Condemn – Praying Pint

52.a. Wilderness – 16.g. “Therefore be imitators of God”

Deu 24:17-22  “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

Psalms 94:3-6    O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;

Psalms 94:20-21    Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?  They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Jeremiah 22:3    Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Ezekiel 22:7     Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you.

Ephesians 5:1-2   Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.  And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Isaiah 51:1     “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.

It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation. (Henry)

It is hard for us to understand this while we live our separate lives in our ice little realm of society. We are unaffected by the homeless, fatherless, and widows. Yet, they are there if our eyes are opened and our ears listen. Our culture and society claim the unborn fatherless child as nothing more than an unwanted mass or tumor. Laws are made that give strength to this abomination. The arguments made rely on tolerance and personal rights. They will proclaim to those who do not buy into these lies as enemies of liberty and freedom and haters of others. They are very good at this.

God’s Word is clear as the noonday sun. It is wrong to treat those in need with contempt. It is wrong to turn our eyes and ears away from them. It is wrong to be silent.

Standing firm in the love of Jesus Christ. Do not be swayed by empty words spewed out by those who proclaim unrighteous acts of disobedience. Walk in the love of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and with ears trained and seeking to know the will of God for whatever might come each day.

34.a. “How then can man be in the right before God?”

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

Job 9:20    Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me; though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

Job 15:14   What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

Job 25:4    How then can man be in the right before God?

Isaiah 57:12     I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you.

Romans 3:20    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

Romans 9:16    So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Romans 11:6    But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9     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.

Religion is a system of beliefs leading to the worship of a divine being. Based on such a definition, Christianity is a religion. But there are ways in which Christianity is different from all other religions—primarily, the value of the human being in the sight of the Deity. In Christianity, God reaches out to mankind to establish a relationship—in spite of man’s sins and disregard for God’s ways. In every other religion, man must gain merit before God through works or sacrifices before receiving any blessing from God. But the opposite is true in Christianity. The Bible says that God (by His own initiative) so loved mankind (in spite of his sins) that He bridged the gulf between God and man (through the Person of Jesus Christ). God’s mercy resulted in man not suffering the punishment he deserves but instead receiving the blessing and forgiveness he doesn’t deserve.

Have you responded to the kindness and mercy of God by accepting His gift of salvation? You may do so by saying “Yes” as an act of faith in Christ.

(Dr. Jeremiah)

33.z. “Let these words sink into your ears”

Matthew 17:22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.

Mark 9:30-31    They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,  for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.

Luke 44  “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

Matthew 16:21    From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Mark 8:31    And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Luke 9:22     saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Mark 10:33-34   saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.  And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Luke 24:6-7    He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Luke 24:26     Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

Jesus, knowing of His betrayal, beatings, mocking, rejection, and suffering to death on the cross, chose to bear all of this for your salvation and redemption. Willingly He took on all the sins of man, past and future so that those who would believe in Him would have eternal life.

John 3:15 “that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

I fear there will be many who believe Jesus was the Son of God and that He died for sinners, but they have never trusted Him for the forgiveness of “Their Sins”. They believe who Jesus was but it has no effect on their lives or in their heart. This shallowness is a one-way ticket to eternal hell. Oh, that these souls would see they are without hope apart from complete humble surrender, belief, trust, and reliance in and on Jesus Christ. There are a good number of people who live good lives, do good things, and say kind words but have never felt the need to completely trust in Jesus Christ. They have looked at their lives and concluded they are good enough to inherit eternal life by the way they have conducted their lives. Nothing could be further from the truth. The goodness of one’s life will never equal eternal life. It is only when any and all self-centered reliance is recognized and discarded as a filthy rag that a person will see the fullness of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, salvation, and redemption. There is not a single person who does enough good or is good enough to stand before God in their good works that are done apart from first being fully committed to believing, trusting, relying, obeying, and following Jesus Christ. Now is the time of salvation. Now is the time to repent. Now is the time to believe in the salvation and redemption found in and through Jesus Christ alone. Turn away from any and all thoughts of being good enough and cast all your hope and trust in the work Jesus Christ did on the cross for YOUR sin.

33.t. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4    For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

Luke 24:46    and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

Mark 10:32-34    And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,  saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles.  And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Acts 2:23-32   this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.  God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Romans 8:5-8    For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

“The ‘must’ of Jesus’ suffering lies, not in unqualified determinism, nor in heroic determination (though some of both is present), but in willing submission to his Father’s will.” (Carson)

We can be sure that Peter was not aware that he spoke for Satan, just as a moment before he was not aware that he spoke for God. It is often much easier to be a tool of God or of the devil than we want to believe. Jesus exposed how Peter came into this satanic way of thinking. He didn’t make a deliberate choice to reject God and embrace Satan; he simply let his mind settle on the things of men instead of the things of God, and Satan took advantage of it. Peter is a perfect example of how a sincere heart coupled with man’s thinking can often lead to disaster.

Such are the battles we will face each day – keeping our mind set on things above (heavenly) or allowing distraction of things of this world to attract our attention (earthly). Obviously, there is a difference, but how can a person know if their actions, words, and thoughts are heavenly (Jesus Christ-glorifying and honoring) or earthly and of little to no value? How much of our days are we humbly seeking and desiring to be led, directed, guided, and focused on hearing the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit? How much of our days are we hungering for understanding and knowledge of His Word so that we might grow in this understanding and knowledge and honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do?

It is so easy to get our heavenly focus clouded by things of this world. It only takes a blink of our eye; allowing an unholy thought to linger in our mind, allowing our eyes to linger and cause us to lust, allowing our tongue to boast, allowing greed in our heart, allowing pride a place in our heart, allowing busyness to pull us away from God’s Word, allowing prosperity to keep us from reliance on God in all things, allowing physical or relational or material trials to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ and things heavenly, and in a moment and without notice our focus is changed from heavenly to earthly. Faith, hope, trust, and reliance on Jesus Christ alone do not depend on worldly circumstances or conditions. It is this solid foundation that allows us to navigate this life with discernment, patience, hope, love, joy, peace, courage, obedience, and most of all assurance in eternal life. Satan’s attacks will never be announced. We must be ever mindful of our sinful nature and how easily Satan can influence our focus and changed it from heavenly to earthly.

Keep in His Word and with this thought every waking moment; In all the words I speak, all the thoughts I have, and all the actions I take, let them be honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

32.u. “So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace”

Matthew 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Luke 11:29-30   When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.  For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Ezekiel 16:51-52   Samaria has not committed half your sins. You have committed more abominations than they, and have made your sisters appear righteous by all the abominations that you have committed.  Bear your disgrace, you also, for you have intervened on behalf of your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. So be ashamed, you also, and bear your disgrace, for you have made your sisters appear righteous.

Jesus condemned them for seeking after a sign, especially when countless signs had already happened before their eyes. It is easy to overestimate the power of miraculous signs to change the heart of doubters and skeptics. (Guzik)

Every believer displays a miraculous sign. They are born again. They are a new creation. They are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This miracle certainly ought to be seen and witnessed in the lives of every believer. Why else would Paul say “to be ready to give an answer to anyone who, when they see the hope in you ask where is it from.”

Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish – certainly, he died but after 3 days he was spit up onto shore alive. Jonah was a sign to Nineveh and they recognized it. The Queen of Sheba recognized the wisdom God gave Solomon. The central point to be sure in this is; “you are asking for a sign – I am God’s sign – and you have failed to recognize Me”. because of this they will, as an example, rise up in judgment against you. Simply put, Nineveh had lesser signs shining in their presence (it was the Word of God spoken by Jonah) and repented. Greater will be the judgment on those who have been given greater signs – the presence of the Son of God doing signs and wonders daily in your presence. This rejection by the religious leaders is indefensible.

Think about this; Jonah preached for 40 days – Jesus preached for several years. Jonah preached but displayed no miracles – Jesus preached and did miracles, signs, and wonders often. The people of Nineveh repented – the religious leaders rejected a much great witness.

The Word of God has never been so available as it is right now. There is no excuse for not knowing how to find it. There is no excuse for being too busy to find the time to go get your bible – it is in your pocket via your phone. There are hundreds of apps available to help study the bible and hundreds of thousands of resources available with just a click on your screen. There is no excuse for neglecting it. I wonder if it could be said that these religious leaders efforts will stand in judgment against those who are too busy to take time in God’s Word, too busy to meditate on it, too busy to have little to no application in their lives, too busy to hear what quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading, too busy to pray, too busy in worship, too busy to help others, too busy to give, too busy to be kind, too busy to praise Jesus, too busy to ……

We should be very mindful of how we spend our time in light of the abundance and availability of God’s Word in our lives. Anytime idleness and busyness are allowed into our lives, Jesus Christ will never be honored and glorified.

31.n. “For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Romans 2:1-2 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.

1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

Jesus warned against passing judgment upon others because when we do so, we will be judged in a similar manner. Judging is wrong in one sense of the word – when in pride (self-worth, self-image, self-honor) you place judgment on another person’s actions or words. In this judgment, you convict, find guilty, and condemn them. You set yourself up as God and give this judgment. What the person may have said or done could have been absolutely wrong, unholy, ungodly, hurtful, and broken laws against society. The problem is not in identifying it as wrong, but rather judging the person with a personal arrogance of self-righteousness in light of what they have done. It would be like the Pharisee that stood up and prayed, “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men— swindlers, evildoers, adulterers— or even like this tax collector”.

We need to have discernment in order to make an assessment. In this assessment, we will know and understand people by the fruit in their lives as it stands in the light of God’s Word. We seem to get confused by the passage “Judge not” and think we are to unconditionally approve of others’ actions thinking we are “judging them” if we disapprove. Nothing could be further from the truth. We should be able to recognize that which is God-honoring and glorifying and that which is not in all aspects of life. We can discern it is wrong but not judge and condemn the person. When we “judge others” we set ourselves up as God and somehow think our judgment is holy and right and true. Pride, self-worth, and a touch of arrogance all play a part in this “judgment” in any person who does so. None of us are immune to this. We need to be on guard and not go past the ability to discern into “judging”. Once judgment occurs we then think we are allowed to enact our verdict and sentence on the person. We can treat them harshly and feel justified. We can wish harsh and hurtful things to happen to them. We may even feel justified in personally causing harm to them. I want to be clear that we have every right to defend and stop physical harm to others or ourselves. We should never cowardly stand by and not intervene to protect someone. This is not passing judgment but discernment and a God-given command.

It comes down to the spirit in which we examine and judge others. Thinking the worst of them, only seeing their faults, judging their life by their worst moment, judging without considering ourselves in the same light of judgment, are examples of discerning/judging wrongly. When our judgment in regard to others is wrong, it is often not because we judge according to a standard, but because we are hypocritical in the application of that standard – we ignore the standard in our own life. It is common to judge others by one standard and ourselves by another standard – being far more generous to ourselves than others.

When God’s Word is overflowing deep within our heart, soul, and mind and our singular intentional choice in all of life is to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do, and when we are sensitive to the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit’s leading, it is then we will have proper discernment, not judgment.

18.d. “The word that I have spoken will judge Him”

John 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God. Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

“The word that I have spoken will judge Him” – there are inescapable consequences for rejecting Jesus. Think about the consequences for either relying on Him or rejecting Him.

Eternal life or Eternal damnation and torment

Living in light or living in darkness

Forgiven or condemned

Power in Him or weakness in self

Love or hate and anger

Joy or misery

Peace or conflict and anxiousness

Kind or mean

Gentle or brutal

Patience or impatience

Refuge or fear

Humility or pride

Giving or greedy

Victory or defeated

Hope or despair

God honoring or self-honoring

Holy Spirit living within or Satan always tempting

Heavenly desires or worldly lusts

Living for God or living for self

Surrender to the Holy Spirit leading or Satan, world/culture, and self-leading

Belief, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ or rejection and denial

Jesus came to rescue and save us by paying the price of our sin. He came because God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus gave His life so we might live. This life we live is to be lived in the LIGHT of this so that all that we do, all that we think, and all that we say is honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. He did not come to this world to condemn man but to save man from their sins. Yet, in rejecting His redemption, sacrifice, and salvation all mankind is condemned. There is no other means of salvation, but by and through Jesus Christ. Belief in Him is more than words on our lips. It is heart, mind, and soul-deep. It is knowing and owning up to our sin and sinful nature and separation from God because of it, and reliance on, clinging to and trusting in Jesus for our redemption from this condemnation. When we surrender our self-reliance to Jesus only reliance there ought to be some change (new birth). Old things pass away and all things are new. We are promised the indwelling Holy Spirit when we believe and surrender and trust and rely (faith) upon/in Jesus Christ alone. The indwelling Holy Spirit will lead us on paths in our lives that honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Listen for the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit speaking into your life through God’s Word. It is there if we but spend the time in His Word and turn our ear towards Him. This new life in Him is not our own to live as we please. Our lives have been redeemed and ought to reflect the light of the price He paid to save us from hell and the promise of eternal life.

15.z. “For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness”

John 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

Matthew 12:41   The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.  “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none.  Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order.  Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me

Hebrews 10:38   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

2 Peter 2:20-22    For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.  For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

The Son of God was in their presence. He spoke wisdom greater than the wisdom of Solomon and preached greater than the preaching of Jonah. There were in His presence and many rejected Him. In 2 Peter he says; “it would be better for those who did not know the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back.” Jesus said, “the last state of that person is worse than the first.” When a person who knows the message of the Gospel and is aware of eternal life through it, and then chooses to reject it, then falls away or is drawn away by worldly passions and pleasures, what is it that so easily pulls them away from Jesus Christ? How does a person who has tasted what the blessings of forgiveness are and then comes to reject the forgiver? There are many things that come to mind. Pleasures and things of this world devour the light of Jesus Christ. They choose to become blind and deaf to things of God but open their ears and eyes to things of this world. They choose to believe a lie rather than the truth of the Gospel.

The day of salvation is now. If you hear His voice speaking to your heart and soul, do not reject Him. Let Him in. Hunger and thirst for Him. A time is coming when the offer of salvation in the presence of the Holy Spirit will cease. Rejecting it now means you reject eternal life and choose to go to eternal damnation and torment, hell. You may not ever get another chance. There are many who say they will choose to believe but sometime later in their lives. We are not guaranteed a single day in the future. Think about all of the people who die each day from a host of various accidents. I am sure they would have said, “if I had only known today was my last day I would have come to Jesus Christ.” The “day of salvation is now”, do not reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ a single moment longer.

15. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

James 2:19 “So you believe that there is one God? That’s fine. So do all the devils in hell and shudder in terror!”

John 3:16 has long been celebrated as a powerful declaration of the gospel. Of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it may be the most popular single verse used in evangelism. God did not wait for the world to turn to Him before He loved the world. He loved and gave His only begotten Son. God’s love didn’t just feel for a fallen world. God did something about it, and He gave the most precious thing to give: His only begotten Son. God loves the world, but the world does not receive or benefit from that love until it believes in Jesus, the gift that the Father gave. Believes in means much more than intellectual awareness or agreement. It means to trust in, to rely on, and to cling too. The intention of God’s love is to save. God’s love actually saves man from eternal destruction. God looks at fallen humanity, does not want it to perish, and so in His love, He extends the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. The duration of the Love of God is eternal. Mankind’s love for one another will grow, fade, or change. God’s Love does not change. The love of God is limitless; it embraces all mankind. The intent of God’s Love was to save the world not to condemn it. His gift, Jesus Christ, was to offer salvation, rescue, forgiveness, hope, healing, joy, peace, and strength. However, some will, in fact, be condemned as a result of Jesus Christ’s coming into the world. Jesus came to bring salvation, but those who reject that salvation condemn themselves. We never need to leave the reason for anyone’s condemnation at God’s door. The responsibility is theirs alone. Those who consciously reject Jesus often present themselves as heroic characters who bravely put away superstition and deal honestly with deep philosophical problems. When we think of the love of sin that sends people to hell, we often other think of notorious sin. But the simple demand to be lord of my own life and trust in myself is enough of a sin to deserve condemnation before God. Some will openly express their hatred for the truth of Jesus Christ by fighting against it, others will simply express it by ignoring it, and in effect, they are saying Jesus you are not worth my time.

I sometimes think people stop reading after John 3:16. God loves the world, God sent His Son. I will not perish. I will go to heaven. They seem to cling to a simple belief in what the word “Belief” means. They limit their definition of “Belief” to a viewpoint, opinion, perspective, feeling, hunch, or a principle. This type of understanding and application of the word belief will end in condemnation. The true definition of belief in John 3:16 means to trust in, cling too, and rely on. The difference is, one person will be utterly saved and changed, “born again”, and the other person will be condemned. One will have eternal life and the other eternal hell. True belief will change a person both on the inside and outside. If your belief does not have a deep within the heart, mind, and soul change, and reflect an outward change in how you speak and act, then your belief has not resulted in being “Born Again”, “Regenerated”, “New Creation”, or being “Child of God”. Way too many people are satisfied with believing in Jesus Christ with only head knowledge and not a changed heart. Believe and be saved.

14.w. “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times”

John 2:18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

John 6:30   So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

Matthew 21:23   And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Acts 4:7    And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

Mark 8:11   The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.

Matthew 12:38-42    Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”  But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Matthew 16:1-4    And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.  He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’  And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.  An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

“But you cannot interpret the signs of the times”. Wars, rumors of wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, ungodliness, lawlessness, rioting, hate, fear, delusion, false teachings, unable to separate false from the truth, falling away from God, and denying God, in more and more increasing numbers and occurrences are all signs of the times and the return of Jesus Christ. These are signs but where is the voice crying out in the wilderness proclaiming them? We understand the “World” not seeing and believing but why is it the Christian church silent on these signs? Have we diluted our walk with Jesus Christ to the point where we are unable to see them ourselves? Have we bought into a lukewarm comfortable life so close in resemblance to the unbelievers that our eyes are closed to the signs? Have we strayed far enough away from Jesus Christ that our pastors and teachers, wanting to be culturally correct, do not preach and teach the signs of the times? Is our heart turning to stone and we are not allowing the Holy Spirit into it to teach, lead, and instruct us?

Some may say we have had wars, famine, disease, riots, wars, earthquakes, etc…. and Jesus has not returned. It was not true before and is not true now. The frequency surely has increased and yet it is denied. The number of countries across the globe experiencing these signs is overwhelming and yet it is denied. When there should be repentance and a turning to Jesus Christ there is denial and defiance. Where there should be preparing and looking for the return of Jesus Christ there is denial and defiance. When there should be a proclaiming of the signs of the times there is silence.

In the last days, God will send a strong delusion and people will grab hold of this like finding a lost treasure. They will believe they have found truth and they are fighting for the right cause and belief. They believe lies because they have denied the truth. These too are signs of the soon return of Jesus Christ. All of the warnings and signs have been given so that through them people will repent and turn to Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ returns will He find you watching and waiting or unprepared? I imagine there are many right now that are waiting for signs before they get serious about their faith in Jesus Christ. It is both “not too late” and “too late”. It is never too late to repent and trust Jesus Christ but the signs would indicate the return of Jesus is closer than ever before. A heart that rejects the need for redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ will certainly reject the signs of His soon return. Rejection is an intentional choice. You are just one breath away from eternity and your choice of belief or rejection will determine Heaven or Hell, blessings or torment, peace or anguish, Eternal light or complete darkness.

Jesus has called us to believe and trust in Him alone. He has demonstrated His love for us in that He died for our sin. He has promised blessings now and for eternity. He has told us He will return to gather us onto Himself. He has told us what the signs will be to indicate His pending return and that we are to watch and be ready. And He has given warnings of what awaits those who reject Him. If you choose to reject His love how much more will you receive His wrath? Watch and be Ready! The signs are there if you are seeking and desiring the return of Jesus Christ.