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The Bible says:
"Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take
refuge in him." Proverbs 30:5
And that's a powerful truth that time and eternity both bear witness
to.
Whoever trusts in God is banking on His
Word -- all His wonderful promises --to be true. They are depending
on Him. And this is the right thing for us to do.
Why do you suppose the devil fights so
hard to make us doubt God, to doubt His words, and all His promises?
Satan wants to rob us of our confidence in Jesus Christ because that
confidence in Jesus is our life (see Colossians 1:21-23a, & 2:8; and
also Hebrews 3:6).
But God does not leave us alone.
He works powerfully in the life of every believer to strengthen us
in every way (1 Corinthians 1:4-9, 10:13, and 1 Thessalonians
5:23,24; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Hebrews 10:23). And in our
everyday lives, believers can see the hand of God at work as He
proves Himself true again and again. He answers prayer, just as He
said He would. He saves lost souls and heals broken lives, just as
He promises in Scripture.
In fact, whatever God says always proves
true. Even when we sin we soon see that the words of God in
Scripture concerning sin all prove true. Every word of God proves
true.
And the same is also true for the
unbeliever who rejects God's offer of eternal life. Only God has the
way to life eternal. Only Jesus Christ is that way. And all who
reject Him will soon discover that the wages of sin is death -- and
that the second death (eternity without God) is no picnic.
We all have a choice. We either allow
God to rescue us from the death and hell that we all deserve, or we
remain under the wrath of God, and wait to be judged for the sins we
have all committed in this life.
John writes about the judgment:
Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth
and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for
them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the
book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as
recorded in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it,
Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were
judged according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of
fire; and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of
life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
All will be judged according to the sins
they have committed while living on this earth. And all have sinned
(Romans 3:23 -- "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God"). So that means that we are all scheduled for this day of
judgment (" ...as it is appointed for men to die once, but after
this the judgment..." -- Hebrews 9:27).
The only ones to escape, according to
the Scriptures (such as in the passage above, in Revelation) are
those whose names are written in the "book of life". But how does
one get his or her name written into the book of life? (The book of
life makes an interesting study throughout he Scriptures, by the
way, starting way back in the Law of Moses.)
Jesus said this:
"Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him
who sent me has eternal life, and does not come under judgment, but
has passed from death to life." (John 5:24)
Did you get that? Go ahead and read it
again, very slowly. Whoever hears the message of Jesus, and believes
the God who sent Him, has -- owns and possesses -- eternal life.
Jesus goes on to say that they will *not* come under God's judgment,
because they have passed from the penalty of death to the free gift
of life. ("For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -- Romans 6:23)
Jesus said that we must believe God, the
one who sent Him. What has God said that we must believe?
Scripture says this:
"Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God? .... If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He
has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the
witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar,
because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His
Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life,
and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who
does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have
written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you
may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to
believe in the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:5, 9-13)
Every word of God proves true.
And the Scripture reminds us:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world
is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God
abides [remains, continues, lives] forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
And Scripture also says:
"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in
your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation. .... For 'whoever calls on
the name of the LORD shall be saved.' " (taken from Romans 10:9-13)
As the promise of God above says: "He
who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does
not have life." (1 John 5:12)
So, for those of us who know and trust
in Jesus, we have life everlasting. But for those who refuse to
surrender to Him and admit their need of Him, they have only
judgment and hell itself to look forward to.
"Every word of God proves true; he is a
shield to those who take refuge in him." Proverbs 30:5
Jim
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