John 14:27; “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (ESV – all emphasis mine)

Colossians 3:15; “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since members of one body, you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Romans 5:1; “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Psalm 29:11; “The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.” Romans 12:18; “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

John 16:33; “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Psalm 4:81; “In peace I will lie down and sleep; for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

From the very beginning of our human’s sinful nature (Genesis 3), there has never been true worldwide peace. There have been wars and atrocities that are recorded throughout our history. Someone always seems to have hate for another, and sometimes it’s based strictly on appearance or some form of religious belief.

Some man-generated religions have tried to eliminate any who would not accept their particular creeds, and in some countries, just to not be a member has been cause for martyrdom. Today, in some areas of this world, to receive and accept Jesus as Savior will lead to that believer to be killed. Eventually, this will be worldwide when the one-world evil ruler comes to power. That will be a time that will be worse than ever has been.

As a true believer of the Savior, we have the faith that the word of God is absolute truth and was provided through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:10; 2 Timothy 3:16; John 14:26; 2 Peter 1:21; John 16:13; and Titus 3:5-6 just to name a few verses to check out.

To those who choose Satan over Jesus, all holy word is total foolishness to them, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:18. One characteristic of our Heavenly Father that I mention often is that He will force no one to receive and accept the free gift that is offered through His Son, Jesus the Christ. He does provide us with everything we need to learn about eternal salvation, but each person must choose to seek it for themselves.

Ours is a God of pure love, and He promises that all who truly have His Son as their Savior will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13). God does not waste words, and if something is repeated, it can safely be said it is important to Him.

The hardest part about having Jesus in our hearts is to have faith and believe He paid our sin-debt in full. Our commitment is to admit we’re sinners, believe He is the only way to eternal life, and to call or ask Him to save us. There are no deeds or works of any kind that we can do to earn this.

There are numerous false prophets in pulpits today who are not presenting the true word of God. They give ear-tickling messages with motivational music to keep the members happy and inspired to keep seats and collection baskets full. Sadly, those members do not develop a relationship with the Savior, and they will ultimately end up in eternal punishment. That’s a whole lot longer than the few decades we may be on this earth.

As a true believer, we are at peace with the Lord, even if we are not at peace with this world. Another great Hymn by Thomas Andrew Dorsey (1899-1937) tells us about the “Peace in The Valley” that we long for. As our Jesus said, we will never have real peace on this earth such as the peace He has provided for our eternal souls. Our eternal promise from Him is absolutely real. There are several versions of this Hymn on YouTube.

1.) Oh well, I’m tired and I’m weary, but I must go along till the Lord shall come and calls me, calls me away, oh yes. Then the mornin’s so bright, and the Lamb is the Light, and the night is as black as the sea, oh yes.

(ref) There will be peace in the valley for me someday; there will be peace in the valley for me, Oh Lord I pray. There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow, Oh my Lord, no more trouble, trouble I see. There will be peace in the valley for me someday.

2.) There the flowers will be blooming, and the grass will be green, and the skies will be clear and serene, oh yes. Well, the sun ever beams in this valley of dreams, and no clouds will ever be seen, oh yes. (ref)

3.) Well, the bear will be gentle, and the wolf will be tame; and the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes. Well, the beast from the wild shall be led by a little child, and I’ll be changed from this creature that I am, oh yes. (ref)

Peter tells us about “scoffers” who will be here “in the last days,” and we are seeing the truth in this right now. Peter notes that there are those who do not believe the word; they say nothing has changed since the beginning and it will continue as before.

What people are failing to see is what Satan is trying to cover up. This world is rapidly getting more evil by the day, and all prophecy about the end of this age is right on time. The world is being “prepped” by those who the evil one controls. They are accusing us of being the haters in contrast to what is actually happening. We hate no one, just their evil ways which we are not required to accept. In fact, we are thrilled for each and every soul that decides Jesus is their true Messiah, and they end up calling on Him to save them.

Jesus, Peter, Paul, John, James and others gave us a picture of what the end of this age would be like. For the first time ever, all the signs are here at one time. We could be called up to meet the Savior in the air at any moment to fulfill God’s promise to keep all true believers from the wrath. It will happen prior to the evil one making his appearance, as given in 2 Thessalonians 2.

Personally, I am longing for the peace my Savior has promised, and absolutely invite everyone to become a part of His flock. No one has sinned so great that they cannot be forgiven. The only unforgivable sin at the present is to not have Jesus as Savior when your last breath is taken on this earth. During the tribulation, taking the mark of the beast is the other unforgivable sin.

It’s totally up to each and every individual to make a choice of eternal life or eternal punishment. To accept the “peace that passes all understanding” would be the absolute best option anyone could ever make. Right now would not be too early as we have no knowledge of the exact day or hour that the call will come. God gave us the signs to watch for, and they are here now. Our call could be any second or “twinkling of an eye” now. He’s waiting for all who would call on His Son for Salvation to avoid the worst 7-year period of time this world has ever seen. But He won’t wait much longer.

Shalom! Peace!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-4, Isaiah 53:6, Isaiah 64:6, Luke 18:9-14, Ecclesiastes 7:20

Summary: The biblical evidence that Paul uses to describe true human nature is summarized perfectly in the closing verses of Romans 3. The same evidence can also be used when we read the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican Jesus taught in Luke 18:9-14.

Romans 1-3 shatters any illusion we might have that we are somehow immune or exempt from the despicable behaviors and attitudes Paul has described thus far. No one – Jew or Gentile – is without excuse. The Jews had the Law of God, and the Gentiles had the inner law of the conscience, so we cannot stand before God at the end of days and say that we did not know about His directives or that there was no evidence for His existence.

No one has any way to escape the day of accountability. No one has any “loophole” or “technicality” they could use to be exempt from the approaching Day of Judgment. No one will be able to approach the Holy Sovereign God of All Creation with a list of “good deeds” and some definition of a “good life” that can tip the balance in their favor and be allowed to enter into the eternal heavens. All the prayers and incantations we practice in this life to “earn” a place in heaven will be of no use but will instead bring certain condemnation from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Matthew 7:21-23, 25:41).

The hard, dirty truth is that we can never approach the King of Kings with anything we do in this life in our own power. Our idea of “righteousness” is no better than the dirty rags that lepers used to keep their flesh from falling off their bodies (Isaiah 53:6, 64:6; Romans 3:23). We are encased in sin and filth, and any attempt we make to “clean up our lives” apart from the intervention of God through Jesus Christ is the equivalent of bathing in a sewer after we’ve taken a swim in a cesspool. Do you see why the Protestant reformer and preacher John Calvin used these situations to define the first of what are known as the doctrines of grace? He used the term total (or radical) depravity to show that in order to understand what salvation means, we must first face that what Paul lists in Romans 3:9-20 fits all of us.

It is also an excellent illustration of the hypocrisy of the Pharisee that Jesus presented in Luke 18:9-14. How so? Go back and read the “prayer” the Pharisee said before God (Luke 18:11-12). There are no words of repentance, sorrow, or a sense of reverence and awe that we should all possess when approaching our Creator, Sustainer, and King. Even though this Pharisee had an outward appearance of piety and “righteousness,” he was just as sinful, wretched and ungodly as the verses Paul uses to present our true nature.

This Pharisee looked all clean on the outside, but on the inside, he was nothing more than a whitewashed tomb full of death and corruption (Matthew 23:27; Romans 3:13-14). Whether we want to admit it or not, his “righteousness” is no better than ours if all we have is some form of “religion” that is full of bitterness, cursing, deceitfulness, and shows no true evidence of godliness apart from what “spin” we might want to put upon it (Romans 3:10-12).

Manmade “religion” shows no fear or respect for God. Why? When we decide to put together some form of ritual or teachings that satisfy our own egos as well as appease the “deity” we have made in our own image (Exodus 20:1-6; Deuteronomy 5:7-10; Isaiah 2:8; Jeremiah 16:20), we are arrogantly declaring before the Sovereign LORD, “We can do just fine without You, God. What Jesus Christ did on the cross in atoning for our sins really doesn’t apply to us; we’re above such primitive ways of thinking, thank You. What You did was just not enough and really a waste of time as we can get right with or without You. Our ways are better and much more comfortable to our standards of behavior. Now, off with you. We’re going to go and bring flowers and favor to our guru, shaman, “spirit guide,” and/or “ascended master.” Really, we are God, but we’ll call if we need You.”

Paul wrote of such blasphemous and prideful behavior in Ephesians 2:8-9. It is only by the grace of God and not anything we do or say by which we can enter His heaven.

Seriously, is that not how the majority of the world views the gift of salvation provided by the Lord Jesus Christ? To them, it is either a waste of time, or unnecessary, or a host of other excuses that challenge their pride and make them face the fact that they and all of us are unclean things worthy of condemnation (Romans 6:23).

Just who do we think we are to speak about or even approach God in this manner? We are a bunch of evil, rebellious, arrogant, inconsiderate, wretched, unredeemed souls that deserve nothing from Him except a just condemnation and judgment to hell. There is not only an absence of the fear and respect owed God but also an absence of the fear of hell and eternal punishment seen in both the world and the modern church. Some “churches” today are really nothing more than a spiritually empty gathering place for “religious” lost people satisfied with their nominal nod towards their idea of “god,” and certainly no place where the Bible is taught and revered. These places that harbor both stained-glass windows and sin-stained souls are empty and poor, as was Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22).

We have the plagues of atheism and apostasy rapidly gnawing their way into the fabric of civilizations as the time draws near to the certain return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this world to rule and reign as King of Kings. The Scriptures also show that God has chosen to redeem us from our sins through the work of Christ on the cross (John 19:30; 1 Corinthians 1:17, 2:2; Galatians 6:4; Ephesians 2:16; Colossians 1:20, 2:14). His atonement for our sins is the gift of eternal life (John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12), which gives us access to the throne of God (Hebrews 4:14-16). If His atonement is limited in any sense, it is that once you take your last breath (Luke 12:13-21, 16:19-31; John 5:28-29; Hebrews 9:27), it will be of no use to you as you threw away your opportunity to receive it here (2 Corinthians 6:2).

His grace, mercy, and offer of salvation is available to you right now (Matthew 11:28-30; Luke 15:20-24; John 10:28-30; Hebrews 13:5-6), and He will never take it from you. He will see you through the storms of life, and you are His forever, no matter what may occur here. The words Paul uses in Romans 3:9-20 are indeed evidence against us so that we learn to see ourselves for who we are – sinners in need of a Savior. Let the Savior rescue you from condemnation today.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

YouTube: The Reality City Review

My book The Scope of Biblical Prophecy is now available at: www.parsonsporch.com. It is a general look at the role and importance of Bible prophecy, the importance of correct interpretation of the Scriptures, the varied ways of how the last days events are to occur, and that in the end, Jesus wins.

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Donald was born and reared in the authentic “Cajun Country” of southern Louisiana. He is a graduate of Louisiana College (B.A. in History Education/ Biblical Studies, 1984), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div. In Christian Education, 1994), and Andersonville Baptist Seminary (Doctor of Ministry, Biblical Exposition, 2000). He has been in the Gospel ministry since 1986, serving as an evangelist, interim and supply pastor, hospital and rescue mission chaplain, high school and college teacher, and pastor in churches in Louisiana and Oklahoma.

In 2018, he began to devote his time to the rich field of internet and social media evangelism and outreach. In 2021 he became a member of the Oklahoma Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, using his skills as a writer to contribute articles and sermons to websites such as Rapture Ready, Sermon Central, and Inspirational Christian Blogs. He also writes Bible studies and curricula for churches in southeast and central Asia and Africa, the locations of which are anonymous. He can be contacted at: donaldwhitchard@gmail.com for inquiries, information, and speaking/preaching engagements. A copy of his resume is also available upon request.