EDITORIAL
"ANTI - CHRISTMAS"
Why do we exchange gifts at Christmas? I suppose there are many reasons, but one at least is that we are celebrating a birthday -- the birthday of our Lord.
But did you know that in the future perhaps the not-too-distant future, people will be exchanging gifts for just the opposite reason -- not for birth but for death.
The next event in God's timetable is the rapture of the Church, when Christ will return in the air to receive to Himself all who believe in Him. Following this, terrible tribulation will break upon the world. During this time of great distress, God will send two witnesses to prophecy against the world. War breaks out against them and they are slain. And them comes what we might term the "anti-Christmas."
The Bible describes it thus: "And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall SEND GIFTS one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth" (Revelation 11:10). Today we exchange gifts to celebrate Christ's birth; then they will exchange gifts to celebrate the death of two of Christ's witnesses.
How could so radical a change come to pass? The explanation is found in the difference between the day of God's grace and the day of God's wrath.
Now is the day of grace. God has given the wonderful gift of His Son. the Holy Spirit moves upon men to turn them to Christ. When men respond they are saved.
But there is coming a day of wrath. The offer of salvation will be withdrawn. Sin and lawlessness will run rampant, unhindered. This is when the two witnesses make their appearance. These two righteous prophets will stand out like a sore thumb in all this wickedness. And at their death the whole world will celebrate, sending "gifts one to another."
But this is still the day of grace. God yet offers His gift -- "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). He offers it to you. I say, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift;" how about you?
Won't you receive Christ as your Saviour? That's what you do with a gift, you know. You receive it. That's what God wants you to do with the gift of His Son. Receive Him. Believe in Him. When you do, you have everlasting life and shall never come into condemnation, the evil day will never overtake you.
(If you want to know more of the story of the two witnesses, read Revelation 11:11-13.)
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THE KING'S GIFTS
Bring Him thy precious things
And lay them at His feet;
The gold of love, the hope that springs
The unknown ways to meet.
Bring Him thy lovely things;
The joy that conquers care,
The faith that trusts and sings,
The frankincense of prayer.
Bring Him thy bitter things;
The myrrh of grief and fears,
The aching heart that stings
With pain of unshed tears.
These for thy gifts to Him;
And for His gifts to thee,
The comfort of His steadfast love,
His tender sympathy.
-- Annie Johnson Flint
FOR CHRIST HAS COME
If Christ had not been born,
Hearts burdened and forlorn
Must seek in vain
Peace to attain,
If Christ had not been born.
If to the Bethlehem home,
The Christ-child had not come,
Hearts now agleam
With love would seem
But drear, had not Christ come.
But now both hope and cheer,
God gives for every year;
To seeking hearts
His grace imparts
His love, for Christ has come.
-- Fred Scott Shephard
From "3000 Illustrations For Christian Service" by Walter B. Knight.
Used by permission of Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, MI.
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CONTRARY WINDS
By Ralph H. Stoll, D.D.
WE ARE LIVING in an hour of almost universal discouragement which is not confined to the great unsaved world, but has invaded our Christian ranks and sent many of the Lord's people into defeat. But in the Gospels we have a record of events which transpired in the life of our Lord and His disciples which the Holy Spirit has written for our learning and comfort. One of these is in Matthew 14:22-27, 33, which we shall study.
And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Matthew 14:22-27,33
FIRST, the presence of a contrary wind is no proof that we are out of the will of God.
It was not a case of these disciples sitting down and formulating their own plans and saying, "Let us get into a ship and go to the other side." Peter said on one occasion, "I go a fishing." He went, but caught nothing. That's the result of formulating plans and not taking the Lord into consideration. But these disciples were under divine constraint. It was in the center of the Saviour's will that they came face to face with contrary winds.
When we turn the pages of our Bible we find that many of God's people, moving in the center of His will, came face to face with contrary winds. Daniel in the lion's den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace were in the will of God, yet that meant for them contrary winds.
But many of God's people are facing contrary winds because they have been disobedient to the revealed will of God. Jonah was commissioned of the Lord to go and preach to the wicked city of Nineveh. He found a boat waiting to take him away from the divine call. When a child of God wishes to get out of the will of God, Satan will make the circumstances favorable. While Jonah was out at sea the storm broke and he faced a contrary wind. But it was a wind that was brought on by his own disobedience to the revealed will of God. He was thrown overboard and swallowed by the great fish. He described it as an experience in which he was in a prison house with bars about him and weeds wrapped about his head. While in that condition he cried out, "Salvation is of the Lord."
Mr. Spurgeon said, "Jonah learned that line of good theology in a strange seminary." Possibly it would be a good thing if all preachers could go to a seminary like that and learn that salvation is of the Lord.
Jonah would never have experienced that contrary wind if he had been obedient to the will of God. God made His will clear to Jonah and he disobeyed it.
Our Lord made His will clear to His disciples and they obeyed it. In the case of Jonah it was a contrary wind because of his disobedience; but in the case of these disciples it was a contrary wind in the center of the Saviour's will.
Satan operates in the realm of the unsaved to keep them ignorant of the way of God. He operates in the realm of the saved to keep them
ignorant of the will of God.
SECOND, the seeming lack of progress is no proof that we are out of the will of God.
Our Lord constrained these disciples to get into a ship and go to the other side. While they were in the midst of the sea, the wind became contrary and it was impossible for them to make much progress in reaching the other side. Their responsibility was to keep the boat headed in the right direction.
What a precious lesson that is for Christian workers! Often times we are discouraged because of lack of progress in the Lord's work. But we read, "The husbandman must labor before partaking of the fruits" (II Timothy 2:6, margin). Many of us would like to partake of the fruits without the labor. "No sweat, no sweet; no mill, no meal; no loss, no gain; no cross, no crown."
In the Lord's service we must always bear in mind that the seeming lack of progress is no proof that we are out of the will of God. Our responsibility is to see that we keep the boat headed in the right direction. If we are preaching the Word, if we are living the life, if we are true to God, if we have a clear conscience and a pure heart, we may rest assured that the results will be according to His holy will.
THIRD, these disciples experienced discomfort, but they wee not in danger.
Since Satan is the prince of the power of the air, we might be right in concluding that this was a satanic attempt to bring these disciples to a watery grave. Our Lord knew all about this before He sent them out to sea. They were not in danger. The center of God's will is the safety zone for the child of God.
That's what our Lord said would occur to His children, "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). And I believe that also means the prince of the power of the air. "The Lord has not promised us smooth sailing, but safe landing."
FOURTH, after our Lord had constrained them to get into the ship, He went up into the mountain apart to pray.
He went to pray for His storm-tossed disciples; He knew what they were facing. That is a beautiful picture of what our Lord is doing for us. Is it not a blessed thought that as we sail the sea of life, there is One "who ever liveth to make intercession for us?" He knows all about our trials and tests. He has been down here and has passed through all the experiences and vicissitudes of life. He is a "great high priest who can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities."
Our Lord is the only person who ever had choice as to the place of His birth. Instead of choosing a palatial home He deliberately chose to be born in poverty and shame. He is the only one who ever had choice as to who His mother should be. He deliberately chose a Jewess, so poor that she had to bring turtle doves for an offering. He could go through this life and say, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20).
When He came into this world it was through a borrowed womb. When He went out of this world it was in a borrowed tomb. And between the two He was the prince of paupers. He was misrepresented and misjudged.
Why did He go through all these experiences? So that He could become to us a merciful High Priest. The heart that bled on the cross to save us is beating on the throne to sympathize with us. And while He is up there and we are down here, is it not a comfort to know that His hands are lifted in holy intercession for His own?
Our Lord said to Peter, "Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:31,32). Our Lord did not pray that Peter wouldn't go into Satan's sieve, but He prayed that his faith wouldn't fail. Our Lord doesn't pray that we might be exempt from trials and tests; but He does pray that our faith will never fail.
FIFTH, He came to these disciples just when they needed Him most.
The Holy spirit states when He came -- in the fourth watch. That's not put in here accidentally. There's a purpose in it. The first watch was from 6:00 to 9:00 at night, the second from 9:00 to 12:00, the third from 12:00 to 3:00, and the fourth from 3:00 to 6:00. He therefore came at the darkest hour -- He came when they needed Him most.
Why did He wait until the fourth? Here you have a beautiful illustration of love's delays. We're such impatient creatures that it's hard for us to believe that Deity can afford to wait.
When Lazarus was ill his sisters dispatched word to the Son of God that the one He loved was sick. He didn't drop what He was doing and go to Lazarus' side. No, he waited until Lazarus died; then He appeared on the scene.
When He arrived, Martha said, "If thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." Our Lord said to her, "I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" (John 11:21,25,26). Martha said, "Oh yes, I know he is going to live again." But he said, "I am the resurrection."
We have a way of writing our blessings in the future instead of remembering that He is not only the same yesterday, and tomorrow, but also today. The God of eternity is the God of the hour.
Our Lord stated that He was the resurrection and the life," and demonstrated it by saying, "Lazarus come forth." If our Lord loved Mary and Martha, why didn't He come immediately?"
Suppose He had reached the bedside of Lazarus when he was still alive, placed His hand of healing upon him or spoken a word of healing, the enemies of our Lord might have said, "He probably would have recovered anyhow." But our Lord waited until death set in, in order that He might prove that He was greater than death. Deity can afford to wait; we humans fear to wait.
In the hour that was darkest and when the winds were blowing hardest, our Lord appeared. Our deliverances are timed by a wisdom that never errs. Don't place an interrogation mark over His heart of love. He knows what's best for you.
SIXTH, He came supernaturally, "walking on the water."
We have a supernatural Christ. He can still make the troubled sea of life a velvet carpet for His stately steps.
Maybe you have prayed long and you have said to yourself, "I don't see how deliverance can come." Remember where we cannot see, He's able to act.
Evidently the disciples were much discouraged, for He said to them, "Be of good cheer." And then He reminded them of His own presence. "It is I; be not afraid" (Matthew 14:27).
Beloved, we have a Saviour who is sufficient for everything. If we give up everything for Christ, we find everything in Christ.
Since our Lord loved these disciples, why did He constrain them to get into the ship and go to the other side? We are always asking why. Have you ever noticed that only once in the life of our blessed Lord did He ever ask why? He never asked why He was born in poverty, misunderstood and misrepresented. On the Cross he cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" We may make the same cry, but we have no right to because He has said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." He was forsaken of God that we might never be forsaken.
Why did the Lord send them out to sea? He knew they were going to experience contrary winds, and have great difficulty in getting to the other side. He knew their faith was going to be sorely tested, and they would be grasped by fear. I think we have in the story a divine answer.
As this event comes to a close we find these disciples in the attitude of worshipers. "Then they that were in the ship came and worshiped him" (v.33). The highest function of a redeemed soul is worship, not service. There is danger that in these days of hurry and hustle many of us are so busy serving we don't take time to worship. Is it possible that the good, will become an enemy of the best? I am not minimizing Christian service, but God is seeking worshipers. The experience through which these disciples passed brought them to their knees in the attitude of worship.
LASTLY, while in the attitude of worship they made a confession, "Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
I may be wrong in my conclusion, but I have wondered if these disciples had some question concerning the deity of the Lord. They had passed through many trials and tests. Probably there were moments in their experiences when they thought, "Is He really the Son of God?" But as a result of this experience they cried, "Of a truth thou art the Son of God."
Beloved, we'll never come to know Him by always sailing a smooth sea. In order to know Him we must go out to sea. Paul says, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10). We will never know Him in His fullness if the sea of life is always calm and if the skies above us are always bright. Since it is the desire of His heart that we should know Him in all His fullness, He constrains us to get into the ship and allows us to face the contrary winds of life that He may prove again that He is all He said He is.
"The wind was contrary."
(Dr. Stoll pastors the Calvary Independent Baptist Church of Altoona, PA.)
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WOULD YOU BE HAPPY IN HEAVEN?
NO DOUBT YOU want to go to heaven some day. Most people do. But have you ever considered this question: Would You Be Happy In Heaven?
As a rule a person is happy with people he likes, doing the things he likes. The man who likes to play golf will be found on his day off on the golf course with golfing friends. The woman who likes to play bridge will be found on a not-too-busy afternoon seated at a bridge table with bridge-loving friends. Yes, people are generally found where they like to be, doing what they like to do, with people they like.
Let's apply this to the question: Would You Be Happy In Heaven? What would make for your happiness there? Well, you would be happy if your kind of people were there. But what kind of people populate heaven? The Bible speaks clearly. In one sentence it tells who will not and who will be in heaven. "And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither he that worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but (only) they which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27 -- marginal reading).
Who is this Lamb? He is none other than the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" -- the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is this "book of life?" It is the book in which are recorded the names of all the people who believe in Jesus. Who then populates heaven? Jesus Christ is there, and all those who believe in Him and love Him will be there.
What will they be doing in Heaven? They will be occupied primarily with worshipping and adoring Him who was slain for them. Their song shall be: "Thou are worthy . . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." "I heard a great voice of much people in Heaven," relates John the revelator, "saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God . . . Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him . . . " (Revelation 5:9; 19:1,6,7).
Would you be happy with these people, doing what they are doing? Are you happy in such company now? If you do not love the Saviour now, nor like to be with His people here, what makes you think you would love Him then, or be happy with those who find their greatest pleasure in singing praises to Him?
If on the other hand you do love and worship Christ now and love to be with His people, you will indeed be happy to join in the "alleluias" of that glad day.
You must decide where you stand with relationship to this question. And you must be honest with yourself. If you find you would not be happy in heaven, it is not too late to switch your allegiance from the company of the damned to the company of the blessed. You may yet come to love Christ.
The Bible makes it clear that you will love Him when you know Him; and will know Him when you believe in Him. To believe in Him means not merely to give mental assent to His existence and work, but to trust in Him, rely upon Him, receive Him as your own personal Saviour (John 1:12). It means you believe that when He died on the cross He died for your sins (I Corinthians 15:3), that when He arose from the grave He arose to declare you righteous (Romans 4:25), that when He ascended to the Father's right hand He ascended to appear before the Father on your behalf (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24).
When Christ thus becomes yours, you have joined the ranks of those who know assuredly they WILL be happy in heaven. Jesus Christ makes all the difference, "whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls" (I Peter 1:8,9). "And all that believed were together . . . praising God" (Acts 2:44,47).
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SERMON SERIES
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER
No. 28
JUDGMENT
believer's & non-believer's
I Peter 4:17-19
For the time is come that Judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
SOME MAY think it inconsistent of God to allow His own children to suffer affliction while at the same time many who are very obviously ungodly seem to have smooth sailing through life with abundance of everything and very little misfortune.
Is God unfair in His dealings with His creatures? Is He being unkind to those who profess to know and love Him when He lets them undergo hard times? Is He being overly indulgent with the ungodly when He permits them to enjoy prosperity and good health?
Our present text helps us see that God is certainly not inconsistent in His dealings, but is in fact just and righteous.
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (17).
Ezekiel took a prophetic look into the future, from his vantage point in 594 B.C., and among the things he saw and prophesied was the fact that judgment was coming and that it was to begin at the Sanctuary of the Lord.
Peter, speaking in the same vein, says, "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." What is this "house of God?" In chapter two, verse five, of First Peter we read: "Ye also (referring to all believers in Christ Jesus), as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house." Born-again Christians then constitute the "house of God."
The "judgment" that is administered here is such as would be administered in any household. When the children misbehave, the father of the home chastens with the rod. God in a similar manner deals with His children.
In the case of those to whom Peter wrote, the "rod" God used to discipline them was their own countrymen. They were undergoing persecution from their former friends and neighbors.
For Israel, some 700 years before Christ, it was another type of "rod." Isaiah reports God as saying of the nation of Assyria, "O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger . . . I will send him against an hypocritical nation." God used the foreign military nation, Assyria, as a chastening "rod" upon His disobedient people.
God may use your own friends and acquaintances to chasten you or even strangers, or He may use something else. He may use ill health or bereavement or financial reverses. But do not forget for one moment, from whatever source, your chastisement is being administered by a loving Father, and it is for your good and not harm. It is for your learning and betterment.
"My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby" (Hebrews 12:5,6,11).
Since judgment thus begins with us who are believers, the question may rightly be asked: "what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
The thing that distinguishes a believer from a non-believer is that the believer has obeyed the gospel of God and the non-believer has not obeyed the gospel of God. The gospel is simply this: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day (for our justification) according to the scriptures." To believe this is to obey the gospel; to disbelieve, is to "obey not the gospel of God."
But "what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?" What was the end of the Assyrians who overpowered Israel? We know they were non-believers in the living and true God. And although God used them to chasten His people Israel, they had to answer for their sin of unbelief. God said He would (and He did) "consume" them, "both soul and body." Whom should we fear? "Fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
They are not to be envied. The Psalmist was at first envious of the prosperity of the wicked, that is, until he considered "their end." "Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou castedst them down into destruction . . . (they are) brought into desolation, as in a moment." Their way may seem right to them, for "there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." "For the wages of sin is death."
Eternal destruction and desolation, a living death, lies at the end of the road for all "them that obey not the gospel of God." Judgment for the believer is a rod which only draws us closer to our Father; for the non-believer it is a sickle which severs the sinner from God and His grace forever.
"And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" (18).
The Greek word translated "scarcely" means "hardly" or "with difficulty." The "righteous," that is, those who have obeyed the gospel of God, are saved, but it is "with difficulty." Our Lord forewarned us: "In the world ye shall have tribulation." Paul reminds us: "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
The same Greek word is used in the account of Paul's memorable boat ride to Rome. "And when we had sailed slowly many days, and scarce (i.e. with difficulty) were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone; and hardly (i.e. with difficulty) passing it, came unto ap lace which is called The Fair Havens . . . We had much work (i.e. with difficulty) to come by the boat."
Do you see the picture? We as God's children are out on life's sea. It is "with difficulty" that we travel ahead. Winds of adversity slow us down. Waves of trouble beat against our frail bark, trying to submerge us. Obstacles stand in our way. But God's message to us is: "Be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, who believe. Indeed it IS "with difficulty" that we are saved, but we ARE saved. We shall with certainty teach "The Fair Haven."
But if we who are saved, are saved only with difficulty, "where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
These are the people who "obey not the gospel of God." These names describe how they live. They are divided into two types. The "ungodly" is the man who does not like to give God a place in his life, though he may live a moral life. The "sinner" is the man who lives openly and unrestrainedly in all kinds of sin. They may be called the moral man and the immoral man. But both are in the same boat.
In Romans, chapters one and two, they are described. The immoral man is "filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness . . . envy, murder, debate, deceit, maglignity," and a host of other things of like nature. The moral man stands back and with a self-righteous air judges the immoral man's actions, but in so doing condemns himself, "for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same thing."
But we want the answer to the question: "where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" We have it in Romans: "but unto them that . . . do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteous -- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish . . . of the Jew first (typical of the moral man), and also of the Gentile (the immoral)."
John, the revelator, tells us in no uncertain terms where they shall appear. "And I saw a great white throne," says he, "and I saw the dead (who died out of Christ), small and great (moral and immoral), stand before God . . . and the dead were judged . . . and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Our momentary suffering may be grievous to us now, but we have the assurance we are saved and that means our suffering will end with the start of eternity. Not so with the non-believer who lives his life in sin and without regard to God's will. His suffering has just begun when eternity sets in.
If you have only this prospect before you, turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, "who of God is made unto . . . righteousness." "Now the righteousness of God . . . is manifested . . . even the righteousness of God which is by faith of (or in) Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe."
"Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (19).
Believers do suffer. They suffer from all kinds of things, persecution, sickness, etc. But if they are living in the will of God they are suffering "according to the will of God." Non-believers will suffer for eternity (whether they suffer now or not), their suffering resulting from their disbelief in Christ, but, note, they will suffer contrary to God's will. God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Thus if you wake up in the lake of fire someday, it was your own will that put you there. God's will was that you be saved.
If on the other hand you are saved and suffering "according to the will of God," there is one thing you can do, "commit the keeping of (your) soul to him."
The word "commit" carries the idea of making a deposit, much like depositing money in the bank. We are to deposit our souls to the keeping of our "faithful Creator." We need never fear for the safety of this deposit. Though all else fails, though heaven and earth should pass away, God is faithful and any soul committed unto Him is in safe keeping.
Paul exclaimed: "I . . . suffer (many) things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed (deposited) unto him against that day."
We may be as thoroughly convinced, for He who kept Paul's deposit, is keeping ours also. Worms may eventually eat our bodies and in the mean time we may suffer many things, but we may be sure our souls are in good hands, and for that matter our bodies too. He who formed us in our mother's womb and created us new in Christ Jesus, will one day clothe our souls with a new, pain-free, spiritual body, one like His own, in which to enjoy eternity.
There is a definite and practical way in which we may make our deposit. "In well doing." We have a progression in our text. First we obey the gospel by believing in Christ as Saviour, at which time we are taken into the household of God and declared righteous, and from there we commence to live in accord with our position, which results in "well doing," or "doing good." Our "doing good" evidences the fact they we have believed and are of God's household, and is in reality a deposit in the bank of heaven. Thus Jesus exhorts: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."
Judgment comes to all -- the believer and the non-believer. But the results are very different. It comes to the believer for his betterment; to the non-believer for his worsement. It is far better to suffer God's chastening and restraint now and share His glory forever, than to be free from His chastening and restraint only to suffer His wrath for eternity.
The choice is yours which it will be for you.
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