Be Ever Ready

Who remembers those Eveready cells and batteries which the union Carbide company sold? They had a cartoon cat jumping through the hole in the number nine printed on every one of their products. The implication of that was that the cells and batteries had nine lives and would always be ready for use.

We too are called to be ready for Christ's service. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:2 (Bible in Basic English), "Be preaching the word at all times, in every place; make protests, say sharp words, give comfort, with long waiting and teaching;"

Likewise Isaiah 50:4 (BBE) says, "The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are experienced, so that I may be able to give the word a special sense for the feeble: every morning my ear is open to his teaching, like those who are experienced:

As Christians, we want to do the works of God. What is that work? Jesus told fickle followers in John 6:28 and 29 (BBE) how to do that. "Then they said to him, 'How may we do the works of God?' Jesus, answering, said to them, 'This is to do the work of God: to have faith in him whom God has sent.'"

Since we have our trust in Christ, we are confident of his gospel. We don't have the power to speak in each language of those who hear us but we do have the command to share the gospel to all. Acts 2:7-11 (BBE) shows how God wanted all people to hear the good news. "And they were full of wonder and said, 'Are not all these men Galilaeans? And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth? Men of Parthia, Media, and Elam, and those living in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, In Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Jews by birth and others who have become Jews, Men of Crete and Arabia, to all of us they are talking in our different languages, of the great works of God.'"

Furthermore, we show our belief in Christ through our obedience to his will. As 1 Peter 3:15 and 16 (BBE) says, "But give honour to Christ in your hearts as your Lord; and be ready at any time when you are questioned about the hope which is in you, to give an answer in the fear of the Lord and without pride; Being conscious that you have done no wrong; so that those who say evil things about your good way of life as Christians may be put to shame."

If Christ hasn't returned by Thursday, I hope to post about the fact that sin always has a cost.

Why Hell is Like a jail

I've written before about the purpose of hell as a quarantine centre for sin. This is because sin is like a communicable disease. But hell has another use, namely as a jail.

We can understand this from Hebrews 9:27 (BBE) which says, "And because by God's law death comes to men once, and after that they are judged;" Therefore those who die are sent to hell until the day of judgement.

God has arranged a future mass-trial of sinners which we call the Judgement Day. John tells us in Revelation 20:11 and 12 (BBE), "And I saw a great white seat, and him who was seated on it, before whose face the earth and the heaven went in flight; and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, taking their places before the high seat; and the books were open, and another book was open, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by the things which were in the books, even by their works."

This begs the question of what these works are. I believe the answer is found in John 6:28 and 29 (BBE). "Then they said to him, (Jesus) 'How may we do the works of God?' Jesus, answering, said to them, 'This is to do the work of God: to have faith in him whom God has sent."

Obedience to God's command to believe is what saves people from eternal punishment. In fact, the gospel itself is a command. As we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and 8 BBE), "And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven with the angels of his power in flames of fire, To give punishment to those who have no knowledge of God, and to those who do not give ear to the good news of our Lord Jesus:"

God himself gave approval of his son. When Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John to see his glory, Matthew 17:5 and 6 (BBE) reports, "While he was still talking, a bright cloud came over them: and a voice out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my dearly loved Son, with whom I am well pleased; give ear to him'".

Is it any wonder then that God takes the dismissive or rebellious attitude of sinners toward Christ as a gross offense? I plan on emphasizing the importance of obeying the gospel in my next book, You Think You're Going to Heaven? What we do in respect to Christ is the factor which determines our eternal destiny.

On Saturday, I hope to post about a song referencing Christ's crucifixion.