To kick against the pricks seems to
follow some without much effort whatsoever and yet others seem to glide with
the stream. This is just the way life seems to unfold. Put two men in the same
room under the same conditions with the same tools at their disposal and you
are guaranteed different results. One will excel whilst the other may really
struggle, why? That is a complex question but if we strip it bare, we will soon
realize that God is Sovereign and He rules in accordance with His will. However
as individuals within his production we all make thousands of decisions a day
and we determine the action we need to take at any given time. We are not
machines but are living souls and therefore God has created us with an ability
to “adapt or die” yet always within the bounds of the parameters He has set
out. We can only ever go so far.
We have all been subjected to the same
laws; gravity doesn’t only apply to some, we are all governed by it and because
someone is unaware of the laws of gravity that does not exclude them from its
downward force. In like manner we think since we make so many independent choices
throughout the day that we are the masters of our own destinies. That however
is partly true but only within the bounds we have been afforded and yet I see
another hidden rule that eludes the majority, which is the unseen lies of a man’s
life which he believes will go unpunished if he dodges the ones he deceives. God
has established a truth and just like gravity’s effect on all of us.
Here is a quote from King Solomon from
the Bible in the book of Ecclesiastes; “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether good or evil.” – Whether we believe
this to be true or not will have no bearing on the outcome. God will have the
final say! That I can promise you and no stone will be left unturned. God is so
brilliant that nothing will slip His attention. Have you ever tried to count
the hairs on your head? That would be an impossible task and yet God could give
you an immediate answer, in fact there are billions of people on our planet and
He could give a simultaneous answer on all that live and His answer would be exact,
wow, wow and wow! This is the God we are up against and we will never outsmart
Him. He rules and reigns in accordance to the parameters He has set out and the
sooner we submit to His reign the freer we live.
The very same God will judge both the living and
the dead; what is meant by the living and the dead? We will all die! We will
never live in this corruptible body forever that has been proved over time, mankind
trying to cheat death to no avail. Egyptians mummifying their bodies in the
hope of finding a cure to be brought back from the dead and all they have
achieved is an archaeologist digging them up and people ogling at their dead
bodies. Death personified! Death can never be cheated by mankind! But God who
is rich in mercy has afforded all an opportunity to escape death, which is to
offer sinners the opportunity to live forever. How? God sent His son the Lord Jesus
Christ to pay a penalty for which he was not guilty of. Jesus Christ died for
the repentant sinner and paid the price for our sins. God became a man, lived a
life of sinless perfection and then bled and died for the sins of many. He is
the substitute for all those who acknowledge their sins before a Holy God and
seek out His forgiveness for their sins, we cannot look to find justification
for our sins, and we need to own them.
Here is an example to help us understand the
severity of our condition; let’s say a man has a failing heart and he is on the
verge of death, what will he need to survive? Firstly he will need to believe
that his heart is failing and only then will understand that without a new
heart he will die; a healthy heart is needed for him to live, but before that
can happen a donor must be found. Someone needs to die for him to live. Not any
heart will do, it will have to match his blood type and so there is certain
criteria needed for this to happen successfully. In like manner we are all
guilty of sin and must understand our need for forgiveness, once that is
understood we are on the right track to find clemency. Two thousand years ago
God sent His son to live a life without sin, he then had to die as if he had
sinned, he bled and died for me, and I now know this to be true. I’ve
understood this and because of this understanding I’ve now been qualified to
find forgiveness for my sin. I’ve repented and asked god for forgiveness and
because He is a loving God He has now forgiven my trespass, my sins have now
been covered by the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice and they will now be remembered no
more.
But what about those who reject God’s
mercy? Even the wicked have been afforded God’s communal graces; the worst of
the worst still breathe the same oxygen the child of God breathes. Questions
that so many ask are why does God allow that? Why allow some murderers to get
away with it? We have all been given a similar chance to find the grace of God
in our lives. Let me put it to you this way, can you fail someone if you aren’t
afforded the opportunity to write the test? If I reach the age of eighteen and
I now want to drive a car legally, I need to get a driver’s license, easier
enough to understand. But if I am not allowed the same opportunities as
another, where is the justice? However there is always a criterion I need to
meet to qualify for such a test. I need to study the rules of the road, write
and pass a written test. I then need to learn how to drive applying those rules
and then my eyes need testing and finally if I pass the entire requirements I
will be given a driver’s license. However I can choose to drive without a
license but that will be at my own peril and I will be subject to the laws of
the land if caught out. The same principal applies to all of us, the murderer,
the drunkard, the sexually immoral, the pedophile, the liar, the idolater, the
sorcerer, fits of anger, the jealous and things like these will all be
subjected to the judgements of God and these acts will exclude all those who practice
such things from inheriting the kingdom of God. God has so determined it;
however without the mercies of God, we would all choose the wrong options because
we are by nature sinful beings. Sin is such a deceitful power that it even
tricks people into believing that they are not sinful. We are quick to accuse
others and excuse ourselves. Here are some verses that should help us get a
better grip on things; “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation
for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for
all men. For as by the one man's disobedience (the sin of our forefather Adam)
the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made
righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace
abounded all the more (Jesus in my place), so that, as sin reigned in
death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:18-21)
Regardless of the sins you’ve committed if you truly
repent and seek out God’s forgiveness you will find it. There is no sin too great,
but we must own our sin and not excuse it whilst accusing others. This type of
mentality will only ever keep us from finding forgiveness and eternal life. I
hope that is easy enough to understand.
The last question we need to answer is what about
the judgement of the dead? Death in this instance does not refer to an unconscious
state of once here and then gone. It is very clear from scripture that what
this means for those who reject God’s mercy is that they will be in a state of consciousness
and bear the magnitude of their rebellion against God for eternity. They will
all end up in hell and bear the brunt of that decision, suffering unthinkable
consequences forever and ever. Now whether you believe that to be fair or not,
just like gravity has a downward force that prevents us from floating up into
the air, if we reject God’s free grace offering to find forgiveness for our
sins we too will suffer the consequences, God has spoken! With that now
established we all have a choice to make; REPENT AND BELIEVE ON THE FINISHED
WORK OF THE LORD JESUS OR SUFFER THE PENALTIES…
Signing off
Tyrone