The above title is a fragment of what was spoken by the Lord to Moses and later written among the ten commandments. According to the book of Hebrews, they along with other matters of the Old Covenant are “. . . obsolete.” “Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Heb.8:13)
Tag: salvation
Unless the Lord comes first, we will all face death. For some, death comes in their youth- a tragic accident or a deadly disease. Others will live out a long and fruitful life dying quietly in their sleep. None of us know how or when death will take us but we all know it will- “For the living know they will die…”
Societies are governed by powers ordained by God.. “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.” (Rom.13:1-2)
In the letter to the Romans, after he had documented his own struggle with sin, Paul proclaimed, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” In the 38th Psalm David wrote, “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.” In the 40th Psalm, “For innumerable evils have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; Therefore my heart fails me.” Peter told Christ in Luke 5:8, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Paul, David and Peter- These are all men that could be described as men of faith. They were men who followed the Lord, who did His works, who kept the faith and all three lamented of their sin. Paul called himself a wretched man. David proclaimed that his iniquities numbered beyond the number of hairs on his head. Peter described himself as a sinful man.
Saved? Are you sure? In a world with so much change and instability, it’s sometimes difficult to have confidence in anything. Even in spiritual matters, our faith often fails to provide us with any real confidence in our eternity. The promise of salvation is certain and secure, but are you sure you’re saved? If you’re not sure, why not? If you are, how do you know?
In Revelation 5:3-4, John recalls how he wept because, “…no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was …found worth to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.” Then in verse 5 John is told not to weep.
Thus Jesus spoke to the woman caught in the act of adultery. Her accusers wanted to corner Jesus through this matter. After all, He had put them on notice concerning the righteous mercy of God and their own unrighteousness. Consider these previous events from the book of John:
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Jesus drove the money changers and sellers of livestock from the temple.
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He taught that God did not send His Son to condemn, but to save.
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A Samaritan woman was given hope.
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A man was healed on the Sabbath
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The leadership of Israel was criticized for scratching each others backs while rejecting the truth.
Many of the mainstream religious doctrines of our age are based upon the fallacy that God has predetermined our eternal fate. This concept simply is not supported in the scriptures. Paul clearly states in I Timothy chapter 2:1-4 that God desires everyone to be saved.
No matter our religious conviction we share a common destiny. By the Holy Spirit’s inspiration Paul declared:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
Whether we acknowledge Jesus in this life or not, we will stand before Him one day to answer for our life’s activities.
One of the most beautiful and encouraging passages in the Bible is Luke 23:39-43. In spite of the suffering and humiliation we see faith and humility from a repenting thief and mind-blowing love, mercy and grace from our blessed Savior. It strengthens us because if a thief may enter into paradise with our Lord there must be hope for us! It is saddening that it is misunderstood and misapplied to say baptism is a useless work and unnecessary for salvation.