Month: February 2022

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… [15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12, 15) 

            The last themes of Revelation are the final states of the righteous and the wicked. After thousands of years of man’s existence, a time will come when his eternal future will be unalterably fixed. Revelation chapter 20 concerns the judgment of the wicked. This is known as the Great White Throne Judgment. This judgment is for people that have never trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour and received His perfect righteousness for their justification with God.

            This judgment takes place in God’s courtroom, but the operations of God’s court are somewhat different from ours. In our courts, the outcome is at first undetermined because the accused is presumed innocent until he can be proven guilty. At this judgment bar, every person is guilty. There is no presumption of innocence; there is no evidence presented for acquittal because none exists. God’s judgment is based on perfect righteousness. However, when the books are opened there are no records of righteousness. This is beyond argument because God’s word already declared, “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:2-3).

            Wouldn’t it be to your great advantage if you could see the books ahead of time and learn what they contain? The entries are your sins, which are transgressions of God’s law. There are many things in the books that you might not be aware of, but there are plenty that you do know if you will just think about them and be honest with yourself. Truly, honesty is one of your greatest problems. The Bible says that all people are liars. Surely you know there are multiple instances of lies on your account.

Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word or were you in any way irreverent with the use of His name? No doubt that list is quite long as well. Did you ever miss a day at church because your priorities were higher than God’s? There are many Sundays in your life. How many of those did you use for self instead of Him? The list of occasions of idolatry are too numerous to count.

What about lust? Jesus said if a man looks at a woman to lust after her, he has already committed adultery in his heart (the reverse is also true for women). God has a record of all those times. Do we need to go on and cover all the commandments to show you are guilty of breaking them all and breaking them multiple times? Now you know what God will check when He pulls up your account.

            Since I don’t have much space and this is a huge topic, let me just mention the gravest sin of all. Did you notice in both Revelation 20:12 and 20:15 the mention of the book of life? Every person judged at the Great White Throne is missing from the book of life. The book of life is a book of righteousness. It is a book that contains the names of all that have been given the righteousness God requires. This is the righteousness of faith which is transferred directly to you from the merits of the perfect life of Christ. This is given to those that repent of their sins and trust Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Those that do not are guilty of the gravest sin of all—the rejection of the perfect sacrifice for sin. The gravest sin of all is to trample the precious blood of Christ under your feet and despise the grace of God.

            Are you in the book of life? I have some good news for you—you can know this ahead of time. Have you repented of your sins and do you trust Jesus Christ and only Him as your perfect righteousness? If so, your name is there. You do not need to fear the Great White Throne Judgment because you will not be there. All others—beware!

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

Today, my thoughts bring me to the many troubles Christians experience living in postmodern America. It is not my purpose to argue forms of government but to address a concern that threatens our individual freedoms. Particularly, I speak of the freedom of religion. Our government is pursuing a course of persecution against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. While we are concerned about what government does, we must also be aware the government will never stop the gospel nor the perpetuity of the church.         

More concerning is the way Christians treat the church. Recently, I read an excellent article by Stephen Kneale that speaks volumes to Christians who protest what the government does to the church when they themselves are guilty of not doing much better. Read carefully and consider…

”Jesus words to Saul/Paul in Acts 9, and repeated in Acts 22 and Acts 26, are evidently important because Luke records them three times. Paul is blinded by a bright light and he hears a voice. Jesus identifies himself and asks, ‘why are you persecuting me?’

Whatever else we may want to say about this, it carries at least one major implication. Saul was not arresting the person of Jesus; he was busy rounding up Jesus’ followers and bringing them back to Jerusalem for punishment. As far as Saul was concerned, Jesus was out of the picture altogether. As far as Jesus was concerned, Saul’s persecution of Jesus’ followers was Saul persecuting Jesus himself. By his union with his people, attacking Jesus’ people is attacking Jesus.

This link is well attested. Most want to apply it to those who from outside wish to persecute the church. That is certainly a legitimate application, but it is not, I want to suggest, the primary implication for the church. It is true that those who attack the church are attacking Christ and the church may take comfort in that. But the broader implication is that whatever anyone does to the church is done to Christ. If Christ is unified to his people, then what one does to his people is what one is doing to Christ. How one treats his people is how one is treating Christ. This is the clear implication of Jesus’ own words in Matthew 25:40.

Jesus’ words to Paul have far wider-reaching ramifications than how Jesus views the persecution of his people. It has clear implications for how the Lord’s people treat one another. It similarly has implications for how the Lord’s people treat the Lord’s stuff.

If we cannot be bothered to get out of bed to get to church on Sunday morning, we are not just failing to bother spending time with God’s people, but we are spurning Christ himself. When we have no interest in serving and caring for the Lord’s people, we are failing to care for the Lord. When we drop the ball on stuff in church and put-upon others, we are spurning the Lord and saying there are other things that take precedence over him.

If Jesus’ words to Saul tell us that those who persecute the church are persecuting Christ, it also tells us that how we treat the church is how we treat Christ. If we never go to church, if we constantly go away for the weekend, if we never serve, if we find anything else to do, these are not just holding the church in low esteem, it is treating Christ lightly and a direct reflection on our views of him.

By contrast, a high view of the church is a high view of Christ. If the church becomes a high priority, Christ is a high priority. Serving the people of the church is a measure of our love for Christ. Serving in the ministries of the church is a measure of our love for Christ. Turning up at weekly worship and engaging with the Lord’s people is a measure of our love for Christ.

Your love for Jesus is seen in your love for the church. It is on this ground that meaningful church discipline is rightly enacted. If treatment of the church is a measure of our love for Christ, treating the church with contempt suggests a level of contempt for Christ. If you hold Christ in contempt, it is hard to credibly keep you in membership of the church. What does your love for the church say about your love for Christ?”

The last question is a great one. Here’s another one—will your love for Christ and his church stand His scrutiny in the last day?

                                                            Pastor V. Mark Smith

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:29-32)

            Today, we return to our study of the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord as we discuss worship and society in the millennial kingdom. We also reach the finale of the kingdom as its form on earth ends with permanent disposal of Satan and all unbelievers who join his last rebellion. Millions, perhaps billions will die, but the end is also the eternal future of a vast number from every nation who through thousands of years have waited for the new heavens and new earth.

Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem for his dedication. When they entered the temple area, a man named Simeon, who was a true believer in Jehovah God, approached them and took Jesus up into his arms. With a powerful message from the Holy Spirit, he proclaimed, “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” This was confirmation of Jesus’ name which means “Jehovah saves.” Jesus is Jehovah, the One who saves.

            How appropriate in the Lord’s Prayer Jesus included a petition that speaks of salvation. In the words, “Thy kingdom come,” we find a wonderful evangelistic message. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, He proclaimed, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). When He instructed the disciples to pray “Thy kingdom come,” He was teaching that prayer should include the request that the gospel would reach those who are lost in sin.

            Every person in the world needs this message because all of us have been born into a kingdom of darkness. Satan who is the god of this world has blinded the hearts of men so that they cannot see the light of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4). In order for people to be saved, they must be told the gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit must open their hearts to understand the good news of salvation. When the Holy Spirit opens the heart through regeneration, at that point a person is capable of expressing faith. This is equivalent to Jesus’ words about seeing the kingdom of God. Thus we see that when Jesus instructed with the words “Thy kingdom come,” He was expressing most vividly the work that He came into the world to do. “Jehovah saves” is His mission. Man is truly blessed when His heart is conquered by the King of all kings and then by faith he is translated from the kingdom of darkness into the glorious light of the kingdom of God.

            This aspect of the kingdom must be proclaimed by those of us who are now in the kingdom of God. In other words, Jesus instructs you to pray for the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20. He intends that you should have a part in helping the kingdom come. Your prayers and your efforts in witnessing are the methods by which the kingdom is increased. If you are not a part of the program to bring in the kingdom of God in this way, then you certainly cannot pray the next petition, “Thy will be done.”

            Your part in the kingdom is not just a future experience. This is surely a part because God promised it would come and be ruled by believers in all ages. Your part of the spiritual kingdom today is to help populate the physical kingdom of tomorrow. The gospel much reach God’s chosen one for no one is saved and enters the kingdom without it. May we all do our part to see the kingdom come!

                                                                        Pastor V. Mark Smith