Judgement Day has gone out of vogue.
These days, even those who frequent Sunday church are lucky to catch a sermon on “The Day of Great Reckoning.” Such expressions of divine judgement are relics of the past, reserved for ultra-conservative preachers and hand wringing religious grandmothers.
Instead, modern preaching has smoothed and widened that once Narrow Way. Long gone is any need for soul searching or repentance. After all, Jesus is the great Get-out-of-Hell-Card. The one you have tucked away for when your final number comes up.
Whatever a man’s religion, one thing is for sure: “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Heb.9:27).
It is a given that “there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus” (Rom.8:1). And this is to be gloried in daily. With it, there’s hope—Glory Hallelujah!
However, what is not so much a given is the proper means of getting “into Christ Jesus.” The devil has packaged up a false doctrine for every denomination, and most of the time those false doctrines deliberately keep a man “out of Christ.”
If you had asked the first-century Christian how he got “into Christ,” he would have said something like: “I heard the gospel and I repented and was baptised for the forgiveness of my sins…” (see Acts 2:37-38). Therefore, given that most churches today reject that “baptism saves” (1Pet.3:20), we should not be surprised that Jesus asks the question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk.18:8).
This question is part of Jesus’ teaching about perseverance in prayer. The widow of Jesus story (Lk.18:1-6), persists because she has no option but to—it was do or die!
It is in honest reflection upon our prayers that we see the workings of salvation. This is where our spirit meets the Holy Spirit, and we have insight into the Divine outlook. Meditating upon the Word and work of God, we clearly see God’s will and plan for all men to be saved. And we, like the Persistent Widow, cry out to God for justice.
Jesus is coming soon!
John Staiger
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