Bible Studies

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Jesus used the dinner parable of Luke 14: 16-24, to teach how God would prepare for a large gathering of Church Age, born-again believers to become soldiers of the cross (2Tim. 2: 3), and invite them to participate in the Great Commission (Matt. 28: 19, 20).

Participation in the Great Commission is the ultimate objective and goal of Biblical discipleship.

But as in the case of those invited to attend the dinner in the parable, the invitees of the Church Age would all alike begin to give reasons, seeking to be excused, citing their commitment to personal relationships and business investment, as their “justification” for declining the invitation.

Born-again believers can come up with lame excuses for not responding to His invitation to participate in post salvation discipleship.

Some fear the changes that will be required of them, if they are to conform to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8: 29), in thought, word, and deed.

In most cases, the individual post salvation plan that God has in mind, will begin right where one is when he or she is born-again, becoming an ambassador for the kingdom of God at home, work, play, and current social activities.

But in time, there may be some major changes, as God opens some doors and closes others to place, keep, or move you along to where you have to be in order to complete the individual work that He has in mind for you. Where you “need to be” could mean a new and exciting adventure, or it could be in such challenging places as in a nursing home, as you adjust to an end-of-life scenario.

How one faces and deals with impending death or the process of dying can be one of his or her greatest testimonies of what you claim to have believed throughout your lifetime.

Secular statistics report that 150,000 souls depart this world every day. For many, their departure was the last thing on their mind when they went to bed last night, or got up this morning.

Some people will not see death coming, suddenly finding themselves in either Heaven or in the Torments of Hades before he or she even knew what happened. Others will go through a conscious awareness of the dying process, that in some cases, can be a relatively long process.

Medical professionals have different opinions as to how much awareness of one’ surroundings one has in a coma, but as long as there is detectable brain activity, he or she is considered to be physically alive.

Before leaving this world, some will suffer mental disease impacting their memory and, in some cases, their ability to distinguish reality from falsehood.

God does not hold anyone accountable for something that he or she has no control over.

The unpardonable sin of disbelief (John 3: 18) involves a conscious choice to reject the unadulterated Gospel Message, while having the ability to make such a choice.

It can be argued that this underscores the urgency to be saved BEFORE the window of opportunity closes.

Once received, the irrevocable gift of eternal life (Rom. 11: 29), the regenerating of what was one’s dead spirit (Titus 3: 5), and the sealing (Eph. 4: 30) that took place when one was born again are irreversible.

It is my personal opinion and belief that one will pass away in the same mode of spirituality that he or she lived in. For some, God had been out there somewhere and hopefully will receive them into Heaven, if there really is one, based on their “religious” activities, good deeds, and relatively good behavior.

For advancing disciples, death is the door that he or she will pass through, enabling him or her to continue to move forward with the intimate relationship and daily walk with God that began on the day he or she was born again. His or her outlook is summed up in Phil. 1: 21.

“For me, to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB2020 parenthesis mine).”

For an advancing disciple, he or she does not want to leave this world before he or she has completed ALL of the work that God has in mind for him or her. But on the other hand, he or she will not desire to remain here on Earth one second longer, once ALL his or her work has been completed.

Weaker believers want to go to Heaven, but not necessarily right now!

The Army of God is an all-volunteer unit, and one can usually desert the spiritual battlefield without suffering any overt consequences, here on Earth. Many born-again believers do in fact desert their post in the spiritual battlefield when the cost of discipleship gets too high, and they decide that this is not what they signed up for, or to experience.

But as in the case of Jonah, not all of us are going to get “off the hook” so easily. Jonah was thrown overboard in the midst of a raging storm at sea (Jonah 1: 15), as he was trying to run away from the plan of God.

For an advancing disciple, he or she will feel like a fish out of water whenever he or she steps outside of the plan of God, or refuses to do what is required to move forward. He or she may continue to go through the motions (Matt. 15: 8), but will know that something is lacking in his or her walk with the Lord. This alone will be all the motivation that an advancing disciple needs to get back on track.

Somewhere along the way, many born-again believers come up with their own excuses, as to why they do not become disciples (students and appliers of the Word of God), or see it through to the end. Satan, and or his Eph. 6:12 have an individual plan of attack for every born-again believer, to distract an advancing disciple from moving forward in the plan of God.

Doubting this attack, makes such a believer an easy target in the realm of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6: 12).

It matters not (to the devil) if he accomplished this distraction by way of prosperity or adversity. When he or they are successful, the devil is well-pleased, as God is denied the glory that He would have otherwise received.

End of Part One

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