Greatest Hindrance to Salvation

To state the obvious, the greatest hindrance to salvation is of course SIN. But are there certain sins which are worse than others? Not according to James 2:10 “For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.” Even a “liar” is doomed to the dreaded “lake of fire” in Rev. 21:8. So we can safely say that Rom. 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” is absolutely correct, for not ONE of us is guiltless! This is why, we so desperately need a Saviour, to stand on our behalf, as no-one is able to be righteous enough on his own! Jesus, took our place of punishment, when He died on the cross, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:23

But there are some sins which are worse than others because they have deeper consequences attached to them! There are some which become generational sins and will therefore affect three to four generations (Exod. 20:5). We could list a whole lot of different sins and their consequences, for example, the sin of slander is one of the “seven deadly sins” found in Prov. 6:16-19. They are known as the “seven deadly sins” because the consequences to these will actually cause a premature death!

But for now, I want to focus on the sin of unforgiveness, as it is possibly the deadliest. Even a Christian who dies with this sin in his/her heart will not be forgiven (Mark 11:26) and could lose their salvation. Certain Christian doctrines teach that once you become a Christian you will never lose your salvation. In certain aspects that is true, but because we have been given a free will, it is possible to choose to backslide or to apostatise or to deny Christ amidst severe persecution.

So, forgiveness is very important to God, because we ourselves have been freely forgiven of SO much. How then can we dare not to forgive others? A deeper study of unforgiveness will reveal many different aspects and consequences to this sin. Just recently, a friend of mine was deeply hurt by her son. It caused her great pain, which then resulted in her becoming ill. Fortunately, she sought Christian council and dealt with unforgiveness and resentment. We looked at the seven stages of unforgiveness when it is left unchecked.

This was certainly a detailed study, for example one aspect is guilt. Did you know that guilt is unforgiveness towards yourself? It is as equally important to forgive yourself if you want a healthy mental outlook on life and experience freedom. But I noticed there was one side of unforgiveness not many realise! What about unforgiveness towards God? Not that God needs our forgiveness as He is perfect and righteous in every way! But in our limited, human understanding, we blame God when bad things happen, and we cannot understand why God has allowed such things! It has been said, correctly so, that an atheist or agnostic will often think this way! Something terrible has happened in their past, and they blame God – they say, “How can there possibly be a God of love, when He has allowed this to happen to me?” They therefore completely deny the existence of God. In actual fact, they have “blocked” and shut Him out, refusing to allow Him any access into their mind or hearts!

Another friend had a situation earlier in his past. He had a son, with his partner. She then decided to leave, when their son was only six years old, and moved to another continent. He was unable to do anything about it, as he had no legal rights, as they were not married. He completely blamed God for taking his son away from him (not through death but through separation) and has adopted the atheist point of view! I am not even allowed to mention the name, God, when we are talking! When I look at this situation from a completely different angle, I can see that he, was to blame, and not God. God has said that if we obey, we will be blessed, but if we disobey, we will be cursed (Deut. 30:15). When we choose to do things our way (which will often involve sin), things will not work out for the best…the opposite is true when we do things God’s way, blessings will overtake us (Deut. 28).

I too, experienced deep pain as a child, but for some reason was spared from hating God! I intuitively turned to Him instead, from an early age! Not to say that I have been saved from the terrible consequences of what happened, but God’s hand of protection has somehow kept me from total destruction! You see, we are to run TO Him, NOT from Him – this I can honestly say is KEY to every difficult situation we face in life! There will be MANY, MANY times when things happen that are totally out of our control or understanding! We will feel lost, confused, unloved, betrayed, abandoned, alone and afraid! But again, the key is to turn TO Him in those situations, as He truly is the only answer and help in times of need!

Please, I am not saying I know the answers to many disturbing and horrific things that happen in this life! And there will always be things that are beyond our human understanding – we will never know all the answers this side of eternity. But one thing is also for sure, we have an enemy, Satan and he is the ruler of this world, and he is the one to be blamed for all the evil that is rampant upon this earth! Choosing to blame and ignore God will by default make you a follower of Satan! Which will also mean that when you die, you will be taken to the place that has been prepared for Satan and his followers! Whew, that is quite a statement, but unfortunately a true one at that! Why not turn to Jesus, right now, today, and be forgiven and accepted freely, into the kingdom of light. And become born again, into the family of God, and be an heir of salvation, and an heir to all the blessings He has for you. Not to mention, the gift of eternal LIFE, in a beautiful indescribable place called heaven!

If you are ready to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, see the salvation prayer in the previous post. S.J.

See The Ark of Salvation:

See Sinner’s Prayer prayed by Evangelist Perry Stone

See Mad at God:

see https://www.thehopeline.com/mad-at-god-2/

Dr Charles Stanley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs2tk76sZn8

S.J. You Tube: https://youtu.be/XTPxWJpV5uI

Salvation Prayer

If you are ready to receive Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, why do you not ask Him right now? A simple but heart felt prayer could be like this: -

Congratulations if you just said that prayer, welcome to the family of God, the angels are now rejoicing over one sinner who has come home. Do you realize, that now that you have received Jesus Christ into your heart, you are now a child of God? You are now promised eternal life and will live with Him forever in an exquisitely beautiful place called heaven, where the streets are made of pure gold (John 1:12; 3:15-16; 5:24; 10:28; Gal. 3:26; I John 5:11-13). Here is an amazing promise God gives to us…

4 God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away… 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city [itself was of] pure gold, clear and transparent like glass. Rev. 21:4, 18.

You are now “Born Again,” (John 3:3, 6) and you have become a new creation, the old has past and the new has come (II Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). Not because of how you feel, but because God in His Word has promised it, and He is not a man that He should lie (Num. 23:19). Your spirit has been made new and alive to God, but your mind and body have not changed. So now you will need to renew your mind and thinking in accordance with God’s Word (Rom. 12:2; II Cor. 3:18) by reading the Word of God the Bible. Start in the New Testament with the Gospel of John and then Romans, and use an easy translation. This is your spiritual food which is needed for you to grow. The word of God is powerful and will sustain and strengthen you as you begin to learn how to apply it to your life (Matt. 4:4; John 6:27, 57-58; I Pet. 2:2; Heb. 4:12).

Also begin to pray every morning before you do anything else. Talk to God as you would talk to your father (with respect and thanksgiving), prayer comes by practise and descipline. The more time you spend in His presence the closer you will get to Him. Also remember Jesus said, "you have not because you ask not," things do not happen on their own we need to ask God for help and guidance in every situation. Join other believers, if you can, and be apart of a church, a home group or Bible study, this will also encourage you!

Remember never give up (II Cor. 4:16-18; Gal. 6:9)! Salvation is only promised to those who do not give up, who overcome and endure to the end. A runner or athlete who quits just before the finish line, is automatically disqualified from the race! There are many rewards awaiting those who do finish their race (Rev. 2:7, 10; 21:7; Matt. 10:22; 24:13). You have an enemy, Satan and he will try his best to get you off track, deceive you and distract you. But the Lord has promised never to leave you or forsake you, He is with you always to help you through every difficult circumstance and He will never let you go (Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20; Isa. 41:10; 43:1-2; 49:15).

See The Ark of Salvation:

See Sinner’s Prayer prayed by Evangelist Perry Stone

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Most of us have heard the phrase, “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." But where does it come from? It comes from the book of the apocalypse, which is the last book in the Bible, the book of Revelation. In the sixth chapter, the Apostle John describes his vision of a Lamb, opening a scroll which had seven seals on it. Only the Lamb was worthy to open these seals. The first seal is opened, and one of the four living creatures cries out with a thunderous voice, “Come!” He introduces the first horse, a white horse with its rider carrying a bow and wearing a crown. Then the second seal is opened and the second living creature announces the second horse, a flaming red horse, whose rider is given a huge sword. The third seal is broken and the third living creature, calls the third horse, a black horse with its rider holding a pair of scales (a balance). When the Lamb broke open the fourth seal, the fourth living creature presents the fourth horse; the most gruesome of the four! It is an ashy pale horse (a greyish green livid colour, the ashen, discoloured appearance of the dead). Its rider’s name is Death, and Hades. “And they were given authority and power over a fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with plague and with wild beasts of the earth” vs 8.

It is important to understand that the book of Revelation is full of symbolism. Pastor Perry Stone explains the reason why symbolism was used; it was to preserve the writings of John from the authorities at that time, the Romans, as it would not be understood or considered political or a threat.

So let us investigate the symbols in this chapter. First, it is interesting to note, that in dream symbolism, the horse is considered a messenger of death! Each colour of the horses is a symbol of death in different areas. White and red represent death through war. Black is a symbol of death through famine and starvation. It is also a play on words – “the Black Market, the fire that fuels inflation”. The pale horse is the worse of all four, as it represents death in four areas - with the sword (war), with famine (starvation), with plague (disease and sickness) and with wild beasts.

Even the four living creatures play an important role in this rendition! In chapter four (vs 7; Ezek. 1:10) it reveals that each of the living creatures has a different face. The first, like a lion, the second, like an ox, the third, the face of a man, and the fourth like a flying eagle. Each of the four horses represent different parts or areas of the earth, the symbols of the faces of the four living creatures reveals which parts!

So, the worst areas of war will be the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and U.S.A. The severest area for famine and the “black market” (inflation) will be Europe (but famine will also be on every continent). And as I have explained the greatest destruction of all horses is the fourth pale horse, which represents the fourth area, being the United States of America! That area will also be exclusive to the plague and attacks from wild animals (as well as an attack from the “north” and uncontrollable fires)!

I hope you have found this quick overview and study of the four horsemen interesting and informative, even though it is also terrifying, to say the least! During this time, God’s hand of protection, provision and healing, will be mightily strong over His children, those that are safe in the ark of Salvation! S.J.

Also see previous post on 28 Feb 2021 - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

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