The other evening my wonderful wife and I were watching a sporting event on the television that for various reasons began to run very late and so we decided to turn in and be informed of the final score sometime the next day. As we were walking our old doggy around the block that morning, we began a discussion about that game, and it occurred to me that our faith in who we thought the winner would be had absolutely nothing to do with the outcome of it. We still were not aware of the result, only that the game was over, and the score was set, one team had lost, the other had become the champions in that venue. Just because we were unaware of the outcome, it did not mean that our faith in the final score was going to be relevant, it was what it was, and it could not be changed.
Fate, luck, chance, coincidence, these things do not exist, we as Christians know this for a fact, there are only the truths of God. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avail much,” (James 5:16) but I can guarantee you that we were not praying about the outcome of the game either before, during, or after it was over. There are two items that I would like to discuss with you about this subject in this letter that coincides with these thoughts, one would be our salvation, the other death.
This topic seems to be one of the main subjects that most individuals shy away from, both the lost and the saved, the manner and time of our departing from this life. In regards to the lost I completely understand, it will be the most frightening experience they will ever encounter and I am sure that hell is filled with endless individuals repeating constantly “I wish I would have,” for we are assured that “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27) But I have always been perplexed by those who profess Christ as Savior and still refuse to accept the inevitable, not only in discussions with others but within their own thoughts. It is as if they want to live in this life, they definitely want to enter into the Kingdom of God, but they would rather skip over that death part, and I really don’t believe it has anything to do with the possibility of the pain that might be involved with it, I think it is simply a matter of the unknown, and therefore a lack of trust.
As you have perhaps heard me state before, it is one thing to read the verses in the Word of God, it is quite another to live them, or in this case have the faith to die by them. Death is inevitable, it is the way that God has set before all of life, the problem it seems with some Christians is that they fear the inevitable, they have perhaps trusted the Lord with many other areas of their lives, but in this there remains a doubt, for is it not in a sense the final and truest test of our faith, the moment when in the deepest recesses of our mind we have to look at whether or not our hearts have truly been given to the One that we said for all those years we trusted in? It is the final moment, there is no time left, life is over, and you will not be going back to the daily routines that you have fixed into your life any longer, you are going to die. It would be a very good idea for you my brothers and sisters in Christ to contemplate this thought today, for tomorrow the Lord may call you home.
You must be secure in the knowledge of His promises, the truth in the assurance of your salvation, for today maybe your last day here. Death is not our friend; our friends are not going to be cast into the Lake of fire (Rev. 20:14), but death does the bidding of the Lord Jesus Christ, when He tells him to come and get you, he will obey, and the way that our Lord has chosen for each of His children to leave this mortal shell should only affect our thoughts in two ways, that His name is not dishonored in our deaths and secondly that His Holy name is glorified in our passing from this world to the next. These should be our only concerns.
As I mentioned earlier, the other issue in this subject of the unknown result of the sporting event is related to our salvation, and it is just as secure in factual evidence as our death is, at least for the obedient servant of Christ it should be. Have you ever noticed how many Christians seem to lose the assurance of their salvation on a regular basis, how they are almost as the waves of the sea, when almost any small incident comes into their lives, how it makes them question their salvation? These sometimes doubt that what Christ accomplished on the cross was enough, they doubt that they are good enough and have lost the true meaning of “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Eph. 2:8) This is one of Satan’s best and most well-worn deceits, that we must do something to add to the cross of Christ, that our works are what determine our salvation, and the continuance in it. There are hundreds of thousands of religious organizations that are built on these false precepts, and hundreds of millions of individuals that believe them. You do not think that Satan would stop using this trick that has worked so well for him down thru the ages, do you?
The loss of the assurance of our salvation is an easy seed to plant in many individuals, and with the loss of assurance comes the thought that our salvation itself may be lost because we did or did not do something. They believe that an action they have taken has caused God to repent of His decision, and unless they repent over and over again, they will not be given access to His Kingdom. The question is how often, once a year, every day, every action you perform that dishonors Him, how often will you need to re-crucify Christ and put Him to an open shame (Hebrews 6:6)? Let me see here, the One who has carved my name in the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16), the One who promised me that He would never leave me nor forsake me (Deut. 31:8), the One who died for me (John 3:16), says to me that what He did on the cross wasn’t enough, you have to perform this work to help me get you into my Father’s Kingdom, I can’t do it alone, I need your help. You have got to be kidding me, are you aware that there are people professing to be Christians that actually believe that? “When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth.” (Luke 18:8) Not in people who believe and live this lie He won’t, no one who believes that something they do, or do not do, must be added to the cross of Christ for their salvation is a Christian, not one.
Two things are without question in the life of the obedient servant of Christ, unless they are blessed to be a partaker in the rapture, they will die and next is just as sure, when they do they will enter into the presence of their Lord for all of eternity immediately, no questions, no doubts. His promises are true, He is Faithful who has promised, and though we may experience brief moments of doubt, He is Trustworthy. There is no work that is going to get you to Heaven, not one, our works done outside of the Glory of God are all as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), they have no value whatsoever. Only those that we do for His name will earn rewards for us in Heaven, and all of those rewards will be given back to their rightful owner, the One who enabled us to perform them in the first place. We will be rewarded for our works done for our Lord, but we will be judged by our faith. All that woman knew was that if she but touched the hem of His garment she would be healed (Matt. 9:19-21). Think of the faith in just that one small action!
The team that won the contest did not have to relinquish their trophy the next day, nothing can change the outcome of that game. You cannot lose your salvation, you can’t even give it back, it is impossible to relinquish it, it cannot and never will be changed, the outcome of your life if you have given it to Christ in faith is inevitable, you will enter His Kingdom. Please, do not wait until that other inevitable occurrence in your life appears to be sure if that salvation that rests alone in Christ is in you. Remember, there was a winner and there was a loser in that sporting event, and they only got to play the game once.
