Today pastor Michael preached from Hebrews 4:13-16 that says, "And no creature is hidden from God, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must render an account. Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest incapable of of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help" (New English Translation). The writer of Hebrews was writing to exhort Jewish believers to put their faith not in the earthly priesthood of Aaron, but in the eternal High Priest Jesus.
Michael explained the Bible tells us everyone has sinned. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Since this is true, and since we cannot hide our sins from God, we all need God's mercy and grace. We learned that mercy is "God not doing to us what we absolutely deserve" (eternal punishment for our sinful rebellion against Him, Revelation 20:15), and that grace is "God doing for us what we do not deserve" (taking away our sins and giving us eternal life, John 3:16; Hebrews 9:28). The good news for every human being is that God offers His mercy and grace freely to all who will believe in Him; that is, to those who will believe in His free gift of salvation and accept it for themselves. Grace and mercy cannot be earned or deserved, only received. Ephesians 2:8-10 affirms this, saying, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works [doing good deeds], so that no one can boast." All one needs to do to be saved is tell God you believe and accept His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life offered by the sacrifice of His Son Jesus (Revelation 3:20; 22:17).
Yes, judgment is coming. For the believer in Christ, it's a judgment not of one's sins, since Jesus paid for all their sins on the cross, but a judgment to reward one according to their faithfulness (2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus is the believer's "great High Priest" that took away their sins with His own blood. However, for the unbeliever, it's a judgment at the Great White Throne of God that results in eternal punishment in the lake of fire, since the unbeliever has rejected their Creator and God and His free gift of salvation (Revelation 20:15).
World events are aligning with what the Bible says will happen during the "end times." God will remove believers from the world and soon afterwards the world will unite under a world ruler the Bible calls the "Beast" (Revelation 13) and the "Antichrist" (1 John 2:18), and then God will pour out His judgment. Because God is just, He must and will judge the world for its wickedness. Believers in Jesus will escape this judgment, but an unbelieving world will not. So there is no time to lose. "I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2b, New International Version).
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