Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
COME NOW, LET US REASON / ISAIAH 1:18
God did not want to condemn and destroy His people. He offered full forgiveness and complete pardon if they would only repent (“change their mind” and admit the error of their own ways, turn away from doing evil and return to God) and truly seek to do right and obey His Word (Isaiah 1:16-19). God’s forgiveness is now available for all who confess their sins, repent, and accept the spiritual cleansing God provides through the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:46-47; 1 John 1:9), who willingly gave His perfect life to pay the penalty for our rebellion against God.
Those who refuse God’s mercy and stubbornly choose to keep going their own way will be destroyed in the end (Isaiah 1:20).
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(KJV) Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD / JOSHUA 24:15
God invites all people to have a personal relationship with Him, but He does not force Himself on us. He gives us a choice, and we all decide for ourselves whom we will follow in life. As with Joshua and the Israelites, serving the Lord is not simply a one-time choice (Joshua 1:16-18; Deuteronomy 30:19-20). Those who follow God must continually make the choice to pursue His plans and do what is right. That requires a deep reverence for God, a firm commitment to His truth, a sincere desire to fulfill His goals for your life and a strong determination to resist the appeal of sin (Joshua 24:14-16). Failing to choose to love and serve God will eventually result in judgment and destruction (Joshua 24:20; 23:11-13).
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(KJV) Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
SUBMIT … TO THE GOVERINING AUTHORITIES / ROMANS 13:1
God commands Christians to respect and obey those in government as an institution established by God. He has instituted governments because in an ungodly and disorderly world people need certain restraints to protect them from the chaos and lawlessness that is a natural result in sin.
The civil government, just like all of life, is subject to God’s law.
God has determined that governments should be agents of justice that restrain evil by punishing offenders and protecting the good in society (Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Paul describes government as it should be. When it abandons its proper function, however, it ceases to operate according to God’s purpose. For example, when government requires something contrary to God’s Word, Christians must obey God rather than other humans (Acts 5:29; Daniel 3:16-18; 6:6-10). Yet, even when government officials themselves are not following God, Christians, in most cases, are still required to handle themselves graciously and respectfully toward their leaders. Paul demonstrated this behavior in many direct encounters with government and religious leaders (Acts 22:22-29; 23:1-11; 24-26).
It is the duty of all Christians to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2).
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(KJV) Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
THE WORD OF GOD / Hebrews 4:12
The conjunction “for” connects this verse directly to Hebrews 4:11. We enter into God’s rest by submitting to the complete examination and deep spiritual surgery that comes from exposure to God’s Word. God’s Word is anything that God speaks. It is the expression of the character, desires and purposes of God Himself. We have God’s Word conveyed to us in written form through the Bible. This Word, throughout both the Old Testament and New Testament, is dynamic, active and ultimately effective in accomplishing God’s purposes. It is like a sharp sword that cuts into our innermost being in order to discern whether our thoughts and motives are worthy or unworthy, spiritual or unspiritual. Like a surgeon’s scalpel, it cuts away the spiritual corruption from our lives and brings healing, and life to those who submit to the Word in faith. Yet, kike a warrior’s sword, God’s Word brings judgment and destruction on those who openly turn from and defy it (John 6:63; 12:48).
DIVIDING SOUL AND SPIRIT
God’s Word can penetrate our lives and inner beings so precisely that it discerns and defines the obscure dividing line between “soul” and “spirit.” “Soul” (Greek psyche) refers to our inner life aside from our spiritual experience – our life in relation to ourselves (our emotions, thoughts, desires, choices). “Spirit” (Greek pneuma) here means the human spirit; in the New Testament this refers to the spiritual dimension of our being – our life in relation to God (Romans 8:10). God’s Word awakens and strengthens His life in our spirit, and it exposes our own “soulishness” (our own motives and desires) when that part of us conflicts with the life that God is developing within our spirit. By willingly submitting to God’s life-penetrating Word, our hearts will be softened and changed so that we can truly take on godly character traits and experience peace and rest with Him. The alternative is to allow our hearts to become hardened against God’s Word. This is when we lose faith and find ourselves condemned by the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12-13 remind us of the seriousness of our choices when responding to God and His Word.
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Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
BURIED WITH HIM THROUGH BAPTISM / ROMANS 6:4
Baptism in water for a Christian is a symbol of his or her identification with Christ. Baptism, which literally means to be immersed (being put completely under the water) also symbolizes a spiritual cleansing. It is an outward physical act that represents an inner spiritual reality: God’s gift of forgiveness and salvation has been accepted and the person publicly identifies with Jesus Christ in His death and burial (going under the water) and is united with Him in His resurrected life (Romans 6:4-5). When accompanied by true faith, baptism is a sign of the believer’s rejection of sin and full commitment to Christ. That commitment results in a continual flow of God’s grace (His undeserved favor, love and enabling power) and His life to us (Acts 22:16). As surely as Christ rose from the dead, so those who truly follow Him will have the power to live a new life (Romans 6:5).
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And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
SURROUNDED THE CAMP OF GOD’S PEOPLE / REVELATION 20:9
The battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16; 19:19) is not the final conflict of good and evil. One last battle at the end of the millennium will seal the eternal doom of Satan and his followers. Nations will be deceived into marching against and surrounding Jerusalem, intent on being free from Christ’s rule. Like the confrontation at the beginning of the millennium, this battle is not much of a contest and the outcome is never in doubt. God will intervene, and the rebels will be destroyed by fire. His judgment will result in their total destruction.
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(KJV) Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
HIS HEART / LUKE 6:45
The heart, representing the center of our being and who we really are inside, determines our outward behavior and must be changed or converted in order to conform to God’s standards and purposes (Mark 7:20-23). Without inward change, no one can do God’s will and fulfill His purposes for his or her life (Jeremiah 24:7; 31:33; 32:39; Ezekiel 36:23, 27; Matthew 7:16-20; 12:33-35; 15:18-19; 21:43; Luke 1:17; Romans 6:17). Contrary to the beliefs and opinions of many in the world, humankind is not basically “good at heart.” The Bible is clear that apart from God the heart is wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Since the first humans defied God and sin entered the world – affecting all people – our hearts are not to be trusted if they are not under God’s control.
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And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
DECEIVE THE NATIONS / REVELATION 20:8
This is the last rebellion against God in history. Many of those born during the millennium will choose to reject Christ’s authority and choose instead to believe Satan’s lies. How and why will so many be deceived into rebelling against God, even after experiencing the perfection of Christ’s reign? The fact is that human nature will be the same. Some people will likely be convinced that they have missed out on something or did not truly have freedom under Christ’s rule. People with weak commitments or insincere motives will always deny or defy God when faced with temptation. Only when people have joined Christ for eternity – changed in body and spirit – will they be rid of the sinful nature. (Note that those who were resurrected or came form heaven to reign with Christ during the millennium will be immune to Satan’s temptations. His deception will occur only among those who were born during the millennium Revelation 19:21).
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And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
SATAN WILL BE RELEASED / REVELATION 20:7
At the close of the millennium, Satan will be released.
It seems that God will allow Satan to test those who have lived under the ideal conditions of Christ’s millennial reign. They will have opportunity to prove their allegiance to God or to follow the pull of their carnal (unspiritual) hearts and rebel against Him. Ironically, countless people (Revelation 20:8) who experienced Christ’s peace will be deceived and will join themselves with Satan and his final evil army.
Satan himself, full of vengeance following his confinement and still deceived in believing he can yet defeat God, will be allowed to deceive those who desire to rebel against Christ’s rule. He will gather a multitude of such rebels – “like the sand on the seashore” (Revelation 20:8) to launch a final assault on God’s people.
“Gog and Magog” (Revelation 20:8 derived from Ezekiel 38 – 39, but not necessarily a reference to the same nations) represent all the nations of the world and their spirit of rebellion against God and righteousness.
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But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
PROVE THEIR REPENTANCE BY THEIR DEEDS / ACTS 26:20
Paul did not preach, as dome do, that eternal salvation requires no more than an intellectual trust or belief in Christ and His death for our sins. While good works cannot save us spiritually (Ephesians 2:8-9), the sincerity of one’s faith is proven by his or her actions. The New Testament declares that in order for individuals to be saved, they must “repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Matthew 3:8; Luke3:8).
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