The Heaton File

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. (Jude 20-23)

Important Characteristics For The Beloved

Often, people want a quick checklist to help them develop a good character. There are many such lists in the Bible that a Christian can use to help create a pattern of holy character, and Jude is no exception. With just over sixty words, Jude presents a pattern of discipleship that any Christian should seek to emulate in his life every day. Contained in these few nuggets of divine truth, anyone trying to form their lives in the image of Jesus Christ will find a wealth of information to help them become a better person and shining examples of godliness in their life.

Jude speaks to the beloved who are in Christ. The term “beloved” is the same endearment God used for His Son when Jesus was baptized and at the Mount of Transfiguration. In the parable of the wicked vinedressers, Jesus alludes to Himself as the beloved of the Father. Paul often referred to his brethren as the beloved. God looks upon His children as His beloved, as a Father endears Himself to His children. Jude refers to his brethren three times as his beloved because he cares for them and their relationship with the Father. The characteristics Jude outlines are how one can enjoy the paternal blessings of a loving and compassionate Father who cares deeply for the affairs of those who seek His favor.

The essential character of the beloved is to build oneself up in the most holy faith. God wants His people to grow in the grace and knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ. Much like constructing a building with a proper foundation, secure walls, and a permanent roof, the life of the Christian must be built on the rock – Jesus Christ; the teachings of the apostles; and the grace of God covering his life. Building requires action and activity. No house is built by itself. It takes daily effort to build the heart to be forgiving, compassionate, and passionate about Jesus Christ. Faith comes from hearing the word of God through an everyday experience of God’s voice. No Christian can build themselves up without the word of the Lord dwelling in their hearts. First things must come first – build the faith in the word.

Prayer is the concrete that holds a building together. Many of God’s people dwell in a spiritual kindergarten when it comes to prayer life. The result is the building is wobbly and unstable without the mortar of prayer filling the cracks and spaces of life. Praying in the Holy Spirit is taking the sword of the Spirit (the Bible) and talking to God, seeking His counsel. Those who are beloved of the Father deeply desire to speak with the Father. Knowing that God listens to every prayer and He blesses His children with all their needs according to His divine reassures the Christians they are loved and beloved of the Father.  

Keeping oneself in the love of God is where the walk of obedience shows the beloved’s faith. The Lord has always required His people to obey His commands, precepts, laws, and judgments. Grace is the love of the Father for His children, and works evidence the love of the disciple to the Father. No one can be saved by faith alone. Building oneself up in the most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit requires action on the part of the beloved. Without works, faith is dead. The Christian must show the Father how much they love Him and thank him for looking upon them as the beloved.

Jesus came to save the lost and called all men to repentance. He gave His life for ransom to take away the wrath of God, redeeming those who would obey the will of the Father. The debt owed to God for His love and the price of redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ can never be repaid. God’s mercy comes without measure. Eternal life is a divine blessing given by the love of the Father to creatures who do not deserve one crumb of mercy – yet man has been granted to be called God’s beloved and to bask in the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. The joy of being the beloved of the Father is to know how much the Father loves His children. Mercy fills the soul of those who see the love of God. They feel His immense grace to forgive sinful men.

How can you live a full life in Christ? Build yourself up in the most holy faith, pray without ceasing, walk in the love of God, and recognize the grace of God to redeem you from His wrath. The final admonition of Jude is for the individual to have a love for others. There are those who are overcome by sin that need to be pulled from the fire. Jude suggests having compassion for some, but others must be saved with power. Eternal life can be lost so easily. Do not waste time. Show God’s love for those who need a compassionate heart. Others deal with them directly and forcefully to save their souls lest they perish. Time is fleeting. Now is the day of salvation. Follow Jude’s pattern of spiritual growth. To God be the glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever.

Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. (Matthew 28:11-15)

The Great Lie

When the Jewish rulers realized the tomb of Jesus was empty, they had a problem. Jesus had told His disciples that He would be killed in Jerusalem but raised from the dead on the third day. The claim of Jesus to come from the grave was not an idle threat to the minds of His enemies. They knew that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead and that after four days, Jesus called him out of the tomb. The possibility of resurrection became clearer when Jesus died, and the rulers went to Pilate demanding a guard be placed at the tomb. Jesus died on Friday, and on Saturday, the chief priests and Pharisees came to Pilate concerned the disciples of Jesus would come and steal the body away and claim He was resurrected. They demanded Pilate make secure the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (where Jesus was buried) until after the third day lest what they called the “last deception” be worse than the “first deception.”

It was unknown to the Jewish leaders they completed the divine will of God when they demanded a Roman guard. If the guard had not been placed, an argument could be made that, somehow, the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Placing a Roman guard at the tomb of Jesus removed any doubt the tomb was empty through the power of God. The tomb was guarded and secured by the might of the Imperial Roman Army. The disciples could not have mounted an attack against these seasoned soldiers who knew if they allowed anyone to steal the body, they would face certain death. They sealed the tomb and set the guard.

On the first day of the week, two women came to the tomb of Jesus. A great earthquake shook the earth, and an angel of God descended from heaven and rolled back the great stone sealing the tomb. The guards shook in fear as they had never seen the power of God before. As the women stood in awe of the splendor of the power of God, the angel told them Jesus was not there but had risen, and they must tell the disciples. The women went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell the disciples what they had seen. When the women left, the soldiers guarding the tomb realized they had a serious problem. The body they were guarding was gone, and they faced certain death.

Leaving the tomb, the soldiers entered the city and told the chief priests what had happened. Assembling the Jewish leadership, the chief priests and elders faced a terrible dilemma. Jesus claimed He would rise from the dead on the third day. The first day of the week had come, and the tomb of Jesus was empty. His claim for the world to find an empty tomb on the third day had come true. Did they think about the event of Lazarus and realize the truth of what Jesus said? The chief priests and elders were in a dizzying quandary of despair to admit Jesus had risen from the dead. They also began to hear reports of family members returning from the dead and filling Jerusalem. The city had dead people walking about that were no longer dead.

The only solution the Jewish leaders could find was to pay the soldiers large sums of money, bribing them to keep quiet about what they knew and to lie about what happened. Remarkably, the cover story was the disciples of Jesus came and overpowered the Roman soldiers while they slept and stole the body of Jesus. The soldiers took the large sums of money and told the story as given to them by the Jewish leadership. It is difficult to understand how they explained that to their fellow soldiers and were not court-martialed or killed. If the governor happened to hear the soldiers were sleeping and lost the body of Jesus, the Jewish leaders would appease him (probably with more money). The fear that began when Jesus died became the greatest lie when the tomb was found empty.

Lying has its own wings, and how large the wings of a lie can take a story to incredible heights. The soldiers told the truth about what had happened, but the Jewish leaders wove the deceitfulness of lies in an attempt to cover up the truth they had to admit. One has to wonder what became of the soldiers. It is clear to the Bible student the Jewish leaders could deny Jesus rose from the dead but in reality; they knew He had risen. The power of God thwarted their efforts to secure the tomb, and they knew it. The greatest lie comes when the truth is evident, and man’s heart refuses to admit what he knows is true. This is like those who deny the Bible as the word of God. Each generation tries to destroy the Bible, and yet it remains. Truth remains. Lies fall.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Without Jesus

Man cannot live without Jesus. It is possible to live without Jesus, but the conclusion of life is marred eternally when Jesus is not the focus of life. Many absolutes are definable by strict guidelines of definitions, but the idea that man can live without having Christ in their life is an impossibility. Saying that Jesus is not necessary for life suggests that air is not required for life. Man cannot live in the vacuum of space because there is an absence of air. Death would be instantaneous if an astronaut were circling the earth and journeyed outside his craft without his protective and life-giving gear. Jesus said no man could live without Him, no more than a branch can survive separated from the vine. The vine supplies the branch’s nutrients to grow and become strong. If the branch is cut from the vine, the branch will die. Jesus supplies all the needs for the spirit of man. When men cut themselves off from Jesus, they die.

Life can only come from the one true source. Jesus is the only source of eternal life and the only answer to how one must save themselves. The only truth is Jesus Christ. There is no other way but the way of Christ Jesus. Life can only come (no exception) from the Son of God. God reminds man that he is only a branch whose existence is dependent on the grace of the Lord. Man does not know how to walk in his own way. History is filled with graveyards of broken promises and dreams of human wisdom. Men turn away from God to find a higher calling and find a destroyed world instead. When there is no judge in the land, every man will do what is right in his own eyes. This is when the branch tries living apart from the vine. The days of Noah declare the glory of human wisdom and the wrath of God upon the ignorance of men.

Without Jesus, there would be nothing to live for. Life becomes a tedious toil of futility if there is no promise of life after death. Jesus left His eternal home to open the portals of eternal life to all men. Sadly, the world has little interest in Jesus. They have no desire to be included with the vine and be like the vine. The vine of a muscadine grape will bear muscadine grapes in the branches. Life in Jesus will bear eternal life. Without Jesus, there is no hope of eternal life. Abiding in Jesus Christ brings life where much fruit is born. The abundance of God’s grace will fill the heart and mind of the one who seeks the sustenance of divine glory.

Abiding in Jesus is accepting the one true vine as the only source of life. Serving the Savior is not found in other vines. Life comes from the one trustworthy source of hope and joy. The Bible is the declaration of the eternal vine. Jesus Christ is the central character of the Bible as the only source of life. God is the one true God, and there can be no other. Man is only a branch that depends on the vine for everything. The breath of life comes from the grace of God. Without the power of God, life cannot exist. Remove God, and there is nothing. When the wisdom of men exalts itself above the wisdom of God, the vacuum of destruction follows.

You have no life if your life is not filled with Jesus Christ. It is possible to live without Jesus, but you are only holding your breath until you can survive no longer. Life comes from the Son of God. There is nothing man can do to save himself apart from Jesus Christ. Let Jesus come into your life. Obey His word. Accept His rule. Live for Jesus. Without Him, you can do nothing.

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29)

Two Resurrections

One certainty is affirmed by Jesus and acknowledged by all men. Death is certain. No one can escape the reality that no man lives forever and, in the scheme of things, does not live very long. The grave has a voracious appetite that can never be satisfied, taking young and old, rich and poor. Men have tried to find a fountain of youth to turn back the hands of time, to slow the dying process, and to prolong life, but to no avail. All men die. Jesus reminded His disciples that death should not be a surprise to anyone. There is an hour when everyone will die regardless of where they are in life and who they are. The only exception that will take away the power of death is the coming of the Lord, but the conclusion remains the same. It’s what happens after death and the coming of the Lord that is the true meaning of life.

Men fear death and take no notice of what happens after death. For most, death is final. There is no life after death. When a man breathes his last, the body crumbles into dust, life goes on, and the existence of the human spirit is extinguished. Many believe in some form of an afterlife but seldom live as if there are consequences to what lay beyond the realm of the dead. If a man truly believes in life after death and reward and punishment await him on the other side of the grave, he will live accordingly. This does not guarantee hope of good things because living according to one’s answer to right and wrong may not justify him. The question remains if there is life after death and what happens to everyone when they die.

Jesus said all men die, but that is not the important lesson. The Lord makes an astonishing statement about all those in the grave. They are dead and have no life in them, but there is coming a time when those in the grave (those who are dead) will hear the voice of God and come forth or resurrect from the dead. The question of whether there is life after death is immediately recognized that death is not final. There is something else coming. Those who are dead will be able to hear the voice of God. When they hear the voice of God, the dead will do something remarkable. They will come forth to a world of blessing or a world of the most horrible horror. This suggests an experience after death that is real. Jesus said there would be two resurrections.

For all those who have obeyed the will of the Father (done good), hearing the voice of God will bring immeasurable joy and happiness. They will resurrect to a world of life. Death will be turned into life. The experience of death will be the fulfillment of the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It will be real and full of inexpressible joy. Sadly, most will not enjoy resurrection. Jesus taught that few will be saved, and the majority will be lost. The common factor for all men is that everyone will resurrect, but the disobedient and those who have not done the will of the Father will be resurrected to condemnation. There will be life after death, but this life will be an unending experience of the most profound horror and fear in a world of total darkness. All men will experience resurrection, and most will be resurrected to the wrath of God, judgment, and damnation.

The gospel of two shows that life after death will only take two courses. One will be full of joy, and the other will be filled with terror. Which resurrection one experiences will depend on whether one decides to follow Jesus Christ and obey His word. There’s a great day coming when all that in the grave will hear the voice of the Lord and be raised up. What happens next is the deciding point in a man’s life when he hears the voice of God say, “Well done,” or “Depart from Me.” Which resurrection will be yours? You decide what that answer will be. Resurrection. It’s coming.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning— lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:31-37)

Sleeping When The Lord Comes

There’s a great day coming, and this great day will be unlike any event in the history of the earth. Thousands of years ago, God formed the word with the breath of His word. The world is held together by that word reserved for judgment on the final day. Jesus said heaven and earth will pass away. As Creator, He knows the fate of the earth, moon, sun, and innumerable stars that fill the heavens. The Earth is the only place where life dwells in the vast universe of space, and on this tiny rock spinning around the sun, billions of souls live unaware of a fateful day that will change their lives for eternity. In a moment faster than the eye can blink, with the deafening sound of eternal judgment, the universe, including planet Earth will melt in the heat of divine righteousness as God brings to a close the history of humanity. The Lord has returned as promised.

The day of the Lord took on many forms over the centuries. In the days of Noah, the day of the Lord began with the heavens bursting forth in water and the fountains of the deep filling the world until all life on earth was dead except eight souls. For the nation of Egypt, the wrath of the Lord was unleashed upon the most powerful nation on earth through the plagues and destruction of the army of Pharaoh. Other countries would suffer the same fate as the Lord God brought judgment against those who stood against Him: Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Israel would suffer the day of the Lord twice; first, against the northern tribes and then the captivity of the southern tribes. Jesus spoke of the day of the Lord coming against the city of Jerusalem. In 70 A.D., the Roman general Titus destroyed the once city of God, including razing the Temple.

Writers in the early church warned of the coming of the wrath of God. Two thousand years have passed, and nothing has happened. The population of the world continues to be oblivious to the firm reality that aside from death, a day is coming that will destroy all life on earth. In the destruction of the heavens and the earth, all men will be dissolved in eternal fire. Only a few will experience a new birth in eternal life, while the majority of souls will face the abyss of Hell and eternal darkness and fire. The great day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. There will be no warning, no signal, and no announcement of His coming. Every day is a blessing because there is no guarantee another day will come.

Jesus declares the day of the Lord is kept secret from everyone – including Himself. The Son of God does not know the day His Father will determine the end of humanity has come. Deciding to destroy the world is the divine judgment of the Lord God Almighty and Him alone. What Jesus wants His disciples to remember is the day of the Lord is unknown, and the faithful must be on guard and alert so they will not be caught unprepared. Three things are necessary to prepare for the day of the Lord: take heed, watch, and pray. Taking heed is setting life in order to be pleasing to God. Watching for the Lord is rising each day in the hope the Lord returns that day. Praying is a vital part of a watchful life as God hears the voice of His children seeking His love and mercy.

The most important part of the Christian’s life is never to be found sleeping, unaware, surprised, and unprepared. No one knows the day of the Lord, but remaining awake for His return will be a blessing of joy rather than the horror of unpreparedness. Keep a good watch and pray. Long for the day the Lord will return. If He does not return in your lifetime, death will be a blessing to preempt that day, and the same joy awaits. Take heed, watch, and pray – for the day of death can come suddenly. Let that day be a day of joy. Watch.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The story is told of Michelangelo, the famous Italian sculptor, standing before a rejected block of marble that builders had cast aside. Staring intently at the block of marble, someone asked Michelangelo what he was looking at. “An angel,” he replied. What he had discovered in looking at the block of marble cast aside was what he could bring out with a mallet and chisel. To others, the block of marble was a rejected stone; to Michelangelo it became a masterpiece.

It would seem that when Jesus chose the twelve apostles, He was not looking as clearly at what they were but at what they could become. On the surface, these twelve men were Galilean fishermen, a zealot, a tax collector, and two brothers known as the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:14-19). How could these men possibly be the future of the Kingdom of God to take a message of salvation to a lost world? Except for Judas, they became ambassadors of the good news of Jesus Christ to which later the apostle Paul would write, “Not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven” (Colossians 1:23). They became all that God wanted them to be because of God working through them.

It is easy to focus on who we are instead of what we can become. We are the rejected stone that God saw promise in. In the Garden of Eden, God saw the blessing of bringing salvation to the creation that had rebelled against Him. Through Jesus Christ, we are made whole in the “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Peter tells us we are an “elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession” (1 Peter 2:9). This is not because of who we are but what we have become in Jesus Christ.

Our lives are changed by the power of God working through our thoughts, speech, actions, and motives. This change is a metamorphosis of our character of sin to our realization of hope. What I can become with God’s help is only limited by what I desire Him to work in my life. “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Allowing God to work in my life will bring about significant changes in every aspect of my character.

Many people who lived reprobate lives before obeying the gospel are changed beyond recognition because of what God has done in their lives. Consider the changes in Saul of Tarsus, who became (with God’s help) the apostle Paul (Philippians 3:4-6). If these changes can be made in Saul, what great wonders can happen in my life? “What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him” (Romans 8:31,32). How wonderful the promise of God to give us all things in Christ. With God’s help, I can hear those precious words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter” (Matthew 25:21).

And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the Earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the Earth. Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.” (Genesis 6:13-14)

Noah Believed In The Grace Of God

The early days of the Earth did not produce a righteous nation of people. Following the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, men grew worse and worse in their desire to please themselves through the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the eye. Nothing was held back. Filling themselves with every kind of unrighteousness, the world exploded with evil, causing God to decide something had to be done. It grieved the heart of the Creator to see how His creation had turned their back on His love, mercy, and grace. As the Lord gazed upon the hearts of men, He found few that were righteous. Noah was such a man the Lord saw favor and grace.

Living in such a corrupt world would seem impossible, but Noah and his family were determined to serve the Lord with all their hearts. Raising three young boys in such an environment would have been a monumental effort. Noah and his wife instilled in Ham, Shem, and Japheth a love for God. The influence of Noah reached to the women who married his sons. The family of Noah was the only island of holiness in a world filled with the flood of wickedness. As a light shining in a dark place, Noah’s family stood firm for God and His word. The Lord looked upon the Earth and saw the evil that had taken the hearts of men. He decided to kill everyone on Earth except the family of Noah. They found grace in His eyes.

Grace is only found in the mind of God. Gazing upon a wicked world, the Lord decided He would destroy everyone. Noah was unaware of the mind of God. He had no way of knowing the plan of God and the reason the Lord would destroy the world. Noah served the Lord in faithfulness without the knowledge of the coming destruction. Grace is first served when God comes to Noah and tells him of the imminent destruction. It must have been a blow to Noah to consider the number of people that were going to die at the hand of the Lord. Trying to understand a global flood was beyond his comprehension. God’s grace was without definition in the mind of Noah as he viewed the word of God. The world faced extinction and destruction.

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God comes to Noah to tell him something he could not know apart from divine revelation. The kindness of God warned Noah of the impending doom, and then grace told Noah what to do to be saved. After God tells Noah what He plans to do, Noah may have wondered how he would save himself and his family. Would they move to the tallest mountain in the world and hope for the best? How could Noah survive the great flood that would kill all mankind? Noah had no answers. God’s grace had the answer.

Telling Noah what was coming did not save him and his family. God’s grace demanded a plan of salvation. Grace is of no value if there is no means of redemption. Noah was told to build an ark and construct it in a specific way. God’s grace gives Noah the plan to save himself and his family, but Noah is still not saved. Believing God will destroy the world and accepting that building an ark could save him is now how the grace of God could save Noah and his family. The grace of God must be obeyed. Moved with godly fear, Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household. Grace alone did not and could not save Noah. It was within the power of God to build the ark for Noah, but that was not the will of God. Noah had to build the ark, which must be constructed precisely as God instructed.

Noah believed in the word of the Lord and built the ark exactly as determined by the will of God. When the flood came and destroyed all whose nostrils were the breath of the spirit of life, Noah was in the ark as God commanded, along with his family. Grace saved Noah, and obedience to the word of God saved Noah. Without the grace of God, Noah and his family would have perished in the flood. If Noah refused to build the ark, he would have doomed his family to perdition. Grace and works saved Noah. He believed the word of God and obeyed His command. God’s grace has determined the world’s fate again, and the Lord has given instructions on what a man must do to be saved. When men reject the will of the Father, they reject the only ark that will save them. Obeying the word of the Lord will put a man in Christ, where the grace, mercy, and love of God are found. No obedience means no salvation. Thank God for His grace. Are you doing His will?

However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. (Luke 5:15-16)

Taking Time For Self

The ministry of Jesus was an exhausting work of preaching, teaching, healing, and traveling from region to region. When Jesus would come into an area, the word spread the teacher and healer was there, and multitudes flocked to Him. On a few occasions, over five thousand people gathered to hear the teachings of Jesus. As Jesus touched each diseased person, laid His hands on the blind and mute, and restored untold numbers of people to their health, the energy was sapped out of Him, and He grew weary. There was not only the physical toil of His ministry but the incredible intensity of the purpose of His mission. He knew what He came to do. More than once, He would tell His disciples He would go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and then be killed. Jesus was fully aware of what suffering awaited Him, and He was constantly remembering when the hour would come. He pressed on. And He seldom slowed and missed opportunities to teach others.

On more than one occasion, after teaching and healing multitudes of people, Jesus would withdraw Himself to a quiet place for meditation and thought. He would go to a mountain and pray all night. Sometimes long before the sun’s rising, Jesus went out by Himself to a solitary place and prayed. There was a time when the people wanted to make Jesus their king, but Jesus left them and went to a mountain to be alone. He also went into the wilderness to be alone with His Father in prayer. Jesus needed to take time for Himself. He made it a practice in His busy ministry to carve out time away from the crowds so He could be alone. Judas knew where to find Jesus on the betrayal night because the Lord often went to Gethsemane as a place of prayer.

Life can be filled with a lot of activity. There never seem to be enough hours in a day. Everything that needs to be done is seldom done, and schedules are straining under the weight of too much work to be accomplished. People live hectic, rushed, and chaotic lives that never seem to slow or calm down. Excuses are given why there is little time for self-meditation, prayer, a study of God’s word, or fellowship with those of like precious faith. There are ballgames, concerts, practices, parties, shopping, lawn care, fixing broken things, filling out the honey-do lists, recreation, and checking every form of social media that vies for constant attention.

The endless activity of life consumes people who cannot go through an hour of worship to the Lord Holy God without checking their phones for social updates. When the invitation song is sung, phones light up to see what was missed in the last 54 minutes. Social media has stopped couples from sharing, children of learning, and society in general from taking time for themselves. There is no time. The irony is that someone will say they need to get away and be by themselves but cannot leave their phones. Life is consuming. It is overwhelming. Minds are filled with the constant beehive of activity ad nauseum.

Jesus took time for Himself. If the Son of God knew the importance of going to a quiet place to be alone (and no cell phone), what makes any human being think they should not need the same – and more? Life is not as busy as it is presented to be. We create life to be what it is, and we allow life to run our lives into the ground with never-ending activity. Jesus took time for Himself – we must take time for ourselves. There is a time to remove yourself from the hectic pace of a hurried life and spend time alone in prayer with God. The Lord is not interested in your cell phone. Leave it alone for a few hours (or more) and prove you are not addicted. God needs your time – alone – all by yourself. Is life busy? Find a mountain or wilderness and GO by yourself and be ALONE. You will be amazed how refreshed you will be.

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)

Was The Thief Baptized?

No criminal in human history has received more press time than the man crucified next to Jesus. When Jesus was led to Golgotha for crucifixion, two other criminals were crucified. In the beginning, both men reviled Jesus. The unrepentant robber taunted Jesus that if He were the Messiah, to save Himself and the two of them. But the other rebuked his fellow robber declaring they were guilty of their crime, but the man in the middle had done nothing wrong.

The scriptures are silent on how much the man knew about Jesus before they were crucified, but it is certain he recognized Jesus as a man who was innocent of the crimes leveled against Him. Above the two thieves bore the titles of thieves and robbers. Pilate had inscribed above Jesus the charge, “This is the King of the Jews.” The conduct and demeanor of Jesus struck the robber as it would later impress upon the Centurion in charge of the execution. There was a penitent heart in the robber. Jesus knew the man’s heart and saw a pure motive in seeking forgiveness. The expression of mercy and grace is eternal, and it finds Jesus, barely able to speak after hours on the cross, whispering to the man by His side, “Today, you will be with Me in Paradise.”

There are few acts of mercy found in scripture as profound as the moment the Son of God looks upon the face of one of His creations and gives him peace. Jesus is saving men before He dies. His act of love is a message of incredible grace with the promise of eternal life. As the author of salvation and the adjutant of the divine law, Jesus served the purpose of His Father to forgive men their sins. This was not the first time He had forgiven sins. When the four friends brought their ill friend to Jesus, letting him down through the roof, Jesus shocked the religious elite by telling the man His sins were forgiven. Answering their hearts of blasphemy, Jesus proves He can forgive sins by healing the man of his paralysis immediately. Jesus can forgive sins according to His divine will. That is how powerful the Holy Spirit preserves the story of the thief on the cross.

Sometimes men are uncomfortable with acts of divine mercy. Trying to explain the reason Jesus forgave the thief on the cross, the idea is suggested that possibly the thief had been baptized under the baptism of John. Nothing in scripture suggests the thief had any dealings with John and his disciples. Denying the power of divine forgiveness, a solution to the quandary of how Jesus could forgive a man is answered with reference to the need to be baptized by John. It is unclear why the baptism of John is always suggested when the disciples of Jesus baptized more than the disciples of John. Why not appeal to the thief being a disciple of Jesus and baptized by one of the Lord’s disciples? What purpose does the suggestion of the thief being baptized have to his salvation?

When the thief was crucified, baptism was not essential for salvation. The Law of Moses was still in effect, and nothing in the Law required immersion in water for salvation. Was Lazarus (of the story of the rich man and the beggar) saved because he had been baptized under John’s baptism? The scriptures only tell that Lazarus was a beggar laid at the rich man’s gate, and the beggar went to Paradise. Why suggest he was baptized when the scriptures do not say? During the early days of the church, the Holy Spirit tells the story of Paul finding twelve men who knew only the baptism of John. If the thief was baptized under John’s baptism, why did the Holy Spirit leave that detail out? The only answer is the men have sought to justify a powerful divine act of mercy and explain away (or suggest) the thief was baptized under John’s baptism.

It is a dangerous course to suggest an argument of defense by an indefensible position of suggesting an assumption without any body of proof. The thief did not have to be baptized for Jesus to save him. After Jesus died and rose from the dead, entrance into the kingdom of God was accomplished through the waters of the death, burial, and resurrection of the penitent soul. The journey of the thief to Paradise has no bearing on the will of God today. Let the story of Jesus forgiving the thief stand on its own merits of divine mercy without propping the story up with false assumptions. Today, salvation can only be found by doing the will of the Father.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. (Revelation 20:1-3)

Satan Is Subservient

There is no doubt that Satan is a formidable foe. The apostle Peter describes the devil as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is the adversary. Jesus calls Satan the Father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. The devil does not stand for truth because there is no truth in him. Paul describes the power of Satan as fighting against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Satan is a force to be reckoned with as powerful and destructive. But the devil is subservient to the will of God.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, penned by the apostle John, is a powerful testimony to the embattled saints of God’s kingdom that the Lord God reigns, rules, and controls all things under His will. Satan is no exception. To the human heart, the devil is a powerful enemy. In the eyes of God, Satan is under His will to do the bidding of the Godhead. The book of the Revelation could be summed up with the battle cry of victory, “We win.” So much attention is given to the minutia of the details of John’s final message that lost in the trivial pursuits of useless arguments is the reality that Satan has no choice in matters of divine judgment. God is in control, not Satan. The Lord God rules, the devil has no power before God.

As the Revelation begins to close, John reveals the fate of Satan and his minions. An angel took hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years. God tells us an angel has the power to bind Satan. There is nothing the devil can do or say about what the angel does. Satan is subservient to the will of God. The angel cast Satan into the bottomless pit. He shuts the devil up in the bottomless pit and sets a seal upon the pit. An angel binds Satan and limits his power. All of this was accomplished by an angel of the Lord.

Satan does not have free reign to do as he wishes. He operates within the sphere of authority allowed by God. Yes, he influences people to do evil, and most of the world is under the sway of his deception. But John tells us the truth about Satan, and that is the reality the devil is nothing more than a servant, a lowly slave, a nothing being who has limited power. He can be bound, thrown into a pit, and locked up. His power can be limited. Jesus taught the disciples to ask God to lead them not into temptation and to deliver them from the evil one. Satan complained that the Lord had put a hedge around Job, and he was correct. Every faithful child of God has a hedge surrounding him with the army of the Lord standing on the mountaintops, ready to do battle. Satan knows his power is limited.

The victory message of the Revelation becomes much clearer when John writes of the final demise of Satan. There is no guesswork of what will happen to the devil and his angels. It is not left to the wisdom of men to know what happens to the devil on the final day. An angel can bind and control Satan. The day is coming when the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. He will be tormented day and night forever and ever. There is nothing he can do to change this reality. He is not powerful enough to overcome the will of God. When the Lord decrees Satan will be punished in Hell for eternity, that word will come to pass in complete fulfillment. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone when God tells him.

There is much to know and understand about the old serpent, the devil. John encourages the faith of the saints by reminding them that the faith residing within them is greater than he who is in the world. If a man thinks the devil can defeat him, he is correct. God tells us that the devil can be defeated. We must believe that and practice that faith. Through the power of God, Satan will be caused to flee from us. It is possible to bind the power of the devil. Humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.