FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

Sometimes, people join churches for enhanced social status or increased business opportunity. Some make sizable monetary contributions in order to bask in the publicity and notoriety. Others seek visibility and leadership to feed a hungry ego.These are the kinds of things that will be laid bare at the return of Christ. This time of judgment also involves loss. As stated, the quality of a person’s work will be shown for what it is. Speak- ing symbolically, Paul wrote: “It is to be revealed with fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13). If our contribution to the Kingdom amounts to nothing more than wood, hay, and straw, what else can we expect to survive God’s flame besides ashes? And, as the Bible says, one whose foundation is burned up “will suffer loss” (1 Cor- inthians 3:15). Does this refer to a loss of salvation? Certainly not! As al- ready stated, this judgment does not determine salvation. That relationship is permanently secure if you’ve accepted Christ. Just as you cannot decide to be unborn from your physical first birth; you cannot determine to become unborn once you have experienced your spiritual second birth. It sounds odd to use the phrase “getting into heaven” in the same sentence with words like “sadly” and “unfortunately.” Yet, tragically, some will make it, as the old expression goes, “by the skin of their teeth.”They’ve received the Lord, but lived such unproductive Christian lives that they’ll have little to show for it at the judgment. As the Bible says, they’ll “Be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15). If you still struggle with the idea that regret, in any form, could seep into the jubilation of heaven, consider the following scenario. My insurance agent calls and says my homeowner’s policy has lapsed and I’m not covered. I assure him I’ll take care of the situation, but I don’t.Two weeks later, a tornado

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