You Think It’s Hot?
It’s been hot here in North Carolina. It’s been in the 90’s and the humidity has been 70% or higher. We complain, or rather, I complain about the heat and humidity here in this state. See, my body doesn’t like humidity. I can step outside, do nothing, sit in the shade, and yet, I will soak through a shirt in just minutes. It’s discouraging and frustrating that I can’t do what I like doing in the summer. I think about how miserable I’ve been but then I think about my salvation, and realize while I may be miserable today, this life is fleeting, and I don’t have to be miserable in the afterlife. We see what Hell will be in the book of Revelation 21:8“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” I know when I think about the suffering I go through now, being in a fiery lake of burning sulfur for eternity just doesn’t sound pleasant.
One thing I have heard so often is, people believe in Christ, and often say they are good people. I have heard people tell me that if they do enough good work, be basically a good person, that they would be able to get into heaven. Those who truly submit to the Lord, to love the Lord are ones who will be allowed to enter the gates of perfection. Matthew 7:21-23 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ While the authorship of Matthew is not known, the canonicity of Matthew has never been in question. Jesus would prophesize the coming generations and for many the path doesn’t end well. As Jesus consistently said many would come, few will enter. And when they come and get turned away, their path is expressed in Matthew 25:46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” So many people say I’m not that bad of a person, I’ve never killed anyone, never stolen anything, etc, but when you look at the first sin, all the way back to Adam and Eve, what sin was committed in the beginning? The first sin was eating of the fruit of good and evil, the tree of knowledge. Eve didn’t have to kick puppies to get there, or break into a max security parameter to get to the tree, instead she could walk straight to the tree, reach up, and grab the fruit. The sin was saying ‘No’ to God. Telling God our way is better, and God can’t control me. The sin in the garden wasn’t inherently ‘bad’ by our standard, but at the foot of the cross all sin is created equal. If that particular action doomed the entire race of man to an eternity of Hell, what do you think your sins will cost you if you don’t submit to Christ?
I’ve been to one of the hottest places on the planet and between Iraq, Kuwait, and Death Valley, I’ve seen hot. The hot we experience on this planet is nothing compared to what an eternity awaits us if we don’t give our hearts to the Lord. I for one would rather not spend that much time in Hell. I’ve seen war, and the statement ‘war is hell’ while perhaps it is hell on this earth, the Hell we are promised if we are turned away from the gates of perfection is beyond our understanding of suffering. Don’t believe the hype that if you are mostly good you’re saved. Jesus is not fire insurance, and is not a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Those who think if they walk a walk, and pray a prayer, then they will be saved, this is absolutely not true. While I am in no position to say if you’re saved or not, that’s between you and God. However, I would urge you to take a long hard talk with Jesus Christ and work on if you’re saved or not. If you come to decide you’re not truly saved, there is no better time then now. Remember John 3:16“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and let God into your heart and fill you with the Holy Spirit. Give yourself to the Lord completely, and submit whole heartedly.
The Arrow Preacher 