Pharisee or Sadducee

On The Damascus Road Answers Pharisee Or Sadducee, That Is The Question!

    Almost everyone reading this has, at one time or another, been to a funeral, funeral home, or wake. Inevitably the question of whether the deceased was saved comes up. Whether the person's soul is now with Jesus, in hades, or just heading off into oblivion. To be sure, the close family members, the preacher officiating the service and a few kind friends would all say that this was a Christian person. Surely the Lord in His mercy has seen fit to bring this loved one home. And if he or she was a Christian then the person still is and the angels have borne the soul home and now resides in heaven for eternity. So says the Pharisees.
    If the person never knew Jesus, never confessed that Jesus is the Son of God and that He paid the penalty for his or her sins, then as sure as the sun rises and sets the deceased now lives on in eternity but under condemnation. John 3:16-18 There is a resurrection! The choice of where you will be when that takes effect, chilling as that might be, belongs to only one person. So says the Pharisees.
    There is sadness at a funeral. Though it is not a determining factor of the deceased's future. All the wailing and groaning will do nothing for the soul of the departed. It only serves to display the anguish of losing a loved one, and that is for those around the mourners. In fact, there is nothing anyone can do for the deceased's future. It was determined by the action or inaction of the deceased by his or her choice making prior to the death.
    There is a belief that a priest can pray you into heaven out of a mythical purgatory. Nothing can be further from the truth. If one never believes in Jesus, John 3:18 clearly and succinctly states, that person is condemned already. Simply because the name of Jesus was not in that person's active vocabulary. What can a priest do to put it there when your gone. Doctors and nurses, the world around, marvel at the fact that one moment you're alive and the next moment you are gone. Even they cannot change your future abode.
    Of course, there is always oblivion. The escape mechanism of those that fear God and know they are sinners but cannot bring themselves to accept the fact that God would be so merciful to us by allowing His Son to die for our sins. So therefore, for them there is no ressurection, no angels, no eternity for mankind, just oblivion. They say, "We are here for the day and we thank this God for our existance and when we die—nothing." What a pathetic mind was involved in whipping this one up. But, so says the Sadducees.
    We are born into eternity and will remain in eternity. God is eternal and His creation is eternal. We are all His children. One part of His creation is hades, gehenna, or hell. It also will go on through eternity and those who have chosen that course of travel will also go on and on and on. The story of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus serves to truly define the torment of hell (read all the verses around these that are linked, in your bible) Luke 16:23,24. Still the choice belongs to each one of us. Making the wrong choice makes for an eternity of regret or we can choose Jesus and declare Him to be our saviour Romans 10:9-11 for an eternity of no regret. We can thank Him for His loving thoughtfulness for having brought us along on this fantastic voyage with Him.
    Funerals serve to bring closure to a segment of our lives with the loved ones that pass away. They can be sad or happy times that we experience. Sad because they are no longer with us, but happy in the knowledge that they are Christians and we shall see them as we go to where they are.

Just As I Am

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	Almost everyone reading this has, at one time or another, been to a funeral, funeral home, or wake. Inevitably the question of whether the deceased was saved comes up. Whether the person's soul is now with Jesus, in hades, or just heading off into oblivion. To be sure, the close family members, the preacher officiating the service and a few kind friends would all say that this was a Christian person. Surely the Lord in His mercy has seen fit to bring this loved one home. And if he or she was a Christian then the person still is and the angels have borne the soul home and now resides in heaven for eternity. So says the Pharisees. If the person never knew Jesus, never confessed that Jesus is the Son of God and that He paid the penalty for his or her sins, then as sure as the sun rises and sets the deceased now lives on in eternity but under condemnation. John 3:16-18 There is a resurrection! The choice of where you will be when that takes effect, chilling as that might be, belongs to only one person. So says the Pharisees. There is sadness at a funeral. Though it is not a determining factor of the deceased's future. All the wailing and groaning will do nothing for the soul of the departed. It only serves to display the anguish of losing a loved one, and that is for those around the mourners. In fact, there is nothing anyone can do for the deceased's future. It was determined by the action or inaction of the deceased by his or her choice making prior to the death. There is a belief that a priest can pray you into heaven out of a mythical purgatory. Nothing can be further from the truth. If one never believes in Jesus, John 3:18 clearly and succinctly states, that person is condemned already. Simply because the name of Jesus was not in that person's active vocabulary. What can a priest do to put it there when your gone. Doctors and nurses, the world around, marvel at the fact that one moment you're alive and the next moment you are gone. Even they cannot change your future abode. Of course, there is always oblivion. The escape mechanism of those that fear God and know they are sinners but cannot bring themselves to accept the fact that God would be so merciful to us by allowing His Son to die for our sins. So therefore, for them there is no ressurection, no angels, no eternity for mankind, just oblivion. They say, "We are here for the day and we thank this God for our existance and when we die—nothing." What a pathetic mind was involved in whipping this one up. But, so says the Sadducees. We are born into eternity and will remain in eternity. God is eternal and His creation is eternal. We are all His children. One part of His creation is hades, gehenna, or hell. It also will go on through eternity and those who have chosen that course of travel will also go on and on and on. The story of the rich man and the beggar named Lazarus serves to truly define the torment of hell (read all the verses around these that are linked, in your bible) Luke 16:23,24. Still the choice belongs to each one of us. Making the wrong choice makes for an eternity of regret or we can choose Jesus and declare Him to be our saviour Romans 10:9-11 for an eternity of no regret. We can thank Him for His loving thoughtfulness for having brought us along on this fantastic voyage with Him. Funerals serve to bring closure to a segment of our lives with the loved ones that pass away. They can be sad or happy times that we experience. Sad because they are no longer with us, but happy in the knowledge that they are Christians and we shall see them as we go to where they are.

Just As I Am