PT-1 "The Testimony of the Saints" (Matt. 17:3-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/19/2022 11:13 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “The Testimony of the Saints”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 17:3-4

 

            Message of the verses:  “3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’”

 

            I have to say that these two verses rank among my favorite verses in Matthew’s gospel, as I think that these two men are the ones that John writes about in the book of Revelation which are referred to as “The Two Wittiness.”

 

            This is also one of the scenes that I would have loved to have been there to see, and I am sure that the disciples looked on in great amazement as they first saw Moses and Elijah.  Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah were shrouded in the Lord’s glory (Luke 9:31).  MacArthur adds “The testimony of those two Old Testament saints was a second confirmation of Jesus’ deity.”

 

            The question arises as to why these two men were the ones who were apart of this scene that we are looking at?  There were a lot of other saints that could have been there, such as Abraham, of Joseph, or one of the other prophets like Daniel, or Ezekiel.  I think that the answer to this question is that first of all Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets.  I mentioned that these men, in my opinion, and many others, would be the two wittiness found in Rev. 11:3 “"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.’”  Another thing that I think of when I think of these two men is that neither of them finished their ministry as Moses was denied leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land because of sin and Elijah went to heaven in a chariot of fire before his ministry was finished.  By the way this pictures the rapture.

           

            Another reason that John MacArthur gives is that “Perhaps the only other Old Testament man who could have stood with Moses was Elijah.  Moses was the great law giver, and Elijah was the great defender of the law.  This prophet was zeal personified, a godly man of unmatched courage, boldness, and fearlessness.  He had a heart for God, he walked with God, and more than any other Old Testament saint, he was the instrument of God’s miracle-working power.  He was the preeminent prophet of God, and to the Jews the most romantic Old Testament personality.”

 

            Luke tells us that these two great saints were talking with Jesus “of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31).  These two great saints were not just standing there in the glory of the Lord, but talking to Him, a friend to a Friend about His departure.  What an awesome sight to behold.  MacArthur writes “Departure” is from the Greek term from which we get exodus.  Just as the Exodus out of Egypt under Moses led God’s people out of the bondage of slavery the ‘exodus’ of Jesus out of the grave would lead believers out of the bondage of sin.  This would be accomplished, as Luke reports, at Jerusalem.”

 

            It was significant that the discussion between these two saints and the Lord was about His saving work through His death, because that was the central work of His ministry, and yet the truth the disciples found most difficult to accept, although we know that soon they will certainly accept this reason why Jesus came to earth.  Moses and Elijah not only gave confirmation of Jesus’ divine glory but of His divine plan.  Later on as they think back on this it was probably through this that gave them great courage and conviction as they proclaimed that Jesus was “delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God” as seen in Acts 2:23, which is a part of Peter’s Pentecost sermon.  “Jesus is the predicted Savior and King,’ they were affirming before the three apostles, “and His divine plan is on schedule.”

 

            MacArthur writes “Jesus’ death and resurrection were an inescapable part of that plan, without which redemption from sin would have been impossible.  He was infinitely more than a good man whose example shows other men the way to God.  He Himself was God, and it was by His atoning sacrifice as a substitute for men that He Himself brings those who trust in Him to God.  No man can come to God by following Jesus’ example, because no man could offer a sufficient sacrifice even for his own sins, much less for the sins of the whole world.  It was therefore imperative for the disciples to understand that Jesus’ coming the first time to die and rise again was as much a part of the divine plan as His coming again in glory.”

 

Lord willing we will continue looking at this section in our next SD.

 

10/19/2022 11:44 AM

 

"The Transformation of the Son" (Matt. 17:2"

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/18/2022 11:11 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  “The Transformation of the Son”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Matthew 17:2

 

            Message of the verse: “2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.”

 

            John MacArthur tells us that “Was transfigured is from metamorphoo, which has the basic meaning of changing into another form and is the term from which we get Metamorphosis.  Because no further description is given, all we know of the change is that, during this brief display of divine glory, Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.  The Jesus who had been living for over thirty years in ordinary human form was not practically seen in the blazing effulgence of God (cf. Heb. 1:1-3).”  “1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2  in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3  And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”  “From within Himself, in a way that defiles full description, much less full explanation, Jesus’ divine glory was manifested before Peter, James and John.”

 

            It is a mystery to me why some so called scholars have said that Jesus Christ is not God come in the flesh to show us the Father.  “7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves” (John 14:7-11),  The passage we are looking at today is also one of the greatest passages to show that Jesus Christ is God as He was transfigured and His glory was seen.  Moses had a similar experience in Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!"  The rest of that chapter tells us exactly how the Lord shows Moses His glory. 

 

            Now as we continue looking at verse 2 of Matthew 17 we see that as the divine glory radiated from His face, it illumined even His garments, which became as white as light so dazzling and overwhelming that it could barely be withstood.  Peter would write the following years later “For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’” (2 Pet. 1:17).  The experience of seeing Christ’s glory must have been a major contributor to the second coming’s becoming a dominant theme of Peter’s preaching and writing.  MacArthur writes “The message of his two epistles might be summarized as:  ‘Fellow believers, don’t worry about your pain, your hardship, your testing, your persecution, your sacrifice.  Jesus is coming!  That’s all that really matters.’”  As we look at John 1:14 it could be that John was thinking about this section from Matthew 17:2 when he writes “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).  Nothing is said from James, but James was the very first apostle to be slain for the cause of Christ. 

 

          Let us look at Matthew 24:30 and then 25:31 “"And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.”  “"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”  Now we will look at John’s vision which he say while on Patmos:  “12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13  and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14  His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16  In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength” (Rev. 1:12-16).

 

            While Jesus Christ was on earth in human form His glory was veiled, but when He comes again to earth He will come in His full divine majesty and glory; a glimpse of which Peter, James, and John witnessed on the mountain.  There certainly was no doubt in their minds of who Jesus Christ is, God incarnate, and there should have been not doubts that He would come some day in the fulness of glory.

 

10/18/2022 11:51 AM

 

PT-2 "Intro to Matthew 17:1-13

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/17/2022 9:17 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: PT-1 “Intro to Matt. 17:1-13”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                      Reference:  Matt. 17:1-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 And six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and *brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were much afraid. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. 9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”

 

            In yesterday’s SD we began to look at four reasons why the Lord took only these three disciples with Him to the Mt. of Transfiguration, and so today we will look at the remaining reasons beginning with the second.  It is possible that because these three men were what is called our Lord’s inner circle that He chose them.  These three men were with Him the most and they understood Him the best of the twelve.  They frequently accompanied Him when He went away for times of intense fellowship with His Heavenly Father as seen in Mark 5:37 and 14:33.  So it was fitting that those who would most intimately share His suffering and sorrow would also most intimately share in witnessing His glory.

 

            We move to the third reason.  As the acknowledged spokesmen among the twelve, the ones whose worked was most respected, these three men could most reliably and convincingly articulate what they witnessed on the mountain.

 

            MacArthur writes “The fourth possible reason is negative.  If all twelve disciples had seen the transfiguration, or if all of them plus the crowds that had been with them in upper Galilee were to have seen Jesus transfigured, the entire region could quickly have been in turmoil.  The people may have run down the hillside and into the surrounding towns babbling uncontrollably about what they saw.  The accounts doubtlessly would have varied greatly and been embellished with each retelling, and Jesus could have been pressured even more forcefully to become the political and military deliverer the people expected the Messiah to be (see John 6:15; 12:12-19).”

 

            Now I have read about which mountain that they went up on as it is not identified, but apparently it was near and to the south of Caesarea Philippi, on the route to Capernaum and eventually to Jerusalem.  (Look up Matthew 16:13, 21; 17:24.)

 

            One of the mountains that I have heard that they went up on was Mount Hermon which is a very high mountain and I think that it has to do with the headwaters of the Jordan River. 

 

            There are some similar things that happened on this mountain as happened in the Garden where Jesus asked His disciples to keep watch with them, and that is that sleep came to them.  MacArthur adds “Sleep can be a form of escape, a way of temporarily forgetting problems and anxieties.  Depression accelerates weariness.   It is likely that the promise Jesus made a few days earlier was to vague and indefinite to bolster their spirits after learning of His impending suffering and death and His call for them to be willing to suffer and die in His service (16:21-25).  They slept the sleep of frustration and depression.  It was not until Moses and Elijah appeared that the three ‘became fully awake…and saw His glory and the two men standing with Him’ (Luke 9:32b).”

 

            Now we will get the preview of what we will be looking at as we begin to dig into these first 13 verses of chapter 17.  There are five powerful confirmations, of proofs, that Jesus was indeed the predicted Son of Man, the Messiah, the divine King of glory.  1) “The transformation of the Son” (Matt. 17:2); 2) Second is the testimony of the saints (3-4); 3) the terror of the Father (5-6); 4) what may be called the tapestry of the scene (7-9) 5) the tie with Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist (10-13).

 

10/17/2022 10:07 AM

 

           

 

Intro to Matthew 17:1-13

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/16/2022 8:12 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 “Intro to Matt. 17:1-13

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                       Reference:  Matt 17:1-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 And six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were much afraid. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one, except Jesus Himself alone. 9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead." 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 11 And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.”

 

            We are beginning to look at a very important section of Scripture, a part of the book of Matthew that will show us without a doubt that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, that He is God come in the flesh to planet earth. 

 

            We mentioned in the previous chapter that what we are looking at is a preview of our Lord’s glory that He promised some of the disciples would experience before they died, a preview that they would never forget, and one that later on Peter would write about it.

 

            We see that it took six days after the promise was given that it was fulfilled.  The fact that Luke says it was “some eight days later (9:28) simply indicates that he was speaking in inclusive terms, unlike Matthew and Mark (9:2).  Whereas those writers referred to the six intervening days between the prediction and the fulfillment, Luke also included the days on which those events occurred.

 

            The disciples that Jesus took with Him, Peter and James and John his brother were the most intimate disciples of Jesus, constituting, with Peter’s brother Andrew, the Lord’s inner circle.  So it is therefore not surprising that it was these three men whom He brought…up to a high mountain by themselves.  The question to me is does the Lord have favorites, or did He just bring them with Him for another reason?  I really don’t know the answer to those questions.

 

            John MacArthur writes “Four reasons seem to suggest themselves for Jesus’ taking only these three with Him to witness His transfiguration.  First, they would be reliable witnesses of His manifested glory, able to confirm the event to the other disciples and to the rest of the church.  According to Deuteronomy 19:15, ‘On the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.’  The Lord’s promised display of His kingdom glory (Matt. 16:27-28) would be confirmed by the testimony of these three trust-worthy witness. 

 

            Well we will look at the other reasons, which I think will answer my questions as to why Jesus took these three men with Him to see His glory in our next SD.

 

10/16/2022 8:38 AM

 

           

 

 

           

PT-2 "The Promise Repeated" (Matt. 16:28)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/15/2022 8:49 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                               Focus:  PT-2 “The Promise Repeated”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 16:28

 

            Message of the verse:  28 "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’”

 

            When we looked at Peter’s first sermon while studying the book of Acts, (I am posting the SD’s on my second blog from Acts at this time, and so it is familiar to me) we saw that Peter quoted from the book of Joel (Acts 2:28-32).  This passage that specifically relates to events that “shall be in the last days” (Acts 2:17; cf. Joel 2:28).  Now referring to the dramatic events that had just occurred on the Day of Pentecost, Peter said, “This is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:16).  Yet it is obvious that all of those events did not transpire at Pentecost.  We know that God’s Spirit was not poured out on all mankind; there were no “signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke”; and the sun was not “turned into darkness” or “the moon into blood” (Acts 2:17-21).  The events of that day, wondrous as they were, did not signal the second coming.  The day of Pentecost was not “in the last days” of which Joel spoke.

 

            The events that took place on Pentecost were actually a glimpse and a foretaste of the last days, as Peter declares in verse 16.  There was “noise like a violent, rushing wind” that “filled the whole house where they [the 120 believers who had gathered for prayer] were sitting,” the appearance of “tongues as fire” that “rested on each one of them,” and their being filled with the Spirit and enabled “to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance” (2:2-4) were foreshadows of the Lord’s second coming glory.  To some extent, all of Jesus’ divine teaching and miracles and the teaching and miracles of the apostles were a glimpse of the kind of phenomena that will characterize that future glory.  They were a taste of “the good word of God and the powers of the age to come (Hebrews 6:5) that countless thousands unbelievers as well as believers, had been privileged to hear and see.

 

            MacArthur writes “Yet it seems that Jesus’ promise to the Twelve about seeing the son of Man coming in His kingdom was more definite and immediate than those general glimpses.

 

            “It was not uncommon for Old Testament prophecies to combine a prediction of a far distant even with a prediction of one in the near future, with the earlier even prefiguring the latter.  Such prophecies would thereby have near as well as distant fulfillments.  The fulfillment of the near prophecy served to verify the reliability of the distant one.  It seems reasonable, therefore, to assume that Jesus verified the reliability of His second coming prophecy by giving a glimpse of His second coming glory to some of the disciples before they would taste death.

 

            “In light of that interpretation—and because in all three gospel accounts the promise of seeing His glory is given immediately preceding the account of the transfiguration (see Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:27-36) and, as mentioned above, basileia can be translated ‘royal splendor’—it seems that Jesus must here have been referring specifically to His unique and awesome transfiguration before Peter, James, and John only six days later (see 17:1).  Those three disciples were the some among the Twelve who would not die until, in a most miraculous preview, they would see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

 

            I think that this clears up some things that I was not real sure about in the past.

 

10/15/2022 9:19 AM

PT-1 "The Promise Related" (Matt. 16:28)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/14/2022 10:15 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 “The Promise Repeated”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 16:28

 

            Message of the verse:  “28 “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’”

 

            This is quite a promise that the Lord is giving to His disciples, “not to taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”  We have talked about how this last section in the 16^th chapter of Matthew had to be so difficult on Jesus’ disciples as they were certainly a confused lot after hearing that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, as seen in Peter’s statement, and then that He was going to die, and now He is saying that some of them would not taste death before they saw His kingdom.  I suppose that because many of us who read these Spiritual Diaries know the truth of what is going to happen do not really understand what it would have been for the disciples of Jesus who have just spent the last two and a half plus years walking with the very God who created the universe, listening to His every word, thinking that He would take them out from the arm of the Roman Empire, and then they hear He was going to die, and that some of them will actually get to see a picture of His coming kingdom.  I have to say that I would have been confused too.

 

            John MacArthur writes “Taste death was a common Jewish expression that referred to drinking the cup of death, in other words, to dying.  Jesus assured the Twelve that, before death some of them would see Him coming in His kingdom.”

 

            Now if we are to understand correctly what Jesus meant, “it would be first of all helpful to know that basileia (kingdom) was often used as a metonym to mean “royal majesty” or “regal splendor”—in much the same way that scepter has long been used figuratively to represent royal power and authority.”  This word metonym is a word that John MacArthur is using.  Here is a definition that I found for it “What is a simple definition of metonymy?  metonymy, (from Greek metōnymia, “change of name,” or “misnomer”), figure of speech in which the name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely related to or suggested by the original, as “crown” to mean “king” (“The power of the crown was mortally weakened”) or an author for his works (“I'm studying .”  I hope that helps out.  MacArthur goes on “Used in that way, baso;eoa would refer to a manifestation of Jesus’ kingliness rather than to His literal earthly reign.  His promise could therefore be translated, “until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingly splendor.”

 

            This passage has always been difficult for me to totally understand because as we will see when we begin the 17^th chapter, at least to me that it does not really look like what I think that the millennial kingdom will totally look like.

 

10/14/2022 10:40 AM

 

PT-2 "The Warning" (Matt. 16:27b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/13/2022 9:39 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 “The Warning”  

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matt. 16:26b

 

            Message of the verse:  “and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.”

 

            I want to begin by talking a bit about any unbeliever, and the truth is that no genuinely righteous works can be manifest in the life of an unbeliever, and the reason is because he has no indwelling Holy Spirit to produce them and has no godly new nature through which the holiness of the Spirit can be expressed.  It is very, very much different in the life of the believer as it is characterized by righteous works, because he has God’s own life and Spirit within him as the source and power for those works that he performs for the cause of Christ.  MacArthur adds “A person who has no evidence of righteous behavior in his life has no basis for assurance of salvation, no matter how long and vocally he may have professed being a Christian.”

 

            Now this next quote from John MacArthur truly speaks to my heart this morning and is something that I have known, but really needed to hear again.  “Yet the honest, humble believer knows that, no matter how faithfully he studies and obeys God’s Word and has fellowship with Him in prayer, he still falls far short of the Lord’s perfect righteousness.  But he also knows that, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9).  He knows that, by God’s gracious Spirit continuing to work through him, even such confession is verification of his genuineness.  His life is sure to produce more fruit that is pleasing to God, fruit for which the Lord will say, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave,…enter into the joy of your master (Matt. 25:21).  Because a believer has given his life to Jesus Christ, His own Spirit produces in him works that are worthy of God’s reward.  For the believer, therefore the truth that the Lord will then recompense every man according to his deeds is a wonderful promise.”  (To which I have to say a hardy AMEN.)

 

            Now as we look at this warning to unbelievers the truth of it is a dire warning, because at Christ’s judgment seat they will have no acceptable deeds to present to the Lord as evidence of salvation.  There will be many professed Christians there who will say to the Lord “On that day, ‘Lord Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles’ and then [Christ] will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matt. 7:22-23).

 

            In the book of Isaiah we read about what the deeds of the unsaved consists of, the deeds that they actually believed would save their souls, but Isaiah 64:6 tells us “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  The filthy garments that Isaiah speaks of here are the garments that women use at a certain time of the month, menstrual cloth, which is a graphic figure used to represent the best that human goodness can produce.  Now at Jesus’ second coming, Paul warns, He will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day” (2 Thess. 1:8-10).

 

            MacArthur concludes this section by writing “For all men there will be a day of accounting, a day of reckoning.  For the cross-bearer, obedient Christian it will be a day of great rejoicing and glory, because he will have evidence that the life of God is within him by faith in Jesus Christ.  But for the unrepentant, Christ-rejecting sinner, it will be a day of great terror and torment, because he will have had no evidence of divine life.”

 

            There certainly is a choice for a person to make, and the choice is whether or not you are willing to understand and believe that in and of yourself you can do nothing to one day stand before the Lord and have Him say well done to you or to stand before the Lord and have Him say “I do not know you.”  Every person who has been born on planet earth, with the exception of Jesus Christ, was born a sinner, and they sin because they are sinners.  One has to realize that when the Holy Spirit is working in your heart which means He is getting your attention to show you that in effect you were born wrong, and the only thing that you can do is to confess your sinful life to the Lord, and then ask Him to come into your heart to save you, and if your genuinely want this He will give it to you, and then will change your life to be able to do genuine works after you become a believer for the cause of Christ.  Think about this!

 

10/13/2022 10:11 AM