The Fork In The Road

 

 

THE FORK IN THE ROAD

There is a point in every person's life when they will have to make a decision on whether or not they will choose to believe God and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. The decision to follow Christ or not follow Christ can only be made on an individual basis. We can pray for our families and friends to be saved, but ultimately it will be their decision just as it was ours. 

While some will believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, there are still so many people who believe otherwise, and they flaunt their sin not only in our face, but in God's face and they will answer for their sins against God. 

However, while we still have breath, we pray for their salvation and that The Holy Spirit would fill them, giving them power to walk out their newfound faith in these last days before Christ's return. We pray for them with the love of God, Who lives in us and is constantly changing us, filling us with so much love for others that it overflows and blesses not only us, but those on whom we share this love of God with. 

When you have come to the fork in your road, you will see two destinations: one on the left and one on the right: there is no middle road. Imagine one sign reading "The Way of Holiness" and the other sign reads "Self-Interest". The Way of Holiness is strewn with gravel, potholes, obstacles, hidden pits and other things we cannot yet see. The Way of Holiness is straight and narrow: just enough room for two people to walk side by side. There is danger on every side, and yet, we can see that there are other people on this road, not many, but enough perhaps to peak our curiosity. Some are dressed in rags, some are crippled in body, some are singing, some are calling us to walk in The Way of Holiness with them.

Self-Interest is filled with every goodie you could possibly imagine. It is a colorful, winding road with vendors hawking their wares for you to purchase along your journey. The sun is shining on this road and there is not a cloud in the sky. There are no apparent obstacles on this road. It is crowded and the people ahead are laughing and talking amongst themselves. They gesture to us and call out our names to join them on their merry journey. 

A decision must be made, for there is no going back the way we came. We must move forward but which road will we take? Only you can make that decision. Only you can choose your destination. 

Whatever God calls "sin" is nothing to be proud of.

Isaiah 3:9

The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.

    Romans 6:23 tells us the destination of the unrepentant sinner and the destination of the repentant:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    But not a death where you just lie in the ground after your life ends. Nor does your body become one with nature. You are not reincarnated into something else: neither your spirit nor your soul will take on a new shape/identity.

    The death of the unrepentant sinner is a sorrowful event for those whom The Lord knows, but that person refused to know or even acknowledge.

The unrepentant soul will go to hell and there are no parties in hell. Friends and family might be there, but the lost soul will not be aware of others around him or her. In death as in life, their only thoughts will be selfish, while their bodies writhe in anguish.

    Luke 16:19-31 tells us the Parable of "The Rich Man & Lazarus". In life the rich man had everything but faith, while Lazarus had nothing in life except faith. The rich man lacked for nothing, but Lazarus lacked everything. Both died. The rich man went to hell and Lazarus went to Paradise.

    In hell a person will have their memories, their senses and their desire that their family would know Christ.

Luke 16:23 the rich man was in torment

Luke 16:24 the rich man knew thirst and was in agony

Luke 16:26 crossing from Paradise to hell after death is impossible

Luke 16:27 the rich man wanted his family warned about hell

But in Paradise there is comfort and rest.

     Repent And Believe The Gospel now, today, while today is still here. For The Bible says that tomorrow is not promised. We must take full advantage of today to believe that Jesus Christ Is Lord and begin to walk by faith this process of holiness which God would have us to live in. 

JESUS GOT AHOLD OF MY LIFE - Dallas Holm 

COME TO THE TABLE - Sidewalk Prophets 

THERE IS ONE GOSPEL - CityAlight

Informed Decision

An informed decision requires an informed platform. For instance, let’s talk about God. All religions have one. But that’s religion. Let’s talk about Jesus. Only one religion recognizes Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten Son who died on the cross and rose from the dead to save the world from eternal damnation through Adam’s sin in the garden. That religion is Christianity.

While there are many doctrines in place within the religious realm of Christianity, who is to say who is right and who is wrong? The place to go to make that decision is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the Living Word of God. Yep, you heard me right. Only by reading and understanding God’s Word can we learn God’s intentions towards us.

If we begin with Genesis, we read that God created our world and everything within it. He creates the stars, the moon, the sun and all the universe above us. God creates all animals and people. And He doesn’t do this alone. His Son and His Spirit work with Him to create.

And when we go to the Book of John we read that The Word of God has always been, just as God has always been. We read that The Word became flesh, that He let God wrap His glorious Son in the frail body of flesh and gave Him to the world to become the sin offering once and for all.

Reading Romans we see that while Christ died for all of us, it is up to each of us, on an individual level, to make a decision to choose and believe that Jesus Christ is LORD. An informed decision. Each one of us, every person who ever lived and is capable of making their own decision, is responsible for choosing to be saved or condemned by God. No one else can make this decision for us but us.

As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God knew. For He came to the garden and could not see them, as sin covered them. So God asked Adam, "Where are you?" And when Adam responded, "I hid because I was naked.", God asked, "Who told you you were naked?"

The two basic questions God asks every person. Where are you? and Who told you you were naked?

Naked means more than unclothed. It is to be without proper covering. Without a proper covering God could not see Adam, nor Eve. He cannot see us without a proper covering. In the beginning in the garden, God had to kill an animal and use its skin to cover Adam and Eve that they might be properly covered. {While the Bible does not tell us then which animal died, when we read Exodus and Leviticus we see that an unblemished, spotless lamb was used for the sin offering, as a substitute for a person who had sinned (disobeyed God's Word). }

In the Book of John we learn that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son came to us as The Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. And that believing this Truth covers us who believe with the blood of this Lamb, making it possible for God to see us.

So, what must I do to be saved? A cry made from the heart and echoed by the lips. First we must recognize that we are sinners. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is repentance: Recognizing that we are sinners and have sinned and choosing not to keep living in the state of sin. It is more than remorse or sorriness: it is abject recognition of being apart from God and making an Informed Decision to be near Him through His Son and under the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

Realizing I am a sinner I understand the penalty of sin is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is hope now, because the believer is given a gift from God: eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas before, we had only an eternity of death and separation from God standing before us, now we have Hope and Peace by faith in Christ.

A new word has been introduced to us: faith. It is the act of believing God. Believing that He Is and that His Word Is Truth. Believing that what God promises, God delivers. As He has for so many people for thousands of years God’s Word is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11 and Revelation 22:6). See also Hebrews 11 to learn what a few folks accomplished by their faith.

Seeing now that I am a sinner and am saved by Christ, what now must I do? Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the Word of faith, which we preach, that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus Christ is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.” Words to rejoice and shout! I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord! Do you?

You can. Romans 10:23 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I am a whosoever. You are a whosoever. Yes, you, the one reading this page. You can be saved. You can believe. Let no one tell you otherwise. It is simple and easy. It is the faith of a child believing her father will catch her if she jumps, lift him up when he falls. And now that you and I have called upon the name of the Lord for our salvation? Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

I have made an Informed Decision for Christ. Have you?