Heaven – Page 3 – Michelle Lesley

1 Thessalonians 4

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Questions to Consider

1. What is the purpose of the book of 1 Thessalonians? Which genre(s) of biblical literature (prophecy, epistle, narrative, wisdom, etc.) is the book of 1 Thessalonians? What is the historical backdrop for this book?

2. In your own words, what is Paul saying to the Believers in 1-2? Imagine you’re a member of the church at Thessalonica. How might hearing this encourage you?

3. A question many Christians ask at some point in their walk with the Lord is, “What is God’s will for my life?”. Read the first half of verse 3 (3a). What does it say God’s will for you is? What is “sanctification”? (Hints: a- Use your cross-references and footnotes. b- Look at the last word of verse 7. c- If you still aren’t sure, click here.)

Notice the colon (:) after the word “sanctification” in verse 3. This indicates that Paul is going to expound on what he means by “sanctification” in the case of the Thessalonian Believers. Examine verses 3b-6. What was the primary or most urgent issue in which the Thessalonians needed to grow in Christ and obey His Word? Examine your heart and life. What is the primary or most urgent issue in which you need to grow in Christ and obey His Word?

How do verses 7-8 help explain and clarify verse 3a?

4. In verses 3-6, Paul exhorts the Thessalonians in an area in which they need to improve. In verses 9-12, he encourages them in an area in which they are doing well. What are they doing well? What does Paul urge them to do? Why? Is this an area in which you’re doing pretty well, or in which you need a lot of improvement? Which area of your walk with the Lord can you look back on and see the most growth or improvement?

5. Explain, in your own words, the sequence of events laid out in verses 13-18. What does “fallen asleep” (14, 15) mean? According to verse 18, what is the purpose of verses 13-18? How would this passage have brought hope (13) to the Thessalonian Believers who were concerned about the eternities of fellow Believers who had died before the Lord’s return? How can this passage bring hope to Believers today?

Faith, Gospel, Heaven, Hell, Salvation

From Here to Eternity

March 20, 2014May 13, 2015 Michelle Lesley

Fred Phelps died last night. And I’m glad.

I’m glad there’s one less person on earth publicly sullying the name of Christ and dragging His holy Word through the mud.

What I’m not glad about is that, as far as we know, yesterday was the first day of his eternity in Hell.

Hell? But he claimed to be a Christian.

Fred Phelps and his kindred are a perfect example of the fact that you can claim whatever you want, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21-23

And that’s not just the case for people like Fred Phelps whose lives seem to define the word “vile.” It’s also true for “nice” people. People you’d never put in the same category as Fred Phelps. People who volunteer at hospitals and run marathons to raise money for cancer research. Moms who’d do anything for their children. Men who are faithful to their wives. Your next door neighbor. Your brother. Your coworker.

Vile people don’t go to Heaven.

Nice people don’t go to Heaven.

Saved people go to Heaven.

The bad news is that you could never do enough good things to earn your way into Heaven. And, the good news is that you could never do enough bad things to forfeit Heaven.

Because being reconciled to God is not about what you do. It’s about what Christ has done.

We’re not always good. He was. We’re not always pleasing to God. He was. We don’t always do the right thing. He did. He lived the perfectly good, right, and pleasing-to-God life that we’d never be able to live. And then came the cross.

Some people refer to what happened at the cross as “the great exchange,” and, indeed it was the greatest exchange ever. At the cross, Christ suffered the execution that we deserve as the punishment for our crimes against God, and in exchange, we can have the perfect life He lived. His rap sheet for ours. Our guilty verdict for His innocent verdict. His death penalty for our exoneration. And it’s all ours if we’ll let go of the sin we cling to and throw ourselves on the mercy of the Judge.

Could someone as evil as Fred Phelps do that? Yes, and I hope he did before he died. Because no one who repents and trusts in Christ is beyond the reach of His saving grace. Not even a nice person like you.

Faith, Heaven, Salvation, Sin

Andy Walks with Me, Andy Talks with Me…

July 8, 2012July 5, 2015 Michelle Lesley

Actor Andy Griffith died last week, and in the wake of his passing, I’ve seen several cartoons like these, depicting him entering Heaven.

From everything I’ve heard and read, Andy Griffith was a nice guy. A loyal friend. A hard worker. A caring person. All qualities to be admired and emulated.

But is being a “nice guy” enough to get somebody into Heaven?

Answer: No. No, it’s not.

The truth is, the question itself is fundamentally flawed. From God’s perspective, there’s no such thing as a “nice guy.” We’re all born sinners in a state of rebellion against God, and things just get worse from there as far as our “niceness,” in God’s eyes, goes.

as it is written, “ THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
Romans 3:10

Many people hope that when they stand before God after death, the good things they’ve done in life will outweigh the bad things they’ve done.

That’s impossible.

The Bible tells us that even the good things we do are dirty.

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Isaiah 64:6

A “filthy garment.” Ick.

My husband owns a home maintenance and lawn care business, and does almost all of the labor himself. Frequently, that heavy physical labor has to be done outside.

It’s July.

In south Louisiana.

A.k.a. “hell’s armpit.”

There are days when my husband comes home from work so sweaty, dirty, and nasty that he strips down before coming in the house and leaves those disgusting clothes on the back porch until they’re ready to be picked up and put straight into the washing machine.

I’m familiar with the concept of a “filthy garment.” And those are the good things we do.

Giving money to charity. Helping at a soup kitchen. Letting somebody else go first in line. Visiting your grandmother in the nursing home.

That’s the stinking pile of rags we’re going to lay before the King. And that dirty laundry isn’t going to buy a single day in Heaven.

Why are those things a stench in God’s nostrils? I mean, they’re all good, noble things to do, right?

Imagine that I went to Tiffany’s and bought you the most exquisite diamond ring they had. But, before I gave it to you, I took it home, went out into the back yard, and rolled it around in some dog poop. Would you reach out for it eagerly when I offered it to you? I doubt it. Nobody wants a poop covered ring, no matter how nice it is.

That’s how our good deeds look to God. They’re made so gross by our sin that they’re not appealing to Him, they’re repulsive.

Fact is, there was only one truly “nice guy” who ever lived. His name was Jesus, and He died on the cross and was resurrected so we could be made clean from all that sin.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

Being a “nice guy” won’t get you into Heaven. The only way is to confess and turn from your sins, accepting, through faith, that Christ paid the penalty for those sins for you.

We can’t assume that Andy Griffith is in Heaven just because he was a nice guy. But if he repented and placed his faith and Jesus, book it. He’s there. And if you do the same, Heaven will be your eternal home, too.

Whenever they “may bury” you.