1Jo 3:20 — 1Jo 3:21 (KJV)
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
So here, John is basically referring to putting our love for brethren in action (v,. 17,18). James echoes the same sentiments in James 2:15, 16 (KJV)
"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
Truly, even as we profess the name of Christ, as much shall we love our fellow brethren even as Christ laid down his life for us!
So the "heart" here is really about our conscience. Why is our conscience pricked (heart condemns) when we do not do what we are supposed to? Even if no one knows what's going on? Because God knows! Well did Jeremiah say in Jeremiah 23:24 (KJV)
"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord."
But if we put our full confidence in God and His Word, we will truly and fully obey Him and that's when our conscience is truly clear.
The key then is to keep our hearts tender and sensitive to God's admonishments, and far be it for our conscience to be seared and be calloused and unfeeling (1Ti 4:2).
Friday, April 3, 2020
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Reserved unto Judgment
2 Peter 2:4 (KJV)
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
With one of the most dramatic expression, this verse is almost like a passage ripped out of a dark fantasy novel!
Yet the message is as true as our salvation.
Not much is said of angels in the bible though it seems they served as special servants to God (c.f. Heb 1:14). One thing for sure is their existence and there are many of them (Heb 12:22)! We even know of 3 by name - Gabriel (Luk 1:19) , Michael (Jud 1:9) and Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev 9:11). (btw, Satan is the English transliteration for the Hebrew word, adversary)
And here, we are told that they too are beings which have free will and indeed can sin and face judgment just like man.
The word "hell" here is actually tataroo in Greek. It is the only place found in the bible. The fact that it is a place where the angels who have sinned are "reserved" for judgment, tells us that it is differentiated from geena (the place of eternal torment Rev 20:13,14).
This is likely the same place that the rich man found himself in as we read the account in Luk 16:19-31.
The rest of the chapter gives us sobering warnings against false teachers and we realise to such belongs the same fate as the sinning angels, if they do not repent. And as we see in the account in Luk 16, it is a fixed state once we pass on. There is no "second chance" once we die. All the chances we have to be right, make right and remain right with God are given in this life. Yes, we have a life time of chances. The catch is, no one knows how long he will live!
Even as the world grapples with COVID-19, it is again a sobering reminder of the frality of life.
Thus it remains once again for us to put our focus on the things above, while we have the opportunity, and not procrastinate like Felix, waiting for a "convenient season" (Act 24:25), because that may never come...
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
With one of the most dramatic expression, this verse is almost like a passage ripped out of a dark fantasy novel!
Yet the message is as true as our salvation.
Not much is said of angels in the bible though it seems they served as special servants to God (c.f. Heb 1:14). One thing for sure is their existence and there are many of them (Heb 12:22)! We even know of 3 by name - Gabriel (Luk 1:19) , Michael (Jud 1:9) and Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev 9:11). (btw, Satan is the English transliteration for the Hebrew word, adversary)
And here, we are told that they too are beings which have free will and indeed can sin and face judgment just like man.
The word "hell" here is actually tataroo in Greek. It is the only place found in the bible. The fact that it is a place where the angels who have sinned are "reserved" for judgment, tells us that it is differentiated from geena (the place of eternal torment Rev 20:13,14).
This is likely the same place that the rich man found himself in as we read the account in Luk 16:19-31.
The rest of the chapter gives us sobering warnings against false teachers and we realise to such belongs the same fate as the sinning angels, if they do not repent. And as we see in the account in Luk 16, it is a fixed state once we pass on. There is no "second chance" once we die. All the chances we have to be right, make right and remain right with God are given in this life. Yes, we have a life time of chances. The catch is, no one knows how long he will live!
Even as the world grapples with COVID-19, it is again a sobering reminder of the frality of life.
Thus it remains once again for us to put our focus on the things above, while we have the opportunity, and not procrastinate like Felix, waiting for a "convenient season" (Act 24:25), because that may never come...
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