Trust AND Obey » repent

An Assignment

Dave Miller — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 00:27:45 +0000

The Assignment: Read the following scripture and then answer the question at the end.

Matthew 25:31-34: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

v. 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

v. 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Question: Do you believe this?

Do you believe that Jesus is coming again and that He will judge both the living and the dead?

Do you believe that He will separate all humanity into two groups?

Do you believe that one group will go away to eternal torment and the other to eternal life in the presence of God?

A simple yes or no is required. Either you believe it or you don’t.

If you don’t believe it and you call yourself a Christian, you either need to repent for your unbelief or stop calling yourself a Christian. I’m serious. You shame the name of Christ if you disbelieve His own testimony of what will happen at the end of days.

If you do believe it but don’t engage in personal evangelism, you either need to repent for your unbelief or stop calling yourself a Christian. I’m even more serious now. You shame the name of Christ even more if you say you believe his testimony, but disobey his commandments (John 3:36).

I think that there are only a few Christians who personally engage in evangelism to the extent they can. If you are doing so, may God strengthen you and bless your efforts.

Matthew 28:19-20 – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

In all likelihood, most of the readership of this little article believe that Jesus means what He says but, for some reason, don’t give much effort to personal evangelism. If this is the case with you, as it is with me, then we have some repenting to do.

If we really believed what Jesus said about a final judgment and eternity in either heaven or hell, then we would be far less complacent about our unbelieving co-workers, neighbors and family members. But many of us don’t really believe Jesus, even though we say we do. The proof is found in our action or inaction in the face of certain death and torment for those on the judge’s left.

O Father in Heaven: Your ways are so far above and beyond my ways. Except for your amazing grace, I would be counted among the goats. Forgive my unbelief and strengthen me to share the Good News with those who need to hear it. Embolden me to speak the truth with love and humility to my family, friends and neighbors. For the sake of Christ Jesus and his unforgettable work on the cross, grant that I might become a better witnesses to the transcendent love that is you, O God. Amen.

Pray For It

Dave Miller — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:17:40 +0000

I’ve been working on an essay about the inerrancy of the bible, but need to post this real quick instead.

Christopher Hitchens, polemicist extraordinaire, has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He has canceled his current book tour and will begin chemotherapy immediately. Read more here.

Hitchens is a devout atheist and would most certainly request that nobody waste their time praying for him. Hundreds of thousands of Christians will ignore his preference and pray for his full recovery anyway.

I’m going to stop short of encouraging anyone to pray for Hitchens’ full recovery. I think we should be praying for God to break his pride and do whatever is necessary for Hitchens to repent and believe. (Matthew 5:44) His recovery or death matters much less than the disposition of his eternal soul. (Luke 12:20)

I think we should be praying for whatever will reveal God’s glory in the greatest way possible. (Philippians 2:10-11) If that means that Christopher Hitchens dies of cancer, pray for it. If that means that he recovers fully, pray for it. If it means that you or I die tomorrow, pray for it. Whatever is the will of God and will bring Him the greatest glory, pray for it.

Merry Christmas 2009

Dave Miller — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:43:29 +0000

To my dear readers, (both of you)

I would like to wish you and your family a very happy and memorable Christmas.

The whole reason we celebrate is to commemorate the greatest gift ever given. Christmas is the time to honor Jesus of Nazareth, God the Son, the Son of God, who was born in human flesh to live among His creation for a few decades. What he did, during what we would consider a very short life, was to teach us to love God and one another, to take our sins upon him, and to cover us with His perfect righteousness so we can once again be in full fellowship with God the Father now and forever.

If you only half-heartedly believe this, or don’t believe it at all, please think about it for a few minutes. Consider the fact that all of us will die someday and how many toys we have really doesn’t matter. Consider the fact that there is no way for anyone to live a life good enough to qualify for even a moment in the presence of a perfect, Holy God. The only way to earn a place in heaven is to live a perfect, holy life, and none of us can do that. But if you believe Jesus (not just believe IN Jesus) and turn away from your sins, God will look at your sinful life and see Jesus’ perfect life. Jesus’ work on the cross has assured all believers of this.

Everything else you may have been told that you have to do in order to gain heaven is extraneous. Repent and believe that Jesus is Lord and you are saved – by grace alone through faith alone, not by works. No other religion in the world teaches this, grace is unique to Christianity. Grace is the best kind of gift because none of us deserve it. What a wonderful gift! God loved us so much that he sent his Son to defeat death and sin, and give all believers the undeserved gift of eternal life in His presence.

May the blessings of Christmas be upon all of you.

-Dave

Must every Q&A begin with a Q?

Dave Miller — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:19:19 +0000

A. Mankind started out living with God, our maker, in a very personal, intimate way that nobody can imagine today. Then Adam and Eve sinned and we became separated from this way of being with God. The Gospel is God’s way of getting us back into this communion or fellowship by saving us from sin and His wrath. (Genesis 3:6)

Q. I believe in God, but I don’t get the importance of this “Gospel” thing or this stuff about being “Saved.” What is all this?

A. Believing in God will not reconcile you to Him. Remember, Satan believes in God; he knows and understands God better than any human being. If you want to be at peace with God and guarantee your eternal salvation, you need to know the Gospel and be saved. Believing in God isn’t enough.

Q. I’m getting along fine right now. Why do I need to be at peace with God?

A. You are getting along fine because God gives some grace to everybody regardless of their beliefs. He makes the sun shine and the rain fall upon both the good and the bad (Matthew 5:45). But just because things are going well for you now, doesn’t mean that they always will, especially when you die. The Christian is at peace with God because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. We have the assurance that even though things on earth have their ups and downs, eventually we will be granted perfect rest and reward in His eternal kingdom. (1 Peter 5:10)

Q. So what does the Gospel have to do with getting this perfect life?

A. Because the Gospel is the only thing that can bridge the gap between you and God. Everyone is born in sin and most people live their entire lives as an enemy of God. Yes, God loves you, but most of us don’t love God as we should and we treat him like our enemy. Even people who are saved treat God like an enemy every time they sin. Without the Gospel, without the covering of Jesus’ perfect life and sacrificial death (called justification and atonement) we would remain enemies of God forever. (James 4:4)

Q. This is kinda crazy stuff. Why should I believe any of it?

A. Well, this might be foolishness to you. It gives me no joy to hear such a question because it means that the person asking it is still lost in sin. Until you realize and recognize that you are a sinful person, the Gospel will be foolishness to you. The first step to accepting the Gospel and being saved by Jesus is recognizing your sin and turning away from it. This is called repentance. (Mark 1:15)

Q. What’s the big deal about admitting that I’m not perfect? Everybody sins, right?

A. Yes, Everybody sins. (Romans 3:23) But not everybody considers what they do sinning. If you are outside of the saving grace of God, then you can do all the good things you want and it still won’t make you right with God. Nothing you can do will get you right with God; only God can make you right with Him and the only way that He makes you right with Him is by starting you out with a repentant heart and an understanding of His love for you.

Q. Okay, so let’s say that I admit that I’ve told a few lies, taken some little things that didn’t belong to me and I’m not exactly sexually pure. Is that enough?

A. It’s a start; a good start. Are you sorry for doing these things?

Q. Yes. What now?

A. If you’re sorry for doing these things, then tell God that you’re sorry, in your own words. Don’t try to sound like somebody else that you’ve heard pray. Tell God that He is more important than the sinful acts you have been committing. That’s called repentance. Then believe. Believe with all your heart that the God of the Bible, who made the universe from nothing, loves you and sent His son Jesus to live a perfect life and die a terrible death to reunite you with your maker by paying the price for your sins.

And the best part is that you don’t have to wait until you die. You are made right with God right here and right now. Praise the Lord!

If you are a new believer, read this survival guide. Tell someone, perhaps a faithful Christian you know, that you have found the Lord. (More accurately, the Lord has found you! – Luke 15:4-5) I recommend that you read the Gospel of John over the next week or so to learn more about Jesus and your new life.

Who Sits on Your Throne?

Dave Miller — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:21:37 +0000

There is no such thing as a carnal Christian

- Paul Washer-

Take a look at the graphic below. Which of the two circles represents your life most closely? Be sure to read the descriptions carefully.

There is a third circle that is also a possibility. It is a blend between the two circles above, the dots might be a little more organized than the Self-directed life, but not as organized as the Christ-directed life. Christ is inside the circle, but Self is still on the throne. This circle is typically known as the “Carnal Christian” circle. See below and read the descriptions carefully.

In the “Carnal Christian” circle above, Christ is a part of your life, but you have not fully yielded to Him and probably about half the bullet points apply to you. Sadly, this is the most fitting description for most people who claim to be Christians. In my experience, more than half of the people sitting in church on any given Sunday fall into this category.

Perhaps you are one of them. Until relatively recently, so was I. Are you trying to take the Bible more seriously, trying to live a better life, trying not to worry, trying to pray a little more often, trying to consider what Jesus would do before you decide what you will do? Doing these things usually just leads to a legalistic attitude where you do your best and hope it is enough. Sadly, according to Matthew 7:22-23, most of the people who try to “do” their religion this way will be turned away from the Kingdom of Heaven.

Now, take a look a this short video from OneTimeBlind.

The hard news of Christianity is that until you relinquish complete control of your life to Jesus and let His will be your will, you will not be living in Him and will have no part of the Kingdom of heaven when this life is over.

The good news of Christianity is that when you relinquish complete control of your life to Jesus and let His will be your will, you will be living in Him and will have a part of the Kingdom of heaven when this life is over.

Repent and believe, trust and obey.