Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:15-21, “and He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him, who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
From the moment our Heavenly Father finished creating the heavens and the earth and all living things on this earth, including humans, He knew everything that would take place throughout our existence.
Unlike man-made deities that exist in men’s minds even today, our Creator allows us the freedom to choose or reject His offer of eternal life with Him through the free gift He provided through His Son, Jesus the Christ. On our own, we would be completely and miserably lost forever. He even set the “price so that every human on earth could “afford” His most wonderful gift.
Ephesians 2:4-9; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
We cannot earn or buy our way into Heaven, and anyone who believes they can is insulting our Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. We are saved through simple steps as promised by our Heavenly Father. Admit our sins and confess that on our own, we are sinners incapable of saving ourselves. Believe in our most Holy Savior that through His sacrifice of pure, sinless blood, He paid totally for our sins once and for all. Our part is to receive and accept His wonderful gift of eternal life. By calling out to our Savior, asking His forgiveness, and by receiving and accepting His gift, we are saved. That’s the ABCs of Salvation according to Romans 10:9-13.
At this point, as members of our Savior’s flock, our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:11-12).
This does not mean we will never sin again because, as humans, we will sin until we are taken from this earth (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23). However, knowing our weaknesses, the Father provides a means of obtaining forgiveness as given in 1 John 1:8-10. Once we have left this earth, we will receive immortal bodies with a mindset that will not be able to be influenced by Satan and his demons.
Jesus said the way leading to Salvation is hard, but that’s only because it’s hard to believe it’s not more involved than it is. The easy way leading to eternal condemnation is to accept the ways of the world, which more will do than those who will accept our Savior (Matthew 7:13-14).
There’s an old term which states, “Go Along to Get Along.” Jesus countered this with John 16:33; “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
Around the world today, Christians are being singled out for persecution. This goes from minor actions all the way to martyrdom. In some areas of the world right now, to accept Jesus will immediately cost a person their life on this earth. According to prophecy, all throughout the tribulation, this will only get worse.
It will cease when Jesus returns to physically reign on Earth, ending the rule of the antichrist and false prophet. That’s Revelation 19:20. Next, Satan will be bound and thrown into a bottomless pit for a thousand years. That’s Revelation 20:1-3. Sadly, at the end of that 1,000 years, Satan will be set free for a short time, and there will be many that will follow him in an attempt to overthrow Jerusalem. Fire will rain down on them, and it will be a very short war.
After this will be the judgments to determine where each soul will spend eternity. One will be the Judgment Seat of Christ, found in 2 Corinthians 5:10, where all who have this judgment will be with Jesus forever. The other is the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15, where all will be sentenced to the lake of fire forever.
Meantime, as we wait for the Trumpet of God to sound and to hear the shout from an archangel signaling the Rapture, all who have received and accepted Jesus as their Savior can truthfully say, “I’ve Read The Back of the Book, and We Win!:
This just happens to be a song written by Roger Bennett (1959-2007) and released in 1976.
1.) I’ve been reading in the Bible about the ending of this age. And one thing that’s for certain, it grows closer each day. But I’m not concerned about the way it’s gonna end, cause I’ve read the back of the Book, and we win!
Ref) I’ve read the back of the Book and we win. No more living in darkness; we’ll be living at Home with Him. See, there ain’t no need to worry about it if you’re born again, cause I’ve read the back of the Book, and we win.
2.) Now we all wanna be winners in the games of life that we play. And, friend, since I’m a sinner, I’ve already lost the race. But Jesus’ blood can take my sin and throw it in the deep blue sea. He’ll put an end to my last-place living; He’ll give me the victory! (Ref x 2)
A couple of things to remember: the Bible was written by the Heavenly Father (2 Timothy 3:16), and all the authors that He used were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write exactly what God wanted (2 Peter 1:21). Also, even though He would never have reason to, God cannot lie, as stated in Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, Hebrews 6:18, and Titus 1:2.
All the signs today are pointing to the end of this age. Matthew, Mark, Luke, Paul, John, and others listed signs and events that would be taking place. The one sign that hasn’t taken place yet is the Rapture of all believers to meet Jesus in the air to be kept from the coming wrath – tribulation. Jesus Himself said that we would not know the day or hour, but when all the signs were there, it will be close (Matthew 24:36; Luke 21:28).
If you have not asked Jesus to be your Savior, today would not be too early. The “twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52) could take place at any moment, and without Jesus, you will be in the category of “left behind.” It will be a period of time worse than has ever been on this earth, and yet it is so unnecessary for anyone to go through it.
Jesus will take your call 24-7. God will turn no one away who truly calls out to be saved and has received and accepted His Son as their eternal Savior. It’s your eternity – your choice!