Sin Leads to Perish

“¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (ESV)

See in the verse above, “should not perish”. Perishing is the consequence related to sin. There is no varying degrees of sin, sin is just sin. Whether you tell a little white lie, or swipe a pack of gum, or rob a bank, or engage in immoral acts. All sin is in the same bucket of working against God and for that His wrath is the result of that working against Him.

Perish: “1: to become destroyed or ruined: cease to exist 2: deteriorate, spoil” – Merriam-Webster Online

Let’s talk about that perishing for a moment. Notice the definition above from Merriam-Webster Online. The one that gets me and is most like the Biblical review is to “deteriorate, spoil” and then there is “ruined”. Yes, there is the destruction and ceasing that comes with perishing but from the Biblical review, we will be cast into the lake of fire, Hell, and will be tormented, bonded, will have our memory, will fully experience lake of satisfaction, and will be separated from God. There is not full destruction of us, only that we will be miserable for eternity. I have written about Heaven based on my study and it is going to be wonderful, beautiful, and frankly a place of immense joy and glory. As lovely as it will be, think of the exact opposite as it come to Hell.

Look back at John 3:16 above. There is a way to avoid the consequence of Hell.

James MacDonald writes, “The key word that unlocks the door to John 3:16 is believe. And believe always includes choice.”

So the choice is to perish or celebrate eternally. God gives a way to avoid the consequence of sin. Make no mistake, we are still and will always be sinners in this world, but as we believe in the salvation provided by Christ taking our sin upon Himself and dying for us, we have an escape from eternal anguish.

It is important to understand sin and the consequence of it so that we are able to make an informed choice. When we gloss over the perishing part, we are not taking into account the long term impact of our choice and only work with the now in which the evil one is working hard to deceive us as to the consequences.

MacDonald writes, “Hell will go on forever because no amount of punishment for sin can justify the choice to reject the forgiveness God so freely offers.”

“⁹The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

Even as we continue to sin in this world, God is not giving up on us. He is waiting patiently for our choosing of Him. We have until that time when we cease to exist in this world to choose to believe. But, we have to get on the ball as we do not know when that time comes. And I don’t know about you, but I do not want to perish.

What is your thoughts on the consequences of sin? Are you of the varying degrees and consequences camp? How do things change for you when with the understanding that all sin is sin and the consequence of that sin is perishing eternally?

But The New World is Promised

When and where, could we being seeing it already? I don’t think so, at least fully.

“Not ‘up there’ in a distant Heaven, but ‘down here’ on earth, in Jerusalem” – Randy Alcorn

The where, down here where we are. Remember that the New Earth will be resurrected and descend here where we are now. All that is known to us here in this world will be replaced with the New Earth. We will not “have to” go to find. The New Earth will be presented for us right here where we are now.

“²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” – Revelation 21:2 (ESV)

Now, when. Well, that would be at the conclusion of the final battle. This current Earth, full of sin and death and the curse since the fall of Adam, will be completely destroyed and the New Earth will come. It must happen as the New Earth cannot have any of it. The judgment of the LORD will be upon this earth to the point of full annihilation and replaced with the New Earth as was created in the beginning.

“¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” – Revelation 21:1 (ESV)

Now, are we seeing it already? I think we are. You see, Christ came to this world to prepare us for His second coming. This was promised in scripture and it came to pass. So the full promise of God has already begun. We have already been made privy to the plan of God, and some of that plan has already occurred. So, we can have confidence that the plan will continue and we will see it all fulfilled. We just don’t know the timeline.

“⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, ‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ ⁷He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.’” – Acts 1:6-8 (ESV)

We have the plan, we know the where, and we know the when, we just don’t know the timeline. But we do know that where we are now is only temporary and that when the time comes, it will be forever.

“⁵And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” – Revelation 22:5 (ESV)

What are you thinking of the promise of a new world? Are you looking for it today in a specific location? What if you look instead at the plan and find the where, when, and see that it is promised and has already begun fulfillment?

What about the Millennium Question

That question has to do with the thousand year reign of Christ in this present earth. Randy Alcorn adds it to my study and it is fascinating to read and worth discussion.

You see, in Revelation 20 John lays out the thousand years. Here we see that the devil is bound, the earth is no longer deceived, saints come to life and reign with Christ, it is not until it is over that the dead are resurrected, those saints will be priests and kings, and Satan will be loosed for one final battle. All of that will happen during or after those thousand years. Fascinating for sure and begs a lot of questions for me.

The thing is that even with this fascinating information and even as all the questions abound, the fact remains that the New Earth is coming and that will be our final place to be with and glorify God. That is certain.

There are different viewpoints as to the thousand years. Are they a literal thousand and when it will exactly occur. Even within the different viewpoints there are nuances of difference that come up. Regardless of the different viewpoints and nuances, these are centered around the process and not the end result. The end result is the New Heaven and the New Earth and that all agree on.

Just last night I was speaking to my wife about the idea of process and result. I was pointing out that where I (as the man and knowing all, LOL) hold the idea that the way I do things is somehow the “right” way, the reality is that there are many ways to approach things in the process. Whether you hold my view or not, we are all headed to the same place and once we arrive at that place we have success.

That there is in God’s Word the reference to our final home of the New Earth is that arrival point we all agree on. It will be glorious and we will be there forever, not just for a thousand years.

What thoughts have you had related to the millennium? Have you even thought of it or heard of it? What if you held to the truth that our final home will be forever in the New Earth and not just for a thousand years?

“The Word of God Stands Forever”

The title of my writing this morning comes directly from my English Standard Version (ESV) Bible. Three verses in Isaiah to denote the eternity of the LORD.

“⁶A voice says, “Cry!”

And I said, “What shall I cry?”

All flesh is grass,

and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

⁷The grass withers, the flower fades

when the breath of the Lord blows on it;

surely the people are grass.

⁸The grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of our God will stand forever.”

— Isaiah 40:6-8 (ESV)

No matter the beauty that comes from or that is you and me, the LORD will be more. What I see in the verses are beautiful meadows of soft green grass. There are flowers standing just above the grass to bring color and even more beauty to the eye. I imagine seeing cars stopped on the side of the road with moms, dads, and children in this field taking family photos together and enjoying the beauty and wonder that is being displayed.

Yet, this is only during a small window of time and then it is gone. Withered by the weather and the new season that has come. The green grass is now a shade of brown or withered away altogether. The flowers have lost their petals and turned to nothing. Gone from the eye to see and body to experience. It has move on to the next season and is just a memory caught in the mind or in the photos taken.

Although all of the beauty that is the meadow of grass and flowers is gone, there is one that is always there regardless of the season. There is one standing tall for all to experience. That is our LORD. His Word is always before us and guides the current and next season. Just as I am in His word this morning I am to be in His Word every morning. From God’s Word I will find the beauty that is constant and forever. His Word never fades and never turns. The Word of the LORD is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and I can stand high on its strength and beauty.

Too often we find ourselves looking other places when what is found in our eyes fade away. We tend to focus on that beauty in our eyes and miss the beauty in our hearts. The beauty of God’s Word, never withers and fades and is always and forever standing tall in our heart.

Where are you turning your eyes? Are you looking to the grass and flowers expecting them to be there always? What if you were to turn to your heart instead to find the beauty in the Word of God, as it is there always and forever?

Honor the LORD Always and Forever

This morning I was reminded that I am to honor the LORD always and forever. I know, how is it that I even need the reminder. Well, it isn’t so much that I need it to get back to doing so, it is the reminder that honoring the LORD is to never stop.

“⁸And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!’

⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

‘¹¹Worthy are you, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they existed and were created.’”

— Revelation 4:8-11 (ESV)

I was led to this passage in my study of the word “honor”. It is titled “The Throne in Heaven”. Where I see the glory of the throne, I also see the honor of the LORD. Reading the passage I was really taken to the creatures and elders continually praising and honoring the LORD. And as written, the LORD lives forever and ever and to go along with that the honor of Him does as well.

I have to take the same look at my worship and honor of the LORD here in this world even before I arrive in heaven at the time appointed by God. Everyday and continually, I am to honor the LORD as the creatures and elders do in the above verses.

The LORD is not He just in my times of grave need. He is there always for me, in times of grave need and in times of joy and celebration. As He is with me always and forever, I will be there to honor Him always and forever. I have to remember to honor Him in the mornings as I do here and all throughout the day. I have to take the moments to praise the LORD in the midday and afternoon and night.

Those who practice the Muslim religion take five times each day to pray. They are dedicated to it and rarely allow the world to get in the way of those prayers. Should I not as a Christian take a similar approach in the honor of the LORD. I should be honoring Him multiple times daily. Maybe to start, I should get on a schedule. I should make it a priority and rarely allow the world to get in the way.

The idea here is not to honor and praise the LORD out of fulfilling some task on a list for the day. I have to get in the habit of honoring and praising the LORD continually, always and forever. When I do, I will find myself in deeper connection with Him and as a result will find more direct answers to my questions and requests. Honor the LORD always and forever.

When are you honoring the LORD? Are you doing so once and moving on? What if you were to take the always and forever approach to honoring the LORD?