To finish out the week, we return to a key topic: The Reliable Pattern of Transformation. We have been talking about our response to the Good News of the Gospel. Saying “yes” to Father God in Christ is the way we enter into this life-long process of following Christ.
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1 Timothy 2:4
[God our Savior] wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Today, we discuss how the ways we can respond to the “Good News!” of the Gospel. Father God sent Jesus so that we can have life – new spiritual life now and forever life in His Kingdom. Father God desires that we say “yes” to His gracious gift!
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Today we discuss one of the most important truths: How the Message of the Gospel has the power to transform us. Not only is the Power of the Gospel a profoundly important truth, it is also one that gives us great insight into what Father God does for us and to us because of His great love for us.
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2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not want any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The love, mercy, and grace of Father God revealed to us requires a response from us. Just as Adam (and Eve) had the power of contrary choice—the ability to say “no” to God’s truth, goodness, and beauty—so also do we. It is our ability to say “no” to God that makes our “yes” so meaningful. When we say “yes” to the Father’s offer of new life in Christ, we are saying “no” to our old way of life that was ruled by sin, death, and condemnation.
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Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope. {NET}
We want to end this week’s session by talking about hope. As Paul tells us above, the Scriptures were given to us to encourage us so that we may have hope. This week we have been considering some very heavy and somewhat difficult truths. But these truths are given to us so that we may hope. Since we have been thinking about the end of things, the end of our present life and the world to come, let’s end by thinking on some of the most incredible truths that are reality for all those who are “in Christ.”
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When we began this study we said that it was important to realize that every human being who has existed will exist forever. We are now getting to some of the “meat” truths of the Bible and some things that are difficult for us to think about, but we must.
Just as their are only two types of people, spiritually speaking—those who are “alive in Christ” and those who are still “dead in Adam”—so also there are only two eternal options for everyone: either live in the presence of God (eternal life) forever or away from His presence (eternal death).
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Today, we begin to discuss what can be a terrifying subject for some: the Day of Judgment. The Scriptures make it clear that there is a day coming when every human being must stand before God to give an account of how they have spent their time on earth. Although this is a sobering idea, it does not have to be a terrifying one. We are warned that this day is coming and so we are able to prepare for it – Jesus Himself has given us what we need to prepare for this day.
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