To understand the totality of a thing, we must understand the inverse of that thing.
This truth was shown to us early in the Scriptures, when the commandment to not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, (Gen. 2:17) was given. The inverse of good is not bad, it is evil. Any act that goes against the will of God is not bad my friends, it is evil. The inverse of a righteous man is not a bad man, but a wicked man, and upon the righteous the blessings of God rest, but the wrath of God abides on the wicked. (John 3:36) The inverse of wisdom is not stupidity, it is foolishness, for unto the wise knowledge comes easy, (Prov. 18:15) but the foolish will remain simple, (Prov. 18:2) and our Lord will laugh and mock at them when their troubles approach. (Prov. 1:26) And the inverse of saved, well that should be easy, they are lost, but do you know what it means to be saved, do you understand what you have been saved from, do you know what it means to not be lost anymore.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Rom. 10:9) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:13) The inverse of what the Scriptures teach, what Satan has duped many millions into believing is that the word of God is not the only truth in the Scriptures, to be lost does not mean to be a part of the crowd, it means to be separated from God, the lost believe themselves to be a part of society, when in fact they are set apart from Christ. It is the saved who have been sanctified, set apart for the glory of God. If you want to understand our adversary, simply study the Scriptures and think, “What is the inverse of the Scripture verses when they are read in context,” and you will see and understand not only those verses by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, but you will be given insight into the ways of the world, the path of Satan.
When we recognize the pitfalls on any path, we can avoid them, they pose no tripping hazard, they are no deterrent, if you can see the path clearly, you can tread safely upon it. I know very few Christians who have studied the Scriptures carefully enough to understand the ways of our adversary, they tend to shy away from it, from a study of him, mainly for the reasons of fear I believe, and this is a gigantic mistake. They can expound on the reason we are to have our shield available to us at all times, to stop the wiles of our adversary, but they can only in an extremely limited way inform you of what those darts represent.
Know this statement as a fact my brothers and sisters, if you do not understand and study your enemy, when he attacks, you will fall. To be saved means saved from our sins, forgiven by the grace of God, (Eph. 2:8) and so the question must be posed, what is the inverse, what is the occurrences that will no longer happen to us because we are now children of Almighty God.
For one, we are no longer slaves to sin, it has no more power over us, (Rom. 6:14) but then we must ask, why do we still sin, and the answer is right in front of us, because we choose to. If sin has no more power over us, if we have been set free by the truth, (John 8:32) then every sin we commit after we come to Christ is done of our own free will, by a conscience effort within ourselves. Sin is the master of the lost, our Master is Christ, and this is the accountability we must all face, no one, not even Satan himself, can force us to do anything anymore, we are one-hundred percent accountable.
Our salvation also means we are no longer condemned in anyway, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1) We will not now or ever again be condemned by God, that is reserved for the lost and they will know it throughout all eternity. Instead, those who are the children of the Most High, are chastised, (Heb. 12:6) and rightly so, for to rebel against the desires of our Father in heaven should bring chastisement, as any loving parent would, the rod will correct him, (Prov. 23:13-14) and we will know we are loved, for only a loving Father chastises.
We have been saved from the fury and wrath of Almighty God, as Noah and his family were when they entered into the ark, as Lot was with his family when they were led out of the town of Sodom and Gomorrah, we have been saved, we will be given refuge from the wrath of God, the rapture will be the ultimate proof of these truths. The lost know evil, for they are evil, they are wicked and foolish, but no evil will ever befall the born-again believer. “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” (Psalm 91:10) Satan has control and power over the lost, he holds neither on the saved, only his subtle deceits and lies are available to him when it concerns God’s children.
The end result of the saved my friends? What is the inverse of heaven, many of you may have just thought hell, and in a temporary view that would be correct, but in fact it is the lake of fire, for even hell itself will be cast into the final abode of the lost. (Rev. 20:14) Eternal pain and torment, wailing and gnashing of teeth, a place of suffering beyond comprehension, where the wicked, the lost, will know no pity, but only pain. Not only physical and emotional suffering for eternity, but spiritual, for they will have the complete assurance that God is not listening, that all hope is gone, forever.
This is what salvation means, this is the incredible price that was paid for you on the cross, this is why we praise Him at all times, Jesus is the reason we have left the world and all it offers us, He alone is worthy of our praise, our willing service, our adoration and love. Dwell on these truths, contemplate them, understand in your soul what it means to be saved, and you will find a love for Christ to grow in you that you never believed possible.
