Truth or Error?

In the past several months, my husband and I have been involved in a ministry of sending forth and defending the Word of God to people who claim to be Christians, and yet, do not believe in hell as an eternal place of punishment.  We have responded to their outright denial and dismissal of the Word of God, and the many passages of Scripture that emphatically state the existence of hell.  As I've continued to read their responses to us, I couldn't help but notice they seldom, if ever, use Scripture to back up their heady opinions.  And I've also noticed they seldom, if ever, mention Jesus.  They have never mentioned Him in the context of the full salvation and His work on the cross to save us from such a horrible place as hell.  But then again, why would they mention Jesus?  They don't need Jesus, the cross, or salvation if they don't believe in hell as a place of eternal torment.  This is and has been deeply perplexing and disturbing to me. 

As a Christian, my new life in Christ began with confession.  I had to confess that I was a sinner, and I had to repent of my sins and literally abandon and turn away from the sinful life I had led.  Then I publicly confessed Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and continue to confess Him as such to this very day.  Jesus is my life and my all in all, because He gave His life for me and I owe Him more than I could ever pay.  I am constantly challenged to put Him first and love Him above all, even my own self.  I realize that a person can be a Christian and not love Jesus as fully as they should.  In fact there are different degrees of love towards Jesus, since Jesus Himself pointed this out in the Book of Revelation. 

Rev 3:14    And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15    I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16    So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 

Today’s message is for us to clearly be able to discern those who have the spirit of error, and those who have the spirit of truth, so that we are not easily deceived.  In I John, we see how this is done.  

1Jn 4:1    Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1Jn 4:2    Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1Jn 4:3    And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

1Jn 4:4    Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1Jn 4:5    They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

1Jn 4:6    We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

1Jn 4:7    Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

1Jn 4:8    He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

1Jn 4:15    Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 

If we are truly a born-again Christian, it all has to be with heart-felt and sincere confession.  Jesus must be first, right, left and center.  He must be our all in all.  And our lives and our works will reflect our allegiance and faithfulness to Jesus. We may falter, but the Spirit He puts within all those who are saved according to the Bible, never will.  He will always bring us back to the place of confession, and our lives will noticeably be changed. 

Today there are many false doctrines and false prophets among us who are deceived and trying to deceive.  Our greatest defense is the Word of God.  We must get back to reading and studying our Bible, the precious and powerful Word of God given to us to live by (in fact, we are to live by EVERY WORD of God - see Luke 4:4).  There is a great added benefit to turning to the Word of God - as we read the Word, we will grow in our faith, and become ever stronger to stand against the evil work of the enemy performed through those who are deceived.

The Distinction between the Believer and the Unbeliever

Last week after seeing the movie “Hellbound?” I kept thinking about the belief they were pushing that all people eventually make it into heaven regardless of whether or not they accept salvation while still alive on this earth.  In other words, we have to question whether the makers of the movie and many of the men and women interviewed have a true grasp of salvation, and the great price Jesus paid in order to spare us from eternal separation from God.  Scripture makes it clear in John 3:16 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  As much as they will try to explain that “perish” is not eternal and does not mean eternal separation from God, there is more than enough Scripture elsewhere to indicate that that’s exactly what it means.  Also, it is alarming to me that they seemed to skim over major portions of the Bible that clearly state the conditions for entering heaven.  With this kind of erroneous thinking, our life here on earth might as well be lived any way we please, because there will be no dire consequences to our choices and actions in the hereafter.  In today’s blog, I’d like to share Scriptures that absolutely refute these destructive and heretical lines of thinking.

Part of this humanistic thinking affecting our world today is to tolerate the behavior of everyone under the guise of “love and acceptance,” and then attempt to lower God’s standards to ours, so that we feel more comfortable.  The truth is, whenever we try to lower God’s standards to suit us, we cannot have seen the depth of our own sin, or experienced any of the true love, grace, forgiveness, and holiness of God in a personal and life-changing way.  Clearly, we are all sinners, but we are not all saved and on our way to heaven, as humanistic and Universalist thinking would have us believe.  The Bible offers many distinctions between those who are saved and those who are not, and the Bible is unmistakably filled with them from cover to cover. Personal opinions based on misinterpretations or omissions of Scriptures do not count - this is classic false cult tactics. Take a look at these verses in Psalm 37 as an example.  Notice the different treatment/reward of the upright compared to the wicked/transgressors.

Psa 37:18  The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Psa 37:19  They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

Psa 37:20  But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Psa 37:37  Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

Psa 37:38  But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

See all of Psalm 37 for many more distinctions between the upright and the wicked.  This is only one Psalm.  You will find many more distinctions in other Psalms and other books in the Bible.  Let’s take a look at a few more.

Those that believe vs. an unbeliever:

Rom 4:5    But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Rev 21:8    But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Clearly, we are responsible for the choices we make in life, and in the following verses, we either reap corruption or life everlasting:

Gal 6:7    Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Gal 6:8    For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Many Universalists like to play with words, and many are not open to hearing the Word of God.  Are we so foolish to think that personal opinions will count for anything when we stand before God on judgement/rewards day? He will either say - Well done good and faithful servant, or He will say, Depart from me, I never knew you.

Mat 7:21    Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 7:22    Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23    And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mat 25:21    His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Mat 25:41    Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Mat 25:42    For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:

Mat 25:43    I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.

Mat 25:44    Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Mat 25:45    Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

Mat 25:46    And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Jesus Himself made the distinction of who are His children and who are not:

Joh 10:24    Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Joh 10:25    Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

Joh 10:26    But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

Joh 10:27    My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

There is a personal responsibility whenever we are faced with choices, and we are held accountable for the choices we make. The idea of choice and consequence began in the Garden of Eden with the simple word - "but."

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

Gen 2:17  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." NIV

Adam and Eve, when confronted by God to confess what they had done, tried to blame someone or something else. They had bought into Satan's lie about God, and this is what many misguided people are doing today.  Consequences for all of mankind was immediate - death to all, and no more pleasures in paradise. We should never take lightly the consequences of our choices, when God has clearly laid it out in Scripture.

This is a day and age of no-consequences, but just like Adam and Eve's response in trying to blame someone else, this does not get us off the hook - there is a day of reckoning and judgement coming - God will judge the quick and the dead. Our works will be tested. There is no turning back once you are dead – the choices we make today have consequences later on. This thought alone should give us a healthy fear of God, for He is righteous and Holy.  The only One who can save us is Jesus because when He died on the cross for us, He declared us righteous before God then. But we must receive Him and repent of our sinful life in order to benefit, now, today, BEFORE we die.

Clearly, there is a distinction between life and death and the choices we make.

Deu 30:15    See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Deu 30:16    In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

Deu 30:17    But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; Deu 30:18    I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

Deu 30:19    I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Deu 30:20    That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

From these and the many passages in the Bible, we can see that there is indeed a distinction between the believer and the unbeliever, the righteous and the unrighteousness.  And in the final chapter of the Bible, nowhere is it more evident that the two will never dwell together in heaven:

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev 21:27  And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Rev 22:3  And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

Rev 22:4  And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

Rev 22:5  And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

These are sobering thoughts.  May we always search the Scriptures and not waver when it comes to the reality of the two opposite destinations frequently mentioned in the Bible - heaven for the believer, and certain hell for the unbeliever.  If we are truly saved according to the Biblical way, may we in good conscience pray for and minister to the lost accordingly.