Category Archives: The Final Judgment

Grace, Jesus in Life, Law of God, The Final Judgment, Uncategorized, Your Identity in Christ

Good works do not result in salvation

Our good works do not result in salvation, nor do bad works result in being lost.

If good works do not result in our salvation, are they important? Moreover, if our bad actions do not cause us to be lost, then are evil deeds a non-issue? The key phrase “result in” means that the outcome of our works, do not determine our status with the Lord. However, behaviour, good or bad, can indicate our sincerity or a distancing in our relationship with Him.

It is not about the importance of or the purpose of our good deeds. It is about the method of salvation of which our good deeds are not the cause. They are the result.

What causes us to experience the joy of salvation if not our good deeds? Romans 3:20 states: “By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.” Jesus alone saves us, and we are kept and accounted righteous by the faith expressed in our accepting Him and further abiding in a relationship with Him via the Holy Spirit. “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12). Our focal attention must not be on our goodness or our misdeeds.To seek for or experience salvation, we are to focus on Jesus. By beholding Him, we will become changed into His image and our joy shall be suffonsified.

Every time we look at ourselves or our agenda alone, we will be unsuccessful. It is easy to be discouraged when we see our sinfulness and give up, or be proud of our excellent works and become proud. It is a dead-end street, either way, these delusions work to our misery. Only look to Jesus and know that you are secure. The bad thief on the cross looked to Jesus and said “Lord remember me in your coming kingdom” recognising Jesus as the Messiah. How did Jesus reply? “Today I tell you—you will be with me in paradise!”

Paul was radical about the subject of salvation by faith in Christ alone. He was not against good works – after all, he was one of the best-behaved persons in town. Writing Philippians 3, he disabuses his readers with some balancing humour: “If anybody has reason to boast of good works, I have matched or exceeded his record!” Summing it up, he counted his past life as loss – in fact, he viewed his behavioural perfectionism as crap — when compared to the glorious, merciful, faultless righteousness of Christ. Judged by the letter of the law as a good man, with an exemplary moral outward life, he had abstained from recognisable sin. Paul, reviewing his life, now honest, saw himself as God saw him — a man trying hard to be justified by works. He came to his senses and confessed that his need alone was Christ.

Our salvation finds union and security in our acceptance of Jesus — of His sacrifice for us – and our ongoing relationship with Him. It is not dependent on behaviour — salvation is much more than behaviour. Good works are not bargaining chips for eternal life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life”. Actions alone do not determine one’s eternal destiny — whereas our open-hearted, unashamed and honest relationship with Jesus as your Saviour does.

Good deeds will show up in your life, but they will never cause your salvation. God does not judge by the outward actions, but by the heart from which flow all the issues of life (see 1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 4:23).

The Final Judgment

Lawlessness in Paris: The gates of hell shall not prevail against, the church!

“…I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18 ESV)

The world was shocked when the many faceted attacks on Paris hit the news on November 13, 2015.

The Word of God resounded in my heart: “lawlessness will be increased” prior to our Lord’s return. He told his disciples this would occur as a sign. He went on to say: “the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24: 12-14 ESV)

The above scripture indicates that “lawlessness will be increased” and “love of many will grow cold” and that we as disciples of Christ must heed the fact that the “gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Thus, we are not to lose heart but to take courage – the day of our Lord is approaching. A reckoning is coming, not only for ISIS but for the entire world.

Further He taught, that at His second advent He is coming to judge the world: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”and further, “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matt. 24:27;30-31 ESV)

Note that Christ’s appearing will be visibly known by its brightness, audibly evident by the trumpet blasts, and angles will surround Him.

Apostle Paul added his prophecy to depict the resurrection of the faithful dead which will occur also at Christ’s coming in glory:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-8 ESV)

Incidents of lawless violence will only get worse yet true Christianity and the good news of the kingdom of Jesus Christ will resound more and more in the world, despite persecution. And this all is leading up to the solemn climactic event of  our Lord’s second advent to judge mankind.

We will all know when the Lord is coming. There will be a very bright, atomic-like radiance surrounding the glory of Jesus Christ when He comes back in His Supremacy as role of Life-giver and Judge over all the world: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matt. 24:27) “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” (Rev. 1:7 ESV)

Jesus came to offer a New Covenant of forgiveness, and peace with all mankind, based on love. He is our redeemer from sin and death, which has passed unto all men (see Rom 3:23; 6:23 ESV)

Jesus is also the Supreme Creator, God and Judge over the world (see Supremacy of Christ Colossians Chapter 1). The judgement will involve changing the way things we know it on earth, as He displays His glory:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3: 10-13 ESV)

I take solace in this quote of Jesus when he referred to Peter, his oft-fearful disciple, who with the apostles would spread the gospel to the entire world. I take personal ownership of this text and with confidence I say of the church – of Christ’s universal disciples: “…all the gates of hell shall not prevail against us” (Matt. 16:18 ESV)

I understand that we are increasingly becoming fragile, naïve, forgetful of our forefather’s origins in Christ, fewer read the Word of God or have family worship where they kneel to pray together. Yet we can turn to the Lord and repent of our disregard, and He will immediately forgive: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:16:31 ESV)

It is high time to renew your confidence in the Lord and seek His guidance.

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 Paris Photo, Glen Jackman

The Final Judgment

Christ versus the Dark Side of Globalization

Human nature will prevail against man’s humanistic drive

Nations seem to be working hard to use the element of surprise in international relations in a competitive manner. What is going on during  ongoing extensive globalization? Divergence trumps convergence of unity. Just watching the power plays of Russia versus the USA, ISIS terrorization of Christians and non-conforming Arabs, Iran versus Israel and China claiming islands in the South China Sea.

Divisional fragmentation, rather than tolerance of differences, is creating a world of fracturing capital, power and ideas. The weaponization of everything: Globalization’s dark side. Reuters

Jesus told of a coming time before His Second Advent when there will be anguish, perplexity of nations, terror, and the world becoming apprehensive of their future: “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luke 21:25-28 NIV)

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The infrastructure of the societal enabler of globalization — finance, technology, energy, law, education, science, trade and travel — have all been turned into weapons in a new form of warfare in this so-called humanitarian ideal — the global village. These forces are being morphed into divisive weapons against the unification of peoples. Collectively mankind has gone crazy.

The minds of fallen mankind are as Jeremiah put it “deceitful” beyond comprehension, while trying to join their many cultures, religions, political contingencies, ideologies whilst jockeying for power with intrigue. The inner deceits of mankind ramped up to a political, nationalistic, politically dogmatic pitch, now to the highest frenzy where motives are masked and hidden, where transparency of brotherhood cannot prevail. Globalization is the foundation of a collective humanity which is in fact, delusional: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9 NIV)

Here is the proof that we’re in trouble:
1. Technology has brought cyber-hacking warfare. Personal data of roughly 22.1 million government employees, as well as their families and friends, has been exposed in the USA as well as top corporate secrets, and financial theft is rampant, from use of your credit card, your desktop computer or mobile phone.
2. Finance has been infiltrated by thieves through global payment systems, stock market brokerage trading houses using rapid flash trading, and national manipulation of currencies for ascendancy in commerce.
3. The Internet has been weaponized for a) marketing the wealthiest companies who pay Google for rankings, while the smaller businesses get pushed down the pike and metaphorically kicked off the village streets, b) pornography is now being offered freely Googled into the computers, served up to unprotected children and adolescents at an unprecedented rate. Surveys indicate that “14% of 9- to 16-year-olds had seen porn during the previous year…and that survey also predated smartphones and iPads, which have made porn much easier to access, with the explosive increase in free material”.  The Economist | Pornography (1)
4. Religion has been mobilized by political church leaders espousing how to fix the world behind a historic facade of political global power that began pre-Reformation after Christ and the apostles, with little mention of the salvation of souls or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to unify men in love.
5. Trade and has rigged through trade agreements that make it easy to source cheap labour and products globally while jobs are killed off by the millions at home.
6. Law has been weaponized through the empowerment of top justices to remake the laws of the land, who bow to the proud claims of group minority rights such as same-sex marriage.
7. Energy has been weaponized through pipeline alliances and the use of oil production as strategic tools such as fracking, and atrocities such as corporations being given huge tax breaks and free land where they have been ripping huge holes in Northern Alberta’s oil sands and polluting the environment for years.
8. Mining has been plundered by wealthy corporations, who came, saw, and conquered virgin lands — corporations rape natural resources, deforesting huge acreages, then leave gaping polluted craters worldwide such as surrounding the Sudbury, Ontario nickel mining region.
9. Regurgitated media without a moral compass abounds. Social communication and networking has been bastardized, with a barrage of dumbed-down superficial quotes and media in FaceBook to the degree you cannot find your children on FB without scrolling 3 yards down, while tempted to “like” what annoys the intellectual mind, to businesses networking vicariously online using LinkedIn — a game of social roulette — rather than just picking up the phone.
10. Privacy has been destroyed, as government airplanes (in the USA as revealed by Edward Snowden) hover over cities monitoring mobile chats and texts by creating government cell towers in transit, while the largest mobile companies offer up all communication paths for security’s sake —  Big Brother is — watching —  listening.

The scriptures indicate that two-thirds of the world will not repent prior to the Lord’s return in the clouds with power and great glory: “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed….” whereas “the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues… did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts”. (Rev. 9:18, 20 ESV) The evils noted are, murder, sorceries (witchcraft, tarot cards, fortune telling, mediums etc.) and sexual immorality (pornography, adultery, rape, homosexuality, lesbianism), and theft (on a global scale).

It also depicts a time when commerce will be blocked by a Big Brother force of evil control over world markets: “no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name”. (Rev. 3:17 NIV)

The velocity and impact of weaponizing today’s tools of global integration create an age of unprecedented interdependence with anyone anytime. It makes the oppressed youth rise up as they did in the Arab Spring, and assists collaborations with “entitled” refugees, most of whom are young men. We see an asymmetry of power. Strengths are becoming weaknesses and weaknesses strengths. For example, dependency on the Internet allows rogue cyberattacks. Wealthy and powerful institutions of immense power now can be brought low by rogue hackers thousands of miles away.

The vulnerability of everyone’s retirement assets everywhere may be at risk. Not only are fewer pension funds for retirement except in the fields of health care, education, and government. Stock exchanges can be distorted by trading glitches and sudden unexplained activity spikes. Investors can no longer have full confidence in the sources or uses of their capital. When elite global brokerages use trading software compete with the individual day trader via the sophisticated algorithms of flash trading a critical foundation of trade and commerce is rendered impotent.

Tomorrow, climate, space, genomics and pharmacy may be weaponized against us. The weaponization of everything: Globalization’s dark side. Reuters

Think of globalization as the new Trojan horse for the greatest enemies of peace that Satan is deploying.

On the religious side of globalization

Many are far more interested in enlarging their business horizons or securing personal wealth, than spreading the gospel which is a command of Jesus Christ for Christians.

Islam is on a rapid march as they take hold of globalization for the purpose of worldwide mass indoctrination. It is estimated that due to Islam’s population rising while other adults have fewer children, they will be the major population demographic in the world. Most of the world does not know about the only way to salvation as informed by the apostles: “There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NLT)