LIVING IN LIGHT OF ETERNITY

"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" - 2 Peter 3:11-12

We tend to hold our possessions too tightly.  We act as if we will live forever here on earth.  As a result, we have wrong priorities.

Think about it for a moment.  One hundred years from now, if this world continues on, someone else will either inhabit the house you live in or it will be gone.  Fifty years from now, the property you own will belong to someone else.  Just twenty years from now, your car will probably be demolished and used for scrap metal. 

Ultimately, this world will undergo changes as a result of God's judgment.  The fact of this impending judgment should clear our minds and sharpen our focus.  The Apostle Peter stated it this way, "Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"  Global warming will occur ... and God will cause it to happen.

Realizing that time is running out and judgment is coming, we should consider two things:

1.  THE FUTUILITY OF EARTHLY THINGS

First of all, we need to properly understand the futility of earthly things.  Everything on earth is temporary.  Your career is temporary.  Your fishing boat is temporary.  Your IRA is temporary.  One day it will all go up in smoke.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."  Most humans have not grasped the truth that Paul shared in this verse.  We are so focused on the visible things that eternal matters pass us by.  The visible things, such as buildings, automobiles & expensive toys are all temporal.  One day they will be gone.  Yet we zealously live for these things, failing to recognize that these possessions will soon pass away.  On the other hand, we woefully neglect eternal matters ... things that really matter most.

A great example of this is work.  It is not wrong to work.  In fact, we are expected to work.  The Bible commends work.  However, you need to have the right perspective.  Your job should not be your life.  Like it or not, you are a temporary employee.  Someday either the job will end or you will leave it.  Far too many people live and breathe work.  Their job consumes them.  One day they wake up to find that their children are grown and the spouse is like a stranger.  When we treat the temporal things like they are eternal & eternal things like they are temporal, we ultimately pay a steep price.

Everything on earth is temporary.  Act like it.  Live like it.

2.  THE FINALITY OF ETERNAL THINGS

I know that many will consider my thoughts to be morbid and fatalistic.  The fact is that life on earth is temporary.  The Bible teaches that there are eternal things.  You will either spend eternity in heaven with God or, regrettably, in hell.  Too many live like the devil but hope for heaven by and by.  They live selfishly, to the neglect of their own souls.  Only faith in Christ can change a person's heart and give them access to heaven. 

When we comprehend the truth that one day everything we see will burn, it should cause us to live soberly, living with eternity in mind.

It is possible to have your feet on the earth and your heart in heaven.  You can live for God in the here-and-now and long for heaven in the hereafter.  As Christians, we are just strangers and pilgrims here.  We are ambassadors for Christ, stationed in this foreign land to aid our fellow brethren.  Although we are stationed here on earth, our citizenship is in heaven.  We long to be called home from this assignment.

When I see our world get so violent and wicked, I am reminded that this is not my home.  Furthermore, when I feel the aches and pains of my body worsen with age, I am comforted that I don't have to dwell in this body forever.  Very soon I'll have a better body & I'll be living in a better country. 

It is easy to get distracted by the temporal things of this world.  That is why we need to read the Bible daily, pray and fellowship with other believers consistently.  These things help us to keep focused on the things that matter most. 

While we live, work and enjoy life in this temporal land, we need to keep our faith focused on eternal matters, things that are unseen.  We need to invest in eternal matters.  They pay eternal dividends. 

We need to live with eternity in mind.

BEWARE OF THE LION

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." - 1 Peter 5:8-9

The devil is a real, fierce enemy.  Too many people act as if he doesn't exist. Others tend to think of him as a little red man with a pitchfork.  The Bible gives a more graphic illustration of this foe.

Writing to an audience suffering from persecution, the Apostle Peter warned his readers that they had a spiritual enemy, the devil.  Peter wrote, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."  Note the things Peter shared in these two verses.

1.  OUR FOCUS

First of all, the Apostle Peter warns us, "Be sober, be vigilant..."  In other words, we are told to keep our guard up.  Take the devil seriously and guard against him like he is your worst enemy ... because he is. 

When I cut weeds at home, I try to be vigilant.  Snakes love to hide beneath weeds as they wait for their prey.  Once I was cutting weeds and nearly stepped on a copperhead.  I hate snakes.  I learned my lesson at that moment and ever since, I have been watching carefully for snakes when I cut weeds. 

There is a foe that is even worse that a poisonous pit viper.  The devil is lurking around, seeking to attack us.  We need to be watchful of him and treat him as the evil, dangerous foe that he is.

2.  OUR FOE

The Bible reveals to us the nature of our enemy.  The Bible refers to the devil as, "... a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."  Pit vipers aren't usually aggressive to humans.  You can't say that about a lion.  A lion is an aggressive animal.  He stalks his prey.  At the right moment, he may pounce upon his prey, giving the victim little, if any, opportunity to flee.  The Bible refers to the devil as a roaring lion.  He is very vocal about his triumphs.  Furthermore, he terrorizes others who hear him from a distance. 

Most people treat the devil like a tiny domestic cat rather than the dangerous lion that he is.  Just as a lion shreds his victim with his sharp teeth, the devil seeks to shred any person who permits the devil access to his life.  He is seeking whom he may devour.  He seeks to steal, kill and destroy.  I've seen too many people, marriages, homes and churches shredded by this enemy.  It is time we take him seriously.

3.  OUR FAITH

Finally, Peter teaches us how to respond to the devil.  The Bible says, "... Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."  How should we respond to the devil?  Resist him.  James wrote, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."  Our resistance needs to be based upon our faith.  "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world."  We cannot boldly stand against the devil solely based on our education, knowledge or good works.  We can only stand against him in the name of the Lord.

Also, we are to be diligent in our stand.  The Bible teaches us to resist the devil, "... stedfast in the faith."  The roaring lion knows the best time to attack.  He may not attack you in church on Sunday morning, but he knows when the best time will be.  Be diligent in your stand against him.

Notice that Peter revealed that many believers were suffering great afflictions in his time.  Persecution was a continual reality in the lives of the first century saints.  The devil is the source of Christian persecution.  At times believers die as martyrs.  The devil's main enemy is God.  The devil would love to shred the eternal soul of a child of God.  However, he does not have the power to do that.  The devil's power is limited in scope and duration.

Right now, the lion is roaring loudly.  The devil is aggressively seeking to destroy as many as he can in the time he has left.  His time is running out, though.  His days are numbered.  Soon the lion will be caged.  Ultimately, he will face the punishment he deserves.  Believers are troubled to hear him roar these days.  One day, the lion will roar no more.  Evil will end.  Sin will cease.  Jesus Christ shall reign.

Though the lion may roar loudly in our land, he is not welcome at my home.  While many seem to open their lives for his entrance, they will ultimately regret it. 

Beware of the lion.

A DEAD END

"Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." - James 2:17

The relationship between faith and works is confusing to many people.  To make things worse, heretical teachers and cults have polluted our culture with theological error, making this subject misunderstood.

It is wrong to state that Christians do not believe in works.  We strongly believe in good works, however, we need to be careful about how we understand the nature of good works.  We do not do good works in order to get saved.  Neither do we do good works to remain saved.   We do good works because we are saved. 

Many cults and heretical teachers misinterpret James 2:17.  In his epistle, James wrote, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."  According to these false teachers, our good works is, at least in part, required for our salvation.  They teach that there are things we must do to be acceptable to God.  They proclaim that salvation is a cooperative work between God & man, with God providing salvation & man providing sufficient good works.

We need to refute such heretical teaching.  In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Bible says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." (Emphasis added).  Salvation is of the Lord.  He is the author of our faith ... and we are not co-authors with Him.  Salvation is a gift from Him.   The Father planned our salvation, the Son purchased our salvation and the Spirit provided our salvation.  Jonathan Edwards once said, "You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”

So if our good works is not part of our salvation, what is the role between faith and good works?  We need to understand that God saves us by His grace.  Grace is God's unmerited favor.  If salvation is based, even in a small part, upon our works, then salvation is merited.  Here's the truth:  we don't possess any goodness, yet alone enough to merit God's favor.  Salvation is provided by grace alone.  This grace is applied through faith in Him.  We are saved by grace through faith.

Genuine saving grace produces good works.  Notice how I phrased that.  Our good works is not mixed with God's grace to produce salvation; God's grace brings salvation that produces good works.  Saving grace produces a changed heart that is capable of honoring God with good works.  Saving grace changes our attitude.  When we are genuinely saved, we have an attitude of gratitude.  We seek to honor God out of gratitude for what He has done for us.

In Philippians 2:12, the Apostle Paul wrote, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."  Some argue that this verse teaches that our works produce salvation.  Keep in mind, Paul is writing to those who are already saved.  In this verse he is stating that in inward salvation will produce an outward work.   He didn't teach them to work in their salvation, but work out their salvation.  A genuine salvation is an internal work that God produces.  Such a salvation should provide an outward manifestation that honors God & is obvious to the world. 

A "faith" that never manifests spiritual fruit is a counterfeit.  James wrote that such faith is dead.  A living faith produces living works.  A dead faith produces no works.  Think of it this way.  A dead man never works.  The absence of movement is a natural response of a dead man.  However, if a man is alive, there is activity.  A living man has a diaphragm that moves up and down as he breathes.  When he is awake, the living man moves and is active.  A dead man does not move.  His diaphragm is motionless.  He will never be active.  When a man is spiritually dead, there is no spiritual fruit.  His life is void of spiritual life.  However, when saving faith resides in a man, it is obvious.  His faith is vibrant and visible. 

Faith without works is a dead faith.  A genuine faith in the living Christ is a living faith, an active faith.

A dead faith is a false faith.  It is deceitful faith.  It is a fatal faith.  If your religion has not changed you, you need to change your religion.  A genuine faith in Christ changes people.  A man who gets saved becomes alive because the living Christ enters his life. 

Anything less is a dead end.  

LIVING BY FAITH

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." - Hebrews 11:6

Often at our church, we sing the old hymn, "Living By Faith."  It is an expression of faith in God during times of uncertainty. 

"I care not today what tomorrow may bring,

If shadow or sunshine or rain;

The Lord I know ruleth o'er everything,

And all of our worry is vain.

Living by faith in Jesus above,

Trusting, confiding in His great love;

From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,

I'm living by faith and feel no alarm."

Four times, the Bible states that the just shall live by faith (see Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38).  It is easier to read about faith than to live by it.  It is much simpler to sing about faith than to exercise faith during a crisis. 

Faith is needed most when trials come our way.  Faith shines brightest when darkness surrounds us.  Unbelievers respect our faith most when they see it exercised when we're in the valley, not when we're on the mountaintop. 

Knowing that the just shall live by faith, God dedicated a whole chapter of the book of Hebrews to honor Old Testament saints who exhibited great faith.  Near the beginning of the chapter, the writer makes the following bold statement:  "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  This verse specifically teaches us several things.

1.  IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US TO PLEASE GOD

In the previous verse, the writer of Hebrews honored the life of Enoch.  Enoch was a man who never died because God translated him.  Prior to his departure, Enoch left a deep impression on those around him.  The Bible says that, "...  before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."  What a testimony to have!  Before you think that we can't please God ourselves, the writer goes on to state, "But without faith it is impossible to please him..."  It is possible for us to please God today.  Shouldn't that be our aim each day?

2.  FAITH IS REQUIRED TO PLEASE GOD

Without faith, it is impossible to please God.  Let me state that again with emphasis.  Without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  Regardless of the things you do, if faith is absent from your life, God is not pleased.  Faith pleases God. 

That brings up an important issue.  What is faith?  Faith is our dependence on Him.  Faith is our unwavering trust and confidence in the Lord.  Faith is taking God at His Word.  Faith simply believes the unseen as if it were seen.  Faith treats God's promises for tomorrow like they are a visible reality today.

3. FAITH IS HOW WE APPROACH GOD

The Bible says that, "... he that cometh to God must believe that he is ... "  When we approach God, we must believe that He is.  We must believe in Him as He really is & not as we wish Him to be.  Too many people believe in a god of their own choosing.  They have created their own god, while stating that they believe in the God of the Bible.  When we approach God, we come trusting Him to be everything He claimed to be.  Any attempt to approach God that lacks faith will utterly fail.

4.  WE MUST STAND ON GOD'S PROMISES

The Bible teaches us that those who approach God must believe that He is, "... and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  Notice a few things in this part of the verse.  First of all, God rewards those who seek Him.  Most people seek things from God instead of seeking Him alone.  Instead of seeking His face, we tend to seek something from His hand.  We are rewarded when we seek the Rewarder.  Secondly, we must diligently seek Him.  We must seek Him with sincerity and regularity.  Finally, we must approach Him with the confidence that He will reward us ... simply because He promised.  We must stand on the promises of God. 

God can be trusted, so trust Him right now.  Trust Him to the extent that you obey Him explicitly.  Rely on Him to take care of you.  Be confident that He will meet your needs.  Believe His promises.  Depend on Him for the future. 

As you depend upon God moment by moment, you can honestly say, "I'm living by faith and feel no alarm."