Spiritual Nuggets

To Ponder 052108

46. Peace with God, which occurs at the point of salvation (Rom. 5:1) and because of the blood of Jesus shed on the cross (Col. 1:20) can be lost. Peter wrote:

But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. (2 Pet 3:13,14)

People formerly saved are to make every effort to be found at peace with God. Hence, this is not an automatic guarantee.

47. The darkness of sin (especially hate) blinds the spiritual eyes of a person. The devil also blinds the minds of the unbelievers:

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. (1 John 2:9-11)

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:3, 4)

The remedy for such spiritual blindness is shown here:

I [Jesus] will rescue you [Paul] from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. (Acts 26:17,18)

48. Paul was the greatest example that Christianity ever produced. He shed his blood at least nine different times early in his ministry (2 Cor. 11:23-27) and spent years in prison (Acts 20:23; 24:27; etc.), yet he was still considered rescued by God through all of that:

I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them (Acts 26:17)

Paul also declared, at the end of his life, he had been rescued by the Lord:

persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. (2 Tim 3:11)

49. When Peter wrote his last epistle (2 Peter), he knew he would soon die:

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. (2 Pet 1:13-15)

Even though he knew he would soon die, there was not a shred of sorrow that he served God, went to prison for the cause of Christ, shed his blood, suffered lack, etc. His final written message, inspired by God, included warnings about false teachers and their dangerous false message which was especially bad for new converts. The similarity between 2 Peter 2 and Jude is remarkable showing that Peter was warning people about the grace changers, who taught a license for immorality (Jude 3,4). In our day, these would be the eternal security teachers (or Calvinists). He said they do this for money, as Balaam did.

50. Our Christian labor is prompted by love:

We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 1:3)

Then down just a few verses from there we read:

You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, (1 Thess. 1:6-9)

Those Thessalonians had godly love for their neighbors, expressed by their labor (1:3) of spreading God’s word (1:6-9). They evangelized like the Lord Jesus and his apostles in their area (Macedonia) and a slight distance away (Achaia). This was also a reflection of their faith in God (1:8).

Many in our day want to have great faith for miracles, but few who profess salvation seem to have the faith in God to evangelize like the male and female Thessalonians. (Something is seriously wrong.) Among other ways, that is how they were serving God, since they turned from their idols at the point of salvation. They had true salvation and were commended for their godly love and faith. We should never forget this gauge of true love and true faith when analyzing professing Christians of our day.

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