The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.
The Things That Can Be Shaken
Part One
Scripture (1) tells us that no one can serve two masters at the same time.
Therefore, either we are submitted to God as the One sitting on the throne (control center) of our individual lives, or someone or something else is. We have either identified and are executing His plan for our lives, or an alternative one.
The “hostile (Rom. 8: 7 NASB2020)” fallen nature in all of us does not “naturally” seek God, other than perhaps to receive benefits that He may have to offer. The fallen nature never did, and it never will.
This fallen nature does not go away when one is born again. Paul, in his letter to the Romans (2), spoke of his own on-going battle with this fallen nature some 30 years after he was born-again, and towards the end of his earthly ministry.
Not only does this fallen nature remain, it increases its pressure on the soul, keeping pace with whatever forward progress that one might make along the road to spiritual maturity.
If you want the devil’s world to leave you alone, you can desert your post and flee from the battlefield associated with the life of discipleship. But keep in mind that friendship with the devil’s world means to be at war with God (3), and vice versa.
There is no neutrality in the spiritual realm.
If you want to pick up your cross and follow Christ, you best keep your Eph. 6: 17 helmet on, and remain on the alert for the one who will want to devour you (4) for having done so.
Satan can do nothing to reverse what took place (5) at the moment you were born-again (6), but can do much to try to pressure you to decide to stop moving forward in the plan of God.
Advancing disciples will learn soon enough that the true Christian life is not a playground, it’s a battleground.
Rejecting the plan of God creates a restless void that will inevitably be filled with the plans of someone else, be it the plan of the devil, the plans that other people have in mind, or the plans of the one we see in the mirror.
Total freedom (to do our own thing) is an illusion. Total freedom creates anarchy in which no one is in charge, accountable, or in control, usually placing the out-of-control individual on the road to self-destruction.
There are legitimate systems of authority (7), be it marital, parental, governmental, organizational, labor, and ecclesiastical, that can set the boundaries on the plans we have made for ourselves.
Unless such compliance with these authorities would cause you to violate a principle of Scripture, Christians are commanded to submit to these persons or systems of authority (and the boundaries they impose), as long as the Christians are under their roof or jurisdiction.
God was fully aware of what these boundaries would be when HE placed you in the body and the environment of your birth.
There are other times, when we, as Christians, by the choices we make, submit ourselves to the accompanying authority, such as with marriage, employment, and governmental service.
The wise Christian will take a good look at ALL that is going to be required of him or her in that subordinate role or position, BEFORE submitting himself or herself to such authority.
For the advancing disciple, when facing such choices, the bottom line is rather or not what he or she is about to do, is a part of the plan that God has in mind at the time.
All of us are all in favor of securing Jesus as our Savior, but not always as keen about making Him Lord (ruler) over our daily lives, when called to do what He would have us do, instead of doing what we may otherwise have in mind.
Our concept of who is there to serve who, is reflected in the content of our prayer lives.
For the advancing disciple, all of his or her prayer requests will begin with the conditional phrase, “If it be Your will, then… (insert prayer request).”
All prayer requests receive an immediate answer of yes, no, or not right now. Christians often pray for THY will be done, but what they really mean is for MY will to be done, evidenced by their reaction to God’s no, or not right now answers to their prayer requests.
One has reached an upper level of spiritual maturity when he or she can whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB200 parenthesis mine).”
But before this can happen, all other competitors for control over our thoughts and actions have to be dismissed, or at the very least, being placed in their appropriate place on our list of priorities.
Human rationalization justifies the pursuit of our own plans by pointing to all the good that OUR plans can do for ourselves, and for the other people that will benefit from them.
Is not being well-behaved and doing good deeds what God would have us do?
Scripture answers this question with a question.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (have or do everything he wants) and (but) lose his soul (in the process)?” – Matt. 16: 26 NASB2020 (parentheses mine).
Once created in God’s everlasting likeness (8), the soul never stops to exist. The Matt. 16: 26 “losing” of the soul refers to losing what God created the soul to be, consequently spending all of eternity separated from God, after departing this world.
The continuation of the existence of the soul after departing the body at the moment of physical death. is not a matter of IF, but a matter of WHERE and HOW ery soul WILL spend all of eternity future.
Granted, being well-behaved and doing good deeds are characteristics of the life of a practicing Christian, but they are no replacements for what really matters in the spiritual realm.
One can choose to be religious, be relatively well-behaved, engage in good deeds, for a variety of practical reasons, yet still be spiritually dead (separated from God), having never been born again!
Matt. 16: 26 refers to the consequences of pursuing worldly prosperity while neglecting the spiritual/eternal matters of the soul.
There is nothing wrong with seeking legitimate earthly prosperity (9) 3John 1: 2), but not when it competes with God, and or the things of God, for the primary focus of our attention.
“… you say, “I am rich, and I have become wealthy, and have no need of anything (including the things of God), and (but) you do not know that you are (spiritually) wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3: 17 NASB2020 parentheses mine.”
One primarily neglects his or her soul when he or she fails to see the John 3: 7 need (not an option) to be born again, by making a one-time decision to believe when presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message, encapsulated in John 3: 16, 18.
This negligence results in one never being “sealed Eph. 4: 30 NASB2020” as a child of God; never having his or her dead spirit “regenerated (Titus 3:5 NASB2020); never having his or her name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life (10); and never receiving the gift of eternal life. The tragic end-result of this is to spend all of eternity in the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire, regardless of how religious, well-behaved one was, or the quality and quantity of the good deeds he or she produced. Such things do not generate one second of eternal life.
Born again believers neglect their souls by choosing not to the grow in the knowledge (11) and application (12) of the Word of God throughout the course of the post salvation spiritual life. This negligence results in the loss of reward and privileges (13 ) in eternity future that are reserved for born-again believers who become advancing disciples during their time here on Earth.
End of Part One
(1) Matt. 6: 24 (2) Rom. 7: 14ff (3) James 4: 4 (4) 1Pet. 5: 8 (5) Eph. 4:30/Titus 3: 5/ John 3: 16 (6) John 3:5 (7) Romans 13: 1 (8) Gen. 1: 26 (9) 3John 1: 2 (10) Rev. 21: 27 (11) 2Pet. 3: 18 (12) James 1: 25 (13) 1Cor. 3: 14, 15/Rev. 2/Rev.3.