FRIDAY 19th
Hebrews 9:11-28
Continued from yesterday. Yesterday we looked at we have been saved, today we continue with We are being saved.
Once we have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we are still living in the hostile sinful world, the enemy of our souls would love to drag us back, pull us back into his kingdom of darkness. We are reminded by Peter that the devil is going around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour – (1 Peter 5:8) Peter is writing to believer’s; therefore, he is warning believers. Let us remind ourselves today the devil would love to distract and divert us in our walk of faith, he would love us to deviate and eventually to get us back onto the road that leads to destruction. Peter continues that the believers needed to ‘resist him’. As we have been saved, so we will continue to be being saved as we continue to resist the devil and walk faithfully in our new-found lives as believers or followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God that the Scripture reminds us that as we walk in this hostile world, as we become determined in our hearts to persevere in the struggles of life and in our ongoing relationship with Jesus that he is able to keep us, to prevent us from falling away. Jude 1:24-25 ‘Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’ In verse 21 Jude has told the believers ‘keep yourselves in the love of God’
I appreciate that on this matter there are two camps, those who believe once saved always saved and those who believe in the possibility of backsliding or falling away. Whatever our position, let us remind ourselves that the Scripture has many references to our need to be watchful, of the need to persevere, and of the need to keep our focus upon Jesus and the finishing line.
We will be saved. Hebrews 9:28 ‘. . . so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.’
One day the race will be over, whether it be through natural death or as a result of the Lords return, and at that moment we who have been saved and who have been kept will be saved throughout eternity, safe as we often say ‘in the arms of Jesus’ or ‘in the presence of Jesus’. Reminding ourselves again of what Jude said, ‘presented blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy’ (Jude 1:24) What a day that is going to be, the day when we finally stand in the presence of Almighty God, the day when we at last will see with our own eyes the Lamb that had been slain, our wonderful and beautiful Saviour, the day when we will gather around the throne with all the redeemed of the Lord and sing out ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb’, when we will lift our voices together and sing with those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb from every tribe and language and people and nations, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing’.
What a day, glorious day that will be.
Will you be there?
The same Scripture that reveal to us God’s wonderful plan of redemption also warn us of the dreadful fate of those who have refused to believe, who do not know the wonder of this great redemption story, of those who have rejected it and spurned the incredible and amazing love of God. It says that as we who have believed will be rejoicing in our full and complete salvation, those who have rejected God’s mercy and grace, whose names will not be found in the Lambs book of life will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire. Heaven is real, but sadly so also is Hell. Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart but come by faith and believe and accept God’s offer of grace and mercy as he has shown it though the sacrificial death of his Son at Calvary. God loves you, God has died for you, was raised for you and he waits with his arms open wide to welcome you.
One final Scripture, it precedes the verse I commenced this little section with in Hebrews 9:27 ‘And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment . . .’
There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There’ll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
Jim Hill CCLI788682