Romans 3:10-18; “As it is written; none is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (any emphasis mine)
Looking at an English Standard Version (ESV) Study Bible notation, the above scripture was taken by Paul from Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:1-3; Psalm 5:9; Jeremiah 5:16; Psalm 140:3; Psalm 10:7; Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 59:7-8; Psalm 36:1 and Luke 1:79. Everything he wrote about was taking place in the world in the first century and was present all the way back to the creation of this earth after the fall in the garden. The fallen angel, Lucifer, has been active in every age, trying to draw as many souls away from the Holy Trinity as possible. His self-pride has been the cause of his downfall, and unlike humans, he and his demons (fallen angels) have no pathway to forgiveness. Reading the above scripture is just like watching today’s world news headlines.
God knew from the very beginning that He would personally have to provide a pathway to Salvation for us, and the Old Testament is the prelude for the arrival of our “Messiah” or “Deliverer.” There was only one human that could ever have fit that role, and that was Jesus. Though He was always fully God, He allowed Himself to become lower than the angels for a period of time, and He became fully human (Hebrews 2:6-8). At any time that He was here, He could’ve decided we weren’t worth His effort and reverted back to being fully God.
Satan was allowed to tempt Him in the wilderness after a 40-day fast, and if Jesus had failed on any one point, His sacrifice for us would have been worthless. He did not fail. He has been the only human to have lived a “sinless” life and will be the only one to have done so through the end of the Millennial Reign. Once He had completed His gift to us at Calvary, He again became fully God and took His place at the right hand of the Father.
Paul summed up his presentation in Romans 3:23 with, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This dispels the statement, ‘But I am a good person and deserve to go to Heaven.’ Without Jesus, no one is “good” in God’s sight. Romans 6:23 gives us the “bad news/good news” scenario to all of this. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We know that our Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is all powerful – Omnipotent; Our God is all knowing – Omniscient; and Our God is everywhere at once – Omnipresent. Therefore, everything that has ever taken place on this earth, and everything that will ever take place here, do not give Him any surprises.
Jesus Himself knew that even though His gift was there for everyone (John 10:16), only a few would receive and accept His wonderful offer. He made this clear in Matthew 7:13-14, which I have referred to numerous times. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Our Savior knew how easy it was and is to just “go along to get along” in this life. Satan has convinced many people that they’re entitled to all the pleasures and glory this world has to offer. He makes the things of this earth seem more important than anything. The “hard way” is to resist him and those who are of this world and instead seek eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. That takes faith and belief that the wonderful gift of Jesus is real, and it is ours for the asking.
No one can earn one second of time or buy one second of time in the eternal home our Jesus has made for us. Romans 10:9-13 is the key to the “ABC’s of Salvation” with verse 13 as the ultimate promise; “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s me, you, everyone who will ask the Savior to forgive us and to save us from the Lake of Fire – hell. Those who truly do so will be given “the gift” and even have the Holy Spirit come to live within us while we’re here.
Yes, the world does not like us, and Satan’s followers will go out of their way to persecute us. Just keep in mind the pledge Jesus gave us in John 16:33, that we need to take heart because He has overcome the world. Once we’re home, all the evil garbage here will not affect us anymore. We will be in the presence of the One who loved us so much that He shed His precious lifeblood to cover our sins – My sins! He promises us an eternal, immortal body that will be free from all pain, suffering and death that we experience here. Also, we shall be like Him and never subject to temptation again.
As mentioned above, this world is going through obvious changes that are not for the better, nor will it get any better. We are at the time that is spoken of in the scriptures where this era is about to end, and a period of terrible tribulation will begin.
Here again, our Father, through His Son Jesus, will provide that all true believers will not be here for that. First, all the dead in Christ will be raised up from wherever their mortal bodies ended up. They will be reunited with their souls as they rise up to meet Jesus in the air. Their souls have been with the Savior ever since their last breath here. Then, all living believers will rise up and be converted on their way to the Savior with new bodies and mindsets. This is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53.
There are no “shortcuts” or other ways to Heaven except through Jesus. John 14:6 and Acts 4:12 are very specific about this.
All who will not accept the Savior will be assigned a place in hell with specific punishment forever at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. False prophets will try to assure you that all religions worship the same god, and there are many ways to Heaven without Jesus. You may just see them at the head of that long line, being advised as to just how wrong they were.
However, rather than worry about their future, be concerned with yours. Remember what Jesus told Peter about John in John 21:21-22; “When Peter saw him [John], he said to Jesus, Lord, what about him? Jesus said to him, if it is My will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You Follow Me!” Jesus wasn’t saying that John would never die, but that Peter should be concerned about his own love for the Savior.
Yes, we want all of our loved ones to be saved and with us forever. God forces no one to accept His Son, and we shouldn’t try to do so either. However, as given in 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as Holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.”
So, with all this in mind, my prayer is that all who see these messages will receive and accept the comfort and hope that is given by the Holy Spirit to us. The assurance of eternal life with the Savior is very real, and it can be yours. If you have not called out to Jesus to save you, right now would not be too early. He will be calling soon for all His flock, and to miss it would be the greatest tragedy you will ever have. Especially when you now have the opportunity to not have to face that. To believe you will have the time to call out when the Trumpet of God sounds and the shout from the Archangel takes place, remember 1 Corinthians 15:52 about the “twinkling of an eye.” That’s less than one second, and no one is that fast.
As the song line says, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine; oh, what a foretaste of Glory Divine.” He’s waiting for your call, but not for much longer.
Come, Lord Jesus!