What if You Are Wrong?

8 June 2019 / 5 Sivan 5779 / 49th Day of the Omer

I once posed that question to a Jewish Rabbi during an introductory course on Judaism, regarding his beliefs about Jesus. I don’t remember his response, but I know that he sensed my sincerity. What a person truly believes about the Son of God, and His great sacrifice, has such profound implications; and even though I am sure that I made an “enemy” that day, I hope that he eventually pondered that very serious question in his heart.

I just know that one day all Jewish people are going to realize their forefathers were responsible for the death of Jesus. They did not personally carry it out, but His blood is on the hands of those who cried out “crucify Him!”

Moreover, according to the Scriptures, God’s chosen people will be in great mourning when they are able to see that they rejected the true Messiah of Israel. But the LORD God is such a merciful God, and He will not hold their sin against them, and will forgive them, if they repent!

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

Due to the lateness of the hour, I am compelled to weigh in on another very important subject—the issue of taking one’s own life. My views usually run counter to the prevailing opinions of the religious leaders of our day, and this vital issue is no exception. Suicide has tremendously serious ramifications, and eternal consequences; and it is something that we, and especially the leadership in the Church, cannot afford to be wrong on! Lives are literally, and spiritually, at stake!

Consider what a well-known minister said about a Christian who takes their own life.

“Suicide is a grave sin equivalent to murder (Exodus 20:13; 21:23), but it can be forgiven like any other sin. And Scripture says clearly that those redeemed by God have been forgiven for all their sins–past, present, and future (Colossians 2:13-14). Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” –John MacArthur

It is very dangerous to emphatically state that a “Christian” who commits suicide can be forgiven and go to heaven. But that is the view of some high profile leaders in the Church, even among Southern Baptists. My question to them is:

What if you are wrong?

Only God truly knows the heart of man, and for those who honestly believes that a person who willfully takes their own life is not doomed to hell, again, I ask:

What if you are wrong?

Yes, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God, if we are “in Christ Jesus,” but due to sinful choices that people willingly make in this life, they are the ones who walk away from God, and become blinded by their sin, and believe the potentially fatal lie of the Devil that “all is well” with their soul.

For those who are “walking with the enemy,” God will put stumbling blocks in the way, but if they love their sin and unrighteousness more than Him, God will allow them to believe the lies of the “wicked one,” as he leads them further into the darkness, yet call it the Light!

And if they continue in their sinful life-style without ever repenting, it will eventually cause their love for God, and others, to grow cold. Albeit, for many who claim to be Christian, it is just a profession (literally and figuratively speaking), and they have yet to be “born of water and of the Spirit.”

John 3:3-8 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit of the living God residing within a person who is truly “born again” would never allow them to kill themselves! The pressures and sorrows of this life can be overwhelming at times, but God WILL keep His faithful followers from evil, and enable them to endure unto the very end.

1 John 3:15   “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

2 Timothy 1:7   “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

John 10:28   “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”

This next passage is where Jesus was teaching His disciples (not just the twelve); and it is vitally important to see that Jesus was addressing those who followed Him up the mountain, and not to the multitudes as has been portrayed in the movies.

Matthew 5:29-30 “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.”

There are so many things in this life that we can touch, look upon, and places that we can go (right at our fingertips), which will lead us away from God, but we must resist evil, and submit ourselves to God.

God has warned us in the Scriptures that the deceptions would be very great in our day, and so many Christians are “falling away” from the true faith, just as God said.

God will make a way of escape for those who are sincerely deceived, but for those who reject the truth because they have more “pleasure in unrighteousness,” God has said they will be damned to Hell!

God has continually said that only those who “endureth to the end shall be saved,” and I believe Him! For those “Once Saved, Always Saved” proponents, I pray that you will seriously consider:

WHAT IF YOU ARE WRONG?

I know that many Southern Baptist’s teach, and believe, that if you ever made an “altar call,” no matter what sin you commit, that you could never lose your salvation, but that is a grievous error for those who adamantly hold to that “doctrine.”

God WILL have the Final Word!

Hebrews 3:6 “But Christ as a son over His own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.”

Hebrews 3:14   “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”

Revelation 2:26  “And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:”

1 Corinthians 1:8   “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Mark 13:13   “And ye shall be hated of all men for My name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Matthew 24:13  “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Matthew 28:20   “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I Am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

I pray that you will consider what I say, and may the LORD God give you understanding.

With the love of Christ,