destiny

Life Sketches – Eternal Destiny

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It has been a mystery to many that in all ages, God’s faithful children have often been the object of unfair and malicious attacks and persecution by both the church and the state. Some may wonder why God allows this and why He does not work miracles to deliver His children from difficult circumstances.

If the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem, which included the apostles of Christ, had fully surrendered their prejudices and feelings of bitterness toward the apostle Paul and accepted him as one who was specially called by God to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, the Lord would have spared him to continue his labor for the salvation of souls. But there is One in the heavens whom the Bible says sees the end from the beginning. He understands the hearts of all men and women and saw what would be the result of the envy and jealously that was cherished toward Paul. God had not in His providence ordained that Paul’s labors should so soon end. But He did not work a miracle to counteract the train of circumstances to which their own course of the early church leaders gave rise.

We need to be careful that we do not practice presumption, assuming that because we claim to be Christians serving the Lord, He will work a miracle to stop the consequences of our own decisions. Paul was advised by his brethren in the Jewish church to go with four men who had a Nazarite vow and to pay their expenses. The term of their Nazarite vow was almost expired, and Paul was a poor man who worked with his own hands for his daily bread, yet he was asked to bear the expenses of these people. He consented and accompanied the Nazarites to the temple to unite with them in the ceremonies of the seven days of purification. This concession was a mistake. It was not something that God had actually authorized him to do and it cut short his ministry.

Those who counseled Paul to perform this act of concession had not fully considered the great peril to which Paul would be exposed by this act. At this season there were strangers from all regions of the world thronging the streets of Jerusalem. They delighted to congregate in the temple courts. As Paul, in the fulfillment of his commission had borne the gospel to the Gentiles, he had visited some of the world’s largest cities, and he was well-known to thousands of foreigners who came to attend the feast.

Because of the hatred of the Jews against Christianity and Christian leaders, for Paul to enter the temple on such a public occasion was to risk his life. However, for several days he passed in and out among the worshipers apparently unnoticed. But, before the close of the specified period of purification, as he was conversing with the priests concerning the sacrifices to be offered, he was recognized by some Jews of Asia. Now these men had been defeated in their controversy with him in the synagogue in Ephesus and had become more and more enraged against him as they witnessed his success in raising up a Christian church in that city. When they saw him in the temple, where they did not expect him to be, they rushed upon him with the fury of demons.

“When the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, ‘Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.’ (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple)” (Acts 21:27–29). The result was that in a very short period of time the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. The Bible says, “All the city was disturbed; and the people ran together, seized Paul, and dragged him out of the temple; and immediately the doors were shut. Now as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done. And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the solders because of the violence of the mob. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, ‘Away with him’ ” (verses 30–36)!

As the apostle was carried up into a Roman barracks as a prisoner with the people wanting to kill him just as they had wanted to kill Jesus 30 years earlier, Paul made a request of the Roman commander. He addressed him in Greek. It says, “As Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, ‘May I speak to you?’ He replied, ‘Can you speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?’ But Paul said, ‘I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people’ ” (verses 37–39). It says in verse 40, “When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language.” He didn’t want to leave without making some type of a final appeal to his countrymen.

Because he addressed them in the Hebrew language, a great silence fell over the crowd and they stopped to listen to what he had to say. “ ‘Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.’ And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: ‘I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our father’s law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way [that is, the Christians] to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished’ ” (Acts 22:1–5).

Anything that has much importance is generally spoken of at least twice in the Bible. The story of Jesus is recorded four times. This story of the conversion of the apostle Paul is so important in the history of the Christian church that it is recorded three times. This speech Paul made from the stairs addressing the Jews who had just tried to kill him is the second time it is recorded. Paul relates the story of his journey to Damascus, about thirty years before, to bring the Christians back in chains, to be bound or to be killed, three times, each successive time in greater detail. He says, “It happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shown around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ So I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. So, I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’ Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw Him (Jesus) saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles’ ” (verses 6–21).

At this point the crowd was so furious that they tried to rush against him again and kill him. Unable to understand the Hebrew language, the commander did not know what was going on.

Their prejudice against the Gentiles, those who were not Jews, was the cause of their anger. Prejudice is a terrible thing. It has existed in this world for thousands of years and is still present today. People of one race are prejudiced against those of another race, or another religion, or of a different social or economic level. If we cannot overcome our prejudices against other human beings, we will never be in the kingdom of heaven, no matter how much we go to church or how many religious rituals we take part in.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:26–29).

Regardless of whether you are rich or poor, or whatever your social or economic condition is in this world, God views you the same. All the Lord wants to know is, “Whom are you accepting as your ruler? Who is the sovereign in your life? Who is the Lord of your life?” There is a great controversy going on in our world (see Revelation 12). It says war broke out in heaven and that war is still ravaging this world. It is a war over which supernatural power you yield allegiance.

Have you yielded to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Paul taught that all men were made of one blood. Addressing the philosophical, highly educated audience in the city of Athens, He said, “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (Acts 17:24–26).

Notice how he expressed this in Romans, the 13th chapter, verses 9 and 10.  He says, “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9, 10).

O, friend, how do you measure up? How do you feel about the people around you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? If not, then how do you expect to go to the kingdom of heaven? When Jesus was here, He told His disciples a story about the end of all things. He said that when He comes back to this world, He will sit on the throne of His glory and all nations will be gathered before Him. He is going to separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be set on His right hand and the goats will be set on the left (see Matthew 25:31–46). What determines whether you have eternal life or eternal death is not if you have the right theology, or belong to the right church, or you were the right race.

Jesus said that your eternal destiny would turn on one point. “Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:34–40).

A person’s eternal destiny will be determined in the final day by the way they have treated their fellow men, especially those who were in trouble. How do you treat people who are in trouble? Do you just walk by on the other side and hope that somebody in the government or in the church will step in to help them out without you getting involved? Or are you willing to get involved in helping those around you who are in trouble?

Then sadly, the King will address those He has labored for but have denied Him. The Bible says, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (verses 41–46).

Where are you headed, friend? The way that you treat your fellow men is going to determine your eternal destiny.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Obedience Determines Destiny

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Among Christians today, a frequently debated question is, Do we really have to obey God exactly? Some people say that it is impossible to obey God exactly and completely, so we should just try to be as good as we can. Others think that we do not even need to try, since God will save us just the way we are. What is the Bible’s answer to this important question? There are several Bible stories that we will examine to help us discover that answer.

In the Garden of Eden, Eve did not think that it was really very important that she obey God exactly, so she ate a piece of fruit that God said not to eat. As a result of this seemingly small deviation from God’s command, the floodgates of misery, woe, sickness, suffering, death, strife, and war were opened up for all of her descendents.

Cain was another person who did not think it was important to obey God exactly. He thought that he could choose the part of God’s command he wanted to follow, so when God instructed them to bring a lamb as a sacrifice, he brought a sacrifice, but instead of a lamb, he brought the fruit of his own hands to offer to God. What response did he receive from God? “And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So God said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is at the door.’ ” Genesis 4:4-7. Cain was worshipping the Lord. He was even bringing an offering to the Lord, but he did not follow the divine instructions. His obedience was not exact.

A Rebellious People

This failure of the human race since the time of Adam to recognize that God means what He says is also seen in the story of the children of Israel in the wilderness. When God worked a miracle every day to provide manna for their food, He gave them special instructions about its preparation and use. In Exodus 16:19, 20, we read, “And Moses said, ‘Let no one leave any of it [the manna] till morning.’ ” Did they follow these simple instructions? “Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them.” They refused to listen to God’s counsel through Moses. They did not think it was important to obey exactly.

When they disobeyed God, they saw the results. And it would seem logical that they would have learned to obey God when He gave them instruction, but when He told them to gather a double portion for the Sabbath day and not go out on the Sabbath to gather food, they again tested God. “Now it happened [that some] of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? See! For the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.’ So the people rested on the seventh day.” Exodus 16:27–30.

Human beings seem to have a hard time learning that God means what He says even though His requirements are few. There are only Ten Commandments in the whole moral law. There is not an encyclopedia or books and books of laws. His Law is simple enough for a child to understand, but God is particular as to whether or not His Word is obeyed.

It is important to obey God exactly. In fact, your eternal destiny is determined by whether or not you obey God exactly. Exact obedience does not earn salvation, but the gift of salvation is not given to those who are rebellious against God and are not particular to obey Him.

A Disobedient Prophet

The story of the prophet sent to rebuke king Jeroboam and to prophesy what was going to happen to him because of his idolatry adds to our understanding of the seriousness of this point. After the prophet gave His message, the king was so angry that he ordered his seizure. As he pointed his finger toward the prophet, his whole hand withered up, and he could not move it—his hand was paralyzed. In terror, he pled with the prophet, “Oh, please, pray for me!” So the prophet prayed for him, and the Lord worked a miracle and restored his arm to perfect function.

Here he had very plain evidence, in his own body, that the Lord had spoken to him through this prophet. He realized that it would only be wise to listen to this prophet, so he said to him, “Come home with me and eat with me.” But the prophet said, “No!” “ ‘If you were to give me half your house, I would not go in with you; nor would I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For so it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying, “You shall not eat bread, nor drink water, nor return by the same way you came.” ’ So he went another way and did not return by the way he came to Bethel.

“Now an old prophet dwelt in Bethel, and his sons came and told him all the works the man of God had done that day in Bethel; they also told their father the words which he had spoken to the king. And their father said to them, ‘Which way did he go?’ For his sons had seen which way the man of God went who came from Judah. Then he said to his sons, ‘Saddle the donkey for me.’ So they saddled the donkey for him; and he rode on it, and went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak.

“Then he said to him, ‘[Are] you the man of God who came from Judah?’ And he said, ‘I [am].’ Then he said to him, ‘Come home with me and eat bread.’ And he said, ‘I cannot return with you nor go in with you; neither can I eat bread or drink water with you in this place. For I have been told by the word of the Lord, “You shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by going the way you came.” ’

“He said to him, ‘I too [am] a prophet as you [are], and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, “Bring him back with you to your house, that he may eat bread and drink water.” ’ (He was lying to him.) So he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

“Now it happened, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back; and he cried out to the man of God who came from Judah, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which [the] Lord said to you, ‘Eat no bread and drink no water,’ your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.” ’

“So it was, after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, the prophet whom he had brought back. When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his corpse was thrown on the road, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also stood by the corpse. And there, men passed by and saw the corpse thrown on the road, and the lion standing by the corpse. Then they went and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

“Now when the prophet who had brought him back by the way heard [it], he said, ‘It [is] the man of God who was disobedient to the word of the Lord. Therefore the Lord has delivered him to the lion which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him.’ And he spoke to his sons, saying, ‘Saddle the donkey for me.’ So they saddled [it].

“Then he went and found his corpse thrown on the road, and the donkey and the lion standing by the corpse. The lion had not eaten the corpse nor torn the donkey. And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, laid it on the donkey, and brought it back. So the old prophet came to the city to mourn, and to bury him. Then he laid the corpse in his own tomb; and they mourned over him, [saying], ‘Alas, my brother!’ ” 1 Kings 13:7–30.

To Whom Do You Listen?

The problem for this prophet was that he listened to another prophet who lied to him, claiming to have a message from an angel. Do you realize that when God speaks, even if an angel should tell you to do something different, you are going to lose your soul if you disobey the Lord?

The apostle Paul makes this clear: “If we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8. When God speaks, you will lose your soul if you listen to anybody else and disobey—even if it is an angel.

We need to learn this lesson today, for many people are going to eternal destruction who could be saved if they understood that whether you obey or disobey makes the difference between whether you will have eternal life or eternal death.

Notice what Moses said to the children of Israel about this very point. “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong [your] days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendents may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He [is] your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15–20.

New Covenant Obedience

Moses said, “I am setting before you life and death determined by your obedience.” However, some will say, “But, I am living in the new covenant today.” Do you realize that the requirements of the new covenant are even stricter than the requirements of the old covenant? (Read the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.)

In the new covenant, Jesus said that it is not enough to keep the Law of God on the outside; you have to keep it from your heart. He declared the necessity of obedience in John 5:28, 29: “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.” Jesus links the type of life that you live to your eternal destiny. Obedience or disobedience determines your eternal destiny.

The apostle Paul repeats the same warning as he speaks concerning God, “Who ‘will render to each one according to his deeds’: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law [are] just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; . . .).” Romans 2:6–13.

Another New Testament writer speaks to the same subject: “If you really fulfill [the] royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:8–12.

It is clear that James is talking about the moral law, the Ten Commandments. Breaking one of these commandments makes you guilty of breaking them all. Obedience or disobedience will determine the eternal destiny of men and women, boys and girls.

The Bible predicts that obedience will distinguish God’s true people from His professed followers in the last days, when Jesus predicted that “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12. God’s last day people are described in Revelation 12:17: “And the dragon was enraged with the woman [the symbol of a church], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring [the last of God’s people], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Commandment Keepers

God’s people in the last days will be commandment keepers. Again, in Revelation 14:12, we read: “Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” God’s people are here contrasted with the disobedient, those who receive the mark of the beast. (See Revelation 14:9–11.)

The last chapter of the Bible says again, “Blessed [are] those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:14. The next verse describes those who do not obey God’s commandments. Three times in the last three chapters of Revelation God contrasts the obedient with the disobedient, so we will not make a mistake. Eternal destiny is determined by whether you obey God exactly.

But today there is a worldwide deception concerning the Law of God. Some people think that you cannot keep it. Others think that you do not need to keep it. But the worst deception of all is when people think that they can change or adjust the requirements of God’s Law, and that then they are keeping it when actually they are breaking it. This is especially true when people claim to be keeping God’s Law while they are breaking the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment mentioned in Exodus 20:8–11.

Through Jesus, God’s mercy has been manifested to men, but mercy does not set aside justice. The law reveals the attributes of God’s character, and not one jot or tittle of it can be set aside to meet man in his fallen condition. God did not change His Law. He sacrificed Himself in Christ to redeem man from the curse of the law.

The law requires righteousness, a righteous life, and a perfect character. But this man does not have, so he cannot give it. He cannot meet the claims of God’s holy law, but Christ came down to earth as a man, lived a holy life, and developed a perfect character. These He offers to give to man as a free gift, if man will receive it.

More than this, Christ imbues a man with the attributes of God’s own character, so He can develop, within this human being, the attributes of the divine character, that the principles of the law might be fulfilled in the life of the Christian. (Romans 8.) By His life and death, Christ proved that God’s justice did not destroy His mercy, as the devil’s deception claims. He showed that sin could be forgiven, that the law is righteous and can be perfectly obeyed. The law was not abrogated, which would immortalize sin and place the whole world under Satan’s control.

Because the law could not be changed, Jesus died on the cross and established the law. However, Christ’s death on the cross is the very act which the devil claims destroyed the law. He has led men to believe that the moral law, the Ten Commandments, was nailed to the cross, when, in fact, Christ came to do just the opposite.

Since the beginning of the great controversy, Satan has claimed that the law, spoken by God’s own voice, is faulty and that some specification can be set aside. The last great deception that Satan will bring upon the world will be on this same point. Bible prophecy foretells that in the last days Satan will assail one of God’s commandments, and lead men to keep a man-made law instead of God’s Law. Will the devil need to make you break the whole law? No, he knows that those who keep the whole law but offend in one point are guilty of all. (James 2:10.) He knows that if you consent deliberately to break one precept, that brings you under his control. So, the devil will work on the minds of men so that they will set up their laws to counterwork the Law of God and seek to compel the consciences of others to enforce their man-made laws.

This warfare against God’s Law will continue until the end of time. Every man is going to be tested. Obedience or disobedience is the question to be decided by the whole world. Every single human being is going to choose between the Law of God and the laws of men. Here the dividing line will be drawn. There will only be two classes. Every character will be fully developed, every person will demonstrate whether or not he will keep all the Law of God. What will your decision be?

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Life Sketches – Your Eternal Destiny

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For three and a half years while the disciples were with Jesus, watching Him lovingly minister day after day to the multitudes, they failed to learn to get along with each other. In fact, the night Jesus was betrayed, the Bible says, “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called “benefactors.” But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves’ ” (Luke 22:24-27).

O, friend, herein is the secret to how you can resolve differences. Jesus promised them that after He ascended to heaven He would give to them a special gift that would guide them into all truth and solve all the problems that they had had for over three years—getting along. In Luke 24:49, it says, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”

Acts 1:8 says, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” So, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, what happened? “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). Jesus also promised in John 16 that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth, and when people are all guided into all truth, they have the unity of the faith. Paul says in Ephesians 4:1-3, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Unity and harmony takes work. Jesus told His followers that they must learn how to endure, to bear with one another, because they had differences of thought. They were going to need lowliness, gentleness, and longsuffering. But it is not enough just to have those things. The Holy Spirit must give gifts in the church that result in the unity of all Christian believers. Ellen White wrote, “Christ declares that our heavenly Father is more willing to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, than earthly parents are to give gifts to their children.” Reflecting Christ, 304.

Notice how it is described in Ephesians 4:11–15, (literal translation): “He Himself gave some [gifts] to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ.”

Notice, it is God’s plan for His believers to grow up to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, to come into the unity of the faith. And this can only be done as the Holy Spirit guides people back to Bible truth. Jesus said in His last prayer with His disciples before Gethsemane, “Sanctify them … ,” that is,  My followers, “… sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The truth is God’s word, and when people come into harmony with it, they will be in harmony with each other. The reason there is not harmony in Christianity today is because Christians are not fully in harmony with God’s word.

Jesus said, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Peter was appointed to take the gospel to the Jews, along with James and John, but Paul was especially appointed to take the gospel to the nations. It is never convenient to be a missionary, for it involves hardship. It also involves an expenditure of money, time, and resources. However, this has been the mission since then for those God has appointed as missionaries to those who do not know the gospel. Paul and Barnabas went out and began to preach the gospel in various places. One of the first places they preached after leaving Antioch was in Cyprus. It says of them, “Being sent out by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:4, first part).

Notice, when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is going to send that person out as a witness for Christ. It was the Holy Spirit that sent out Barnabas and Saul. “They went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. … they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

“Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith” (Acts 13:4, last part–8).

The devil has always had agents of various kinds to try to keep people, especially those having education, influence or leadership ability, from accepting the gospel. This has been the case for thousands of years. This sorcerer had closed his eyes to the truth of the Bible that had been available to him. This is a dangerous thing to do, for God may do something to get you to see the error of your ways. In doing such, a judgment came upon this man.

Acts 13:9–12 says, “Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.’ And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”

The sorcerer was leading people away from the truth that the apostles were presenting. So they had to stand their ground and oppose him, not because they did not like him, but because he was leading other people to reject the gospel. That is more serious than most people realize. Peter said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

It is a false idea that there are many ways of salvation. There is no other way. Only through the gospel of Jesus Christ can you be saved. Everything else leads to death and loss of eternal life, what the Bible describes as the second death (Revelation 20:14). In this world, we know something about death because it is all around us. We see death, we go to funerals, we have cemeteries, and we are very conscious of the frailty of life. However, for the saved, the death that is experienced in this world is only temporary.

In Acts 24:15, speaking to Felix, the governor, Paul said, “I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” He acknowledged that both he and Paul believed the same thing, that there is going to be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust. So, death in this world is temporary. But the big question is, after a person dies, in which resurrection will they participate? Will it be the resurrection of the just, or will they participate in the resurrection of the unjust? Everybody will be raised, but not all will be raised in the same resurrection. Some will be raised in the resurrection of the just and others in the resurrection of the unjust.

In Daniel 12:2, it says, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” So, it is very serious to lead somebody to reject the gospel and teach them to distrust the Bible and the word of the prophets and the apostles, because if you do not believe, you cannot receive salvation. Jesus said, “He that believes on Me has everlasting life” (John 6:47, literal translation).

However, if you don’t believe, He said to the Jews, “You are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:40). On another occasion Jesus said to the Jews, “ ‘I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.’ So the Jews said, ‘Will He kill Himself, because He says, “Where I go you cannot come?” ’ And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe I am He, you will die in your sins’ ” (John 8:21–24). That is a very serious business. Death is not serious; death is of small moment, small account, to a person who is a Christian. It is just a moment of silence and darkness—a sleep. At the resurrection he will be raised; he will awake to everlasting life.

However, if you die in your sins because you do not believe, you have no hope. You will then be part of the resurrection of the unjust. For this reason, it is unwise to reject the gospel, and even more serious to lead somebody else to reject the gospel, because in doing that you rob them of their hope of an eternal inheritance.

In Acts 13:14, 15, we read that when Paul and Barnabas left that area “… they came to Antioch and Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, ‘Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.’ ”

They asked Paul and Barnabas if they had any exhortation to give to the people. Paul (Saul) replied that indeed he did and related the experience of the Israelites on their pilgrim journey from Egypt to the Promised Land as recorded in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. “Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, ‘Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.’ (See the book of Joshua.)

“ ‘After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet [described in the book of Judges]. And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years [described in 1st and 2nd Samuel]. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, “I have found David the son of Jessie, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” From this man’s (David’s) seed according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Saviour—Jesus—after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel (the first part of Matthew). And as John was finishing his course, he said, “Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose” (John 1).

“ ‘Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written [in the Old Testament] concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people (1 Corinthians 15:6). And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers. God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You” (verse 7). And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: “I will give you the sure mercies of David” (Acts 13:34). Therefore He also says in another Psalm: “You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Psalm 16:10).

“ ‘For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

“Behold, you despisers,

Marvel and perish!

For I work a work in your days,

A work which you will by no means believe,

Though one were to declare it to you” ’ ” (Acts 13:16–41).

The Gentile people who were also listening to Paul’s discourse had never heard the story of Jesus or the gospel that their sins could be forgiven by believing, without animal sacrifices. “So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God” (Ibid., verses 42–44).

But now something terrible happened—something that has existed for generations up to the present time. Some people feel that their race is superior and their nation superior to other races of people and look down upon others who are different from them for various reasons, even skin color. The Jews had that very problem—exclusivism. They became envious of the fact that now the Gentiles were going to be offered salvation and there would eventually be more Gentiles that would accept Jesus than there would be Jews.

It says, “But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: “I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth” ’ ” (Ibid., verses 45–47).

Friend, how is it with you? There are many people today doing the very same thing that the Jews did in this instance. They don’t like somebody in a church or in a certain place, so they reject the gospel. These Jews rejected the gospel because of racial prejudice. By rejecting the gospel, a person declares that they are unworthy of eternal life.

God will allow those who declare themselves to be unworthy of eternal life by rejecting the gospel of Jesus and refusing to believe in Him to have their choice, but it will be at an eternal cost.

Don’t ever forget that you choose for yourself your own eternal destiny.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.