Bible Lessons Worldwide Ministry

Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46 says, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’ And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Is this eternal life in heaven or on earth or elsewhere? Numerous passages speak of heaven as being the dwelling place of God. 1 Kings 8:30 says, “Hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place.” In Isaiah 66:1, the Lord says, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is my footstool.” The book of Psalms has much to say about this. “The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven” (11:4). “The Lord looks from heaven” (33:13). All this is relevant when considering passages that speak of the faithful dwelling eternally with God. In Psalm 23:6, David says, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The book of Revelation, though symbolic in form, still speaks of the place of the faithful’s eternal reward, a place wherein is God’s throne (heaven). Jesus said in 3:21, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, and I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” In 7:9, John sees a great multitude “standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” In v15, he says, “They are before the throne of God.” And regarding the place of the eternal reward, 22:3 says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it.”

In John 14:2-3, Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” Notice that our future dwelling place is in the Father’s house; as noted above, this is heaven. Jesus said in Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” In 6:20, He said, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”

Also notice that Jesus said we would be where He would be. Acts 1:9-11 states that Jesus ascended to heaven and will someday return from there (see also John 3:13). In Colossians 1:5, Paul spoke of “the hope laid up for you in heaven.” Peter spoke in 1 Peter 1:4 of “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

Hebrews 10:34 (KJV) says, “Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.” The writer speaks in 11:10 about “the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” 11:16 speaks of “a better country, that is a heavenly one.”

One day it’s really going to happen. Our Lord will return, and we will enter into eternal life. And as John says in 1 John 3:2, we might not know exactly how everything will be in eternity, but it is certain that we’ll have a new and glorious home, forever in the presence of our God and our Savior. May we joyfully anticipate and declare with John in Revelation 22:20, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”

1 Corinthians 12:26 “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Surely you’ve noticed. You get up in the middle of the night and kick the corner of something. Maybe it’s the bed or the dresser. It really doesn’t matter; all you know at that moment is that there is severe and unwelcome pain. So let me ask you: how much of your body is concerned about what just happened to your toe? Do you think, it’s just a toe, it’ll be okay, and you go on without giving it any more thought?

You know what happens. Your entire being is completely caught up in what is happening to that one small part of your body. When it happens, that toe is not alone in suffering. Your mouth and tongue cry out. Your whole body bends over just to be closer. Your leg raises up your foot as your hand rushes down to hold that poor hurt toe. It’s not alone. Every member of your body is well aware of what that one member is going through, and every member is wanting and waiting for that one member to feel better.

One of the prices we pay for love is hurting when a loved one hurts. It happens to us frequently just as it happened to Jesus. One of the best known verses in the Bible is also the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). It was the death of Lazarus that brought this about, but was that really the reason Jesus wept?

I don’t think Jesus wept just because Lazarus had died. Yes, He dearly loved Lazarus, but He knew He could raise him from the dead. But Jesus also loved the many friends who had come to share in the grief over the death of Lazarus and to be of comfort to Mary and Martha. Jesus cared so much for those people who were hurting so deeply. He hurt because they hurt. He was grieved because they were grieved. He wept because they wept.

And in this simple story is a powerful lesson for us today as Christians. We too should and do care that much for one another. We too are deeply moved with compassion for our brothers and sisters who experience grief. We love and care so much that sometimes it hurts. That’s the price of being in a loving family, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s so great to be a part of the family of God.

A few years ago I watched the first episode of a TV show called “The Last Ship.” It was about the crew of a naval destroyer trying to find the cure for a deadly global disease. I only watched the first few episodes, so I don’t know about the series as a whole. But from what I did see, it looked like it might be different than most of what’s shown on TV.

Things have changed so much through the years and decades. Words and issues that were once considered inappropriate are now commonplace. And mentioning God in a positive way is becoming more and more rare. But every once in a while, something good manages to get in.

In that first episode I watched, one of the crew members died and was being buried at sea. One of the officers stood before all the crew and prayed, and this is what he said at the end of that prayer: “...until that day when all those who believe in You will be raised to the glory of a new life promised in the waters of baptism.”

Yes, a character in a modern TV show said that new life is promised in the waters of baptism! Although that should not be such an unexpected event considering that is exactly what the Bible teaches.

The word baptize in the New Testament is from the Greek word baptizo, and the word baptism is from the Greek words batisma and baptismos. Together they are found 100 times in the New Testament. Following are the main passages that speak about baptism, including the purpose given in each one:

Mark 16:15-16 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." [coupled with believing: to be saved]

Acts 2:38 "Peter said unto them, Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." [coupled with repentance: to receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit]

Acts 2:41 "So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousands souls." [to be added to the body of Christ]

Acts 22:16 Ananias told Saul, "Arise, and be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on the name of the Lord." [to wash away sins]

Romans 6:3-5 "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." [to be buried into Christ's death and be raised to a new life; to be resurrected with Christ]

1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." [to be added to the body of Christ]

Galatians 3:26-27 "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." [to put on Christ]

Colossians 2:12-13 "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions." [to be buried with Christ and raised up; to be made alive in Christ; in order to be forgiven of all transgressions]

1 Peter 3:20-21 "In the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." [to be saved; to appeal to God for a good conscience]

In the book of Acts, when the question was asked, "What must I do to be saved?" some were told they needed to believe because they had not yet done so. Others were told to repent because they had not yet done that. And still others were told to be baptized because that still needed to be done. Taken altogether, the Bible teaches we are saved by faith when we are baptized for the forgiveness of our sins according to God’s command.