Spiritual Nuggets
To Ponder 030908
21. If you wanted to convince someone to avoid hell at all costs and at any extreme, how would you do it? Would such even be a legitimate teaching? Jesus certainly thought so and this is how he conveyed that point:
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:43-48)
Ponder this: How much money would you give for your hand or your foot or your eye? How about all three? By teaching as he did, the Lord Jesus was describing how horrible hell is and how you must avoid sinning. Such is a salvation issue, according to his teaching.
NOTE: Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the same sins that were dragging you to hell before getting born again, won’t drag you to hell after getting born again, like the Calvinists teach.
Finally, the context of Mk. 9:43-48 is Jesus speaking to his own disciples and giving them that most stirring hell warning. Such implies it is still possible for a Christian to go astray and end up in hell. Don’t be deceived by an eternal security teacher. See Eph. 5:5-7; Rev. 21:8; etc.
22. Three basic characteristics of unsaved people: They are (1) Slaves to sin (John 8:34), (2) Afraid to die (Heb. 2:14,15) and have (3) No rest for their soul (Mt. 11:29).
23. Esau when tested thought only of the present and not the future or how sacred his birthright was. He took the path of least resistance. That’s why some people, like rivers, run crooked! Esau made a terrible mistake that he later deeply regretted. See Gen. 25:29-34 cf. Heb. 12:16.
24. Christians in first-century Christianity were called followers of the way (Acts 22:4) who belonged to the way (Acts 9:2). Jesus said of himself that he was the way (John 14:6) and Christianity was also known as the way (Acts 19:9).
In contrast, the demonized fortuneteller said that Paul and Silas were declaring a way of salvation (Acts 16:17, Greek). Sometimes the devil wants us to think Jesus is just one of the ways and not the only way to the Father.
[**Please don’t confuse these facts with the present-day group which calls itself The Way International. That group is not Scripturally sound, even though they refer to themselves as, The Way.]
25. Why did Jesus die for you? Titus 2:14 says:
[Jesus Christ] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Are you eager to do what is good?
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