This has not been a good week for me. I have been somewhat down this week. I guess it is a combination of being reminded that life is short along with the realization that I have wasted so much of my life not investing in the things that remain. I also found out that my friend from Bible College, with whom I was very close and shared a lot of good times, passed away in April of this year. He was 59 y/o. He had given his life to Christ after spending much of his teenage years and 20s on cocaine and was in and out of prison. I met him after he gave his life to Christ. He had completed Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute and transferred to Florida Baptist Theological College (now Baptist College of Florida) in 1991. He, Jimmy Adamson, and I were very good friends during our time there. He went on outings with us on many weekends and also preached on numerous occassions at the church I pastored in Slocomb Alabama. He was a very intelligent guy with a sweet spirit and after Bible college returned to his home state (North Carolina) and began pastoring churches there. As time passed, he came into contact again with some of the "friends" from his old life and once again started using cocaine. He relapsed and subsequently lost most of his possessions and moved back to Florida. We lost touch during this time as I did not know where he was. At various times through the years, I have tried to find him using the internet. Particularly since the late 1990s with the advent of social media and many resources coming online, my search continued. It was with a heavy heart that I discovered the other night that he had passed away in April 2016. I don't know what the intervening years were like for him. I don't know what his struggles may or may not have been. I am thankful for the time that God allowed me to spend with this man in prayer and reflection in the early years of my Bible education.
I am reminded of the importance of salvation in Jesus Christ. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I spent enough time with my friend to be assured of his relationship with our Lord. I know many of you may be thinking that he "backslid" and he may have lost his salvation. I would reply that when we trust Jesus as our Savior, having repented of our sins, HE is our sacrifice and our Savior before God, not US. If we could do ANYTHING to remove ourselves from the grace of God then even one unconfessed sin could doom us after salvation! If that were the case, then we would all be in serious trouble. There would be very few, (if any) that would spend eternity with God. Thankfully, our standing with God (as my deceased friend) was and is not determined by "how good we do" (before or after salvation). Our salvation is determined by our recognition of the need of a Saviour who is outside and distinct from ourselves. Jesus is the way from beginning to end. If we could have warranted God's favor and acceptance (either before or after salvation), Jesus would not have had to be our sacrifice. We could have done it ourselves. Thanks be to God that even though it was and STILL IS impossible for us, Jesus Christ is always acceptable to God the Father. Our faith and trust in Him (Jesus), makes my standing possible with God from beginning to end.
Because my friend made the decision to repent of his sins, to confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believed in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, he was saved for eternity. I am thankful that my friend gets to spend eternity with HIM. It is one thing to KNOW Christ and another to be OBEDIENT to his leading. It is siginicant to me that we are referred to as the children of God. Relationship is not determined by behavior, it is determined by lineage. (Just because your children disobey you doesn't mean that they cease to be your children).
Success in Life and Preparation for what comes after is not contingent on what we DO, it is contingent on who we KNOW. Who we KNOW then determines what we DO. There are many people living today who are in turmoil because they KNOW Jesus but are not living for HIM. Knowing Him (Jesus) determines your destiny (eternity). Obedience determines your impact on others while you are here in this world). There is always turmoil in an earthly life that is not having an impact on others for the Kingdom of God, simply from the fact that a person is not living according to their designed purpose.
Christians may disagree on many points but one point is not debatable and crucial for us all. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to God and is sufficient to carry us all through this life in preparation for the one to come. Sharing Christ and Him crucified is the most vital thing that we can do in this life.
What the Bible Says is Still True:
"I (Jesus) am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Noone comes to the Father (God) except by me." (John 14:6)
Thanks be to God for his gift of ETERNAL Life!
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