Dear Brothers and Sisters,
THE WORD -
JOH 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
JOH 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
JOH 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear his voice,
JOH 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
JOH 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me.
ACT 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
1CO 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to
devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
1CO 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be
partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
2CO 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
JAM 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
JAM 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without
thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
JAM 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe,
and tremble.
JAM 2:20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
REV 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake
of fire.
The Message -
This month I would like to challenge each of you with some very important questions, and I
would like you each to search your souls for the answers. My questions:
1) Do you truly believe the Bible when it tells us that faith in, and obedience to, Jesus
Christ alone is the ONLY way to be saved? (John 14:6)
2) Do you truly believe the Bible when it tells us that those that are not saved WILL
spend eternity totally alone and hopeless in excruciating torment in Hell? (John 5:28-29)
(Revelation 20:15) And finally,
3) If you truly believe the foregoing, has it had any effect on your relationships with
your friends and family?
While the exclusitivity of Biblical Christianity/Judaism is one of the primary doctrines
that one must hold to in order to truly be a Christian, we seldom hear it preached in
today's churches. Sadly, many who call themselves by the name of Christ (Christian), both
individuals and churches, have exchanged the true faith for the world's religion of
"tolerance" and the one true God of the Bible for Satan masquerading as and
"Angel of Light." (2 Corinthians 11:14) As since the fall of man, they have
again "exchanged the truth of God for the lie..." (Romans 1:25)
The religion of "Tolerance" teaches that it is not important what you believe,
as long as you do so sincerely. The teachings are that all beliefs/Faiths are equal. Sort
of an ecumenical "I'm okay, you're okay". There is one God (...Even the demons
believe that-- and shudder.- James 2:19), many paths and whichever one you choose is okay
with Him. It says, "I choose to be a Christian and that's right for me, but if you
choose to follow Mohammed or Joseph Smith, you'll be okay too." While this may be
Politically Correct, it is not TRUTH. In fact, the very concept of EQUAL but MUTUALLY
EXCLUSIVE truth is anathema to logic and even more so to sound Biblical Christianity.
In truth, the Bible teaches that only those standing in a right relationship with Jesus
Christ by faith (Born Again), Christians and faithful believing (also by faith) Jews
worship the one true God. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."(John 14:6) All others worship
Satan/Demons as counterfeit gods, as "an Angel of Light" (1 Corinthians
10:20-21). "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
The World's religion of "Tolerance" also teaches that Hell cannot possibly be
real. We are told that if God is truly a God of love He would never send anyone to Hell.
Unless of course you're someone like Hitler or Stalin?
In truth, the Bible teaches that there is indeed a very real Hell. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus
tells us to "fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
Additionally, there are twenty-plus other Biblical references to Hell, mostly by Jesus
himself, as a very real place of separation from God and torment. All those that are in
Hell at the last day will be cast into the Lake of Fire with the Devil, Satan, and the
rest of his servants where they shall be "tormented day and night forever and
ever" (Revelation 20:14 & 20:10). While we may not hear many sermons on Hell and
damnation today, that does not change the Biblically explicit reality of their existence.
In fact, to deny this reality is to call Jesus/God a liar.
That a loving God would never send anyone to Hell is true. God is "not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Sadly, good folks
choose to go to Hell by rejecting God's provision for salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus weeps, but He has given us the freedom to chose our own eternal condition.
Now on to the third and last question. If you truly believe that faith in, and obedience
to, Jesus Christ alone is the ONLY way to be saved, and that those that are not saved WILL
spend eternity totally alone and hopeless in excruciating torment in Hell, has it had any
effect on your relationships with your friends and family?
The World's religion of "Tolerance" teaches that it is morally wrong to
"push your religion on others". To believe that there is only ONE way to be
saved is not only intolerant but is viewed as evil and the worst (and only) sin.
In truth, the Bible teaches that we are to preach the Gospel to all the world (Mark
16:15). Paul tells us in Romans 1:16 that we must be able to say with him, "...I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every
one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.".
In my January letter I presented the following illustration: "If I saw someone
standing in the middle of the road totally unaware that there was a truck bearing down on
them at 50 mph, what would be the truly "Loving" response?" The unsaved are
in eternal mortal danger. The only truly loving response is "Warn the person and take
action even to the point of endangering our own life (relationships). Doing whatever is
needed to rescue them." Amen?
In the words of the great old hymn by Fanny Crosby:
Rescue the perishing
Care for the dying
Jesus is merciful
Jesus will save
James tells us that true faith requires action. Your unsaved friends and family are indeed
perishing and Jesus is the ONLY answer. Don't be afraid to tell them. You can make an
eternal difference.
Until next month, keep on lifting up the Name of Jesus!
God Bless you and yours
In Christ
ChristRing Ministries
The Cyber-Church
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Welcome
to The Pastor's Study. Here you will find our monthly pastoral letters containing
observations and teachings regarding not only doctrinal issues but also social and
philosophical issues of importance to Biblical Christians in today's rapidly changing
world. We will be posting a new letter each month and will be offering the past messages
in the archives linked below. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on these issues also.
Your input is important.