2 Tim 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
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FEB 26
John 8:24
Memorise John 8:24b
“for if ye believe not that I am He ye shall die in your sins.”
Jesus did not mince His words as he spoke to the Jews in the temple about His identity as the Son of God and the promised Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. The group he addressed was antagonistic and defiant. The Pharisees called Him a liar at the start and it was clear that they did not truly believe even in God the Father although outwardly they deceived others that they did. Jesus exposed their unbelief when He said, “Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 8:19).
Jesus then told them outright that if they did not believe that He was the Messiah and that salvation came through Him, they would “die in [their] sins”. Christ did not hide the painful truth from them. He did not downplay the fatal consequence of not believing in Him. It was simple. Believe that He was the Messiah or else, it was eternal death. We should definitely learn from Christ. We have a responsibility to the lost person.
We should not brush over the reality of hell and the fact that if one does not believe in Christ, one will “die in [his] sins”. We owe it to the people we love to tell them the dire consequences of not believing in Christ. If they do not know about hell, they will not see the urgency of accepting Christ. We should not be afraid of offending them and hiding this fact from them. It is lying to them if we do not tell them the whole truth. The stakes are eternal life and death as we proclaim the Gospel. What if there is blood in our hands?
Thought: Have you been guilty of not telling the whole truth of the Gospel to a loved one? If so, you owe it to them to tell them the Gospel in its entirety.
Prayer: Dear Lord, it is indeed true that if we do not believe in Christ, we will die in our sins. Thank You, Lord, for saving me from this certain death. Lord, help me to proclaim this truth without the fear of men to my loved ones so that they may also be saved from dying in their sins.