RascalRiley wrote:
We differ on what comes next Parky and that is ok. Eight billion people. Eight billion different expectations.
The following is a weekly teaching by a friend of mine, this week happened to be quite apropos!
Pay attention for your own good.
Saul, also known by his Greek name Paul, was born about the same time as Jesus, in the city of Tarsus (in the region of Cilicia, now modern Turkey.) Raised from a child in the Jewish religion, he continued in his studies to become a Pharisee like his father, under the famous Jewish theologian and teacher, Gamaliel. Acts 22:3 Paul proudly proclaimed in Philippians 3:5-6 that if anyone could boast of being saved by their religion, it was him. “[I was] circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” He was the epitome of all those who think their religious affiliation and works will grant them a ticket to heaven.
Paul considered those who confessed Jesus as Lord, the enemy of the Jewish religion, and persecuted them, even to their death. Then, Paul’s life was turned upside-down when the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him personally on the road to Damascus. That complete transformation is what Jesus told Nicodemus would happen when someone is born a second time. They receive eternal life, and the focus and direction of their life becomes entirely different. They no longer strive to do religious works to please God, understanding that God is only pleased when they trust and rest in His finished work. Becoming born again is not a work they perform, or a prayer they say, but rather it is something that happens to them when they believe the Gospel. Good works are simply the result of salvation, not the cause.
Final thoughts: Jesus, the risen Lord, revealed Himself to Saul and told him that by persecuting Christians, he was persecuting Jesus Himself. Then He said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Acts 9:5 What does that phrase mean? A goad is a cattle prod, or a sharp stick attached to a plow to urge oxen forward. Those oxen that resisted and kicked back against the goad were hurt worse than if they had simply heeded the prodding and moved along. Jesus was telling Saul to quit resisting the urging of the Holy Spirit (the goad,) and to believe the living Word of God. That is, to believe that the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was sufficient to pay for all of one’s sin and sins and give them eternal life. It is a message that needs to be believed today by all who are trusting in their religion, or anything else to get them to heaven. Like Saul before his conversion, their religious righteousness is not good enough. Do you know someone who is kicking against the goads? Are you willing to tell them that salvation only comes by faith and not by good works? Will you invite them to believe the Gospel?