"He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire!"
The fire is His just, holy, and eternal wrath, kindled by sin, and preying upon sinners.
The place where this fire will burn is hell, some place in God's universe, unknown to us at present - but which was originally prepared for the punishment of the devil and his angels.
Those who are condemned to suffer this terrible doom, are all who die in their natural states, all who live in sin, all who refused to believe in Christ, and all who are satisfied with the mere externals of religion.
The doom is dreadful, it is eternal punishment.
The fire is unquenchable, the sufferer is immortal, and sin, the cause of the suffering remains and augments!
The wrath of God, is the wrath of an unchangeable being.
Oh, the dreadful doom of a lost soul!
Each one of us is either wheat or chaff! We are either believer or unbelievers. We are either saved saints or lost sinners.
Let us not rest without scriptural proof that we are God's wheat. Are you a light-hearted, talking, trifling professor? Take heed, you are very much like the chaff, and perhaps are chaff!
A separation will be effected. The angels shall gather the wicked from among the just. Every grain of wheat will be collected, and gathered into the barn; and every husk, every morsel of chaff, will be cast into the furnace of fire!
The separation will be eternal. Once separated, they can never be united again. And what a separation that will be! The parent separated from the child - and the child from the parent; the husband separated from the wife - and the wife from the husband. Those who have sat together in the same pew, read out of the same bible, and sang together out of the same hymn book for years - will be separated, and separated forever!
Of the one it will be said, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment!" and of the other, "but the righteous shall go away into life eternal!"
The consequences will be momentous. What pen can describe, what heart can conceive, the momentous consequences of this separation?
To the one, how unspeakably dreadful!
To the other, how unutterably glorious!
The heights of Heaven - or the depths of hell!
The perfection of happiness - or the extreme of torment!
The shouts of triumph - or the groans of despair!
Lord, give us grace that we may be found among your wheat, and so be gathered into your barn at the last day! Holy Spirit, bear your witness in our hearts, that we are indeed the wheat, and that soon, very soon, we shall be forever with the Lord!
~James Smith~
(The End)
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The Heart of Spiritual Maturity
People will ask, “What can I do to really grow as a Christian?” Often they are looking for a secret path to maturity—some action they can perform. But the true key to growing in your relationship with Christ isn’t based on service or knowledge or any other outward accomplishment the world tends to admire.
Genuine maturity and effectiveness hinge upon your heart relationship with the Lord, rather than something you can do for Him. When you understand this truth, your whole paradigm shifts. It puts all Christians on the same level, from the high-profile preacher to the quietest member of the church. The believer’s talents, accomplishments, and personality are far less important than the commitment to simply know God.
The Lord called David “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV). What was it about him that God valued so highly? He certainly had his share of mistakes, sins, and character flaws. Yet more than anything else, what characterized his life was that he sought to know the Lord. Whether he was a shepherd, fugitive, warrior, or powerful king, the time he spent with his heavenly Father was his lifeline. In psalm after psalm, David laid everything before the Lord—and wholeheartedly longed to do His will. This was his greatest strength.
Do you want to grow spiritually and be transformed in your everyday faith walk? Take a step beyond asking, “What can I do for God so that I can be a better Christian?” Instead, come before the Lord and say, “Here I am. You have full access to my heart.”
~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~
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