1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
ESV
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
What is “the day of the Lord”? From what I understand, it is
the day when Jesus Christ returns to the earth to judge the people of the earth
and to take his church, his bride to be with him forever.
At this time, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then
those of us who are alive and remaining will be caught up with them to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with our Lord (See: 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
Then our salvation will be complete, and our marriage relationship with Jesus Christ
will be consummated.
But, not everyone is prepared for the Lord’s coming again.
For, not everyone has truly trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of
their lives. And, among these there are many people who are convinced that they
will never have to face God’s wrath, or they believe that no such wrath will
ever occur. So, they feel secure that nothing like that will ever happen to
them, and so they feel, thus, that they can just eat, drink and be merry.
And, sadly enough, among those who believe thus, there are
many who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And, that is because they have been
told that all they have to do is repeat some words after someone else in a
prayer, or all they have to do is just “receive Jesus into their hearts,” or
that all they have to do is just acknowledge who Jesus is and what he did for
us in dying on a cross for our sins, and just accept (receive) his grace.
And, then they are congratulated that they are now children
of God, that heaven is guaranteed them when they die, and that nothing can ever
take that away from them, no matter what – no matter what they do with Christ
from this moment forward, and no matter how they live their lives.
For, they have been lied to and led to believe that no
repentance, no surrender to Christ as Lord, and no obedience to his commands
are required for their salvation and their eternal security with Christ. So,
they think they are “in,” they are “good to go,” and that how they live doesn’t
really matter, for at the end of their lives they get to go to heaven, and then
all is good.
And, in the meanwhile, following the Lord in obedience, for
them, is optional, or it is a mere suggestion, or it is even discouraged and
railed against, claiming that honoring God by following him in his ways is
works-based salvation, and it is thus bad.
So, evil ends up being called “good” while good ends up
being called evil. So, since they have now been told “peace and security,” i.e.
that they can live how they want and still go to heaven when they die, they are
convinced they will never see God’s wrath. Thus, it will overtake them like a
thief in the night, and they will be shocked. But, they will not escape God’s
wrath.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-8
ESV
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
But, we who truly have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord
and Savior of our lives, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin,
and who have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, to be
lived to his righteousness, are not in darkness that this day should overtake
us.
For, we are not still walking (in lifestyle, in practice)
according to our sinful natures, for Jesus set us free from our slavery to sin.
Amen! And, he has freed us and empowered us to now become bond-servants of his
righteousness and holiness – all glory to God! So, we are no longer living (in
practice) to please our old sinful natures, but we are living by the Spirit to
live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God, and all because of God’s grace.
For, God’s grace to us is not a free license to continue
living in (conducting our lives in) sin while claiming heaven as our eternal
destiny. God’s grace, which brings salvation, instead teaches (commands) us to
say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled,
upright and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. This is the true
grace of God.
Yet, this serves as a warning to all who profess faith in
Jesus Christ that we can’t walk in the darkness and still claim heaven as our
eternal destiny. If we claim to have fellowship with God, but we still walk in
the darkness, then we are liars who do not live by the truth (1 Jn. 1:5-9; also
Tit. 2:11-14).
Wrong vs. Right
Instead of having this idea that we can just eat, drink and
be merry, we are to be serious about God, about the Lordship of Christ, about
the truths of God’s Word, and about holiness and righteousness. We are not to
take God’s grace for granted or to take it lightly, as some do, or to think
that we can go on living in sin now that we are “saved,” because God’s grace
covers it all.
Rather, we are to daily, by the Spirit, be putting to death
the deeds of the flesh, and daily we are to be putting on the armor of God
(Eph. 6:10-20) with which to fight off Satan’s temptations and his evil schemes
against us.
The protection for our hearts, against all evil, is our
faith, which is God-given, and which is God-persuaded. For, we cannot even come
to faith in Jesus Christ unless the Father first draws us. And, if our faith is
of God, which it must be for us to be saved, then it will submit to God, and it
will surrender to the Lordship of Christ and to his holiness and righteousness.
And, it is the love of God, first and foremost the love he
has for us, but then it is the love he gives to us with which to love him back
and with which to love other people. And, this kind of love prefers what God
prefers, which is what is holy, just, honest, pure, moral and upright. Thus, it
will not do what is against God and his holiness, or that which will cause harm
to others. And, it is obedient to Christ and his commandments. So, this love
will be holy, honest, and faithful, etc. and it will not make sin its practice
(habit).
The protection for our minds, as well, is the hope of our
salvation. And, what is that hope? It is the belief that Jesus died that we
might die to sin and live to righteousness. It is the belief, too, that in his
death he put our sin to death so that we might be delivered out of our bondage
(addiction) to sin, and so that we might, empowered by the Spirit, walk in his
righteousness.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11
ESV
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
Some people misinterpret what this is saying, and they take
this as a guarantee that they will never face the wrath of God because they
have professed faith in Jesus Christ. But, in context, this is a cautionary
statement. And, it is cautioning all professers of faith in Jesus Christ
against the reasoning that says a mere profession of faith guarantees them that
they will never have to face God’s wrath.
It is cautioning all professers of faith in Jesus Christ
against taking his grace lightly and against taking his warnings in scripture
lightly, too. For, the whole purpose of this statement, I believe, is to let
all who would hear this know that God’s intention for his followers is that
they not face his divine wrath in final judgment, but that they obtain his
eternal salvation.
But, the scriptures are real clear on what all is involved
in the kind of faith that is required for us to have eternal life with God, and
salvation from sin, and the hope of eternal life with God. And, what it all
comes down to, in essence, is our faith in Jesus being lived out in our lives
in practice consistently until the day that Jesus returns to take us home to be
with him.
This is not saying we will be perfect here on this earth, or
that we will never sin against God. But, it is saying that if we walk according
to the flesh, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God.
But, if we walk according to the Spirit, and by the Spirit
we are putting to death the misdeeds of the body, then we have that promise and
that hope of eternal life with God. And, then we will not face God’s wrath, his
final judgment, but we will be with our Lord forever (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23;
Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 4:17-24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21).
Jesus,
Lead Me
An
Original Work / July 22, 2011
Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
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