Tag: pass

19.e. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:14   Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Psalms 78:11-22     They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.  In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.  He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.  In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.  He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.  He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.  Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.  They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.  They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?  He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”  Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,  because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

Hebrews 3:12     Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.

Hebrews 10:38-39   but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Thomas had doubts about what the other disciples to him about seeing Jesus.  Thomas would have seen Jesus hung on the cross and watched His death and being stabbed with a sword to make sure.  He was absolute in the fact that Jesus died.  Now to have his fellow disciples tell him Jesus was alive made no sense what so ever.  Thomas says I don’t care what you say, I saw Jesus die and there is no way you can get me to believe He is alive now unless I put my fingers in His side. Surely he would have heard from Peter and John that the grave was empty.  He also would have heard Mary saying she saw Jesus.  Thomas can not discount what he saw and override what he knows as truth, that once you are physically dead you do not come to life unless Jesus calls you to life.  How can Jesus, who is dead, raise Himself from the dead?  He did not care about the disciple’s witness or testimony.  He can not believe it true without physical confirmation.  

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  Faith is the substance of things hoped for and proof/conviction of things not seen. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.  By faith, we are transformed, born again, made new, realize forgiveness, and inherit eternal life.  Therein is where our hope rests by faith.  We can not add anything to faith and make ourselves better.  In fact, adding anything more to faith in the complete work (death and resurrection) of Jesus is to take away from what is rightly and solely glorified in Jesus.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me.”  It is by faith alone.  Faith alone. Faith.  Our sins were paid in full by Jesus Christ if we believe (have faith) in Him alone.  We can not allow thoughts of needing to be good enough to receive the gift of salvation, redemption, and forgiveness of our sins to block us from Faith (relying on, clinging to, and trusting in) in Jesus Christ alone.  Faith casts out all doubt.  Faith allows us to cast out the doubts of being good enough.  By faith, we understand that we are not and will never be good enough and we surrender all of our hope in self-goodness relying fully on the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ

16. It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Exodus 33:19     And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Romans 9:15-18     For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Psalms 65:4     Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Romans 2:4    Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Numbers 14:18    ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

To understand God’s grace requires the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom into God’s love, mercy, compassion, patience, kindness, and goodness.  How do we know of all of these attributes of God?  By spending time in His word.  In His word, we find wisdom and understanding of God’s great love for us.  We see His promises of blessings and judgments.  We see His power, might, and strength.  We see His anger toward sin, unbelief, and complacency.  We know of peace in times of uncertainty.  We know of His rest when burdens weigh us down.  We know of His great wonders.  We know His compassion for the lost. A million lifetimes in His word and we will still just scratch the surface of getting to know the depth and width of His love for us.

He chose us to be His children and joint heirs with Christ.  He chose us for more than a big moment decision once upon a time.  He chose us to live every small moment in the light of the big moment of belief.  We are never to become complacent or neglectful of His word.  The big moment decision is not the end.  It is the beginning of a lifetime of always seeking to honor, glorify, serve, hear, follow and obey.

Eternal consequences

Psalms 112:10  The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked will perish!

Isaiah 65:13-14     Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame;  behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

Luke 13:28     In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

Psalms 37:12    The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,

Matthew 22:13     Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Revelation 16:10-11    The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish  and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

Proverbs 10:28    The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.

Proverbs 11:7     When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.

Luke 16:24-26     And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’

Revelation 20:11  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

I have heard it said “we don’t get out of this world alive”.  That is true.  What doesn’t get talked about much is the fact that there is consequences for our actions, choices, thoughts, intents.  These are eternal consequences with two totally different outcomes.

Joh 3:16  📝  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Choosing to reject the gift of eternal life through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is choosing to be unforgiven and your soul found wanting on the day of judgement.  There is no second chance once breath has ceased in this life.  All that is waiting for the person who rejects Christ, is eternal punishment.   We come to Christ for salvation, redemption, joy, peace, strength, hope, refuge, and love, by and through faith (believing, trusting in, relying on, and clinging to) Him alone.