“For it is written, As I
live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall
confess to God. So, then, every one of us shall give account of himself to
God.” (Romans 14:11-12)
Our society is becoming more
and more volatile in its attitude toward Jesus Christ and His followers (true
Christians). Its hatred and rejection toward His Word is not puzzling at all
when realizing it is because the Bible shines the light of God on the sins of
the world and reveals its dark heart. The Bible boldly asserts that man is
corrupt and needs to be saved. It loudly proclaims that there is only one way
of redemption and that is through the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. All who
travel the broad road will slide down the precipice of hell to suffer judgment
for all eternity.
No one likes to be told they
are a sinner, but the Scripture says, “For all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Then it hammers the nail in the coffin with,
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Even though the Lord quickly
follows up by promising the “gift of God,” it is rejected by so many and
accepted by so few. Most do not want to give up their sins, and their pride
prohibits them from admitting they need to be saved. All they need to gain
eternal life is to put their trust in Jesus Christ and in His grace He will do
the rest, but the serpent of old draws them away.
Our current society is
mimicking the societies of Noah and Lot’s day. It has donned the black robe of
diabolical evil. It bows before the god of the night, and shuns the one true
God since their deeds would be revealed in the light.
Those who lie in the wet,
smelly, garbage-strewn gutter and those who lie on lavender-scented silk in
palatial palaces will all meet in one group at the end. From every vocation
they will meet. From all types of families, various levels of education, male
and female, north and south, east and west, every skin color of every age, all will
stand together in this one group of people. From every religion they will stand
before the one true God in this cursed group to await their fate.
The macho attitude that is so
prevalent today will be humbled before the One they curse now, but it will be
too late. The attitude of “I don’t need God” will quickly dissipate as a
morning fog burned away by the sun, except now the Son will burn away that
vaporous pride and pronounce judgment on all who stand before Him. The works
will be weighed, but none will measure up to what is needed for eternal life.
The scale of judgment will not climb above the sentence of eternal death. Only
One could have provided eternal life, but He was rejected. Now there is only
judgment.
From the nice old lady down
the street to the most corrupt politician, all will stand before a Holy God.
From the gentle family man to the most obscene Hollywood performer, the knee
will bow. From the church member to the drug-induced criminal, judgment day is
coming. The one criterion they all have in common is their rejection of: “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
A true Christian understands
that it is only by the grace of a loving God that we will not have to stand
before Him and be judged. We deserve to be judged. However, we accepted: “All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out.” (John 6:37) There is the difference.
There are two groups. One
group refuses to accept Jesus Christ as Savior, so they will face Him as their
Judge and die in their sins (John 8:24). The other group accepts Jesus Christ
as their Savior, and Jesus took the judgment for their sins. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Both will bow the knee to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. We who are saved by His
precious blood gladly worship Him in gratitude.
The potentates of this world
think they have all power since they rule over millions of people and some with
even the power of life and death. They too will bow. They think now, “No one
can take this from me, and I will not give it up,” but God says,
“Then cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have
put down all rule and all authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)
All rule, all authority and
all power, including Satan’s will be vanquished, and all will bow the knee to
Jesus Christ. Yes, I believe that also includes Satan and all his demons.
Personally, I prefer to bow
now and will gladly do so out of love when I see Him face to face. What about
you?
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
