For us the men and women of the IR gang. We all take seriously the deep and abiding faith of Christ that has been the saving grace of man. The faith is our rock that has kept us able to endure the slings and arrows that have been thrown our way. Yes it is true that seeing the damage being done to the image of Christ by those who follow an ends justify the means mentality is depressing at times. But the true body of Christ is never destroyed. Obscured, forgotten at times though it maybe. The mighty fortress that is our God endured eternal. In this we find comfort, wisdom and inspiration in the holy scriptures that it seems to many of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have forgotten, or as it is written:
Matthew 15:8-9:
‘These people [a]draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
But we can justly claim the utmost faith and confidence in the ultimate triumph of God over all sin and evil. Come let us reason together (Isaiah 1:18). The Holy Spirit will share with you all solid biblical reasons why God will always win. We will do our utmost to let the scriptures speak for themselves. However where the spirit moves us, our own commentary will be put in. Let’s start by asking ourselves. Does God always get what he wants? And can anything stop God? What does scripture say?
Isaiah 46:9-10 says:
“ I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
Job 42:2:
You can do all things, and that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained or thwarted.
Psalm 30:5:
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [a]joy comes in the morning
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [a]joy comes in the morning
Daniel 4:35:
All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does what he wills with the host of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth.
There is no one who can stay his hand
or say to him, “What are you doing?”
and the inhabitants of the earth.
There is no one who can stay his hand
or say to him, “What are you doing?”
Now let’s ask ourselves what is God’s purpose and what pleases him?
Let’s hear the witnesses of the Holy Bible:
The prophet Ezekiel says in Ezekiel 33:11:
Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
2 Peter 3:9:
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Colossians 1:16-20:
16 for in[d] him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in[e] him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
1 Corinthians 15:20-28:
20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have [d]fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who areChrist’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy thatwill be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
1 Timothy 2:1-6:
I exhort, then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, for all men:
2 for kings, and all who are in authority, that a quiet and peaceable life we may lead in all piety and gravity,
3 for this [is] right and acceptable before God our Saviour,
4 who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth;
5 for one [is] God, one also [is] mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who did give himself a ransom for all -- the testimony in its own times
Romans 14:11:
11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to[a]God.”
Isaiah 45:22-24:
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth inrighteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
24 He shall say,
[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth inrighteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.
24 He shall say,
[g]‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
Philippians 2:9-11:
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(Point of importance. Under the earth was a common Jewish expression for the abode of the dead)
Romans 10:11-13:
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Remember as 1 Corinthians 12:3 states: 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus [c]accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Since God is love. 1 John 4:8 and as 1 Corinthians 13:4-13 says “ 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhoodbehind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” God will never fail, we will all fully know God, God will always perseveres.)
Read the above passages carefully, think and ask God to guide you as you read them. For if God’s purpose will stand, he will do all he pleases as the prophet Isaiah asserts. If as Saint Paul said to the Corinthians that just as all die because of sin, that in Christ all shall be made alive. In 1 Timothy 2 many translations say “God wills all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” other translations say “God desires all to be saved”. But since as God says in Isaiah that “I will do all that I please”. The inevitable result of the gospel is that God will destroy the dominion of sin and Satan! As Paul said the last enemy to be destroyed is death. So all that is left is the eternal or (aionan in the original greek) life given to us in Christ! John 17:1-3 tells us exactly what the eternal life is he brings: After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all people,[a] to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Since Christ has been given authority over all flesh, and he is to give eternal life to as many as have been given to him, and he defines eternal life as all flesh knowing the only true God. These statements alone prove without a shadow of a doubt that we will all know God in the end! Yes there are places where Jesus says “I never knew you”. But that is not the same as saying he would never know them. Jesus also talks about the narrow road to life and the broad path of destruction. Those passages refer to the demanding and exacting nature of the faith of Christ, not the final destiny of humankind. We cannot give you our faith. For it was given to us by God. We can only share with you our beliefs and convictions and pray that you do not view us as anything other then fellow children of God. Merely because of our particular Christian walk. We beseech you our brothers and sisters not to give up the good fight. Do not abandon the faith because it is unpopular.
Remember Matthew 5:11-13: 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Let us now commit ourselves to restoring the best in all of us! For the memory of all who have gone before us. Especially to the memory of our great teacher and brother Gary Welsh. Go in peace and serve the Lord! Praise be to God! Amen! Hallelujah! And to quote the Reverend Richard Penniman “Good Golly Miss Molly”!
Here’s the great Neil Diamond’s rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus:
