(Salvation Is For The Living)
TO THE BIBLE: Isaiah 38:18-19 NIV
“For the grave cannot praise you, death cannot sing your praise; those who go down to the pit cannot hope for your faithfulness. The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.”
LET’S TALK
Some people have asked if Christians could intercede on behalf of a person who died without receiving Christ, so such a person could go to heaven instead of hell. The answer is no. Anyone who didn’t receive Christ while on earth stands condemned. In John 3:18, Jesus said, “…he who does not believe is condemned already….” So, the one who dies without knowing Christ, died in condemnation, and it would be of no use praying for such a one to go to heaven because the choice of whether to receive Christ or not is a personal one.
It’s important to realise that the salvation message is for the living and not the dead. You can only receive Christ as Lord and Saviour in response to the Gospel while you’re still in the earth. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). Only the living can believe and be saved.
The Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13); only the living can make that call. But “how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14). This is the reason God has sent you to be the preacher to take the message of Christ’s salvation to those in your world—your family, friends, and loved ones, so they could hear the message, believe and be saved before it’s too late. Therefore, keep spreading the message of the Gospel around the world with great passion and urgency, and help others become citizens of heaven while they’re here on earth, for they’ll have no opportunity afterwards.
Go Deeper
Hebrews 2:3
Pray
Dear Father, I thank you for your Word and its power in my life. Thank you for bringing me into your kingdom of light and making me a partaker of the inheritance for the saints in light. I pray that the light of your salvation may arise upon the unsaved and deliver them from the blindness of darkness to the effect that your salvation is made real in their lives, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading
ONE YEAR
Matthew 11:1-30, Genesis 36-37
TWO YEAR
Matthew 6:14-24, Genesis 15
Act
Share the Gospel with at least five people today. Do it boldly.
My Notes
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