terrible: to frighten 1. causing terror; fearful; dreadful. 2. extreme; intense; severe. 3. very bad, unpleasant, or disagreeable. (Webster's New World Dictionary 1968 edition, by the World Publishing Co. Nashville, TN)
All of my life my parents have paid the price for me not to experience anything terrible. They sacrificed time, money and sleepless nights praying for me not to be harmed in any way. They made sure from my early childhood that I knew when I was near danger, that could have a terrible outcome. The most terrible consequence would have more sacrifice and teaching from them, so I would avoid it.
Today, we have gone through the horror of 911 and the collapse of the twin towers leaving many dead and many emotionally scarred for the rest of their lives. Our country has paid billions of dollars for this to not happen again. Many of our young men and women in the service have paid the fullest price by dying, trying to stop this evil. We see on TV the wounded warriors still trying to overcome or live with their wounds from battle. All of this sacrifice and suffering is so we may escape facing such terrible tragedy again in our country.
Look at the messages we see on TV about texting while driving, drinking and driving, etc. . You can see the cost of preventing goes up when the most terrible outcome is foreseeable. People see and hear the warnings, but they do it any way, because they think it will never happen to them. Mankind has always had a choice. We can heed the warning or ignore it and do whatever we please. Each produces a consequence.
In the beginning Adam and Eve were given the choice of obeying or not obeying God. Eve was deceived by Satan and disobeyed God, and the fall of man was the consequence. Sin entered into man's world. This is in Genesis chapter 3. Pay close attention to verse 15. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heal. This is the first time we are introduced to Christ. And all through the Old Testament God prepared the way for Christ to come into this world, take on the flesh of man, be tempted by Satan, and to be the savior of mankind.
What is God offering salvation from? It must be terrible, and God does not want anyone to go there.
God is showing mankind how much He loves him by allowing His Son to take on a gruesome death of the cross. Christ could have asked God to send angels to destroy man. Instead, He chose to obey His Father in heaven and live in obedience to Him because God's wrath is going to one day be upon those who do not accept His Son, Satan and his angels.
(Then He will also say to them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels' Matthew 25:41, NKJV).
(Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, Matthew10:28, NKJV).
( Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again the Lord shall judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Hebrews 10:29-31, NKJV).
Does God want this to happen? ( For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, John 3:16-17).
Lastly, the scripture I want to use to show God does not want us to die lost is: (The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all may come to repentance, 2Peter 3:9, NKJV).
Dying in sin is a terrible thing! Being lost and separated from a God that loves us so much is a tragedy on our part. God still gives us a choice. The terrible death of an innocent, sinless man on the cross, Jesus the Son of God, should show all of us the price that was paid to warn us and save us from a most terrible eternal life of punishment with the devil and his angels.
What are we as Christians to do? We are to teach everyone how to escape this most terrible place, believe God's warnings, obey his commands, and live the way He wants us to live. We must live it and then do it.
Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16, NKJV. Jesus died for us, and he wants us to tell everyone, because He does not want anyone to die lost.
We pay a high price to keep our children from terrible things. The most terrible thing in the universe is to die lost. The highest price has already been paid. Mankind only needs to accept it, do what God commands, and live it. Jesus' shed blood cost us nothing. I must ask a serious question. Are we making sure our children and grandchildren are being taught this? Not teaching them could lead them right into a most terrible eternity.
We can always start today. Here is a great quote:
Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending-- Maria Robinson
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Rick
