Will We Follow Him?

So they called Rebekah and said to her, Will you go with this man? And she said, I will go. (Genesis 24:58, Amplified Bible)

I will go. Three simple words that epitomized Rebekah’s faith in her bridegroom, a man she did not even know! She was willing to leave her home and her people, a type of those believers who are wiling to leave everything behind to follow Christ and become His bride.

And Ruth said, Urge me not to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16, emphasis mine).

Ruth clung to Naomi, and professed that she would follow her while Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and returned to her people, a type of those believers who remain faithful in Christ and those who turn back to the world.

Then the Lord rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of the heavens. He overthrew, destroyed, and ended those cities, and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But [Lot’s] wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19, 24-26)

This is another type of the saved believer who does not seek first the kingdom and looks longingly back to this world. Throughout Scripture, we see people who falter at some point during their race. Esau sells his birthright for a mere cup of stew. Moses disobeys the Lord by striking the rock twice and is not allowed to enter the Promised Land. In fact, of the estimated 2.5 million Israelites who were believed to be living in the desert during that time, only two men followed God and are able to enter the land: Joshua and Caleb. The others who did not harken to God’s voice are not even allowed to see it (Numbers 14:22-30).

Paul mentions a thorn in his flesh that the Lord refuses to remove despite his pleas on three occasions. I can imagine him crying out:  Lord, give me the strength, endurance, and faith to follow You in all ways and to seek first Your kingdom no matter what the cost.

Satan’s plan remains the same as it was in the garden, which is to disqualify man from inheriting the kingdom. He attacks each of us in different ways. Learn more and be encouraged by John Herbert’s excellent sermons about the three enemies that can disqualify us from the race: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

What Does it Mean to Abide in Christ?

I was listening to an online sermon by Pastor Alan Robinson from Community Baptist Church titled "Abiding in the Vine" and wanted to know more about what abiding in Christ means.

Pastor Robinson mentions that in John 15:1-7, Jesus uses the word abide multiple times (emphasis mine):

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Robinson defines abiding as remaining or continuing in Christ by reading His Word, praying, and going about our daily business as a disciple as Christ. 

I wanted to know if Scripture could tell me more about how we are to abide in Christ.  I did a word search and was surprised to find that there are no mentions of abide in the NIV.  There are, however, 103 mentions in the KJV.

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  Every jot and tittle is important, which means we should pay attention to even the smallest details.  

So I used the online Net Bible to look up those 103 Scripture verses.  I discovered that Jesus always used the root word meno (Strong 3306) for abide.  At times like these, I really wish I could read biblical Hebrew and Greek because while God’s Word is infallible, the translators are not.  But according to Strong, meno can mean (emphasis mine):

1) to remain, abide

1a) in reference to place

1a1) to sojourn, tarry

1a2) not to depart

1a2a) to continue to be present

1a2b) to be held, kept, continually

1b) in reference to time

1b1) to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure

1b1a) of persons, to survive, live

1c) in reference to state or condition

1c1) to remain as one, not to become another or different

2) to wait for, await one

Thanks to this exercise, I have a much better understanding of what it means to abide in Christ Jesus.

Understanding Unexplainable Bible Passages

Have you ever come across Scripture passages that don’t make sense?  The kind that church leaders could never explain to your satisfaction, or worse, they told you to ignore? Here are some that used to confound me (all from the Amplified Bible):

Hebrews 9:28: Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are [eagerly, constantly, and patiently] waiting for and expecting Him. (Emphasis mine)

What is this full and future salvation?  And why does it sound like it is only for those who are continually looking for Christ’s return? There were other unexplainable passages about it:

1 Peter 1:5: Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time.

1 Peter 1:9: [At the same time] you receive the result (outcome, consummation) of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

These passages say that this future or final salvation is the salvation of our soul. How is it different from the salvation that we receive when we believe in Christ? Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is a free gift based upon our faith in Christ and not upon our works, lest we should boast.

Then how do you explain James 2:14?:

What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul].

These passages did not make any sense until I understood the difference between present salvation (spirit salvation) and future salvation (soul salvation).  Chitwood explains the difference in this short tract.

The Millennial Kingdom in Revelation

While reading the Book of Revelation (the only book in Scripture that promises a blessing to its readers) I felt led to write down the rewards for overcomers side-by-side. I saw that they seem to build upon each other in relation to positions of authority in the Millennial Kingdom!

To the church in Ephesus: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God (Rev 2:7). 

Using Scripture to interpret Scripture, we first learn about the tree of life in Genesis 2:9. God placed it in the middle of the garden and Adam and Eve were free to eat of it. Some authors suggest that this passage speaks to paradise regained in the Millennial Kingdom, or the promise of increased knowledge (Whipple).

To the church in Smyrna: He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev 2:11). 

The second death refers to salvation of the soul (1 Corinthians 3:12-15), which unlike salvation of the spirit (the free gift of eternal life) is the reward of gaining entrance into the Millennial Kingdom. This will be determined by whether our works are burned up or refined by fire at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus himself tells us that some will only be able to see the Kingdom while others will be able to enter it (John 3:3, John 3:5, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 18:3). In the Matthew parables, He speaks of believers who will be cast into the outer darkness for the thousand years, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30).

To the church in Pergamos: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Rev 2:17) 

In Exodus 16:15, manna was the miraculous food and sustenance the Lord provided each day for the children of Israel. The Revelation passage may refer to hidden wisdom that will be revealed to those who receive salvation of the soul. It also alludes to receiving a position of authority in the Millennial Kingdom. We see this in the type in Genesis 17:5, when God gave Abram a new name: Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee (emphasis mine).

To the church in Thyatira: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations; And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star. (Revelation 2:26-28) 

These passages fulfill the parables of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and the minas (Luke 19:11-26), where Jesus said that those who are wise and faithful over a few things will be made rulers over many things in the Millennial Kingdom. 

To the church in Sardis: He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. (Rev 3:5)  

If we let Scripture interpret Scripture, Revelation 4:4 tells us that those who are clothed in white raiment have the honor of sitting around the throne and are wearing crowns of gold.

To the church in Philadelphia: Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Rev 3:12) 

This appears to be another position of authority in the temple, a possible fulfillment of the type in 1 Kings 7:21 when Solomon set up the pillars in the porch of the temple.

To the church in Laodicea: To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Rev 3:21) 

Jesus had such harsh words for the Laodiceans.  He said that He would spew them out of His mouth. But those who open their eyes to the Kingdom truths, “come out” of this church, repent, and “sup” with Him can achieve this incredible reward, the highest position mentioned for overcomers.

Many teach that all believers are overcomers and will receive the same rewards, but Scripture clearly does not support this. When you understand the ramifications of the judgment seat of Christ, and can distinguish passages from Scripture that deal with salvation of the spirit (John 3:16, 11:26) from those that concern salvation of the soul (1 Peter 1:9), you see just how dangerous this teaching is.