Eradicating My Enemies

The Old Testament boggles the mind of many unbelievers, atheists, and liberal Christians. The plagues, wars, blood, death and destruction are too much for them to digest. Massive death and destruction cause them to doubt that character and nature of God, as well as the credentials of the Old Testament. Liberal Christians reject and dismiss the value of Old Testament to their own detriment.

The matter is really quite simple. God has made a promise that He keeps. We have seen this promise at work through the course of history. We will see its grand conclusion, and we will stand, and cheer, and shout for joy, while we raise our voices praising His Holy Name for all eternity.

You share in God’s passion for this cause. It is the destruction of the enemies of man and the enemies of God. Let me ask you a question. Will heaven be heaven if it contains liars? Will heaven be heaven if it contains the sexual immorality? Will heaven be heaven if it contains material idolatry? Of course not! Heaven will only be heaven if all of the enemies of God and man are absent.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

In the Old Testament, God was eradicating wickedness. He was making a Holy People for Himself and for humanity. We often forget how beguiling evil can be. We are surrounded in this world with evil, and sometimes it lures us into it fold. God is in the process of destroying evil. If we desire to join in His cause, we must embrace the ways of God. His ways are above our ways. His ways are the best ways to love others. His ways are the only ways that endure the test of eternity.

Even death itself is an enemy of man that God will destroy. He has already proven himself powerful over death, and it is the final enemy to be destroyed.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Corinthians 15:26

He has given you a promise, and you can begin embracing it today. He will destroy all of your enemies, and you can enjoy a bit of heaven today by embracing his commands through faith in His perfect son, the Lord Jesus Christ.


Know the Blessing

Photo: Dr. Squintum Exaltation or the Reformation - Great Awakening Revivalist George Whitefield

Note: Read Psalm 37 for futher encouragment

Death & Suffering in this Temporal World

Death and suffering is an issue oft ill-addressed in church teaching. The thought of death and suffering drives many away from God, yet the topic is foundational to understanding the nature of God.

Allow me to summarize the Bible in three words: Generation, de-generation and re-generation. God created the Edenic world (generation). Sin entered the hearts of mankind (de-generation). The price of that sin is death. God sent Christ to pay that debt, and He promises to make everything new (re-generation). Re-generation begins with acceptance of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is not completely fulfilled until He totally destroys His enemies. Death is the final enemy to be destroyed in the end (1 Cor 15:26).

A huge part of the problem, is that we say “God took him”, or “God called her home”. That is not theologically correct. Sin took him/her. The wages of sin is death, and it is the enemy that we all face. Sin has physical repercussions. Walking in the ways of man brings about natural consequences. Of course, none of this do we like, nor do we readily admit.

The Glorious Hope is that God has proven His power over death in the Resurrection of Christ. He has promised that the old order of things will pass away. This life is but a vapor. The question rests on our trust in His promises. Do we rest and trust in the Kingdom to come or the temporal kingdom on earth, where we currently reside? When you find the Pearl of Great Price, are you willing to give up everything you did have to get it?

Everybody, wants to go to heaven (where there are no more enemies), but no body wants to die (even in this troubled world).

Know the Blessing