Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils. —1 Timothy 4:1

In my two previous TBC articles this year (Mar and Apr ’06), I addressed the destructive influence psychological counseling is having on the evangelical church. Simply put, the church has turned from God’s Word to man’s bankrupt theories in attempting to resolve mental, emotional, and behavioral problems. The greater part of the church no longer believes what the Scriptures proclaim: that God, in His Word, has given us “all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). The results, sadly, are what one might expect: there is often little statistical difference between those who profess to be Christians and those who do not, regarding the number of divorces, the reliance upon psychological counseling theories and methods, living together outside of marriage, illegitimate childbirth, pornography, sexual and physical abuse, and so forth.

Best remembered for its remarkable tower, Genesis 11 tells us this was more than just an upright structure; it was a city assembled with a cause.

“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens,” reads the famous chapter. “Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

Originally published June 1, 1993

An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me.... And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon.

—Exodus 20:24-26

...[L]et us build us a city and a tower [of Babel], whose top may reach unto heaven….

—Genesis 11:4

No two tenets of faith could be more opposed to one another than those presented above. On the one hand, we have God's rejection of any human effort to buy salvation or His favor. If man is to come to God, it must be solely by His grace and His provision, not by any human work. On the other hand, we see man's flagrant repudiation of God's prohibition against self-effort, and his arrogant attempt to build a tower that would enable him to climb by steps of his own making into heaven itself.

Originally published May 1, 1993

Go ye therefore, and [make disciples of] all nations.... Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world — Matthew 28:19-20

Last month we saw from God's Word that lost sinners are offered forgiveness of all sins (past, present, and future), and eternal life as a free gift of God's grace by virtue of Christ's fully accomplished redemptive work upon the cross and bodily resurrection. To receive this priceless gift one need only believe the gospel: that one is a sinner deserving God's judgment and unable by self-effort, religious ritual or any other means, to earn or merit salvation even in part; and that Christ paid the full debt which God's justice demands for man's sin. Of course, one must believe the gospel not merely as a historic fact, but to the extent of placing one's faith completely in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior for eternity.

We noted also that Christ directed His disciples to preach this good news of the gospel to everyone everywhere. This command by Christ to His original followers has become known as the "Great Commission." It is stated in two ways: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel" (Mark 16:15); and "make disciples" (Matthew 28:19). Those who preach the gospel are to disciple those who believe it. Born again by God's Spirit into His family (John 3:3-5; 1 John 3:2), converts begin a new life as Christ's followers, eager to learn of Him and to obey the One whom they now love for having saved them.

Originally published April 1, 1993

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel...for IT is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth [IT].

—Mark 16:15; Romans 1:16

What is the gospel and from what does it save us? We must begin in the Garden. Persuaded by Satan that God had lied to her, and seduced by the appealing promise of godhood, Eve rebelled against her Creator. Not wanting to be separated from his wife, whom he loved more than God, Adam, who was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14), deliberately joined in her disobedience. Thus "by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men [and women], for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). Death not only ends this short earthly life, but it separates the sinner from God forever.

In His infinite foreknowledge, wisdom and love, God had already planned what He would do to reunite mankind with Himself. Without ceasing to be God (an impossibility), He would become a man through a virgin birth. Only God could be the Savior (Isaiah 43:11; 45:21, etc.), thus the Messiah had to be God (Isaiah 9:6; Isaiah 45:15; Titus 1:3-4, etc.). He would die for our sins to pay the penalty demanded by His justice: “’Tis mystery all, the immortal dies!" (Charles Wesley). Then He would rise from the dead to live in those who would believe in and receive Him as their Lord and Savior, giving them forgiveness of sins and eternal life as a free gift of His grace.

There is a growing movement among professing Christians towards universalism: the belief that everyone will finally be saved. One can empathize with those who hold this opinion. Eternity is forever. No matter how just the penalty, endless punishment seems cruelly excessive. The very thought of the Lake of Fire being the eternal abode of any creature, no matter how evil, is humanly repugnant.

Could God who "is love" (1 John 4:8) really sentence anyone to eternal punishment? Would He not find a way, somehow, for all eventually to be saved? The Bible must be our guide. But does the Bible in fact teach that those who leave this life without Christ are lost forever?

Jesus warned of hell repeatedly, referring to it fourteen times. Peter refers to it three times, James once, and the four times it is mentioned in Revelation make up the balance of the twenty-two times the word "hell" occurs in the New Testament. Jesus referred to hell as a place of torment in a "fire that never shall be quenched" (Mark 9:43-48). That sounds like eternal punishment—but for whom?

Knowing that we are in the last of the last days, with an imminent Rapture a very real hope, our thoughts often (and indeed should) turn to the signs that Christ said would herald the nearness of His return. The signs that are most widely cited include “wars and rumours of wars...[when] nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...and...famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes...these are the beginning of sorrows” (Mt 24:6-8).

Unquestionably, these specific “sorrows” have been both prominent and accelerating since Israel again became a nation in 1948. Since that time, the intensity and frequency of these signs have increased like the birth pangs of a woman approaching her time of delivery, exactly as Christ foretold. However, the first sign that Christ gave has been largely overlooked and His solemn warning neglected:

* And Jesus answered and said...Take heed that no man deceive you.

* For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many....

* And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many....

* For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Mt 24:4,5,11,24) [Emphasis added.]

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

—John 14:1-6

I believe that the great miracle that the unsaved world wants to see today is not the healing of a leper, not giving sight to the blind or hearing to the deaf. The great miracle that the unsaved want to see today is the miracle of a transformed life—people who've been saved from sin and defilement and corruption. They're new creatures in Christ Jesus, and they're really different persons! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). And we're going to come to that just a little bit later in the chapter.