Easter Devotional - Day 39

"So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to." Hebrews 2:3-4

Here is the crux of the singularity of the gospel message. What do we do with the gospel of Christ if we do not accept it? There are so many who claim to love God, desire to go to heaven, want to avoid hell, and consider that God is too loving to condemn anyone to eternal punishment. Somehow, they assume that since Jesus is love, we will all get off scot free. In the meantime, what are they doing with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Perhaps the problem is that we have spoke too much of heaven and hell. In the balance, we have ignored the gospel. Let me rephrase that: we have spoken too much of heaven and hell as destinations. Our question has been, "Where will you spend eternity?" Perhaps the question should have been more along the lines of "Where does God figure into your life and its continuation through eternity?"

It is true that the term heaven is used in the Bible as a destination—a location. It is also true the term is often used as a reference to God or being in God's presence. This second sense is theologically the primary one. As a geographical reference, heaven designated being in God's presence, around the throne of heaven. It is to be present with and in fellowship with God Almighty, not kicking back in gold-trimmed hammocks on the crystal shore. And that is just the problem.

We prepare our lives for a destination, but give too little thought about the relationship on which eternity depends. The writer of Hebrews just assumes we understand that salvation is about being in relationship and fellowship with God. He takes for granted that we are seeking an audience with God Most High. That is, after all, the whole point of rescue, redemption, and salvation. It is the very point of becoming the people and therefore the children of God.

If, then, we should ignore Christ Jesus and all he has done to bring us to reconciled fellowship with God, how are we then to join our lives with God for all of eternity? In Romans 8, Paul speaks of Jesus as being the priest, the sacrifice, the intercessor, and the one hearing our case, as well. When god has gone to such lengths to rescue us from ourselves and offer us eternal fellowship, any response other than acceptance of Christ Jesus is a rejection of God. How can we come to God if we have already rejected forgiveness and reconciliation?

Too many are too unprepared for approaching God. We have sold the wrong merchandise and neglected to grasp salvation as a personal relationship with God. The streets may be paved with gold, but if we are not prepared to walk them hand-in-hand with God, we are not prepared to enter the pearly gates. If we are not prepared to live as Christ Jesus demonstrated the gospel before us, heaven will hold no blessing we will be able to enjoy. If we do not fully embrace Christ Jesus, what is the point of escaping an eternity without God?

Make sure that you are preparing for an eternity of fellowship with and service to God.

"Lord, focus my attention and will on serving and loving you above all else."

—©Copyright 2009 Christopher B. Harbin

http://www.sermonsearch.com/contributors/104427/ 
My latest books can be found here on amazon

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Gospel Is Not Conservative

Image
Fundamentalism and conservativism are intrinsically averse to change. They are tied with conserving a status quo or moving back to a former era. They seek a safe place, a respite from change and transformation in the world around them. They are threatened by new ideas. They fear that the foundations on which they base their lives will be uprooted, causing their view of reality to fall apart. Growth depends on change. Life requires change. Survival depends on responding to changes in our environment. It requires new ideas. It requires new answers to old questions, as well as new questions with even newer answers. Jesus was by no means conservative. Jesus challenged the status quo. He fought against the groundwork of much of the religious thought around him, as well as the structures erected to empower its values. He called out those who benefited from social, religious, and political power. He demonstrated God's love, forgiveness and grace to those deemed una...
Read more

God in the Hands of Angry Sinners

Image
Jonathan Edwards’ famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” set a very poor direction for much of Christianity in the Colonies. His Puritan tradition presented God as an essentially angry deity whose desire was to condemn and torture. Grace or mercy existed simply in regard to how long God waited until calling down judgment upon sinners. That is not good news. It never was. Such is not the message of Jesus whom the gospel writers claim as good news. They echo the words of the celestial messengers declaring Jesus’ birth as good news of great joy to all peoples. Rather than look to Jesus as the clearest example of God’s identity, character, and will, that tradition surrounding Edwards began with an altogether different understanding that could not account for what Jesus actually taught. The Puritan perspective began with angry sinners and projected that upon God. Anger begins with fear, uncertainty, discomfort, and the inability to control one’s environment, ot...
Read more

Our Language of Choice

Image
I woke up this morning and decided to be a woman. I really like the idea of earning less money on the job. I like the idea of being passed over for promotions. I like that I will be held more accountable for the care of my home and familial responsibilities than any of the men around me. I’m looking forward to having my expertise ignored. I like that I’ll more likely be treated as a lower-level assistant to male colleagues than an actual colleague. It should be a good experience to live as more of a target for domestic violence and abuse. It will be so freeing to let go of my bodily autonomy and place it in the hands of men who will not understand me. With so many voices in our society shifting back toward the attitudes of 70 years ago, I am really looking forward to setting aside all trappings of male privilege and power to live as a second class citizen whose voice and opinions are essentially irrelevant. Just look at all the advantages women have! They get t...
Read more