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THE
BIBLE
THE LORD JESUS
AND YOU
by
John Roberts
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The
Lord Jesus
Chapter 29
IF you have ever travelled by air you will know that there
are a number of security checks. One involves placing your
handbag or briefcase on a conveyor belt. It then goes through
a little tunnel. The contents are X-rayed and show up on a
little screen nearby. It's fascinating to see the inner depths
of your bag revealed without it being opened.
Some years ago a group of us were touring a confectionery
works. A similar machine was in use there. Packaged goods
were examined before despatch. The "camera" could
see through the cardboard outer, the wrapper and the inner
foil. The bare biscuits were shown neatly stacked and no sign
of any "foreign bodies"!
I imagine the judgment of Jesus to be a little like that.
We shall not be put j through machines of course, but we shall
not be able to hide from him. His piercing eyes will penetrate
our hearts and minds. Everything will be clearly visible to
him.
Yet there are verses in the scriptures which say things like
this:
"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And
to present you faultless Before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy,.."
(Jude:24)
Judgment by God
Imagine it! The searching glory of God is thousands of times
more powerful than any LIM light or X-ray. Yet we can be found
faultless in its beam. The word means without a flaw. There
will be nothing untoward shown up.
It's not that we are faultless, but that Jesus is able to
present us in that way to God. Even now he is a priest in
heaven. He pleads with God for us so that when we are sorry
for our sins we may be forgiven. He is a mediator, or middleman,
between God and ourselves. He is there to intercede for us.
By this means we can be at one with God.
This is why, when we pray, we should pray through Jesus Christ
our Lord. We sinners have no access to God's presence in our
own right. We are able to come to God only because of the
work of Jesus. When, in prayer, we say "for Christ's
sake", we acknowledge this. It is a shortened way of
saying that we ask that God will hear us for the sake of Christ.
Eternal Life or Death?
When Jesus raises the dead at his coming it is to hold judgment.
He will judge men and women and divide them. Some will be
judged fit for eternal life and some not. Jesus' teaching
and parables make this very plain. The idea of judgment is
considered old-fashioned today. However, it is part of God's
purpose whatever we may think.
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page
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Jesus
will be concerned with effort more than with achievement however.
If we are associated with his sacrifice through true baptism, our
sins will be erased. His righteousness will save those who through
faith and love have done their best.
No-one will be good enough on their own, of course! No-one will
deserve His blessing or be able to earn His favour. The blessing
is God's gift. It will be stained only by His grace.
Not everyone will be raised and judged. There are some who have
never known of God. Some have not had the opportunity that we enjoy
of learning bout Him. Some have not the ability to understand. It
would be unjust to hold them responsible. It would be unfair to
condemn them as guilty. Their life and memory is a thing of the
past and will stay so.
Not all those who are raised will be given Jesus' blessing. It makes
a mockery f judgment to believe that everyone will automatically
be saved. They will not. Jesus taught plainly that the majority
would not. He said there would be few.
This is why we should never worry about being in a minority. Some
people find it hard to accept that so many can be wrong. They feel
unable to stand out from the crowd. They are uneasy about belonging
to a small group.
Not Everyone
Time and time again, however, the Bible reminds us that faith is
a minority thing. Only Noah's family were saved at the flood. Only
Lot and his family came out of Sodom (and not all of them). We have
to take seriously the words of our Lord:
"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is
the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in
by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which
leads to life, and there are few who find it."
(Matthew 7:13-14)
There are many people today who would not be comfortable in the
presence )f Jesus. They do not want him in their lives now. They
would not be happy with him then. They will not be in his kingdom
either.
It was the kingdom of God that was uppermost in the minds of the
disciples is they talked with Jesus. It was about six weeks after
the resurrection. Jesus had led them out once again to the mount
of Olives.
"... they asked him, saying, 'Lord, will you at this time restore
the kingdom to Israel?"
(Acts 1:6)
Jesus pointed out that the times are in God's hands. They had work
to do )r him. He gave them their commission to be witnesses and
to preach. Then e ascended to heaven.
They were not wrong about the kingdom, however. Jesus had many times
woken of it and of his return. Here is one example:
"A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for
himself a kingdom and to return."
(Luke 19:12)
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THE LORD JESUS
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