Certainty Of Judgment to Come
SINNERS Think They're Going To Escape
- Pastor quotes from Solomon's book of Ecclesiastes regarding judgment for all. The righteous and the wicked are included in this judgment. God's word is true and if it states this, it's CERTAIN that it will happen regardless of how long the sentence is delivered. It's human nature to think we can ESCAPE this judgment. After all, there are so many who refuse to believe God's inspired word from the Bible he has authored. Solomon writes: "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." (Ecclesiastes 8:11) God calls rebellion against him: "sin". According to the Bible we are all sinners. However, christians are forgiven their sins because they believe and trust Jesus Christ as their savior who sacrificed his life so that we could be "born again" into the Kingdom of God! Christians rightfully fear God and pray for those who are foolish and refuse to believe.
SAVED People Must Stay Right With God
- Sinners who trust Jesus are also promised to be judged. God warns us about our evil deeds as well. He wants us to "keep his words" and obey his commandments. We have been given a will of our own and we are all guilty of sin even after being saved. God is merciful and will forgive us but there is a penalty for sin for christians. God judges us based on staying true to him, even if we have sinned against him. This means we must repent and do the best we can in every way to serve him. We cannot just "quit on God", this is unacceptable to the one who paid for our salvation! There are indications in the Bible that we can lose all of the rewards of a lifetime of work for God if we abandon service to him. We cannot lose eternal life but God can usher us into heaven with "empty hands" when we had earned crowns to lay at his feet. How sad that would be! We MUST STAY RIGHT WITH GOD!
SENSIBLE People Prepare For Judgment Day
- A sensible person who hears the gospel will sense the call of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. It would be foolish to ignore or put off this clarion call from God. The only way we can prepare for judgment day is first and foremost: Cry out to God for the forgiveness of our sins and to ask for salvation from the only one who can save us. Is Jesus truly your savior? Don't let another day pass without preparing to meet him by accepting his invitation to be saved. Once we're saved, we can be a good servant obeying his commandments for our life. It won't be easy, but it will lead to eternal life and we'll escape the horrors of eternal separation from God and his people in hellfire that we have all earned on our own.
