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)
Let's look at another verse: “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6–9) Again it shows us being quite different from the rest of the world, warning them with the Words of God's Truth and with how we live our life. There's no room for hypocrisy anymore. No room for anger, and temper tantrums. And there's certainly no room for tolerating evil and sin. We have to decide once and for all what's most important to us. Do we want to see these people in heaven for eternity and enjoy their friendship and love there, or do we want to enjoy their presence in our life's now while they're living in unrepentant sin?
I hear so many people say they don't want to "lose" their loved one, or alienate them, but they're not thinking straight. They're only thinking of "right now", they're not thinking long term. If they choose to do things their way, then while they "might" have a relationship with the person for now, (I say "might" because since they're living in sin, there's no guarantee that they'll stick around for them anyway)when this life is over through the death of one of them or through the rapture, they will lose that person for all of eternity. More then that, they will have to live with the knowledge that it will be at least partially their fault that their loved one won't be with them in heaven, and will instead be infecting themselves with more and more sin during their life time here.
This is why Jesus warned us: ““If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27) And again He says: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”” (Mark 8:35–38) These are very hard things to deal with, but they are still things that we must deal with honestly. We must either choose Jesus for eternity, or give Him up. Those are our options.
Lastly I want to add something from a commentary I read today which I posted on the thread about millennials not liking to hear about the end times. When Zephaniah preached, Israel was very much like we are today. They were full of false teaching and worshiping God had become filled with all kinds of things that went against God's Word. The people were outwardly religious, but their hearts were far from Him. Others didn't even bother to pretend, they wither worshiped idols or nothing at all except themselves, power, and getting more things. They tolerated all kinds of evil, just as we do today. So this is very relevant for us.
God’s warnings for today
People have heard this message of judgement down through the centuries, and they still need to realize that they are in danger of God’s condemnation that is coming upon the whole world. This is why we, like the apostles, preach the gospel of saving grace to everyone who will listen to God’s call to turn aside from sin and turn to Christ in repentance and faith. It should be the aim of every church’s social and evangelistic activity to bring sinners face to face with the danger of God’s judgement and so help them to turn to the only hope of salvation: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Judeans of Zephaniah’s day were probably happy to hear that Zephaniah was calling people to repentance. It was no new message. It is found throughout the whole of the Bible and is one of the major themes of the Old as well as the New Testament. People are sinful, unkind, thoughtless and self-satisfied. They need to turn away from their wicked ways and seek the Lord.
Yet, when Zephaniah started preaching, his message was not received with rapturous applause. On the contrary, it was hated, because instead of addressing it to the heathen around them, it was aimed directly at them.
Today, all people, including church congregations, need to be reminded of the need to repent. Those who have never tasted that the Lord is gracious (Ps. 34:8) need to have their hearts, minds and wills opened to receive the message of God’s love, the message that warns them of the danger they are in without Christ and that urges them to ‘call on the name of the Lord and be saved’ (Acts 2:21). Those who have known the presence of the Lord for very many years also need to heed the call to repent and return to the Lord and his ways. Sadly, many Christian people have continued to sin in many ways, not least by gossiping, being jealous of the gifts of others or giving the impression that they are better and more deeply spiritual than others. Those who persist in their unholy ways will be swept away—at least, their boasting will be removed, even though they themselves will be saved, but only as those ‘escaping through the flames’ (1 Cor. 3:15). This is a very unpopular message, and many preachers today are being urged to drop the old gospel message and only emphasize the fact that God is love and that if we come to him he will meet all of our needs. Yet if we only preach the love of God, we will preach an unbalanced gospel. It is quite wrong and unhelpful to think that we should not preach anything that will challenge people’s lives for fear that it will deter them from turning to Christ. The Old Testament prophets pulled no punches when they spoke about God’s punishment of evil and disobedience; neither should God’s people in these days, as they seek to bring sinners to the foot of the cross in repentance and faith.
Bentley, M. (2008). Opening up Zephaniah.
“For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17)