As we will see in this study, physical death involves a conscious continuation of the everlasting life of the soul that God
created and imputed to the physical body of His choosing at birth. At physical death, the natural body dies, but the soul does not. Every soul that God has ever created from Adam on down is as much alive today as they were when they walked the face of the Earth, and will continue to do so for all of eternity.
Physical death is NOT an END, but merely a change in location, environment and the type of body in which the soul ndwells.
The continuation of one’s soul life AFTER the termination of the physical life of the body is NOT a matter of “IF”, but a matter of where and how it will be experienced.
No one asked God to be created. We had no input as to the timing and the circumstances of our birth, and short of suicide, will have no say in the circumstances and timing of our earthy departure. What impact our genes, environment, health, and free-will choices would have were all known by God when He selected the body that we would need to fulfill His will.
Much about the individual plan that God has for us can be discerned by the body, timing, and socio-economic environment of our birth.
In the day and age in which we live, there are more “end of life” options and accompanying decisions available than ever before.
Among the more difficult ones to be resolved is one’s choice as to if and when to engage in or to discontinue medical treatment and/or therapy, including the introduction or continuation of artificial life support.
These are matters, I believe, that are between the individual soul and his/her Creator. Whenever possible, it is the one involved who should make his own end of life decisions, and to make his desires known. When circumstances do not allow conscious input of the person involved, the function falls to one’s family or better, the person that one chooses to see to it that his/her end time desires, within the law, are honored. Making a living will to address one’s end of life desires settles the matter. It is equally important that the one delegated to carry out one’s wishes, within the law, has no qualms in doing so. Anyone with qualms should not be selected for the role.
When such choices are never made, or made known, it leaves the family with the burden of having to determine what they believe the choices the departing soul would have made if he/she were conscious and able to do so.
Such matters are best addressed BEFORE one finds himself under the pressure of having an immediate decision in the midst of extreme stress forced on oneself or others via unexpected circumstances.
The sovereignty of God, even under these circumstances, still has the final say. The omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence of God allows Him to over-rule ANY decision that we make or others make for us that run contrary to what His direct will desires or His permissive will allows.
Regardless of how physical death is manifested, the soul departs the body and NEVER dies. Whatever physical or psychological pain or distress there may be involved with the de3parting soul of a believer, they are done and over with as soon as the soul leaves the body. On the other hand, the suffering associated with the fire of Hades (Luke 16: 24) and later in the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 13, 15) have only begun for the soul of a departing unbeliever!
Accordingly, it is what happens with the soul AFTER physical death that is of greater importance as these issues impact all of one's experience in Eternity!
In the final analysis, no one remains on this Earth any longer or leaves any sooner that what the direct will of God has decreed or the permissive will of God allows.
Such “times” as the timing of one’s birth and death are in the hands of God (Psalms31:15), but is an essential part of discipleship to learn and to be aware of what takes place in the spiritual realm at physical birth and physical death.
The human race as a whole, and therefore each individual member of it, was created for the primary purpose of glorifying God in the midst of an ongoing conflict between the forces of God and Satan.
Never-the-less, the majority of the human race chooses to spend its time functioning in a self-centered and earthly oriented mode, traveling along the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). When one does not know how to live for God, he will not know how to die for God.
God desires (1Timothy 2: 4) that all men be saved, and has provided the means for this to take place (1John 2: 2). But although the majority of the human race chooses to involve itself is some form of “religion”, Matthew 7: 14 concedes and secular history and statistics concur that only a minority of each generation of the human race chooses to become saved from the wrath of God, and only a minority of those born again (John 3:3) ever choose to enter into and/or to remain in the Christ-centered lifestyle of discipleship.
God chose to leave the final determination of where and how one will spend ALL of eternity in the hands of each one of us, based on the CHOICES that we makes during our appointed time on Earth (John 3: 18). There we read, “He who believes in Him is NOT judged; he who does not BELIEVE has been judged ALREADY, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Belief (or unbelief) is what determines WHERE one will spend all of eternity.
HOW the unbeliever will experience the Torments of Hades and then the Lake of Fire is in a state of conscious and continuous
suffering.
HOW the believer will experience Heaven and all that God has in store for thebeliever is based on two principles of Scripture.
There is the general environment of Heaven that ALL believers (Romans 14: 4) will enjoy for all of eternity, and there are additional (1Cor. 3: 12-15) reward(s) and accompanying privileges that SOME (the minority) of believers will receive and some (the majority) will forfeit for either having or NOT having God produce divine good through them (John 15:5) in the capacity of post salvation disciples.
The road (way of life) that leads to destruction is not at all always one of gloom and despair. It is in the midst of great prosperity, as well as adversity, that one can become a casualty of spiritual combat in the spiritual realm without ever
realizing that they are among the walking wounded or spiritually dead.
The destruction that unbelievers will experience is the fact that they will suffer for all of eternity in what the Bible calls the lake of fire. This destruction does not end up in extermination, but in never-ending suffering without ANY hope of relief.
The destruction that the believer experiences may be manifested in the various forms of divine discipline that takes place here on Earth, and the loss of all or some of the heavenly reward(s) that he would have otherwise received in addition to
the general environment of Heaven.
Worldly prosperity can certainly make life here in the devil’s world more tolerable, but such prosperity is of NO value when the same soul departs this Earth. This is why the Lord challenged the rich man to give it (worldly riches) all up in exchange for the spiritual blessings, now and in eternity, for following the Lord.
Spending the majority of one’s time on Earth making the best of the “here and now” while neglecting eternity is foolish. No
matter how great, as human viewpoint would define greatness to be, one can have it here on Earth, Eternity is NEVER going to come to an end.
I used to say that comparing our time here on Earth to Eternity was like comparing a drop of water to an ocean, but even that is not completely accurate, as even the ocean has a limited quantity of water. Eternity will NEVER end or run out of
resources to sustain it.
It is when one has temporal wealth AND a heavenly account waiting for him that he can say that he truly has the better of two worlds. It is a sin to be jealous, envious, or to covet the temporal wealth of those who have temporal wealth. My prayer for them is that have established an eternal bank account of equal proportion.
Assuming all is going to go well in Heaven because all is going well here in the devil’s world is a serious mistake. There is NO guarantee that one’s Earthly wealth is here to stay or that one will have the health to enjoy it, but one’s heavenly
reward and the eternal life to enjoy is assured by God’s very own Word.
Worldly prosperity, especially when it is assumed that it was self-generated, encourages an attitude of independence from God.
In Rev. 3 we read, “Because you…” (you = the worldly prosperous, but heavenly bankrupt believer “…say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing (nothing = God or the things of God),” and you do not know that you are” (spiritually) “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…”.
God is NOT opposed to legitimate Earthly prosperity (3John 1:2) and/or pleasure, but to place the acquisition of such things on a higher level on one’s list of DAILY priorities than the production of divine good (John 15:5) is a chosen lifestyle that one will live to regret when he leaves it all behind and finds his eternal, bank account has a zero “0” balance.
Divine good, during the Church Age in which we live, consists of presenting the TRUE Gospel to unbelievers, and the spiritual edification of those who have been born again. ALL other forms of good are of “human good”. Human good can be
produced by believers and unbelievers alike and can have great value to life here on Earth. Human good must not
be confused with divine good that has value both in this life and, more importantly, in the life to come!
We can live for our own benefit, or we can live for God’s glory, but we cannot do both at the same time. The quick-test to find out which road we are on is to simply ask oneself whose interests (God’s or our own) is it that dominate our minds as we go about our daily activities on a regular basis.
What does discipleship have to do with death?
Physical death (and/or the Rapture) can take place at any time and via a variety of circumstances. Physical death can
bring the opportunity to do all that we planned or thought about doing to a screeching halt. We will NOT be rewarded in Heaven for what we “were going to do”. We will have similar opportunities to produce divine good as each day passes, but once each goes by, the opportunity (and the acquisition of the accompanying reward) to have produced the divine good that God had in mind for that day is gone forever.
God gives us ALL 168 hours a week to glorify Him by ALL that we think, do, or say. Even in our sleep, our minds process the information that we CHOSE to become a part of our soul structure in the recent past. Discipleship is a 24 hour, 7 day a week lifestyle that goes way beyond merely attending a worship service for an hour, once or twice a week.
Do the Math! Focusing on God and/or the things of God for an hour or so out of the 168 hours a week only accounts for less than 1 % of the time that God has given to us to glorify Him via the production of divine good. Between the opportunities to produce divine good by either evangelizing unbelievers or edifying fellow believers, we have the quest of developing our own post salvation spiritual life of discipleship. There is NO “Me” time or time off from the life of discipleship. True discipleship is a 24-7 lifestyle!
It is only during our time here on Earth that one can glorify God through discipleship in view of the observing angels, fallen and elect. When the door to death opens, the door to such opportunities closes. No one knows just how close he/she may be to the door of death, but one thing is certain. We will ALL pass through it at our appointed time!
It is not that we are not to have an earthly life with secular activities. It is our diverse secular interests and activities that we are with others that God will use to establish common ground (1Cor. 9:22) where God can establish our personal pulpit!
The practical need to earn a living here in the devil’s makes money and the acquisition of it a basic and daily issue. The devil does NOT miss this opportunity to promote his agenda or to distract us from learning of God’s agenda.
Prosperity (or an inordinate desire to become prosperous) only becomes a spiritual issue IF and WHEN it is allowed to take priority over one’s spiritual calling, or influences one to compromise with the Biblical principles he has (or should
have) circulating in his soul structure.
The devil has a history (Matthew 4: 8, 9) of trying to divert the focus of one’s spiritual attention away from the plan of God via offering prosperity during the here and now. It was the devil’s lie that God was holding out on Man that set the stage for the woman’s (Eve) deception. When Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, she did so with the hope of gain. When Adam joined in the activity, he did so knowing that he was violating the command of God, but chose his relationship with the woman over his
relationship with God. Instead of making any gain, Man lost his world and handed it over to the devil (Luke 4:6).
The devil failed to buy the interest of the Lord Jesus Christ with worldly prosperity (Matthew 4), but has had a considerable success rate among many who claim to be the Lord’s followers. The devil maintains that everyone has a price, and in more cases than not, the human soul will settle for a lot less than what the devil is willing to pay for the devotion!
Even so, the pleasures of evil only last for season, even if that “season” consumes most of the time that one has here on Earth. God is not “time” oriented (2Peter 3:8), as is Man (Eccl. 3: 1). From divine viewpoint, there is no experiential difference between the passing of one day and the passing of a 1,000 years. Once we depart our Earthly bodies, we too, will no longer experience the passing of time, but will very much experience the reality of the immediate environment in which we environments that we will find ourselves for all of (endless) eternity to come.
For the unbelieving soul, his environment upon departing the body at physical death is the torments of Hades. At the appointed time, ALL of the unbelievers in Hades are brought out of Hade, face judgment, that results in being sent to the environment of the lake of fire for all of eternity (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
For the believing soul, his environment upon departing the body is that of the 3rd Heaven in the presence of the Lord. There he consciously enjoys the "rest" from his earthly labor while awaiting the Rapture (1Thess. 4: 16, 17). After the rapture takes place, there is the environment of the Judgment of believers in which all believers are assembled and either receive or forfeit some or all of one's heavenly rewards. and accompanying privileges. These rewards, received or forfeited, are what distinguishes the difference in experience that will be different among believers throughout all of eternity.
For the believer, there is the environment of all that will takes place when the Church returns to Earth with the Lord as He destroys the advancing military coalition that will be invading Israel at the time. For the believer, there is the environment of the 1,000 year (Satan-free-) environment of His 1,000 year kingdom of Earth. For the believer, there is the environment of the Gog and Magog revolt that takes place after the conclusion of the 1,000 reign when the advancing coalition of that day is destroyed as it approaches Jerusalem. Finally, for the believer, there is the environment of the New Heaven and Earth of the eternal state, as well as many events (Det. 29: 29) that have not been made known to Man as of yet.
God and all that He has planned does NOT come to an end with the establishment of the New Heavens and the New Earth. God has a plan that will continue to unfold throughout ALL of (never-ending) Eternity to come.
Eternity, in its totality, never had a beginning and never will have an end. "Time" is only the means of measuring the period within Etrnity that God has designed for the inclusion of the human race and its part in the master plan of God.
When the seasonal parties of life are over with, there comes the time when one must pay the fiddler for all the tunes he played while one danced with the devil (Gal. 6: 7, 8).
When the "party" is over with, he is not around to clean up the mess. The devil, like a fickle lover, couldn't care less as he moves on to his next conquest. The ironic things is how the devil will persuade those left behind to clean up the mess that the "party" produced that it is God's fault for allowing such things to happen.
Our Lord taught that wherever one’s riches (or desires for richness) are, that is where his heart is also (Matt. 6:21). One cannot serve God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24). The free-will that God gives to us, permits us to invest (or waste) the resources that God has given us. What we choose to invest the resources of our time and money in speaks volumes about where one is in his walk with Lord. We have different amounts of money and resources, but we all have the same 24 hours each day!
The advancing disciple will have his money serve him, but not the other way around.
The advancing disciple has learned that providing he puts God and the things of God on the TOP of his list of priorities, then everything else he needs (not wanted) will be added to him (Matt. 6: 33) WITHOUT having to labor for them.
Contributing to temporal bank accounts at the expense of neglecting one’s heavenly bank account (Matt. 6: 20) is a common but foolish trait of the secularly rich and famous. Rich and famous godly persons are wise enough to enjoy such prosperity, but do not set their hearts on it.
The advancing disciple is called to glorify (honor) God by ALL that we do or say, no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Most of spend at least half (or more) of our conscious lives earning a living or managing the money that he has acquired.
One has to be short-sighted not to be able to see that God (and the devil) is very much interested in the means and way that one spends this rather large portion of his conscious time here on Earth.
How one perceives death (or the process of death) reveals much more about oneself than how he perceives life.
Merely acknowledging the inevitability of natural death is not the mark of disciple, as even an atheist does that much. The mark of a disciple is the (John 8: 32) confidence that he has developed as a result of learning and applying what the Word of God teaches concerning what lies beyond the grace for body, soul, and spirit.
During the course of the “post” (after we are born again) salvation spiritual life, God is NOT glorified by ANYTHING (John 15: 5/Matthew 7:22) that WE do independently for Him, even when we do what we do in an attempt to please Him. God is glorified by what HE does through us in the capacity of a Spirit-filled disciple. The glorification of God is the reason that we remain here on Earth after we are saved.
Discipleship consists of learning and applying the Word of God to everything we think or do, no matter where we are or what we are otherwise doing. Even in our sleep, our minds process the information that we most recently chose to entertain from came from the world around. The final thing that a disciple may be called to do, this side of Heaven, is to glorify God in
the process of death. I believe that one will do this as well or as poorly ashe executed his post salvation spiritual life throughout his time here on Earth since the day he was born again (John 3: 3).
There is NOT one day that passes by in which we are not influenced by what we choose to take into our souls by all that we hear or see. We cannot always avoid being exposed to evil, but we can choose NOT to let it become a part of our own soul structure. One cannot have a steady diet of all the trash that the devil’s world promotes, and then not have it become a part of how we think. It is how one thinks that determines how one acts.
We choose to (or not to) take time every day to hear what the Word of God has to say about the world around us, just as we choose to (or not to) make time each day to hear what the devil has to say through countless individuals and means of
communication that unwittingly do his bidding and promote his agenda. Sin can manifest itself in new ways
from one generation to the next, but the basic spiritual issues that impact Man here on Earth and will impact Man after death has not changed.
Most people who identify themselves with the Christian Community are there for all the temporal and eternal blessings they can garner for themselves, with the concept of what truly glorifies God being given little thought or attention.
Even the “good” things that many such people say and do often have the underlying motivation of getting something back for
themselves.
Don’t think so? Just take note of what these same “good” people say and/or do when they realize that what they have
done does not bear their anticipated results, and watch the hostility (Romans 8:7) of the self-centered fallen nature come to the
surface.
Ignorance or denial of these Biblically substantiated principles does NOT diminish their veracity or impact.
The death rate for the human race is 100%. Accordingly, believers and unbelievers alike will ponder what the experience of physical death will be like when their own time arrives.
It is my personal conviction that however one faces and goes through life is what determines how one will face and go through death. The only exception is when the circumstances of one’s departure is so sudden that he is gone before he had time to react or to think about it.
The one that goes through life in fear, doubt, and insecurity, pre-disposes oneselto experience the process of death with the same frame of mind. Go through life with the John 8: 32 freedom and courage, and one has the stage not only to endure, but to bring the greatest glory to God in the process, as he faces the greatest challenge to his personal faith.
Circumstances may or may not allow one to avoid the process of death, but not death itself.
Unfortunately, it will be said of many believers that it was truly at death that they “met” their Maker, having had a self-centered and estranged relationship with the Lord for much of their time while here on Earth. Everyone will see God face to face.
Scripture reveals that the knee of every soul will bend and every tongue will acknowledge the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2: 10) to the glory of God the Father.
It will not be possible for the soul of one who departs this world as an unbeliever or an atheist to deny God or the things
of God any longer when the unbelievers are summoned from HADES and stand before God (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
An “unbeliever”, according to Scripture is an atheist who rejects the God-given concept of eternity (Eccl. 3: 11), and in doing so rejects the concept of there being any god at all. An “unbeliever” is also one who believes in the existence of "a" god (note the small "g"), but does not believe (John 3: 18) in a presentation of the Gospel that identifies the ONE true God and the ONE way in which one obtains and retains salvation. Failure to have a clear understanding of the true Gospel is evidenced among so-called "Christians" who place their faith in false gospel or in one or more of the false religions of the world (Psalms 96: 5). Belief in a false Gospel is evidenced by one's erroneously perceived need to engage in "religious" activity and "good" behavior in order to obtain or to retain salvation.
The devil (2Cor. 11: 14), in the name of religion has filled the "Christian" Community with false gospels and religion. This was prophesied by just about every prophet of the New Testament Era, and as prophesied in 1Timothy 4:1, it was to and has now reached epidemic proportions as we are now in the END TTIMES. In more cases than not, the devil will use "religious" people who believe that they are actually serving and/or worshiping God to promote false doctrine and practices.
Note that false religions identify and refer to the people of the God of the Bible as “infidels”. In doing, so they, themselves are it clear that there is a distinction between the “god(s)” that they worship, and the God of the Bible. We do NOT all worship the same God, but by a different name, as many false religions of the world would have us believe.
Some of the false religions make no outward attack on Scripture, whereas Islam promotes the blasphemous teaching that denies the deity of the Lord Jesus and even the existence of God the Holy Spirit. There is an inscription of this nature in the mosque in Jerusalem in the same area where the ancient Temple of the Lord once stood. I believe that this mosque is the, "abomination that makes...." (the area of the former temple courts) " desolate (desolate=void and unsuitable for the worship of God) spoken of END TTIME prophecy.
A “believer” is one who, after being presented with the TRUE Gospel Message, believes (acknowledges) in the Person and
the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon doing so, the former unbeliever has, as of that time and for all of eternity, passed from being in a state of unbelief and spiritual death to a new state of being a believer with spiritual life. This is what it
means to be born again (John 3:3) and to be "baptized (marked for identification)/Titus 3:5) by God the Holy Spirit.
Having unwavering and strong “faith” (belief) in a false god or in an alternative plan to be accepted the true God
saves NO ONE! If mere belief in the existence of the true God were to be the ticket to Heaven, then the devil himself and all the fallen angels would have to be readmitted (James 2: 19).
Being sincere, while being sincerely WRONG, saves no one. Uzzah (2Sam. 6:6) acted with undisputed "good intentions" when he reached out to steady a cart transporting the ark of the covenant , and paid for it with his natural life. "The Law" required that when being moved, that the ark be carried with poles (Exodus 25: 14), This may seem trivial to many, but the more specific the information or instructions that God gives, the more accountable will be the ones who receive it (Luke 12: 48).
In the Church Age in which we live, God was specific (John 14:6) as how one is to be saved (John 3:16) and how one is to worship God (1Cor. 12:). Man (with the encouragement of the devil), in his willful ignorance and natural arrogance has right from the start tried to add to the simplicity of requirement of salvation , revealed in the Gospel, and means and activities that Scripture endorses for the worship of God. This (1Timothy 4: 1) has only gotten worse.
In fact, if all that Man has added to the Gospel and to the type of worship that God endorsed (1Cor. 11: 24, 25/Matthew 28:) were to be purged from WITHIN the Christian Community of our day, most "Christians" would hardly recognize what had become of their "religious" building and activities.
There were NO "officiating" priests present when the ritual of the Lord's Supper (Communion) was established. There was NO altar. The event did NOT take place in a "holy:" building . The celebration of the Lord of the Lord's Supper NEVER did, and does NOT require ANY of these things, as it is to be exercised today! The "making of disciples" involves the teaching of the Word of God. These two events, accomplished with the filling (enabling power John 15;5) of God the Holy Spirit, is the type of worship that God desires during the Church Age dispensation in which we live.
Just imagine the look on some of the faces of the congregants if the next time they entered what they have been led to believe to be "church" and discovered there were no longer any officiating priests, no altar, containers of "holy water", no apparatus for baptisms, no crucifixes, no statues, no "Christian" art, no confessionals, etc., etc., etc.
What does this have to do with death? Such things are what make up and provide the means to engage in "dead works (Hebrews 6/9:14)" that are held in high esteem by Man, but are "detestable" in the eyes of God (Luke 16: 15). IN context, the dead works of Hebrews 9 are referring the Old Testament rituals that DID have a place and purpose during the Old Testament dispensation, but no longer have a place or purpose in the Church Age. The principle of dead works can and should also be applied to all of the additives that Man has added to the Gospel and the worship activity that God has ordained for the Church Age.
Such dead works are NOT dead because of lack of sincerity on the part of those who make use of such things, but because they lack spirituality that can ONLY come by and through God (John 15: 5), and in the manner that He established that can ALWAYS be Biblically substantiated.
OUCH!!! "Do I become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Galatians 4: 16).
At no time did the devil or any of the fallen angels ever disbelieve in the existence of the true God. This would not bfe possible, as the devil in the capacity of a cherub and the fallen angels all spent time in the throne room of God before their revolt.The same cannot be said of the human race.
The concept of there being a God is placed in the heart of all souls that God creates (Eccl. 3: 11). If the belief in there being a God were all that is needed to be saved, then all souls that God creates would be saved. One must not only respond to this concept that God places in one's heart, but establish an eternal relationship with the ONE and ONLY God via the ONE and ONLY means that is revealed in the presentation of the TRUE Gospel.
The devil will promote the concept of atheism because it is contrary to the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2: 16), but he, better than most humans, knows the truth of the matter. The eternal destiny of the devil and all the angels, fallen and elect, was determined (but
not executed/Matthew 25:41) before the creation of Man on the basis of free will hoices made in Eternity past.
When members of the human race, not having the pre-existing experience of Heaven as did Satan (Ezekiel 28: 14) and the
fallen angels (Rev. 12: 4), choose to BELIEVE God on the basis of faith and faith alone, they not only save themselves (John 3:16), but affirm the justice of impending sentence of doom that awaits the devil and the fallen angels at the appointed time (Rev. 20: 10/Matt.25:41).
The unpardonable sin of the fallen angels was not the sin of disbelief. This is not possible in light of their existence in Heaven with God prior to revolt that was led by the devil. The unpardonable sin of the angels was their choice to support the plan of Satan (Isa. 14: 13) over the plan and purpose for which God created them. Further details can be studied in the Angelic Conflict
Series.
During the dispensation of the hypostatic union (when the incarnated Son of God walked among us), there was mention of an
“unpardonable” sin (Mark 3: 29) surrounding the misidentification of the power source (Mark 3: 22b) behind the miracles that the Lord Jesus Christ performed, contending that He was demonically possessed (Mark 3: 22a).
It is because taking such a position requires one to first deny and/or reject the deity of both the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit that made this act qualify as the unpardonable sin (of disbelief) for which there is no Biblical remedy if a person chooses to remain and to depart this world in a state of disbelief (John 8: 24).
As of the Church Age, the unpardonable sin of Man takes place when one chooses to reject a presentation of the TRUE Gospel
Message. It is the sin of disbelief (John 3: 18) in the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ that amounts to the
unpardonable sin of the Church Age.
What the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ in all about is what is clearly explained in the TRUE Gospel Message. As in the case of the Mark 3:22 scribes, rejecting the Gospel is to reject/deny the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the deity and the pre-salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit that makes the Gospel understandable so that the recipient can choose to either believe it or reject it and bring about the blessings (John 3: 16/Titus 3:5) or the eternal condemnation (John 3: 18) for the decisions they make.
The justice and character of God (Habakkuk 1:13) require that ALL sin be paid for, and be paid for in full. Since, by design, the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ did NOT provide atonement for the sin of disbelief, those who choose to leave this world
in the capacity of an unbeliever, there is NO other option but to find himself in the Torments of Hades and ultimately in the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
What makes the sin of disbelief “unpardonable” is that this sin is the ONE and ONLY sin that was not atoned for by the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. This was by divine design and not the result of any deficiency in the atoning work that He accomplished.
The proclamation of the TRUE Gospel Message to unbelievers in the external mission given to the Church, and the making of
disciples out of those who are born again as a result of believing the Gospel is the internal mission of the Church.
These external and internal missions are what comprise what it called the Great Commission (Mathew 28) that our Lord issued to the Church that was to be established after His ascension.
ALL other sins were paid for and paid for in full by the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (1John 2: 2). Post salvation sin DOES invite divine discipline while here on Earth and the forfeiture of some (or all) of one’s “reward” (1Cor. 3: 12-15), but NEVER the loss of salvation.
Scripture is clear that belief in the Person AND the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the ONE and ONLY means of acquiring an admission ticket into Heaven (John 14:6), and without that ticket, NO ONE enters into it as a resident. The closest that ANY unbeliever will ever come to experience the presence of the Lord is when he is summoned from the Torments of Hades, and is face to face with the Lord on the Judgment Day of the sinners. After the judgment takes place, he is thrown into the lake of fire where he will remain and suffer for all of eternity.
One is saved (delivered from the impending wrath of God (Romans 8:1); receives eternal life (John 3: 16), and receives a
regenerated human spirit (Titus 3: 5). Any perceived need or compulsion to do any more in order to either obtain or to retain salvation is a clear indication that one does not have a clear understanding of the true Gospel.
Yes, every knee shall bend and every tongue will acknowledge the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the
question that remains is whether or not each individual will do so while here on Earth (Luke 1: 49) and be saved, or at the Judgment of the unbelievers just before being tossed into the lake of fire for all of eternity (Rev. 20: 15).
Will we, as a spiritually mature disciple, have the confidence to approach the throne of the One we got to know well during
our time on Earth, or will it be more like meeting a distant relative that we heard a lot of conflicting reports about, and never really learned what the “freedom” of John 8:32 was really all about?
Will we approach the throne of God with the John 8: 32 confidence (knowing that the issue of our salvation was resolved
during our time on Earth) or will we shake in our boots in fear that we might have failed after all?
Will we face God at the 1Cor. 3:12-15 evaluation of deeds with the anticipation of reward, or will we, in humiliation finally concede that we primarily lived for self and suffer the loss of many eternal blessings and accompanying privileges that could have been a part of our Heavenly experience?
Did we develop an intimate relationship with the Lord to the point that we KNOW how He thinks (1Cor. 2: 16) and what He
does or will do without even having to ask, or is our relationship with God based on what we HOPE God will or will not do?
The answers to these questions will differ from one departed soul to another, and can only be answered in light of the
decisions that any given soul make during his time here on Earth.
Even in human relationships, “checking in” once a week while one’s mind is a million miles away is hardly the stuff from
which an intimate relationship could be made or maintained. If such a relationship would not be appreciated by Man, how much less would such a scenario be pleasing to God?
Salvation does NOT require discipleship to retain it, but without discipleship an intimate walk with God here on Earth is
NOT possible. You can NOT have intimacy with someone that you hardly know.
The purpose of discipleship is not “all about me”. It IS all about Him and the OTHER souls in one’s personal environment that God desires to minister. The others include the persons with whom we interact with in our private, social, recreational, and
work/career environments. With the availability of the Internet, one’s personal periphery can now involve persons from all around the world where Internet access is available.
Of all these environments, one will find that one’s evangelistic and edifying efforts will receive the greatest opposition within one’s home and where he/she is known personally. “A prophet…” (one who speaks for or about God) “…is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household (Mark 6:4).”
The self-centeredness characteristic of the fallen nature is what influences each one of us to be focused on self-interest,
and not on the interests of others in both the natural and supernatural realms.
If and when the disciple has advanced to the point where he has a full understanding of what the post salvation spiritual
life is all about and the mechanics involved with its execution, he is then prepared to have God (John 15:5) minister to others via the specific spiritual gift (1Cor. 12) and accompanying ministry that God (1Cor. 12: 18) selected for him as His disciple.
Identifying and functioning in one’sindividual spiritual gift is an essential part of discipleship, yet many who claim to be Christians do not even have a clue as to what the spiritual gifts from God are or for what reason they are given. This is an area of spiritual combat that the devil has had considerable victory within the Christian Community.
Disciples will be rewarded (in Heaven-1Cor. 3: 12-15) for their individual participation in the fulfillment of the Great
Commission, but one’s gift and ministry is not for the primary benefit of the one receiving it, but for the spiritual service and edification of others (1Cor. 12: 18).
Dying is just as much a part of the plan that God has for His children as is living for Him here and now. In some parts
of the devil’s world, dying has been, is, and will be the earthly result for executing the plan that God has in mind for some of His disciples. Only a minority of believers has the honor and privilege of martyrdom, but the departure of the soul by whatever means at the appointed time is a part of the plan that God has in mind for each and every soul He creates.
It is quite natural to be leery, skeptical, and even in fear of anything that we do not know or understand. For many who claim identification with the Christian Community, leeriness, skepticism, and fear are among the characteristics that define their
relationship with God.
One IS born again (John 3:3) as a result of making a one-time decision to BELIEVE (John 3: 16, 18) in the Person and the
Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, settling the issue of salvation once and for all of Eternity.
There is a fear-faith ratio in the sense that the more one has of either one, the less that same persons has of the other.
Being “saved” from the fire of Hell and developing an intimate relationship through the fellowship that comes along with
discipleship are two VERY different things.
The devil can do NOTHING to undo the regenerating Work of God the Holy Spirit (Titus 5: 3) that took place at
salvation, but can do much to raise blasphemous doubts and fears to counterattack the progress of developing John 8: 32 faith.
This is evidenced by the fact that so very few “Christians” ever reach the John 8:32 level of faith. As a result, many who claim to be Christians go through life with just as much fear, doubts, and skepticism as their unbelieving counterparts.
It is through the life of post (after) salvation discipleship that the born again believer gets to know God and the things of God, to the extent (Deut. 29:29) that God chooses revealed Himself through His Word.
The soul structure is like a picket fence. The structure of a picket fence has an equal amount of vertical pickets and spaces held together by two horizontal bars. Any deviation in this pattern would change its structure. The picket fence is a good visual aid to illustrate how faith and facts are what builds the soul structure. The pickets represent what God has made known to Man, while the spaces in between the pickets represent faith in what cannot be known or seen. What cannot be known seen are, “the secret things (Deut. 29: 29)” (pieces of information) that God withholds from us in order to develop faith. Without pickets and spaces, a picket fence cannot be built and maintained. Without facts and faith, the soul structure that God desires cannot be built or maintained.
Man prefers a solid fence structure without spaces and has tried to fill in the spaces with human speculation and religion.
What does all this have to do with understanding what death is all about? One cannot understand the purpose and function of living until he first knows the purpose and function of death.
If and when one knows God and the things of God, he will experience the freedom spoken of in John 8:32. Such a believer will not only be liberated from such things as the devil-induced fear of death (Hebrews 2: 15),but will began to look forward to the day that he is finally released from the limitations of our humanity (Luke 12: 5O/1John 3:2) and is free from all the challenges that life here in the devil’s world (Luke 4: 6) entails.
If a born again believer chooses NOT to enter into discipleship, he will have the same fears, doubts, and insecurity as
the unbelievers or weak believers around him. Such things ARE normal for the natural minded man, but spirituality is NOT about doing what comes natural with human power, but doing what is supernatural with supernatural (John 15:5) power.
The integrity of one’s salvations is a “done deal”. The blessings (John3:16/Titus 3:5) are secure. These are Biblically substantiated principles equally apply to individual who is saved during a death-bed scenario (Luke 23: 41, 42) and to the individual who is saved earlier in life. This is the often misunderstood principle of the Matthew 20: 1-16 parable. This passage is speaking of the blessings of salvation, not the rewards of discipleship.
The persons in the parable that came to the Lord earlier and served the Lord longer thought that they would receive “more”
that those who came to the Lord later (or at the end) of the day. Salvation, however, is not distributed in installments. One is NEVER any MORE saved that he/she became at the moment of salvation, regardless of when that ONE TIME event takes place in the time of one's earthly life. Salvation is NOT something that can be put off. One either believes in the Gospel WHENEVER it is presented to him or he does not.
Discipleship, and the accompanying heavenly reward(s) and privileges that are associated with it, however, are not all the
same for all believers. It is when the deeds of one’s post salvation spiritual life are evaluated that there is a difference in what is received. Some will receive their full reward, while others will forfeit some orall of it, but their salvation remains intact (1Cor. 3: 12-15).
Evaluation of the “deeds” is what distinguished the good deeds that were produced by human means, and the good deeds that that were produced by divine means (John 15:5). Deeds of human good had (paste tense) value of varying degrees that
improved the quality of the earthly experience of those who benefited by them, but are of NO value in the eternal state to either the recipient or those who produced them here on Earth. It is (and ONLY is) the deeds that were produced by God the Holy Spirit through the advancing disciple that are rewarded at this 1Cor.3: 12-15 evaluation (judgment) of the believers.
There are NO shortcuts to discipleship. The process of discipleship (Matthew 28) cannot begin for anyone until he is first
born again (John 3:3), and as a result (Titus 3:5), is in a position for God the Holy Spirit to produce “divine” good through him.
The mechanics for the production of divine good are among the things that the believer will learn in the course of true
discipleship.
Unlike the benefits of salvation (John 3: 16/Titus 3:5) that are received and received in full at the moment of salvation here on Earth, the heavenly reward(s) for discipleship are issued at the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 evaluation that takes in Heaven AFTER the entire Church is gathered together in the Rapture (1THess. 4: 16).
What does this have to do with physical death? Physical death is the time when ANY unbeliever has passed the point of NO return and finds himself in the Torments of Hades. Doing time in Hades to pay for one’s sins and/or being given multiple chances to “get it right” through reincarnation are BOTH false doctrines that offer a false hope to those who accept them.
The Torments of Hades is where the departed souls of ALL unbelievers descend to upon leaving the body at death where they
will consciously suffer greatly. Upon Judgment Day (for the unbelievers), ALL unbelievers in Hades are brought to the Court of Heaven (Rev. 20: 13), where their excuses and pleas based on all the human good and religious deeds will be judged as falling short of the Gospel (Rev. 13/John 14: 6). Upon confirming that they are not listed among the names of believers) as are the souls of every born again believer (Rev. 20: 15), ALL of the unbelieving souls who were confined in Hades are then cast into the what the Bible calls the lake of fire, where they will consciously suffer for all of Eternity without ANY
hope of reprieve (Rev. 20:15).
The concept of reincarnation is clearly refuted in such Scripture as (Hebrew 9:27) that teach that every person soul has ONE appointed time of departure with judgment of the soul that lives on that follows. If the concept of reincarnation or working off one’s sin debt doing time in Hades were true, then there was no need for the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The judgment spoken of in Hebrews 9:27) is manifested in one of two ways.
For believing souls, the judgment that takes place after physical death involves the evaluation of deeds and the receiving or forfeiture of reward. The potential reward for EVERY believer starts off “full”, but decreases each time an opportunity to produce divine good is passed over. It’s true that until a believer dies, he is likely have similar opportunities to produce divine
good, but the specific opportunities that come our way each day (and the corresponding reward for having engage in it) are gone forever as each day passes. There are NO rewards for the divine good that a believer was "going to" accomplish for God, but only for the divine good that GOD did in act do through us.
As far as oneself is concerned, the believer produces divine good within himself as he takes in Bible Doctrine under the teaching of those God the Holy Spirit (1Cor 11:) chooses to serve God in that capacity. The believer produces divine good when he applies what he has learned by submitting his thoughts and actions to the control of God the Holy Spirit. What may seem as trivial to us, is precious to God when He is glorified in the presence of unseen angels, fallen and elect, as we deny self and glorify God. We deny self every time we choose NOT to do what we WOULD like to do to please self, and do what God 's Word requires of us instead.
Concerning others, the production of divine good of the Church Age involves the proclamation of the TRUE Gospel t0 unbelievers and the presentation of edifying Scripture to fellow believers. God uses human beings as the means of communication, but ONLY God can produce divine good THROUGH the believer (John 15:5/1Cor. 3:7/Acts 14). It is when the believer allows himself to be used by God as a communicator of the Gospel to an unbeliever or an edifying principle of Scripture that he is producing divine good of this variety.
For the most part, there is nothing wrong with engaging in humanitarian projects or other similar acts of human good as long as such human good is not mistaken for divine good. But it can not be said enough, if an atheist or an unbeliever can choose to do the same thing, then it is NOT divine good in view and will be rejected at the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 evaluation of deeds.
The best example of human good that comes to my mind is the work of a talented surgeon. No one will dispute the level of human that a talented surgeon can produce, but the fact that both believers and unbelievers can be talented surgeons, it is in itself evidence that such deeds are NOT of divine nature. God can and has used both believers and unbelievers to fulfill His will at any given time, but this does not make the deeds divine or warranting eternal reward.
The ONE variety of human good that a believer should NOT engage in or entertain is when it involves acts of religion that are of human means and design. Human acts of self-righteousness of no more than rags in the eyes of God (Isa. 64:6).
It is God who determines when He will use any one believer to produce divine good. Our part is to be prepared and
available for service. We “prepare” by developing a working knowledge of Word of God and develop the spiritual discernment to perceive an opportunity that God the Holy Spirit hasarranged. We become and remain “available” by living in a Spirit-filled mode. No one can be used by God to bring another soul to a level of spiritual maturity that he/she has not first arrived at him/herself.
Human good can be produced by unbelievers and believers alike, but divine good can only be produced by God through a
believer and only then when the believer is Spirit-filled. The bodies of All believers here on Earth are Spirit-indwelled (1Cor. 3:16) as of the moment of salvation (Titus 3:5), and remain so the soul and spirit of the believer depart at the moment of physical death. Being Spirit-filled means to be have one’s thoughts and actions under the control of God the Holy Spirit that
indwells us. This mode is what enables fellowship (2Cor. 13: 14) with God the Holy Spirit, and open the door for the believer in fellowship to be used by God the Holy Spirit (John 15:5) toproduce divine good. The more spiritually mature a believer becomes, the greater his usefulness for the service of God and the greater target of satanic attack.
No believer can sin via thought or deed without first casting off the authority and filling of God the Holy Spirit. When the believer commits a post salvation sin via thought or deed, he remains Spirit-indwelled and saved, but he loses the filling of the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit (and the ability to continue on with the post salvation spiritual life) is restored by the 1John 1: 9 process as soon as, but NOT until, ALL known sin has been confessed. If the sin (of thought or deed) has become one of lifestyle, the sinful way or thinking or behavior must also be forsaken (John 8), otherwise it is soon committed again and the out of fellowship cycle is re-engaged.
The period(s) out of fellowship with God and therefore outside of the plan of God can be as brief as the few seconds it takes to confess, and if necessary, forsake any known sin. , OR for the rest of one's post salvation spiritual life here on Earth.
“Religious” activity is among the forms of human good that the devil promotes and hopes that those involved with equate it
with divine good. Such “evil” leaves those involved with a false feeling that all is well between them and God on the basis of their human good (that includes religious activity) when if fact that have accomplished NOTHING of value in the eyes of God.
No matter how “great” or highly esteemed (Luke 16:15) human good IS in the eyes of Man, keep in mind that if an atheist
or unbeliever is capable of doing the same thing, it is NOT divine good!
Helping an old lady to safely cross the street is a deed of human good that has an earthly value, but evangelizing or
edifying her soul is a deed of divine good that has an eternal value! Human good deeds will be the earthly byproduct of spirituality (James 2: 15-17) but must be distinguished from it. Responding to a temporal need is a humanly good thing to do , but responding to a spiritual need is even better.
Human good may or may not be used of God to set the stage for the production of divine good. Missions for example, may clothe, shelter, and feed the body in an environment in which the Gospel will also be presented.
However, unless God the Holy Spirit chooses to use that time and activity to either evangelize or edify the soul involved, and the soul chooses to respond, the cycle that produces the divine good ofsalvation and/or edification will NOT be completed!
Presenting or being presented with the TRUE Gospel or an edifying principle of Scripture is serious business. While such interaction can be the means of one being saved or edified, it can also be the grounds on which the same soul can be sent to Hell in the case of unbelievers (John 3:18), or be the basis on which the recipient will receive of divine discipline.
I am NOT saying that believers shouldn’t produce human good, but only to avoid the pitfall of perceiving it to be divine
good, or that the production of human good (including “religious” practices) has got ANYTHING to do with the post salvation life that glorified God. IT DOES NOT.
How so? Here in the devil’s world, atheists and unbelievers are active in producing human good, as well or better than the human good being produced in the same walk of life, labor, professional, or recreational environments for a variety of reasons, but all the human good in the world will not generate as much as a millisecond of eternal life or spiritually edify another believers soul.
Accordingly, each day of our post salvation spiritual life DOES have some impact on the total or partial reward that is in store for us on the valuation of deeds judgment (1Cor. 3: 12-15) that takes place AFTER the rapture of the Church. Some of the divine
good produced is noted by other people. Some of it is noted by angels, fallen an elect, and ALL of it is noted by the omniscience of God.
What does all of this have to do with physical death?
Physical death is the time when the unbeliever has crossed the point of no return and will have no future opportunities to be saved. Physical death is when the believer has had his final opportunity to execute discipleship and be rewarded for
it.
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created and imputed to the physical body of His choosing at birth. At physical death, the natural body dies, but the soul does not. Every soul that God has ever created from Adam on down is as much alive today as they were when they walked the face of the Earth, and will continue to do so for all of eternity.
Physical death is NOT an END, but merely a change in location, environment and the type of body in which the soul ndwells.
The continuation of one’s soul life AFTER the termination of the physical life of the body is NOT a matter of “IF”, but a matter of where and how it will be experienced.
No one asked God to be created. We had no input as to the timing and the circumstances of our birth, and short of suicide, will have no say in the circumstances and timing of our earthy departure. What impact our genes, environment, health, and free-will choices would have were all known by God when He selected the body that we would need to fulfill His will.
Much about the individual plan that God has for us can be discerned by the body, timing, and socio-economic environment of our birth.
In the day and age in which we live, there are more “end of life” options and accompanying decisions available than ever before.
Among the more difficult ones to be resolved is one’s choice as to if and when to engage in or to discontinue medical treatment and/or therapy, including the introduction or continuation of artificial life support.
These are matters, I believe, that are between the individual soul and his/her Creator. Whenever possible, it is the one involved who should make his own end of life decisions, and to make his desires known. When circumstances do not allow conscious input of the person involved, the function falls to one’s family or better, the person that one chooses to see to it that his/her end time desires, within the law, are honored. Making a living will to address one’s end of life desires settles the matter. It is equally important that the one delegated to carry out one’s wishes, within the law, has no qualms in doing so. Anyone with qualms should not be selected for the role.
When such choices are never made, or made known, it leaves the family with the burden of having to determine what they believe the choices the departing soul would have made if he/she were conscious and able to do so.
Such matters are best addressed BEFORE one finds himself under the pressure of having an immediate decision in the midst of extreme stress forced on oneself or others via unexpected circumstances.
The sovereignty of God, even under these circumstances, still has the final say. The omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence of God allows Him to over-rule ANY decision that we make or others make for us that run contrary to what His direct will desires or His permissive will allows.
Regardless of how physical death is manifested, the soul departs the body and NEVER dies. Whatever physical or psychological pain or distress there may be involved with the de3parting soul of a believer, they are done and over with as soon as the soul leaves the body. On the other hand, the suffering associated with the fire of Hades (Luke 16: 24) and later in the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 13, 15) have only begun for the soul of a departing unbeliever!
Accordingly, it is what happens with the soul AFTER physical death that is of greater importance as these issues impact all of one's experience in Eternity!
In the final analysis, no one remains on this Earth any longer or leaves any sooner that what the direct will of God has decreed or the permissive will of God allows.
Such “times” as the timing of one’s birth and death are in the hands of God (Psalms31:15), but is an essential part of discipleship to learn and to be aware of what takes place in the spiritual realm at physical birth and physical death.
The human race as a whole, and therefore each individual member of it, was created for the primary purpose of glorifying God in the midst of an ongoing conflict between the forces of God and Satan.
Never-the-less, the majority of the human race chooses to spend its time functioning in a self-centered and earthly oriented mode, traveling along the broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). When one does not know how to live for God, he will not know how to die for God.
God desires (1Timothy 2: 4) that all men be saved, and has provided the means for this to take place (1John 2: 2). But although the majority of the human race chooses to involve itself is some form of “religion”, Matthew 7: 14 concedes and secular history and statistics concur that only a minority of each generation of the human race chooses to become saved from the wrath of God, and only a minority of those born again (John 3:3) ever choose to enter into and/or to remain in the Christ-centered lifestyle of discipleship.
God chose to leave the final determination of where and how one will spend ALL of eternity in the hands of each one of us, based on the CHOICES that we makes during our appointed time on Earth (John 3: 18). There we read, “He who believes in Him is NOT judged; he who does not BELIEVE has been judged ALREADY, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Belief (or unbelief) is what determines WHERE one will spend all of eternity.
HOW the unbeliever will experience the Torments of Hades and then the Lake of Fire is in a state of conscious and continuous
suffering.
HOW the believer will experience Heaven and all that God has in store for thebeliever is based on two principles of Scripture.
There is the general environment of Heaven that ALL believers (Romans 14: 4) will enjoy for all of eternity, and there are additional (1Cor. 3: 12-15) reward(s) and accompanying privileges that SOME (the minority) of believers will receive and some (the majority) will forfeit for either having or NOT having God produce divine good through them (John 15:5) in the capacity of post salvation disciples.
The road (way of life) that leads to destruction is not at all always one of gloom and despair. It is in the midst of great prosperity, as well as adversity, that one can become a casualty of spiritual combat in the spiritual realm without ever
realizing that they are among the walking wounded or spiritually dead.
The destruction that unbelievers will experience is the fact that they will suffer for all of eternity in what the Bible calls the lake of fire. This destruction does not end up in extermination, but in never-ending suffering without ANY hope of relief.
The destruction that the believer experiences may be manifested in the various forms of divine discipline that takes place here on Earth, and the loss of all or some of the heavenly reward(s) that he would have otherwise received in addition to
the general environment of Heaven.
Worldly prosperity can certainly make life here in the devil’s world more tolerable, but such prosperity is of NO value when the same soul departs this Earth. This is why the Lord challenged the rich man to give it (worldly riches) all up in exchange for the spiritual blessings, now and in eternity, for following the Lord.
Spending the majority of one’s time on Earth making the best of the “here and now” while neglecting eternity is foolish. No
matter how great, as human viewpoint would define greatness to be, one can have it here on Earth, Eternity is NEVER going to come to an end.
I used to say that comparing our time here on Earth to Eternity was like comparing a drop of water to an ocean, but even that is not completely accurate, as even the ocean has a limited quantity of water. Eternity will NEVER end or run out of
resources to sustain it.
It is when one has temporal wealth AND a heavenly account waiting for him that he can say that he truly has the better of two worlds. It is a sin to be jealous, envious, or to covet the temporal wealth of those who have temporal wealth. My prayer for them is that have established an eternal bank account of equal proportion.
Assuming all is going to go well in Heaven because all is going well here in the devil’s world is a serious mistake. There is NO guarantee that one’s Earthly wealth is here to stay or that one will have the health to enjoy it, but one’s heavenly
reward and the eternal life to enjoy is assured by God’s very own Word.
Worldly prosperity, especially when it is assumed that it was self-generated, encourages an attitude of independence from God.
In Rev. 3 we read, “Because you…” (you = the worldly prosperous, but heavenly bankrupt believer “…say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing (nothing = God or the things of God),” and you do not know that you are” (spiritually) “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked…”.
God is NOT opposed to legitimate Earthly prosperity (3John 1:2) and/or pleasure, but to place the acquisition of such things on a higher level on one’s list of DAILY priorities than the production of divine good (John 15:5) is a chosen lifestyle that one will live to regret when he leaves it all behind and finds his eternal, bank account has a zero “0” balance.
Divine good, during the Church Age in which we live, consists of presenting the TRUE Gospel to unbelievers, and the spiritual edification of those who have been born again. ALL other forms of good are of “human good”. Human good can be
produced by believers and unbelievers alike and can have great value to life here on Earth. Human good must not
be confused with divine good that has value both in this life and, more importantly, in the life to come!
We can live for our own benefit, or we can live for God’s glory, but we cannot do both at the same time. The quick-test to find out which road we are on is to simply ask oneself whose interests (God’s or our own) is it that dominate our minds as we go about our daily activities on a regular basis.
What does discipleship have to do with death?
Physical death (and/or the Rapture) can take place at any time and via a variety of circumstances. Physical death can
bring the opportunity to do all that we planned or thought about doing to a screeching halt. We will NOT be rewarded in Heaven for what we “were going to do”. We will have similar opportunities to produce divine good as each day passes, but once each goes by, the opportunity (and the acquisition of the accompanying reward) to have produced the divine good that God had in mind for that day is gone forever.
God gives us ALL 168 hours a week to glorify Him by ALL that we think, do, or say. Even in our sleep, our minds process the information that we CHOSE to become a part of our soul structure in the recent past. Discipleship is a 24 hour, 7 day a week lifestyle that goes way beyond merely attending a worship service for an hour, once or twice a week.
Do the Math! Focusing on God and/or the things of God for an hour or so out of the 168 hours a week only accounts for less than 1 % of the time that God has given to us to glorify Him via the production of divine good. Between the opportunities to produce divine good by either evangelizing unbelievers or edifying fellow believers, we have the quest of developing our own post salvation spiritual life of discipleship. There is NO “Me” time or time off from the life of discipleship. True discipleship is a 24-7 lifestyle!
It is only during our time here on Earth that one can glorify God through discipleship in view of the observing angels, fallen and elect. When the door to death opens, the door to such opportunities closes. No one knows just how close he/she may be to the door of death, but one thing is certain. We will ALL pass through it at our appointed time!
It is not that we are not to have an earthly life with secular activities. It is our diverse secular interests and activities that we are with others that God will use to establish common ground (1Cor. 9:22) where God can establish our personal pulpit!
The practical need to earn a living here in the devil’s makes money and the acquisition of it a basic and daily issue. The devil does NOT miss this opportunity to promote his agenda or to distract us from learning of God’s agenda.
Prosperity (or an inordinate desire to become prosperous) only becomes a spiritual issue IF and WHEN it is allowed to take priority over one’s spiritual calling, or influences one to compromise with the Biblical principles he has (or should
have) circulating in his soul structure.
The devil has a history (Matthew 4: 8, 9) of trying to divert the focus of one’s spiritual attention away from the plan of God via offering prosperity during the here and now. It was the devil’s lie that God was holding out on Man that set the stage for the woman’s (Eve) deception. When Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, she did so with the hope of gain. When Adam joined in the activity, he did so knowing that he was violating the command of God, but chose his relationship with the woman over his
relationship with God. Instead of making any gain, Man lost his world and handed it over to the devil (Luke 4:6).
The devil failed to buy the interest of the Lord Jesus Christ with worldly prosperity (Matthew 4), but has had a considerable success rate among many who claim to be the Lord’s followers. The devil maintains that everyone has a price, and in more cases than not, the human soul will settle for a lot less than what the devil is willing to pay for the devotion!
Even so, the pleasures of evil only last for season, even if that “season” consumes most of the time that one has here on Earth. God is not “time” oriented (2Peter 3:8), as is Man (Eccl. 3: 1). From divine viewpoint, there is no experiential difference between the passing of one day and the passing of a 1,000 years. Once we depart our Earthly bodies, we too, will no longer experience the passing of time, but will very much experience the reality of the immediate environment in which we environments that we will find ourselves for all of (endless) eternity to come.
For the unbelieving soul, his environment upon departing the body at physical death is the torments of Hades. At the appointed time, ALL of the unbelievers in Hades are brought out of Hade, face judgment, that results in being sent to the environment of the lake of fire for all of eternity (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
For the believing soul, his environment upon departing the body is that of the 3rd Heaven in the presence of the Lord. There he consciously enjoys the "rest" from his earthly labor while awaiting the Rapture (1Thess. 4: 16, 17). After the rapture takes place, there is the environment of the Judgment of believers in which all believers are assembled and either receive or forfeit some or all of one's heavenly rewards. and accompanying privileges. These rewards, received or forfeited, are what distinguishes the difference in experience that will be different among believers throughout all of eternity.
For the believer, there is the environment of all that will takes place when the Church returns to Earth with the Lord as He destroys the advancing military coalition that will be invading Israel at the time. For the believer, there is the environment of the 1,000 year (Satan-free-) environment of His 1,000 year kingdom of Earth. For the believer, there is the environment of the Gog and Magog revolt that takes place after the conclusion of the 1,000 reign when the advancing coalition of that day is destroyed as it approaches Jerusalem. Finally, for the believer, there is the environment of the New Heaven and Earth of the eternal state, as well as many events (Det. 29: 29) that have not been made known to Man as of yet.
God and all that He has planned does NOT come to an end with the establishment of the New Heavens and the New Earth. God has a plan that will continue to unfold throughout ALL of (never-ending) Eternity to come.
Eternity, in its totality, never had a beginning and never will have an end. "Time" is only the means of measuring the period within Etrnity that God has designed for the inclusion of the human race and its part in the master plan of God.
When the seasonal parties of life are over with, there comes the time when one must pay the fiddler for all the tunes he played while one danced with the devil (Gal. 6: 7, 8).
When the "party" is over with, he is not around to clean up the mess. The devil, like a fickle lover, couldn't care less as he moves on to his next conquest. The ironic things is how the devil will persuade those left behind to clean up the mess that the "party" produced that it is God's fault for allowing such things to happen.
Our Lord taught that wherever one’s riches (or desires for richness) are, that is where his heart is also (Matt. 6:21). One cannot serve God and money at the same time (Matthew 6:24). The free-will that God gives to us, permits us to invest (or waste) the resources that God has given us. What we choose to invest the resources of our time and money in speaks volumes about where one is in his walk with Lord. We have different amounts of money and resources, but we all have the same 24 hours each day!
The advancing disciple will have his money serve him, but not the other way around.
The advancing disciple has learned that providing he puts God and the things of God on the TOP of his list of priorities, then everything else he needs (not wanted) will be added to him (Matt. 6: 33) WITHOUT having to labor for them.
Contributing to temporal bank accounts at the expense of neglecting one’s heavenly bank account (Matt. 6: 20) is a common but foolish trait of the secularly rich and famous. Rich and famous godly persons are wise enough to enjoy such prosperity, but do not set their hearts on it.
The advancing disciple is called to glorify (honor) God by ALL that we do or say, no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Most of spend at least half (or more) of our conscious lives earning a living or managing the money that he has acquired.
One has to be short-sighted not to be able to see that God (and the devil) is very much interested in the means and way that one spends this rather large portion of his conscious time here on Earth.
How one perceives death (or the process of death) reveals much more about oneself than how he perceives life.
Merely acknowledging the inevitability of natural death is not the mark of disciple, as even an atheist does that much. The mark of a disciple is the (John 8: 32) confidence that he has developed as a result of learning and applying what the Word of God teaches concerning what lies beyond the grace for body, soul, and spirit.
During the course of the “post” (after we are born again) salvation spiritual life, God is NOT glorified by ANYTHING (John 15: 5/Matthew 7:22) that WE do independently for Him, even when we do what we do in an attempt to please Him. God is glorified by what HE does through us in the capacity of a Spirit-filled disciple. The glorification of God is the reason that we remain here on Earth after we are saved.
Discipleship consists of learning and applying the Word of God to everything we think or do, no matter where we are or what we are otherwise doing. Even in our sleep, our minds process the information that we most recently chose to entertain from came from the world around. The final thing that a disciple may be called to do, this side of Heaven, is to glorify God in
the process of death. I believe that one will do this as well or as poorly ashe executed his post salvation spiritual life throughout his time here on Earth since the day he was born again (John 3: 3).
There is NOT one day that passes by in which we are not influenced by what we choose to take into our souls by all that we hear or see. We cannot always avoid being exposed to evil, but we can choose NOT to let it become a part of our own soul structure. One cannot have a steady diet of all the trash that the devil’s world promotes, and then not have it become a part of how we think. It is how one thinks that determines how one acts.
We choose to (or not to) take time every day to hear what the Word of God has to say about the world around us, just as we choose to (or not to) make time each day to hear what the devil has to say through countless individuals and means of
communication that unwittingly do his bidding and promote his agenda. Sin can manifest itself in new ways
from one generation to the next, but the basic spiritual issues that impact Man here on Earth and will impact Man after death has not changed.
Most people who identify themselves with the Christian Community are there for all the temporal and eternal blessings they can garner for themselves, with the concept of what truly glorifies God being given little thought or attention.
Even the “good” things that many such people say and do often have the underlying motivation of getting something back for
themselves.
Don’t think so? Just take note of what these same “good” people say and/or do when they realize that what they have
done does not bear their anticipated results, and watch the hostility (Romans 8:7) of the self-centered fallen nature come to the
surface.
Ignorance or denial of these Biblically substantiated principles does NOT diminish their veracity or impact.
The death rate for the human race is 100%. Accordingly, believers and unbelievers alike will ponder what the experience of physical death will be like when their own time arrives.
It is my personal conviction that however one faces and goes through life is what determines how one will face and go through death. The only exception is when the circumstances of one’s departure is so sudden that he is gone before he had time to react or to think about it.
The one that goes through life in fear, doubt, and insecurity, pre-disposes oneselto experience the process of death with the same frame of mind. Go through life with the John 8: 32 freedom and courage, and one has the stage not only to endure, but to bring the greatest glory to God in the process, as he faces the greatest challenge to his personal faith.
Circumstances may or may not allow one to avoid the process of death, but not death itself.
Unfortunately, it will be said of many believers that it was truly at death that they “met” their Maker, having had a self-centered and estranged relationship with the Lord for much of their time while here on Earth. Everyone will see God face to face.
Scripture reveals that the knee of every soul will bend and every tongue will acknowledge the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2: 10) to the glory of God the Father.
It will not be possible for the soul of one who departs this world as an unbeliever or an atheist to deny God or the things
of God any longer when the unbelievers are summoned from HADES and stand before God (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
An “unbeliever”, according to Scripture is an atheist who rejects the God-given concept of eternity (Eccl. 3: 11), and in doing so rejects the concept of there being any god at all. An “unbeliever” is also one who believes in the existence of "a" god (note the small "g"), but does not believe (John 3: 18) in a presentation of the Gospel that identifies the ONE true God and the ONE way in which one obtains and retains salvation. Failure to have a clear understanding of the true Gospel is evidenced among so-called "Christians" who place their faith in false gospel or in one or more of the false religions of the world (Psalms 96: 5). Belief in a false Gospel is evidenced by one's erroneously perceived need to engage in "religious" activity and "good" behavior in order to obtain or to retain salvation.
The devil (2Cor. 11: 14), in the name of religion has filled the "Christian" Community with false gospels and religion. This was prophesied by just about every prophet of the New Testament Era, and as prophesied in 1Timothy 4:1, it was to and has now reached epidemic proportions as we are now in the END TTIMES. In more cases than not, the devil will use "religious" people who believe that they are actually serving and/or worshiping God to promote false doctrine and practices.
Note that false religions identify and refer to the people of the God of the Bible as “infidels”. In doing, so they, themselves are it clear that there is a distinction between the “god(s)” that they worship, and the God of the Bible. We do NOT all worship the same God, but by a different name, as many false religions of the world would have us believe.
Some of the false religions make no outward attack on Scripture, whereas Islam promotes the blasphemous teaching that denies the deity of the Lord Jesus and even the existence of God the Holy Spirit. There is an inscription of this nature in the mosque in Jerusalem in the same area where the ancient Temple of the Lord once stood. I believe that this mosque is the, "abomination that makes...." (the area of the former temple courts) " desolate (desolate=void and unsuitable for the worship of God) spoken of END TTIME prophecy.
A “believer” is one who, after being presented with the TRUE Gospel Message, believes (acknowledges) in the Person and
the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Upon doing so, the former unbeliever has, as of that time and for all of eternity, passed from being in a state of unbelief and spiritual death to a new state of being a believer with spiritual life. This is what it
means to be born again (John 3:3) and to be "baptized (marked for identification)/Titus 3:5) by God the Holy Spirit.
Having unwavering and strong “faith” (belief) in a false god or in an alternative plan to be accepted the true God
saves NO ONE! If mere belief in the existence of the true God were to be the ticket to Heaven, then the devil himself and all the fallen angels would have to be readmitted (James 2: 19).
Being sincere, while being sincerely WRONG, saves no one. Uzzah (2Sam. 6:6) acted with undisputed "good intentions" when he reached out to steady a cart transporting the ark of the covenant , and paid for it with his natural life. "The Law" required that when being moved, that the ark be carried with poles (Exodus 25: 14), This may seem trivial to many, but the more specific the information or instructions that God gives, the more accountable will be the ones who receive it (Luke 12: 48).
In the Church Age in which we live, God was specific (John 14:6) as how one is to be saved (John 3:16) and how one is to worship God (1Cor. 12:). Man (with the encouragement of the devil), in his willful ignorance and natural arrogance has right from the start tried to add to the simplicity of requirement of salvation , revealed in the Gospel, and means and activities that Scripture endorses for the worship of God. This (1Timothy 4: 1) has only gotten worse.
In fact, if all that Man has added to the Gospel and to the type of worship that God endorsed (1Cor. 11: 24, 25/Matthew 28:) were to be purged from WITHIN the Christian Community of our day, most "Christians" would hardly recognize what had become of their "religious" building and activities.
There were NO "officiating" priests present when the ritual of the Lord's Supper (Communion) was established. There was NO altar. The event did NOT take place in a "holy:" building . The celebration of the Lord of the Lord's Supper NEVER did, and does NOT require ANY of these things, as it is to be exercised today! The "making of disciples" involves the teaching of the Word of God. These two events, accomplished with the filling (enabling power John 15;5) of God the Holy Spirit, is the type of worship that God desires during the Church Age dispensation in which we live.
Just imagine the look on some of the faces of the congregants if the next time they entered what they have been led to believe to be "church" and discovered there were no longer any officiating priests, no altar, containers of "holy water", no apparatus for baptisms, no crucifixes, no statues, no "Christian" art, no confessionals, etc., etc., etc.
What does this have to do with death? Such things are what make up and provide the means to engage in "dead works (Hebrews 6/9:14)" that are held in high esteem by Man, but are "detestable" in the eyes of God (Luke 16: 15). IN context, the dead works of Hebrews 9 are referring the Old Testament rituals that DID have a place and purpose during the Old Testament dispensation, but no longer have a place or purpose in the Church Age. The principle of dead works can and should also be applied to all of the additives that Man has added to the Gospel and the worship activity that God has ordained for the Church Age.
Such dead works are NOT dead because of lack of sincerity on the part of those who make use of such things, but because they lack spirituality that can ONLY come by and through God (John 15: 5), and in the manner that He established that can ALWAYS be Biblically substantiated.
OUCH!!! "Do I become your enemy by telling you the truth? (Galatians 4: 16).
At no time did the devil or any of the fallen angels ever disbelieve in the existence of the true God. This would not bfe possible, as the devil in the capacity of a cherub and the fallen angels all spent time in the throne room of God before their revolt.The same cannot be said of the human race.
The concept of there being a God is placed in the heart of all souls that God creates (Eccl. 3: 11). If the belief in there being a God were all that is needed to be saved, then all souls that God creates would be saved. One must not only respond to this concept that God places in one's heart, but establish an eternal relationship with the ONE and ONLY God via the ONE and ONLY means that is revealed in the presentation of the TRUE Gospel.
The devil will promote the concept of atheism because it is contrary to the mind of Christ (1Cor. 2: 16), but he, better than most humans, knows the truth of the matter. The eternal destiny of the devil and all the angels, fallen and elect, was determined (but
not executed/Matthew 25:41) before the creation of Man on the basis of free will hoices made in Eternity past.
When members of the human race, not having the pre-existing experience of Heaven as did Satan (Ezekiel 28: 14) and the
fallen angels (Rev. 12: 4), choose to BELIEVE God on the basis of faith and faith alone, they not only save themselves (John 3:16), but affirm the justice of impending sentence of doom that awaits the devil and the fallen angels at the appointed time (Rev. 20: 10/Matt.25:41).
The unpardonable sin of the fallen angels was not the sin of disbelief. This is not possible in light of their existence in Heaven with God prior to revolt that was led by the devil. The unpardonable sin of the angels was their choice to support the plan of Satan (Isa. 14: 13) over the plan and purpose for which God created them. Further details can be studied in the Angelic Conflict
Series.
During the dispensation of the hypostatic union (when the incarnated Son of God walked among us), there was mention of an
“unpardonable” sin (Mark 3: 29) surrounding the misidentification of the power source (Mark 3: 22b) behind the miracles that the Lord Jesus Christ performed, contending that He was demonically possessed (Mark 3: 22a).
It is because taking such a position requires one to first deny and/or reject the deity of both the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Holy Spirit that made this act qualify as the unpardonable sin (of disbelief) for which there is no Biblical remedy if a person chooses to remain and to depart this world in a state of disbelief (John 8: 24).
As of the Church Age, the unpardonable sin of Man takes place when one chooses to reject a presentation of the TRUE Gospel
Message. It is the sin of disbelief (John 3: 18) in the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ that amounts to the
unpardonable sin of the Church Age.
What the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ in all about is what is clearly explained in the TRUE Gospel Message. As in the case of the Mark 3:22 scribes, rejecting the Gospel is to reject/deny the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the deity and the pre-salvation ministry of God the Holy Spirit that makes the Gospel understandable so that the recipient can choose to either believe it or reject it and bring about the blessings (John 3: 16/Titus 3:5) or the eternal condemnation (John 3: 18) for the decisions they make.
The justice and character of God (Habakkuk 1:13) require that ALL sin be paid for, and be paid for in full. Since, by design, the atoning Work of the Lord Jesus Christ did NOT provide atonement for the sin of disbelief, those who choose to leave this world
in the capacity of an unbeliever, there is NO other option but to find himself in the Torments of Hades and ultimately in the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 13, 15).
What makes the sin of disbelief “unpardonable” is that this sin is the ONE and ONLY sin that was not atoned for by the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. This was by divine design and not the result of any deficiency in the atoning work that He accomplished.
The proclamation of the TRUE Gospel Message to unbelievers in the external mission given to the Church, and the making of
disciples out of those who are born again as a result of believing the Gospel is the internal mission of the Church.
These external and internal missions are what comprise what it called the Great Commission (Mathew 28) that our Lord issued to the Church that was to be established after His ascension.
ALL other sins were paid for and paid for in full by the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (1John 2: 2). Post salvation sin DOES invite divine discipline while here on Earth and the forfeiture of some (or all) of one’s “reward” (1Cor. 3: 12-15), but NEVER the loss of salvation.
Scripture is clear that belief in the Person AND the Works of the Lord Jesus Christ that is the ONE and ONLY means of acquiring an admission ticket into Heaven (John 14:6), and without that ticket, NO ONE enters into it as a resident. The closest that ANY unbeliever will ever come to experience the presence of the Lord is when he is summoned from the Torments of Hades, and is face to face with the Lord on the Judgment Day of the sinners. After the judgment takes place, he is thrown into the lake of fire where he will remain and suffer for all of eternity.
One is saved (delivered from the impending wrath of God (Romans 8:1); receives eternal life (John 3: 16), and receives a
regenerated human spirit (Titus 3: 5). Any perceived need or compulsion to do any more in order to either obtain or to retain salvation is a clear indication that one does not have a clear understanding of the true Gospel.
Yes, every knee shall bend and every tongue will acknowledge the Person and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but the
question that remains is whether or not each individual will do so while here on Earth (Luke 1: 49) and be saved, or at the Judgment of the unbelievers just before being tossed into the lake of fire for all of eternity (Rev. 20: 15).
Will we, as a spiritually mature disciple, have the confidence to approach the throne of the One we got to know well during
our time on Earth, or will it be more like meeting a distant relative that we heard a lot of conflicting reports about, and never really learned what the “freedom” of John 8:32 was really all about?
Will we approach the throne of God with the John 8: 32 confidence (knowing that the issue of our salvation was resolved
during our time on Earth) or will we shake in our boots in fear that we might have failed after all?
Will we face God at the 1Cor. 3:12-15 evaluation of deeds with the anticipation of reward, or will we, in humiliation finally concede that we primarily lived for self and suffer the loss of many eternal blessings and accompanying privileges that could have been a part of our Heavenly experience?
Did we develop an intimate relationship with the Lord to the point that we KNOW how He thinks (1Cor. 2: 16) and what He
does or will do without even having to ask, or is our relationship with God based on what we HOPE God will or will not do?
The answers to these questions will differ from one departed soul to another, and can only be answered in light of the
decisions that any given soul make during his time here on Earth.
Even in human relationships, “checking in” once a week while one’s mind is a million miles away is hardly the stuff from
which an intimate relationship could be made or maintained. If such a relationship would not be appreciated by Man, how much less would such a scenario be pleasing to God?
Salvation does NOT require discipleship to retain it, but without discipleship an intimate walk with God here on Earth is
NOT possible. You can NOT have intimacy with someone that you hardly know.
The purpose of discipleship is not “all about me”. It IS all about Him and the OTHER souls in one’s personal environment that God desires to minister. The others include the persons with whom we interact with in our private, social, recreational, and
work/career environments. With the availability of the Internet, one’s personal periphery can now involve persons from all around the world where Internet access is available.
Of all these environments, one will find that one’s evangelistic and edifying efforts will receive the greatest opposition within one’s home and where he/she is known personally. “A prophet…” (one who speaks for or about God) “…is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household (Mark 6:4).”
The self-centeredness characteristic of the fallen nature is what influences each one of us to be focused on self-interest,
and not on the interests of others in both the natural and supernatural realms.
If and when the disciple has advanced to the point where he has a full understanding of what the post salvation spiritual
life is all about and the mechanics involved with its execution, he is then prepared to have God (John 15:5) minister to others via the specific spiritual gift (1Cor. 12) and accompanying ministry that God (1Cor. 12: 18) selected for him as His disciple.
Identifying and functioning in one’sindividual spiritual gift is an essential part of discipleship, yet many who claim to be Christians do not even have a clue as to what the spiritual gifts from God are or for what reason they are given. This is an area of spiritual combat that the devil has had considerable victory within the Christian Community.
Disciples will be rewarded (in Heaven-1Cor. 3: 12-15) for their individual participation in the fulfillment of the Great
Commission, but one’s gift and ministry is not for the primary benefit of the one receiving it, but for the spiritual service and edification of others (1Cor. 12: 18).
Dying is just as much a part of the plan that God has for His children as is living for Him here and now. In some parts
of the devil’s world, dying has been, is, and will be the earthly result for executing the plan that God has in mind for some of His disciples. Only a minority of believers has the honor and privilege of martyrdom, but the departure of the soul by whatever means at the appointed time is a part of the plan that God has in mind for each and every soul He creates.
It is quite natural to be leery, skeptical, and even in fear of anything that we do not know or understand. For many who claim identification with the Christian Community, leeriness, skepticism, and fear are among the characteristics that define their
relationship with God.
One IS born again (John 3:3) as a result of making a one-time decision to BELIEVE (John 3: 16, 18) in the Person and the
Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, settling the issue of salvation once and for all of Eternity.
There is a fear-faith ratio in the sense that the more one has of either one, the less that same persons has of the other.
Being “saved” from the fire of Hell and developing an intimate relationship through the fellowship that comes along with
discipleship are two VERY different things.
The devil can do NOTHING to undo the regenerating Work of God the Holy Spirit (Titus 5: 3) that took place at
salvation, but can do much to raise blasphemous doubts and fears to counterattack the progress of developing John 8: 32 faith.
This is evidenced by the fact that so very few “Christians” ever reach the John 8:32 level of faith. As a result, many who claim to be Christians go through life with just as much fear, doubts, and skepticism as their unbelieving counterparts.
It is through the life of post (after) salvation discipleship that the born again believer gets to know God and the things of God, to the extent (Deut. 29:29) that God chooses revealed Himself through His Word.
The soul structure is like a picket fence. The structure of a picket fence has an equal amount of vertical pickets and spaces held together by two horizontal bars. Any deviation in this pattern would change its structure. The picket fence is a good visual aid to illustrate how faith and facts are what builds the soul structure. The pickets represent what God has made known to Man, while the spaces in between the pickets represent faith in what cannot be known or seen. What cannot be known seen are, “the secret things (Deut. 29: 29)” (pieces of information) that God withholds from us in order to develop faith. Without pickets and spaces, a picket fence cannot be built and maintained. Without facts and faith, the soul structure that God desires cannot be built or maintained.
Man prefers a solid fence structure without spaces and has tried to fill in the spaces with human speculation and religion.
What does all this have to do with understanding what death is all about? One cannot understand the purpose and function of living until he first knows the purpose and function of death.
If and when one knows God and the things of God, he will experience the freedom spoken of in John 8:32. Such a believer will not only be liberated from such things as the devil-induced fear of death (Hebrews 2: 15),but will began to look forward to the day that he is finally released from the limitations of our humanity (Luke 12: 5O/1John 3:2) and is free from all the challenges that life here in the devil’s world (Luke 4: 6) entails.
If a born again believer chooses NOT to enter into discipleship, he will have the same fears, doubts, and insecurity as
the unbelievers or weak believers around him. Such things ARE normal for the natural minded man, but spirituality is NOT about doing what comes natural with human power, but doing what is supernatural with supernatural (John 15:5) power.
The integrity of one’s salvations is a “done deal”. The blessings (John3:16/Titus 3:5) are secure. These are Biblically substantiated principles equally apply to individual who is saved during a death-bed scenario (Luke 23: 41, 42) and to the individual who is saved earlier in life. This is the often misunderstood principle of the Matthew 20: 1-16 parable. This passage is speaking of the blessings of salvation, not the rewards of discipleship.
The persons in the parable that came to the Lord earlier and served the Lord longer thought that they would receive “more”
that those who came to the Lord later (or at the end) of the day. Salvation, however, is not distributed in installments. One is NEVER any MORE saved that he/she became at the moment of salvation, regardless of when that ONE TIME event takes place in the time of one's earthly life. Salvation is NOT something that can be put off. One either believes in the Gospel WHENEVER it is presented to him or he does not.
Discipleship, and the accompanying heavenly reward(s) and privileges that are associated with it, however, are not all the
same for all believers. It is when the deeds of one’s post salvation spiritual life are evaluated that there is a difference in what is received. Some will receive their full reward, while others will forfeit some orall of it, but their salvation remains intact (1Cor. 3: 12-15).
Evaluation of the “deeds” is what distinguished the good deeds that were produced by human means, and the good deeds that that were produced by divine means (John 15:5). Deeds of human good had (paste tense) value of varying degrees that
improved the quality of the earthly experience of those who benefited by them, but are of NO value in the eternal state to either the recipient or those who produced them here on Earth. It is (and ONLY is) the deeds that were produced by God the Holy Spirit through the advancing disciple that are rewarded at this 1Cor.3: 12-15 evaluation (judgment) of the believers.
There are NO shortcuts to discipleship. The process of discipleship (Matthew 28) cannot begin for anyone until he is first
born again (John 3:3), and as a result (Titus 3:5), is in a position for God the Holy Spirit to produce “divine” good through him.
The mechanics for the production of divine good are among the things that the believer will learn in the course of true
discipleship.
Unlike the benefits of salvation (John 3: 16/Titus 3:5) that are received and received in full at the moment of salvation here on Earth, the heavenly reward(s) for discipleship are issued at the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 evaluation that takes in Heaven AFTER the entire Church is gathered together in the Rapture (1THess. 4: 16).
What does this have to do with physical death? Physical death is the time when ANY unbeliever has passed the point of NO return and finds himself in the Torments of Hades. Doing time in Hades to pay for one’s sins and/or being given multiple chances to “get it right” through reincarnation are BOTH false doctrines that offer a false hope to those who accept them.
The Torments of Hades is where the departed souls of ALL unbelievers descend to upon leaving the body at death where they
will consciously suffer greatly. Upon Judgment Day (for the unbelievers), ALL unbelievers in Hades are brought to the Court of Heaven (Rev. 20: 13), where their excuses and pleas based on all the human good and religious deeds will be judged as falling short of the Gospel (Rev. 13/John 14: 6). Upon confirming that they are not listed among the names of believers) as are the souls of every born again believer (Rev. 20: 15), ALL of the unbelieving souls who were confined in Hades are then cast into the what the Bible calls the lake of fire, where they will consciously suffer for all of Eternity without ANY
hope of reprieve (Rev. 20:15).
The concept of reincarnation is clearly refuted in such Scripture as (Hebrew 9:27) that teach that every person soul has ONE appointed time of departure with judgment of the soul that lives on that follows. If the concept of reincarnation or working off one’s sin debt doing time in Hades were true, then there was no need for the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The judgment spoken of in Hebrews 9:27) is manifested in one of two ways.
For believing souls, the judgment that takes place after physical death involves the evaluation of deeds and the receiving or forfeiture of reward. The potential reward for EVERY believer starts off “full”, but decreases each time an opportunity to produce divine good is passed over. It’s true that until a believer dies, he is likely have similar opportunities to produce divine
good, but the specific opportunities that come our way each day (and the corresponding reward for having engage in it) are gone forever as each day passes. There are NO rewards for the divine good that a believer was "going to" accomplish for God, but only for the divine good that GOD did in act do through us.
As far as oneself is concerned, the believer produces divine good within himself as he takes in Bible Doctrine under the teaching of those God the Holy Spirit (1Cor 11:) chooses to serve God in that capacity. The believer produces divine good when he applies what he has learned by submitting his thoughts and actions to the control of God the Holy Spirit. What may seem as trivial to us, is precious to God when He is glorified in the presence of unseen angels, fallen and elect, as we deny self and glorify God. We deny self every time we choose NOT to do what we WOULD like to do to please self, and do what God 's Word requires of us instead.
Concerning others, the production of divine good of the Church Age involves the proclamation of the TRUE Gospel t0 unbelievers and the presentation of edifying Scripture to fellow believers. God uses human beings as the means of communication, but ONLY God can produce divine good THROUGH the believer (John 15:5/1Cor. 3:7/Acts 14). It is when the believer allows himself to be used by God as a communicator of the Gospel to an unbeliever or an edifying principle of Scripture that he is producing divine good of this variety.
For the most part, there is nothing wrong with engaging in humanitarian projects or other similar acts of human good as long as such human good is not mistaken for divine good. But it can not be said enough, if an atheist or an unbeliever can choose to do the same thing, then it is NOT divine good in view and will be rejected at the 1Cor. 3: 12-15 evaluation of deeds.
The best example of human good that comes to my mind is the work of a talented surgeon. No one will dispute the level of human that a talented surgeon can produce, but the fact that both believers and unbelievers can be talented surgeons, it is in itself evidence that such deeds are NOT of divine nature. God can and has used both believers and unbelievers to fulfill His will at any given time, but this does not make the deeds divine or warranting eternal reward.
The ONE variety of human good that a believer should NOT engage in or entertain is when it involves acts of religion that are of human means and design. Human acts of self-righteousness of no more than rags in the eyes of God (Isa. 64:6).
It is God who determines when He will use any one believer to produce divine good. Our part is to be prepared and
available for service. We “prepare” by developing a working knowledge of Word of God and develop the spiritual discernment to perceive an opportunity that God the Holy Spirit hasarranged. We become and remain “available” by living in a Spirit-filled mode. No one can be used by God to bring another soul to a level of spiritual maturity that he/she has not first arrived at him/herself.
Human good can be produced by unbelievers and believers alike, but divine good can only be produced by God through a
believer and only then when the believer is Spirit-filled. The bodies of All believers here on Earth are Spirit-indwelled (1Cor. 3:16) as of the moment of salvation (Titus 3:5), and remain so the soul and spirit of the believer depart at the moment of physical death. Being Spirit-filled means to be have one’s thoughts and actions under the control of God the Holy Spirit that
indwells us. This mode is what enables fellowship (2Cor. 13: 14) with God the Holy Spirit, and open the door for the believer in fellowship to be used by God the Holy Spirit (John 15:5) toproduce divine good. The more spiritually mature a believer becomes, the greater his usefulness for the service of God and the greater target of satanic attack.
No believer can sin via thought or deed without first casting off the authority and filling of God the Holy Spirit. When the believer commits a post salvation sin via thought or deed, he remains Spirit-indwelled and saved, but he loses the filling of the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit (and the ability to continue on with the post salvation spiritual life) is restored by the 1John 1: 9 process as soon as, but NOT until, ALL known sin has been confessed. If the sin (of thought or deed) has become one of lifestyle, the sinful way or thinking or behavior must also be forsaken (John 8), otherwise it is soon committed again and the out of fellowship cycle is re-engaged.
The period(s) out of fellowship with God and therefore outside of the plan of God can be as brief as the few seconds it takes to confess, and if necessary, forsake any known sin. , OR for the rest of one's post salvation spiritual life here on Earth.
“Religious” activity is among the forms of human good that the devil promotes and hopes that those involved with equate it
with divine good. Such “evil” leaves those involved with a false feeling that all is well between them and God on the basis of their human good (that includes religious activity) when if fact that have accomplished NOTHING of value in the eyes of God.
No matter how “great” or highly esteemed (Luke 16:15) human good IS in the eyes of Man, keep in mind that if an atheist
or unbeliever is capable of doing the same thing, it is NOT divine good!
Helping an old lady to safely cross the street is a deed of human good that has an earthly value, but evangelizing or
edifying her soul is a deed of divine good that has an eternal value! Human good deeds will be the earthly byproduct of spirituality (James 2: 15-17) but must be distinguished from it. Responding to a temporal need is a humanly good thing to do , but responding to a spiritual need is even better.
Human good may or may not be used of God to set the stage for the production of divine good. Missions for example, may clothe, shelter, and feed the body in an environment in which the Gospel will also be presented.
However, unless God the Holy Spirit chooses to use that time and activity to either evangelize or edify the soul involved, and the soul chooses to respond, the cycle that produces the divine good ofsalvation and/or edification will NOT be completed!
Presenting or being presented with the TRUE Gospel or an edifying principle of Scripture is serious business. While such interaction can be the means of one being saved or edified, it can also be the grounds on which the same soul can be sent to Hell in the case of unbelievers (John 3:18), or be the basis on which the recipient will receive of divine discipline.
I am NOT saying that believers shouldn’t produce human good, but only to avoid the pitfall of perceiving it to be divine
good, or that the production of human good (including “religious” practices) has got ANYTHING to do with the post salvation life that glorified God. IT DOES NOT.
How so? Here in the devil’s world, atheists and unbelievers are active in producing human good, as well or better than the human good being produced in the same walk of life, labor, professional, or recreational environments for a variety of reasons, but all the human good in the world will not generate as much as a millisecond of eternal life or spiritually edify another believers soul.
Accordingly, each day of our post salvation spiritual life DOES have some impact on the total or partial reward that is in store for us on the valuation of deeds judgment (1Cor. 3: 12-15) that takes place AFTER the rapture of the Church. Some of the divine
good produced is noted by other people. Some of it is noted by angels, fallen an elect, and ALL of it is noted by the omniscience of God.
What does all of this have to do with physical death?
Physical death is the time when the unbeliever has crossed the point of no return and will have no future opportunities to be saved. Physical death is when the believer has had his final opportunity to execute discipleship and be rewarded for
it.
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