Time to share my chosen life verse once again; John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” Later, Peter complemented this with Acts 4:12; “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine.)
Anyone who believes there are many ways to receive Salvation without having received and accepted Jesus as Savior is lost. In Acts 26:27-28, Paul had been testifying about his commitment to Jesus and the event that led to his conversion. He then posed a question to King Agrippa: “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe. And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time, would you persuade me to be a Christian?’”
Sadly, Agrippa did not ask that Jesus come into his life, and if he passed away in this same condition, he is now waiting for his turn at the White Throne Judgment.
Coming close to becoming a member of the Savior’s flock (John 10) is the same as missing it completely. There’s an old saying that states, “….close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
Jesus did not just “come close” to providing a perfect sinless sacrifice for our sins; He fulfilled the Father’s requirement for a completely sinless blood sacrifice from a “human” Who did not sin even once in His lifetime. When our Savior declared, “It Is Finished!” in John 19:30, His fully human body died on that cross, completing His mission here.
We need to keep in mind, even though Jesus became lower than the angels while He lived on this earth (Hebrews 2:7,9), He could have changed His mind at any time. It’s a sign of His love for us that He suffered a horrible death so that we would have a pure pathway to eternal life with Him.
The moment His human body died, His Heavenly part of the Triune Godhead was immediately back with the Father. We know this through His statement to the thief next to Him who believed in Him. We read in Luke 23:43, “And He said to him, Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Likewise, the thief who did not repent that day went to a place of torment waiting for his final judgment at the Great White Throne of Revelation 20:11-15. In Luke 16:19-31, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we’re given an insight into the two outcomes.
We need to be absolutely certain in our minds that these are the only two options we will have after leaving this earth. Heaven or hell; there is no third option.
No one at the Great White Throne will hear, “You did enough good works and gave enough donations that you have earned a place in Heaven.” Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear on this point that tells us we’re saved by grace through a gift from the Father, and by nothing we did except to accept His Son.
Satan and his demons – fallen angels – have no pathway to forgiveness. Their rebellion against God was a definite and irrevocable choice leading to their eternal condemnation. Therefore, they will be cursed in the eternal fire prepared for Satan and them as stated in Matthew 25:41.
Our Father does not sit around plotting ways He can cause us to slip and fall and go into eternal punishment. He would rather that every soul on earth would reach repentance and have eternal life (2 Peter 3:9).
He knows that every person on earth, including those who have received and accepted His Son, will sin until we leave here. Only Jesus did not have a sin nature, as His pure blood never mingled with ours. We have been contaminated by the first sin in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, as well as every human except Jesus born since then.
Anyone who says they do not sin needs to read Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. That’s why our Father has provided a way for any of the Shepherd’s flock to receive forgiveness for our sins, as stated in 1 John 1:8-10. If we confess we have sinned and ask forgiveness, He is faithful and just to do so.
Right now, the unforgivable sin is to take your last breath on this earth without having Jesus as your Savior. No man-made god can ever provide a place in Heaven for us. Only the Son of God can, and has provided us the pure pathway there.
In numerous Bible passages, we are told that if we have the Son, we have the Father. No son, No Father, and there are no exceptions to this.
Our Father knows our every move, thought, and deed. Anyone who believes otherwise has deceived themselves and is actually mocking the Father (Galatians 6:7). Remember, He created us, everything around us, both in Heaven and on earth, and even created time for us. He is not bound by any of these.
Also, forever is a very long time. Personally, I choose forever with My Lord and Savior rather than eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
This choice was not created just for my benefit, but for every living, breathing soul on this earth. God will force no one to take either pathway but would love for us to choose Jesus.
He is absolutely hands down our “Rock of Ages.” This is a song from 1776 by Augustus Toplady (1740-1778).
1.) Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; let the water and the blood, from thy wounded side which flowed, be of sin the double cure; save from wrath and make me pure.
2.) Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy law’s demands; could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.
3.) Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling; naked come to Thee for dress; helpless look to Thee for grace; foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me Savior, or I die.
4.) While I draw this fleeting breath, when your eyes shall close in death; when I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy Judgment Throne; rock of Ages cleft for me; let me hide myself in Thee.
With all the end-time prophecies being fulfilled at a rapid rate, we could see the end of this era soon. Jesus told us to be watchful for them in Luke 21:28. The last major fulfillment will be when all true believers are raised up to meet our Savior in the air to keep us from the coming wrath.
Only when the Holy Spirit is removed can the ultimate antichrist come out. The seven years of his reign on earth will be directed by Satan personally and will be worse by the end of it than has ever been before.
If you haven’t taken time to consider your eternity before, now would be a good opportunity to do so. Once the Rapture starts, there will be no time to call out to be saved. It will be over in less than one second.
Being close as in horseshoes and hand grenades won’t make it. All who have Jesus as their Savior will be “spot on” and gone from here when the Rapture is completed. My Prayer is that you will be among them.
Come, Lord Jesus!
The post Horseshoes and Hand Grenades :: By Dennis Huebshman appeared first on Rapture Ready.
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