And Your Father Is… :: By Dennis Huebshman

John 8:54-58: “Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ But you have not known Him. I know Him. If I were to say that I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and I keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’”  (ESV – all emphasis is mine)

Our Savior did not hold back when speaking about who most of the religious leaders were actually worshiping. John 8:44: “You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” It should be noted that Jesus called Satan a murderer because when the first sin was committed, death entered the world.

When the law of Moses is mentioned, many people believe this only applies to the 10 Commandments that he received from the Father. However, the full law not only included the Commandments but covered everything from moral principles to specific regulations for daily life, worship and justice. The religious leaders throughout history, from Moses’ time forward, took those regulations and “tweaked” them to meet their own desires, or in their words – changed to be applicable to their own current time.

The “instructions, teaching or laws” is known as the Torah. This is the compilation of the first five books of the Bible – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is also known as the “Pentateuch.” (Source Wikipedia)

Jesus did not come to abolish the true law, but as given in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”

If God is to be our True Heavenly Father, Jesus told us in Matthew 22:37-40: “And He said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.”

Our Savior loved everyone, including those who were responsible for His crucifixion. His love was for their immortal souls, even though He did not like them because of their total unbelief.

As with all of us today, each and every one of the religious leaders and soldiers could’ve been saved and have eternal life with Jesus. We’re told of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who provided a burial for Jesus in an unused tomb. It was fear of the Jews that they did this in secret. Yet they both were believers.

The persecution of Christians did not stop with the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior. The significance of His sacrifice was to seal God’s promise of forgiveness once and for all through a pure, sinless blood sacrifice.

Hebrews 10:4 and 14: “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For by a single offering, He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

And then Hebrews 10:17-18: “Then He adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more. When there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.’”

Jesus knew there would be more who would not follow Him but would be totally engrossed with this world. He told of the narrow and wide gates in Matthew 7:13-14. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

The narrow way is called “hard” because of a belief that there has to be more to receiving eternal life. Ephesians 2:8-9 addresses this specifically: “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” As stated in 1 Corinthians 1:31: “so that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’”

Another promise that our Heavenly Father made is in Genesis 12:2-3: “And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

When God makes a promise, it does not carry an expiration date. Remember 2 Peter 3:8: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

For all believers, now is not a time for despair. Yes, there is persecution, and it’s only going to get worse. But our hope is in what Jesus told us in Luke 21:28: “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise our heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

As we get closer to the coming of the ultimate antichrist, we are getting even closer to being taken up to be with our Jesus, and to avoid the wrath as promised by our Heavenly Father in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 and Revelation 3:10.

According to 2 Thessalonians 2, the evil one is being held back by a “Restrainer” so that he cannot come out earlier than the Father will allow. The Holy Spirit would be that Restrainer, and as the evil one is released, all who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit will be taken up to meet Jesus and to keep God’s promise, as given above.

All of this will take place in an extremely short period of time. At that moment, there will not be enough time for anyone to Admit they’re a sinner, Believe Jesus is God’s Son who came to Earth to be our perfect, sinless blood sacrifice for all our sins, and to Call out to be saved (Romans 10:9-13). (A-B-Cs of Salvation)

This is why those who have not received and accepted Jesus as their Savior yet need to consider doing so now. Then, when the Trumpet of God sounds, and the shout from an archangel takes place, we will be ready to go Home (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).

Our Heavenly Father will not force anyone to accept His Son but will honor all who truly do so.

Please remember, it’s your eternity that is at stake, and you will either choose to be with Jesus forever in Heaven, or you will choose to be in the lake of fire with Satan and his demons forever.

There are no other options available, no matter what any false teacher may try to tell you. When you take your last breath on this earth, your eternity is set by the choice you have made. At this point, it cannot be changed.

As a part of our Savior’s precious flock, you will look forward to being with Him forever and will have in your heart – Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Hope to see you at Home!

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