fencepostdigest

Albert Einstein once said, “I do not know where I am going…”                                                     

Billy Graham once said, “I know where I am going…”                                 

Two very important men having influenced the world in many ways had an understanding of who they were, but only Mr. Graham knew to Whom he belonged and where he was going. Do you??

I have no idea to how many people I have posed this question, “Where are you going when you die?” I have also asked, “How are going to get to Heaven?” Sadly, the vast majority of folks giving answer to my questions simply did not know. The most frustrating answer I have ever heard? “I do not know, but I think someone burned the bridge.”

Jesus told us many things concerning eternal destinations, but two of them are quite direct:

1. “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 CSB.
2. “Lord,” Thomas said, “we don’t know where You’re going. How can we know the way?” “You know the way to where I am going.” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:4-6.

Many in your sphere of influence have no idea who they are nor to whom they belong. You and I see and listen to them week in and week out; they live in fear of the events that are shaking our Nation. Speaking to them about life in Christ and their identity in Him is not one of security but of weakness…hoping He can help. However, the Savior offers His Presence to everyone who pronounces faith in Him. His guidance for them is secure.

Observe this, “ Now this is what the Lord says— the One who created you, Jacob, and the One who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire, and the flame will not burn you. For I Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior, give Egypt as a ransom for you,” Isaiah 43:1-3.

All who by faith trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are redeemed by Him, are in Him and He in them. These are in Him and follow Him and will find themselves in Heaven when that time arrives.

Jesus is Lord.

Because Christians claim to have the truth about the most important questions in life, they also believe that Jesus Christ is the truth. We have presented ourselves at the front door, and our message of exclusivity is falling on deaf ears because we live in a fallen world.

Our course of travel must not now change because of the challenges that lie ahead. This course is to remain in the most accurate interpretation of God’s Words available to us and this is simple, the Word of God is literally true and is infallible. Period. 

If we are to know this most accurate interpretation of Scripture the place to begin is the message. When this interpretation is known the idea is to respond to the most significant revelation found in Jesus alone. We must understand that every Old Testament text does not reveal Christ, but every text speaks about God directing us to understand the work of Christ. Paul said it this way, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” 1 Corinthians 14:1-5 NASB.

Most conservative scholars favor the view of Matthew as being the first NT gospel. These expositors feel there is no sound proof to contradict the early view that early Christians consistently held for the first 17 centuries of the Church. 

I am a ‘student’ of history and have found the grammar and history of the four Gospel narratives to be most helpful in understanding any of the Gospel texts. Questions concerning the interpretation of the historical backgrounds of the evangelists provide much light on why and what they recorded. Consequently, conservative Bible students will discover much from the work of conservative scholars who readily study the questions of grammar and history. This is mostly considered to be the Grammatical-Historical method of interpretation. Is this the most accurate method? I would promptly say, “If you are a conservative student of theology, my answer would then follow, ‘Yes.’”

Jesus is Lord.

You and I are only enabled to know the answer in the Person of Jesus Christ. Do you recall the question asked by one of Jesus’ disciples named Thomas, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” John 14:5 NET2.

Many have asked the same question for two thousand years, but the same answer Jesus gave remains, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you have known me, you will know my Father too. And from now on you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7.

For more than 50 years I have been asking this question, “How are you going to get to Heaven?” The most troubling answer ever given to me is, “I do not know, someone must have burned the bridge.” The fact is most people have not known the prevailing answer because they have not known Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. This is the answer, “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.

Please note this important fact, Calvinism and other ‘isms’ do not hold the answer because their doctrines combined lead to great and massive confusion. Everyone who will eventually find their names written in the Book of Life will only hear their names called because they have by faith confessed Jesus Christ as Lord. “But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!—and he raised us up together with him and seated us together with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.” Ephesians 2:4-10. “Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15.

Jesus is Lord

 “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will. And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.” Romans 8:24-30 NASB.

Moving forward to Romans chapter 9 Paul addresses the problem for the entire Jewish community and that is to accept the will of God as being supreme to the frail will of humanity. God is the Potter and Israel is the clay He chose and formed to be His people not because of their righteousness, but because of His choice. 

It is not until the final statements of chapter 9 do we find the Apostle shedding some light on the stark differences between the relationship of Israel and the Gentile world. God chose the nation of Israel to be His people, “I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau.” In other words, God rejected one and chose the other. Here we see Divine election. However, we see the distinction quite clearly in vv 32-33. Paul points out the fact that we Gentiles have the opportunity to pursue the righteousness of God by faith and not by actions. In his letter to Ephesus, the Apostle writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10.

Now is the moment to address a terrible error made by the Reformers dating back from 1517. I am not certain when the errors became foundational, but I will point to one or two.

• The idea that God’s predestination exactly follows foreknowledge is faulty. Contextually speaking, Paul’s use of the words ‘we’ and ‘us’ indicates that the Apostle refers to the Body of Christ as a whole, not to individuals precisely.
• Some Reformers strongly suggest a principle notion that faith is only available to people after salvation is applied. For them, a lost person is not able to make that kind of decision because of their lostness.

Indeed, our faith in Jesus Christ demonstrates the statement(s) He makes more than a few times, “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24. Most of the time we will remember John 3:16 or John 14:6 when speaking about faith in Christ being how one comes to salvation in the Risen Lord.

But one thing certain our faith demonstrates, with God something is already certain because He has already established that ‘something’ already is present. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. For by it the people of old received God’s commendation. By faith we understand that the worlds were set in order at God’s command, so that the visible has its origin in the invisible.” Hebrews 11:1-3. In Him all things are made possible, yes? However, we must make certain that what we are asking of Him concurs with the Word of God, not simply our desires.

Jesus is Lord.

Reading is something I do voraciously, especially the Word of God. However, I read a short statement concerning the unconditional love of God being in question. Of course, with great interest and intent my heart and mind indulged. Beginning my reading included the 1828 edition of Webster’s Dictionary I often use, I discovered:

“CONDITION, noun [Latin , to build or make, to ordain; properly, to set or fix, or to set together or in order; con and do, to give; properly, to send.]

CONDITIONAL, adjective “Containing or depending on a condition or conditions; made with limitations; not absolute; made or granted on certain terms.

UNCONDI’TIONAL, adjective Absolute; unreserved; not limited by any conditions. We are required to make an unconditional surrender of ourselves to our Maker. The king demanded unconditional submission.” Webster’s Dictionary, 1828 edition.

Further, the Word of God cannot be ignored…

God loves lost sinners unconditionally. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:6-9.

Why does a lost sinner have to worry about Hell when God loves him unconditionally? “Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14-15.

God hates sinners. “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” Psalm 5:4-7. And, “ The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.” Psalm 11:4-7.

There is a condition placed upon entrance into Heaven and we find this in John 3:14-18: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

God is a consuming fire:The truth is the sinner must be saved from an Angry God in order to go to Heaven. The Bible describes God as ‘a consuming fire.’ “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”  This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:25. Therefore, it should not be surprising that fire often symbolizes God’s presence in His Word. We call Him Savior because He has redeemed us from His wrath and judgment resulting from Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Yes, His love for all sinners is unconditional. “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:7-9.

However, entrance into Heaven is conditional by the admission of sin, repentance, and receiving God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”-that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,  that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

“Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” John 14:5-7 NASB.

Jesus is Lord

In Jesus’ parable concerning foundations, one stands and the other simply washes away. This is true if we allow Scripture to interpret our life experiences rather than use our life experiences to interpret Scripture. 

Holy Spirit is always present wherever we might be or where we might decide to go. In other words, He is always there when we arrive. Neither must we wait for Him to arrive nor do we need to ask Him to come. 

David writes in Psalms 139:7-10, “Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”— even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to You.” HCSB.

I do not ‘go to meet’ God for His Spirit lives within my body because this is His temple, “Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 HCSB. He is always present wherever I am. I do not have to wait on Him for He is ‘there’ when I arrive. And never has there been a time in my life when I have had to ask for Him to come.

When I enter my study/studio He is always there awaiting me, but He is always with me, too. We have exciting conversations with Him about everything I do, even in my woodshop. He fills my heart and my imagination with projects to accomplish on a daily basis. Very seldom do I miss His instructions because He is my Lord. This is NOT about me, this is about Him alone, and in Him I boast in all that I do. For just as Paul writes, “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13.

Finally, we must understand who we are and Whose we are, “For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on that foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious, for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved; yet it will be like an escape through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:9-15.

Jesus is Lord.