Those Who Will Perish

Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5). He made it clear. There are no exceptions, repent or perish. Those who are saved have come to repentance. Those who will perish refuse to repent. Jesus made it clear.

God's command to all people everywhere is to repent. "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). Those who will perish disobey God's command to repent. That includes all who do not repent.

The word repent (metanoeo) means to have a change of mind that leads to a change of direction in a person's life. It's a change of mind toward God about our sin, and a change of direction in life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's command for all people to repent is clear. He saves all who repent. Let us always remember that our responsibility is to repent and believe in Christ (Acts 17:30; John 1:12). God's will "that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9) is His will of command to all people everywhere (Acts 17:30).

What God commands, God gives us in Christ. That includes our repentance, "if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25). God's goodness in our Lord Jesus Christ leads us to repentance (Acts 2:38; Romans 2:4). All who will perish reject God's goodness in Christ.

How God Is Revealed

God is revealed to all through creation and conscience. Reason concludes from creation, there must be a Creator. Conscience convicts us when we have done wrong. Even though God is revealed, still we may resist and refuse to believe. Therefore, we are without excuse before God.

Let no reasonable person say there is no God. Creation declares the glory and wisdom of God in the created order (Romans 1:19-21). If there is no God, then the irrational conclusion is simple. Nothing made everything. What a foolish conclusion. That's God's common grace resisted. God is revealed to all.

God is revealed not only through the created order, but also through conscience (Romans 2:15). We are created as responsible moral agents. However, when we ignore conscience in our sin, we would like to think that we are not accountable to God. Yet, God's common grace resisted leaves no excuse.

All are under the corruption of sin. We may willfully choose to reject common grace. We don't want to be accountable to God, because of our own natural bias to sin. If there really is a Creator and conscience is true, we need an excuse. However, God revealed to all gives no excuse. 

How God Is Faithful

Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, "The whole burden of our salvation rests upon the faithfulness of our covenant God. The whole matter of salvation is centered on the attribute of God's great faithfulness."

God is faithful to the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20-21). God is faithful to covenant promises for every believer (Hebrews 8:10-13). He is faithful to keep his word of covenant promises. God has bound himself to his people forever with his oath of covenant promises.

God is faithful to covenant promises through the gospel. Jesus died on the cross as the everlasting covenant sacrifice. God is faithful to forgive and cleanse you from all sin, through the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7-9). The power of God's covenant promises are proven forever through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful to covenant promises in Christ. Jesus is the Yes and Amen of all the promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20). God will not break his covenant word. He has sworn with an oath. Your faith stands upon the covenant of God's faithfulness in Christ. That's God's oath of promise. To doubt God's word in the Bible is to doubt his great faithfulness.

God is faithful to covenant promises in the Bible. Our assurance of salvation is trusting God's great faithfulness. The sure evidence is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9). He is every believer's covenant surety (Hebrews 7:20-22). God's great faithfulness is our sure salvation in Christ.

Saving Grace Received

God's common grace is to all. For example, common grace gives us rain with fruitful seasons, providing for the natural needs of all mankind. God's goodness to all is common grace. Yet, common grace is not saving grace. God's saving grace must be received.

Saving grace is received by faith in Christ. The only way that you can have a personal relationship with God is through saving grace in Christ. He must reveal himself to you and in you. That has been appropriately called amazing grace. It's not what you do for God. It's what God has done for you in Christ. All that you are or ever hope to be is by the grace of God.

Saving grace is received believing the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Every believer's testimony echoes the words of the apostle Paul, "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain" (First Corinthians 15:10). Grace gives all the glory to God. That's because grace is in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). 

Saving grace is freely received in Christ. There is no way you can merit nor earn the favor of God. It comes to you only as a gift to be freely received (Ephesians 2:8-9). Faith in Jesus Christ receives the saving grace of God. Don't fall for the idea that you can somehow be good enough to merit God's favor. Saving grace is not for good people. Saving grace in Christ is offered to sinners, and that includes all of us (Romans 3:23).

Who God Will Save

The promise of God is to save whoever calls upon the Lord. He promises to respond. The promise is not for only a few. It's for whoever. His promise is to save whoever calls upon the Lord. That includes you. "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

Whoever calls on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. The word Lord speaks of his rule over all. He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). Jesus is Lord, which means that he died for our sins, and he is risen from the dead (Romans 10:9).

No one is beyond the Lord's saving power. He saves us from the power of sin and the spiritual powers of darkness (Colossians 1:13). As we call upon the Lord, he is more than able to save us to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25).

The promise of God is to save whoever. He is not only powerful enough to save whoever, but he is also good enough to do so. "For the Lord is good" (Psalm 100:5). Those who trust God's goodness will not be disappointed. "For the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him" (Romans 10:12).

The Lamb of God

Christ died according to the Scripture. The prophet Isaiah foretold how Jesus Christ died. He died in the place of every believer, for our sins. It was prophesied centuries before it happened. "He was led as a lamb to the slaughter" (Isaiah 53:7). The Bible is such an amazing book. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Bible declares by the foreknowledge of God, how Christ would die centuries before it was fulfilled.

Christ died as the Lamb of God. He died for the sins of the world. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophecy. He said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus died to redeem believers out of all nations (Revelation 5:9). Jesus died as the sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, like the passover lamb in the Old Testament, died in the place of others. He is every believer's substitute at the cross. He took our judgment and punishment. He shed his blood and poured out his life on our behalf. He died that believers may have life eternal. Our sin debt was paid in full by the Lamb of God.

Every believer can testify, that on the cross Jesus Christ died in my place. Our testimony of faith is made sure by the Holy Spirit working grace in our hearts. By faith we see how Christ died on the cross for us, knowing that he was the sacrifice that takes away all our sins (1 John 1:7).

Whom God Loves

God loves all nations. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). That includes every nation, all races, and every ethnic group (Revelation 5:9). 

God loves sinners. He proves it. God sent His Son to die for sinners like you and me (Romans 5:8). He died for our sins at the cross (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Look at God's love in Christ crucified. This is the greatest love story the world has ever known. Yes, God the Father's love for us is forever proven.

God loves believers through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit makes God's love real to us. Upon confessing Jesus as Lord, the Holy Spirit does something beyond our ability to completely understand. He pours out the Father's love into our hearts. Our lives are changed by love divine.

God loves us forever. As believers in Jesus Christ, nothing can separate us from the infinite love of God. That includes trouble, persecution, suffering, and even death. God loves us now and forever. Everlasting life in Christ is the Father's everlasting love (Romans 8:37-38).