The Heart of the Dilemma
…and the Remnant
Holman: Israelites Carried Captive. Public Domain.
We are going to look at some Scripture
before we go on. Please read these Scriptures with an open heart and ask the
Lord by His Holy Spirit to show you how we today compare to the people and
times described in these passages. God
will always preserve a Remnant that are dedicated to Him, but it doesn’t mean
that it is going to always be prosperous and safe for them.
Jeremiah 22
1 Thus
saith the Lord; Go down to the
house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2 And
say, Hear the word of the Lord, O
king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants,
and thy people that enter in by these gates: 3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and
righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do
no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow,
neither shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if ye do this thing
indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon
the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants,
and his people. 5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by
myself, saith the Lord, that this
house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah;
Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet
surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not
inhabited. 7 And
I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they
shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 And
many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his
neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord
done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they
have forsaken the covenant of the Lord
their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Weep
ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that
goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. 11 For
thus saith the Lord touching
Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his
father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any
more: 12 But
he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this
land no more. 13 Woe
unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong;
that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for
his work; 14 That
saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out
windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. 15 Shalt
thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father
eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well
with him? 16 He
judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him:
was not this to know me? saith the Lord.
17 But
thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to
shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. 18 Therefore
thus saith the Lord concerning
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying,
Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah
lord! or, Ah his glory! 19 He shall be buried with the burial of
an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go
up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the
passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. 21 I spake unto thee in thy
prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy
manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. 22 The
wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity:
surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. 23 O
inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt
thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! 24 As
I live, saith the Lord, though
Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand,
yet would I pluck thee thence; 25 And I will give thee into the hand of
them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou
fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the
hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare
thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But
to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is
this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is
no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a
land which they know not? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word
of the Lord. 30 Thus
saith the Lord, Write ye this man
childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his
seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in
Judah. Jer 22:1-30 (KJV)
Chapter 23
1 Woe
be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the
Lord. 2 Therefore thus
saith the Lord God of Israel
against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven
them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of
your doings, saith the Lord. 3 And
I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have
driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be
fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed
them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be
lacking, saith the Lord. 5 Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and
prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In
his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is
his name whereby he shall be called, THE Lord
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the
children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which
led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all
countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
9 Mine
heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am
like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his
holiness. 10 For
the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the
pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and
their force is not right. 11 For both prophet and priest are
profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord. 12 Wherefore their way shall
be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on,
and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of
their visitation, saith the Lord. 13 And
I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and
caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of
Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they
strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his
wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof
as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore
thus saith the Lord of hosts
concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them
drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone
forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets
that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own
heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
17 They
say still unto them that despise me, The Lord
hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after
the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For
who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord,
and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19 Behold,
a whirlwind of the Lord is gone
forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the
head of the wicked. 20 The anger of the Lord
shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the
thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I
have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they
prophesied. 22 But
if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words,
then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of
their doings. 23 Am
I a God at hand, saith the Lord,
and not a God afar off? 24 Can any hide himself in secret places
that I shall not see him? saith the Lord.
Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.
25 I
have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I
have dreamed, I have dreamed. 26 How long shall this be in the
heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the
deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to
forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as
their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. 28 The prophet that hath a
dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word
faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the Lord. 29 Is not my word like
as a fire? saith the Lord; and
like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore,
behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. 31 Behold,
I am against the prophets, saith the Lord,
that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against
them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord,
and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their
lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not
profit this people at all, saith the Lord.
33 And
when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is
the burden of the Lord? thou shalt
then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the Lord. 34 And as for the
prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the Lord, I will even punish that man and his
house. 35 Thus
shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What
hath the Lord answered? and, What
hath the Lord spoken? 36 And
the burden of the Lord shall ye
mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have
perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord
of hosts our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken? 38 But since ye say,
The burden of the Lord; therefore
thus saith the Lord; Because ye
say this word, The burden of the Lord,
and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the Lord; 39 Therefore, behold, I, even
I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave
you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: 40 And
I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which
shall not be forgotten. Jer 23:1-40 (KJV)
Chapter 24
1 The
Lord shewed me, and, behold, two
baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and
had brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket had very good figs, even
like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very
naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. 3 Then
said the Lord unto me, What seest
thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very
evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Thus
saith the Lord, the God of Israel;
Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive
of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for
their good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I
will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them
down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And
I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I
will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. 8 And
as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith
the Lord, So will I give Zedekiah
the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain
in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9 And
I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their
hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places
whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine,
and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I
gave unto them and to their fathers. Jer 24:1-10 (KJV)
Chapter 11
1 I
say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an
Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God
hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture
saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3 Lord,
they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left
alone, and they seek my life. 4 But what saith the answer of God unto
him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee
to the image of Baal. 5 Even so then at this present time also
there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6 And
if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more
grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work
is no more work. 7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he
seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8 (According
as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they
should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9 And
David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock,
and a recompence unto them: 10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they
may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11 I say then, Have they
stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their
fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to
jealousy. 12 Now
if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of
them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13 For
I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I
magnify mine office: 14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them
which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 15 For if the casting
away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the
receiving of them be, but life from the dead? 16 For if the
firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root
be holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches
be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them,
and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18 Boast
not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee. 19 Thou
wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20 Well;
because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not
highminded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take
heed lest he also spare not thee. 22 Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be
cut off. 23 And
they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is
able to graff them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive
tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good
olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be
graffed into their own olive tree? 25 For I would not, brethren,
that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are
beloved for the fathers' sakes. 29 For the gifts and calling of God are
without repentance. 30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: 31 Even so have these also now
not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. 32 For
God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
33 O
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how
unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For
who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or
who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For
of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be
glory for ever. Amen. Romans 11:1-36 (KJV)
Matthew 24
And as he sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the
end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that
no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours
of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to
pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places. 8 All these are the beginning of
sorrows. 9 Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be
hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10 And then shall many be
offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And
many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And
because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15 When ye therefore shall see
the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the
holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in
Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come
down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is
in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are
with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But
pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake
those days shall be shortened. 23 Then if any man shall say unto you,
Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 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. 25 Behold,
I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you,
Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret
chambers; believe it not. 27 For as the lightning cometh out of the
east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. 28 For
wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon
shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers
of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory. 31 And
he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now
learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye,
when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the
doors. 34 Verily
I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be
fulfilled. 35 Heaven
and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But
of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but
my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before
the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the
flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be. 40 Then
shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41 Two
women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the
other left. 42 Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But
know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. 44 Therefore
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who
then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that
servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily
I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But
and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And
shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the
drunken; 50 The
lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him,
and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder,
and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Matt 24:3-51 (KJV)
Chapter 25
1 Then
shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their
lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise,
and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took
their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in
their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins
arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered,
saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye
rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they
went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to
the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the
other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said,
Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye
know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
14 For
the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who
called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And
unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man
according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then
he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them
other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also
gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the
earth, and hid his lord's money. 19 After a long time the lord of those
servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received
five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five
talents more. 21
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22 He also that had received
two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold,
I have gained two other talents beside them. 23 His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy
lord. 24 Then
he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou
art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou
hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the
earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant,
thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not
strawed: 27 Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at
my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take
therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten
talents. 29 For
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from
him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
31 When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be
gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set
the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For
I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I
was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And
the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me. 41 Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For
I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no
drink: 43 I
was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and
in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked,
or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then
shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it
not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal. Matt 25:1-46 (KJV)
The heart of the dilemma in this country
is that people are not following the Lord. Even the Church of the Lord Jesus
Christ, His Bride, have largely grown lax in seeking their Lord, living their
Faith, and separating from evil. Love has grown cold. The answer is coming to
Jesus Christ. Will many come? I pray so, but Jesus tells us something that
flies in the face our American numbers theology that equates the number of
salvation prayers as evidence of success even though life transformation
doesn’t take place. …true coming to Jesus will be evidenced by life
transformation progressively.
And he went through the cities and
villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then said one unto
him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, 24 Strive
to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter
in, and shall not be able. 25 When once the master of the house is
risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and
say unto you, I know you not whence ye are Luke 13:22-25 (KJV)
How can you be saved? Come to Christ.
Scripture puts it clearly:
The word is nigh
thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith,
which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For
the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over
all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Romans 10:8-13 (KJV)