“But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
In light of the imminent Rapture and the approaching day of the Lord (1 Th. 4:13 – 5:3), we are to put on “the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Th. 5:8).
Problem: There are some who teach that those who have heard the gospel and do not get saved prior to the Rapture have no hope of being saved after the Rapture. This view is based upon a misunderstanding of 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” They understand this passage to mean that if a person rejects the truth prior to the Rapture, he will be deluded and unable to believe following the Rapture. Who then will be saved during the Tribulation? They teach that those saved during the Tribulation will be only those who never heard the Gospel prior to the Rapture.
The message of the cross confronts every human instinct.
This difficult passage has been understood by Bible interpreters in various ways. The best
solution is to compare Scripture with Scripture, which I have endeavored to do in this
study. May the Lord help us to understand these verses. Peter once wrote about Paul’s
writings: “Our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom given unto him hath written
unto you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some
things hard to be understood” (2 Peter 3:15-16). These three verses might be included
among things which Paul wrote which are hard to be understood. May the Lord give us
understanding in all things (2 Tim. 2:7)!
THE RAM AND THE LAMB
From Temporary Covering to Eternal Completion
Genesis 22:13 | Matthew 27:29 | Hebrews 10:10
Believe the Gospel of Grace — 1 Corinthians 15:1–4
Continue reading →“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV).
Problem: Today in the evangelical world there is a mushrooming movement which professes to champion the “free grace position,” but which others see as dangerously approaching antinomianism. Those who embrace this doctrinal position insist that a true believer can depart from the faith, deny Christ totally, persist in sin (including homosexuality, drunkenness, adultery, etc.), abandon Christianity, and yet still be counted among those who are truly saved. According to this view, such apostates will gain heaven, but will suffer greatly at the judgment seat of Christ and during the kingdom reign of Christ. Indeed they teach that there will be a group of saved people during the kingdom age who will put into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (a hell for believers?).
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