Degrees of Heaven and Hell in Eternity?

Are there varying degrees of Heaven and Hell?

There’s no biblical evidence that our human spirit will be fundamentally and basically changed after death.  Thus, it’s likely we will be capable of various degrees of satisfaction in eternity, depending upon our capacity for such, since we are capable of different levels of satisfaction in this life.

Eternity happy sad

Whatever you choose by your actions upon this earth, you will deserve the result.

The Bible implies varying levels of reward for the saved.  Jesus’ parable of the 10 minas teaches such (Luke 19:12ff).  He promised to “repay each person according to what he has done” (Matt. 16:27).  “According to” (kata) implies a norm, a standard by which rewards or punishments are given, signifying a proportionately fair dispersal.  Paul knew he would have both joy and glory for converting souls (1 Thess. 2:19-20), yet he also cautioned us to seek true converts over superficial ones because if one’s converts did not endure, he himself would still be saved while also suffering “loss” of the joy and glory of knowing his work of converting those souls would be fruitful for eternity (1 Cor. 3:10ff; cf. Gal. 4:11).  In other words, the more of our converts who endure and finally arrive in heaven, the greater our joy and reward will be.

In like manner, the Bible also implies varying levels of punishment for the condemned.  Cities in Galilee were told it would be “more tolerable” for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom than for them (Matt. 11:20-24; cf. 10:15).  The knowingly disobedient would be punished more than those who were punished because they ignorantly disobeyed (Luke 12:47-48).  Pilate was told that those who had delivered Jesus to him “have the greater sin” (John 19:11), implying a greater punishment.  Willful, unrepentant sinners under the New Covenant would receive a “worse” punishment than unrepentant sinners under the Old Covenant (Heb. 10:26-31).  The “last state” of apostate Christians would be “worse” than it would have been should they had never been converted in the first place (2 Pet. 2:20-22; cf. 1 Pet. 4:17).

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Joash Stay In Your Lane

Joash Stay In Your Lane

When Amaziah, king of Judah, wanted to meet face to face with Joash, king of Israel, he was warned to stay at home and not “meddle” in some thing that would just bring him harm. Good advice from an evil king.

joash busybody

Mind your own business, don’t seek to meddle in what is not your own.

But the King of kings gives us the same advice even today. By inspiration the apostle Paul instructed that Christians should “aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands”) 1 Thessalonians 4:11. When he wrote his second letter to the church at Thessalonica he said, “We hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies” (2 Thessalonians 3:1).

Seems like mankind has always had this problem. WE tell our children all the time that “it’s none of your business” or “ Mind your own business.” However, where do you think they learn to meddle? Let each of us concentrate on our own business. We will be more productive and less apt to bring harm upon ourselves.

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Young People, Difficult Days are Coming

Young People, Difficult Days are Coming

Solomon, the wisest man of the Old Testament, had so much to say to young people about their lives. A quick search of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes shows that he mentions child, children, son, sons, young and youth over 85 times in these books.

Evidently one of the purposes Solomon wrote these books was to give instruction to his children. He uses the expression “my son” 23 times. He wanted his son to live a life filled with wisdom. Take time to think about his closing words to young people found in Ecclesiastes chapter twelve.

Young people

They are certain they have all the answers and wisdom, perhaps its time to turn to the creator.

“Remember now your Creator…” These words presuppose that young people would be taught about God when very young. You cannot remember what you have never learned. God’s plan is for children to learn about Him from infancy (2 Tim. 3:15).

“Remember now your Creator…” There is an urgency in these words. It is foolish to wait to do right. Hearts are open and tender in our early years, so do it now! It’s always right to do right, right now! Failure to do this is so foolish.

“Remember now your Creator…” lt is true that He is the Creator of the entire universe, but this concept can be so impersonal and vague. It is imperative that young people realize He made them, individually and personally.

“Remember now your Creator…” He is the Almighty God, the origin of any reality you know. Paul described this in these words, “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God has shown this so clearly that there is not a single person who cannot know of His majesty and power (Rom. 1:19-20).

“Remember…before the difficult days come…” One cannot be wise and not make preparation for what lies ahead. You cannot wait until those days arrive and then deal with them. It is in our youth that we must prepare.

“Remember…before the difficult days come …” There is a strong tendency for young people to live only in the present and fail to look to the future. Solomon speaks of the years when trials will come, and you may be unable to cope with them. Life is not always lived on the mountains of carefree happiness. On the other side of those mountains are valleys of trials.

“Remember…before the difficult days come and… when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.” Very few young people realize that it is in our youth that we set the course for the rest of our lives. There is one decision that we must teach our young people to make. That decision is “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come and years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.’” God help us to seriously think about this! 

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A Disposition of Inward Joy

A Disposition of Inward Joy

It is a truth of life that our disposition is determined more by our inward man than by our exterior circumstances.

Consider two friends, working at the same job, facing the same difficulties, and yet approaching them very differently.

“I can’t see things ever getting better,” says the first, “I’m getting older, my health is getting worse; there is hardly enough money to pay the bills, and I find no joy in life.”

“Things are great and getting better,” says the second, “Life is wonderful.”

“How can you say such a thing,” asks the first, “You are no healthier than I, no wealthier than I, and you face many of the same difficulties I do.”

“My outward man is dying, it is true, but my inward man is being renewed daily. My bank account is empty, but I have treasures laid up in heaven. And the difficulties are nothing compared to the joy that awaits me in heaven (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16; Matthew 6:19-20; Romans 8:18).”

inward joy

Your Joy will not be found in the earthly accomplishment.

Attitude is everything when dealing with life, and God makes it possible to have a great attitude. Not a naïvely unreasonable attitude, but rather an optimistic hope based in the firm promises of God.

One of the great examples of this, oft cited, is that of the men, Paul and Silas, who, having been arrested for preaching the gospel, subsequently beaten soundly, and then locked, injured and wounded, in stocks in the bottom of a dungeon, spent the next few hours singing songs and offering praise to God (Acts 16:25). Their outward circumstances were as sad, tragic and deplorable as could be; but their sins were forgiven and they had been freed in Christ, and thus had joy in their hearts sufficient as to sing.

These two saints were just following the example of Christ, who, having been beaten, tortured, stripped naked, and nailed to a cross, was able to say, in the midst of pain, “Father, forgive them(Luke 23:34).” Though His outward circumstances were horrific, Jesus was able to commend Himself to God, and had the firm and true hope that He would soon be once more in paradise (cf. Luke 23:43, 46).

In Christ, it is possible to have an attitude sufficient so as to weather any storm, or face any trial, and do so with joy, hope, and love.

Such a feat requires, it is true, a good reworking of the inward man, but that is what Christ truly wants to give to us. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” says the Bible (Romans 12:2). Let God renew that inward man on a daily basis (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:16). Learn to think on those things good, lovely and noble (cf. Philippians 4:8).

Unfortunately, many seek only a superficial sort of religion that consists of little more than outward show. Of such was the religion of the Pharisees which Jesus condemned, likening them to white-washed tombs, that, while they looked rather clean and lovely on the outside, were filled with rot and decay (cf. Matthew 23:27). Such a religion is worthless for overcoming the trials of life, and sadly, in such a religion, there is no true hope. If the inward man is dead, the trials of life will too often prove superior to our faith and joy. We will find ourselves feeling bleak and lost. If the inward man is dead, then we truly are lost, and eternity will be bleak.

If you want the full blessings of Christ (cf. Ephesians 1:3) then you must allow Him to work on changing you inwardly, replacing the worldly with the spiritual, the sinful with the righteous, and the temporary with the eternal. Such change begins with faith and repentance, a forgiveness of sins in the waters of baptism, and a new life in Christ. But as we walk with Christ, through our obedience to His word, we allow Him to continue to work on us inwardly.

Such a process is well worth it, producing as it does, joy eternal, peace that passes understanding, and an overflow of love within and without us. With such gifts, we can weather any trial, and come out as victors (cf. Romans 8:35-37).

 

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Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy and the practice of it. Nobody likes it. You don’t like it. I don’t like it. Jesus didn’t like it (Matt. 6:1-24, 23:11-33). Even those who practice it must not really like it, as they so often seem to be some of the most consistently angry, bitter, and miserable people in the world.

hypocrisy run

Where can you go to avoid hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy itself means to wear a mask, to pretend to be something that one is really not, often in order to personally benefit from the deception. Perhaps you may have heard someone who used to attend church regularly say that they stopped going because of the hypocrites there. The fact is that, yes, sadly, there are indeed hypocrites in the church. There always have been. There were hypocrites in the first century church (Acts 5:1-10; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 3 Jn. 9-10). There were hypocrites among her preachers (Phil. 1:15-17). In fact, we are informed by the Lord that there always will be hypocrites amongst religious leaders (2 Ptr. 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 4:1-5). We are, however, also assured that He will personally deal with all such come judgment day, punishing them ever so severely for their hypocrisy (Matt. 13:41-43, 23:31-36, 24:45-51; Rom. 2:1-11).

Having established these foundational facts regarding hypocrisy, let us now turn our attention to the true focus of today’s article: How can one tell, when those who make the statement that they stopped attending (or never started attending church in the first place) because of all the hypocrites there, if that is the real reason why they do not attend, or if that is just an excuse they are using because they’d rather please and live for themselves, than to obey and live for the Lord? The answer is actually quite simple.

If one is being truly honest and sincere in their statement that the reason they refuse to attend the worship assemblies of the church anymore is because of hypocrites in the church, then they should be just as consistent in their outright rejection of any other venue wherein such hypocrisy is present as well. In other words, they should no longer allow themselves to go shopping for food or anything else – because there are hypocrites in the stores. They will no longer be able to go to work, but should immediately quit their jobs – because there is surely hypocrisy in the work place as well. They will never again attend any sporting event of any kind – because of the hypocrites present there. Neither can they ever attend any family, social, political, or any other event ever again where other people are present either – because wherever you have people, you will inevitably have some level of hypocrisy found present in some.

The only way to legitimately guarantee the absence of hypocrisy, is to avoid all other people at all cost… or is it? You see, when one who professes to either love, follow, or even believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God, suddenly decides to disobey His commandment NOT to forsake the assembly of the church for which He was willing to pour out His very life’s blood (see: Hebs. 10:19-39), are they not still, by sitting home alone, completely and totally surrounded and overwhelmed by the sin of their own hypocrisy? Consider for a moment: To follow Jesus is to obey His commands (Jn. 14:15-21). To obey His commands is to NOT forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:23-25). Therefore, is it not the absolute height of hypocrisy for one who claims to know andfollow Jesus, to yet disobey Him by forsaking the assembly of His church? Scripture certainly seems to so say.

So what is the answer then? How do we properly deal with and avoid the ever-present sin of hypocrisy in the assembly – or anywhere else for that matter? The answer is incredibly simple: Let us do exactly what Jesus did. (WWJD?) First off, He certainly did not stop associating with Peter, James, John and the rest of the apostles, simply because one of their number – Judas – was a complete and total hypocrite. And make no mistake about it, Jesus knew that about Judas from the very beginning. He knew that Judas was both a “devil” (Jn. 6:70), and a “thief” (Jn. 12:4-6), and that he was simply posing as a faithful disciple for whatever personal gain he might possibly be able to get out of it. In fact, so incredibly convincing was Judas in his hypocrisy, that even after three and a half years of very close, intimate, social and spiritual interaction with and amongst Jesus’ closest disciples, none of his peers ever even suspected what an incredibly fake, false, self-serving and hypocritical tool of Satan he truly was (Mk. 14:17-19; Jn. 13:18-30).

Secondly and most importantly however, is precisely how Jesus did deal with Judas’ hypocrisy instead (as He set the perfect example for how we should go about dealing with the ever-present sin of hypocrisy within the groups we frequent as well – and particularly when it comes to our assembling with the saints). Jesus never abandoned assembling with them, but instead, determined to be there and teach by both word, deed, and especially His example, exactly what a life completely devoid of hypocrisy truly looks like so that others could see and emulate it. That is what those who truly want to avoid hypocrisy in the church will do; while those who are simply using the hypocrisy of others as an excuse to avoid assembling with and serving them, will simply and sinfully continue to sit at home, completely submerged in their own self-imposed style thereof.

Which are you? We’ll see on Sunday…

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