This parable talks about the end of the age, the time when Jesus comes again and restores creation in totality. At that point, Jesus explains that “angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
We do not believe that everyone will go to heaven. We are not universalists that believe all souls will be saved. We are also not syncretists that believe all religions lead to heaven. We believe that faith in the Triune God and in Jesus’ work on the cross alone saves – as we’re told in Ephesians 2:1-10. That means we also believe that those outside of the faith will end up in hell, spending eternity locked away from God. This is an incredibly difficult teaching for a lot of people (so much so that there’s a name for it, the Scandal of Election), but it is what Scripture teaches, so we hold to it.
This idea that hell is a reality should direct us towards a couple of places. It should increase our gratitude for the work of Jesus because He saved us from a very real potential doom. It should inspire us to witness, to speak of the Gospel, to the people around us and be tools for the Holy Spirit to save as many as possible.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God graciously saves us from eternal damnation
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to share the news of the Gospel with people around us
Topics to Pray About:
Thank God for salvation
Confess to God times where you do not feel the urgency to share your faith
Ask God to work in the lives of people who haven’t come to saving faith
The Parable of the Net
Matthew 13:47-50
This parable talks about the end of the age, the time when Jesus comes again and restores creation in totality. At that point, Jesus explains that “angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
We do not believe that everyone will go to heaven. We are not universalists that believe all souls will be saved. We are also not syncretists that believe all religions lead to heaven. We believe that faith in the Triune God and in Jesus’ work on the cross alone saves – as we’re told in Ephesians 2:1-10. That means we also believe that those outside of the faith will end up in hell, spending eternity locked away from God. This is an incredibly difficult teaching for a lot of people (so much so that there’s a name for it, the Scandal of Election), but it is what Scripture teaches, so we hold to it.
This idea that hell is a reality should direct us towards a couple of places. It should increase our gratitude for the work of Jesus because He saved us from a very real potential doom. It should inspire us to witness, to speak of the Gospel, to the people around us and be tools for the Holy Spirit to save as many as possible.
Focus on God
We are reminded in these verses that God graciously saves us from eternal damnation
Function in Our Lives
We are encouraged to share the news of the Gospel with people around us
Topics to Pray About:
In His Service,
J. LeBorious