John 17:3 says that one goes with the other:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Which credibly implies that 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 Him would result in the opposite of eternal life: eternal death.

Take, for example, Revelation 3:1: “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.'”

Do you know what that statement makes me think of?

Matthew 7:23: “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'”

“… I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” It sounds like Jesus wanted to make something exceptionally clear: that there will be many people who consider themselves His followers (Christians) who will not be admitted into Heaven.

It sounds harsh, but we must realize something. If we are to take the Lord at His word, then we must take Him at 𝘢𝘭𝘭 of His word. So while He is Loving and Merciful, Forgiving and Kind, He is also a God of Holy Justice… and Wrath.

The thing is, He gave us a way out of suffering His Wrath and Justice that we earned with our sins.

He poured it out on a Scapegoat. On Someone who didn’t earn it and didn’t deserve it, on the One Person who deserved the very opposite of what He got. The Father poured it out on the Person who saw where we were headed, who loved us dearly and therefore voluntarily switched places with us when the Wrath, Justice, and Separation from the Father came crashing down.

Jesus.

He took what we deserve. And He offers us eternal life instead of our justified punishment… if we’ll take it.

Those of us who take it and then take it seriously will know Him intimately, and they will reside in His presence eternally.

The only way to know Him intimately is to have Him live with you. And the only way He will live with you is if you have a clean house.

If you are one of those who doesn’t know Him intimately, you’re starting out with a serious problem: You can’t clean out your own house. You don’t have what it takes to do so, not in your condition. But He knows that too, and Merciful that He is, He offers to do it for you. All you have to do is ask Him to do it, sincerely, and He will–right then and there.

But there 𝘢𝘳𝘦 follow-up conditions. You can’t entertain, adore, and possess that which is the opposite of Him and expect to live together and be His.

It’s like trying to live with and make a life with someone who lives a life you are diametrically opposed to. It never works.

He gives us a way out, and He gives us rules to live that new life successfully, but there is a flip side.

Those who have not truly taken part of the supernatural transaction of a traded-in life… they will find out that God’s Justice and Wrath was not a suggestion.

Heavy stuff, I know. And almost nothing seems light these days.

So let’s take a breath, take a step back from our crazy modern lives, and look back to the past. Let’s peer into the world of 2,000 years ago. Back in the days of Roman-occupied Israel.

Jesus Christ’s apostles were some average men of their day who experienced something life-changing. Naturally, they started telling everyone they could about what had changed and why.

And in turn, they changed the world.

One of the reasons their message was so radical was because the Jewish people knew just how unworthy they were to be in the Presence of God Almighty. It was taught to them along with their very language. It was impossible except for a very select few, priests. Men who were supposed to be chosen by God to live a holy life and enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem.

For most men, never mind women, to experience the Presence of God was simply impossible. Never going to happen. And yet here these fishermen were, telling them that because of Jesus’s death and resurrection, anyone who wished could enter into that Presence!

It was incredible news.

Now, contrary to popular belief, the gift the Good News presented didn’t cost them anything to obtain, but compared to God sacrificing His only Son, who laid His life down Willingly for us… what He asks of us? It’s tiny.

All He asks is that we take Jesus up on His offer of a supernaturally changed life. It requires us to purposely give up our own will in favor of His, to live our lives day in and day out in whatever way He asks us to. He will teach us how to do this, and He gives us a manual for this life, too – His Word.

The blessing we get in return is to know Him personally in this earthly life and to live in Heaven with Him when we die. That’s more than fair, in my humble opinion.

So if you haven’t already, trade in your life (lived by your own will) for a Life lived by His will.

It will be obvious that a person knows Him and lives by His will because the ‘knowing’ the verse above uses is not knowing about someone; it’s knowing Him the way two very close friends or spouses know each other.

Do you know Him as well as you know the person you’re closest to on earth?

If the answer is no, maybe you should take a moment or two and think about what that could mean for your eternal destination.

There are many things we can deal with getting wrong in this life, but this? My friends, this is the most important thing to get 100% correct. There is no margin for error.

So ask yourself: Do I really know Him the way the Bible says I need to?

-Anna Hoak

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Acts 9:15, Acts 18:1, Acts 19:1, 2 Timothy 4:20

Summary: Every church has its share of problems. The church at Corinth appeared to have problems that could not be resolved and was on the brink of failure. The apostle Paul took it upon himself to correct the errors and call out the sins in order to restore it to what Christ expected.

Over the course of forty years in the ministry, I have preached in numerous churches, pastored three, served as an interim pastor at two churches, and served in the areas of evangelism and teaching. I have fond memories of these times and also of times when I wish I had not been so eager to fill pulpits, as some of the congregations I have visited and served had become places of dissent, theological buzzsaws where petty differences over petty issues tore apart any sense of impact upon the surrounding community. And some I was just glad to leave after preaching because of the cold, dead spiritual atmosphere that was among the people.

I was also a witness of pastors and staff being unceremoniously let go for no clear reason from my point of view. I have been among churches where pastoral tenure lasted perhaps two years or less due to unrealistic expectations and impossible demands.

A lot of churches have a bad reputation due to episodes of outrageous behaviors, and as a result, have ruined their testimony and effectiveness for the kingdom of God. However, church problems are not exclusive to this day and age. Ever since the church of Jesus Christ was established, the forces of evil have attempted to ruin, wreck, or compromise the work of the church, which is to preach the Gospel, protect the flock, and be a light in a dark world for the glory of God.

In the New Testament, we have a record of the problems and confusion of one particular church located in the Greek city of Corinth. The city had a bad reputation, and much of its deviancy had crept into the church, rendering it nearly ineffective and useless as a place to receive the truth of the Scriptures and of the Gospel message.

Corinth, if left alone, would have died out and been consigned to spiritual oblivion. This church needed the guidance and counsel of a man of God who would be bold and blunt enough to call out the sins and problems, bring it back into the loving arms of Christ, and carry out its mission for Him. That man was the Apostle Paul, called by Jesus from a life of hatred and murder toward the followers of Christ into the greatest missionary and preacher of the New Testament, perhaps of all time save for the LORD Himself (Acts 9:1-6, 15-16).

Corinth was located in what is now the nation of Greece, west of the capital city, Athens, near the Ionian Sea. It was a port town, extremely wealthy, and known for varying degrees of wicked and deviant behavior. It reflected the vices and barbarism of the Roman Empire, having numerous temples to various pagan deities who harbored temple “priests” and “priestesses” engaging in sexual practices as part of their “worship” rituals. The citizens who “worshipped” at these temples engaged in the same sex practices. Rank perversion was rampant in Corinth, and anyone who ventured there for business or other reasons could get involved in these acts, gaining the reputation of having been “Corinthianized.”

If you want a modern equivalent of what was going on there, combine the cities of Las Vegas with New Orleans with their particular debaucheries and come to your own conclusions. If ever the Gospel was needed somewhere, Corinth was a prime location.

The apostle Paul arrived in Corinth after ministering in Athens (Acts 17:16-34) and met two Jewish believers, Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Acts 18:1-2), who had been part of the Jewish population in Rome until commanded to depart by orders of Claudius Caesar (AD 50-51). Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla, working as tentmakers while preaching in the synagogues every Sabbath about Jesus being the promised Messiah (Acts 18:3-5).

Due to opposition from unbelieving Jews, Paul proclaimed that he would go to the Gentiles and present the Gospel to them from now on (v.6). In a vision, the risen Christ told Paul that there were many people in Corinth who had embraced the Gospel message (vv.9-10). He stayed in Corinth for a year and a half before moving on to Antioch (v.11).

News of Corinth’s problems had reached Paul while he was at Ephesus. He would write at least three letters to the church in order to correct their behavior and conduct and to straighten out teachings concerning spiritual gifts, order of worship, the facts of the resurrection of Christ, Christ’s return, and to defend his own authority as an apostle.

1 and 2 Corinthians are God’s guide on how to address problems of doctrine, behavior, conduct, and living lives pleasing to God and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul began his first letter to the Corinthians by defining his pastoral and apostolic authority (1:1-2), then commending them for receiving the grace, instruction, and testimony of Christ in their lives (vv.4-9). After his greetings and praises, Paul “hit the ground running,” addressing the problems that were plaguing the church. There was no “soft-peddling” of the church’s sinful actions and attitudes.

Any godly pastor who cares for his flock will confront all errors, false teachings, and deviancies that weaken the church’s effectiveness within a community and turn it away from its most important mission, proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ and to be a place of light within the darkness of the world and its evils.

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

www.realitycityreverend.com