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.”
We Who Believe in Jesus
When we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our
lives, and if our faith is genuine God-given faith, and not of ourselves, then
we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are resurrected with Christ
to walk (in conduct, in practice) in newness of life in him that is not like
our old lives. For our old self was put to death with Christ so that we will be
no longer enslaved to sin but now live as slaves to God and to his
righteousness.
Therefore, we are to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies,
to make us obey its passions, for sin should have no more dominion over us. It
should no longer be our master and us its slaves, but now Jesus is to be our
Lord and Master and we are now to be his possession to do his will. Now our
minds are to be set on the Spirit and not on the flesh, for to set the mind on
the flesh is death, not life eternal with God in heaven.
For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must
deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow
(obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self we
will lose them for eternity. But if we die with Christ to sin that we might
live to him and to his righteousness, then we have eternal life with God. For
Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only the one doing the will of God in heaven.
[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; Luke 9:23-26; Matt
7:21-23; Titus 2:11-14; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co
5:15]
Peace and Safety
But not many people are teaching the gospel taught about
above, but they are teaching an altered gospel message designed to appeal to
human flesh. And so they are not requiring that we die with Christ to sin or
that we walk in obedience to his commands or that we submit to him as Lord
(Owner-Master) of our lives. And they are not teaching that if we continue
living in sin and not in obedience to our Lord that we will not have eternal
life.
And so they are teaching a diluted gospel which tells people
that all they have to do is pray a prayer to receive Christ, or that they just
have to confess with their lips that Christ is Lord and believe that Jesus was
raised from the dead, or they just have to acknowledge what Jesus did for us on
that cross and just accept his grace, or all they have to do is just
acknowledge that God is enamored with us and just accept his affection.
Now maybe half of this has any connection to the Scriptures
at all. And that which is connected to the Scriptures is taught out of context
and it is being twisted to teach a partially true gospel. But a half-truth gospel,
especially if it is deliberate, is a lie. And here we have to go back up to the
top and read those Scriptures and see that there is much more to our salvation
and eternal life than just a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
So, what is happening today is that many preachers are
leading people to believe that these one-time professions of faith in Jesus
Christ are enough to secure salvation and eternal life for them and that
nothing else is required of them and that nothing bad is going to happen to
them because heaven is secured them. And then they add on to that that we will
all be raptured before the tribulation and so we will not have to suffer like
other Christians have had to suffer because of their walks of faith ever since
Jesus died.
But Jesus nailed it when he said that not everyone who says
to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but only the one DOING
the will of God the Father who is in heaven. And he nailed it when he said that
many are going to say to him on that day that they did all these things in his
name, and to many he is going to say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you
workers of lawlessness!” And that is what will happen when people are saying
“peace and security” then destruction comes upon them suddenly.
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 are genuine followers of Jesus Christ should not
be surprised at all when our Lord comes to judge. We should not be taken back
by it for we should be prepared. For the Scriptures teach that we are all going
to be judged by our works. And if we sowed to please the flesh, from the flesh
we will reap destruction (death). But if we sowed to please the Spirit, from
the Spirit we will reap eternal life with God. So we need to take this
seriously.
So, if we are living to please the flesh, and if we are
deliberately and habitually engaged in things such as sexual immorality, lying,
cheating, adultery, stealing, slandering others, moral impurity, idolatry,
sorcery, drunkenness, and the like, we will not inherit the kingdom of God
regardless of what professions of faith in Jesus we have made with our lips. So
we should not be deceived, because we are all going to reap what we sow.
Therefore we must not be those who are spiritually asleep
and who are still living to please the flesh and not God. We must be those who
are spiritually alert and who are following our Lord Jesus in obedience to his
commands (New Covenant). We must be serious-minded Christians who take God and
his word to heart and who obey the Lord because we love our Lord and we want to
do what pleases him, and we don’t want to obey sin any longer.
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.”
Now, a lot of people are teaching that since this says that
God has not destined us for wrath that we will not ever have to face his wrath
if we profess to believe in him. But in context, that isn’t what this is
saying. Go back and read what it says before this again. This is a warning to
us who profess faith in Christ Jesus to not be among those who are spiritually
asleep and who think they can still live according to the flesh and that God
will not judge them. We need to live as children of the Light, not of the dark.
And this is why we are encouraged to exhort and to encourage
one another, because so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are
living like those who are of the darkness and not like those who are children
of the Light. For they are still living in deliberate and habitual sin and not
in obedience to our Lord in walks of holiness and righteousness. And so the
Scriptures teach they will die in their sins, not inherit eternal life.
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like
Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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