“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).

The Rapture is coming, and many Christians are beginning to take a hard look at their salvation. There are some Scriptures that can scare us if we don’t take the full counsel of God into consideration. When Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, he was addressing a worldly congregation with many problems. They claimed to be Christians, but they embraced the world. That’s not good for any Christian. Because Paul cared deeply for his brothers and sisters in Christ, he was compelled to address this problem.

It’s a shame many pastors today won’t address sin but watch as their congregation flounders. The number of pew-sitters may grow, but is there any repentance of sin?

Paul was never afraid to address sin…. He wasn’t politically correct. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Sometimes the King James uses words that aren’t familiar to our modern way of talking, but it’s important to understand what this says. The first item on this list is the unrighteous. Are you righteous? I’m not. There’s nothing I can do to make myself righteous. I may not fornicate or commit adultery, but there are times when I harbor thoughts about others that aren’t very righteous. I do try to take my thoughts captive before the Lord and stop sinning, but so far, I keep on failing. By my own merit, I am unrighteous. The good news is that God no longer sees me as a sinner deserving of punishment. He sees me through the blood of Jesus.

“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Thank You, Jesus!

These verses are often times used by Christians to judge another Christian’s faith and to condemn them. There’s a big difference between judgmentally confronting a fellow Christian with sin, and lovingly leading the brother or sister to a closer walk with our Lord.

First, let’s figure out what constitutes a Christian. People like to say you must be born again to be a Christian, and they’re right. I’ve noticed, though, what they really mean is, “You have to be as perfect as I am.” If you happen to be struggling with sin of any kind, then you’re not born again – at least in their opinion.

Jesus did tell Nicodemus: “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6).

God doesn’t try to find ways to condemn us. He knows that it’s impossible for us, by our own effort, to be righteous. Many people stop reading after Jesus said to be born again. Jesus didn’t come to condemn.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

Don’t get me wrong. Our faith in Christ brings salvation; no works are involved, but our faith should bring repentance and a change in our sinful ways. We should see the sin in our life, repent, and live for Christ. Everything that we have on earth, everything we take pleasure in, will be left here when we die or when the Rapture occurs. Heaven will be more wonderful than any sinful lust that tempts us here.

Many people complicate salvation. The disciples didn’t complicate salvation, and neither did Paul. Paul had a lot to say about salvation.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed” (Romans 10:9-11).

It’s people who have complicated salvation. Each denomination has its own set of rules that they require the sheep to follow. Then, if you happen to start attending a different denomination, you have to change rules. It’s much better to follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who never changes. After all, it’s the righteousness of Jesus that is our salvation, not our denomination.

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:19-21).

Jesus paid it all. Adam’s sin separated us from God, but Christ’s obedience brings us grace. It’s only through faith in Jesus that we can be assured of eternal life and have assurance that we will be a part of the Rapture.

We all have a tendency to complicate things. When we simply believe God and trust His inspired Scriptures, we find out that it’s faith that saves us, and we don’t have to study a catechism or follow any rituals. Christianity is a faith, not a religion.

On the other hand, we need to honor God. Our instruction book is the Bible. Paul’s sinful ways, which he embraced prior to meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, are well known. When he talks of being a living sacrifice unto God, he’s talking from experience.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

Most of us can justify our own sins and fool ourselves to think, “I don’t sin.” Scripture tells us otherwise. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).

What a blessing! That confession only needs to be between you and Jesus. You don’t need any human priest or clergy to decide if you’re forgiven or not. Your sin is against God, so only God needs to hear your confession, and He will forgive you.

That brings me back to the first question: will you be a part of the Rapture?

I’m not here to judge anybody. Only God truly knows if your faith is real. If you have truly repented of your sin – that means you know you’re a sinner and have changed your mind about continuing in it – you’ve been forgiven. If you keep falling into temptation and embracing the sin in your life, well, that’s between you and God. It’s my opinion that you shouldn’t be living in a “gray area,” and get yourself away from temptation. If your faith is real, your salvation is secure. You can search Scripture all you want, but you’ll never find a verse where a person is encouraged to continue in sin. God can work through a sinner, but the sin isn’t condoned or encouraged. If you claim Christ for salvation, then you need to turn from sin.

The Rapture will happen soon. It could happen before you’re done reading this. There is no event that needs to happen before the Rapture; don’t confuse it with the Second Coming. You might also consider that you may die before the Rapture. No matter how old you are, death is always a possibility. Take a stand today for Christ. Turn from sin, and live for Him. Jesus makes it simple. One day, when Jesus was speaking to a group of people, they had a question regarding salvation… Jesus had the answer.

“Then said they unto him, What shall we do that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28-29).

That means the only thing you can do to find salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are few certainties in this life, but you can be certain that one day you will depart this life. Everyone will face death one day, unless you have placed your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then the death of this body just means stepping into eternal life with Him.

“Therefore we are always confident knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8).

You should be very concerned about where you will spend eternity. The choice has to be made while you live on this side of Heaven. Every person who ever has been born has had the same choice. If you have rejected Christ, eternity will be miserable, to say the least. The other possibility, for Christians, is that the Rapture will happen. This blessed promise from God should be on every Christian’s mind.

The signs we were told to watch for in Biblical prophecy are happening. Those signs point to the fact that the final seven years of Earth’s history will soon be here. After those seven years of tribulation, Jesus will return at the Second Coming. We will be with Him prior to the time of Jacob’s Trouble (the Tribulation also known as Daniel’s 70th week). Christians will be taken Home in the Rapture, and we won’t be on earth to face the Great Tribulation.

Will you be a part of the Rapture? It will happen quickly, so you need to be sure you’ve placed your faith in Christ.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).

Only faith in Jesus Christ assures you that you will be a part of the Rapture, or if you die first, that you will step into everlasting life.

Jesus loves you and died for your salvation. That faith will take you to Heaven when you depart this earth, whether by death or by the Rapture. Keep your heart turned toward Him, and no matter what happens in the future, you have the Blessed Assurance that you belong to Christ.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).

 

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

Here it is, a brand-new year. What will you do with it? What will the new year bring? It’s always good to take a look at your life and see what you might need to work on for the coming year.

Do you lose your temper too often, or have you stopped studying God’s word? All of us have something to “fix.” We can’t change other people, but we can pray for them, and we can prayerfully work on ourselves. Christians need to draw nearer to God. None of us have any idea what the new year will bring, but we need to be prepared for whatever comes our way. This could be the year that Jesus calls us Home in the Rapture. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? I think so. How can we prepare for that? That’s an easy question with a difficult answer. We can’t actually prepare. It won’t matter if you believe the truth of the pre-trib Rapture in order to be taken Home when it happens. What will matter is your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Scripture is clear that our faith is what brings salvation. When Nicodemus came to Jesus with questions about eternal life, Jesus told him he had to be born again.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

Born again. Now there’s a phrase people like to throw around and use it to judge another person’s salvation. Notice that Jesus didn’t add any requirements to salvation – no works or rituals. It’s true that faith in Jesus should change our way of life, but it’s our faith that brings salvation.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Too often, a “seasoned” Christian will look at a new and/or struggling Christian with contempt because the one struggling isn’t living up to the expectations of the “seasoned” Christian. No wonder numbers are lowering for church attendance. That’s no reason for sermons to be watered down so as not to upset anybody, but if there’s someone in the congregation who is struggling with sin, they need to be helped out of that sin instead of being condemned. Maybe this is the year you need to truly take steps to admit you’re a sinner in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. Let Him help you to overcome any sin that’s crippling your walk with our Lord.

We all have struggles with sin. Even more seasoned Christians aren’t perfect and need to draw closer to Jesus. Being judgmental and condemning is a sin.

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and, ye shall be forgiven” (Luke 6:37).

This doesn’t mean we are to condone every lifestyle and sin, but it’s not up to us to point fingers and make sure everyone knows about another person’s sin.

“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).

It’s God who has the right to judge, and He knows if you or anyone else has truly come to salvation through Christ.

We all face an ongoing struggle against sin. Sometimes, it gets easier, but it takes prayer and seeking God to overcome sin. When we come to Christ, we are a new creation in Christ.

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6).

God sees us through the blood of Christ, and we need to honor Him by living life to please Him. We are like newborn babies and need to grow in our faith. We can’t stay babes forever. Maybe this is the year you totally surrender your will to His. Maybe this is the year you see the sin in your life and go to Scripture to find help to overcome it rather than pointing fingers at the sin of others.

Sometimes what people see as sin really isn’t anything against God’s laws. I heard someone say they sinned by eating bacon, and they knew eating pork is a sin. Really? Unless you’re Jewish, there’s no problem eating pork. Do you drink a glass of wine now and then? Are you condemned for that? Maybe your denomination says you’re condemned, but God only says drunkenness is a sin. Jesus turned water into wine, and if wine was a sin, He couldn’t have done that. The holier-than-thou religious leaders of the day tried to condemn Him for drinking wine.

“The Son of man is come eating and drinking, and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!” (Luke 7:34).

This is a classic case of judging someone but doing what you condemn them for. The Pharisees drank wine as part of obeying God’s directions for the Feasts. That doesn’t condone drunkenness. Faith in Christ brings forgiveness of any sin you might have committed or will commit. That forgiveness doesn’t make it okay to continue in sin.

The lifestyle we live as Christians is important. Today, many congregations accept sexual sin as an acceptable way of life. God isn’t pleased with openly embracing sin. You might want to study Scripture to understand God’s feelings on any sexual activity outside of a one-man/one-woman marriage. A woman who was an adulterer was brought before the Lord for Him to condemn her. Under the Law, she was to be stoned to death, but she found forgiveness in Jesus. He didn’t tell her to keep living the way she was living. When He asked her where her accusers were, “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Jesus forgave her, but she couldn’t continue in her sin. We also need to look at what was going on in Sodom and Gomorrah that caused God to totally destroy them.

“But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13).

When God finally had no choice but to destroy those cities, two angels were sent to rescue Abraham’s nephew, Lot, before the judgment came. The men of Sodom lusted after the angels.

“And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them” (Genesis 19:5).

Lot had to be taken away from Sodom prior to God’s judgment. In fact, this is a “picture” of the Rapture, and Jesus said it would be as it was in the Days of Lot prior to the Tribulation. Homosexual behavior will be everywhere, but the righteous will be removed prior to the judgment of God. Christians are only righteous because of faith in Christ.

We can see many signs that the Rapture is close. There are many, many signs that it will happen soon. Will it be this year? It very well could be. Anybody who watches prophecy closely is watching the events of the world unfold, and it’s exciting to think we could be the ones changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye.

The war in Israel is so sad, and I urge everybody to pray for the Jewish people. The temple is ready to be built, and it has to be in place for the Anti-Christ to set up his reign of terror there. In recent years, we’ve been conditioned to accept the Mark of the Beast, and the economy of individual nations is soon to be put under one economic system. The New World Order is being set in place and will be under the rule of the Anti-Christ. All nations will turn against Israel, and if you pay attention to the antics of the United Nations, you’ll know that the evil of the Muslim world is condoned by the UN, but Israel is condemned for defending their right to exist. All of this is telling us that the Rapture is going to happen soon.

Will the new year bring the Rapture? If so, what will you be doing? Maybe you’ll be sharing the Gospel with a friend, or maybe you’ll be singing hymns and praises to our Lord. Hopefully, you won’t be embracing sin as if it’s fine with God. Remember, God gave His only begotten Son as the only way that we can be saved.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

If you believe in Him, then live your life for Him.

What will the new year bring? Let it bring all of us closer to Christ.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com

www.prophecyupdate.com

www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6).